Casa Chiara Hermitage: Only With The Heart

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Only With The Heart

I used to think that mysticism must be an exalted calling, very rare, and I never dared to permit myself the strong attraction I felt for such a life. As an adolescent, though, I did read The Little Prince and knew immediately that he was right when he said, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." I realized that I could live from the heart, and now I realize that this Little Prince had one of the best understandings of the mystic life I've found. At heart all of us are mystical.

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I'm a writer and observer of beauty in nature and people, a singer of praise and a dreamer who stares into both light and darkness hoping to see someday the Face of God.

My journey has led from the northern lakes, to a convent on the prairie, to lifelong education including a doctorate in ministry, to a vocation of midwifery of souls, to this place, Casa Chiara, where the light shines and John Sack and I join our lives, care for nature, pray and contemplate, study and write.

Published Works: THE ROOT OF BEAUTY, THE EDGE OF TENDERNESS, THE FARNEAR JOURNALS, GYPSY BONES, ALTAR MUSIC, CIRCLE OF MYSTERIES, WOMANCHRIST, BLESSINGS, FINDING STONE, CARING COMMUNITY, A CRY IN THE DESERT.

Los Angeles Times Best Novel of 2000 for ALTAR MUSIC. Recipient of four prizes/commendations for CIRCLE OF MYSTERIES.

John R. Sack was born in Springfield, Ohio. He earned a BA in English from Yale University and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington.

As a young man, he spent two years as a Trappist monk under the tutelage of Thomas Merton, his novice master at Our Lady of Gethsemane Abbey in Kentucky. In the 1970s, he trained in a Hindu ashram in Ganeshpuri, India. Spiritual awakening and transformation are common themes in both his fiction and nonfiction works.

He is the author of the internationally acclaimed novel, THE FRANCISCAN CONSPIRACY and a companion work, ANGEL'S PASSAGE. THE WOLF IN WINTER is a fictional tale of the early career of Francis of Assisi. His nonfiction YEARNING FOR THE FATHER, a guide to contemplative prayer, is the culmination of years of research and reflection on the Lord's Prayer and his exploration of numerous spiritual traditions. Other works are listed on his Amazon home page.