Description
What you will find within the pages of this book is a unified, organic theology of the spiritual life—a theology of the relationship of love and intimacy that the Trinity desires to have with each one of us, from the seed of baptism to the culmination of spiritual marriage tasted in this life and consummated in the everlasting glory of heaven. Spiritual theology is the disciplined exploration of the way in which the objective truth of God and his self-revelation in Scripture and the living tradition and life of the Church (which is explored by systematic theology) is made present and active—enfleshed—in the life of individual persons and the believing community. It is rooted in the objective, in the union of faith and reason, of heart and life, in obedience to the God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and who, by his gift of grace, seeks to graft us into himself and to grant us a participation in his own life, and to spread this very life in us and through us also into all the world.
In this book have been gathered together substantial portions of my other writings exploring the many truths relating to the life of faith, prayer, and transformation in the love of God. And yet here they have been arranged in such a way—in a meaningful order and according to topic—such that hopefully the beauty of the reality of which they speak can radiate even more transparently and clearly than in their original context. These reflections deal with a range of topics from the most grounded of human experiences at the origin of our earthly existence to the highest of mystical transformation and union with the Trinity; they deal both with an exploration of the structure of our humanity and the inner faculties of our soul to an affirmation of the sacredness and sacramentality of our bodies; they deal with the ordering and healing of our emotions and the foundational “psychological” wholeness that is united to and a bedrock for spiritual wholeness; and they explore in depth the ontological, theological foundations on which all aspects of our life, bodily and spiritual, profane and sacred, ascetical and mystical, are founded: namely the mystery of God as Trinity and his redeeming and saving work within this world, perpetuated in his mystical Body the Church and guiding all things toward their fulfillment in the new creation.
In this respect, this book is meant to be something like a journey, or better, an aid and a companion in your own journey of faith, your own unique “romance” with God. What it lacks in systematization hopefully it makes up for in organic depth and interconnectedness, in transparency to the richness and abundance of the God whom we love and the faith which we profess. This at least has been my hope and my aim: to offer bits of wisdom, counsel, affirmation, correction, and inspiration for you along this rich, multifaceted way which is nonetheless profoundly simple, since the God who loves us and draws us to himself is simple, and he invites us to approach him as children, with lightheartedness, wonder, and the spirit of play which reflect the freedom of his own eternal life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This book is 812 densely packed pages of rich reflection and theological/contemplative exploration, so know what you are getting into before you order it. It is intended to nourish you for a long time! Here is a glance at the main parts of the table of contents (the section headings, not the individual reflections):
PART I: AT THE ORIGIN AND FOUNDATION
A. The Love That is Our Origin
B. Exploring the Original Experiences
PART II: THE MEETING OF GRACE AND NATURE: LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF REDEMPTION
A. Redeemed for Love
B. True Affirmation and the Healing of the Heart
PART III: PRAYER: THE HEART OF LIFE
A. Encountering His Love
B. Making Contact with God: The Spiritual Senses
C. Prayer: Longing and Joy
D. Light for the Way
E. True Responsiveness to Gift: Playfulness and Wonder
F. Exploring Sacramentality
PART IV: TRANSFORMED IN HIS LOVE
A. Bringing It All Together
B. Light in the Night
PART V: THE UNION OF LOVE
APPENDICES: VARIOUS TOPICS OF ENRICHMENT
Beauty, Culture, and Sacrament
The Evangelical Counsels for All
Emotional Healing and Authentic Beauty
Virginity, Chastity, and Marriage
END NOTES
