In this volume in the "Classics of Christian Inspiration" series, Eknath Easwaran (1910 -1999) examines the lives and ministries of four extraordinary spiritual individuals: St. Francis, St. Paul, St. Augustine, and Mother Teresa. Carol Lee Flinders provides introductions to each of these extraordinary Christians who are shining examples of love in action.
The author begins with St. Francis and a probe of his famous prayer that begins "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." Easwaran reminds us of a truth that many of us would rather forget: "Learning to love is like swimming against the current of a powerful river; most of our conditioning is in the other direction." St. Francis models for us a selfless service that puts others first.
In his examination of the merciful mission of Mother Teresa, Easwaran claims that to follow her example of pure love, we need five things: time, control over our attention, energy, discrimination, and awareness of the unity of life.
Next comes his assessment of St. Paul's majestic epistle on love in I Corinthians 13. At the heart of this essay is Easwaran's salute to the importance of the spiritual practice of patience.
The commentary on St. Augustine is based on Book IX, Chapter 10 of the Confessions. Here the emphasis is on this Christian as a "pioneer in the evolution of consciousness" who dealt with the lure of desire, the value of stilling the anxious mind, and learning to harness negative emotions.
