Word Into Silence [Paperback]

John Main (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

This book is written to encourage people to "turn aside, " not to avoid or escape life, but to discover through meditation their deepest center and encounter the spirit of Jesus dwelling within. To understand Christian truths on a theoretical level is one thing; for these truths to come alive in our hearts is something very different. But in the silent saying of our short prayer, our mantra, in the simplicity of concentrating upon God in silence and openness, this "realization" can become a reality; enabling our relationships with others to grow in depth and understanding.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JOHN MAIN became a Benedictine monk after diplomatic service in the Far East and teaching law at Trinity College, Dublin. He founded an open Benedictine community in Montreal from which sprang the World Community for Christian Meditation, a worldwide spiritual family linked through the daily practice of meditation, operating in 114 countries and with 100,000 members worldwide. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082641124X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826411242
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book on Christian meditation and prayer., January 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Word into Silence (Paperback)

Fr. Main (1926-1982), an Irish monk raised in England, has written an intelligent and brilliantly instructive book on Christian prayer and meditation. Based on the tradition of ancient Church father & mystic John Cassian, prayer centers on the mantra (primarily the Aramaic word "Maranatha," which means "Come, Lord"), thus stilling the heart and mind and opening ourselves to God & Christ's presence within. Fr. Bede Griffiths praised and assessed Fr. Main as one of the leading spiritual guides of our day.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pivotal And Classic Work On Christian Mantra Prayer, February 6, 2002

By 

Peter Fennessy (Bloomfield Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Word Into Silence (Paperback)

John Main(1926-1982), a Benedictine monk and founder of the World Community For Christian Meditation, advocates Christian mantra prayer. In this very short book he outlines the theological foundations and implications for such prayer, as well as giving twelve "steps" for Christian meditation, which are more in the way of supplementary comments. While influenced by Hindu sources, Main bases his teaching and method on the fourth century John Cassian accounts of the desert ascetics, and on the fourteenth century Cloud of Unknowing. The method is similar to Centering Prayer popularized by the Trappists at about the same time Main first published this work. He argues persuasively about the Christian roots of this prayer and its theological solidity. He points out its usefulness for letting go in poverty of spirit of all things including the ego in order to find a truer and less superficial self that is united with God and the whole of creation. The book is easily read and might profitably and prayerfully be re-read.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much said in just 81 pages: prayer, God, silence..., May 13, 2005

By 

Peter Menkin (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Word Into Silence (Paperback)

The title intrigues me, as does this book by Dom John Main, OSB. The writer, a monk, is telling us about using a word as a prayer to bring us to silence inside that we allow us to pursue and find God. If you are Christocentric, as am I, you will find this a seminal book, so clearly written on meditation and taking ones life into the realms of relationship with God throughout the day.

Not so much a how-to book as a book on practice, this quote from the beginning of "Word into Silence" gives a summary and authority to the belief we can come to the Lord: It is from Chapter 5 of Paul's letter to the Romans:

"Therefore, now that we have been justified through faith, let us continue at peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we have been allowed to enter the sphere of God's grace, where we now stand. Let us exult in the hope of the divine splendour that is to be ours...because God's love has flooded our inmost heart through the Holy Spirit He has given us."

The "teacher" (something to call Dom Main as realized by this book), makes as his premise this straightforward, sound statement: "What emerges so triumphantly from the teaching of Jesus, and from the understanding of that teaching by the early Church, is that this Life and this Light are quite literaally to be found within each of us."

Interested in the Benedictine way? Want to know about mystical and religious ways? Desire to have a prayer life? Keen on developing the rhythms in your day, and filling yourself with the pursuit of God--or touching and being touched by Him? This helpful and what many call seminal work on contemplation makes what could be mysterious and hidden something available to Christians for their lives.

In the author's bibliography, he suggests other books. The first on his list is Abhishiktananda, "Saccidananda" (a Christian Approach to Advaitic Experience). This is a book by a wonderful monk and man of prayer. He suggests "New English Bible, Oxford University Press..." and John Cassian, "Institutes" and "Conferences". It's as if you've got all the basic books you need to carry on after this one. "The Cloud of Unknowing", and Walter Hilton, "The Scale of Perfection." Reading this list gives one another sense of the kind of book John Main has written.

I plan to go back and look at sections in "Word into Silence."

--Peter Menkin, Mill Valley, CA USA