In his book, Pat Kollins, an Irish Vincentian priest, probes the importance of intimacy as a spiritual resource in a world of increasing alienation and addiction. He begins with an examination of self-awareness as a process of noticing, naming, owning, understanding, and expressing our feelings. Befriending the shadow self is another part of the journey inward.
As Lilian Rubin has noted, "There is one important definition of intimacy among adults — the wish to know another's inner life, along with the ability to shape one's own." Collins celebrates loving attention and honest self-disclosure as the essence of interpersonal intimacy. Without these practices, our lives are stunted and spiritually empty.
Intimacy with God is closely linked to our relationship with self, others, and the natural world, and it is characterized by the same practices of attention and disclosure. As Collins puts it: "I suspect that consciousness of intimacy, love and the Holy Spirit are closely related, and synonymous with one another in genuine religious experiences." In light of this truth, Christians are challenged to develop a contemplative and compassionate view of the world as part of their prayerful intimacy with God. Intimacy and the Hungers of the Heart offers a salutary interpretation of Christian intentionality in a time when more and more individuals yearn for a spirituality that grows naturally out of their search for love.