Book Recommendation

While putting away books for the sisters here, I came across an extremely slim book with a stark black and red cover. The title was "Temptation and Discernment." Curious, I flipped through a few pages, and what I read there (in chapters that are barely a page and half long) convinced me not only to get this book myself, but to recommend it to everyone I meet who is interested in spirituality and ministry. The book is by Segundo Galilea. The introduction to the two sections (one on ministry, one on prayer) offer a synthesis of the insights of Ignatius and John of the Cross on discernment of spirits, and the chapters go into specific areas of temptation in ministry and prayer: things like messianism, activism, pseudo-trust in God... I  haven't finished it yet (I'm trying to read it prayerfully!), but I am really, really impressed with what I have read so far.

A few examples:

In the two-page treatment on messianism: "Those who fall into this temptation do not ignore God nor do they fail to pray and appeal to the Lord with problems. They do so, however, so that God may help them in the ministry they plan and direct." "We become incapable of delegating responsibilities or tasks. We do not really trust people, except for a few--those who are a consistently faithful copy of ourselves...." "The messianic attitude does not allow others to grow, since the apostolic endeavor's growth and maturity do not run parallel as they should with the maturation and growth of all who carry it out.... and successors are not prepared to step in."

Activism: "has many expressions. One of them is the lack of renewal in the minister's personal life. In a systematic way, prayer is inadequate and poor. There are no prolonged periods of solitude and retreat. The minister does not cultivate study and seldom reads....The increasing incapacity for renewing oneself tends to be compensated for and disguised by surrendering to uncontrollable activity."  The author connects activism with being out of sync with God's timing for the fruit of the apostolate.

Pseudo-trust in God, which always comes with an exaggerated (even if unconscious) trust in oneself and one's natural abilities. This is a real issue for people with lots of natural gifts, because it is hard to recognize that the fruits of ministry are God's work, and not the result of talent. When the results are purely based on talent, they end up not lasting.

So that's where I am in the book so far, finding so much (and so much in harmony with our Founder) that I am planning to incorporate it in the next project I do on Bl. Alberione.