During the year 2000, the relics of Saint Th r se of Lisieux (1874-1897) toured throughout the United States--at once confirming and stimulating an extraordinary resurgence of interest in the life and work of a Carmelite nun known as the "Little Flower." In Th r se of Lisieux: Transformation in Christ, Abbot Thomas Keating reflects on what St Th r se understood the teaching of Jesus Christ to be. Th r se had an extraordinary penetration into the heart of Jesus' teaching, something she developed into a program for daily life. Although she was only twenty-four years old when she died, Th r se had an extraordinary spiritual maturity. Father Keating writes about the teachings of Jesus in the parables and then shows what extraordinary insight Th r se had into those enigmatic sayings. According to Father Keating, St. Th r se tried to live the Gospel precept, "To love one another as I have loved you " on a daily basis. She believed it was the best program to propose to people because anybody could do it and because the Kingdom of God was, and is, in everyday life and in what we, as individuals, do with it. As Father Keating shows, St. Th r se's teaching continues to reveal to us that if we only build up instead of tear down others and fully and lovingly trust that Christ is with us until the end of time we will be transformed.
At his best, Thomas Keating is an inspired spiritual writer, whose work can lead one both to greater awareness of the divine life and much intellectual stimulation. None of his work is free of a tendency to stretch quotations from scripture to make a point, yet, in such works as The Mystery of Christ, the overall impact is powerful and thought-provoking.With this said, A Transformation in Christ is highly disappointing. It actually references little in Thérèse's life and work, and seems very contrived - as if the idea for connecting the parables and Thérèse's spirituality was a fine one until the author put pen to paper. The parables are presented as if Father Keating were recording some random thoughts during a meditation, and do not include exegesis or in depth treatment.One with Father Keating's ability should have produced far better than this, particularly considering that neither Thérèse nor Jesus leave one with a paltry amount of material with which to work.
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