Lord Jesus, you are the rising Sun,
the first fruits of the future resurrection;
grant that we may not sit in the shadow of death
but walk in the light of life.
Roman Liturgy of the Hours
Opening to God: A Guide to Prayer
Author: Thomas H. Green
Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2006)
Binding: Paperback, 126 pages
Is it available?:
Yes (2 votes)
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Review of Opening to God
This is a very easy book to read but by no means a easy book to follow. Although it says that it is a beginner's book, it is suitable for all in different level of spirituality. It provides a very important insight to prayer that is required for a relationship to God.
I think many of us after reading this would realize we need more time to work on our spiritual life. If you need something more advance, the next book in the series is "When the well runs dry". And even more advance is "Drinking from the dry well/ Darkness in the marketplace".
This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections. - St. Augustine.
Good book and yet..
This is a wonderful book by Fr. Thomas Green SJ on the theme of prayer. It seems to be his first book. It speaks about what prayer is all about, is prayer something relevant for a lay people with their hectic and busy schedule? How can one start to pray? How can one moves on beyond the "beginning".
The book is marked with the author familiarity with the spirituality of the Jesuits as well as the Carmelites. He took a lot from both the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola as well as St. John of the Cross and St. Therese Avila. One of his favorite quote about prayer is from St. Therese Avila, "What important about prayer is not to think much, but ..." You can read the whole sentence in this book :)
After defining what prayer is all about, he continutes to speak how one can "open" himself to God and to experience that encounter with God. He stresses that "quitening" and "meditation" or "contemplation" are two important steps, especially for beginners.
In the quitening part, however, one should be careful to read what he spoke there. Besides some christians method for quitening, he discussed about zen and Yoga. However, the vatican has come out with a warning on these two and considered it as new age. You can read more on the vatican document at this page:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents...
Despite the part about zen and yoga, I found the book can help many to start praying. It really shows that God is the master, and prayer is really about a life time relationship with the Lord. At the end, praying it self is not just about saying something or listening, but it moves someone to change, and to act, in a word, to love.