What do you think?
Rate this book
Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis
It may seem shocking to compare our relationship with God with the notion of "dating." But this book does. With fresh insight and a deep personal spirituality, Horan points out that the desire, uncertainty, and love we experience in relationship with God resembles our earthly We set aside time for the people who are most important to us. Horan reminds us that St. Francis of Assisi understood and even described his relationship with God in a similar way. Drawing from the Franciscan tradition, Dating God encourages us to see St. Francis's spirituality in a new light, challenging us to reexamine our own spirituality, prayer, and relationships, and inviting us into a more intimate relationship with our Creator.
The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via
The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2012
11 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 13, 2023
I thought this was a solid and easy read that provided a great insight into Franciscan spirituality. It was very practical and made a lot of sense in how we are called to respond to God’s pursuit of a relationship with us. This book is a great starting point for people who want to have a relationship with God but don’t really know where to begin.
September 24, 2018
Bias alert: I know the author. He's a Bona grad (#gobonnies) and a runner and one of my favorite people on the planet. (Although truth be told, there are a lot of people on that list.) This was on my list of "books I need to pick up and read" (another long list) and finally I got down to ordering it. And reading it.
And it was absolutely everything I needed.
Throughout the book, Fr. Dan uses the analogy of dating to get at how we can develop a relationship with God. The Franciscan tradition is at heart all about relationship, and while the idea of "dating God" sounds, well, like something reserved for people who take vows and go into religious life, it truly is an amazing analogy for how anyone, and everyone, can enter into a deeper relationship with God.
The book gave me an opportunity to take a fresh look at my own relationship with God, and my relationships with other people, and all of creation. And it was an outstanding look at how our spiritual life IS our every day life. The two are intertwined and linked.
"Who you are and how live, rather than what you do, is the real foundation for a life of prayer and contemplation."
It reminds of something I learned years ago "the doing follows the being." We don't have to DO anything. Action is most authentic when it is an outgrowth of who we ARE. (We are human beings not human doings.) So, too, are the lessons here.
And it was absolutely everything I needed.
Throughout the book, Fr. Dan uses the analogy of dating to get at how we can develop a relationship with God. The Franciscan tradition is at heart all about relationship, and while the idea of "dating God" sounds, well, like something reserved for people who take vows and go into religious life, it truly is an amazing analogy for how anyone, and everyone, can enter into a deeper relationship with God.
The book gave me an opportunity to take a fresh look at my own relationship with God, and my relationships with other people, and all of creation. And it was an outstanding look at how our spiritual life IS our every day life. The two are intertwined and linked.
"Who you are and how live, rather than what you do, is the real foundation for a life of prayer and contemplation."
It reminds of something I learned years ago "the doing follows the being." We don't have to DO anything. Action is most authentic when it is an outgrowth of who we ARE. (We are human beings not human doings.) So, too, are the lessons here.
June 4, 2014
Fantastic book. Fr Dan takes a relatable, engaging approach to spirituality and explains from the Franciscan tradition's perspective how we are each called to a relationship with God and a relationship to others. It's all about the relationship, and it is more familiar and attainable to each of us than we might think. Much of this book resonated with me and I think it would with most readers. Appropriate for young adults through elder adults. I highly recommend.
June 25, 2015
I loved this book so much, and this has made me admire Franciscans and their way of loving God more than I admired them before. I highly recommend this to anyone seeking a deeper relationship with God, whether you're Catholic or not.
October 17, 2017
While I'm not an R.C., I'm a pretty big fan of Fr. Horan. An especially attractive idea of his (for me) is his concept of God as being relational. The divine isn't some distant, unconcerned clock-maker, but is a Creator who (can be) intimately involved in one's life, if one so chooses.
While the concept of "dating" the divine might seem odd (or, at worst, a marketing ploy), Horan's notion has substance. Halfway through the book, I understood how serious he was about this concept, and how helpful this relational view can be.
Though an easy read, I didn't read through this in a day, but paced myself, finishing it in about a week because I don't think his insights were meant to be gulped up. Drawing deeply from Merton and Duns Scotus, with helpful referencing of some well-known saints and their struggles with an honest life of faith, this book would likely be helpful to anyone looking have a more vibrant relationship with the Divine.
While the concept of "dating" the divine might seem odd (or, at worst, a marketing ploy), Horan's notion has substance. Halfway through the book, I understood how serious he was about this concept, and how helpful this relational view can be.
Though an easy read, I didn't read through this in a day, but paced myself, finishing it in about a week because I don't think his insights were meant to be gulped up. Drawing deeply from Merton and Duns Scotus, with helpful referencing of some well-known saints and their struggles with an honest life of faith, this book would likely be helpful to anyone looking have a more vibrant relationship with the Divine.
October 9, 2022
This is an excellent book about God and St. Francis. The fact that the title is DATING GOD may seem weird or wrong but the author is showing that to have a healthy relationship with God we may look to the life of Francis of Assisi. Francis saw God in all creation and that we, too, should see God in every living person and thing no matter how old, young, plant or animal (including insects!!). When we have this prospective, we might stop destroying our lives and the environment.
I spent a day in Assisi while traveling in Italy many years ago. It is a beautiful place to go to. The church there has the amazing portraits of Francis' life painted by Giotto. They are beautiful and wonderful to sit and mediate about Francis and his journey to God and his community.
I spent a day in Assisi while traveling in Italy many years ago. It is a beautiful place to go to. The church there has the amazing portraits of Francis' life painted by Giotto. They are beautiful and wonderful to sit and mediate about Francis and his journey to God and his community.
July 2, 2018
A good read around the concept of prayer as a relationship between ourselves and God. Rather than having our faith life as a separate component in our lives, the author makes a case for having it saturate our interactions with others, the work that we do, and the manner in which we approach the world around us.
June 11, 2017
A wonderful, quick read which gets to the heart of Franciscan spirituality and one's relationship with God.
April 19, 2020
Refreshing look at the journey of faith. Highly recommend.
May 17, 2025
Amazing book!! Very eye opening and warmed my heart!
May 7, 2013
A couple of the chapters touched me. I liked the beginning better than the end. Thinking of God as a personal relationship in a whole new way.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews