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When the Well Runs Dry: Prayer Beyond the Beginnings
Here is a refreshingly uncomplicated explanation of what the difficulties and consolations of advanced prayer are all about! Writing in the idiom and tradition of the great masters of prayer -- John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Ignatius Loyola, Father Green shows how the Lord can stimulate the soul into seeking him in a new way when the consolations of prayer are removed. Ideal reading for all pray-ers and their spiritual directors.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 26, 2011
This is one of the best books I have read on contemplative prayer. The author clearly writes from experience; his own and groups he has led. He combines and explains the meanings from some of the masters of contemplative prayer such as St. John of the Cross and the Cloud of Unknowing in a way I have not read elsewhere. Even if you have read the works of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, St. Teresa, etc this book will place all those writings in perspective and understandable. So if you find St. John of the Cross a little hard to understand at times and also find the well you draw from for prayer runs dry at times you need to read this book. A real gem on prayer.
May 27, 2013
A wonderful book on prayer weaving together the Carmelite and Jesuit traditions with insights from the author's own experiences. A good reference book to keep on hand.
September 11, 2009
Nice view of the prayer life. It is always strange to read the catholic "prayer guru's". Very often it just seems like warmed over buddhism (statments about destroying the will abound). Other times it seemed very tender and sweet. The common thread that I see in all of this type of literature is the belief that prayer is the one necessary step to the process of Christian maturity. This seems silly and one sided to me. There are so many important parts to becoming a mature Christian such as the Bible, fellowship (this one really burns the community fearing contemplatives), faith, obedience. They seem consumed by this idea of an experience that is wholly other, unworldly and strange, but it always seems to lead back to the simple and quiet thing they always knew. Imagine a marriage book that suggested that the best way to grow in your marriage was to sit silently together for extended periods of time, talking, walking, meeting with friends, and learning together are to be discouraged in favor of staring blankly into eachother's faces. Rediculous! God wants a relationship with us! He wants us to speak to Him and hear His words, share His love with others and grow closer to us each day. Why the need for this exclusive "few really get here" club of people who need to feel more specially selected?
Those criticisms being recognized Green comes to a great conclusion that most Catholics are not capable of coming to because of their dogma - God has done everything in Jesus Christ. It is not for us to DO something, but to rest in His great love and provision. He writes beautifully and tenderly. I don't doubt his heart for one moment, however he is so steeped in anti-Biblical teachings (i.e. continually returnig to the need for purgatory!) that I wouldn't reccomend the book to anyone who wasn't already well informed about the subject and it's common (often univeralist) pitfalls.
Those criticisms being recognized Green comes to a great conclusion that most Catholics are not capable of coming to because of their dogma - God has done everything in Jesus Christ. It is not for us to DO something, but to rest in His great love and provision. He writes beautifully and tenderly. I don't doubt his heart for one moment, however he is so steeped in anti-Biblical teachings (i.e. continually returnig to the need for purgatory!) that I wouldn't reccomend the book to anyone who wasn't already well informed about the subject and it's common (often univeralist) pitfalls.
January 13, 2020
This is a contemporary spiritual classic for a reason: Fr. Green had decades-long experience as a spiritual director, as well as directee, and he was a serious practitioner of prayer as well as highly self-aware and honest.
This book is a great help to those who have moved past the "honeymoon" stage of the life of prayer and are seeking to understand experiences of dryness, when God no longer seems to be present. His image of "floating" - allowing God to control one's prayer, even when it seems that "nothing is happening" - is wonderful, and very challenging!
My only quibble - which I hesitate to mention as I am nowhere near Fr. Green's league - is that he seems to be very set on only one method of prayer, whereas it seems possible to me that God can work differently in different persons.
This book is a great help to those who have moved past the "honeymoon" stage of the life of prayer and are seeking to understand experiences of dryness, when God no longer seems to be present. His image of "floating" - allowing God to control one's prayer, even when it seems that "nothing is happening" - is wonderful, and very challenging!
My only quibble - which I hesitate to mention as I am nowhere near Fr. Green's league - is that he seems to be very set on only one method of prayer, whereas it seems possible to me that God can work differently in different persons.
May 17, 2020
From the beginning I was captivated. I mean, it's hard not to be when you're being immersed in the writings of St. Ignatius, St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila. Fr. Green did a great job bringing it all together and breaking down their somewhat intimidating writings into something manageable.
