Answering the Contemplative Call
First Steps on the Mystical Path
- Prayer & Spiritual Formation
- Publisher: Broadleaf Books (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
The mystical path is not some sort of static experience for the select few, says Carl McColman, rather, it is a living tradition, a rich and many-layered dimension of spirituality that is in large measure a quest to find the mysteries at the heart of the universe, paradoxically nestled within the heart of your own soul. McColman first introduced readers to Christianity's lost mystical roots in his popular book, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism. Now McColman is back with Answering the Contemplative Call, to show readers how to apply the riches of the mystical tradition to daily living. McColman quotes from the great mystics of the Christian tradition who have also traveled this path, including Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill and more. In Answering the Contemplative Call, McColman offers a practice that will help readers come to a place meaning and purpose in their lives.
Endorsements (9)
“It is not often that a book is both very practical and very inspiring at the same time. Carl McColman gives you much wise direction and broad understanding of the field of contemplative theory and practice. The need is too great today to waste time relearning what has already been learned—so well. Here is your teacher!”
“. . . a magnificent primer on contemplative spirituality . . . a first rate contribution to the conversation about the vital relevance of ancient spiritual practices for contemporary people thirsting for communion with God.”
“. . . Carl McColman creates a safe and beautiful space where each of us can come—human as we are—and learn how possible it is to befriend silence and to live in the certain joy of daily intimacy with God.”
“. . . invites us on a journey of love where everyone is welcome and worthy, and it is impossible to get lost. It is a journey that necessarily begins within, and leads ever-deeper inward, to a place of resonant silence. Bountiful quotes from mystics who have walked the path before us provide a series of luminous stepping-stones for own adventure.”
“Carl McColman masterfully maps out for the serious spiritual seeker the nature of the mystical experience and outlines a clear and accessible pathway on how to get there.”
“A contemplative seeker will find a mature, sane, reliable guide to that path in these pages. I found it full of the experiential spiritual wisdom found on that path, leading us into ever deeper intimacy with God . . .”
“What Frommers, Rick Steves, and Lonely Planet are to travel guides for physical locales, Carl McColman is fast becoming for the spiritual journey. There is so much that recommends this delightful guide—Carl's own depth of experience, his wonderful ability to bring in apt quotations from the great contemplative saints of history, his ability to be both simple and deep without ever becoming simplistic or murky. As I read, I kept thinking of friends with whom I want to share this treasure—a travel guide to ‘an adventurous journey that will last forever. “What Richard Foster and Dallas Willard were to my generation— prime tour guides to the spiritual life—I hope and believe Carl McColman will be for the next generation. If you don't know about him and his work, you should.”
“There is a sweetness—a candor—a gentleness to McColman's work that makes him the most desirable of guides into the holy places of the soul . . . This is a book to savor and then to treasure.”
“This well-written book presents the classic precepts and practices of the Christian contemplative path in a clear and helpful way.”
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