Ordinary Graces: Christian Teachings on the Interior Life (ISBN 0609806181)

Amazon.com Review:
"I wanted to find the living core of (the Christian) tradition," the editor of this collection has said. As publisher of the excellent Buddhist periodical Tricycle, and as editor and publisher of Parabola magazine, Kisly has had her hand in shaping two of the most informative (and formative) spiritual journals of recent times, which should make her well qualified for the journey. And here she has indeed assembled a rich and challenging collection of Christian texts, with a particularly strong representation from Eastern Orthodoxy. We get not only the expected writers (Merton, Augustine, Wesley, Newman, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, Julian of Norwich), but also Paul Evdokimov, Anthony Bloom, Nicholas Berdyaev, and Theophan the Recluse, along with passages from the great medieval mystics of the Western church: Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Theophan the Recluse, and Catherine of Siena, among many others. Arranged in 10 "cycles," the brief selections (ranging from a paragraph to a few pages) move from an emphasis on the natural world through discussions of loving one's neighbor and the nature of sin to concluding cycles on "Holy Fire"--the dwelling of divine in us--and the paradox of "Having Nothing, Possessing All Things." What we discover throughout is that the "ordinary graces" of the title are in fact available to all, and are indeed ordinary, even though they demand everything from us. Surrender is the book's underlying message, not a new one for a Christian audience, but one rarely expressed with such passion and depth as in the writings represented here. Readers already familiar with Kathleen Norris' The Cloister Walk and the anthologies of Stephen Mitchell, such as The Enlightened Heart, will find rich--if challenging--rewards here as well. --Doug Thorpe

Ordinary Graces - An extraordinary collection:
Ordinary Graces opens with a joyful celebration of the wonder of God's creation followed by a gradual unfolding of the Christian message that culminates in divine union. The passages are carefully selected so that each reflects upon and illuminates those that precede and follow it. As the book progresses, a path of work is traced, its demands increasing in difficultly and deepening in meaning. Kisly's thoughful selections are in an invitation to examine one's life and choose the path of truth. These selections cover 2000 years of Christianity, with remarkable passages that flow smoothly between the centuries. Highly and enthusiastically recommended

Ordinary Graces by Lorraine Kisly:
With great warmth and feeling, "Ordinary Graces" brings to light timeless human need to move from self-love to love of God and of others, from doubt to faith, from despair to hope. One feels connected to an unbroken thread of believers through the centuries. The book made me newly aware that "the body of Christ" links all generations and that the fruit of "the vine and the branches" nourishes every soul.

A surprise and delight:
This book is beautifully conceived and executed. It is a rich collection of Christian spiritual writing rather loosely organized by general themes such as repentence and transformation. The selections are marvelous. There was nothing familiar (this is no "greatest hits") and there is astonishing breadth and quality. A constant surprise: selections that sounded very 'modern' in their psychological penetration are often from an obscure writer from the sixth century. So much hits home. I came away proud of my Christian heritage, determined to tap into it further, and inspired to take advantage of all the 'ordinary graces' available to me (and to everyone!).

writing from the inside out:
In returning to favorite quotations I choose those passages in which the authors express personal experiences of grace. Having the courage to write from the inside out reveals an authenticity which the selections that are intended to alter another's behavior do not. The last entry in the book, one of several included elsewhere by Meister Eckhart demonstrates this beautifully. "The eye in which I see God is the same eye in which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one eye and one seeing, one knowing and one loving." In like manner the champion of little graces, Brother Lawrence confesses, "I turn over my little omelet in the frying pan for the love of God. When it is done, if I have nothing to do, I bow down to the ground and adore God from whom has come the grace to make it." Petru Dumitriu, in the chapter The Sacrament of Presence admits, "My own humble experience is not that of ecstacy. I do not levitate, I am not somewhere else, nor outside myself, not with God-nothing of that. Just a poor brute suddenly stopping halfway down the stairs, or slowly taking off his glasses. But those two or three minutes in the life of a man, are the reason why I shall not have lived in vain." And finally, Julian of Norwich ".....I was filled with an everlasting security that supported me completely, and I was without fear. This feeling was so blessed that I experienced nothing but peace and rest, and there was nothing on earth that could have disturbed me." No 'thou shalt's in those entries. Thank you Lorraine Kisly for this rich collection crammed with Ordinary Graces.

Invaluable for Pastors:
This book is a true gift -- full of deep, angular passages by thoughtful Christians from a huge variety of times and places. As a pastor, I find myself going back into it while working on sermons. Not for a clever line or for a cute quote by someone famous to give credence to what I want to say. No, these passages bring me deeper into the most profound truths of the faith. They improve my own thinking and praying and preaching.