Father Jim Clarke is Director of Spiritual Formation and Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. A popular speaker and retreat master, he is a frequent speaker at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.
Clarke states that he is directing this spiritual resource to laity and to "believers in exile as well as those who sense their spiritual lives could be richer." Each chapter introduces a theme and complements it with Questions, Prayer Forms, Spiritual Practices, and Further Reading.
In the first chapter on "Slow Down," he discusses how we can reign in the busyness and restlessness which drains us and takes our focus off the presence of God. In Questions, he asks "Is it enough for me to just be?" and "What will satisfy me?" In Prayer Forms, he suggests a "looking back" on the whole day and the use of the Jesus Prayer. For spiritual practices, he counsels readers try a siesta, Tai Chi, Sabbath rest, mindfulness, and a contemplative talk.
There are 18 other chapters including ones on solitude, saints, service, sexuality, stillness, surrender, and signs of holiness. Clarke makes a good case for a soul-centered spirituality which is both grounded and practice-oriented. He concludes:
"This is the ongoing work of the spiritual life — to seek out that which is lost, alienated, or rejected, whether in ourselves or others, to embrace it and include it at the banquet table of our attention. This is courageous work, a transforming lifelong task."
