Days of Grace: Meditation and Practices for Living With Illness [Paperback]

Mary C. Earle (Author), Phyllis Tickle (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2009

Using the metaphor of pilgrimage, this book invites readers to reflect on living with illness. The heart of the book is a collection of thirty meditations, followed by a reflection, a short prayer, and a suggested spiritual practice. The meditations voice the difficulties and the challenges of living with illness, and call the reader toward a deepening understanding, compassion and generosity. While the meditations intend to offer comfort, they are also written from the conviction that God invites us to grow even in these circumstances. When living with chronic, terminal, or progressive illness, discovering a way to pray can be quite a challenge. These thirty meditations provide a welcome means with practices inspired by the psalms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This rich, wise, and comforting guide for those living with illness is a handbook of deep knowledge gleaned through lived experience. It is a blend of realism and humility, of questions and mystery - all delivered with Mary's simple yet elegant style. She unmasks many illusions and reminds us that though our lives are `short and uncertain,' there is unfathomable power each time we realize that we have another day." --Paula D'Arcy, author of Gift of the Red Bird and Waking Up to This Day (2009)

Review

"Mary Earle knows that life is gift. Her words call us to the way of gratitude. Mary Earle also knows that life is gift shrouded in pain. Her words call us to the journey of grace. Both are essential. In Days of Grace Mary Earle wisely weaves them as one."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819223646
• ISBN-13: 978-0819223647
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 3.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #497,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Rev. Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, writer, retreat leader and spiritual director, who taught classes in spirituality for the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin until her recent retirement. A resident of San Antonio, Mary is also the Author-in-Residence at The Work+Shop, a ministry in partnership with St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Her most recently published book, Days of Grace: Meditations and Practices for Living with Illness, is also available as an audio CD. Currently she is working on a new book titled The Celtic Christian Tradition: Essential Writings for SkyLight Paths Publishing. She has also authored The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Illness, and Broken Body, Healing Spirit: Lectio Divina and Living with Illness. With Sylvia Maddox, she co-authored Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints. Mary regularly teaches in a variety of settings in San Antonio, and online for the Seminary of the Southwest. As a member of the leadership team, she participated in the first ecumenical silent retreat at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. Mary and her husband Doug, also an Episcopal priest, live with three border collies and two cats, and enjoy growing organic vegetables. Their son Jason lives in New York and is a professor of French.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart Medicine, November 29, 2009

By 

T. D. Cauthorn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Days of Grace: Meditation and Practices for Living With Illness (Paperback)

Early in the mornings (most days), I make toast and coffee, feed my cat and then sit in a comfortable red chair, often with a throw, partake of "bread and wine" and give thanks to God that I have been given the gift of life. My mind wanders the world of people and events and sometimes places.

Part of my routine for the last three months has been to read a daily meditation from Mary Earle's aptly named book, Days of Grace. The meditations are grounded in how life is rather than how I so often desire it to be. I have been struck by the creative way Mary has painted practices in response to events that could embitter or crush. I have been enabled to see God's presence in my own life when, instead, I could have dwelled where God was not. Can there be any place where God is not? I find that as I live with Days of Grace my heart is being softened.

Do I recommend Days of Grace? Oh, yes, yes, yes!