Touched by God The way to Contemplative Prayer Luigi Gioia (Bloomsbury, September 2018)
Having read Gioia’s first book, Say it to God: In Search of Prayer, I was eager to read his second, Touched by God: The Way to Contemplative Prayer. Although quite different in style, it did not disappoint. Touched by God is intelligently written and while perhaps not an easy or practical read like his first book, it left me feeling enriched.
The book is composed of three sections: Feelings and John (both of which are immersed in references to Scripture) and Quietism (which draws more on secular texts). After an insightful consideration of how ‘feelings’ have a role in our experience of God’s presence, Gioia then devotes time to the Gospel of John. He considers that John is a model of contemplative prayer and his exploration of Scripture here is refreshing, enticing the reader to dwell in the Word and discover a new awareness of God.
The third section of the book, Quietism, was less engaging; Gioia makes frequent references to a play and a book that were not familiar to me and so the impact of the illustration fell slightly flat. That said, he makes some important points about what contemplative prayer is not, particularly with regard to spirituality as a form of well-being or inner calmness through passivity and withdrawal.
