The Awakening Call: Fostering Intimacy With God

by James Finley

The Awakening Fostering Intimacy With God

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1984

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bit difficult to read as every sentence is poetically rich with details. So I needed to re-read many parts of it, to understand. But it is so worth it if the reader practices Christian contemplative prayer and wants to deepen their experience with God. It's so hard to describe how much value this little book contains. The last chapter, the Purification of the Senses, is worth the book alone . The author is able to weave the use, the function, the meaning, and the hows of contemplative together in poetic language. He quotes Thomas Merton, the Cloud of Unknowing, and St. John of the Cross. The author uses language the reader can picture and learn from, from experience rather than head knowledge. This is definitely one book that I will be reading over and over again. Just to note, for the beginner, I think another book may be more helpful for setting up the basics. This book is for those would be like to fine tune their current practice (the author’s practice is very simple, so I found the main point for me is to simplify my practice, allow the Holy Spirit to lead).

It is too bad this book is out of print. I bought my copy for very cheap used off amazon marketplace.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book nearly 30 years ago. It is one of the few books that I have kept over the years. I decided to read it again, because I remembered that it had profoundly impressed me as did the weekend silent retreat I attended that was led by James Finley.

I find that the parts of this book that I grasp are grasped intuitively. There is a resonance with what I see in the words on the page. It's like I say "Ahhh". Then there are parts that I fail to grasp. It's not that it is complicated. I think it is more that this is about intimacy and it's not something that translates into words, but comes into our understanding in another way. If the title of the book nudges you, you probably will find the book worthwhile. It enticed me back in the '90s and it still grabs me. It looks to be hard to find, so I'm glad I kept my copy.