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Gateway to Hope: An Exploration of Failure
Failure is an essential part of life. The author draws on human experience and on the Bible to show that in our very failure lies our success. Our weaknesses have all been overcome in the Cross of Christ.
- GenresReligion
158 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 1985
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Maria Boulding
20 books8 followersMary Boulding was an English nun, theologian, writer and translator. The oldest of three daughters, she declined a scholarship to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and went to Stanbrook Abbey to become a nun. Boulding took her solemn vows in April 1952 after expressing her wish to delay her profession of vows, but this was remedied by the abbess Elizabeth Sumner who challenged her to theological endeavors. Her first book was published in 1973, and she joined the theological commission of the English Benedictine Congregation in the late 1970s. Boulding later undertook a six-month tour of the Holy Land, Australia, and Japan in preparation for the marking the fifteenth centenary of Benedict of Nursia's birth in 1980, where she addressed mixed audiences. She spent the years 1985 to 2004 living as a hermit before returning to Stanbrook in early 2004 and spending the final years of her life translating, revising, and travelling.
Boulding was born on 3 May 1929 at 94 Kenilworth Avenue in Wimbledon in Surrey and was baptised as Mary. She was the oldest of three daughters of the Roman Catholic convert Reginald Sidney Henry Boulding, who was an electrical engineer and radar specialist, and his second wife Josephine, née Branney. The death of Boulding's mother when she was sixteen made her responsible for her younger siblings. She excelled at Urusline school but declined to take up a scholarship at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and went to Stanbrook Abbey in Worcester in September 1947, to pursue her desire to become a nun. On 1 April 1948 she was clothed in the habit and given the religious name of Ethelburga. Boulding took her solemn vows in April 1952 when she was twenty-two years old. After this, she described herself as "intellectually frustrated, stagnant, unhappy," and expressed her desire to delay her vocation until later. This was attributed to Boulding having insufficient intellectual stimulation, and was remedied by the Abbess Elizabeth Sumner who recognised Boulding's abilities and channelled her into theology.
While an external student of the University of London, she became novice mistress in 1965. Although she occasionally faltered in the discernment of genuine vocations, Boulding was distinguished by the clarity and depth of her conferences and adopted an approach of 'both … and’ rather than ‘either … or’. Boulding was a staunch supporter of renewal and openness in the post-Vatican II church of the 1960s. Around the same time she was given public speaking lessons by the actor Alec Guinness. She returned to using the name Maria in 1968. She appreciated the rediscovered scriptural focus of the council documents and she resonated deeply with the church as servant and pilgrim. In 1973, she published her first book entitled Contemplative Nuns—Are They Wasting Their Lives?. Boulding retired as novice mistress in 1974 and was made sub-prioress. She joined the theological commission of the English Benedictine Congregation in the late 1970s and helped to produce a book about contemporary monastic life and similar topics called Consider Your Call (1978). Another book of Boulding's, Marked for Life: Prayer in the Easter Christ, was published in 1979.
During preparations for the marking of the fifteenth centenary of Benedict of Nursia's birth in 1980, she was invited to make a six-month conference tour which saw her speak to a variety of peoples in the Holy Land, Australia and Japan. Boulding experienced a minor earthquake during her visit to Japan and reflected that: "If I had only a few more minutes to live, I didn't want to waste them talking to God about my sins. I wanted to thank him for all the love, all the joy." Her third book was entitled The Coming of God, published in 1982. Another book came out that same year, A Touch of God, which consists of monastic journeys that Boulding edited. She was granted permission from the abbess to live as a hermit in January 1985, where she spent the years 19
Boulding was born on 3 May 1929 at 94 Kenilworth Avenue in Wimbledon in Surrey and was baptised as Mary. She was the oldest of three daughters of the Roman Catholic convert Reginald Sidney Henry Boulding, who was an electrical engineer and radar specialist, and his second wife Josephine, née Branney. The death of Boulding's mother when she was sixteen made her responsible for her younger siblings. She excelled at Urusline school but declined to take up a scholarship at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and went to Stanbrook Abbey in Worcester in September 1947, to pursue her desire to become a nun. On 1 April 1948 she was clothed in the habit and given the religious name of Ethelburga. Boulding took her solemn vows in April 1952 when she was twenty-two years old. After this, she described herself as "intellectually frustrated, stagnant, unhappy," and expressed her desire to delay her vocation until later. This was attributed to Boulding having insufficient intellectual stimulation, and was remedied by the Abbess Elizabeth Sumner who recognised Boulding's abilities and channelled her into theology.