However, I am a bit wary to suggest this book to someone who does not have a solid understanding of basic Catholic theology, especially when it comes to the idea of "emptying oneself". I found the writing of the Cloud of Unknowning to walk that very fine line. This is the reason why it won't get 5 stars from me. But if I ignore that second half of chapter 5, it would get 5 stars!
However, I am a bit wary to suggest this book to someone who does not have a solid understanding of basic Catholic theology, especially when it comes to the idea of "emptying oneself". I found the writing of the Cloud of Unknowning to walk that very fine line. This is the reason why it won't get 5 stars from me. But if I ignore that second half of chapter 5, it would get 5 stars!
July 17, 2020
Fantastic book on prayer and the ways God uses darkness and dryness to awaken our souls to him. If your well is dry pick up and read and discover the dryness is where God does his best work.?
December 6, 2021
Prayer forms the foundation of every Christian’s spiritual life. Prayer is our lifeline to God and, like our God, is itself a mystery – initiated by the Holy Spirit – that draws us into mystical communion with our Creator. As Christians, we go to prayer to show our devotion and be close to our God, seeking peace, consolation and wisdom for our lives. We then often return refreshed and renewed from our encounter with the Beloved. Thus, to develop our interior prayer life ought to be the desire of every child of God.
Yet we commonly find that in the pursuit of a deeper prayer life we often come up dry and wanting. Where is the God that I first struggled to find and then felt so clearly in my prayer? Why do I now labor to find any refreshment at all where a wellspring of peace and love once filled my soul? Why after so many years of devoted prayer and Christian living do I find it so difficult now to feel God’s presence? Such feelings of despair and desolation may arise as we desire to open ourselves up further to the Lord in our prayer and in our lives. During such times of spiritual dryness, our efforts to be one with God seem to have left us alone wandering lost by the side of a once familiar road looking for someone with whom to connect.
In his book When the Well Runs Dry, Fr. Thomas H. Green, S.J. provides a very important understanding of prayer for so many Christians who start to wonder why their prayer has begun to feel empty and even if God has departed them. Through using the example of some of the great mystics of our Christian tradition such as St. Teresa of Avila (圣女大德兰) and St. John of the Cross (圣十字若望), Fr. Green is able to impart some of their wisdom to us in a readable fashion to help us better understand the journey of the interior life and the true call to faith in prayer that the Lord gives us. Indeed, Fr. Green reveals to us, that it is out of His great love for us that the Lord allows us to encounter such struggles in our prayer and discernment in seeking to follow God’s will.
The call to prayer and, indeed, the call to faith is an invitation that originates from God and reminds us that it is God who chooses us, it is He who initiates a relationship with us for which he gives us the grace to freely respond. Thus, as our prayer life progresses beyond the early stages and we begin to take for granted the Lord’s presence in our prayer as though it is us who call Him to be there, God quietly reminds us that it is He who draws us to prayer and replenishes our soul. In so doing, God invites us into a deeper relationship in which greater trust and effort is required to bear the fruits of our devotion. Yet in the end, like a marriage that carries beyond the honeymoon period and through its own share of difficulties as well as the mundanity of ordinary life, the Lord rewards our fidelity with a far deeper and more mature love than we ever could have previously imagined.
Green relays St. Teresa’s metaphor of watering a garden to describe the various stages of growth in our interior prayer life. The first stage examines the laborious effort involved in prayer as beginners who, while doing their best to remain open to God, are easily distracted and have yet to develop the discipline to “confront ourselves honestly,” choosing instead to avoid the pain that often comes with such deeper levels of soul-searching. St. Teresa likens these early efforts at prayer to using a bucket to draw water from a deep well in order water a garden – a lot of sweat for not a whole lot of water.
When we are able to maintain a steady discipline, we are able to transcend the great effort involved with drawing the waters of prayer from the well, and receive the divine grace that Teresa likens to a water pump. This grace enables us to collect our will and focus on our prayer with far greater clarity than ever before. While there are still some effort and distractions involved, our will is “captured by the love of God.”
This stage then leads ultimately to the last two stages of the interior life in which God provides a stream of water to flow through us without any effort on our part beyond irrigating the soil for the water to reach the flowers of the Lord’s garden. In much the same way, we must actively cooperate with God’s gift of grace and love in order for the Incarnate Word that dwells within us to bear great fruit. When we ultimately transcend even this stage in which the Lord takes on more and more of the work, we find that we can finally let the Lord lead us in prayer so that He can use this time to more fully shape and transform us “to be simply the clay in the hands of the potter.” For only when we truly let go in prayer, can the Lord lead us into the depths of His mystery on a journey of beauty and discovery.
