Andrew D Mayes – författare

How can we describe to others what is happening to us on our spiritual journey? How can we depict the spiritual road that we are taking—experiences of prayer, transitions that we travel through, impediments that we face—and externalize into words the interior experiences? In this spiritual lexicon, Andrew Mayes explores creative and inspirational metaphors to equip anyone wanting to communicate effectively about their faith or life of prayer. Learning the Language of the Soul is a handbook that will prove indispensable to spiritual directors, evangelists, and all sharing in the witness of the church today. It will loosen our tongues as we discover images from both the classic Christian tradition and contemporary culture that help us express and develop a spiritual literacy by which we share with others the joys and struggles of the inner life.

How can we describe to others what is happening to us on our spiritual journey? How can we depict the spiritual road that we are taking—experiences of prayer, transitions that we travel through, impediments that we face—and externalize into words the interior experiences?In this spiritual lexicon, Andrew Mayes explores creative and inspirational metaphors to equip anyone wanting to communicate effectively about their faith or life of prayer. Learning the Language of the Soul is a handbook that will prove indispensable to spiritual directors, evangelists, and all sharing in the witness of the church today. It will loosen our tongues as we discover images from both the classic Christian tradition and contemporary culture that help us express and develop a spiritual literacy by which we share with others the joys and struggles of the inner life.

2022 Catholic Media Association first place award in mysticismThis book invites the reader to a spiritual odyssey. It opens before the reader an itinerary for venturing forth with God, aided by the astonishing writings of seventh-century Isaac the Syrian. Long-lost manuscripts have recently been discovered, translated, and published in scholarly works; this book aims to make them accessible to readers who want to experience their wisdom personally and so progress in a spiritual adventure. Isaac’s writings are explored through the lens of his beloved metaphor of diving for pearls, which opens many avenues for reflection and spiritual practice.This is a book to inspire preachers and teachers on prayer. It will stimulate and offer a resource to spiritual directors and retreat givers, and it provides material ideally suited to quiet days and retreats. A practical resource, it includes questions for individual or group reflection at the end of every chapter and a range of prayer exercises. Above all, it is offered to those who want to leave the shallows and launch out into the deep in their spiritual journey.

In the shifting sands of today''s uncertain world, where traditional paradigms are fragmenting and everything seems in a state of flux, the biblical mountains endure as unshakable and steadfast. In their caves and canyons linger ancient voices that can startle us into new insights and awaken in us new ways of seeing the world and ourselves. In this book we go on a quest to locate the ancient voices of those who actually lived in these mountains, who knew both the physical contours and spiritual secrets of the summits and who long pondered their mysteries. We will rediscover texts and fragments that have been long forgotten in the West. The pandemic has filled the world with uncertainty and fear. We will discover wisdom and insights that are strikingly relevant to this unfolding world crisis and that speak with an uncanny directness to our situation. But the wisdom here is timeless and enduring, and readers will benefit from these ancient voices in all generations and in all sorts of circumstances. This book is not so much an anthology of forgotten voices as a sourcebook of spirituality and a guidebook for the spiritual adventure.

"I will put in the wilderness the cedar,the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive" (Isa 41:19).This book explores pathways to renewal through the powerful metaphor of reforesting the desert places. The soul can sometimes be an arid, thirsty, desiccated place, becoming as exhausted and denuded as land that has been ravaged and stripped of its trees. God''s promise is to reforest the wilderness and renew our fruitfulness. This book is a guided retreat, simultaneously enabling attentiveness to the soul while resonating with urgent ecological concerns. The rich symbolism of different trees both in the Bible and in the Christian tradition, including hymnody and poetry, leads us into meditation, reflection, and action. As land that is reforested holds the promise of new beginnings, so this book heartens us with pointers towards spiritual rejuvenation.

This exciting resource on desert spirituality is quite unlike any other: at once a physical journey to outstanding deserts of the planet and an odyssey of the soul. A journey of discovery takes us across five continents as we venture to places few pilgrims reach: the Gazan desert, the Sahara, the Australian outback, the Athos wilderness and the Ordos Desert of China, and the Syrian desert, among others. Evocative descriptions by early travelers and by the author immerse us into a diversity of wilderness landscapes, stimulating the senses and the imagination. Physicality leads to spirituality as we listen to compelling voices that speak to us poignantly across space and time--including spiritual writers long-forgotten or not well-known. These unearth for us the treasure we seek: we uncover the distinctive charism of each desert, offering us different and challenging ways of looking at the world and at the spiritual life. We discover the unpredictable desert to contain unexpected, priceless treasures of transformative wisdom that speak uncannily into our own contemporary spiritual search. We see how these gems can energize and inspire our discipleship or spiritual practice. As we embark on this spiritual quest, we may never be the same again!

This book bears us on eagles'' wings into the vault of the heavens and plunges us into the hidden depths of the soul. As the climate crisis alerts us to the state of the planet, so we look into our soul. We see how the Bible and classic spiritual writers use arresting meteorological imagery to describe both the discovery of the Divine and the condition of humanity. We explore a rich and diverse vocabulary, archetypal, universal, and primal, enabling us to describe the movements of the soul. These images and metaphors help us express what is going on in our spiritual lives as we learn the skill of reading the climate of our soul. Attentiveness to the ecology of the soul leads to a sharper perception of the environmental issues facing our planet. This book helps us to look differently at our turbulent world within the interplay of microcosm of soul and macrocosm of climate, celebrating a sacramental approach to the universe, to the elements, and to ourselves.

Step across the threshold and enter different spiritual worlds! Discover riches from the treasury of Jerusalem''s religious traditions. Meet ordinary people of the holy city becoming extraordinary as they explore pathways to the Divine: practitioners of Kabbalah and Sufi traditions, Armenian and Syriac prayer, Franciscan and Orthodox spiritualities. Listen to those who actually live on the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross--their hopes and heartaches. Experience for yourself the transformative and life-changing potential of their spiritualities in a way that will enrich and empower you in your own situation and equip you for a greater engagement with spiritual traditions. This is the invitation of this book and the lure of the gateways of Jerusalem.This resource embraces a kaleidoscope and mosaic of nationalities and ethnicities and spiritual traditions. Chapters include a short extract from classic spiritual writers of each tradition so we can engage firsthand with their spiritual riches. Suggested prayer exercises encourage us to make this an experiential reading, while questions in each chapter trigger reflection in individual readers or in groups using this as a course. Two concluding chapters identify commonalities and shared threads amongst the tapestry of religious traditions, and help us to relate the experience of this book to our own everyday environment.

Become an intrepid pilgrim on an adventure of faith as you walk five biblical roads that have played such an influential role in our spiritual history. These ancient paths, their stones full of biblical memories, evoke the travels of our ancestors in the faith and Jesus himself: key Scriptures become a guidebook for an unforgettable journey. But also listen to contemporary voices: a wide range of short interviews immerses the reader in present-day realities. As readers tread these roads through mountain, valley, desert, coastland, and city, they will realize their potential to challenge and transform their perceptions--even the very course of their faith. They may never be the same again as they follow in the footsteps of Abraham, Jesus, and courageous pilgrims and hear the cries of today''s residents. Roads are about enabling movement. This odyssey of the soul will help readers along in their faith journey, open up new vistas and perspectives, and stimulate a movement in the soul as insights are gained and challenges embraced.

This is a riveting book with bite, an exploration with edginess. Compelling and arresting images confront us with a fresh view of Jesus--and of ourselves, as we rediscover our vocation to be "Another Christ" for troubled times. Recent research into the first-century setting of the gospel and the author''s years in the Holy Land cast unexpected light on both the identity of Jesus and our present calling, while Francis of Assisi reveals how this can be creatively lived out.We have a choice. If we keep before our eyes images of Christ that are comforting, soothing, familiar, traditional--then our Christian life may turn out to be prosaic, pedestrian, and predictable, a preservative to maintain the status quo. But if we allow our discipleship today to be unsettled and inspired by images of Christ that are dynamic, risky, outrageous, brave, passionate, radical--then we open ourselves to new possibilities: we embark on a liberating adventure, an odyssey of the soul, a pilgrimage, a voyage into untested waters. What will we choose? Do we dare to take the unpredictable path? And which route will respond most courageously to the needs of today''s wounded world?

This is a riveting book with bite, an exploration with edginess. Compelling and arresting images confront us with a fresh view of Jesus--and of ourselves, as we rediscover our vocation to be "Another Christ" for troubled times. Recent research into the first-century setting of the gospel and the author''s years in the Holy Land cast unexpected light on both the identity of Jesus and our present calling, while Francis of Assisi reveals how this can be creatively lived out.We have a choice. If we keep before our eyes images of Christ that are comforting, soothing, familiar, traditional--then our Christian life may turn out to be prosaic, pedestrian, and predictable, a preservative to maintain the status quo. But if we allow our discipleship today to be unsettled and inspired by images of Christ that are dynamic, risky, outrageous, brave, passionate, radical--then we open ourselves to new possibilities: we embark on a liberating adventure, an odyssey of the soul, a pilgrimage, a voyage into untested waters. What will we choose? Do we dare to take the unpredictable path? And which route will respond most courageously to the needs of today''s wounded world?