Vision Quest

John S. Dunne (d. 2013) was the John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and the author of twenty books, including The Road of the Heart's Desire: An Essay on the Cycles of Story and Song and A Journey with God in Time: A Spiritual Quest, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

"John S. Dunne is a Catholic theologian who really does understand what it means to listen and discern the voice of God." —Newsweek"The 'vision quest' is a Native American term which refers to a youth coming of age who keeps a solitary vigil seeking spiritual power and knowledge through a vision. Dunne. . . also seeks a vision. The modern vision of the world is a vision of evolution—life evolving from matter, intelligence arising from life. The ancient vision was a vision of emanation—everything cascading down from the One. Dunne imagines bringing the two together into a great circle, everything coming from God and returning to God, where everything is 'from God and of God and towards God.'" —Theology Digest"The theme of the great circle of love has governed Dunne's writing since The Reasons of the Heart; A Vision Quest is an attempt to integrate the modern vision of evolution into it. This book represents Dunne's most sustained engagement with modern scientific materialism, especially of the neuroscientific and evolutionary variety." —America "Readers familiar with the prior works and spiritual journey of John Dunne will be refreshed by him at this latest stopping place, A Vision Quest. It is a strong reaffirmation and sharing of his inner life which is replete with citations from his voluminous readings. The abundance of the latter is not the result of literary or religious pedantry, but the ingathering of the many companions and fortifiers of the way ahead. With each he feels affinity and through each he expresses the wisdom and excitement they bring to the journely John Dunne is a polymath and a man of generous and deep devotion still." —Herbert Mason, author of The Death of al Hallaj"Dunne's lucid prose reflects a long life of study and contemplative living. A Vision Quest, his most recent work, read in the meditative spirit in which it was written, will amply reward any reader who, in the spirit of the psalmist, "seeks the face of God." —Lawrence S. Cunningham, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame