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In this imaginative and rich prayer resource, words and images come together powerfully to create a versatile collection of contemporary liturgies. They have previously made an impact at Greenbelt, where the authors have created a 'sanctuary space' for reflective prayer using this material. The icon-like images of hands are inspired by biblical figures and sequences: Angel hands invite us to explore our calling to bring God's word into today's world,the hands of the Magi bearing gifts enable us to discern our own giftedness,Christ's hands as he faces his own death invite us to recognise the reality of living and dying and repair our relationships,a jester's hands celebrates the liberating effects of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.Fresh and strikingly relevant, these liturgies can be used for alternative worship, by individuals, prayer groups, by retreat and quiet day leaders looking for new material. In each liturgy there is a mono thumbnail of the image, which links to the CD colour images that can be projected on to a wall or printed for individual use.
Biblical Foundations of Spirituality offers seekers guidance on what to read, how to read, and why to read the Bible as a source of spiritual nourishment. Informed by the latest scholarship, this book makes the Bible more intelligible and "user friendly" for contemporary audiences by stressing the spiritual dimension of the search for God evident in our biblical ancestors and showing how the Bible can be a friend and companion in our search for God today.
Oliver's study is rigorous and detailed but contemplative in its approach, examining the larger meanings of mankind's first adventures in "the heavens."
All the human senses become engaged in ritualizing sacred texts. These essays focus especially on ritualizing the iconic dimension of texts through the senses of sight, touch, kiss, and taste, both directly and in the imagination. Ritualized display of books engages the sense of sight very differently than does reading. Touching gets associated with reading scriptures, but touching also enables using the scripture as an amulet. Eating and consuming texts is a ubiquitous analogy for internalizing the contents of texts by reading and memorization. The idea of textual consumption reflects a widespread tendency to equate humans and written texts by their interiority and exteriority: books and people both have material bodies, yet both seem to contain immaterial ideas. Books thus physically incarnate cultural and religious values, doctrines, beliefs, and ideas. These essays bring theories of comparative scriptures and affect theory to bear on the topic as well as rich ethnographic descriptions of scriptural practices with Jewish, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and modern art and historical accounts of changing practices with sacred texts in ancient and medieval China and Korea, and in ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures.
This book addresses the history of the senses in relation to affective piety and its role in devotional practices in the late Middle Ages, focusing on the sense of touch. It argues that only by deeply analysing this specific context of perception can the full significance of sensory religious experience in the Late Middle Ages be understood. Considering the centrality of the body to medieval society and Christianity, this collection explores a range of devotional practices, mainly relating to the Passion of Christ, and features manuscripts, works of devotional literature, art, woodcuts and judicial records. It brings together a multidisciplinary group of scholars to offer a variety of methodological approaches, in order to understand how touch was encoded, evoked and purposefully used. The book further considers how touch was related to the medieval theory of perception, examining its relation to the inner and outer senses through the eyes of visionaries, mystics, theologians and confessors, not only as praxis but from different theoretical points of view. While considered the most basic of spiritual experience, the chapters in this book highlight the all-pervasive presence of touch and the significance of ‘affective piety’ to Late Medieval Christians. Chapter 3: Drama, Performance and Touch in the Medieval Convent and Beyond is Open Access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com
Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of spiritual disciplines, Ruth Haley Barton takes you more deeply into understanding seven key spiritual disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life.
What better gift could Our Lady have given us than the Rosary? The Rosary is Sacred Braille in that it is a miraculous juxtaposition of a language of prayer we can feel with our hands, joining word to touch. It is the Rosary to which our fingers may cling, as our flesh craves something tangible. The decades of the Rosary can be thought about, and, quite literally, felt, at the same time. While contemporary society separates the idea of "thinking" and "feeling," Scripture unites all functions in the heart. If we meditate on the words, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart," (Lk 2:19) the thinking and feeling functions are joined. The Rosary, through engaging both thought and touch, unites our spiritual and physical natures; our thinking and feeling faculties.
Sacred Pathways reveals nine distinct spiritual temperaments--and their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies--to help you improve your spiritual life and deepen your personal walk with God. It's time to strip away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and discover a path of worship that frees you to be you. Experienced spiritual directors, pastors, and church leaders recognize that all of us engage with God differently, and it's about time we do too. In this updated and expanded edition of Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas details nine spiritual temperaments and--like the Enneagram and other tools do with personality--encourages you to investigate the ways you most naturally express yourself in your relationship with God. He encourages you to dig into the traits, strengths, and pitfalls in your devotional approach so you can eliminate the barriers that keep you locked into rigid methods of worship and praise. Plus, as you begin to identify and understand your own temperament, you'll soon learn about the temperaments that aren't necessarily "you" but that may help you understand the spiritual tendencies of friends, family, and others around you. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it's not by accident. It's by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique intentions. If your spiritual walk is not what you'd like it to be, you can change that, starting here. Sacred Pathways will show you the route you were made to travel, marked by growth and filled with the riches of a close walk with God. A Sacred Pathways video Bible study is also available for group or individual use, sold separately.
A guide to the history and modern practice of transformative Christianity • Reveals the original tantric wisdom of Jesus and the early Church and its resonance with the tantric yogas of India and Tibet • Explains how tantric Christianity views the human body as the primary “temple” of the Holy and erotic energy as the signature of indwelling Divine Presence • Provides step-by-step instructions for a series of Christian tantric practices, including a partnered sexual practice, mantra and energy work, eye gazing, and work with icons Unbeknownst to many, the original Christian spirituality as practiced in the early church and by Jesus himself was a tantric spirituality. In the West, Tantra often evokes images of arcane rituals or acrobatic sexual positions, while in reality Tantra is a holistic transformative path of life, love, and being--grounded in practice. Offering a new understanding of Jesus as guru and master of left-handed Tantra, James Reho, an Episcopal priest and tantric initiate, reframes the Christian story and restores to modern Christianity the tantric wisdom practices that were edited out of church tradition and forgotten over the centuries. He explains how tantric Christianity views the human body as the primary “temple” of the Holy, with erotic energy as the signature of Divine Presence within. Rev. Reho reveals the similarities of the earliest Christian practices to the tantric yogas of India and Tibet and explores the role of Kundalini and the chakras. He details how to work with mantras, icons, and pranayama breathing exercises, as well as with gazing as a spiritual practice. Informed by the insights of ancient texts and early masters of Christian spirituality, the author provides step-by-step instructions on how to practice Christian tantric sex with a life-partner of the opposite or same sex. Rev. Reho reveals how these heart-opening practices are rooted in eros, the life of deep desire, expressive of God’s grace within us, and are still alive in monastic practices in the Christian East. Integrating his personal spiritual experiences, years of study of ancient Christian mysticism, and an expertise in yoga and tantra, the author shows how we can re-engage the original truths of the early church to affirm the body as a holy vehicle and to utilize the energy of the erotic to achieve ecstatic union with the Divine.
What does it mean to be a holy person? The answer might surprise you. This delightful yet challenging book from spiritual director Albert Haase provides practical wisdom for becoming holy--right in the midst of "ordinary" life. With brief, engaging chapters that include a few reflection questions, this book is designed to fit into our full lives.