Book: Realising the Sacred

How can the Church ensure that its worship, life and mission flow from an encounter with the God of love, mercy and faithfulness? How can its members develop and sustain a loving personal relationship with Jesus? How can it ensure that it places itself in all it does and thinks under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? In other words how can it 'Realise the Sacred' both in the sense of 'coming to know' the Sacred and of 'bringing it about' - by turning to the ways of contemplation? Can these ways bring unity to the rich diversity of the Church and hence hope and love to a fractured world?

David Jackson, former lecturer, Leeds diocesan Coordinator for Interreligious Relations, a member of the CBCEW Committee for Other Religions, Laudato 'Si animator; and member of his diocesan Synodal Steering Group, reflects on these questions in his new book: 'Realising The Sacred' issued this month by Franciscan Publishing.

Fr Jim O'Keefe, former Director of Ushaw College comments: "Realising the Sacred is the result of years of reflection by an older sage who loves the Church. He roots the Synodal approach of Pope Francis in the person of Jesus and his relationship with the Father.

"David Jackson's imaginative, sometimes profound and occasionally provocative outcomes of taking Synodality seriously are a real challenge to everyone in the Church. His re-imaging of worship, community building and mission are a breath of fresh air, urging us all to become more open to the inclusiveness, compassion and mercy of the Lord. This is a timely short book which will certainly stimulate the thinking and encourage the hoping of anyone who reads it."

Fr Paul Lyons, former director of human and psychological development writes: "In 1980 Eric Doyle OFM wrote: 'The greatest challenge to organised religion in the western world now is whether it can guide individuals along the paths of their own inner depths and show how the riches in those depths can be recognised, accepted and put at the service of all creation and closely related to this, whether it can teach people to commune with God and nature.' This work seeks to address this challenge by encouraging all Christians to embrace the contemplative practice of silent prayer as the basis for all worship, life and mission of the Church, consciously and with full-hearted intent.

David Jackson has written a timely book with two major features: the significance of the Catholic Church, and the underpinnings of the mystical tradition both past and present as the means of experiencing the Spirit of God at work - a task for all the baptised - in a process of ongoing contemplation."

Adding his recommendation, Fr Nicholas Postlethwaite CP said: "David Jackson encourages the reader to face up to all the wonderful challenges as we become Church today, by going to the heart of the matter. His theme: the People of God are self-consciously waking up to the notion that they are on a contemplative journey into new territory, the contours of which are only just beginning to emerge."

LINK

Franciscan Publishing: www.franciscanpublishing.com