Category: Books

Posted on by

The Paradox of Poverty : a Book Review

The Paradox of Poverty: Why are the poor in spirit “Blessed”:  

Quote from the publisher: ““Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And we smile, nod, and think: “Lovely thought.” But if we’re paying attention, it’s a shocking, almost offensive thought. The grieving, the broken hearted, the marginalized, the stigmatized―all blessed, all happy? In The Paradox of Poverty, Susan Pitchford examines the ways in which followers of Christ have understood “poverty of spirit,” and the traditions that have formed around their attempts to follow Jesus on this radical path. 

  Over the centuries, those who have heard Jesus have learned the truth of his promise that we will find the greatest happiness, our deepest fulfilment―the kingdom of heaven, in fact, our blessedness and our belovedness―in the things that seem to impoverish our souls. The Paradox of Poverty looks at some of the wisdom traditions that have formed this understanding: the Scriptures, the desert mothers and fathers, the Franciscans, liberation theologians, prosperity gospel preachers, the 12-Step movement, and more. At both individual and collective levels, these traditions help us understand that varied kinds of poverty can become a “blessing” by bringing us to know our belovedness in God.” 

My interest mounted as I discovered the breadth and depth to which the writer had researched the “Paradox of Poverty of Spirit”. Susan Pritchard has produced a wealth of information and thought-provoking pages. This is a book which I would want to read again and keep for future reference. The writer shows how we become distracted from the meaning Christ set out for us in the Beatitudes. I commend this book for its insight and richness. 

Text © Michael Butler.  A Julian Meetings member. 

Image © Liturgical Press.

THE PARADOX OF POVERTY

Susan Pritchard

Published by Liturgical Press, 2025, paperback/e-book/ Kindle. 

ISBN  9798400802102 

Also available from Amazon

We invite readers to suggest further books for review, and are looking for further member reviewers. Contact us on https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-book-reviews/

We invite readers to contribute to the Blog. Contact us on https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors. 

Posted on by

Job – the Problem of Suffering and the Problem of God.

tree segments showing damage in the rings Copyright p tyers

Janet has written about how reflecting on the book of Job helped her come to terms with grief. We invite our readers to write reflections on topics that join prayer and life. We would also like to hear about your groups. We hope to publish the next blog at Easter. Philip Tyers, Editor

The photo shows suffering endured by a tree over many years,  invisible to outsiders.  

Janet writes:

Many years ago, as a family, we suffered a grievous loss. It was a body blow of the most radical kind, a happening which severely questions belief. I do not think that I asked, “Why did this happen to me?” Suffering happens to most if not all people at some time in their lives. It caused me to ask questions about the roots of suffering.  

Fortunately, I came across a book, which provided some answers. Harold Kushner was a rabbi. He had suffered the death of a son. His son was born with an incurable and rare disease. The son died when he was fourteen. Kushner, inevitably, had mused upon this death, had asked questions of God. It was his chapter on the book of Job that helped me most. Kushner made three statements: 

  1. God is all- powerful and causes everything that happens in this world. Nothing happens without him willing it. 
  1. God is just and fair, and stands for people getting what they deserve, so that the good prosper and the wicked perish. 
  1. Job is a good person. 

He postulated that we cannot make sense of all these statements. We must sacrifice one in order to believe in the other two. His answer, which has become mine, is that God is not all-powerful. There are things which God cannot control. When disasters of any kind occur, we should not regard them as “acts of God” but turn to God to help us to live through them. God does this in many profound ways. That is a simplistic and inadequate comment on this wise book, but it helped me, as it has helped others for many years.  

This returned me to the Book of Job itself. It has been called the “most wonderful poem of any age and language; our first, oldest statement of the never ending problem – man’s destiny and God’s way with him in this world” (Thomas Carlyle). The saga of Job’s suffering, the arguments of his friends and the magisterial arguments of God need to be read repeatedly.  

