Note: I conducted the below interview, and it originally appeared in The Rooster Review August 2006.
How did you come to write Sabbath Presence?
I was part of a Jubilee Committee, and Sabbath was the first of the Jubilee values. It was simple, clear cut, important, but the invitation to observe Sabbath was not well-received in the parish.
What writing process do you use?
I mostly used Lectio Divina which has four parts: read, recite, respond, rest. I read Scripture, meditated on it, had a conversation with God, and then did twenty minutes of centering prayer at the end. I used different types of Lectio Divina and my prayer journal to write both books. My first one was Meal Stories. I wrote both books because God instructed me “pray, read Scripture, and write your experience.” So I wrote to be obedient. A series of coincidences brought about the publication of the first one. I thought that was all God had in mind for me to do. The publisher called to ask if I was writing another one, and I said, “No, I’m a therapist, not a writer.” When asked if I was currently working on anything, I said I was preparing a retreat on Sabbath and that it could in no way be expanded into a book.
What was your experience writing this book?
It has been an awakening of dissatisfaction and holy longing. It was much more disturbing to write this one than Meal Stories. I finished it almost because I couldn’t do it anymore.
What spiritual books would you recommend?
The Gift of Being Yourself by David G. Benner
True Self/False Self by Richard Rohr
Why Not Be a Mystic? by Frank X. Tuoti
Street Spirituality by Robert J. Wicks
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
