A Season in the Desert: Making Time Holy - Hardcover

Jones, W. Paul

3.75

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9781557252494: A Season in the Desert: Making Time Holy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557252491 ISBN 13: 9781557252494

Publisher: Paraclete Pr, 2000

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In the womb, surrounded by the beating of our mother's heart marking time, we begin to sense that we are "someone" as we stretch tiny arms and legs to the beat of swimming-like rhythms. But at birth, we are exiled--destined to a lifelong sojourn through time and space. For some, this pilgrimage is an impossible effort to "return." For others, it is a frightening but exhilarating search for an unknown land. Kansas or Oz, Eden or the Kingdom--our life becomes an ongoing pursuit of that place called home.

This thought-provoking book explores the concept of time not only as a defining dimension of our existence, but as the natural pulse of Christian spirituality. Imparting practical tools and spiritual insight from his own fascinating life journey, W. Paul Jones peels away our standard perceptions of time and demonstrates the potent beauty and intuitive rhythms of time within the Christian tradition.

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From the Author:

"I am from the coal mines of Appalachia, a Yale graduate with three degrees. I have lived in the ghetto, while teaching graduate students. And I was a Protestant for much of my life, yet have become a Roman Catholic, Trappist monk. I bring these varied experiences and talents together to provide spiritual direction for those who are serious in their search for meaning.

What this book is about is to develop a spirituality that is radically rooted in space and time--in the flesh of life, in feeling, in tears, in love-making, in being deliciously alive in every way. It is an effort to help people make their own spiritual pilgrimage; a life lived according to a plot that gives meaning to the whole."

About the Author:

W. Paul Jones' background is remarkable for its juxtaposition of religious experiences. He was an ordained United Methodist minister for over forty years, and more recently was ordained a Roman Catholic priest. Born and raised in the hills of Appalachia, he taught for many years at Yale University, Princeton University, and Saint Paul School of Theology. He and his family lived in the inner city, actively involved in radical social action. In the last decade he has become a Family Brother of the Trappists and presently lives as a hermit in the Ozark hills.

Fr. Jones's writings have appeared in numerous journals, and his most recent books include "Theological Worlds: Understanding the Alternative Rhythms of Christian Belief" and "Trumpet at Full Moon: An Introduction to Christian Spirituality as Diverse Practice."

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