The Shattering of Loneliness ebook reader
The experience of loneliness is as universal as hunger or thirst Because it affects us intimately we are less inclined to speak of it But who has not known its gnawing ache The fear of loneliness causes anguish It prompts reckless deeds To this every age has borne witness No voice is insidious than the one that whispers in our ear You are irredeemably alone no light will pierce your darkness The fundamental statement of Christianity is to convict that voice of lying The Christian condition unfolds within the certainty that ultimate reality the source of all that is is a personal reality of communion no metaphysical abstraction Men and women made in the image and likeness of God bear the mark of that original communion stamped on their being When our souls and bodies cry out for Another it is not a sign of sickness but of health A labour of potential joy is announced We are reminded of what we have it in us to become That our labour may be fruitful Scripture repeatedly exhorts us to remember The remembrance enjoined is partly introspective and existential partly historical for the God who took flesh to redeem our loneliness leaves traces in history This book examines six facets of Christian remembrance complementing biblical exegesis with readings from literature ancient and modern It aims to be an essay in theology At the same time it proposes a grounded reflection on what it means to be a human being The Shattering of Loneliness On Christian Remembrance Just a few days ago I was drawn to this book because I discovered through the internet the author I was moved by his smile and the fact that he is so young As a young monk and a young bishop I knew that I came across something important for my life even 1472953282 According to the author the purpose of the book is modest It chronicles an apprenticeship of remembrance I have structured it around six biblical commandments to remember commandments that to me have been beacons to navigate by I have endeavored to write from 1472953282 I picked up The Shattering of Loneliness on the recommendation of a priest on Twitter knew it was good for something Erik Varden who was a monk at the time though is now a bishop in his native Norway has written an interesting book that is difficult for me to 1472953282 Abbot Erik Varden ocso has gathered into prose and poetry a master teaching about God about our direct connect to creation and about satisfaction fulfilling desires A book leaves the reader wondering if it s good but an encounter leaves you into the whole of 1472953282 This is a very erudite book on remembering in the context of faith by a Trappist monk in an English abbey The author weaves together scripture liturgy poetry from Virgil to Rilke a playright art Eastern Christian spirituality and the story of St Mary of 1472953282
A fruit of meditative prayerful reflection that is so spiritually deep and culturally broad so scholarly informed and clearly communicated that one must read it carefully and attentively in order not only to savor it but also to be nourished by it In a word this book 1472953282
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