Among manuals on the life of prayer, the chapters on prayer from Jean-Nicholas Grou's School of Jesus Christ stand out as one of the best short expositions of the essence of prayer that have ever been written. Like such other great writers on prayer as William Law, Henry Martyn and Charles de Foucauld, Grou emphasises the importance of mental discipline for the healthy life of the soul. These simple but effective instructions are the ripe fruit of the author's long life of prayer and meditation. Translated by Joseph Dalby.

"Pere Grou's great theme in the Spiritual Maxims is his insistence on the following of the spirit of Christ as opposed to what he calls the natural spirit, or the spirit of private judgment. Prayer for him is contemplative prayer, or the prayer of the interior way. Not that he despised formal meditation by any means, but he regarded it always as a stepping-stone towards a higher form of prayer, the intimate prayer of the spirit. His great aim and desire was to urge and encourage souls not to be afraid, but to persevere in a wholehearted gift of themselves to God, and in a faithful surrender to the guidance of the Holy Ghost." Translator A Monk Of Parkminster St. Alphonsus writes: "a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery." First Maxim: By the ladder of sanctity, men ascend and descend at the same time, which leads to knowledge of God and true knowledge of self. Second Maxim: Yield your liberty to God, and have no will but His Third Maxim: Pray for a wise guide whom, when you have found, trust, revere and obey Fourth Maxim: Be always mindful of the God Who is present everywhere, and Who dwells in the hearts of the just Fifth Maxim: Keep close to Our Lord in His mysteries, and draw the purest love from His salutary wounds Sixth Maxim: Make good use of the two sacraments, whereof one brings cleansing, and the other life, that is Penance and the Holy Eucharist Seventh Maxim: Let your intention be pure, and your devotion simple and upright Eighth Maxim: Follow the enlightening spirit of Christ: mistrust the blindness and treachery of the natural mind Ninth Maxim: Take no account of external things: seek strenuously after those blessings which are to be found within Tenth Maxim: Listen to Him Who teaches the heart without sound of words. Receive His peace, and guard it faithfully Eleventh Maxim: Treat God as a child treats his Father amd thus acquire a child-like spirit Twelfth Maxim: Beware of resisting the leadings of grace: be thoroughly generous in great things and in small Thirteenth Maxim: Never cease to struggle with the enemy that lives within the soul, and practice holy mortification Fourteenth Maxim: When God bids you be still in prayer, humble yourself silently before His Majesty Fifteenth Maxim: Cling not to sensible sweetness: suffer dryness with a good heart Sixteenth Maxim: The tempter combines cunning with violence: we must meet him with prayer and vigilance Seventhteenth Maxim: Beware of self-love, the rival of the love of God Eighteenth Maxim: Stay quietly at home: regulate your day, and waste no time Nineteenth Maxim: Let charity and piety begin at home, that is always fulfill your daily duties. Twentieth Maxim: Be cordial and kind, gentle and lowly; considerate towards others, severe upon yourself Twenty-First Maxim: Go straight on: never stop or look back. Grieve for sin, but never lose courage Twenty-Second Maxim: When we know our own helplessness, we learn to appreciate the value and efficacy of grace Twenty-Third Maxim: Love is our law: God is our portion; here by faith, in heaven by sight. Twentieth Maxim: Social Relationships Be cordial and kind, gentle and lowly; considerate towards others, severe upon yourself

This book is meant for all, layman and clergy alike. This advice is even more important today than it was over a century ago How many have false ideas of devotion and substitute devotions for devotion? In reading this book and Fr. Grou's 'Spiritual Maxims', which he recommends you read after this, we recommend taking no more than a chapter a day and meditating on its contents. Take this holy advice to heart, for the goal here is sanctification. Home-schoolers could take a chapter a week as part of the religious education of high-school children. For grade school we recommend 'A Mother Speaks to Her Children' by the Countess of Flavigny. Of course, parents, you must live a truly devout life if you wish your children to follow your example. Fr. Grou says: "Early embrace His love, and this Holy affection will preserve you from the poisoned flattery which the world will some day offer you; and you Christian parents, you teachers of the young, you who could the conscience, hasten to bend it under the yoke of Christ. "For idleness of heart at prayer is the mortal sin of sloth," Fr. Grou warns us. He also says: "True devotion is sever upon itself, but indulgent for others;..." This reminds us of the Spiritual Maxims, which he recommends be studied after this book. St. Alphonsus writes: "a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery." Pope Pius XII wrote in 1947 at the beatification of Blessed Maria Goretti: "There rises to Our lips the cry of the Saviour: 'Woe to the world because of scandals ' (Matthew 18:7). Woe to those who consciously and deliberately spread corruption-in novels, newspapers, magazines, theaters, films, in a world of immodesty " We at St. Pius X Press are calling for a crusade of good books. We want to restore 1,000 old Catholic books to the market. We ask for your assistance and prayers. This book is a photographic reprint of the original The original has been inspected and many imperfections in the existing copy have been corrected. At Saint Pius X Press our goal is to remain faithful to the original in both photographic reproductions and in textual reproductions that are reprinted. Photographic reproductions are given a page by page inspection, whereas textual reproductions are proofread to correct any errors in reproduction.

"Pere Grou's great theme in the Spiritual Maxims is his insistence on the following of the spirit of Christ as opposed to what he calls the natural spirit, or the spirit of private judgment. Prayer for him is contemplative prayer, or the prayer of the interior way. Not that he despised formal meditation by any means, but he regarded it always as a stepping-stone towards a higher form of prayer, the intimate prayer of the spirit. His great aim and desire was to urge and encourage souls not to be afraid, but to persevere in a wholehearted gift of themselves to God, and in a faithful surrender to the guidance of the Holy Ghost." Translator A Monk Of Parkminster St. Alphonsus writes: "a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery." Pope Pius XII wrote in 1947 at the beatification of Blessed Maria Goretti: "There rises to Our lips the cry of the Saviour: 'Woe to the world because of scandals ' (Matthew 18:7). Woe to those who consciously and deliberately spread corruption-in novels, newspapers, magazines, theaters, films, in a world of immodesty " We at St. Pius X Press are calling for a crusade of good books. We want to restore 1,000 old Catholic books to the market. We ask for your assistance and prayers. This book is a photographic reprint of the original The original has been inspected and many imperfections in the existing copy have been corrected. At Saint Pius X Press our goal is to remain faithful to the original in both photographic reproductions and in textual reproductions that are reprinted. Photographic reproductions are given a page by page inspection, whereas textual reproductions are proofread to correct any errors in reproduction.