In this way faith leads us to hope and, in turn, to love. This love of the Father that we encounter in different ways throughout our spiritual journey grows stronger as we mature in our faith and understanding of God’s will for our lives. But, Green insists, having experienced God in such a real and meaningful way through prayer is not meant to be an end unto itself. To experience God in prayer necessitates a call to action; to live out and share that experience with others and not cling to it. In so doing, Green says, we imitate Mary Magdalen who, upon seeing the risen Lord, rushed off to tell the others rather than staying by Him. Thus, not merely by the act of prayer, but through the virtues strengthened through it and living out those virtues do we attain the true goal of prayer. Not mere devotion, but a living out of the faith that is strengthened through such prayer.
When we are capable of all of this, our faith and will tested through prayer and living out that prayer, then our prayer begins to take on a new character – this dryness – that more closely imitates that of Christ. We are given a cross to bear for which our prayer prepares and strengthens us so that we, too, like Jesus, may “learn obedience through suffering.” This dryness in prayer that we experience as our interior life matures is what Green describes as the “cross of desolation,” only through which are we able to have true faith in God’s merciful love and truly learn to love as Christ.
In such a beautiful and sincere way does Fr. Green weave us through an understanding of prayer beyond the beginnings. Through his many clear and relatable examples, he guides us through the insightful writings of the early Church mystics on the interior life. In so doing, he opens our eyes to see where God is truly leading us, and to know that when we do experience dryness in our prayer lives, that it is our Lord purifying us so that we might let go of all that inhibits His grace from more perfectly flowing within us and allow His mercy and love to more completely surround us in our prayer.
Yet we commonly find that in the pursuit of a deeper prayer life we often come up dry and wanting. Where is the God that I first struggled to find and then felt so clearly in my prayer? Why do I now labor to find any refreshment at all where a wellspring of peace and love once filled my soul? Why after so many years of devoted prayer and Christian living do I find it so difficult now to feel God’s presence? Such feelings of despair and desolation may arise as we desire to open ourselves up further to the Lord in our prayer and in our lives. During such times of spiritual dryness, our efforts to be one with God seem to have left us alone wandering lost by the side of a once familiar road looking for someone with whom to connect.
In his book When the Well Runs Dry, Fr. Thomas H. Green, S.J. provides a very important understanding of prayer for so many Christians who start to wonder why their prayer has begun to feel empty and even if God has departed them. Through using the example of some of the great mystics of our Christian tradition such as St. Teresa of Avila (圣女大德兰) and St. John of the Cross (圣十字若望), Fr. Green is able to impart some of their wisdom to us in a readable fashion to help us better understand the journey of the interior life and the true call to faith in prayer that the Lord gives us. Indeed, Fr. Green reveals to us, that it is out of His great love for us that the Lord allows us to encounter such struggles in our prayer and discernment in seeking to follow God’s will.
The call to prayer and, indeed, the call to faith is an invitation that originates from God and reminds us that it is God who chooses us, it is He who initiates a relationship with us for which he gives us the grace to freely respond. Thus, as our prayer life progresses beyond the early stages and we begin to take for granted the Lord’s presence in our prayer as though it is us who call Him to be there, God quietly reminds us that it is He who draws us to prayer and replenishes our soul. In so doing, God invites us into a deeper relationship in which greater trust and effort is required to bear the fruits of our devotion. Yet in the end, like a marriage that carries beyond the honeymoon period and through its own share of difficulties as well as the mundanity of ordinary life, the Lord rewards our fidelity with a far deeper and more mature love than we ever could have previously imagined.
Green relays St. Teresa’s metaphor of watering a garden to describe the various stages of growth in our interior prayer life. The first stage examines the laborious effort involved in prayer as beginners who, while doing their best to remain open to God, are easily distracted and have yet to develop the discipline to “confront ourselves honestly,” choosing instead to avoid the pain that often comes with such deeper levels of soul-searching. St. Teresa likens these early efforts at prayer to using a bucket to draw water from a deep well in order water a garden – a lot of sweat for not a whole lot of water.
