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Heroic Habits: Discovering the Soul’s Potential for Greatness
You are made for greatness. Not mediocrity. Not mere goodness. Greatness.
The structure of your life, your human nature, your unique body, your emotions—everything about you is oriented to your perfection.
But how are we to reach greatness?
In this thought-provoking book, Father Ezra Sullivan provides the forgotten key to discovering the soul’s potential for heroic habits. A habit is what makes us into saints or sinners. Just as the body can become stronger through exercise and effort, or weaker through wounds or neglect, so the entire person can develop an almost permanent state of goodness or evil through habituation to virtue or vice. Habits both reveal and shape who you are; they speak about what you have been, and they predict what you will be.
Unique for a spirituality book, Heroic Habits explores and combines three realms of Utilizing humor, everyday examples, and serious scholarship, Fr. Ezra gets to the root of one of the things most mysterious to us—ourselves. Because habits are biological, psychological, and spiritual realities, Heroic Habits provides a panoramic vision of the whole human person. Front and center are why we are the way we are, how we make habits, how habits influence our lives, and how to develop good ones and eradicate bad ones, all with the help of God, as well the saints, who lived out their good habits heroically and provide a blueprint for you to do the same.
Heroic Habits will help you achieve long-lasting insight about yourself, to open yourself to the transforming grace of Christ, and to develop the good habits you have always desired.
The structure of your life, your human nature, your unique body, your emotions—everything about you is oriented to your perfection.
But how are we to reach greatness?
In this thought-provoking book, Father Ezra Sullivan provides the forgotten key to discovering the soul’s potential for heroic habits. A habit is what makes us into saints or sinners. Just as the body can become stronger through exercise and effort, or weaker through wounds or neglect, so the entire person can develop an almost permanent state of goodness or evil through habituation to virtue or vice. Habits both reveal and shape who you are; they speak about what you have been, and they predict what you will be.
Unique for a spirituality book, Heroic Habits explores and combines three realms of Utilizing humor, everyday examples, and serious scholarship, Fr. Ezra gets to the root of one of the things most mysterious to us—ourselves. Because habits are biological, psychological, and spiritual realities, Heroic Habits provides a panoramic vision of the whole human person. Front and center are why we are the way we are, how we make habits, how habits influence our lives, and how to develop good ones and eradicate bad ones, all with the help of God, as well the saints, who lived out their good habits heroically and provide a blueprint for you to do the same.
Heroic Habits will help you achieve long-lasting insight about yourself, to open yourself to the transforming grace of Christ, and to develop the good habits you have always desired.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 7, 2021
14 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Ezra Sullivan
6 books2 followersFr. Ezra Sullivan O.P. is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 15, 2024
Excellent book for those wanting to improve their spiritual life and get closer to Christ.
November 12, 2022
I have read a number of books on habits this year - for the Christian, this is the most succinct and encompassing. Fr. Sullivan gives a Thomistic approach to habits as laid out and lived by the most prolific writer in church history. Drawing on modern science and revealed wisdom, he gives an accurate picture of the landscape of habit today, and ends with a powerful call to adopt the true and continual habit of prayer.
March 18, 2025
Most of the book is a dry recitation of psychological processing not very helpful for those seeking to develop virtue by habitual action. The one or two chapters devoted to habit identification and implementation can be beneficial; however, they form a very small part of the overall book, and you can probably find better aids elsewhere.
January 7, 2022
I was surprised this book was as exciting and informative as it was well written!!! It mentioned different habits of life and how to attain the prize of Heaven after we leave this world!!! I recommend this book to everyone!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews