I just re-published Volume I (of Six Volumes) of Venerable Louis De Ponte, S.J.'s Meditations on the Mysteries of Our Holy Faith. Fr. De Ponte was a 17th century Jesuit. His Meditations provide a comprehensive series of meditations for one's daily mental prayer. De Ponte begins with an introduction in mental prayer and then guides the reader through the three stages of the spiritual life: the Purgative Way, the Illuminative Way, and the Unitive Way. Volume I addresses the Purgative Way.
These series of meditations are remarkable for the wisdom and depth. But don't take my word for it. Just a few weeks ago I was reading St. Francis De Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life and noticed that De Sales particularly recommends the works of Fr. De Ponte to those seeking to advance in prayer and holiness.
Volume I of De Ponte's Meditations is now available on Amazon as a kindle, paperback, or hardcover. Here's a link to all three versions. Everything in the newly republished edition has been re-typeset so the text is crisp and easy to read.
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A number of years ago, in spiritual direction on a Miles Christi retreat, one of the priests recommended that I pray with Fr. Louis De Ponte's Meditations on the Mysteries of the Holy Faith. I followed the recommendation, but couldn't find a good print edition of it. All I could find was a scanned version of the book on Google Books, and this was difficult to read from. Nevertheless, over several years, I gradually prayed my way through all six volumes, reading (somewhat awkwardly) on my cell phone. I was very impressed with the content and decided I'd like to republish these books so they would be more accessible.
So who is Venerable Louis De Ponte? There is an out-of-print biography that answers that question more fully―and I hope to publish that too one day―but for now, Fr. Louis De Ponte (or Luis de Lapuente) was born in Valladolid, Spain in 1554. He eventually entered the Society of Jesus. He became known as a writer of spiritual works and was known for a holy life. He died in 1624. A few years after his death, his cause for canonization was opened, and he is hence known as Venerable Louis De Ponte.