When we are able to maintain a steady discipline, we are able to transcend the great effort involved with drawing the waters of prayer from the well, and receive the divine grace that Teresa likens to a water pump. This grace enables us to collect our will and focus on our prayer with far greater clarity than ever before. While there are still some effort and distractions involved, our will is “captured by the love of God.”
This stage then leads ultimately to the last two stages of the interior life in which God provides a stream of water to flow through us without any effort on our part beyond irrigating the soil for the water to reach the flowers of the Lord’s garden. In much the same way, we must actively cooperate with God’s gift of grace and love in order for the Incarnate Word that dwells within us to bear great fruit. When we ultimately transcend even this stage in which the Lord takes on more and more of the work, we find that we can finally let the Lord lead us in prayer so that He can use this time to more fully shape and transform us “to be simply the clay in the hands of the potter.” For only when we truly let go in prayer, can the Lord lead us into the depths of His mystery on a journey of beauty and discovery.
In this way faith leads us to hope and, in turn, to love. This love of the Father that we encounter in different ways throughout our spiritual journey grows stronger as we mature in our faith and understanding of God’s will for our lives. But, Green insists, having experienced God in such a real and meaningful way through prayer is not meant to be an end unto itself. To experience God in prayer necessitates a call to action; to live out and share that experience with others and not cling to it. In so doing, Green says, we imitate Mary Magdalen who, upon seeing the risen Lord, rushed off to tell the others rather than staying by Him. Thus, not merely by the act of prayer, but through the virtues strengthened through it and living out those virtues do we attain the true goal of prayer. Not mere devotion, but a living out of the faith that is strengthened through such prayer.
When we are capable of all of this, our faith and will tested through prayer and living out that prayer, then our prayer begins to take on a new character – this dryness – that more closely imitates that of Christ. We are given a cross to bear for which our prayer prepares and strengthens us so that we, too, like Jesus, may “learn obedience through suffering.” This dryness in prayer that we experience as our interior life matures is what Green describes as the “cross of desolation,” only through which are we able to have true faith in God’s merciful love and truly learn to love as Christ.
In such a beautiful and sincere way does Fr. Green weave us through an understanding of prayer beyond the beginnings. Through his many clear and relatable examples, he guides us through the insightful writings of the early Church mystics on the interior life. In so doing, he opens our eyes to see where God is truly leading us, and to know that when we do experience dryness in our prayer lives, that it is our Lord purifying us so that we might let go of all that inhibits His grace from more perfectly flowing within us and allow His mercy and love to more completely surround us in our prayer.
November 26, 2007
even though i am still reading this book, i really like it! it's basically teresa of avila and st. john of the cross for dummies. he talks about prayer in a way that makes sense of how i am praying these days. more to come as i keep reading...
ok, i've now finished the book. i would recommend it to anyone who finds himself or herself in a "dark night of the soul," the wilderness, dryness, any imagery that is stark, barren, bad. i appreciated that he articulated things i felt and made me feel less crazy. he also really likes images, so if you are an image appreciative person, you'll like him. clouds, gardens, wells, night, floating - all images he alludes to.
at times, i thought it was a bit slow and dense to read, but i bet i will find myself going back to it and re-reading passages.
ok, i've now finished the book. i would recommend it to anyone who finds himself or herself in a "dark night of the soul," the wilderness, dryness, any imagery that is stark, barren, bad. i appreciated that he articulated things i felt and made me feel less crazy. he also really likes images, so if you are an image appreciative person, you'll like him. clouds, gardens, wells, night, floating - all images he alludes to.
at times, i thought it was a bit slow and dense to read, but i bet i will find myself going back to it and re-reading passages.
February 27, 2023
A good resource for learning about the dark night of the soul and what God is doing in a persons soul while they feel in the dark. Green talks about going from knowing God to loving God in chapters 1-3, and then from loving God to truly loving God in chapters 4-6. He unpacks multiple parts of John of the Cross’ teaching throughout. I really loved his image of getting to the place where one is totally surrendered to God - like “floating” in the river of God, not trying to swim where you will, but open to wherever God wants to take you. Part of the book seemed like they were only applicable to monks, devoted to life in prayer, but the epilogue was so helpful for me in making it feel the topic feel personally relatable.
June 23, 2021
I found this an encouraging read in that Green makes it very clear the life discussed in this book takes a lifetime and more to achieve for even the most devoted followers. That translates to me that I'm doing ok for my stage. So stop fretting.
