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Journey Into Awe

by Edward McGuinness

120 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0612; ISBN 1-55369-799-5; US$15.50, C$17.50, EUR12.50, £9.00

This book should help people to discover a deeper meaning in life. It is made up of short poetic reflections and very brief stories, all of them extremely easy to read, yet often providing rich food for reflection.

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About the book      About the author      Foreword & Sample excerpts       Catalogue info

About the Book The author is a Catholic priest who has had experience in teaching and social work as well as parish ministry. What he writes about is intended for the widest possible cross section of the community. He is as eager to avoid moralizing as he is to share his insights. Very often these reflections challenge a narrow concept of belief and encourage us to have a wider vision. We 'journey into awe' when we begin to see that everything is relevant to our relationship with God. The author would argue that not only is everyone called to this deeper way of life but that in fact the majority of people are living a spiritual life without realizing it. These reflections will deepen our awareness of this truth. The book s divided into four sections. The first two provide insights from reading the gospels and from approaching God in prayer. Section three raises questions we may have in the course of our journey towards personal fulfilment. The last section contains short stories or vignettes from everyday life, written in dialogue form. Be assured that the poetic reflections contain none of the difficulties often associated with the reading of modern poetry. These stories and verses make for easy reading, yet often their message is quite profound. Since each reflection is unique the verses and vignettes may be read (and hopefully re-read!) in any order.

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About the Author Father Ed McGuinness was born of Irish parents in Glasgow, Scotland on June 2nd, 1930. He answered the call of Bishop Straling to come to the newly-established diocese of San Bernadino, where he has worked in various parishes for the last twenty years. As well as acting as pastor he has had experience in social work and in teaching high school. His special interest is the spirituality of St Therese of Lisieux. He is currently the pastor of St Elizabeth of Hungary parish in Desert Hot Springs, California. ---------------------------------- Reviews "Journey Into Awe is an experience of the Catholic Faith that these prosaic times are much in need of. Father McGuinness has chosen poetic imagery to convey his experiences and cherished beliefs, and that poetry reveals a man deeply imbued with the Gospel, a man who seeks to conform himself to the Christ in whose person his vocation demands he stand before the Christian community. In their simplicity these poems readliy reach the heart of the reader, leading in their subtlety to a deeper experience of the Catholic faith. In these times, when the Catholic experience is so often rendered in the form of the business balance sheet, the sociologist's analysis, or the theologian's obtuse language, "Journey Into Awe" comes as a breath of fresh air, a reminder that the roots of our faith grow deep in the human heart, which finds its best expression in the poem. Journey Into Awe is a book for anyone looking to encounter Christ in his or her own heart." Steve Barrie Newspaper Reporter ---------------------------------- "This is a book written by one who truly sees the world through the lens of understanding, compassion, love and a sense of hope for humanity, no matter the religious persuasion of the reader. The choice of poems and verses underscores the universality and secularity of its content. It's a book that should be read by everyone." Jack Lyons Entertainment & Theatre Reviewer Desert Post Weekly Palm Springs ---------------------------------- "What an inspiring spiritual little book! It was a delight to read and contemplate upon its poems and vignettes. I was deeply moved by the many theological poems as well as the everyday poems. This book contains an abundance of different subjects from bible reflections to stories about Hell's Angels. I look forward to buying many copies to give to my friends and relatives." Ellen Voight Parish book reviewer ----------------------------------

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Foreword & Sample Excerpts

FOREWORD

Every so often on our journey through life we sense a deeper meaning in everyday events. These insights may come through positive or negative experiences. Usually we do not go after them: they seem to come in search of us. They are mysterious and elusive and cannot be fully grasped. T.S. Eliot refers to our attempts to describe them as "hints and guesses." Such intuitions are the subject of this book. As has just been stated, they cannot be directly outlined. All we can do is depict the external events that were the occasion of these perceptions.
These insights are gifts. The following are typical occasions when they were offered: while reflecting on the gospels, at prayer, on pondering the path to personal fulfillment, and in the everyday interaction of human relationships. It seemed helpful to arrange these short poetic offerings under four headings corresponding to these ideas. Each one, however, is a unique mini-meditation, so they may be read (and hopefully re-read!) in any order.
What does Christianity have to tell us about these insights? The Good News of the Gospel is that we do not travel alone: life's journey has a deeper meaning because Christ is our companion on the way. Christian folklore contains many tales that underline this truth. This book ends with one such story, retold from the rich heritage of Italian storytelling. As is so often the case in these narratives, it contains an interwoven Eucharistic theme. This final story-reflection makes explicit the lesson that underlies most of the meditations in this book.
My hope and prayer is that, whatever our faith, a line or two here and there may lead us to discover glimpses of the divine in "the bits and pieces of everyday life" (Patrick Kavanagh 1904- 1967) and may encourage us to continue our own uniquely personal "Journey Into Awe."

16.

Two Fires

The fire in the courtyard
Warms all of me,
But not my heart's sudden
Icy chill of fear
As sharp voices on the April air
Link me to the judgment hall
And in the dim distance
The early morning rooster's call.

A fire by the shore
Catches hungry fishermen unaware,
And the Bent Stranger there
Offers a morning meal.
I know Him as He breaks the bread
And leaves so much unsaid.
Then three times I share with Him
How I too have risen from the dead!



24.

Prayer For A Liberated Heart

Transcendent Lord,
Seated aloft in glory,
You gave me an eagle heart
To soar towards You.
Alas, now it's entangled in attachments;
It misses what it was made for:
The mastery of the skies.

God of the galaxies,
Set it free to rise above the earth,
To ride the curving waves of the wind,
To probe the planets' pathways
And penetrate thresholds
Explored of none but You.

And when its flight is done
Lead it safely home,
To come to rest
Safe in the bondage
Of its attachment
To none but You alone.



38.

Missing The Message

Daily I tot up duties
Subtracting failures from the sum,
Work out totals, scores, percentages,
Fix on plans,
Set strategies,
For future better end-results,
Detail debits and assets,
Income and expenditures.
I make entries minutely
In the Ledger of losses and gains
Under columns A B C and D
For Thoughts, Words, Deeds, and Omissions.
Miscellaneous headings too I draw up
For Devotions, Prayers, Penitential, and Other Practices...

Got to keep account, you see,
Of how I stand in heaven's bank.
Wouldn't do to arrive at the gates
Empty of merit!...
...Or would it?
Who gets in anyway?
And on whose merits?
And isn't the Christian Call
An invitation to selfless love
That gives its all nor counts the cost?
How reconcile that with hoarding for heaven
And bartering with God?


66.

From 'One Neurotic To Another'

Let's hollow out our cluttered hearts
So their caverns reecho anew!
Then deep will call on deep
And in the hushed notes of our nothingness
We shall hear the veiled melodies of eternity
And know the healing touch
Of Him Who makes us whole.

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Catalogue Information

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