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Cover of Ecstasy and Intimacy

Ecstasy and Intimacy

When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit

  • Prayer & Spiritual Formation
  • Publisher: Eerdmans Publishing
  • Published: 2005

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Publisher's Description

Foreword by Eugene H. Peterson Countering the generic "spirituality" so popular today, Edith Humphrey presents an authentic Christian spirituality that draws on Scripture and the profound riches of the Christian tradition -- Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Humphrey shows how Christian spirituality is rooted in the Trinity, in the ecstasy ("going out" of oneself) and intimacy (profound closeness with another) marking the relations between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The book embodies a banquet of excerpts from the greatest spiritual writers in history -- such luminaries as St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, Julian of Norwich, St. Teresa of Ávila, the Wesley brothers, Thomas Merton, and Alexander Schmemann. Humphrey's elegant prose, laced with stories and images from her own life, beautifully uncovers the ways in which God's trinitarian life informs all human communion. Each chapter ends with questions for further reflection and discussion.


Endorsements (4)

“This thoughtful contribution to applied Christian spirituality places the Trinity and the Incarnation squarely at the center of Christian identity. Further, it brings the riches of the Christian spiritual tradition to those who seek to dwell in God.”

Ellen T. Charry

“In an age filled with much confusion, Edith Humphrey points readers to the hidden treasures of Scripture and the authentic meaning of the Christian life, rooted in the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnate Word. Ecstasy and Intimacy invites us to discover 'the astonishing potential of Christian intimacy with God' revealed in the Holy Scriptures.”

Robert Fastiggi

“Ecstasy and Intimacy is a book of reawakening and rediscovery, of prose and poetry. It discerns the mystical in the traditional, the spiritual in the secular, drawing wisdom from 'the communion of the saints.' It reflects on the spiritual dimensions of faith, love, and the creation in a refreshing way, deriving insights from 'the communion of the Holy Spirit.'”

John Chryssavgis

“Edith Humphrey invites us into the rich heritage of the Church throughout time and space and thereby into orthodox, catholic, evangelical spirituality in the best sense of all four of those words. She introduces us especially to Eastern theologians and takes the elitism out of mysticism to welcome us into deeper worlds than we have previously known. This is an intimate conversation that spurs us toward enlarged response to God and ecstatic involvement in the world.”

Marva J. Dawn

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