Recently, I came across Andy Roland’s ‘The Book of Job.’ The author has abbreviated the text and arranged it for private reading, for group study and for public performance. The concluding chapter discusses the meaning of Job as the author finds it. He suggests, as does Kushner, that it not only discusses the problem of suffering but also the problem of God.  

A reading of all three books requires deep and searching thought and helps us to  

  • “Forgive the world for not being perfect,  
  • Forgive God for not making a perfect world,  
  • Reach out to the people around us  
  • Go on living despite it all” (Kushner). 

REFERENCES: 

Harold Kushner: When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Pan Books; 1st published 1981, and again with new introduction 2002. ISBN 9780330490559 Also available on Kindle.

Author unknown: The Book of Job – The Bible. 

Andy Roland: The Book of Job. Filament publishing. 2019 ISBN 9781913192501  Also available on Kindle.

Photo © Philip Tyers 2026

 Text ©Janet Robinson 2026. 

Editor: Philip Tyers

Posted on by

All That Is Made-The Comfort of Contemplative Prayer by Keren Dibbens-Wyatt

Keren Dibbens-Wyatt reflects on Julian of Norwich’s writings in ‘Revelations of Divine Love’.  Keren writes:

“I’ve been fascinated by the book and the wisdom it contains ever since I was given a copy by my husband Rowan on our first wedding anniversary. I had just begun my journey into contemplative prayer and was struck by how God had tucked me away from the world through chronic illness, so that I felt a kinship with Julian in her seclusion. 

 As I have contemplated Mother Julian’s vision of the small thing “the size of a hazelnut,” over the years, I’ve felt that it gives us a true sense of eternal perspective. One much needed in the world! God inspired me to write about it and my own smallness. The seed of a book began to germinate. 

I wrote about how it feels to be small, fragile and dependent, just like that small, round thing. I considered how that can lead us to trusting and knowing God as the one who made, keeps and loves us. I found that just this one revelation alone is enough to contemplate on for the longest time and that it can teach us a great deal about true humility and genuine faith. 

 This book is now out in the world and I’d love to share with you all the insights God has gifted about how this one “shewing” can bring us the ultimate comfort of knowing God and his love through contemplative prayer. 

Keren” 

Text and photo ©Keren Dibbens-Wyatt  

Publisher Herald Press USA

 Amazon link for UK

Posted on by

Review of A Pilgrimage of the heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition

Book cover.

Kevin Goodrich: A Pilgrimage of the heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition.

Darton, Longman an Todd. ISBN978-1-915412-13-3 published 2024 Available in Kindle and Hardcover

Review by Janet Robinson

This is an engaging and attractively produced book. It tells of the life and story of Walter Hilton of Thurgarton entwined with other mystics of the fourteenth century: Richard Rolle, the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. The author has provided a useful background of the turbulent history of the times. He suggests that the book can be used as a virtual pilgrimage, making one’s way towards a deeper understanding of the spiritual road. Besides the narrative the author includes kindly but searching, practical questions and exercises for the reader. He laces the text with interesting narrative of his visits to the places where the mystics lived and adds helpful illustrations.

This makes altogether a very useful adjunct to one’s time of stillness. I have read the book through in order to review it but I believe that when I read it again, trying to answer some of the questions and exercises, it will deepen my contemplative prayer and expand my knowledge of the men and women whose stories he tells. I found it helpful where there is a discussion of the contemplative, the active and the “mixed” life of the spirit – something that Walter Hilton clarifies. Indeed I have just been to our local secondhand bookshop and found a copy of The Ladder of Perfection by Hilton!

Two small quibbles: I cannot feel entirely sure that Margery Kempe was a true contemplative. Certainly a pilgrim, a character larger than life, extremely active and noisy. The author himself calls her the “weeping mystic.” However, the story of her life and spiritual endeavour is appealing. My other quibble is a slight lack of proof reading. For example: St Catherine’s monastery, where John Climacus may have written The Ladder of Divine Ascent is in Sinai not Greece. But I digress. Do consider A Pilgrimage of the Heart as a valuable aide for your contemplative life.

