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Sacred Dwelling: A Spirituality of Family Life
1999 NEW REVISED EDITION - 4th Printing "Sacred A Spirituality of Family Life" by Wendy M. Wright (Author).
Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Wendy M. Wright
31 books11 followersWendy M. Wright, PhD is Professor Emerita of Theology at Creighton University in Omaha NE. She teaches regularly in several graduate ministerial programs including Oblate School of Theology's Institute for Contemporary Spirituality, Creighton University's Christian Spirituality Master's program and the National Methodist Academy for Spiritual Formation. Her expertise falls in the areas of history of spirituality (notably Salesian spirituality), family spirituality, spiritual direction and the Catholic devotional tradition. Her most recent book is Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal (Pauline: Saints by Our Side series) and The Lady of the Angels and Her City: a Marian Pilgrimage (Liturgical Press). She is co-host of the Creighton University podcast "Catholic Comments," (http://cucatholicctr.org/catholic-com...), a retreat director and spiritual guide. She and her husband, Roger Bergman, are the parents of three adult offspring and grandparents of four.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 14, 2014
Father Tim gave me this book to read while I was pregnant, and I just finished it today. (Gabe's 3 months old.) I think I read each section at the perfect time. While I was pregnant, I read about the waiting and anticipation of a mother, and now I read about the rhythm of family life. I highly recommend this book to all mothers (and fathers) who want to strengthen their domestic church, and to everyone who values family life.
"We simply do not assent to God's presence; we incarnate it. It comes to be through the longing of our hearts an the labor of our bodies. It comes at the expense of the very life that courses through our veins." - pg. 107
"'The sacrament of the care of others' is a primary component of the family's way to God'...Many young parents know well the inner urgings that turn their attention from the wider world of concerns to the tine and specific world of their children. Providing for the youngsters becomes the focus of energy that might otherwise be spent on a wider public. All this is part of the sacramental life of caring." pg. 126
"There is a poverty in caring for others - the letting go of one's own agenda, preferences and plan in favor of other's needs. It is the poverty of choice that confronts us at every step of the way. This is felt especially as a family grows. Our personal dreams must be folded into the family dream or at least wait their turn until others have been given their chance....When you are called to love deeply, concretely and passionately through the medium of things and persons, called to labor for, care for and protect the stuff that nurtures life, to let things go is no easy task. Yet to let them go we often must. Familied life unfolds as a serial pageant of opportunities to pry open our fingers and set free the schemes and the expectations on which we have our hearts set." pg. 128
"The integrity that family members are called to is modeled by the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. We are called to live in and amongst others, deeply enmeshed in the reciprocal caring that is family life. But we are also called to have a radical integrity that is centered on the voice of God spoken deep in our hearts." pg. 130
"Without husband we cannot be wife, without child we are not mother, without friendship we do not carry the name friend." pg. 142
"If only because of the constant drain on physical and emotional reserves, family life teaches one how to give when there is nothing left. When what you have is not even enough for self-maintenance, then your giving is carved out of what is necessary. Patience, wisdom, attention, flexibility, humor, good judgment, firm but loving direction: how often these run dry and we as familied people are called upon to find some drop left at the bottom of our reserves or, if that is not possible, to acknowledge our shortcomings and ask to be given these resources in return.
We learn to give our of necessity within the domestic circle. This is a precious instruction, for it gentles us and makes our giving gracious." pg. 154
"At times the pulls in all directions are so great that we can easily feel ourselves split apart. Were it not for a hear generous and flexible enough to expand with the tensions we might well succumb. This is indeed the most dynamic quality of a hear of peace. We cultivate such a heart, interestingly enough, by finding and becoming familiar with the still point that exists deep in each of us. Simply to sit still learning to listen to the rhythm of our own child's breathing, paying attention to the vast and permanent stillness that pervades all life - is the discipline that renders our heart expansive." pg. 175
"Hearts such as these become hearts that our open, willing to be entered and filled, even to overflowing. These needful hearts can become vessels for the fuller life of God that wants to come and live in us but has difficulty because our hearts are so often closed." pg. 177.
