COUNSELS AND PRACTICES SUITABLE FOR THE SOUL’S GUIDANCE FROM THE FIRST
ASPIRATION AFTER A DEVOUT LIFE TO THE POINT WHEN IT ATTAINS A CONFIRMED
RESOLUTION TO FOLLOW THE SAME.
I. What True Devotion is . . . 1 II. The Nature and Excellence of
Devotion . . . 5 III. Devotion is suitable to every Vocation and
Profession . . . 8 IV. The Need of a Guide for those Who Would enter
upon and advance in the Devout Life . . . 11 V. The First Step must be
Purifying the Soul . . . 15 VI. The First Purification, namely, from
Mortal Sin . . . 18 VII. The Second Purification, from all Sinful
Affections . . . 20 VIII. How to effect this Second Purification . . .
22 IX. First Meditation–Of Creation . . . 24 X. Second Meditation–Of
the End for which we were Created . . . 27 XI. Third Meditation–Of the
Gifts of God . . . 30 XII. Fourth Meditation–On Sin . . . 32 XIII.
Fifth Meditation–On Death . . . 35 XIV. Sixth Meditation–On Judgment
. . . 38 XV. Seventh Meditation–Of Hell . . . 41 XVI. Eighth
Meditation–On Paradise . . . 43 XVII. Ninth Meditation On the Choice
open to you between Heaven and Hell . . . 45 XVIII. Tenth
Meditation–How the Soul chooses the Devout Life . . . 48 XIX. How to
make a General Confession . . . 51 XX. A hearty Protest made with the
object of confirming the Soul’s resolution to serve God, as a
conclusion to its Acts of Penitence . . . 53 XXI. Conclusion of this
First Purification . . . 56 XXII. The Necessity of Purging away all
tendency to Venial Sins . . . 57 XXIII. It is needful to put away all
Inclination for Useless and Dangerous Things . . . 60 XXIV. All Evil
Inclinations must be purged away . . . 62