Customer Reviews

Holy Work : Be Love. Be Blessed. Be a Blessing.

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In this most recent expression of her own lively faith and personal spirituality, undergirded by her profound understanding and simplicity of heart, Marsha Sinetar gently influences us with her beautifully persuasive mentoring spirit.

Through the course of fifty-two weeks we are guided by fresh and soul- provoking insights into our own faith and spirituality, by pertinent Scripture passages which unveil ever new and challenging meanings, and by eminently simple yet profoundly practical spiritual exercises, well within the grasp of any serious reader. The goal of spirituality towards which Sinetar's Holy Work leads us is solidly grounded in our mutual call to holiness, to being holy, to holy work.

What an affirmation of the actuality and benignity of Divine Providence, that our God has called each and every one of us to the great dignity of seeking and actually deepening our sharing in the divine holy activity (work) itself!

From Sinetar, we learn in our hearts what we may - or may not - know in our heads: that our God beckons us to live our individually unique and personal vocation to spirituality, our holy work. It is our vocation to the spiritual life, more accurately called the `life of the Spirit', and this is nothing less than the very Holy Spirit of God working within us. By our sharing in this holy work we become love, become blessed, and become a blessing - not only in and for ourselves, but in and for all others, themselves the work of God's creative holiness and love.

Alas, so many seem to be deficient in, yet profoundly yearning for, that genuine spirituality which transcends, but neither denies nor belittles, our physical/material humanity. Living as what we are, the People of God, we are deeply indebted to Sinetar for this Holy Work of hers, for she mentors us all towards living daily, weekly, and always more authentically, our common and communal holy work, our vocation to spirituality.

Professor Emeritus of Theological Ethics, Toronto, Canada.

In my retirement years I have done much traveling and exploring alone. To be among God's wonders of nature, along with the the helpful inspirations in Holy Work, I appreciate myself more and God as my friend. Thank you, Ms. Sinetar.

A practical day by day set of inspired exercises to enhance one's important spritual work--within-- and in community with other spiritual beings.

Holy Work should be subtitled "A Guide For Spiritual Emergencies - Open at Random."

A friend phoned me about Holy Work to say, "The introduction is profound. Wow. I was in the doledrums about my upcoming retirement and the first exercise uplifted me. Thoroughly motivating." This book offers 52 weekly meditations, but I'd read it straight through first then double back to the weekly meditations. Like Week 4 seems meant for all of us ultra-strivers, who push and bully ourselves. Sinetar asks us to consider whether we're "driven or summoned forth", and adds,"Beware the brutal, impolite driver".A perfect idea to ponder for all us perfectionists. The entire 3rd section sort of "moves" the attention to the positive, puts the focus on what's working -- neat. I'll give as Christmas gifts and use it myself it at the start of each year (like January 1 to Jan. 1). Each weekly exercise asks you to ponder issues like your ability to contribute, be kind to others when stressed out, and provides a simple "to do" list for putting those high ideals into practical action. Holy Work seems designed to help readers practice what they value.

Marsha Sinetar's early work will always be her best. In the early days, as a self-styled seeker of what is good, elegant (Elegant Choices, Healing Choices), and mystical (Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics), Sinetar brought to life the beauty of the process of becoming whole. She didn't choose to define it or encourage anyone toward the process, but only to describe the various roads to wholeness for those who may choose introspection as a lifestyle that might take one closer to self-actualization.

In this book, she has moved to preaching. Although in earlier works, Sinetar's Christian leanings were obvious, they were easy to pass over if the reader was not Christian. In fact, Sinetar's earlier mentions of Christian thought were so abstract they easily could be applied to any religious or even non-religious meaning. She was talking about spirituality.

Holy Work springs from the mind of a full blown, "pass on the good word," Christian who is bent on saving others. Like many very intelligent people who think deeply about spirituality, Sinetar falters when she reaches the stage of preaching. Her words become inexpressive and her thoughts devolve into rambling platitudes. It seems Sinetar has taken her own advice on "truth telling" despite the consequences and crafted a series of lessons for readers to make their ordinary lives and tribulations in to "vocations" and "holy work." Only her most devoted Christian readers could put up with these ramblings that seem to go against the very grain of her previous exhortations that self-actualization, indeed, is a highly individualized process. It seems she's now sharing her own road, despite her earlier admonitions to readers not to seek a "professional" opinion to justify one's own. Unfortunately, here Sinetar is preaching to the already converted since, without a background in Christian thought, no one could follow her on this road.

The true and great sadness about this book is its preaching format and inelegant meditations, which deliver more confusion than enlightenment. Better to read Glenn Clark's "I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes" if you want a beautiful and inspiring read on how to let go of your burdens into the hands of God. You cannot avoid the Christianity in Clark either, but, as a minister who walked the walk and talked the talk of deep Christian faith by touching the lives of so many, at least you come away uplifted and with a sense of beauty, a heightened faith, a renewed spirit, and lessons in a process that works.

Holy Work by Marsha Sinetar tells us how to go about our careers with a sense of divine purpose and spiritual perspective. If we do this, our work becomes a vocation, something we contribute to the good of others.

A friend phoned me about Holy Work to say, "The introduction is profound. Wow. I was in the doledrums about my upcoming retirement and the first exercise uplifted me. Thoroughly motivating." This book offers 52 weekly meditations, but I'd read it straight through first then double back to the weekly meditations. Like Week 4 seems meant for all of us ultra-strivers, who push and bully ourselves. Sinetar asks us to consider whether we're "driven or summoned forth", and adds,"Beware the brutal, impolite driver".A perfect idea to ponder for all us perfectionists. The entire 3rd section sort of "moves" the attention to the positive, puts the focus on what's working -- neat. I'll give as Christmas gifts and use it myself it at the start of each year (like January 1 to Jan. 1). Each weekly exercise asks you to ponder issues like your ability to contribute, be kind to others when stressed out, and provides a simple "to do" list for putting those high ideals into practical action. Holy Work seems designed to help readers practice what they value.