Return to the Root: Reflections on the Inner Life

by Joyce Rupp

Overview

Winner of a third-place award for contemporary spirituality from the Catholic Media Association. One of the Spirituality & Practice 50 best spiritual books of 2021.

For more than a decade, bestselling author and international retreat leader Joyce Rupp has written a monthly newsletter offering personal reflections and inspiration from her heart to ours. In Return to the Root, Rupp expands on the best of those reflections to invite all of us who feel overwhelmed by busyness, cut off from the Divine, or adrift in the world to reach solid ground.

Through her reflections, as well as new poems and prayers, she guides us to see the essential—what is at the root of our lives and what keeps us rooted—so that we can feel at peace no matter the events of the world around us.

Rupp offers meditative, uplifting reflections—grown out of the seasons, the Church’s liturgical life, and the small moments that adorn our days—that escort us through the year. With each reflection, we shift beyond the immediate moment to see the timeless truths within, including choosing to hold on to hope, trusting how God speaks to us and how we experience the Divine, and recognizing that there is always something for which to be grateful.

Whether we need to be reminded of important truths or to experience moments of tranquility in a life of nonstop distractions, Rupp’s Return to the Root offers us space to explore the beauty of the world and hold onto those things that sustain our beings and, as the apostle Paul wrote, keep us “rooted and grounded in love.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781932057256
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	10/08/2021
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Joyce Rupp is well known for her work as a writer, retreat leader, and spiritual midwife. She serves as a consultant for the Boundless Compassion program. Rupp is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Praying Our Goodbyes, Open the Door, Return to the Root, Jesus, Friend of My Soul, and Jesus, Companion in My Suffering. Her award-winning books include Boundless Compassion, Fly While You Still Have Wings, and Anchors for the Soul. She is a member of the Servite (Servants of Mary) community.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

January 1

Stay, My Heart, Stay 2

Come to the Root 3

Live Life Fully 5

My Last Day 8

Worthwhile Resolutions 9

Stretching 12

A Winter Prayer: Strengthening Darkness 14

February 17

Love Received, Love Released 18

Love Generously 19

Fertile Seeds of Kindness 22

Lean on Me 25

Willing to Be Vulnerable 28

Please Forgive Me 31

Enticing My Heart 34

March 35

Burdens 36

Accept the Cost 37

Our Best and Truest 40

Open the Door a Crack 43

The Mirror Becomes Clearer 46

Slow Growth 49

Hold My Hand 52

April 53

April Arrival 54

Born for Joy 55

Breaking the Chains 58

Being Happy for Others 61

Trying to Make It Happen 64

Genuine Happiness 67

Hearken Hope, Hearken 70

May 71

A Wing and a Hand 72

The Wild Flow of Energy 73

Grace Has No Expiration Date 76

Listen to the Echo 79

The Gift of Song 82

How Do You Find Peace? 85

Hail Mary, Full of Grace 89

June 91

The Voice of Unexpected Care 92

One Drab Brown Thing 93

Finding Feathers 96

Gaze and Be Amazed 100

First Breath, Last Breath 103

The Face Reveals the Soul 106

Frail Beauty 110

July 111

Eye-Kissing Light 112

Inner Radiance 113

Trust Your Inner Wisdom 116

Where Does My Heart Belong? 119

Hidden Things 122

Lighten Up 125

Love Lights the Heart's Lantern 128

August 129

Stolen Lemons 130

Discovering Our Teachers 131

Lessons of Life from a Sunflower Field 134

A Delicate Balance 137

Accepting the Flaws 140

Choosing Equanimity 143

Elderhood Sunflower Prayer 146

September 149

Standing Beneath the Cross 150

Devoted Service 151

Good Listeners 154

A Temple Without Walls 157

Small Seed, Big Harvest 160

A Deep and Strong Trust 163

A Prayer for Caregivers 166

October 167

Yielding 168

Relinquishment 169

Strength of My Soul 172

Sipping From Mud Puddles 175

You Can Do This Hard Thing 179

Don't Give Up 182

A Prayer of Anchoring 185

November 187

The Power of Fragrance 188

Sustaining Positive Memories 189

Forgotten Gifts 192

Spiritual Kinship 195

Footprints on Our Hearts 199

November, a Passageway 202

Gratitude for Hidden Ones 206

December 207

Receiving from the Taproot 208

A Living Sanctuary 209

A Deeper Seeing 213

What Are You Asking for This Christmas? 216

An Expanded Heart 218

Stillness 222

Three Prayers to Carry You through Advent 225

Acknowledgements 227

Bibliography 229

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Joyce Rupp uses words to lead us into that place in the soul where there are no words, no sounds—just stillness and peace. Her books never grow old. They always open the ground of our being to something we need to know right now. Return to the Root is no exception. It is the most fruitful book I have read this year.” —Michael Leach, author of Soul Seeing

“Like a faithful friend, Joyce Rupp accompanies us on a quiet stroll along familiar roads, gently offering us her comfort in small things and revelations in everyday moments. Part poetry, part personal reflection, Return to the Root shares her wisdom, which is a light for the journey through our own seasons of life.” —Jen Norton, artist and author of Surrender All

“Return to the Root is a truly beautiful book, alive with reverence and joy for nature. Each part is full of inspiration for meditation and prayer. I will definitely come back to it again and again!” —Mary Pezzulo, author of Stumbling into Grace and blogger at Steel Magnificat

“Joyce Rupp beautifully engages metaphors of creation through her prayers and poetic writing. Wise insights fill the pages of Return to the Root, and I am eager to have it guide my reflection in the seasons ahead.” —Jessie Bazan, editor and coauthor of Dear Joan Chittister: Conversations with Women in the Church