The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an unknown English mystic in the 14th century, is one of those books where I remember exactly where I was when I read it (walking around the English Bay seawall). Our ministry at First Baptist Church Vancouver came to an abrupt end, and I was privileged to spend a full year studying (Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Seminary), writing, praying  ¢â‚¬“ and making an honest spiritual examen.With The Confessions of St. Augustine, The Cloud   has become one of the foundational  ¢â‚¬Ëœspiritual classics ¢â‚¬â„¢ informing my relationship-through-prayer with God.  

The Cloud teaches us that the heart rather than the mind, is the source of love-for-God. We  ¢â‚¬Ëœfold the wings of the intellect and open the door of the heart ¢â‚¬â„¢ as Catherine de Hueck Doherty beautifully puts it, and  ¢â‚¬Ëœpierce the cloud of unknowing with a sharp dart of longing love ¢â‚¬â„¢:  

For He can well be loved, but he cannot be thought. By love he can be grasped and held, but by thought, neither grasped nor held. And therefore, though it may be good at times to think specifically of the kindness and excellence of God, and though this may be a light and a part of contemplation, all the same, in the work of contemplation itself, it must be cast down and covered with a cloud of forgetting. And you must step above it stoutly but deftly, with a devout and delightful stirring of love, and struggle to pierce that darkness above you; and beat on that thick cloud of unknowing with a sharp dart of longing love, and do not give up, whatever happens.  

Good friends recently lent me an excellent devotional commentary on The Cloud which I ¢â‚¬â„¢d not heard of before: The Loving Search for God: Contemplative Prayer and The Cloud of Unknowing by a Trappist monk and  ¢â‚¬ËœScripture Professor ¢â‚¬â„¢ William Meninger (1994). In 138 short chapters Father Meninger leads us into a life with God which is basic, clear and beautifully honest. From the Publisher ¢â‚¬â„¢s Weekly:  

Meninger does a powerful, even stunning job of explaining contemplative prayer and making it approachable for any seeker. In a nurturing, practical, and easy-to-understand manner, and with an obvious affection for his subject, Meninger deals with the yearning search for God through prayer and with the distractions that can impede it  ¢â‚¬“ unforgiveness, will, distortions of imagination, memory, and intellect. The result: … an excellent guide for anyone interested in deepening his or her Christian prayer life.  

Some teasers (with my comment or two):  

 ¢â‚¬    ¢â‚¬ËœTongues, as described in 1 Corinthians by St. Paul, is not a miracle. The phenomenon can be found in many cultures in contexts that have nothing to do with religion ¢â‚¬â„¢ (68). (Interesting that: very few of the many books on contemplative prayer I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve read over several decades mention the gift of tongues. In just a few pages we are given a good summary of the phenomenon and its relationship to prayer).  

 ¢â‚¬    ¢â‚¬ËœSometimes my contemplative prayer is filled with peace and a simple joy. Other times it seems to be just a kind of rote offering of my will, through my prayer word, amidst constant distractions. But truly it does not matter. There is one thing necessary  ¢â‚¬“ to love God ¢â‚¬â„¢ (75). (Love for God, others, self is a recurring theme in this book).  

 ¢â‚¬      ¢â‚¬ËœDo not be concerned with what you are, or what you have been. God is more interested in what you desire to be and in what God wishes you to become ¢â‚¬â„¢ (98). (A recurring theme in The Cloud).  

This book is  ¢â‚¬Ëœearthed ¢â‚¬â„¢: Meninger wrote part of it in Israel, and in a graphic couple of pages he details some of the sufferings of the Palestinian people there  ¢â‚¬“ families who had their homes bulldozed because their teenage sons threw stones at tanks…  

An Amazon.com reviewer put it well:  ¢â‚¬ËœA must read for anyone starting the journey. Of course everyone is in one of the ‘stages’ of the loving search: a “beginner, only a beginner, or just a beginner”. Provides examples on understanding Scripture at the allegorical level. Warm, friendly, loving. Much more effective than ‘great’ theological dissertations. ¢â‚¬â„¢  

(Only $15-something including postage from The Book Depository).

See also 25 Books Every Christian Should Read  .

Rowland Croucher

www.aaa.jmm.net.au