Crossing: Reclaiming the Landscape of Our Lives [Paperback]

Mark Barrett (Author), Phyllis Tickle (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

In the search to discover and deepen our spirituality, the monastic liturgy of the divine hours -- prayers said at specific times of the day -- helps us to reclaim the landscape of human living. In Crossing, Mark Barrett focuses on five of the monastic hours, illuminating the spiritual journey we must take and the choices we must make:
-- Vigils reflects on the edges of the day, and our own difficulty in choosing to begin the journey.
-- Lauds (morning prayer) speaks of that moment when we glimpse our path and launch forth in excitement.
-- Midday Prayer is the time between the innocence of morning and the experience of afternoon, the crossroads of our spiritual journey.
-- Vespers invites us to look backward, and review our life.
-- Compline, or night prayer, is the time for letting go, a time for remembering the reality of death, lest we forget to live in the first place.

Full of humor and eloquently written, Crossing points to a way for us to bring faith and human experience together again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This beautiful book on the Benedictine tradition of praying the Divine Hours presents the daily office as a regular cycle of birth and death. The pre-dawn office of vigils, for which monks stumble to find their places in the dark, represents both the miracle of resurrection and the mundane reality that fixed-hour prayer is work. British monk Barrett prays that he might "want to want to pray," acknowledging that at some core part of his being he does not want God in his life at all particularly before dawn. The rest of the book is peppered with the same frankness and theological insight. As Barrett walks readers through the cycle of a monastic day, he draws upon writers such as W.H. Auden, Dante Alighieri, William Blake, James Joyce and, of course, St. Benedict. He also culls fascinating examples from commercial art films such as American Beauty and The Talented Mr. Ripley. He's not afraid to venture into shadow; he compares midday prayer, for example, to a labyrinth a place where experiences repeat, patterns are formed and things can go awry. The closing chapters beautifully address the traditions of vespers and compline (night prayer), which he calls a service of "dispossession." Far from being a sentimental or relaxing nightcap before slipping off into sleep, compline is at its heart "a reminder of the mystery of death that awaits us all." Bold, intelligent and uncompromising, this sensual primer on monastic spirituality should have broad appeal.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Bold, intelligent and uncompromising, this sensual primer on monastic spirituality should have broad appeal." -- Publishers Weekly, Feb.2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819218995
• ISBN-13: 978-0819218995
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,945,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lesson in the nature of spirituality, June 5, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing: Reclaiming the Landscape of Our Lives (Paperback)

Mark Barrett's Crossing: Reclaiming The Landscape Of Our Lives is a powerful treastis written especially for those who believe in God, yet struggle to understand the sad Mysteries that chronically perplex humanity. A moving, personal testimony of the author's experiences, wisdom, and faith, Crossing is a lesson in the nature of spirituality and a most thought-provoking read which is confidently recommended for Christians of all denominational backgrounds.