Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer

Fr. Mark Thibodeaux is a spiritual director and retreat leader. When reading this book one gets the impression that he has taken a course on prayer and put it into book form. As such this book is exactly what the sub-title claims, a class on "Easing Into Contemplative Prayer." This book doesn't delve as deeply into the contemplative life as some, but it makes an excellent beginning text, perhaps the best "first word" on the subject I have read. My suggestion . . . All spiritual directors and retreat leaders should glance through this material and consider teaching a course on the subject, using this as the text. This book is a great inspirational read, but it doesn't stand alone. The retreat leader will need to make some decisions as to the format, location, and duration of the retreat. No doubt the leader will also want to add some supplemental material.

I just could not put this book down! I read it in two sittings and plan on reading it again very soon. It is inspiring, practical, and quite funny. Father Thibodeaux obviously has an intimate relationship with God and through this book he gives the reader a glimpse of his own personal prayer life with appropriate tips, caveats, and anecdotes. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy, step-by-step guide to a deeper prayer life.

This is not a book to read, but to listen to. Its a great intro to an often misunderstood part of the Christian experience. It takes prayer out of its formulary Sunday morning approach and places it at the center of life, where it should be. This is a low impact, no wrong answers, don'[t worry if you don't get it the first time, way to worship God. I shared it with a friend at church who is involved with parish prayer groups and he's going to introduce it to them. It lends itself to a 12/14 week study in prayer and spirituality.

This book, as promised by the subtitle ("Easing Into Contemplative Prayer") gently teaches you to bring yourself into intimate conversation with God.

Father Mark Thibodeaux, a newly ordained Jesuit priest, writes his first book called "Armchair Mystic--Easing Into Contemplative Prayer." I didn't know really what contemplative prayer was before reading this book, and after reading it (and re-reading it) I believe I'm begining to understand the vastness and sheer beauty of what the contemplative life entails. This book has helped me in my own personal prayer life (actually... it jump-started my prayer life--before reading this book I didn't really have one). It's a great book that firstly explains WHAT prayer is, and later explains how you can use the mantra, breathing, and other techniques to help bring you to an intimate expierence with God.