|
Back to WELCOME and INDEX |
Back to 1. WHAT WE DO |
Back to 1.7 PUBLICATIONS, NEWSLETTER, MAGAZINE |
|
|
Back to WELCOME and INDEX |
Back to 1. WHAT WE DO |
Back to 1.7 PUBLICATIONS, NEWSLETTER, MAGAZINE |
No 166 - 2003
7. Recommended Book
Street Wisdom: Connecting with God in Everyday Life. Albert Holtz OSB. Twenty-Third Publications. Mystic CT. £7. 99.
This recently published book is highly recommended for busy people living an intense urban life. The author is a Benedictine monk in a urban monastery, Newark Abbey, New Jersey. In his introduction he writes: "Every other day I step out of the front door of my monastery onto a busy sidewalk in downtown Newark, New Jersey, to go for a brisk stroll. During these one-hour periods the Lord often speaks to me in unexpected places and through some very unlikely people. The following chapters share some insights from these walks. Many of them reflect the wisdom of St Benedict of Nursia (480-540) whose Rule for Monks I follow as a Benedictine."
The first chapter entitled ‘A Muslim’s Prayer: The Driver’s Seat’ describes how Fr Albert was inspired by the contrast between the sight of a Muslim meditating in a busy street and cars racing along; and to question his own attitude to life and letting God take control. The next chapter is about a two-year old struggling with his mother to get his own way an image which challenged Fr Albert to examine the aspects of his own life which were akin to that of the two year old. Other chapters were written on the eve of the new Millennium, on the days after Sept. 11 2001, or reflect on a busy rush hour, on homeless people sleeping under bridges, on queuing outside an immigration office, on the posters at a performing arts centre and so on, all scenes such as one comes across daily in any town. Each chapter concludes with a suggested scripture passage to read and some pertinent questions to challenge the reader to reflect upon his or her own life.
Fr Albert analyses each situation though the lens which he calls ‘mastery or intimacy’. ‘Mastery’ can be defined as the tendency to do it alone, without God; ‘intimacy’, as allowing God to be in control. As each chapter is only three of four pages long, and the text is broken up with some delightful drawings; even the busiest person could read a chapter a day. Fr Albert says : "My hope is that this little book’s unusual interplay of traditional monastic wisdom and the everyday bustle of city life will offer some useful insights for any modern Christian reader who is trying to recognise and resist the lure of mastery".”
Index
Fr Wilfrid Sollom 1926 - 2003 - Obituary
Fr Wilfrid Sollom - Personal Tributes
The Abbey of Saints Adrian and Denis, Lamspringe, Germany by Abbot Geoffrey Scott
Spirituality in the Workplace by David Westcott
From The Douai Magazine 100 Years Ago
Douai Abbey Newsletter 19 including Community Notes
Go to index of Douai Newsletter.