Posted on by

Moments of Love by John Mann

Book cover Moments of Love by John Mann

An Eight-Day Retreat with the Song of Songs 

Information from the publisher:

This attractive little book offers an eight-day retreat through the Bible’s poetic allegory of divine love, the Song of Songs. Four times a day for eight days, for Morning, Midday, Evening and Night, the book presents a short passage from the Song of Songs (NRSV) and a 300-500 word reflection. Each reflection is designed according to the time of day. Readers should put aside 20-30 minutes four times a day for the duration of this eight-day period – for the purpose of creating a focused and rewarding meditation upon personal prayer in loving fellowship with God. With a Foreword by Michael Burrows, the Bishop of Limerick (Church of Ireland). 

John Mann has served as a full-time stipendiary Anglican priest for almost all his working life, much of it in Belfast. He was Dean of Belfast Cathedral from 2011 to 2017, having spent many years in parish life and as examining chaplain to the Bishop of Connor.  He has written four other books. 

https://www.dltbooks.com/titles/2408-9781917362009-moments-of-love

If you would like to review this book please contact our Book Review Editor

Posted on by

Healed by Love Daniel Chowning OCD. Review

Daniel Chowning: Healed by Love: Contemplation as a path of healing according to St John of the Cross

Liturgical press 2025

Blackwells £18.99. Amazon Kindle £16                                   ISBN: 9798400800122, 0012244
            eISBN: 9798400800139, E00139

The title of this book engaged my interest since, while a beginner in accessing the work of St John of the Cross, I have found the foothills of his work inspiring.

Written by a fellow Carmelite who has immersed himself in St John’s life and writings it offers a deep reflection on the healing power of contemplation to be found in his work. My review only touches the surface of the work as I will need so much more time and prayer to absorb and benefit from its teaching.

Initially I was attracted by the account of the saint’s life. Born into a very poor family and as a teenager employed as a nurse’s aide and alms seeker for the sick poor of a charitable hospital, he learned compassion and tenderness at first hand. He cared for the physically and the spiritually ill to the end of his life. Encouraged to study he was drawn to the Carmelite order and made his profession in 1564. His religious life and thought was much bound with the thinking and inspiration of Teresa of Avila and though of very different personalities they supported each other through difficult times. There being much opposition within the Church to the reforms which Teresa instigated, John was “kidnapped” and imprisoned for nine months in extreme deprivation. He escaped and lived for ten years in Andalusia where he was confessor and spiritual director to both religious and laity and there wrote all his major works. Later he became prior of a monastery in Segovia.

To the end of his life he was hounded by traditionalists who tried to destroy his reputation. He died in 1591 at the age of 49. As the author says: “He responded in love to every circumstance in life, good or bad, joyful or painful” His abiding words were

“Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.”

So far, I have described only the first chapter of this remarkable book. The remaining ten chapters are a serious investigation of John’s understanding of the spiritual and psychological ills of we humans and how, despite the fact that he lived more than 400 years ago, he can still offer guidance and help for healing and forgiveness. As Sr.Elizabeth Obbard writes in her review (and I cannot do better):

“In this beautiful and very readable book, Fr. Daniel Chowning has distilled the teaching of St. John of the Cross for a new generation, linking it with his own personal, pastoral, and psychological insights. Under St. John’s guidance all are encouraged to surrender to the process of healing and transformation in Christ. It is a contemplative journey that leads to freedom and the integration of the whole person. Chowning’s writing is the fruit of many years of studying and teaching the Carmelite saints, and I was hooked from page one. Be enthused, inspired, and challenged to make the journey of contemplative love a way of life ‘costing not less than everything.’ It’s never too late to set out.”

(© 2025 by Daniel Chowning, OCD. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Used with permission.)

