God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us [Paperback]

John Kirvan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1999

Bestselling author John Kirvan understands the spiritual hunger of people forced to survive on scraps of childhood religion and greeting-card wisdom. He understands because he was hungry. His friends were hungry. Instead of starving to death, however, Kirvan created a spiritual feast in God Hunger, sharing what the great mystics sought and found -- a direct, love-driven way of knowing God.

Kirvan explores the lives and writings of ten great spiritual teachers from the 4th century to today, going far beyond the ephemeral religious fashions that flit in and out of modern popular culture, explaining the techniques they used to hear the movements of God within. With 50 meditations and prayers, God Hunger builds on the words and wisdom of the mystics -- from Gregory of Nyssa to Thomas Merton, and Kabbalah to C.S. Lewis -- sending us on our own personal quest toward God.

Prepare to be shocked. Prepare for spiritual risks. Even the most seasoned spiritual traveler will be surprised when and where they discover God. Kirvan emphasizes, however, that the journey has no bargain rates or shortcuts. Faith is a lifelong commitment, not a passing fad, an emotional pilgrimage that requires inspired devotion in an era when we have been offered so much and often settle for so little.

Combining the best of Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions, God Hunger keeps us honest, humble, focused on the search and joyful in the discovery of a nourishing spiritual life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

At the root of all our longing is a profound hunger for God. It's a hunger that can't be satisfied with feel-good recipes or pious platitudes. It is, in reality, the same hunger that has for centuries motivated the world's great spiritual teachers, a hunger only God can fill.

Here is a book that takes this God hunger seriously by providing 50 challenging experiences for the soul built around the core spiritual insights of ten great Western mystics (Christian, Jewish, and Islamic).

Crossing centuries and traditions, it takes the searcher on a journey of discovery of the very best that Western spirituality has to offer. It leads the reader on an accessible path from the Islamic poet Rumi in the 13th century to the monk an mystic Thomas Merton in the 20th, from Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century to the Kaballah in the 12th, and on to C.S. Lewis and Evelyn Underhill, mystics of our time.

About the Author

Born in 1932, John Kirvan grew up in near poverty in a small Canadian town where his father earned six dollars a week as a truck driver. Flying through eight grades in six years, Kirvan spent his teenage years writing newspaper columns about Big Bands and the birth of jazz -- all the while working in a barbershop frequently raided as a bookie joint.

Never graduating from high school, Kirvan entered the seminary and managed to get an M.A. in religious studies and an M.S. in Library Science at the Catholic University of America. While at the University, he started a publishing agency -- the Paulist Writers Bureau.

Ordained in 1958, Kirvan became a seminary professor and began to write about theology and the arts in his spare time. That hobby led to regular appearances on NBC's "Catholic Hour," and a program called "Religion and the Arts."

A chaplain at Wayne State University in Detroit from 1963-1968, Kirvan was a leader for students who added religious restlessness to their political concerns. In between entertaining the FBI, who raided his campus facility every time he changed the locks, Kirvan wrote about his experience with his students in the bestselling book Restless Believers.

In 1974 Kirvan left the priesthood to devote his energies to all aspects of publishing, working with his own company and later with Winston Press and C.R. Gibson.

In the 1980s, Kirvan took a break from the publishing business to run a California art gallery specializing in glass and ceramics. Calling this period "the most important in my life," Kirvan was finally able to separate the spiritual needs of ordinary folks from institutional agendas. Growing intensely aware of the enormous spiritual hunger that had become part of a generation that knew much about pain and suffering, death and dying, Kirvan developed a dozen books on the mystics in the series 30 Days With a Great Spiritual Teacher.

Currently, Kirvan is the director of product development for SORIN BOOKS. He lives in southern California.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sorin Books (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893732037
• ISBN-13: 978-1893732032
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #702,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IA thoughtful companion to prayer., October 28, 1999

By 

Julie Paul-Donati ([e-mail]) (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us (Paperback)

A nicely articulated book that will accompany you on a search for contemplation in the world. Quoting from such greats as Thomas Merton and Hildegard of Bingen, it will enlighten your journey. A nice gift as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharing God Hunger, January 9, 2007

By 

Sharon Cavanaugh - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us (Paperback)

I purchased God Hunger, by John Kirvan as a gift for a spiritual friend, as I have a copy myself. Obviously, I love the book, or I wouldn't have given it to my friend. I rarely read a book twice, but I keep God Hunger with my Bible and other special books for inspirational reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorites, April 6, 2009

By 

L. Mullen "reader" (Iowa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us (Paperback)

This was my first introduction to the series by Jon Kirvan. It is still my favorite. Excellent for introductions to some of the world's greatest mystics with wonderful reflections and prayers. Beautiful for personal spiritual growth or for use with a group of like-minded spiritual journeyers.