Category: Books Recently Published

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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

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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

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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.

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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’.

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“Lectio Divina – The Sacred Art” Book Review

Paintner, Christine Valters, Lectio Divina – the Sacred Art: Transforming Words & Images Into Heart-Centered Prayer, SPCK,  2012

Publisher’s Information:

Lectio divina, which means sacred reading, is an ancient contemplative practice of listening deeply to the voice of God in sacred texts. In recent years there has been a reclaiming of the riches of contemplative prayer forms of Western traditions. Through the practice of lectio divina you become present to each moment in a heart-centred way. Gradually, the practice of lectio expands your capacity to sense God’s presence until all of life becomes a cascade of prayer. Drawing on her own experience as a monk in the world, Christine Valters Paintner breaks open the movements of this spiritual practice. She makes them accessible to the contemporary reader who longs for a more pervasive experience of the holy in the everyday but lives far away from the sanctuary of a monastery.

Sample review from Amazon.co.uk

“I found this book to be a very helpful refresher on the practice of Lectio Divina. I have followed this practice on and off for several years, but this book applied the ideas and practice to a wide range of texts and also introduced ways of applying it to visual arts, music, nature, and our own life stories. The afterword says: ‘The whole world is, in fact, a text of sacred revelation. All experience has the potential to be revelatory, and God is singing one unending song seducing each of our hearts. So the call is to listen, to attune to the words God utters in the world.’
Every chapter has a suggested way of practising the ideas that have been discussed. If you are looking for a book that will give you practical help in refreshing your prayer life, or a book to take away on retreat, this would be a good start.”

Photo-Monique, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

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The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism

A Guide to Contemplative Spirituality By Carl McColman (Author) Aug 2023

Information from the Publisher, Broadleaf Books:

“This revised and expanded edition offers a big possibility: the hope of achieving real, experiential union with God.

‘The Christian of the future will be a mystic—or will not exist.’ This word of warning from theologian Karl Rahner was uttered half a century ago, and today, Christianity is indeed in crisis. Is mysticism necessary for the survival of Christianity? What exactly is Christian mysticism? How can it be relevant in our crisis-ridden world? Questions like these inspire The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, a newly updated edition from beloved spiritual teacher and bestselling author Carl McColman.

The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism serves as both introduction and practical instruction for a living contemplative practice today. In addition to the overview of mysticism, spiritual and prayer practices in mysticism, the various types of mysticism in Christian tradition, and influential mystics through the millennia, this second edition offers an embodied understanding of the mystic life with a more diverse range of voices and perspectives, from Howard Thurman to Pauli Murray. It also includes new chapters and themes that address embodied mysticism, contemplation and social justice, and the ongoing relevance of Jesus’s message of radical equality and inclusivity.

This bigger book introduces both Christians and non-Christians to the contemplative tradition within Christianity, a tradition that has often been marginalized or cloistered (to the church’s detriment). As a practice-oriented book, this is an invitation to embrace the mystical element within Christianity—a practice that can equip faithful persons with a joyful sense of divine intimacy, not just for personal benefit but as a foundation to a life of service and activism in the interest of justice.

McColman’s overview of mysticism shows how it has been practiced and lived through the centuries and will prove inspirational for today’s seekers, regardless of their faith tradition. At its heart, Christian mysticism is an ancient practice that incorporates meditation, contemplation, worship, philosophy, the quest for enlightenment, the thirst for a better world, and the experience of divine presence.”

“The mystic is not a special kind of person; every person is a special kind of mystic.” –William McNamara