Customer Reviews

Prayer (English and French Edition)

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Abhishiktananda is the name adopted by the Benedictine priest Henri le Saux (1910-1973), who spend the last 25 years of his life in India practicing Christian prayer but with wisdom learned from Hinduism. His works have been out of print for a long while, but many - including this one -- have recently been made available again by MedioMedia press. And a valuable contribution that has been. One of the great religious events of the last century has been the religious dialogue between East and West, and Abhishiktananda has contributed greatly to that conversation. This book in particular is valuable because of the guidance it gives to individuals in learning and practicing prayer against the general background of the constant contemplation of God's presence. It will invite favorable comparison with Brother Lawrence. But it is especially valuable because of the insights the author has gleaned from the East and his own personal experience in Eastern prayer. He is particularly good in his opening pages about a common Christian, even a common human calling to silent prayer and contemplation. He very briefly reviews toward the end of the book various common forms of prayer offering his own brief but valuable reflections on each, and concludes with a special endorsement of namajapa, the prayer of the Name, the closest Christian equivalent of which is the Jesus prayer of Eastern Orthodoxy. The brevity of the book makes it concentrated and precious volume, which I highly recommend.

Prayer and contemplation described well, including warnings and pitfalls. Very simple, 63 pages. Nice annotations in the back of the book. You could read this in one or two sittings, but it bears reading over and over again, since it is so full of information.