Spiritual (Literary) Treasures

In one of my last posts I promised to write more about the spiritual reading I had chosen to take with me for my six days of retreat. Scripture is always a staple as far as my reading and prayer are concerned, but I also allow myself one book of spiritual reading. As an example, last year I took along a book of the writings of Blessed Charles de Foucauld.
This year I made a slight exception to my rule of one book; I brought along two by the same author. I say that I chose to bring these books, but after beginning my reading, I realized God Himself knew what I needed to read and put them in my hands.
For sometime now I have been a faithful reader of Abbot Joseph Homick's Word Incarnate. I had noticed that he has also written several books. After some correspondence with Abbot Joseph to determine whether the books would be appropriate for retreat reading, I ordered both Joy Comes With Dawn:Reflections On Scripture and Life, as well as How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place: Lifting The Veils On The Presence of God.
In Joy Comes With the Dawn, the reflections are much like the reflections he writes on Word Incarnate. In How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place, Abbot Joseph writes in depth about lifting the veils of God's presence in creation and in our own lives. He uses Scripture as well as references to the traditions, and prayer of the Byzantine Catholic Tradition. (We in the western Church could learn a few things from this beautiful and rich eastern Catholic rite)
I brought both books along because I never know where God is going to lead me on any given day of any retreat. While these two books certainly can be read separately, they are also a wonderful compliment to each other.
I began How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place at the beginning, but in Joy Comes With Dawn, I tended to skip around a bit. I truly believe my Guardian Angel was flipping the pages in the latter book because wherever I seemed to be either complimented something in the other book or something I was reading in Scripture, or related an experience I had or was having. His reflections on the sea resonated within me as I sat seaside myself and read them. I began to see God and feel His presence in places I never saw Him or thought to look for Him before.
I could go on and on about these wonderful books, but instead I encourage you to check them out for yourself, and if you haven't visited Abbot Joseph's Word Incarnate blog~Go Now! You will be glad you did.
One last thing about Abbot Joseph and his writing, he does not only what any good spiritual writer should do, but also what any good priest should do, that is he leads you to God. He also exhibits great humility in the sense that he is not afraid to relate his own experiences in some of the day to day struggles in the spiritual life and life in general~another companion on the journey so to speak. This is refreshing, as some writers, especially modern day ones, often lead more to themselves rather than to God.
You can find out more about Abbot Joseph's books by visiting his website(click the link at the beginning of this post) and clicking the link for his books on the sidebar. If you do decide to order, help the monastery out a little by ordering from them as opposed to Amazon(they take 55% off the top).
I know these books will be among the ones I go back to time and again for spiritual nourishment and refreshment. Thanks Abbot Joseph!