John Kirvan has written two excellent books about the mystical path. This one serves as a companion volume to God Hunger and Raw Faith. He correctly assumes that our spiritual lives can be immensely enriched by the writings of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic mystics. These seers present lifelines to keep us afloat in our troubled times.

This sturdy and substantive paperback will help illuminate the spiritual practice of mystery for all those who approach the book with openness. "If we are to enter into God's wisdom," St. John of the Cross wrote, "we will do it by unknowing rather than by knowing." Kirvan examines ways to follow ten spiritual teachers who have explored the mystery of God and of human existence: the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Julian of Norwich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Meister Eckhart, Charles de Foucauld, Augustine of Hippo, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Kwaja Abdullah Ansari.

With quotes from these teachers, commentary on their lives or work, exercises for the soul, and short intercessory prayers, Kirvan deepens our respect for the mystery of God. He also has many insights into faith, hope, silence, patience, wonder, grace, and reverence. There is a treasure trove of wisdom here that reveals the breadth and depth of mysticism.