Customer Reviews

Silent Fire: Bringing the Spirituality of Silence to Everyday Life

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"Silent Fire" tells the story of one episode in Mr. Connor's life as a Jesuit priest. This tragedy provoked a deep crisis of faith, which led him to retreat at a cabin in the mountains in order to find the solitude to search for the meaning of this event. He uses the story of what he learned there as a way to discuss the role of solitude and the "numinous" in the spiritual and/or religious life.

This is a very, very good book. The story is told in a very clear, direct, well organized way. It treats a deeply serious subject with respect and sensitivity, but stays very down-to-earth and even manages to be quite funny at times. The writing itself is downright lovely. His descriptions of the natural scene around his retreat are gorgeous, and display a real understanding of the natural world. He relates these scenes metaphorically to his spiritual story with real grace. This is prose poetry as good as Annie Dillard wrote.

I highly, heartily recommend this book.

This is the profoundly spiritual memoir of a former Jesuit priest's interior journey. It is a hauntingly beautiful account filled with the pathos and gentle humor of a life fully realized -- a life that has come through the symbolic "fire" not irreparably burned but touched by its healing warmth. Graced by the author's intense awareness of holiness and human fraility, this book is filled with wisdom and grace. In prose that is accessible, lyrical, intelligent, and infinitely humane, Mr. Connor offers his readers the truths he has discovered: tenderness, compassion, and love. His use of poetry as epigrams that introduce each of his cycles of silence is brilliant. Edward Hirsch's poem "The Idea of the Holy," which precedes the prologue, and Adele Kenny's haiku, which introduces the first cycle, take the reader into the world of pure spirit: God's world, Connor's world, our world.

Connor's account of a retreat to the Canadian outback is delightful and enlightening. Called as a priest in rural British Columbia to comfort the parents of an infant crushed to death by a boulder falling upon the rear of their passing car, Connor finds himself as unsettled and nonplused by the pathos and inscrutabilty of the event as the gieving parents. Seeking to regain his spiritual and emotional bearings, he finds refuge in a remote lake cabin where his slowly (and often comically) reawakened communion with the landscape and its few inhabitants clarify the continuum of suffering and serenity, death and life, and the salvation of replacing agitating, rational self-consciousness with accepting, spiritual self-awareness--with a truly contemplative life.

Rendered in graceful prose, Connor's memoir ranges from exquisitely lyrical to warmly humorous to intellectually rigorous. The landscape and characters are vividly drawn, and the informing scholarship of contemplative literature and tradition is brought to bear in a natural, delightfully anecdotal way.

James Connor wears his spirituality and knowledge lightly. Both are profound, but in leading us along his own pathways of self- discovery, the gentle ex-priest offers invaluable and practical help for people confronting major crises in their lives. Connor's rollicking sense of humor and gift for storytelling help give easy access to his warm yet awesome universe. I have recommended this book to everyone I know, regardless of their faith. Don't miss the episode with the bat.

Connor's account of a retreat to the Canadian outback is delightful and enlightening. Called as a priest in rural British Columbia to comfort the parents of an infant crushed to death by a boulder falling upon the rear of their passing car, Connor finds himself as unsettled and nonplused by the pathos and inscrutabilty of the event as the gieving parents. Seeking to regain his spiritual and emotional bearings, he finds refuge in a remote lake cabin where his slowly (and often comically) reawakened communion with the landscape and its few inhabitants clarify the continuum of suffering and serenity, death and life, and the salvation of replacing agitating, rational self-consciousness with accepting, spiritual self-awareness--with a truly contemplative life.

Rendered in graceful prose, Connor's memoir ranges from exquisitely lyrical to warmly humorous to intellectually rigorous. The landscape and characters are vividly drawn, and the informing scholarship of contemplative literature and tradition is brought to bear in a natural, delightfully anecdotal way.

I'm beginning a spiritual journey myself and was seeking a how-to
on meditation, what I found was "Silent Fire." Never has any book touched my heart or moved my spirit more than this. I cried
and I laughed. This author has the heart of a poet. The book is
beautifully written, honest, and comes straight from the heart.
As a Jesuit priest, the horrible death of an infant brings on a crisis of faith. He heads for a mountain cabin seeking answers.
What kind of God is this? he wonders. And he finds the answers in the most unlikely places. This is a book I will treasure for a long time to come.

I picked this book up at the library and was utterly suprised at how great this book was, this book had many gems concerning solitude and silence. I really enjoyed the humaness of this book, this author is down to earth, real and loveable. A great all around book. Get it. Read it. love it.

Connor's account of a retreat to the Canadian outback is delightful and enlightening. Called as a priest in rural British Columbia to comfort the parents of an infant crushed to death by a boulder falling upon the rear of their passing car, Connor finds himself as unsettled and nonplused by the pathos and inscrutabilty of the event as the gieving parents. Seeking to regain his spiritual and emotional bearings, he finds refuge in a remote lake cabin where his slowly (and often comically) reawakened communion with the landscape and its few inhabitants clarify the continuum of suffering and serenity, death and life, and the salvation of replacing agitating, rational self-consciousness with accepting, spiritual self-awareness--with a truly contemplative life.

Rendered in graceful prose, Connor's memoir ranges from exquisitely lyrical to warmly humorous to intellectually rigorous. The landscape and characters are vividly drawn, and the informing scholarship of contemplative literature and tradition is brought to bear in a natural, delightfully anecdotal way.

Dr. James Connor has written a book that speaks to people of all ages, races and religious beliefs - and he does it with a wonderful blend of candor, humility and humor. It is amazing to see that even a Jesuit priest has wrestled with the same questions that many of us have asked in our lifetimes. How he handles these questions is most reassuring and inspiring, even for those of us who aren't quite sure if we believe there truly is a God. I haven't been able to sit down and read a book through for a long time, however, I could not be anywhere without "Silent Fire" - I took it everywhere with me to read in my spare time. The part about the bat getting into the cabin and how Dr. Connor literally "attacks" the problem is the most comical thing I've ever read....it was a real hoot! This is a book to be kept and treasured, and read over and over again. I am fortunate to not only be a fan now but a student of Dr. Connor's as well. He teaches with the same honesty and clarity that he writes with, and I feel honored that he is my professor! Thank you so much for "Silent Fire", and for being such an accessible and honest professor. May the fire in you never burn out!

James Connor's "Silent Fire" will light the way for anyone seeking to find meaning in today's chaotic world. Beginning with the exquisitely written prologue, he takes you on a mystical journey to the self, the eternal, the cosmic, however you define the undefinable. The lyrical prose will sweep you up and set you down, gently, as his odyssey unfolds with such lyrical prose as: 'The stars dusted the sky with light, sparkling and winking and scintillating. The moon, nearly full, pushed over the tops of the mountains down the long length of the big lake, mounting higher until it was all the way up, it's reflection twisting in the water'. Need I say more? This is indeed a book you will want to read more than once; there is so much to savour.