At Play in Creation: Merton's Awakening to the Feminine Divine

by Christopher Pramuk

Overview

In this series of deeply meditative retreat conferences, Christopher Pramuk leads the reader through a sustained meditation on Wisdom-Sophia, the feminine face of God’s presence alive in the world, who speaks and sings in the writings of Thomas Merton. With the sensitivity of a poet and the intellectual acuity of a seasoned teacher and Catholic theologian, Pramuk invites readers to taste and see for themselves the hidden presence of Christ and the dynamism of Love at play in creation; the biblical and mystical tradition from East to West calls this presence Sophia. Looking beyond Merton to seek out her presence in the silent and broken landscapes of our world today, Pramuk shows Sophia above all to be the bearer of hope in an age of unspeakable violence and planetary destruction.

Includes illustrations and photos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814648414
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	01/20/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	152
File size:	904 KB

About the Author

Christopher Pramuk is chair of Ignatian Thought and Imagination, and associate professor of theology at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton and Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters across the Color Line both from Liturgical Press, and the recipient of the Catholic Theological Society of America's 2009 Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award, the International Thomas Merton Society's 2011 Thomas Merton Award (aka "The Louie"), and several best essay awards from the Catholic Press Association.

Table of Contents

Introduction Merton and Sophia ix

I Rivers of Night 1

II Liminal Spaces 13

III Dawn, of Wisdom 27

IV From End to End Mightily 41

V The Night Face of Sophia 51

VI Bearer of Hope 61

VII She Cannot Be a Prisoner 71

VIII Breathe in the Air 87

IX To Say Something Worthy of God 97

Acknowledgments 111

List of Abbreviations 115

Notes 119

Editorial Reviews

In his hymn to Holy Wisdom, Thomas Merton wrote that all things reveal 'a hidden wholeness,' available to the eyes of contemplation. In his deeply lyrical reflections, Christopher Pramuk brings such an eye to Merton's own work. In the centenary of Merton's birth, this book is a great gift, a bell summoning us to prayer and praise.
Robert Ellsberg, editor, The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day

EBOOK COMMENTARY

Christopher Pramuk’s latest work, At Play in Creation, offers a truly stunning introduction to the long-held but often forgotten Wisdom tradition. Priming our theological imaginations with the rich and sensuous language of poetry and with Merton’s poem Hagia Sophia as a guide, Pramuk opens us to the divine music hidden in each of our encounters and allows us to glimpse the unseen Reality whom Merton calls Sophia. She is the breath of God poured out through the world, the one who shines from the faces of those who show courage and compassion in situations that cry for mercy. Pramuk explores her many manifestations within the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures and to people of various faith traditions, inviting us to peer into the liminal spaces of our own lives, the dark places, the places of our poverty where Sophia dwells and from which love springs. Myriad examples evidence the power of her presence and the depth of her love. This is a truly beautiful work, one that encourages deep contemplation of Sophia at work in our every encounter with Earth and with members of the human community, and one that helps us to imagine how to speak of Christ in an age of pluralism.”
Kathleen Duffy, SSJ
Author of Teilhard's Mysticism: Seeing the Inner Face of Evolution
Professor of Physics, and Director of the Institute for Religion and Science
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA


"In the midst of this absolutely beautiful book of reflections on Wisdom in Thomas Merton, Christopher Pramuk asks, after citing a passage, "Can somebody say Amen?!" Well, I can and am doing so with true delight. Pramuk brings together in his writing the poet and the scholar, the artist and the critic, the monk and prophet Merton was. His study of Wisdom in Merton is outstanding. This collection of reflections is a feast; Wisdom truly has set her table for us in them."
Michael Plekon, PhD; Professor, Sociology/Anthropology, Coordinator of the Program in Religion & Culture; Baruch College of the City University of New York


"In Christopher Pramuk's marvelous new book, lyrical theology and thoughtfully grounded spirituality merge into one. His "voice" resonates in harmony with Thomas Merton's. As a professor of theology, Pramuk reads Merton well, but then as poet and musician, he sings and plays with Merton's most significant themes in a fresh, new key. . . . Pramuk is now my go-to theologian/poet for a trustworthy rendition of Merton's legacy. I smell a "classic" about to be born before my grateful eyes. My gut reaction is "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" which is an American translation of "Bravissimo!"
Jonathan Montaldo, Author of Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton


"In his hymn to Holy Wisdom, Thomas Merton wrote that all things reveal 'a hidden wholeness,' available to the eyes of contemplation. In his deeply lyrical reflections, Christopher Pramuk brings such an eye to Merton's own work. In the centenary of Merton's birth, this book is a great gift, a bell summoning us to prayer and praise."
Robert Ellsberg, editor, The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day


"At Play in Creation is a lovely and inviting journey. The Sophia/Wisdom tradition becomes the lens for exploring the Divine in the midst of a humanity bent on self-destruction. I found this oddly hope-filled and energizing. We can be the change we want to see in the world."
Laura Swan, OSB, Author of The Benedictine Tradition and Wisdom of the Beguines: The Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women's Movement




"Merton was notoriously intuitive. Reading this book makes me keenly aware that to the extent his intuition about divine Wisdom is accurate, then we can anticipate Sophia rising."
John D. Dadosky, Theological Studies



"In order to write this clearly and purposefully the subject matter, in this example Hagia Sophia, the Feminine Divine of Thomas Merton, must be not only well known by the author but also beloved. I sense in the reading of this well done presentation a gentleness, an invitation, a welcoming. I feel blessed and called to a further awakening."
Catholic Press Association award, 2nd place


"Pramuk's style in this work is very much like Merton's own; the writing is intuitive, spontaneous, and personal rather than formal and analytical. The present work offers readers familiar with Merton and biblical and theological wisdom traditions a personally enriching and intellectually creative exploration of Sophia, the Wisdom of God."
Marc Lavallee, Horizons

From the Publisher