Touching the Reign of God
Bringing Theological Reflection to Daily Life
Foreword by Francis Kelly Nemeck OMI
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
"You are not far from the reign of God," Jesus tells the scribe. Not far? In this collection of engaging essays, author and vocation consultant Mary Sharon Moore encourages fellow Christians to boldly travel through their own life experience from the disengaged edges to the living core of the reign of God. Drawing from Scripture's most challenging teachings as well as unexpected moments of testing and grace, Touching the Reign of God breaks open the transformative power of the reign of God, which is not far at all but intimately near--pervading every aspect of daily life. Thought-provoking questions at the end of each essay guide individual and study group formation in the practice of theological reflection, the work of discerning God's movement in life's circumstance. As Moore reveals through story and insight, touching the reign of God is not optional work for those who profess Christian faith; rather, it is a vital participation in the redeeming work of the risen Christ. This brilliant collection of essays models the journey into the reign of God, which every one of us must take.
Mary Sharon Moore is an active spiritual director, writer, and teacher on topics of mature Christian faith and vocation discernment. She is founding director of Awakening Vocations, a ministry dedicated to cultivating the vocation culture of parishes. Her monthly column, Conformed to Christ, appears in several diocesan newspapers.
"Touching the Reign of God is for anyone who longs to follow in the way of the Master's leading. Mary Sharon Moore's prayerful insights lift the hem of the veil that so often clouds our understanding of God's truths. Her words heal, inspire, and illuminate our role in restoring the divine on earth."
--Raylene Frankhauser Nickel
author of A Prayer for the Prairie
"In a time when many don't believe that God is personal, essayist Mary Sharon Moore shows us just how deeply personal and transformative a relationship with God who is love, mercy, humility, and forgiveness can be.
"Through short reflections from the heart of a woman in whom Jesus has made a home, we are offered graceful entry into Moore's inner life of reflective prayer and her outer life as a Christian in the world. Further, we are allowed to see for ourselves how the Holy Spirit connects the two. Neither is perfect, yet both are real, instructive, and humbly inspiring.
"Like her life, Moore's book is saturated with Scripture. In her everyday encounters with the world and its denizens, the living Word of God challenges her, shapes her attitudes, insinuates himself into her thoughts, and judges her words, her actions, and even her inaction. As a result, we glimpse the possibility of life and prayer becoming one, and realize that not only can we touch the reign of God, but that God's reign reaches under the door of our hearts to touch us.
"Touching the Reign of God reveals the startling practicality and ancient mystery of prayer lived: prayer taken seriously, not in the multiplication of words or measure of time, but through attentiveness to the Trinity with Whom we each long to be united. From the experience of her prayer-life (and life-prayer), Moore can confidently and audaciously proclaim, 'No aspect of human life falls outside of God's blessing.'"
--Michael Fones, OP
Co-director, Catherine of Siena Institute
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