Sensing God

‘Those who want to save their life will lose it; and those who lose their life for my sake will find it’ (Matthew 16.25). We often associate Lent with ‘giving something up’, but it is also a good time to begin or to deepen the practice of meditation. Through this ascetic discipline, we enter into the tradition of the Desert Fathers and, as we learn to nurture the silence within, come to experience joy and well-being in every area of our lives.This book is a practical introduction and guide to Christian meditation as taught by Fr John Main and continued through the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM). It contains meditation instructions, guidance and support as well as 46 enriching daily reflections on the Gospels, highlighting an aspect of their meaning and their continued relevance for modern living.

In Sensing God, Laurence Freeman takes us through the difficult desert days of Lent with extraordinary clarity and depth . . . For me as an artist, Laurence’s teaching on Christian meditation has given me a daily practice and with it has come about a change in perception and my studio work. It has helped me to embrace the intimacy and emptiness of silence that I find so important. On Holy Thursday he says, "We will not be able to touch reality unless we allow it to touch us." Much of the creative endeavour is about that touch, and the journey of meditation leads us towards it., All great religions have deeply rooted traditions of prayer, atonement and renewal. In Sensing God, Father Laurence takes us on a Christian journey of meditation that enriches and deepens the forty days of Lent. For Christians, this book will make a precious and gentle companion . . . Non-Christians will find deep and clear wisdom in his commentaries . . . They beam compassion and will help all of us re-centre ourselves in this age of obsessive self-centeredness., Laurence Freeman has the ability to say profound and revelatory things in simple sentences, and a convincing voice that could only come from a very clear place within. This is a rich feast that will not just feed but might just transform the reader., The practice of meditation has enabled me to experience work as a form of service and life as a process of growth. In Sensing God, Father Laurence Freeman provides us with a practical – yet profound – roadmap for this inward journey., Lent calls us to repentance and conversion. In my experience, meditation offers an ongoing process of personal transformation, into the person that God calls us to be.

Laurence Freeman OSB is a Benedictine monk and the spiritual guide and Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, a contemporary, ecumenical, contemplative community. Before entering monastic life he had experience with the United Nations, in banking and in journalism. He travels widely as an international speaker and retreat leader, and is the author of many articles and books including The Selfless Self, Jesus: The teacher within and First Sight: The experience of faith.