A New Resource

I found a great new book for use in prayer and meditation. It's called Manual for Spriritual Warfare by Paul Thigpen. It's available at Amazon and Tan Books.
Despite the rather scary title it's really very helpful. Approaching the spiritual life as a battle and providing the tools for combat, the book can help when struggling in prayer or with life's stresses. Some of the topics covered include:

• Scriptures for the Battle
• Help from the saints
• Prayers, Devotions, and Hymns for the Battle

Here's a quote from the book  on suffering from St. Louis de Montfort:

God Watches His Soldiers With Satisfaction

If you're to have the right approach to suffering, you must form the devout habit of thinking about the eye of God. What I mean is this: God is like a great King, who from the height of a tower observes with satisfaction his soldier in the midst of the battle, praising his courage.
What is it on earth that attracts God's attention? Is it kings and emperors on their thrones? No; he often looks at them with nothing but contempt. Is his attention focused on the brilliant victories of a nation's armies? On precious stones? On any such things that are great in the sight of men? No: "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord"(see Luke 15:16)

What then does God look upon with pleasure and delight? .....It's about the one who's fighting for him against riches, against the world, against hell, even against himself; the one who's cheerfully carrying his cross.