“True life, which is God Himself, becomes their inalienable possession; for ever, free from all fear of the vicissitudes of time and change, they repose in the peaceful enjoyment of this inward happiness, and in sweet communication with God.”

Surely the most deeply-rooted need of the human soul, its purest aspiration, is for the closest possible union with God. As one turns over the pages of this little work, written by Saint Albert the Great towards the end of his life, when that great soul had ripened and matured, one feels that here indeed is the ideal of one’s hopes.

Simply and clearly the great principles are laid down, the way is made plain which leads to the highest spiritual life. It seems as though, while one reads, the mists of earth vanish and the snowy summits appear of the mountains of God. We breathe only the pure atmosphere of prayer, peace, and love, and the one great fact of the universe, the Divine Presence, is felt and realized without effort.

St. Albert the Great (c. 1206 – 1280) was a scholar, Dominican friar, and bishop whose writings covered philosophy, theology, and the natural sciences, earning him the title of Doctor Universalis. He is perhaps best remembered today as the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas.