Jon M. Sweeney is the Contributing Editor for Books and New Media at Spirituality & Practice and writes most of our reviews of adult books now. An award-winning author, independent scholar, book publisher, and conference speaker, he has published thirty books on spirituality, mysticism, biography, and memoir. He has presented six e-courses at SpiritualityandPractice.com, covering the spirituality of cats, the “darkness” teachings of Meister Eckhart, religious fluidity as lived by Thomas Merton, and two on Franciscan spirituality, including one that previewed the content of this new book. Sweeney is best known for his acclaimed works on St. Francis of Assisi, which have sold more than a quarter million copies. These include biographical profiles, prayer books, and stories about Francis.
Sweeney says that Experiencing God will be his last Francis book, and it is a wonderful capstone to that part of his career. It is being offered on the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death during what Pope Leo has declared as the Year of St. Francis. A Vatican release explains: “The Year of Saint Francis must not become yet another chapter rich in special spiritual effects, but a silent passage from enthusiasm to deep maturity, from spectacular celebration to imitation in daily life.”
Sweeney’s book certainly fills that bill. And it is timely. Our time is not that different from Francis’ time: The world is dangerously divided; justice and the common good are deemed unattainable; idealism and service are pushed aside by negativism and greed. To counter these tendencies, we need to experience God. Not through ideas and theology but through activities and practice. That’s where Francis comes in. He can be our mentor because he is respected by people of all religious backgrounds and those who want nothing to do with religion. He shows us what to do.
By pouring over the earliest biographies and historical collections of anecdotes, Sweeney has identified 36 ways that Francis experienced God in his daily life: “Each is a simple means of God-connection. They are not modes of thinking. They can be performed, carried out. The five senses are alive as we do them.”
These practices are replicable. We can all do such things as lifting hands and eyes to the sky, making a cross with your arms, sitting on the ground, and getting rid of stuff. Some are a little more difficult: standing between those who fight, resigning positions of leadership, forgetting what others think, or being foolish on purpose.
Elaborating on each suggestion, Sweeney adds an anecdote from accounts of Francis’ activities. For example, he took Jesus’ teaching to take no thought of tomorrow very seriously. He instructed the friar whose job was to prepare the soup never to soak the beans overnight. Even though it meant the friars ate beans that were a little crunchy, the cook made the soup just for today.
In each chapter, Sweeney adds to these stories additional enhancements for practice. “Find a story” points you to the source where you can find accounts in their original form. “Consider a scripture” quotes a sacred text related to the practice. These are often psalms or gospel passages, but they are also teachings from Zen masters Suzuki Roshi and Thich Nhat Hanh, Teilhard de Chardin, Chief Yellow Lark of the Lakota Sioux, the Bhagavata Purana, Ramakrishna, Mary Oliver, Albert Einstein, and many others.
This book is an invitation — to discover many ways to touch the sacred, to embrace joy as a guiding principle in your life, to find ways to serve human and non-human beings, and to express your love of the Creator and the Creation through experiencing God.
