Conversations: Meeting Our Forebearers in Faith

Rating:
Summary: Keeping up the conversation...
Review: The book 'Conversation: Meeting our Forebears in Faith' compiled by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild is a perfect companion for spiritual reading or lectio divina. It consists of 100 excerpts from writers, mystics, spiritual masters, poets and prophetic voices from the history of Christendom, from the early Church Fathers and Mothers down to the present day. Each has a one-page entry, perfect for short reading and reflection; however, the brevity of the selections does not minimise the power of the words - each selection is a powerful representative section not only of the author's words and spirit, but also of the general condition of humanity in search of enlightenment.

Among the early church voices are Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, Clare of Assisi, Hildegard and Benedict. Some later voices include Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Rahner, Oscar Romero and Paul Tillich. Poetic and literary voices include excerpts from William Blake, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers G.M. Hopkins. There are prophetic voices such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Florence Nightingale, voices from outside of Christendom such as Martin Buber, and academic voices such as John A.T. Robinson.

Each entry follows a standard format - a brief biographical introduction (the biography of a person essentially while standing on one foot), the excerpt from their writing, a scripture passage that relates to the subject of the reflection piece, and a brief prayer composed by the editors.

Ward and Wild were ecumenical in their inclusion, not only in terms of religious background, but also in terms of fame and 'vogue'; there are swings in the intellectual and faith life of the churches that put people from the past variously in and out of favour - in the current situation, Augustine, Tertullian and the traditional 'church fathers' seem to be less favoured, as other voices from the periphery of the past such as Aelred, Hildegard and Meister Eckhart seem to be enjoying a resurgence. Ward and Wild included people from all sides of the 'popularity contest', including many people who are little known, and even some positively disliked by church hierarchies, to let the fullness of the voices of the Christian past and present come together in this text.

As the editors say, it is not easy to genuinely listen to voices of the past generation, much less voices from the past centuries or millennia. These require an intentionality about the listening, the kind of reflective reading that lectio divina gives. While each of these passages could be easily read in the span of a few minutes, that would be to deny the true power of the words; to make the words incarnate as the Incarnate Word who inspired most of these offerings requires patience, diligence, and an open and honest listening ability not easily come by without cultivation.

This is an excellent resource for private devotion, or as the starting point for group reflection and meditation.

Rating:
Summary: Keeping up the conversation...
Review: The book `Conversation: Meeting our Forebears in Faith' compiled by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild is a perfect companion for spiritual reading or lectio divina. It consists of 100 excerpts from writers, mystics, spiritual masters, poets and prophetic voices from the history of Christendom, from the early Church Fathers and Mothers down to the present day. Each has a one-page entry, perfect for short reading and reflection; however, the brevity of the selections does not minimise the power of the words - each selection is a powerful representative section not only of the author's words and spirit, but also of the general condition of humanity in search of enlightenment.

Among the early church voices are Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, Clare of Assisi, Hildegard and Benedict. Some later voices include Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Rahner, Oscar Romero and Paul Tillich. Poetic and literary voices include excerpts from William Blake, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers G.M. Hopkins. There are prophetic voices such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Florence Nightingale, voices from outside of Christendom such as Martin Buber, and academic voices such as John A.T. Robinson.

Each entry follows a standard format - a brief biographical introduction (the biography of a person essentially while standing on one foot), the excerpt from their writing, a scripture passage that relates to the subject of the reflection piece, and a brief prayer composed by the editors.

Ward and Wild were ecumenical in their inclusion, not only in terms of religious background, but also in terms of fame and `vogue'; there are swings in the intellectual and faith life of the churches that put people from the past variously in and out of favour - in the current situation, Augustine, Tertullian and the traditional `church fathers' seem to be less favoured, as other voices from the periphery of the past such as Aelred, Hildegard and Meister Eckhart seem to be enjoying a resurgence. Ward and Wild included people from all sides of the `popularity contest', including many people who are little known, and even some positively disliked by church hierarchies, to let the fullness of the voices of the Christian past and present come together in this text.

As the editors say, it is not easy to genuinely listen to voices of the past generation, much less voices from the past centuries or millennia. These require an intentionality about the listening, the kind of reflective reading that lectio divina gives. While each of these passages could be easily read in the span of a few minutes, that would be to deny the true power of the words; to make the words incarnate as the Incarnate Word who inspired most of these offerings requires patience, diligence, and an open and honest listening ability not easily come by without cultivation.

This is an excellent resource for private devotion, or as the starting point for group reflection and meditation.