Is the priesthood a power to be exercised, or a call to share in the broken Christ? Ross sets modern questions about ordained ministry in the Church within a much wider context, encouraging us to reflect anew on the relationship between administrative power and spiritual authority within the Church, and to redefine the priesthood.

She minces no words in her critique of the contemporary Church, and goes on to propose changes so sweeping and fundamental that we sense what a truly Christian Church would be.

A life-professed solitary and mystic under vows to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ross writes with the wonder and energy of a spiritual poet. In this new edition of a spiritual classic, she shares one year of her solitude in seasonal meditations that include encounters with lynxes and coyotes, reflections on the summer solstice, and desire for union with God. An excellent source of sermon ideas.

In one essay, Ross reveals the two comments she receives most are "You don't look like a hermit," followed by "What do you do in solitude?" She answers, "I don't do, I be." Only an experienced mystic could put the emphasis on being and not doing. Being in solitude, Ross has plenty of time to savor the beauties and the bounties of the natural world and animals. She does both here. We were also impressed with pieces on the importance of an informing vision, the value of chastity, and the difficulty of intercessory prayer. We are always on the lookout for passages on unity and here is one we liked:

"It is that my sin and your sin consists not in isolated small or gross acts committed or omitted by our choices and actions, or in some vague, isolated theoretical attitude, but instead that we, you and I, by virtue of our common humanity, and in the solitude from which true relationship springs, come to realize that we are implicated in every sin.

"I am the pimp on 42nd Street, dealing in bodies. I am the pusher, selling drugs to an addict nodding and drooling in Needle Park. I am the employee ripping off my corporation. I am the industrialist pouring poison into the bodies and, by advertising, into the souls of my sisters and brothers. I am the driver of the military juggernaut, careening wildly out of control. I struggle impotently to express who I really am."

Synopsis: The subtitle of Maggie Ross's new book captures its essence, for it is about silence and our need to behold God. Beholding is a notion that we are in danger of losing. It is often lost in translation, even by the NRSV and the Jerusalem Bible. Beholding needs to be recovered both in theology and practice. Ross is very aware of "poor talkative Christianity." There is a twofold plea to enter into silence--for lack of silence erodes our humanity--and to behold the radiance of God. This is a book full of deep questioning and the testing of our assumptions. Throughout there is a great love for the world and for our humanity, accompanied by sadness that we are so easily distracted . . . We are invited into a silence that is not necessarily an absence of noise, but is a limitless interior space. Ancient texts are used in new and exciting ways, and many of our worship practices are challenged. She is in no doubt that "the glory of the human being is the beholding of God." --adapted from a review in The Church Times (London) by Canon David Adam. Endorsements: "Maggie Ross has established a very distinctive voice in writing about the life of the spirit. Richly resourced from the historic tradition, but constantly pressing the most radical question of all, the question of how we can speak of a reality that requires us to let go of controls, images, systems, even--or especially--'spiritual experiences, ' this book is a welcome addition to a series of deeply focused and challenging works from a very serious and substantial thinker." --Rowan Williams, Cambridge University "I knew for years that silence would nourish my soul, but I never understood why until I actually made room for it. I still feel like a novice, but Writing the Icon of the Heart has injected passion into my heart as I behold the Lord in faithful silence. This is a beautiful book." --John H. Armstrong, President, ACT3 Network "This book in particular, and Maggie Ross in general, represent a much-needed locus and focus for spirituality: deep insight and living practice over mere theology, living fire more than sweet piety, naked seeking of God and love unhindered by churchiness or smallness." --Fr. Richard Rohr, Founding Director, Center for Action and Contemplation "I have often thought of Jesus as the Undistracted One who was always aware of his Father's presence in a way we seldom are. Maggie Ross lives that undistracted life better than anyone I know, and the eloquence of her words allows us a glimpse into that beholding that is the awareness of his presence." --James P. Danaher, author of Contemplative Prayer: A Theology for the Twenty-first Century "This collection of essays by Maggie Ross spirals around the themes of silence, beholding, and letting go. Examples are drawn from Ross's own life and from her extensive reading, including excerpts from seldom-quoted Syriac spiritual masters. For Ross, beholding is more than seeing. It is inward vision springing from the 'deep mind': non-linear, non-controlling, and self-emptying." --Fr. Charles Cummings, author of Monastic Practices Author Biography: Maggie Ross is the pseudonym of a professed Anglican solitary responsible to the Archbishop of Canterbury. After many years in Alaska, she is now based full-time in Oxford, England, where she researches and writes books, papers, and liturgies. She also preaches, lectures, leads retreats, and engages in pastoral care. Among her other books are The Fire of Your Life, Pillars of Flame, and The Fountain and the Furnace. She blogs at ravenwilderness.blogspot.com.

Morgan Perincall's marriage is already disintegrating when her husband volunteers for service in France. Dazed by his desertion, she sends their children west to safety, and leaves London for the dubious sanctuary of her childhood home, the Villa Rouge. Situated on the East coast, it is vulnerable to German attack. Caught between the open hostility of her father's housekeeper and the suffocating affection of Charlie, who for all his enthusiasm is not fit for service, Morgan's days are brightened by the arrival of an R.A.F. squadron - a chance to relive the romances of her wilder youth. But the fall of Dunkirk brings a sobering taste of defeat, and the Battle of Britain soon sees the once-carefree pilots fighting for their lives, their country. With danger drawing ever closer, and the secrets of her past beginning to unravel, Morgan discovers that sometimes the best intentions can leave the darkest legacies.

To learn to read a text for the portals of silence that are implicit in it is to gain a powerful tool for supporting and expanding one's silence, and to open the reader to the insight that ensues. The sort of reading proposed in this volume is both costly and rewarding. These pages invite readers once again to look at their own minds, to reflect on what is happening there, and to understand the essential role of silence for being human, and for living our own truth with one another. This second volume of Maggie Ross's Silence: A User's Guide offers application to support the process set out in volume one.