Toi qui as soif de bonheur:
Méditations d’un moine
sur le désir d’être heureux
You who thirst for happiness
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Toi qui as soif de bonheur By Jean-Pierre Longeat Pub. Date: February 6, 2014 By Médiaspaul, France ISBN: 978-2712212971 Pages: 112 Genre: Nonfiction / Religion / Monastic Spirituality Source: received for review |
This book counts for the following Reading Challenge:
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK
In the light of the question quoted by saint Benedict in the Prologue to his Rule [“Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?” Ps 33:13 – Pro.15], Dom Longeat, former abbot of Ligugé (French Benedictine abbey), ponders on our inherent thirst for happiness.
With his experience as a Christian, a monk, and an abbot, experience enriched by numerous meetings with his brothers and guests of the monastery, his goal in Toi qui as soif de bonheur, a short book, is to explore the basics of what makes us live and hope, in order to encourage Christians in these times of doubt.
In a society that no longer knows the difference between deep longing and spontaneous, ephemeral, destructive and selfish desires, he stresses the importance of silence to be able to return to the source and discern what is constructive or destructive in this desire for happiness. Following the example of Christ, a being of desire, constantly turned to His Father and given to others, is obviously capital. That is the key to living authentically any relationship of community, love or friendship, to receive oneself from God, to accept to be a mystery to ourselves, and to let oneself be led to deification. Don’t we experience happiness precisely in the coherence between what we believe, what we are, and what we do?
VERDICT: Interesting short reflections on the search for happiness in our modern times, and how to reorient it to its constructive dimension.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT
« Comment puis-je être heureux ? » La question du bonheur est ancrée dans notre cœur. Tant de difficultés dans nos vies ; le bonheur semble si fugace, si fragile… Et pourtant, la quête de jours meilleurs ne cesse d’habiter l’espérance humaine. Lorsque le bonheur advient, il se présente comme une lumière mystérieuse dont on ne sait jamais trop d’où elle vient.
Jean-Pierre Longeat, moine bénédictin, tente de répondre à cette interrogation, encouragé par la Règle de saint Benoît qui s’interroge, dès son Prologue : « Qui est celui qui désire la vie et souhaite voir des jours heureux ? ». L’auteur aborde trois sujets liés à cette quête de bonheur : le désir, puissant moteur intérieur ; l’amour, sans lequel aucun bonheur n’est possible ; le sens de la vie, qui en assure la cohérence. L’ancien Père Abbé du monastère de Ligugé propose quelques variations sur le désir d’être heureux. Il le fait en faisant écho à la foi qui le fait vivre. Ce livre, nourri d’une longue expérience monastique, s’adresse à tous les « chercheurs de bonheur ». Le moine, qui est aussi un grand musicien, tente de nous faire entendre la petite musique d’un bonheur vrai, à portée de cœur ! [Goodreads]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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