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Shrines of the Saints in England and Wales

Nov 22, 2020 | 2016 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2016

Shrines of the Saints
in England and Wales

Author Michael Tavinor
Publisher Canterbury Press £19.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781848258426 (2016)

In the first part of his book Tavinor explores the history of the major shrines of medieval times, their influence on the life and spirituality of abbeys and cathedrals, and their destruction in the sixteenth century. Tavinor devotes the second part to the fate of the shrines post-Reformation and to their revival and restoration from the nineteenth century onwards as the Church of England rediscovered the lives of the saints. Cathedrals have thus become central once again to the mission of the church, attracting large numbers of ordinary people, who seek comfort, encouragement and a focus for prayer by visiting a holy place. In a postscript, surveys conducted at three restored shrines demonstrate how shrines are used today, and there is a helpful bibliography for those wishing to know more. This book reminds us that places associated with the saints are important as an aid to devotion. It may also inspire Readers in their work of energising the faith of others.

GLORIA CADMAN

History, Pilgrimage

 

Three Mountains to Freedom

Nov 22, 2020 | 2016 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2016

Three Mountains
to Freedom

Author John Dudley Davies
Publisher Deo Publishing £18.95
Format pbk
ISBN 9781905679355 (2016)

‘You can judge a book by its cover’ so the saying goes. While trying not to do that, I do like a cover to give me a clue what the book is about and that feature is lacking in this otherwise useful book. The back cover notes help by telling me the book is about Galatians but makes no reference to the meaning of the phrase ‘Practice Interpretation’ which appears there. I found the answer in the introduction, and from thereon I began to grasp the author’s intention. There are lots of illustrations – many taken from the author’s experiences in Wales and South Africa, and a fast moving and engaging narrative. Questions at the end of each chapter, together with themes for thanksgiving and prayer are useful to study groups but they are of equal value for use in private study. Would I buy it? Knowing what lies within the covers, most definitely ‘yes’ but for me, this book’s cover lets it down.

CHRIS BRACEGIRDLE

New Testament Analysis

 

Thomas Merton, Peacemaker

Nov 22, 2020 | 2016 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2016

Thomas Merton, Peacemaker

Author John Dear
Publisher Orbis/Alban Books £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781626981072

The author of these ‘Meditations on Merton, peacemaking and the Spiritual Life’ is himself a committed worker for peace. This comes out strongly in his choice of extracts from Merton’s letters and journal entries, as well as his own comments on Merton’s life and views. Consequently, it offers a rather different stance from Merton’s earlier autobiographical writing in The Seven Storey Mountain: the stress in Dear’s book is on Merton’s choice not to fight in the war and subsequent desire for ‘nonviolence’ – a word repeated to an almost annoying degree throughout. The book is presented as a series of twenty-seven meditations, an interesting format. I found the earlier ones rather repetitive; the later ones were much more effective in provoking thought and empathy with the views expressed. It is, however, a book of interest that illuminates the spiritual life of a peacemaker.

MARGARET TINSLEY

Spirituality, Biography

 

Just Mission: Practical Politics for Local Churches

Nov 22, 2020 | 2016 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2016

Just Mission: Practical Politics for Local Churches

Author Helen Cameron
Publisher SCM Press £19.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334052296

There are clearly two approaches (at least) to tackling injustice in our society. One is the large-scale attack on the systemic failings that lead to inequality and poverty, which we might believe should be the focus of the national church, e.g. through the presence of Bishops in the House of Lords; the other is the local – which is the focus of Cameron’s helpful and thought-provoking book. She offers practical advice on how to understand what is happening and then what to do about it. In that sense her book might be what you need if your church is already embroiled in dealing with an issue for your community. But the book is also designed to help people recognise sources of injustice before too much damage has been done, and to raise awareness of effective routes to action so that valuable time and energies are not wasted on remedial measures that are never going to work.

Cameron’s book can also be used as a study guide for churches who have not yet ventured into the stormy seas of local action and who wish to prepare themselves for the fray, or who are interested and have not yet focused their thinking on any one particular issue. The text is sprinkled with references to other helpful resources, including websites and organisations.

MARION GRAY

Mission, Social Policy

 

Contemplative Prayer: A New Framework

Nov 22, 2020 | 2016 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2016

Contemplative Prayer:
A New Framework

Author Dom David Foster
Publisher Bloomsbury/Continuum
£12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781408187104

This is a thoughtful, rewarding book which explores a way of prayer where an awareness of God’s presence is cultivated through stillness and silence. Foster approaches his subject philosophically. The book contains short readings of Nietzsche and Heidegger, both of whom, in their different ways, grappled with the subjectivity of human experience and how the individual faces their own frailty and vulnerability. Both philosophers sought to answer the subjectivity of human existence without the resources of traditional faith. In contrast, Foster argues, contemplative prayer makes us aware of our limitations and subjectivity in the light of God. Prayer which is a deep listening to God rather than, say, a talking to God, brings us to a place of threshold and limit; a place of creative mystery where we wait upon God’s initiative instead of our own.

Foster also draws on Wittgenstein, in considering prayer; a philosopher who highlighted the provisional and limited nature of language and indicated the places where language must give way to silence. Foster is good at drawing out the ways contemplative prayer can inform our lives. Prayer which practices a listening to God enriches our capacity to listen to others. A prayer which restrains our own wills and emotions and thoughts allows us to deepen habits of selflessness as we follow Christ. This book will help anyone who wishes to develop ways of prayer built around a loving listening to God in silence.

BEN BROWN

Prayer, Philosophy

 

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