Customer Reviews

Early Will I Seek You (Rekindling the Inner Fire)

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I had listened to a stirring discourse given on a pilgrimage. It was generally dealing with the problems of the world--the problems of modern day society. "What is the answer? Let me oversimplify it," he added. "God is the answer, a return to the principles of faith and hope and love. All the values and the virtues come from these fundamental building blocks of a strong and sane society." Shortly after, I began this book. Here I also found Saint Augustine calling for a return to God. He says we all need an "inner and progressive conversion of our souls" and the reason: "to convert the direction of our love." This was just on of the 40 mediations David Hazard chose from Saint Augustine's works to present in this book, part of the "Rekindling the Inner Fires" series. His paraphrase of Augustine is very clear. His advice:

"To stop valuing the temporal over the eternal. To stop trusting in the principles of the visible world more than you trust in the principles of the invisible world, which only makes sense to the renewed spiritual mind. Inward conversion means to stop spending all your energy escaping into pastimes that bring you fleshly, carnal pleasures in hopes that they will deeply satisfy, and to find that true lasting joy within comes from the wells of the Spirit. / It is only by constant effort that we control and reduce our desire to live according to the wants of our flesh, according to earthly principles. That means binding ourselves to what is spiritual by loving God and determining to follow after Him in spirit. / All our success in this, finally, depends on divine assistance. For it is God's Word that comforts and instructs: "Without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5). / This describes the daily process that takes place in those who are progressing spiritually as they should."

I had been hoping to find a short book based on the writings of Saint Augustine. I tried this. I began using it as a meditation book. I was not disappointed. The book may be short, but it's packed with powerful thoughts that move the mind and heart. In fact, I went on to purchase David Hazard's, You Set My Spirit Free: A 40-Day Journey in the Company of John of the Cross (Rekindling the Inner Fire), for my next meditation book.

It was just beautiful. I used it as a daily devotional and St. Augustine really touched my heart because he was so human and honest. I still go back to it now and again.

This small book is a daily devotional for the 40 days of

Lent, but could be used at any time for prayer and

meditation. The segments are short but powerful and based on the writings of St. Augustine with some editing by David Hazard

It is a good way to help discipline prayer time in a busy life.

I love all the books in the Rekindling series. They all have such depths of spiritual understanding. I have a lending library of all of these to the ladies I am discipling. They are great!