In this his second book, James Finley has accomplished a special task. By sharing his own inner journey and introducing the reader to some of the original intuitions of classical spiritual writers, he has produced a source of guidance, and encouragement for those who seek intimacy with God in the silence of contemplative prayer.
Finley has written carefully and well. His explanations are lucid, his language personal, lyrical and compelling. The result is a practical book that provides insight into the actual practice of contemplative prayer; one that is suitable for beginners in that it emphasizes the fundamentals of contemplative spirituality; and one that is experiential in that it makes excellent use of examples, many from married life and the relationships of parents with their children.
The Awakening Call has its origins in a period when the author was a monk at Gethsemani, Kentucky, under the
spiritual direction of Thomas Merton. During that time, Finley read practically nothing other than scripture, philosophy, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the works of St. John of the Cross. "They fed me and left their mark on me,” he explains. That mark has led to a book that is faithful to the Christian contemplative traditions, one that is written in a spirit of continuity with the classical wisdom of the Christian mystics. Its valued service is that it relates these masters of prayer and the spiritual life to the modern world, making contemplative prayer more accessible to everyone.