Adrian L Van Kaam – författare

To have known Adrian van Kaam in person is to have loved him for reasons human and spiritual. His kindness to everyone is as legendary as his fidelity to the mystery in all the peaks and valleys of daily life. His humility is the fire that enkindles his original vision of formative spirituality. His gentle, joyful spirit radiates on every page of this retelling of his life story. In it he takes us to the heart of his thinking in the fields of psychology and spiritual formation. He welcomes us wholeheartedly into the intimate corners of his family, his friendships, and his pastoral and professional life. He brings us into a little known arena of world history, the infamous Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944--1945. We travel with him from that bleak period through the renewal of his life''s work in the United States to its crowning phase in the Epiphany Association, co-founded with his colleague and editor of this unforgettable work of love, Dr. Susan Muto.

Reading A Light to the Gentiles, a classic biography by the renowned spiritual writer and psychologist, Adrian van Kaam, has as much potential to change each reader's life as the light of divine grace changed the life of Venerable Francis Libermann, son of a Rabbi and a Christian convert whose destiny rested in the hands of Divine Providence. It is clear that the author's love for Libermann deeply affected his own understanding of the dynamics of purifying formation, illuminating reformation, and unifying transformation. The "e;Jew of Saverne"e; understood the Paschal Mystery as few Christians have. Libermann carried the cross--his "e;crucifying epiphany"e; with the joy of his "e;resurrection epiphany,"e; letting go of the "e;old man of flesh"e; and becoming a new man in Christ Jesus. This is at once a work of exquisite scholarship and a labor of love that highlights the brilliance of a founder of a religious community, a great educator, and evangelizer, a suffering servant, and a man of immense gentleness and compassion for abandoned souls everywhere. No other life of Libermann so fills our spirit, heart, mind, and soul as this one.