Explores issues that arise in the advanced stages of spiritual direction from both a practical and theoretical perspective.

This volume, the first in the highly praised Classics of Western Spirituality series to venture into the 20th century, introduces the writings of Elisabeth Leseur (1800-1914), French laywoman who left a precious record of a remarkable inner spiritual journey that was all but hidden from those who knew her. Leseur confronted the twin challenges of serious illness and her husband's agnosticism, which pained her, but didn't prevent her from being happily married. Inspired by a spirituality of the communion of saints, Leseur approached these issues by becoming a loving presence in her familial...