God Alone: A Spiritual Biography of Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron (Volume 14)

by Gonzalo María Fernández, Gonzalo María Fernández, Patricio Peman

Set amid the tumult of the Spanish Civil War, this spiritual biography recounts the efforts of a fervent young Spanish aristocrat to come to grips with his artistic talent, his intense personality and, above all, his unquenchable passion for God. Trained in art and architecture, Rafael longed to be a Trappist, but was obliged repeatedly by war and illness to withdraw, and then try again. His intensively personal reflections form the basis of this biography of a man intent on giving his life to God despite all obstacles.

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2008

Reviews

[Daniel Octavio Aguilar LC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect guide for those beginning the spiritual journey in the religious or consecrated path (or all those thinking about it). It is short deep and full of advise and experience of a Trappist monk, which makes it easy to read and to meditate upon. It is written as a compilation of texts of St Rafael Arnaiz with comments about his life to help the reader understand the saint and his context. I found this helpful because he went in and out many times and without and explanation the reader may get lost. The theme of the book is the vocation or rather the challenges of accepting always God's will in the life of the Saint.

I said it is a great help for those beginning religious life because it helped me to SEE WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A REAL RELIGIOUS IDENTITY. His vocation was very particular, he had to go through illness, misunderstandings, temptations and so on to keep his vocation.
The spirit of endurance and love for GOD ALONE in the midst of all these difficulties is is what made St Rafael a real religious and a real saint. I am also a religious and many stories here described are close to my life. The struggles of leaving the world, getting detached form every creature, place things... even his own vocation in order to live pleasing God above everything else.

[K. P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A patron for diabetics.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rafael is a young aristocrat who feels called to be a Trappist monk. Through 4 entries into the monastery, always interrupted by illness, we see the spiritual progress of this young man, culminating in his love for God alone. His desire to be only with God and his fight against progressive diabetes lead him to "martyr for his vocation." The book is a spiritual biography, not a biography per se. The spiritual journey is interesting but i find little in his writings that provided me with spiritual insight. Perhaps in the future a more skilled writer will take up a biography.

[Paul Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an edifying biography of a beautiful soul. Brother Rafael suffered from diabetes and was pursuing the monastic life in the midst of great trials, including the Spanish Civil War. He used these trials for his sanctification by seeking the love of God above all things and to the exclusion of all else.

[Catherine]

A valuable source, and I'm glad the ending addressed the question of vocational discernment here, given how seemingly imprudent a lot of the superiors' decisions were in this case. But I mean, he ended up a saint, so, God handled it.

Could have done without all the unquestioning nationalism in the middle.