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Listen with the Heart Sacred Moments in Everyday Life
Listen with the Heart Sacred Moments in Everyday Life
There are moments in life that are either too numbing or too exhilarating, too sad or too exciting for us to absorb. Death and marriage, loss and victory can overwhelm us. There are times that are too emotionally demanding or, on the other hand, simply too common to comprehend: beauty in the midst of tragedy can leave us speechless; the most meaningful of routines can leave us untouched. Throughout the highs, lows, and in-between times we need to be carried beyond the immediacy of the moment to realize the deeper elements that underlie our lives.
Listen with the Heart is a profound and personal invitation to savor the sacred in everyday life. Drawing from her formation as a Benedictine sister and her international experience as a writer, speaker, and retreat leader, Sr. Joan Chittister connects the ancient wisdom of monasticism with the modern world. In each chapter she teaches us that rituals-those formal patterns of behavior that mark the crossover moments of time and make them sacred-can jolt the soul and wake us up to life. Through ritual, as Chittister reveals, not only are the moments of life celebrated, mourned, and noted, but also the sacred elements in experience are made real. Meditations on and examples of blessing, light, Lent, fasting, silence, prayer, naming, community, rituals, music, table fellowship, wisdom, the mystery of death, and the power of waiting equip readers to make the most of each and every day. Listen with the Heart is an invitation to all of us to seek the sacred, appreciate the ups, learn from the downs, and make the mundane meaningful again.
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Read an Excerpt
A good relationship, the soul of a friendship, rests on a number of qualities. It gives a sense of security–we know that we are not alone in life. It provides a consciousness of social belonging–we know that given this friend we now have a welcome place in the groups of which we are a part. It holds a reassurance of personal significance–we know that we are worthwhile because there is someone who thinks so when we ourselves doubt it most. It implies a promise of assistance–we know that if something happens to us someone, somewhere will wake to the sound of the phone, and will come to help us. It opens up the prospect of guidance–we know down deep that when we are confused there is someone who will help us thread our way through the maze. And it fulfills the need for nurturance–we look for someone who will help us to become, to grow.
Awards
2001 Catholic Press Association, Second Place Book Award