Phileena HEUERTZ. Mindful Silence: The Heart of Christian Contemplation. Forward by Richard Rohr, OFM. Downers Grove IL: IVP Books, 2018, pp 199. $14.91 hardcover. ISBN 10-0830846492. Reviewed by Winifred WHELAN, St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure NY 14778.

Phileena Heuertz claims that many people sleepwalk through life. They are very active, running here and there, but do not take time to contemplate their life path.  She tells her own story of how she was introduced to the practice of silent meditation by Father Thomas Keating.

In contemplative prayer, we learn how to be awake to our own suffering, to confront our “false self,” as Thomas Merton described it.  Mother Theresa of Kalkafa (formerly Calcutta) is an example of how contemplative prayer shows the way to die to the false self, and in doing so, find the true, hidden reality.  Heuertz recounts how Mother Theresa confessed to having a feeling of  God’s abandonment during periods of spiritual darkness and doubt. This was a painful time in which the false self was dying and the true self was being revealed.  

This sense of God’s absence may recur often throughout life.  But God is not absent, rather, it is one’s awareness that is dulled.  Here Heuertz recounts the lives of St. John of the Cross and Therese of Avila who speak of the dark night of the soul. In quiet meditation known as apophatic prayer, there are no concepts or images, there is only darkness.  God is doing a hidden work.  This type of prayer can be painful in the sense that one has to let go of control.  It is an invitation to let go, to let God.  In the chapter on “Finding Liberation Through Discernment” Heuertz cites St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is an expert on discernment.  Through this type of prayer, we gradually discern our unique purpose, our unique destiny.  Through this process of discernment, we can hope to recognize this hidden work of God.  

Heuertz believes that to be comfortable with contemplation one must be comfortable with uncertainty.  The opposite of faith is not doubt, but uncertainty.  The contemplative path involves allowing the self to enter the “cloud of unknowing.”  It is a cloud of forgetting, not a feeling but a mode of perception or attention. It is letting go of reason, images, feelings and will. It is a growing up, a taking of responsibility for one’s own life.  Guided by the heart-mind, we discover that we are stronger, more resilient, and more capable of love.

The goal of this type of prayer is to let go of the self, to become aware of the deeper self, and to experience the present moment on a deep level.  Heuertz feels that her dog Basil helps her to be present to the present moment, to have new eyes to see reality.  Basil helps her to stop running, hiding, and learn to be. In many ways, Basil brings joy to her very active life of setting up and running her foundation: Gravity: A Center for Contemplative Action.

 A theme that flows throughout the book is the idea that meditation or centering prayer has been neglected in modern Catholic/Christian theology.  This type of prayer is a part of many religions, including Buddhism, but Heuertz goes to great lengths to show that it has been central to Christianity from the beginning.  She gives examples from the desert fathers and mothers.

Anyone interested in contemplative or centering prayer would profit from reading this book.  It is highly motivational, explanatory, and at times can be a page turner with examples and stories that illustrate the author’s ideas.  At the close of each chapter, Heuertz inserts practical suggestions as to how to begin and continue with contemplative prayer, how to practice sitting still, for example.  She describes a type of breath prayer, a prayer of examen, the labyrinth.  She also describes her hermitage experience.  The book is inspirational as well as practical.