Crossing: Reclaiming the Landscape of Our Lives

In this enchantingly written book, a Benedictine monk describes how the offices of the monastic day can provide each of us with markers to draw a map for our own individual spiritual journeys. Mark Barrett shows us that the things of the spirit are not confined to the monastery, but are under our noses every day, in all the familiar rythms and routines of ordinary life. In Crossing, Mark Barrett focuses on five of the monastic hours, illuminating the spiritual journey we must take and the choices we must make: Vigils reflects on the edges of the day, and our own difficulty in choosing to begin the journey. Lauds (morning prayer) speaks of that moment when we glimpse our path and launch forth in excitement. Midday Prayer is the time between the innocence of morning and the experience of afternoon, the crossroads of our spiritual journey. Vespers invites us to look backward, and review our life. Compline, or night prayer, is the time for letting go, a time for remembering the reality of death, least we forget to live in the first place. Full of humor and eloquently written, Crossing points to a way for us to bring faith and human experience together again.