Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / by Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl -- Introduction -- Motivations for holiness -- The delight of heaven : the divine marriage -- The reality of hell -- The suffering of purgatory -- The pursuit of happiness -- The life of grace -- The foundation : prayer -- Beginning prayer -- Spiritual reading -- Meditation and contemplation -- Difficulties in prayer -- Commitment to prayer -- The sacrament of penance -- The mass, "source and summit of the Christian life" -- Eucharistic adoration -- Loving our neighbor -- The spiritual works of mercy -- The corporal works of mercy -- The life of virtue -- The theological virtues : faith, hope, and charity -- Prudence, justice, and fortitude -- Temperance -- The fruits of the Holy Spirit -- The shortest way to the kingdom.