Ecstasy and Intimacy

Book excerpt: 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 vila, 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.