In the Heart of the City, In the Heart of God by Pierre-Marie Delfieux
This book is about monastic spirituality. It is unique because it describes the Jerusalem Community's rule of life - which is a spirituality that lives monasticism "in the midst of the world" - "in the heart of the city".
A brief introduction
The Introduction of the book has this quote:
"In the Heart of the City, In the Heart of God is not just the rule of life of the monastic communities; it is also a "Book of Life" expressing the ideal lived by all those in the Communion. It is a spiritual guide for both monastics and laity, since their common baptismal vocation has its source in the one Gospel and its model in the unique face of Christ."
A spiritually enriching book
Monastic spirituality is probably the deepest of the spiritualities in the Catholic Church since many who live this spirituality are in constant prayer and meditation. Even while doing ordinary work, monastics always place themselves before God in an attitude of prayer and contemplation. The spiritual wisdom embedded in this book can be helpful for anyone wanting to avoid the distracting noise of the city and his work environs. It is indeed a discipline to balance one's attention between what one does in the external world and in how one relates to God. Most of the time one's attention, thoughts and feelings get dissipated by the influence of news and activities. When anyone immerses in a book such as this, a refreshing experience of silence and the knowledge of God's presence becomes priceless.
To get an idea of what the book contains, here is a list of the book's chapters:
- Communities
- Love
- Prayer
- Work
- Silence
- Hospitality
- Monastic
- Monks and Nuns
- Chastity
- Poverty
- Obedience
- Humility
- In the Heart of the City
- At the Heart of the World
- In the Church
- Jerusalem
- Joy
Scriptural references
The book is written with scriptural references at the sides of the pages. Monastic life is very much rooted in the scriptures. Much of what is known of monastic life has a specific reference to a scripture passage: either in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. To understand the contents of the book very well, a good English translation of the Bible can help a lot.
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