The material presented requires more attention than I gave it on the first pass and it also points to some work with St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and at least 2 other authors that could be helpful. He does explain the portions he used from those sources clearly, I am happy to say.
The material presented requires more attention than I gave it on the first pass and it also points to some work with St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and at least 2 other authors that could be helpful. He does explain the portions he used from those sources clearly, I am happy to say.
March 15, 2023
A stunningly good, pastorally sensitive description of the Christian experience of God's absence: what it's for, how to exist helpfully within it, how to cede control of one's relationship with God from oneself to God. Clearly the author has a tremendous amount of credibility from his own relationship with God and his many years as spiritual director to worshippers in crisis. The authority of his words is hard-earned, persuasive, and comforting.
July 12, 2024
A friend gifted me this book after I explained how challenging the Lenten season seems to be for me. It took me a while to read as I started and stopped several times: the reality of my experience felt too painful to confront in print. I’m glad I didn’t stop, though, because now the hardships of my interior prayer life have context and meaning, and above all, they have purpose. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to deepen their prayer life.
February 7, 2022
An accessible, pastoral description of one of the movements of the contemplative/purgative classical Christian journey: that of the transition from the dark night of the senses into the dark night of the spirit. For those whose prayer is leading into dryness or seeming emptiness, this is compassionate but clear diagnostic guidance.
November 6, 2024
¡Madres lo BUENO que está este libro! Todos a leerlo ASAP (si quieres crecer en tu vida de oración). En serio, MADRES la aventura que es la vida interior. No es solo para seminaristas como yo, es para todos. Demasiado insight como director espiritual. Tiene demasiados ejemplos y habla mucho sobre Sta. Teresa de Ávila y San Juan de la Cruz. #TUVIAproved
January 6, 2025
Lo valioso de este libro es porque es una síntesis y explicación de lo que otros SANTOS han escrito de la desolación. Lo que el mismo autor aporta, es también valioso. Me gustaría que hubiera un quiz para saber en donde te ubicas.
En cuanto a la estructura está 2/3. Y sí es disfrutable leerlo si te identificas con el problema:)
En cuanto a la estructura está 2/3. Y sí es disfrutable leerlo si te identificas con el problema:)
November 9, 2018
ⓒ1979. Excellent book on the place of dark night of the soul in Christian prayer. Cites the classic sources (Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, et al.) and interprets them in a way understandable to modern people. A hopeful and positive view of a very difficult experience.
October 26, 2017
Although I am not much for organized religion, I do believe in the power of prayer. This book gives guidance into finding hope and using prayer to get through when life feels unbearable.
September 22, 2019
The best chapter is Chapter 6, the final chapter. Sometimes it feels like the last chapter should be the first chapter.
February 6, 2024
Opening to God is good, but this is his stellar work, deftly synthesising the writings of the great masters of prayer, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross who can be quite dense to read unaided.
May 27, 2024
Some religious experience is needed to see where he is coming from. Nevertheless the ideas are very clear.
December 7, 2007
fantastic book, it goes deeper than I originally thought. it answers my very question about spiritual dryness on why it is necessary to experience it. before reading the heavy stuff on the subject of prayer and prayer life such as "dark night of the soul" by St. John of Cross, or "way to perfection" by St. Theress Avila, I recommend reading this book.
surely i'll read this book again in the future.
surely i'll read this book again in the future.
January 16, 2013
A good book on spiritual dryness with some really insightful moments (especially those drawn from Teresa of Avila). Green is an easygoing author (and individual--I've had the pleasure of meeting him), and that makes his prose readable and not too dry. However, I was troubled by his belief that, in the end, spiritual dryness is actually the order of the day for the Christian life. That felt a little too much like throwing in the towel on the complexity of the soul. 3.5 stars.
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July 17, 2016Unfortunately, whilst reading this book we did major renovations in our house and it has been mislaid. I cannot therefore say I have finished it, but I will read it again once I have been able to locate it.
December 24, 2014
A very good book on prayer that uses the analogy of floating.
June 27, 2016
Seems good. Will help in the spiritual life.
July 8, 2011
Great book
April 14, 2019
Very interesting. This book has given me a lot to think about. The Cloud of Unknowing I’ve known for years. St John of the Cross doesn’t speak to me in the same way. Both of these are referred to, St John of the Cross a lot. This is definitely a book I’m going to have to re-read, at some point.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews