Paul Murray OP – författare

I Loved Jesus in the Night is one priest’s compelling memories of the icon of compassion. Sharing anecdote and firsthand experiences, Fr. Paul Murray gives a glimpse into why Mother Teresa had feelings of being a “saint of darkness.” This very personal, yet powerful book is an attempt to understand the dark night experiences that she endured in the light of the Gospel and of the mystical teachings of St. John of the Cross. And something else as well…revelations of Mother Teresa’s sense of humour! Through this intimate look at her “private writings,” Paul Murray illumines the meaning of a life that is only now beginning to be understood.

Written with both passion and precision, God’s Spies is a work that will be welcomed by anyone interested in the vital interplay between poetry and religion. The authors represented, including poets such as Michelangelo, St Francis of Assisi, Charles Péguy, Dante and Shakespeare, all possess one great and surprising quality in common: audacity. All of them in their work offer fresh and unforeseen perspectives on life and literature. Some of these authors are religious in the strict meaning of the word, their work indicating a devout turning away from the distractions of the world to focus on God. Others, in contrast, are poets whose work is distinguished by a remarkable visionary focus on the many small and great dramas of life, attending with bright, imaginative genius to what Shakespeare calls ‘the mystery of things’.

Written with both passion and precision, God''s Spies is a work that will be welcomed by anyone interested in the vital interplay between poetry and religion. The authors represented, including poets such as Michelangelo, St Francis of Assisi, Charles Péguy, Dante and Shakespeare, all possess one great and surprising quality in common: audacity. All of them in their work offer fresh and unforeseen perspectives on life and literature. Some of these authors are religious in the strict meaning of the word, their work indicating a devout turning away from the distractions of the world to focus on God. Others, in contrast, are poets whose work is distinguished by a remarkable visionary focus on the many small and great dramas of life, attending with bright, imaginative genius to what Shakespeare calls ''the mystery of things''.

Written with both passion and precision, God''s Spies is a work that will be welcomed by anyone interested in the vital interplay between poetry and religion. The authors represented, including poets such as Michelangelo, St Francis of Assisi, Charles Péguy, Dante and Shakespeare, all possess one great and surprising quality in common: audacity. All of them in their work offer fresh and unforeseen perspectives on life and literature. Some of these authors are religious in the strict meaning of the word, their work indicating a devout turning away from the distractions of the world to focus on God. Others, in contrast, are poets whose work is distinguished by a remarkable visionary focus on the many small and great dramas of life, attending with bright, imaginative genius to what Shakespeare calls ''the mystery of things''.

Written with both passion and precision, God’s Spies is a work that will be welcomed by anyone interested in the vital interplay between poetry and religion. The authors represented, including poets such as Michelangelo, St Francis of Assisi, Charles Péguy, Dante and Shakespeare, all possess one great and surprising quality in common: audacity. All of them in their work offer fresh and unforeseen perspectives on life and literature. Some of these authors are religious in the strict meaning of the word, their work indicating a devout turning away from the distractions of the world to focus on God. Others, in contrast, are poets whose work is distinguished by a remarkable visionary focus on the many small and great dramas of life, attending with bright, imaginative genius to what Shakespeare calls ‘the mystery of things’.

This lively and compelling book by Paul Murray OP names and celebrates aspects of the Dominican tradition which are at the very core of its spirituality.This tradition has often been described in the past, and for good reason, as scholarly and intellectual. But the lives of the Dominicans whose voices we hear in this book were also, and to an extraordinary degree, apostolic, exuberant, evangelical, risk-taking, mystical, and robust.One of the things which has characterized the Dominican spirit from the beginning is a sense of openness to the world. Dominicans such as Thomas Aquinas, Jordan of Saxony, and Catherine of Siena, were not only impressive celebrants of grace. They were also defenders of nature. After the example of St Dominic himself, they learned to drink deep from the wine of God's Word, and became witnesses not only of certain great moral and doctrinal truths but witnesses also of an unimaginable joy.One reason, in society today, why so many feel unfulfilled and are not happy is because the vision of life offered is one that is restricted to a pragmatic, one-dimensional view of the world. The Dominican vision of life we find presented in this book is one that is truly broad and joyous.It is a path of spirituality - a way - open to people of all kinds and conditions.

Aquinas at Prayer draws attention to important aspects of Aquinas's life and work which have been all too often overlooked or forgotten.Today Aquinas is almost exclusively regarded as an outstanding scholastic philosopher and theologian. But what is little known is that Aquinas was, first and last, a teacher of the Bible - a Master of the Sacred Page. Moreover there is a distinctly mystical character to his theology. And, as a writer, he was not only a poet but, arguably, the greatest Latin poet of the Middle Ages.The primary focus of this most engaging new book is to explore the question of Aquinas's own practice of prayer and his teaching on prayer in his commentaries on the Psalms and St Paul. The book is strengthened by quotations from Aquinas in fresh translations.

Aquinas at Prayer draws attention to important aspects of Aquinas's life and work which have been all too often overlooked or forgotten.Today Aquinas is almost exclusively regarded as an outstanding scholastic philosopher and theologian. But what is little known is that Aquinas was, first and last, a teacher of the Bible - a Master of the Sacred Page. Moreover there is a distinctly mystical character to his theology. And, as a writer, he was not only a poet but, arguably, the greatest Latin poet of the Middle Ages.The primary focus of this most engaging new book is to explore the question of Aquinas's own practice of prayer and his teaching on prayer in his commentaries on the Psalms and St Paul. The book is strengthened by quotations from Aquinas in fresh translations.

Aquinas at Prayer draws attention to important aspects of Aquinas's life and work which have been all too often overlooked or forgotten.Today Aquinas is almost exclusively regarded as an outstanding scholastic philosopher and theologian. But what is little known is that Aquinas was, first and last, a teacher of the Bible - a Master of the Sacred Page. Moreover there is a distinctly mystical character to his theology. And, as a writer, he was not only a poet but, arguably, the greatest Latin poet of the Middle Ages.The primary focus of this most engaging new book is to explore the question of Aquinas's own practice of prayer and his teaching on prayer in his commentaries on the Psalms and St Paul. The book is strengthened by quotations from Aquinas in fresh translations.

A powerful reflection on human affliction in the stories of some remarkable individuals. Paul Murray is not only an academic, a preacher and published poet, he is also a superb pastor. During his ministry, he has dealt with some extraordinary people - not least a South African who was convicted of murder and hanged under Apartheid. Drawing on this remarkable experience, the reader is offered here a sustained meditation on the meaning of affliction and suffering in a way that is ultimately the story of human triumph and the ultimate victory of the Cross. The book concludes with Paul Murray's extraordinary meditations on the Seven Last Words from the Cross in which the wealth of his pastoral experience is fully brought to bear. Scars is the account of men and women of all ages who have survived major crises or tragedies of one kind or another: the scourge of drug addiction, the misery of long-term imprisonment, severe illness, the burden of remembered violence, and the tragedy of child abuse. The most striking thing about such people is that, whether or not they are aware of the reality of God in their lives, they are people of extraordinary compassion. They seem to have been initiated into a new dimension of themselves and to have discovered a new wealth within. As Murray says in his introduction 'the voices which I have begun to hear are voices to which I myself am still learning to listen'. These are not just accounts of triumphs and of tragedy - they are powerful meditations on something much more profound.

Increasingly the contemplative tradition in Christianity is being seen as essential to our understanding of Christianity itself. Here is the book to explain all.What is it like in practice to come close to the presence of God? Are there words which can, in some way, explain the nature of that experience?In this compelling study, Paul Murray draws attention to both the wisdom and lived experience of those men and women who knew, at first hand, of the light and fire of which they speak. Murray demonstrates how important and relevant for us today are the writings of authors such as Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, and Teresa of Avila.To the often bewildered hearts and minds of our generation, the writings of these remarkable men and women speak with a unique authority.

A powerful reflection on human affliction in the stories of some remarkable individuals. Paul Murray is not only an academic, a preacher and published poet, he is also a superb pastor. During his ministry, he has dealt with some extraordinary people - not least a South African who was convicted of murder and hanged under Apartheid. Drawing on this remarkable experience, the reader is offered here a sustained meditation on the meaning of affliction and suffering in a way that is ultimately the story of human triumph and the ultimate victory of the Cross. The book concludes with Paul Murray's extraordinary meditations on the Seven Last Words from the Cross in which the wealth of his pastoral experience is fully brought to bear. Scars is the account of men and women of all ages who have survived major crises or tragedies of one kind or another: the scourge of drug addiction, the misery of long-term imprisonment, severe illness, the burden of remembered violence, and the tragedy of child abuse. The most striking thing about such people is that, whether or not they are aware of the reality of God in their lives, they are people of extraordinary compassion. They seem to have been initiated into a new dimension of themselves and to have discovered a new wealth within. As Murray says in his introduction 'the voices which I have begun to hear are voices to which I myself am still learning to listen'. These are not just accounts of triumphs and of tragedy - they are powerful meditations on something much more profound.

Increasingly the contemplative tradition in Christianity is being seen as essential to our understanding of Christianity itself. Here is the book to explain all.What is it like in practice to come close to the presence of God? Are there words which can, in some way, explain the nature of that experience?In this compelling study, Paul Murray draws attention to both the wisdom and lived experience of those men and women who knew, at first hand, of the light and fire of which they speak. Murray demonstrates how important and relevant for us today are the writings of authors such as Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, and Teresa of Avila.To the often bewildered hearts and minds of our generation, the writings of these remarkable men and women speak with a unique authority.

An entirely fresh approach to the Our Father, Jesus's own prayer, through the eyes of one of the greatest saints, Thomas Aquinas.Never before have the most important reflections by Aquinas on the Lord's Prayer been drawn together and considered in a single book. Here, Aquinas comes alive not merely as a profound speculative theologian but also as an impressive master and guide of the spiritual and moral life.And he also comes across, on occasion, as a teacher capable of saying the unexpected, openly confessing, for example, "...it is hardly possible to say a single Our Father without our minds wandering off to other things." The style of Aquinas is, for the most part, plain and expository, but evident on every page is the serene, unmistakable mark of wisdom, Aquinas's own, and that of the great tradition. Those readers who, in the past, have found the study of Aquinas especially daunting, will be grateful to the Dominican Paul Murray for the freshness and clarity he brings to his task. Praying with Confidence: Aquinas on the Lord's Prayer is both a stimulating scholarly study and an ideal introduction for the general reader.

Increasingly the contemplative tradition in Christianity is being seen as essential to our understanding of Christianity itself. Here is the book to explain all.What is it like in practice to come close to the presence of God? Are there words which can, in some way, explain the nature of that experience?In this compelling study, Paul Murray draws attention to both the wisdom and lived experience of those men and women who knew, at first hand, of the light and fire of which they speak. Murray demonstrates how important and relevant for us today are the writings of authors such as Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, and Teresa of Avila.To the often bewildered hearts and minds of our generation, the writings of these remarkable men and women speak with a unique authority.

An entirely fresh approach to the Our Father, Jesus's own prayer, through the eyes of one of the greatest saints, Thomas Aquinas.Never before have the most important reflections by Aquinas on the Lord's Prayer been drawn together and considered in a single book. Here, Aquinas comes alive not merely as a profound speculative theologian but also as an impressive master and guide of the spiritual and moral life.And he also comes across, on occasion, as a teacher capable of saying the unexpected, openly confessing, for example, "...it is hardly possible to say a single Our Father without our minds wandering off to other things." The style of Aquinas is, for the most part, plain and expository, but evident on every page is the serene, unmistakable mark of wisdom, Aquinas's own, and that of the great tradition. Those readers who, in the past, have found the study of Aquinas especially daunting, will be grateful to the Dominican Paul Murray for the freshness and clarity he brings to his task. Praying with Confidence: Aquinas on the Lord's Prayer is both a stimulating scholarly study and an ideal introduction for the general reader.