The Heart of Holiness: Friendship with God and Others

The Heart of Holiness shows how our everyday experiences of human friendship teach us the most basic path to holiness of life and union with God. Fr. Lauenstein reviews what Scripture says about holiness, and what the greatest saints have practiced throughout the first two millennia of the Church's history. We learn how important our experiences of human friendship are to our experience of friendship with God, and that holiness is essentially a deep friendship with God.

How do we understand "holiness"? How do we articulate the invitation to friendship that God offers us? What role do prayer, devotions, and liturgy have in our spiritual lives and growing in holiness? How do we understand the death of Christ and a loving God the Father? This book helps us to answer these important questions in our journey towards a deeper friendship with God. 
Understanding the heart of holiness underscores for us the necessity to set aside issues which cause conflicts with others, and how developing a loving friendship with God is directly connected with living in friendship with our brothers and sisters.

"After examining the nature of authentic human friendship, Fr. Lauenstein uncovers many important parallels to our relationship with God, and concludes that the heart of holiness lies in an intimate relationship of love that is able to converse easily and often with God."
- Fr. Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R., St. Charles Borromeo Seminary