From a Benedictine monk …

A reader writes:

I am a monk in a small Benedictine Monastery … I just finished reading A NEW KIND OF CHRISTIANITY and I have two comments:
AMEN!
and
PREACH IT BROTHER!
We get a ton of guest of many coming to our monastery who are so uncomfortable in their churches that they need a space like ours in which to pray. We try to tell them much the same thing you say in your book, and I glad to know there are more like you around.
Now, would you like a suggestion for another book in case you ever get some free time? How about a book addressing the Mystery of the Incarnation? Because of Creation, we bear God’s image; because of Incarnation, God bears our image; because of Resurrection, God puts the ultimate seal of approval on those images. Jesus – fully God and fully Human (not half and half as we so tend to imagine) means that we share DNA with God. This has implications in how we should treat ourselves and everyone else.

Thanks for your note, brother! I think you’d appreciate the sequel to NKOCY too … It’s called Naked Spirituality, and is quite Benedictine in spirit, I think!
I constantly hear exactly what you’ve said – that people are seeking spaces (like your monastery) where they can encounter God in a fresh and open way.
Thanks also for your suggestion – you’d be interested in this recent conversation Tony Jones has been hosting, that focuses on this precious and powerful word “incarnation” – check it out here:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2011/08/12/i-am-an-incarnational-christian-the-theology/