Souvenirs of Solitude, Brennan Manning writes about the importance of meeting God in solitude. Brennan reminds us how important it is to be alone and just spend time with God. When is the last time you spent a couple of hours fully focused on communing with the Creator of the Universe, or how about a whole day? In the back of the book Brennan gives us some great suggestions for time alone with our Lord and Savior through solitude.
Brennan says these are the times that our Heavenly Father (Abba, Daddy) lavishes us with his unrelenting love. These are also times of refreshment.
“When I am able to disengage myself from others and allow the Lord to liberate me from an unhealthy dependence on people,” Manning says, “I can exist more for them, listen more attentively, love more unselfishly, speak more compassionately, play more playfully, take myself less seriously, and become more aware that my face is bright with laughter in the midst of a game I thoroughly enjoy”.
The chapters are short, mostly 3 or 4 pages with a prayer or poem, making this book a great resource for your devotional, and contemplative time with God.
Brennan is a great writer, a reformed alcoholic, a priest, someone who loves God and hopes to help others find that God loves His Creation and that God wants more than anything else to be in relationship with you and me. He loves us in spite of what we have done and that is always the theme of what Brennan writes.
Here are just a few of my thoughts and quotes from Brennan.
“Fasting is a cry of the whole body-person, a yearning for the justice of God to be revealed”
“Physical fasting from food is the joining of the body to the spirits hunger for God”
“the mission of the church is preaching the gospel to all creatures, inviting them to repent and find salvation.”
“Failure to act on the gospel imperative to evangelize has resulted in holding to the form of Christianity while denying its power.”
“War, loneliness, world hunger, abortion, R rooted in mans rebellion. Man must submit to faith in Jesus Christ & repent.”
It is a great book and for those who are familiar with Brennan and have loved his other writings, you will be pleased.
Ronnie