It is a classic book on spiritual theology since its publication in the 1930s. It contains abundant pearls of wisdom about the interior life, its progress, and its difficulties. It deals with vocal prayer, mental prayer, the importance of purification (of both external and internal senses), the central role of the Holy Mass, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. It shows in various passages that we are all called to contemplative prayer. Saint Josemaría, in the book Friends of God, warned: “That is already contemplation and union; this must be the life of many Christians, each following their own spiritual path — which are infinite — in the midst of the world’s struggles, even though they may not even be aware of it” (n. 308).
This consideration helps us to correctly understand the title. The Three Ages of the Interior Life outlines the book’s framework, where three stages are distinguished: beginners, advanced, and perfect. In the first pages, the author himself warns that spiritual topics cannot be presented in rigid schemes because, instead of showing the richness of a living organism, only the skeleton would be shown.
Although he made this initial warning, the author makes a truly herculean effort in the opposite direction. He presents a unique framework that points out the correspondences between the three ages of the interior life, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the virtues, and the beatitudes. This very complete framework is supported by texts from great authors: Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Teresa of Jesus, Saint John of the Cross, among others. Without a doubt, the author is a great scholar. The final work has an excess of schematism. Some considerations are repeated several times. This is inevitable in a book of over a thousand pages.
Many of these classical ideas of spiritual theology are briefly found in the homily “Toward Holiness” by Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. The saint of the ordinary adds some specific emphases: everyday life as a place of holiness and the relationship with the Most Holy Humanity of Jesus Christ.