Seventeen Steps to Heaven

Book excerpt: No matter how dedicated to Christ you are, familiarity can blunt your fervor and even make you less vigilant against sin. That's why you need this warm guide! It reveals what you must do in order to begin living your life with God truly at the center of everything you do. With these seventeen steps, you'll be able to prevent your love for God from being diminished by day-to-day pressures. The author, Fr. Leo J. Trese, helps you to integrate into your actions the truths you profess. He gives you solid ways to look squarely at the reality and love of God and to root out contrary attachments in your life, showing you how to improve your confessions, pray more fervently, and let the fact of God's love and the joys of Heaven inspire you to be holy. Refreshingly unlike many modern writers, Fr. Trese speaks bluntly of Hell and of the devastating magnitude of sin. But don't despair! He also discloses the remedies you can use to root out even the most entrenched sinful habits and attachments. Simple, profound, and insightful, this book is an effective and long-lasting antidote to the spiritual dry rot that infects the soul of even the most careful Catholics. Make your salvation a vivifying reality as Fr. Trese shows you: Why Heaven is worth living for, working for, and suffering for in this life God's anger: what the inspired writers of Scripture mean when they use this phrase - and how you can avoid this anger Do you truly belong to Christ? Four qualities you'll have if you do What you must do if your confessions have become casual and thoughtless "It's only a venial sin" why this is one of the saddest phrases you could ever speak God's judgment: how you can (and should) start getting ready now for this moment of divine truth Suffering from strong temptations? Three things you can do today to overcome them Plus: more to help you attain a truly soul-nourishing relationship with God!