Touching the Holy [Paperback]

Robert J Wicks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992

Robert Wicks offers fresh insight into the spirituality and psychology of sound self-esteem and real friendship.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press, Inc. (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877934908
• ISBN-13: 978-0877934905
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,613,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Robert Wicks received his doctorate in psychology from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. Presently, he is a professor at Loyola University Maryland. In 1994, he was responsible for the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during their bloody civil war. In 2006, he delivered a presentation on self-care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and Walter Reed Army Hospital to health care professionals responsible for Iraqi war veterans with multiple amputations and severe head injuries. Dr. Wicks is author of numerous books including The Resilient Clinician (OUP, 2008), Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice (OUP, 2006), and the acclaimed best seller, Riding the Dragon: 10 Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times (Sorin Books, 2003). He lives with his wife Michaele in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift Worthy, May 11, 2000

By 

Christine A. Nienhaus (Germantown, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touching the Holy (Paperback)

There is nothing that we could do that would make God love us any more than God does right now. We don't hear that enough. Robert Wicks reminds us of our holiness in our ordinariness. It's what God works best with. It's what God needs for us to be so God can introduce God's self to others through us. Wicks will reaquaint the reader with their goodness and the goodness of others simply by acknowledging that being human is "holy enough". He also challenges the reader to take an honest look at the different dimensions of friendship, helping the reader identify what is a healthy relationship and what may not be for now.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth Reading More Than Once, January 4, 2006

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touching the Holy (Paperback)

The book TOUCHING THE HOLY: ORDINARINESS, SELF-ESTEEM, and FRIENDSHIP was my first introduction to the writings of Robert Wicks. People had commented to me about his wonderful insights and that the book was written in a manner that was both inviting and engaging so I decided I'd read it while on retreat. It turned out the week was snowy, the retreat house had a fireplace roaring most evenings, and I had the pleasure of spending some time in front of the fireplace reading this wonderful book.

Wicks focuses on three areas as the subtitle suggests. First, he focuses on our call as followers of Christ to ordinariness. Ordinariness for Wicks is not anonymity, weakness, or an encouragement to allow people to take advantage of a person. It is more of an invitation to simply be the people we were created to be. While it may sound as if he is challenging people to be less, his words are an encouragement to be pleased with who we truly are and not to strive to be what we are not meant to be. He quotes all sorts of well known names to base his theory. Some of the names include Thomas Merton, Robert Coles who speaks about his encounter with Dorothy Day, e.e. cummings, Henry Nouwen, and C.S. Lewis. His call to ordinariness reflects his training in both theology and psychology. He then looks at the call of ordinariness from the ancient writings of the Desert Fathers oaf the early Church and modern psychological beliefs about the true self/false self. While Wicks presents this material in an original manner, it is the final section of the book, that on friendship which for me was the book's greatest strength. This is where he first introduces his theory of the four types of friends: cheerleader, harasser, prophet, and soul guide and how our friends help us understand God's love and how we come to understand God's love through friendship. He alter expands on this idea in a book he co-authored with Robert Hamma CIRCLE OF FRIENDS.

This is the kind of book that can be read either in a sitting or two or in small portions as material for prayer and reflection. My guess is that readers will discover a book with much to offer. For me it has become a favorite and I return to it again and again. As a matter of fact, it is after returning to it again that I decided to write this review.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift Worthy, May 11, 2000

By 

Christine A. Nienhaus (Germantown, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touching the Holy (Paperback)

There is nothing that we could do that would make God love us any more than God does right now. We don't hear that enough. Robert Wicks reminds us of our holiness in our ordinariness. It's what God works best with. It's what God needs for us to be so God can introduce God's self to others through us. Wicks will reaquaint the reader with their goodness and the goodness of others simply by acknowledging that being human is "holy enough". He also challenges the reader to take an honest look at the different dimensions of friendship, helping the reader identify what is a healthy relationship and what may not be for now.