Customer Reviews

Silence on Fire: Prayer of Awareness

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My confessor(priest)gave me a copy after confession. I read it, got my own copy, and gave him back his. This book gave me "the philosophy" in ways no other reads ever gave me. The difficult part of writing a book on contemplative prayer and life is that you have to capture the un-capturable and write about the un-writable.

The book is sprinkled with anecdotes and stories that helped me gain insight into the philosophy and objectives (if you can say it has an objective). It contrasts Western versus Eastern thinking and how our driven culture stands in the way of living a contemplative life. This helped me drastically in my Christian walk.

I am a lay person, uneducated in spiritual writing, but to the sincere I can assure you that this little book will ROCK YOUR WORLD! Father Shannon uses the theme "I will walk in the presence of God in the land of the living". I had always thought that referred to the land of the Living God (i.e. someplace else- from where I am!) The author assures us that we are in the land of the living, that the desire to seek God comes from God loving us! The desire comes from God and with our assent returns to God. Fr. Shannon moves the reader gently along a path of realization from I exist because God loves me to I am a member of the Mystical body of Christ and God loves me as a son, to God is the hidden ground of love and there is a great silence in the world that burns with His love - with Himself! Jesus said"I have come to destroy the world by fire" -Fr. Shannon lifts the curtain and lets you see...The Fire!!! (FR. Shannon if you read this review -please forgive any inaccuracies - I am a fan!)

I have read a dozen books on Christocentric meditation, but this one is the best! If you want a rewarding spiritual life, not one that grows stale through mindless tradition or current fad, read this book!

Reading Silence on Fire is not an academic exercise. It is akin to having an intimate conversation with an exceedingly wise, caring, and candid spiritual adviser whose profound teachings will meaningfully change our lives.

Father Shannon eloquently and patiently guides readers to deep insights concerning meditation, Awareness, Love, and God. He writes brilliantly about these subjects, with such clarity and understanding, that his warmth and Love of God literally seem to permeate the pages. This exceptional book is a timeless treasure for everyone, no matter what philosophy or religion we embrace, Western or Eastern, as the underlying message is Love and Joy for all humanity.

Be forewarned that after you read Silence on Fire, you will want to devour every book that Father Shannon has authored and, thankfully(!), he is a prolific writer.

"Silence on Fire" is perhaps the most accurate explanation of the contemplative experience and what it means of any book.

Shannon makes it clear that we are all in God, and we are full of the Holy Spirit - whether we know it or not. And he offers readers a chance to awaken to that reality. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about contemplative prayer, centering prayer or meditative prayer.

The chapter titles give a sense of what he is talking about: "Living in the Presence of God," "Experiencing the Joy of God's Presence," "From Awareness of God to Awareness of People," "Helps to Awareness: Letting Go, Waiting, Accepting" and "Who Am I? My Search for the True Me."

Shannon is known as a scholar of Thomas Merton, and he references some of Merton's work, but much of this is original and fresh.

This is an entrance into a new world, and the essence of Christianity.

A reliable and excellent book. It helps the everyday person realize that deep relationship with God is everyone's call. Especially geared toward Catholics, but good for all Christians. Anyone who likes Merton should read this.

Awareness is boundless. Awareness has no limits. Any limits of awareness that we experience are limits of our own contrivance, self-imposed boundaries that must be transcended. The content of awareness by its very nature excludes all that is not itself. Content is limitation. A given sound, for example, excludes not only silence, but all that is not sound, and all other sounds. However, it is seductively easy to view awareness in a conventional way, not only as something that is focused upon a given sound but as constituted by one's relationship to the sound. In this view, awareness itself is a category defined by its possible contents. This is tantamount to determining the limits of awareness. If we encounter a point at which our senses seem to let us down, or our mind boggles and we must retreat, we then interpret it as having reached the limits of our awareness. We experience it as an encounter with content or subject matter that cannot be grasped. What usually escapes our attention here is that awareness itself is not bounded. Once we do distinguish awareness from its objects, then the limitations of any given object or content of awareness do not in the slightest limit awareness. And if we realize that awareness is not limited by the contents of awareness, we need no longer experience the limitations of content as the limitations of awareness.

As soon as one can let go of the identification of awareness with its objects, or of the mind with its contents, boundaries vanish on every side. Instead of boundaries there is a new lightness and clarity. This is the boundless, this is emptiness, that which contains everything but is itself not anything. This is inner awareness and absolute reality. This is the pure essence of mind...This is the book's message, transcending to awareness through meditative prayer.