Adam Bucko

Beloved Trappist monk Thomas Keating is best known as one of the primary founders of the Centering Prayer movement, which made the contemplative dimension of Christianity accessible through a simple method of silent, still meditation. He is also known as the convener of the Snowmass Interreligious Conference, which helped spawn the global Inter-spiritual movement. Keating's open invitation to people of all walks to embark on a spiritual journey, coupled with his emphasis on the oneness of all creation, made him a 20th-century harbinger of 21st-century ideals." If something is something, it cannot be its opposite-or so it might seem. Not so with God, because God is...beyond opposites." In Thomas Keating's signature wise and whimsical style, this little book invites us to think big. "Think of God in a very big way. And if you do, that is too small." Transcribed from a 2012 keynote address, God Is All in All introduces some mighty themes-including nature as revelation, mystical teachings on interdependence, new cosmologies of religion and science, and evolutionary understandings of what it means to be human-in a much-needed update to theologies Keating describes as "out of date." Outlining a three-part spiritual journey from recognizing a divine Other, to becoming the Other, to the realizing there is no other, Keating boldly states "Religion is not the only path to God." Thoroughly Christian and fully interspiritual, this much-beloved outlier Trappist monk offers a message of "compassion, not condemnation" in a contemplative embrace of the cross as a symbol of humility, inviting those who would become co-redeemers of the world to join him in the kind of meditation and contemplative prayer that allows the transcendent self to emerge. "Be still and you will know, not by the knowledge of the mindbut by the knowledge of the heart, who God is and who you are."

This book of nineteen reflections and a dozen intentional spiritual practices is for the growing number of people living at the intersection of contemplation and justice. Each chapter is a teaching of engaged contemplation. The author, Adam Bucko, is a contemplative (cofounder of The Center for Spiritual Imagination), an activist who spent fifteen years working on the streets of New York with homeless and LGBTQ youth, an Episcopal priest at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on Long Island, NY, and coauthor with Matthew Fox of Occupy Spirituality, and with Rory McEntee of The New Monasticism.

These saints have spoken to the hearts of millions. They’ve helped many on the way to understanding the role of God in their lives. In this collection, may their words again help all who long for a life of meaning, touched and transfigured by God. Holy Thirst presents all the essential themes of Carmelite spirituality, excerpted from classics such as The Way of Perfection of St. Teresa of Avila, The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross, The Story of a Soul of St. Therese of Lisieux, and The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Also included are shorter portions by lesser known, more recent Carmelites: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), and Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit (Jessica Powers). “As you hold this collection, it is important to recall the beginnings of Carmelite spirituality, a beginning that takes us back to the twelfth century and the time of the Crusades. A band of brothers–conscientious objectors, of sorts–witnessed firsthand the clash of civilizations and all that it entailed. They knew death, they knew loss, and their very souls were bruised. The only next step that they could envision was to leave the world as they knew it and settle on the sacred mountain known for centuries to Jews, Christians and Muslims as the holy home of the Prophet Elijah...” –Adam Bucko, from the Foreword

A Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living