
The Joy of God
Collected Writings
Bloomsbury Continuum (Publisher)
Published on 25. July 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-1-4729-7132-6 (ISBN)
Description
A journey from where we are to achieving true happiness.
Sister Mary David Totah was a nun of the Benedictine contemplative community of St Cecilia's Abbey on the Isle of Wight. American by birth, she was educated at Loyola University, the University of Virginia and Christ Church, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career, she entered religious life in 1985. For 22 years until her early death from cancer she guided the young nuns of her abbey with enthusiasm, wisdom and wit.
The spirituality to be found in the pages of this book demonstrates to the reader why her influence should have been so great and so deep. Her notes to the novices deal with issues of relevance to a world beyond the cloister: What is the meaning of suffering? How do we cope with living with people who annoy us? How do we relate to a God we cannot see? How do we make the big decisions of life?
Sister Mary David's teaching was both profound and intensely practical, suffused with faith in God's joy in our work, leisure, community and family life but above all in our view and understanding of ourselves. This book, with an introduction by Abbot Erik Varden OCSO (author of The Shattering of Loneliness) shows us how to realize the Joy that is God.
Sister Mary David Totah was a nun of the Benedictine contemplative community of St Cecilia's Abbey on the Isle of Wight. American by birth, she was educated at Loyola University, the University of Virginia and Christ Church, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career, she entered religious life in 1985. For 22 years until her early death from cancer she guided the young nuns of her abbey with enthusiasm, wisdom and wit.
The spirituality to be found in the pages of this book demonstrates to the reader why her influence should have been so great and so deep. Her notes to the novices deal with issues of relevance to a world beyond the cloister: What is the meaning of suffering? How do we cope with living with people who annoy us? How do we relate to a God we cannot see? How do we make the big decisions of life?
Sister Mary David's teaching was both profound and intensely practical, suffused with faith in God's joy in our work, leisure, community and family life but above all in our view and understanding of ourselves. This book, with an introduction by Abbot Erik Varden OCSO (author of The Shattering of Loneliness) shows us how to realize the Joy that is God.
Reviews / Votes
A corpus of spiritual sagacity * Catholic Herald * Sr Mary David had an exceptional gift for friendship. The Joy of God, drawn from her notes, letters, and talks to novices ... shows why. Her joy, which was her hallmark, was a gift but it was also a choice, the fruit of effort, of very great, consistent generosity and courage, and of suffering. She was a disciple of joy. * The Tablet * If ever a book title conveyed its content, this one certainly does ... That theme of joy, rooted in Christ, runs throughout the chapters, which have been skilfully put together from talks and letters to her novices. They deal with subjects such as growth, freedom, and darkness, and, while written for enclosed nuns, show how such a life develops deep insights into universal subjects. Liberally sprinkled with useful quotations from saints great and small, the book is easy to read. The chapters address how we are to grow in our consecration to Christ, whether that be through baptism or religious profession. * Church Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
220 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4729-7132-6 (9781472971326)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2019
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Continuum
€12.49
Available for download

E-Book
07/2019
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Continuum
€12.49
Available for download
Persons
Sister Mary David Totah OSB (1957-2017) was a Benedictine nun. American by birth, after a stellar Oxford degree and PhD, she joined the Benedictine Community at Ryde in the Isle of Wight. Her books include The Spirit of Solemnes, A Divine Gift, The Consecrated Life and In the House of Christ.
Content
Foreword: Sister Mary David Totah - Father Erik Varden OCSO
PART ONE: CALLED TO JOY
PART TWO: JOURNEY TO JOY
Search
Decision
Growth
Freedom
Endurance
Mercy
Darkness
Light
PART THREE: SURRENDER TO JOY
Acceptance-with-Joy: Her Last Lesson
Interview Recorded a Few Weeks Before She Died
Acknowledgements
PART ONE: CALLED TO JOY
PART TWO: JOURNEY TO JOY
Search
Decision
Growth
Freedom
Endurance
Mercy
Darkness
Light
PART THREE: SURRENDER TO JOY
Acceptance-with-Joy: Her Last Lesson
Interview Recorded a Few Weeks Before She Died
Acknowledgements