Inviting the Mystic Supporting the Prophet

Paul writes – Below is an excerpt from my book review of Inviting the Mystic Supporting the Prophet: An Introduction to Spiritual Direction by Katherine Dyckman & L. Patrick Carroll.

“Jesuit priest Peter Henriot importantly highlights, in his foreword, that ‘to be close to Jesus is to be moving out in service of others.’ He notes that the basic insight, around which Dyckman and Carroll write their book, ‘is that all prayer and spiritual direction is focused on response.’ They contend, he writes, ‘that authentic prayer leads the individual person to respond to Christ within their own contexts. ‘Each responds in a unique way, to unique situations in which he or she finds the Lord calling His people. But all respond outside themselves in service. Each mystic becomes a prophet,’ (p.x). ‘The knowledge of Jesus in his mission comes primarily from following him in his mission.’ Therefore the test of an authentic encounter with Jesus, within the context of prayer and spiritual direction, is always: what difference does prayer and spiritual direction make in my life of service? Is my faith alive with the works of justice and shalom?

…Faith is a journey, a verb, but more than that, “faith” is a relationship within which we are challenged too greater honesty and transparency, ‘to awareness of those areas of our lives where we hold back or refuse to face ourselves or to let others see us as we are…Real conversion (‘metanoia’) is centred on God; it results from a deeper turning toward [God’s-self] rather than a closer inspection of ourselves’ (p.9).

We are converted many times, ‘and this endless series of large and small conversions, inner revolutions, leads to our growth in Christ. Faith is really the readiness to enter more deeply into this process of letting God shape us, stretch us and lead us to new depths of trust, love and freedom, by changing our image of [God], of ourselves, and of reality…Everything is sold for the pearl of great price because God turns us around by the intense experience of love’ (p.10)…”

The full book review is attached below. 

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Comments

[Mark Berry]

Thanks for this... just ordered a copy!

[ron]

Hi Paul, Thanks for this...it's a definite add to my lengthy reading list. However this one might get moved to the top. looks like it might be a timely read considering the spiritual climate in the church these days. Pax...Ron+