While an external student of the University of London, she became novice mistress in 1965. Although she occasionally faltered in the discernment of genuine vocations, Boulding was distinguished by the clarity and depth of her conferences and adopted an approach of 'both … and’ rather than ‘either … or’. Boulding was a staunch supporter of renewal and openness in the post-Vatican II church of the 1960s. Around the same time she was given public speaking lessons by the actor Alec Guinness. She returned to using the name Maria in 1968. She appreciated the rediscovered scriptural focus of the council documents and she resonated deeply with the church as servant and pilgrim. In 1973, she published her first book entitled Contemplative Nuns—Are They Wasting Their Lives?. Boulding retired as novice mistress in 1974 and was made sub-prioress. She joined the theological commission of the English Benedictine Congregation in the late 1970s and helped to produce a book about contemporary monastic life and similar topics called Consider Your Call (1978). Another book of Boulding's, Marked for Life: Prayer in the Easter Christ, was published in 1979.
During preparations for the marking of the fifteenth centenary of Benedict of Nursia's birth in 1980, she was invited to make a six-month conference tour which saw her speak to a variety of peoples in the Holy Land, Australia and Japan. Boulding experienced a minor earthquake during her visit to Japan and reflected that: "If I had only a few more minutes to live, I didn't want to waste them talking to God about my sins. I wanted to thank him for all the love, all the joy." Her third book was entitled The Coming of God, published in 1982. Another book came out that same year, A Touch of God, which consists of monastic journeys that Boulding edited. She was granted permission from the abbess to live as a hermit in January 1985, where she spent the years 19
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 28, 2014
I hesitated to read this book because failure is not something I particularly enjoy (which is why I needed to!).
It ended up being one of those reads that has some golden nuggets hidden in it that the Holy Spirit uncovered for me. I'm not sure everyone would uncover the same things that I found, but I don't think that it would hurt for y'all to try it!
It ended up being one of those reads that has some golden nuggets hidden in it that the Holy Spirit uncovered for me. I'm not sure everyone would uncover the same things that I found, but I don't think that it would hurt for y'all to try it!
March 30, 2025
Must read because in this life you will experience failure a many times..
June 8, 2025
Maria Boulding has become one of my favorite authors. Her works, like this one, are typically short but deeply rich and imaginative. They are a nice break from the academically heavy titles I find myself gravitating towards usually. I would put her in the same genre as Henri Nouwen or Brennan Manning. So if you love those kinds of contemplative, emotionally stirring, devotional reads, I’d add her to your library!
This little book covers so much ground in just 150 pages. She spends the first half of the book talking about failure in the Bible in a totally new light than I had ever understood. It’s at first scandalous to talk about Jesus and the prophets “failing,” it can almost sound blasphemous to say so. But indeed, Jesus did not win every person over to himself during his life on earth or even now (Her stuff on Judas is 🔥). From a human vantage point, the cross was a colossal failure (were it not for the resurrection). Because Jesus as a human felt the sting of failure, he is able to meet us in our failures and walk us into resurrection himself.
This book has a lot to say about forgiveness and prayer as well. She spends time in the prodigal son story, especially. There’s a lot of great one-liner sound bites of wisdom that just stick in my brain, and she goes back to familiar stories that I’ve read 100 times and takes on new perspective that I had never seen.
As someone who is a recovering perfectionist, this book was exactly what my heart needed and I have come back to it and read it multiple times over the years. I would highly recommend it and especially reading it during lent season.
This little book covers so much ground in just 150 pages. She spends the first half of the book talking about failure in the Bible in a totally new light than I had ever understood. It’s at first scandalous to talk about Jesus and the prophets “failing,” it can almost sound blasphemous to say so. But indeed, Jesus did not win every person over to himself during his life on earth or even now (Her stuff on Judas is 🔥). From a human vantage point, the cross was a colossal failure (were it not for the resurrection). Because Jesus as a human felt the sting of failure, he is able to meet us in our failures and walk us into resurrection himself.
This book has a lot to say about forgiveness and prayer as well. She spends time in the prodigal son story, especially. There’s a lot of great one-liner sound bites of wisdom that just stick in my brain, and she goes back to familiar stories that I’ve read 100 times and takes on new perspective that I had never seen.
As someone who is a recovering perfectionist, this book was exactly what my heart needed and I have come back to it and read it multiple times over the years. I would highly recommend it and especially reading it during lent season.
July 18, 2016
Highly recommended. An exploration of the place of failure and struggle in the Christian life. Scripturally rich, the author uses the stories of key figures in the Bible and their failures and struggles to explore the cruciform life of those who seek to follow Christ..
January 14, 2017
This was kind of a soul-saver for me, helping me to find a place for failure in my life when I thought that failure meant, well, failure! Boulding helped me recognize failure as a place of communion with Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews