Encounters With Silence by Karl Rahner | Goodreads
Encounters With Silence
by Karl Rahner,
James M. Demske (Translator)
4.31 · Rating details · 144 Ratings · 17 Reviews
One of the classics of modern spirituality,
Encounters with Silence is one of Karl Rahner's most lucid and powerful books.
A book of meditations about man's relation with God,
it is not a work of dry theology, but rather a book of prayerful reflections on love, knowledge, and faith, obedience, everyday routines, life with our friends and neighbors, our work and vocation, and human goodness.
The immense success of this moving work is a tribute to its practicality and the ability of the great theologian to speak simply and yet profoundly to ordinary men and women seeking an inspiring guide to the inner life, one that never forsakes the world of reality. The book is cast in the form of a dialogue with God that moves from humble but concerned inquiry to joyful contemplation. (less)
Paperback, 96 pages
Published June 30th 1999 by St. Augustines Press (first published 1960)
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Sep 26, 2012
Paperback, 96 pages
Published June 30th 1999 by St. Augustines Press (first published 1960)
FRIEND REVIEWS
Recommend This Book None of your friends have reviewed this book yet.
Filter
Sep 26, 2012
booklady rated it really liked it
Shelves: autobiography, favorites, non-fiction, poetry, prayer, worth-reading-over-and-over, spiritual, 2014
Encounters with Silence is sublime! Each chapter is a love letter written by Karl Rahner to God, but often as I was reading these meditations I forgot I was the reader and felt as if I could have been the writer/speaker. Rahner’s thoughts and prayers were my own, or anyway they were what my heart would like to say but often cannot find the words.
There are ten chapters in the book. Each chapter concerns a particular topic or concern, so in that sense, you could read a specific chapter if you were struggling with a problem(s) in an area of your spiritual life.
Shelves: autobiography, favorites, non-fiction, poetry, prayer, worth-reading-over-and-over, spiritual, 2014
Encounters with Silence is sublime! Each chapter is a love letter written by Karl Rahner to God, but often as I was reading these meditations I forgot I was the reader and felt as if I could have been the writer/speaker. Rahner’s thoughts and prayers were my own, or anyway they were what my heart would like to say but often cannot find the words.
There are ten chapters in the book. Each chapter concerns a particular topic or concern, so in that sense, you could read a specific chapter if you were struggling with a problem(s) in an area of your spiritual life.
The chapters are as follows:
I. GOD OF MY LIFE
II. GOD OF MY LORD JESUS CHRIST
III. GOD OF MY PRAYER
IV. GOD OF KNOWLEDGE
V. GOD OF LAW
VI. GOD OF MY DAILY ROUTINE
VII. GOD OF THE LIVING
VIII. GOD OF MY BROTHERS
IX. GOD MY VOCATION
X. GOD WHO IS TO COME
I’d be hard pressed to say which is my favorite, but I found chapters 7 and 8 spoke to me the most. Chapter 7 dealt with the silence of those dearly beloved who have gone on before us and Chapter 8 dealt with difficulties we have with the living. Chapter 10 was also interesting as an Advent Reflection. Definitely a book, and an author, I’ll return to and recommend.
(less)
flag7 likes · Like · see review
Apr 20, 2010Emily rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites, theology, rahner, prayer-meditations
It's amazing how well Rahner can illustrate the emotional suffering and questioning of humans. It is as if he knows exactly what I am going through. I would recommend Rahner to anyone interested in defining the difficulties in faith and wishing to find guidance.
flag3 likes · Like · comment · see review
Apr 07, 2009Nate rated it it was amazing
Shelves: catholic, theology, spiritual-life
Holy holiness! This was a great book! I already immensely respected Rahner for his theological work. This was a window into his personal prayer life. He's extremely honest with God about doubts, discouragements, and frustrations, but he also draws on profound theological resources to come to terms with some of the complexity that he feels at times. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a model of how to be open and honest with God in a way that does not leave questions unanswered yet deepens appreciation for God's mystery.
Favorite quote from the book: "Why have You kindled in me the flame of faith, this dark light which lures us out of the bright security of our little huts into Your night?" (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jan 10, 2012Jenn rated it it was amazing
Shelves: faith, continually-reading
This is a short little book that needs to be read very slowly, taking in every sentence. It is a peek into the prayer between man and God. In a way it is like reading the psalms; each chapter/prayer starts out questioning or in doubts and ends with the trust in God. It reminds me that prayer isn't just the reciting of prayers but real unedited conversation with God: who I am now; where I am now spiritually; my frustrations and failures, my joys and hopes.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
May 31, 2011Hank Hurley rated it it was amazing
This is truly one of the best books on prayer I have read - it is really a series of prayers by the author that explore our relationship with God. Wonderful!
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
May 20, 2017Samcwright rated it really liked it
A brief beautiful book that expresses thoughts about my relationship with God that I am often unable to articulate.
"Why do you enjoin me to speak with you, when you don't pay attention to me? Isn't your silence a sure sign that you're not listening? Or do you really listen quite attentively, do you perhaps listen my whole life long, until I have told you everything, until I have spoken out my entire self to you? Do you remain so silent precisely because you are waiting until I am really finished....are you silent so that you can one day bring to a close the lifelong monologue of a poor human being, burden by the darkness of this world, by speaking the luminous word of eternal life, in which you will express your self in the depths of my heart?" - Karl Rahner (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Oct 03, 2013Karin rated it it was amazing
This is it. Beautifully written, beautifully intimate conversation between one man and his God. It's a book so dense with wisdom and meaning that I had to read it very slowly -- one chapter at a time -- many times aloud. And when I finished, I opened the book again at the first chapter and started over.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
May 12, 2015Jacob Frank rated it it was amazing
Shelves: christianity
A short, but penetrating set of meditations. Rahner seems quite uninhibited in conveying his internal dialogue and self-questioning. He has some striking insights around the question of the encounter between an infinite and a finite being and all the various paradoxes that raises. Well worth reading.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Oct 10, 2014Adam Shaeffer rated it really liked it
This is a beautiful little book. Rahner's prayers are theologically deep, his questions piercing, but his interactions with God are tender and yearning. The mixture of theology, mysticism, and prayers of adoration reminds me of Tozer and is just as lovely to read.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Jun 13, 2014Rebekah rated it it was amazing
A powerful book. One that I will come back to and read again several times I am sure. And each time I'll connect with different thoughts or insights in various ways.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Sep 12, 2018Steve rated it really liked it
Shelves: books-of-2018, personal-development, philosophy, theology
A set of prayer-like reflections on who God is, in the process of addressing Him. They are thoughtful and reflect our wrestling with the mystery of God, his ways and grace and our own finiteness.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 21, 2018Theresa rated it really liked it
Published fifty eight years ago, but still relevant and inspiring today.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jun 29, 2018Cameron Climie rated it liked it
Shelves: theology
A prayerful meditation on the nature of God that is both moving and yet highly inconsistent. Its best sections - particularly on Knowledge, Death, and Life - are powerful and eye-opening.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 31, 2010Gala rated it really liked it
i am a big fan of people who let us in on their interior worlds of prayer or meditation, especially when they are forthright about their doubts and struggles, and especially when they are as poetic and visual as rahner. he builds rooms of thought and furnishes them.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 23, 2010
pjr8888 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: religion-spirituality
prayers of a dogmatic theologian... sometimes profound, sometimes illuminating, sometimes convoluted, sometimes ethereal, always challenging.
a step away from the quotidian.
my copy is c 1968, The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. Twelfth printing, 1967.
I. GOD OF MY LIFE
II. GOD OF MY LORD JESUS CHRIST
III. GOD OF MY PRAYER
IV. GOD OF KNOWLEDGE
V. GOD OF LAW
VI. GOD OF MY DAILY ROUTINE
VII. GOD OF THE LIVING
VIII. GOD OF MY BROTHERS
IX. GOD MY VOCATION
X. GOD WHO IS TO COME
I’d be hard pressed to say which is my favorite, but I found chapters 7 and 8 spoke to me the most. Chapter 7 dealt with the silence of those dearly beloved who have gone on before us and Chapter 8 dealt with difficulties we have with the living. Chapter 10 was also interesting as an Advent Reflection. Definitely a book, and an author, I’ll return to and recommend.
(less)
flag7 likes · Like · see review
Apr 20, 2010Emily rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites, theology, rahner, prayer-meditations
It's amazing how well Rahner can illustrate the emotional suffering and questioning of humans. It is as if he knows exactly what I am going through. I would recommend Rahner to anyone interested in defining the difficulties in faith and wishing to find guidance.
flag3 likes · Like · comment · see review
Apr 07, 2009Nate rated it it was amazing
Shelves: catholic, theology, spiritual-life
Holy holiness! This was a great book! I already immensely respected Rahner for his theological work. This was a window into his personal prayer life. He's extremely honest with God about doubts, discouragements, and frustrations, but he also draws on profound theological resources to come to terms with some of the complexity that he feels at times. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a model of how to be open and honest with God in a way that does not leave questions unanswered yet deepens appreciation for God's mystery.
Favorite quote from the book: "Why have You kindled in me the flame of faith, this dark light which lures us out of the bright security of our little huts into Your night?" (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jan 10, 2012Jenn rated it it was amazing
Shelves: faith, continually-reading
This is a short little book that needs to be read very slowly, taking in every sentence. It is a peek into the prayer between man and God. In a way it is like reading the psalms; each chapter/prayer starts out questioning or in doubts and ends with the trust in God. It reminds me that prayer isn't just the reciting of prayers but real unedited conversation with God: who I am now; where I am now spiritually; my frustrations and failures, my joys and hopes.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
May 31, 2011Hank Hurley rated it it was amazing
This is truly one of the best books on prayer I have read - it is really a series of prayers by the author that explore our relationship with God. Wonderful!
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
May 20, 2017Samcwright rated it really liked it
A brief beautiful book that expresses thoughts about my relationship with God that I am often unable to articulate.
"Why do you enjoin me to speak with you, when you don't pay attention to me? Isn't your silence a sure sign that you're not listening? Or do you really listen quite attentively, do you perhaps listen my whole life long, until I have told you everything, until I have spoken out my entire self to you? Do you remain so silent precisely because you are waiting until I am really finished....are you silent so that you can one day bring to a close the lifelong monologue of a poor human being, burden by the darkness of this world, by speaking the luminous word of eternal life, in which you will express your self in the depths of my heart?" - Karl Rahner (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Oct 03, 2013Karin rated it it was amazing
This is it. Beautifully written, beautifully intimate conversation between one man and his God. It's a book so dense with wisdom and meaning that I had to read it very slowly -- one chapter at a time -- many times aloud. And when I finished, I opened the book again at the first chapter and started over.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
May 12, 2015Jacob Frank rated it it was amazing
Shelves: christianity
A short, but penetrating set of meditations. Rahner seems quite uninhibited in conveying his internal dialogue and self-questioning. He has some striking insights around the question of the encounter between an infinite and a finite being and all the various paradoxes that raises. Well worth reading.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Oct 10, 2014Adam Shaeffer rated it really liked it
This is a beautiful little book. Rahner's prayers are theologically deep, his questions piercing, but his interactions with God are tender and yearning. The mixture of theology, mysticism, and prayers of adoration reminds me of Tozer and is just as lovely to read.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Jun 13, 2014Rebekah rated it it was amazing
A powerful book. One that I will come back to and read again several times I am sure. And each time I'll connect with different thoughts or insights in various ways.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Sep 12, 2018Steve rated it really liked it
Shelves: books-of-2018, personal-development, philosophy, theology
A set of prayer-like reflections on who God is, in the process of addressing Him. They are thoughtful and reflect our wrestling with the mystery of God, his ways and grace and our own finiteness.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 21, 2018Theresa rated it really liked it
Published fifty eight years ago, but still relevant and inspiring today.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jun 29, 2018Cameron Climie rated it liked it
Shelves: theology
A prayerful meditation on the nature of God that is both moving and yet highly inconsistent. Its best sections - particularly on Knowledge, Death, and Life - are powerful and eye-opening.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 31, 2010Gala rated it really liked it
i am a big fan of people who let us in on their interior worlds of prayer or meditation, especially when they are forthright about their doubts and struggles, and especially when they are as poetic and visual as rahner. he builds rooms of thought and furnishes them.
flagLike · comment · see review
Jan 23, 2010
pjr8888 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: religion-spirituality
prayers of a dogmatic theologian... sometimes profound, sometimes illuminating, sometimes convoluted, sometimes ethereal, always challenging.
a step away from the quotidian.
my copy is c 1968, The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. Twelfth printing, 1967.
====
From other countries
Book Glutton
5.0 out of 5 stars Rahner expressing his innermost self in a dialogue with GodReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 5 May 2020
Verified Purchase
Most people know Karl Rahner as a great German theologian, but have not seen him expressing his innermost self in a dialogue with God like this. In this book, he does just that. One of its reviewers said that this represents “one of the finest functions of the theologian; to show that the study of theology reaches its heights when it blossoms into prayer….” In many ways, Rahner is expressing in words what I’m sure many of us feel deep within us—what we all struggle with at one time or another—what we all may at times find difficult to verbalize or express. In some way, he is expressing the human condition, as seen in an awakened mind, or felt in a humble heart, truly aware of itself—aware of its great poverty and needs, while acknowledging its impotence and powerlessness. In this frame of mind, he asks,
“How can I pray with love, when the prayer of love is the absolute surrender of the heart from its deepest roots, the throwing open of the inmost sanctuary of the soul? I don’t have the strength even to budge the heavy gates of this sanctuary—I can only stand helpless and feeble before the ultimate mystery of myself, a mystery which lies buried, immovable and unapproachable, in depths beyond the reach of my ordinary freedom.”
With him, we can ask the same questions. How can we present ourselves to God? How is it possible? How can we do what is beyond the capacity of sinful human beings? If, with him, we cannot even “budge the heavy gates,” that lead to our own depths and inner being, how can we ever hope to approach and budge the gate that leads to God’s sanctuary?
If a great theologian can ponder and grapple, wrestle and muse on such matters and questions, we should not feel bad or surprised if these have caused us to consider and seek to understand and try to clench the meaning of these difficult issues. Actually, he is describing a quest with which many saints, mystics and spiritual writers were familiar. Saint Augustine prayed: “Lord that I may know me; and I may know Thee.” Father Scupoli, in The Spiritual Combat, says that the Spiritual Life consists in, “knowing the infinite greatness and goodness of God, together with a true sense of our own weakness and tendency to evil ... and in renouncing our will to follow His.” In a very similar way, Rahner entreats God.
Report abuse
The Idler
3.0 out of 5 stars A decent, if problematic start to reading RahnerReviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 8 November 2015
Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this book, and in some ways, I really do. However, there is something off about the tone of it that I simply can't shake.
Karl Rahner, for those not in the know, is one of the most famous and influential theologians of 20th century Catholicism. His work has had a lasting impact, for better or worse, on post-Vatican II Catholicism. Despite his not having the ardent fan club that more conservative members of the nouvelle theologie movement such as de Lubac and von Balthasar have, Rahner has arguably proven to be a greater influence on Catholicism than either combined. Again, this is a negative or a positive thing depending entirely on your view of post-conciliar Catholicism.
Anyway - "Encounters With Silence" was a book that interested me right from the get go. I love the cover artwork of the book - its simplicity and minimalist presentation are most inviting. The book itself is essentially a series of meditations written as conversational letters to God, and each seems to encapsulate much of Rahner's notoriously difficult theologizing into much more readable meditations. In a kind of one-sided conversation with the silent God who yet speaks, Rahner lets loose his inner feelings about practically everything in his life, both spiritual and practical.
The problem I have is that the book seems so rooted in a kind of banal spirituality. Rather than plead or ponder, Rahner sometimes dips into outright whining about the laws of the church and his mundane everyday life. The tone is frustrating in its pettiness at times, and I found that it took away from what would otherwise be some solid meditative writings by an established giant of 20th century theology.
Nonetheless, it is a work worth getting if you are not wanting to dive into Rahner's theology proper, but rather wanting to just have a sample of his thought. Rahner's thought has since become unfashionable in more conservative Catholic circles, but it cannot be denied that his influence continues in Catholicism to this day. Here is a good start to understanding why.
One person found this helpfulReport abuse
jigsawpuzzler
5.0 out of 5 stars An uplifting bookReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 25 May 2021
Verified Purchase
A beautiful book comprised of meditations. Not typical Rahner in that each meditation is grounded in concrete language, as opposed to abstraction. The meditations themselves are only four or five pages long. This book would make a nice gift for any Christian, not just Roman Catholics.
One person found this helpfulReport abuse
PhiloX
5.0 out of 5 stars The Silent but Loving GodReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 23 February 2004
Verified Purchase
Traveling the Christian Mystic path, many may end up with silent prayer, experiencing the holiness of God in one's heart & afterwards in death. When the scripture "I shall know even as I am known" will become a reality for us all. Karl Rahner, an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, & mystic writes in an almost 'Martin Buber' poetic fashion expressing in words what can't be spoken. Questioning, Reflecting, & Meditating on such topics as 1. God of My Life, 2. God of My Lord Jesus Christ, 3. God of My Prayer, 4. God of Knowledge, 5. God of Law, 6. God of My Daily Routine, 7. God of the Living, 8. God of My Brothers, 9. God of My Vocation, 10. God Who is to Come. Each topic is done within a short chapter, all in 87 pages. This book is very 'Universal' (one of the meaning behind the word Catholic) for Protestants & Eastern Orthodox to read with a careful eye overlooking a few 'Roman' references. Read a topic chapter a night before going to bed for best spirtual effect.
45 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Thomas J Owens
5.0 out of 5 stars ReceivedReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 16 November 2021
Verified Purchase
Reading now!
Report abuse
Daniel Scalph
5.0 out of 5 stars Karl Rahner as a human being...Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 19 May 2015
Verified Purchase
I love Rahner's theological works, but sometimes my head can't handle too much formal theology. When I'm in a more contemplative mood, this slim volume is perfect to read and reflect on. The voice of these musings, which are addressed directly to God, is different than his more formal works: humble, vulnerable, unsure...a side of Rahner is revealed that anyone can identify with. This is all the more encouraging to the common sinner such as myself, as he is arguably one of the most influential Catholic theologians of modern times. I only wish there were many, many more reflections in the book. It ends all too quickly.
14 people found this helpfulReport abuse
maryb
5.0 out of 5 stars This book brought my husband, a long time athiest, to belief in God.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 29 August 2018
Verified Purchase
I loved the honest representation of a agnostic seeking to know spiritual truth in clear, honest, confessional conversation with God. But what is clear is a genuine seeking of Truth and a willingness to listen while seeking...a confidence that God would answer...and was answering...even while questions (prayers) were being voiced. Beautiful!
9 people found this helpfulReport abuse
E. G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, thought provoking, pure poetryReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 10 September 2015
Verified Purchase
Good books create a world for you to live in. Great books do so unbeknownst to you. This book is pure poetry. You think you know God, you know how to talk to Him, Rahner's writings take you deeper. The imagery in Rahner's descriptions is so powerful. A great read for someone who wants to go deeper theologically without feeling like they're reading a textbook of information. This is more of a "devotional" book, but very powerful.
12 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Jean Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars It is a book that will make you aware of the importance of silence regarding personal growth.Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 17 August 2018
Verified Purchase
There is nothing to dislike with this book. It is a book that makes you think. It is a spiritual book. I am so glad I heard about it and bought it.
Report abuse
ukjbra2
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you think about other peoples struggleReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 22 September 2018
Verified Purchase
Not heavy theology, but his personnel encounter with God. An excellent read that still gets the brain churning and makes you realise we all struggle sometimes.
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From other countries
Book Glutton
5.0 out of 5 stars Rahner expressing his innermost self in a dialogue with GodReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 5 May 2020
Verified Purchase
Most people know Karl Rahner as a great German theologian, but have not seen him expressing his innermost self in a dialogue with God like this. In this book, he does just that. One of its reviewers said that this represents “one of the finest functions of the theologian; to show that the study of theology reaches its heights when it blossoms into prayer….” In many ways, Rahner is expressing in words what I’m sure many of us feel deep within us—what we all struggle with at one time or another—what we all may at times find difficult to verbalize or express. In some way, he is expressing the human condition, as seen in an awakened mind, or felt in a humble heart, truly aware of itself—aware of its great poverty and needs, while acknowledging its impotence and powerlessness. In this frame of mind, he asks,
“How can I pray with love, when the prayer of love is the absolute surrender of the heart from its deepest roots, the throwing open of the inmost sanctuary of the soul? I don’t have the strength even to budge the heavy gates of this sanctuary—I can only stand helpless and feeble before the ultimate mystery of myself, a mystery which lies buried, immovable and unapproachable, in depths beyond the reach of my ordinary freedom.”
With him, we can ask the same questions. How can we present ourselves to God? How is it possible? How can we do what is beyond the capacity of sinful human beings? If, with him, we cannot even “budge the heavy gates,” that lead to our own depths and inner being, how can we ever hope to approach and budge the gate that leads to God’s sanctuary?
If a great theologian can ponder and grapple, wrestle and muse on such matters and questions, we should not feel bad or surprised if these have caused us to consider and seek to understand and try to clench the meaning of these difficult issues. Actually, he is describing a quest with which many saints, mystics and spiritual writers were familiar. Saint Augustine prayed: “Lord that I may know me; and I may know Thee.” Father Scupoli, in The Spiritual Combat, says that the Spiritual Life consists in, “knowing the infinite greatness and goodness of God, together with a true sense of our own weakness and tendency to evil ... and in renouncing our will to follow His.” In a very similar way, Rahner entreats God.
Report abuse
The Idler
3.0 out of 5 stars A decent, if problematic start to reading RahnerReviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 8 November 2015
Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this book, and in some ways, I really do. However, there is something off about the tone of it that I simply can't shake.
Karl Rahner, for those not in the know, is one of the most famous and influential theologians of 20th century Catholicism. His work has had a lasting impact, for better or worse, on post-Vatican II Catholicism. Despite his not having the ardent fan club that more conservative members of the nouvelle theologie movement such as de Lubac and von Balthasar have, Rahner has arguably proven to be a greater influence on Catholicism than either combined. Again, this is a negative or a positive thing depending entirely on your view of post-conciliar Catholicism.
Anyway - "Encounters With Silence" was a book that interested me right from the get go. I love the cover artwork of the book - its simplicity and minimalist presentation are most inviting. The book itself is essentially a series of meditations written as conversational letters to God, and each seems to encapsulate much of Rahner's notoriously difficult theologizing into much more readable meditations. In a kind of one-sided conversation with the silent God who yet speaks, Rahner lets loose his inner feelings about practically everything in his life, both spiritual and practical.
The problem I have is that the book seems so rooted in a kind of banal spirituality. Rather than plead or ponder, Rahner sometimes dips into outright whining about the laws of the church and his mundane everyday life. The tone is frustrating in its pettiness at times, and I found that it took away from what would otherwise be some solid meditative writings by an established giant of 20th century theology.
Nonetheless, it is a work worth getting if you are not wanting to dive into Rahner's theology proper, but rather wanting to just have a sample of his thought. Rahner's thought has since become unfashionable in more conservative Catholic circles, but it cannot be denied that his influence continues in Catholicism to this day. Here is a good start to understanding why.
One person found this helpfulReport abuse
jigsawpuzzler
5.0 out of 5 stars An uplifting bookReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 25 May 2021
Verified Purchase
A beautiful book comprised of meditations. Not typical Rahner in that each meditation is grounded in concrete language, as opposed to abstraction. The meditations themselves are only four or five pages long. This book would make a nice gift for any Christian, not just Roman Catholics.
One person found this helpfulReport abuse
PhiloX
5.0 out of 5 stars The Silent but Loving GodReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 23 February 2004
Verified Purchase
Traveling the Christian Mystic path, many may end up with silent prayer, experiencing the holiness of God in one's heart & afterwards in death. When the scripture "I shall know even as I am known" will become a reality for us all. Karl Rahner, an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, & mystic writes in an almost 'Martin Buber' poetic fashion expressing in words what can't be spoken. Questioning, Reflecting, & Meditating on such topics as 1. God of My Life, 2. God of My Lord Jesus Christ, 3. God of My Prayer, 4. God of Knowledge, 5. God of Law, 6. God of My Daily Routine, 7. God of the Living, 8. God of My Brothers, 9. God of My Vocation, 10. God Who is to Come. Each topic is done within a short chapter, all in 87 pages. This book is very 'Universal' (one of the meaning behind the word Catholic) for Protestants & Eastern Orthodox to read with a careful eye overlooking a few 'Roman' references. Read a topic chapter a night before going to bed for best spirtual effect.
45 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Thomas J Owens
5.0 out of 5 stars ReceivedReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 16 November 2021
Verified Purchase
Reading now!
Report abuse
Daniel Scalph
5.0 out of 5 stars Karl Rahner as a human being...Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 19 May 2015
Verified Purchase
I love Rahner's theological works, but sometimes my head can't handle too much formal theology. When I'm in a more contemplative mood, this slim volume is perfect to read and reflect on. The voice of these musings, which are addressed directly to God, is different than his more formal works: humble, vulnerable, unsure...a side of Rahner is revealed that anyone can identify with. This is all the more encouraging to the common sinner such as myself, as he is arguably one of the most influential Catholic theologians of modern times. I only wish there were many, many more reflections in the book. It ends all too quickly.
14 people found this helpfulReport abuse
maryb
5.0 out of 5 stars This book brought my husband, a long time athiest, to belief in God.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 29 August 2018
Verified Purchase
I loved the honest representation of a agnostic seeking to know spiritual truth in clear, honest, confessional conversation with God. But what is clear is a genuine seeking of Truth and a willingness to listen while seeking...a confidence that God would answer...and was answering...even while questions (prayers) were being voiced. Beautiful!
9 people found this helpfulReport abuse
E. G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, thought provoking, pure poetryReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 10 September 2015
Verified Purchase
Good books create a world for you to live in. Great books do so unbeknownst to you. This book is pure poetry. You think you know God, you know how to talk to Him, Rahner's writings take you deeper. The imagery in Rahner's descriptions is so powerful. A great read for someone who wants to go deeper theologically without feeling like they're reading a textbook of information. This is more of a "devotional" book, but very powerful.
12 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Jean Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars It is a book that will make you aware of the importance of silence regarding personal growth.Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 17 August 2018
Verified Purchase
There is nothing to dislike with this book. It is a book that makes you think. It is a spiritual book. I am so glad I heard about it and bought it.
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ukjbra2
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you think about other peoples struggleReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 22 September 2018
Verified Purchase
Not heavy theology, but his personnel encounter with God. An excellent read that still gets the brain churning and makes you realise we all struggle sometimes.
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