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Book
Reviews
Those of you who were readers of THE MIX, will
remember the excellent reviews which appeared each month on the back page.
“One of the authors of these reviews was Professor Tim O’Hearn.
Tim has generously agreed to continue with these reviews, the first three
of which appear below. Again we’ll all have a ready selection of
presents when Christmas and the birthdays of friends come around as well as a
personal guide as to what is worth reading”!
To read earlier book reviews click HERE
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Joan Chissiter, The
Breath of the Soul. Reflections on Prayer, Mulgrave, John
Garratt Publishing, IBSN: 9781920682057, 136 pages, $19.95 (cheaper
for Sophia members).
There is almost nothing
that Joan Chissiter writes that isn’t worth reading. This
Benedictine nun has a firm grasp of spirituality and writes so
simply and effectively that it is a pity that more people do not
know of her work. This particular small volume takes the focus on
the prayer life and does so in forty tqo small chapters. Some
headings give an indication of the central idea of the chapter:
self-knowledge; responsibility; change; routine; and constancy, to
name but a few. Each chapter is introduced with a brief saying, a
reflection of the significance of the title, often a brief story
that makes a telling point, a mantra to say and then an excerpt from
scripture. The ideas within the chapters are challenging and cause
one to take prayer seriously, however mundane and self-evident some
of them might seem. In a sense, that’s her point: prayer is allowing
us to be aware of God within us and that it isn’t to be confined to
some special location such as a church. Each chapter is a prayer in
itself and provides a central focus for reflection. This is a
valuable and very down to earth book for any person wanting to make
the most of even the briefest time that s/he allows for God on a
daily basis.
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