A. Carthusian – författare

The thoughts contained in this book were from the pen of one who, in the silence of the Charterhouse, had already arrived at the summits of the spiritual heights, and dwelt there unceasingly. Souls who have reached such perfection in this life are rare; not so rare, however, are those who ardently aspire thereto. It is chiefly for such as these - to encourage and help them to arrive at those same heights - that these thoughts have been preserved and collected.They Speak by Silences was first published in French in 1948, and has since allowed Carthusian wisdom and spirituality to reach the widest possible audience. This new, and widely requested edition carries on the tradition. It will provide material for daily reading and reflection for newcomers to Carthusian spirituality and, equally, for those who have already discovered the riches it has to offer.Not everyone can experience that same recollection that exists in a Charterhouse, but they must not be afraid to set aside as far as possible at least some moments, however short, for recollection and to give some time to Him Who is within them. It is in that silence that He speaks to us, and bids us listen to Him.Other books of classic Carthusian spirituality published by Gracewing include The Call of Silent Love, The Prayer of Love and Silence and The Wound of Love.

A carthusian novice master reminds his charges, and his readers, that the call to live wholly and radically in Christ is the vocation of al Christians and all humanity. 'The Christian is not a separate species of human being, but what each person is called to be. And the monk is not a separate species of Christian. He tries to be what each Christian ought to be. Conformity to Christ in faith, hope, and love: this is holiness, and each person is called to this holiness.'

'Prayer is a journey, sometimes a combatThere are trials, purifications, passages.It is at once the most simpleand the most profound of human activities.May these pages help someoneto discover its hidden joy.'Interior Prayer contains the Carthusians' traditional doctrine on prayer 'from its very beginnings to the simplicity of its highest forms. Far from being abstract and theoretical, we learn about the prayer process by sharing in the novices' concrete spiritual journey. Their problems and difficulties, and the many pitfalls they encounter on the way, are expressed in an ongoing dialogue with their guide who relates to each one individually.

'The spiritual centre of the human person, the self', writes the author, 'maintains its fundamental identity for the whole of life on earth and is destined for participation in the eternal life of God... The person is not a succession of separate points at the mercy of the conditions of the moment. God has given us a share in his power as creator, and to create ourselves through our liberty, to go beyond ourselves towards absolute values'. These reflections by a Carthusian novice master for those training for the life of silent love show that in the obedience born of love, one responds to the all encompassing, deeply intimate and sustaining love of God.

Followers of the way of Jesus Christ through two millennia have engaged in the joyful yet life 'costing struggle of responding to the challenge of being transformed into his likeness. This further volume of Carthusian Novice Conferences offers the father 'master's words of instruction on poverty to the men who have been drawn to the Carthusian form of the Christian way.As with all of us, 'poverty' operates on many levels, and one of the most remarkable qualities of these talks is that they range over the economic history as well as the more traditionally spiritual teaching of the Carthusian Order in its own struggle to seek Christ in simplicity and silence.Like al Christians, the Carthusians find Jesus the great Exemplar of the poverty that is desirable and yet 'costs not less than everything'; and once again we are reminded, with characteristic directness, of the source and fount of the desirable poverty - the total mutual self-giving of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.