Janet Robinson

Posted on by

Book Review The Art of Spiritual Writing

Authors Eirene Palmer and Richard Palmer. Published by DLT (Darton, Longman, Todd)

Reviewed by Angela May

This book is the work of a couple who are both authors and retreat leaders, experienced in helping others to write, specifically including writing about things that I’m interested in:  life’s journey, one’s spiritual life, and journalling in general.  I’ve always found it difficult to find the time to keep a diary, but in recent years I’ve wanted to write my autobiography, however briefly, and to take up the practice of spiritual journalling.  But somehow life always gets in the way. 

So it seemed a good idea to read this ‘transformative book (which) offers a treasure trove of ideas to help you write about your spiritual life …. maybe recording your story for others …. (providing) invaluable advice, good journalling practices, and tips for encouraging readers to get into the habit of daily writing and reflection’.  This book is all about finding yourself and finding your voice, writing from ‘that deep reflective place inside each of us’.

The authors make it clear that we don’t need to worry about perfect grammar or punctuation:  we just need to write and get things down.  Also that all writing can be considered spiritual.  
The authors encourage us to begin with the use of story-telling as a means of getting into writing, delving into our own lives, and writing things down for the interest of other people.  They recommend starting a story with a small detail.  This immediately grabbed my attention, because I’d thought to begin my biography in exactly that way, with a tiny flower.  So I was only a few pages into reading this book when I managed to write down the title of my autobiography for the first time, having carried it in my head for at least a decade.  I had taken the first step!

The book is full of prompts and tips, including the basic advice to have a notebook with you always, including at your bedside, to capture stray thoughts and ideas, interesting dialogue, dreams, etc, which you think you’ll remember but don’t.  These are good resources for writing about.  

Another prompt:  undertake a simple Examen, a technique used in Ignatian spirituality, and write about it.  Also suggested:  a SWOT exercise, writing some paragraphs on one’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  Undertaking this, the Opportunities section reminded me of all the exciting potential for developments in my area..  The advice to write about anything you are passionate about got me writing about my favourite colour, how it all began, and its long-term impact on my happiness.  The book is full of interesting thoughts and ideas.  

Eirene’s apparent preference for referring to God as ‘She’ made me begin to consider the feminine side of God, who is after all El Shaddai, the All Sufficient, encompassing everything, and I wondered whether I might relate better to God as Her rather than Him.  I began a prayer to El Shaddai, using the free-writing technique, just relaxing, open to God, and letting thoughts and images emerge into my mind and putting them down on paper, to be honed later into a completed prayer.  There are sections on free-writing, which gives you access to your subconscious, and on writing prayers, and also encouragement to try writing psalms relating to your own life.

Keeping a journal is a long-established way of getting to understand more about ourselves, and keeping track of how far we have come, and what God has been doing in our lives.  It was encouraging to be told that one doesn’t have to write a spiritual journal every day, and I’ve managed to complete a few entries in my new journal since starting to read this book, inspired by events.  Success with this will come down to prioritizing, and it is important. 

This easy-to-read book has been interesting and encouraging, and has helped me to get going in several areas of writing.  Hopefully, it will also be helpful for others who are having trouble pinning themselves down or who could do with some encouragement and nudges.

Posted on by

Books Recently Published

Here are three books recently published which might interest you. Click on the picture to go to the publisher’s page. These are from an American publisher, you can find price and purchase information in other currencies from the usual online sellers and bookshops.

If you are able to review one of these books, email bookreviews@thejulianmeetings.net. A review copy may be available.

Posted on by

A Sound of Sheer Silence

From the earliest years of Christianity to the present day, the practice of silent prayer is where many have sought, and found, the presence of God. But it is not always as simple as it sounds. In this video The Revd Richard Carter offers a ‘beginner’s guide’ to silence, reflecting on its nature, practice, joys and pitfalls, and how we can find it in our noisy city and busy lives. Richard was for many years a member of the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands where silence was a daily part of the spiritual life of the community. In London he is the founder and leader of the Nazareth Community where contemplative prayer is the basis for their contemporary rule of life. He is Associate Vicar for Mission at St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London, and the author of ‘The City is my Monastery: A contemporary rule of life’.