"We simply do not assent to God's presence; we incarnate it. It comes to be through the longing of our hearts an the labor of our bodies. It comes at the expense of the very life that courses through our veins." - pg. 107
"'The sacrament of the care of others' is a primary component of the family's way to God'...Many young parents know well the inner urgings that turn their attention from the wider world of concerns to the tine and specific world of their children. Providing for the youngsters becomes the focus of energy that might otherwise be spent on a wider public. All this is part of the sacramental life of caring." pg. 126
"There is a poverty in caring for others - the letting go of one's own agenda, preferences and plan in favor of other's needs. It is the poverty of choice that confronts us at every step of the way. This is felt especially as a family grows. Our personal dreams must be folded into the family dream or at least wait their turn until others have been given their chance....When you are called to love deeply, concretely and passionately through the medium of things and persons, called to labor for, care for and protect the stuff that nurtures life, to let things go is no easy task. Yet to let them go we often must. Familied life unfolds as a serial pageant of opportunities to pry open our fingers and set free the schemes and the expectations on which we have our hearts set." pg. 128
"The integrity that family members are called to is modeled by the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. We are called to live in and amongst others, deeply enmeshed in the reciprocal caring that is family life. But we are also called to have a radical integrity that is centered on the voice of God spoken deep in our hearts." pg. 130
"Without husband we cannot be wife, without child we are not mother, without friendship we do not carry the name friend." pg. 142
"If only because of the constant drain on physical and emotional reserves, family life teaches one how to give when there is nothing left. When what you have is not even enough for self-maintenance, then your giving is carved out of what is necessary. Patience, wisdom, attention, flexibility, humor, good judgment, firm but loving direction: how often these run dry and we as familied people are called upon to find some drop left at the bottom of our reserves or, if that is not possible, to acknowledge our shortcomings and ask to be given these resources in return.
We learn to give our of necessity within the domestic circle. This is a precious instruction, for it gentles us and makes our giving gracious." pg. 154
"At times the pulls in all directions are so great that we can easily feel ourselves split apart. Were it not for a hear generous and flexible enough to expand with the tensions we might well succumb. This is indeed the most dynamic quality of a hear of peace. We cultivate such a heart, interestingly enough, by finding and becoming familiar with the still point that exists deep in each of us. Simply to sit still learning to listen to the rhythm of our own child's breathing, paying attention to the vast and permanent stillness that pervades all life - is the discipline that renders our heart expansive." pg. 175
"Hearts such as these become hearts that our open, willing to be entered and filled, even to overflowing. These needful hearts can become vessels for the fuller life of God that wants to come and live in us but has difficulty because our hearts are so often closed." pg. 177.
October 18, 2023
Featuring a lot of the same home-valuing themes of the Theology of Home series, this also-Catholic book celebrates the sacred beauty of a home and all that happens in it. Lots of excellent insight, worth reading. While the medium (nonfiction book, formal tone) is not as compelling as the Theology of Home model (stunning coffee-table books, featuring images that grab your imagination), the content is well-thought-out and provides much to chew on, from the value of simple living to the beauty of mundane, daily tasks.
November 3, 2021
This was a very interesting book and enjoyed reading it very much. Wright has a very solid understanding of the theology of family in the Christian tradition and I would recommend this book to Christian families.
July 7, 2008
A nun literally directed me to this book on family life and spirituality. As many spiritual practices books stem from the monastic life, this one stands out as coming from a wife, mother, friend, and neighbor. Wright has tremendous insights into family life, its challenges and blessings, which she frames in different sections, divided by rooms of a house. Fidelity, community, communion, and charity are just some of the topics she explores. Well worth the journey.
October 16, 2015
I enjoyed this book about making your own personal house into a more spirtual place for every family member and how to have a good spiritual community.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews