""As poet, prophet, and priest, Thurman builds upon a powerful legacy of ancestral hope- belief in a liberating God who can always be found 'in and among the struggling.'"" -Yolanda Pierce
A universal beacon of hope and endurance for people of all faiths seeking to meet the challenges, uncertainties, and joys of life
""As poet, prophet, and priest, Thurman builds upon a powerful legacy of ancestral hope- belief in a liberating God who can always be found 'in and among the struggling.'"" -Yolanda Pierce
A universal beacon of hope and endurance for people of all faiths seeking to meet the challenges, uncertainties, and joys of life
Howard Thurman's Meditations of the Heart is a beautiful collection of over 150 prayers, poems, and meditations on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life by one of our greatest spiritual leaders. Thurman, a spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God.
In a new foreword, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University's School of Divinity, calls attention to the justice-centered theological framework of Thurman's words. Pierce notes how Thurman brings to light an image of God who can always be found ""in and among the struggling,"" both in times of weariness and in strength.
First written for and shared with his congregation of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California, these meditations sustain, elevate, and inspire. They are a universal beacon of hope and endurance for people of all faiths seeking to meet the challenges, uncertainties, and joys of everyday life with a renewed and liberating faith.
By:
Howard Thurman
Imprint: Beacon Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780807007174
ISBN 10: 080700717X
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 07 March 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Foreword to the 2022 Edition: Meditations of the Heart: Howard Thurman as Poet, Prophet, and Priest Foreword to the First Edition, by Howard Thurman PART I. THE INWARD SEA 1. An Island of Peace within One’s Soul 2. Silence is a Door to God 3. In Quiet One Discovers the Will of God 4. Relief in Voicing One’s Feelings 5. The God of Life is the God of Religion 6. “Be Still and Cool in the Mind” 7. The Pattern of Prayer 8. A Lull in the Rhythm of Doing 9. How Good to Center Down! 10. In the Moment of Pause, the Vision of God 11. We Lay Bare all that We Are 12. Work and Rest are one Entity 13. None Need Be Alone 14. Two Kinds of Ideals 15. Keep Alive the Dream in the Heart 16. Judgment Belongs to God 17. That Thy Tryst may be Kept 18. Every Judgment is Self-judgment 19. A Man Becomes his Dream 20. Memories Crowd upon Us 21. The Great Exposure 22. Life, an Offering to God 23. Thou Shalt Love 24. God is With Me 25. Not Pity, but Compassion 26. God is Present 27. Myself, a High Priest of Truth 28. Courage and Cowardice 29. Strength to be Free 30. The Embattled Spirit 31. Let Us Pray 32. The Patience of Unanswered Prayer PART II: THE BINDING TIES 1. Life Seems Unaware 2. Struggle Is an Aspect of Life 3. At My Center I Find Peace 4. Pain Has a Ministry 5. All Men Live the Eternal 6. Who, or What, is to Blame? 7. Our Children Are Not Things 8. Let Your Words Be Yea and Nay 9. Thank God for Humor! 10. To What Loyalty Are You True? 11. Relations to Others Must Be Dynamic 12. The World Is Too Much With Us 13. Every Man Must Decide 14. Enthusiasm and Self-Sacrifice 15. The Seed of the Jack Pine 16. Our Little Lives 17. When the Strain Is Heaviest 18. Reservoir or Canal 19. Concerning the Yucca 20. The Temptation to Oversimplify 21. The Desert Dweller 22. The Iron Lung 23. A Divinity That Shapes Our Ends 24. The Experience of Growing Up 25. Through the Coming Year 26. The Horns of the Wild Oxen PART III: LIFE IS ALIVE 1. There Is Order in Life 2. Unity Is in God 3. Shall I be Good? 4. Life Abounds 5. By Their Fruits 6. The Glad Surprise 7. Life Goes On 8. Thine Is the Power! 9. Make Up Your Mind 10. Two Areas of Need 11. If I Knew You 12. All Life is One 13. He Prayed for His Friends 14. We are All One 15. Man Cannot Be Indifferent to Men 16. I Will Not Give Up 17. Take No Thought for Your Life 18. Magic All Around Us 19. The Threads in My Hand 20. She Practices Brotherhood 21. A Glory! A Benediction! 22. Indebted to a Vast Host 23. Just a Human Being 24. The Growing Edge 25. “No Man Is an Island” 26. The Need for Approval 27. This is a New Year 28. The Pressure of Crisis 29. To Die Unshriven PART IV: THE MOMENT OF CELEBRATION 1. The Season of Remembrance 2. Concerning Human Relations 3. A Litany of Thanksgiving 4. Against the Background of the Year 5. “Merry Christmas” 6. The Sacrament of Christmas 7. Candles for Christmas 8. The Season of Affirmation 9. Gifts on My Altar 10. Long Live Life! 11. Blessings at Year’s End PART V: MEDITATIONS OF THE HEART 1. Thy Light Within Me 2. “I Will Lift up Mine Eyes” 3. Abundance of Faith 4. How Wonderful! 5. I Surrender to God 6. To Overcome Evil 7. More Holy! 8. To See and to Do 9. “They That Wait Upon the Lord . . .” 10. More Loving in My Heart 11. Teach Me Thy Grace 12. A Gracious Spirit 13. I Seek Renewal 14. “Still Dews of Quietness” 15. The Outer Life and the Inward Sanctuary 16. I Surrender Myself to God 17. God Seeks Me 18. Not We Ourselves 19. Many Assurances of Faith 20. The Wisdom of Patience 21. The Crucial Issues 22. When Life Grows Dingy 23. We Yield to the Love of God 24. The Humble Spirit 25. Life Without Cares 26. The Valley of Death 27. I Seek Room for Peace 28. Prayer for a Friendly World 29. Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me 30. I Seek Truth and Light 31. Be Thou My Vision 32. The Source of My Life 33. I Want to Be Better 34. I Need Courage 35. I Confess 36. Wrong Between Me and Thee 37. Not Comfortless 38. I Rest This Day in God 39. God Knows the Heart 40. Courage to Live 41. “I Will not Fail Thee” 42. God is Near to All 43. The Fire Flower 44. Seek Ye the Lord 45. I Will Sing a New Song 46. The Wisdom of God 47. Give Me the Listening Ear 48. The Moments of High Resolve 49. Surrounded by the Love of God 50. For a Time of Sorrow 51. Against Thee Have I Sinned 52. Teach Me Thy Will 53. God Restoreth My Soul 54. If Thou Standeth Beside Me
Howard Thurman (1899-1981) was hailed by Life magazine as one of the great preachers of the 20th century. He was a nationally recognized theologian, distinguished religious leader, and prolific author whose radical nonviolent philosophy played a pivotal role in shaping the civil rights movement. As the first Black dean of Boston University's Marsh Chapel, he became a spiritual adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. He wrote over 20 published books, such as Meditations of the Heart, With Head and Heart- The Autobiography of Howard Thurman, and Disciplines of the Spirit. Yolanda Pierce is dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC, and a professor of religion and literature and of womanist theology. She is the author of In My Grandmother's House- Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit and Hell Without Fires- Slavery, Christianity, and the Antebellum Spiritual Narrative.
Reviews for Meditations of the Heart
Even seventy years removed from their initial publication, Thurman's words are still speaking to our hearts. -Yolanda Pierce, from the foreword I have read Howard Thurman and been informed, influenced, and girded by his courage, intelligence, and abiding love. -Maya Angelou In those long midnight hours when morning seems weeks away, the words of Howard Thurman have kept watch with me. -Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple The minister will find this a source of ideas and illustrations for sermon material. The layman will find it helpful for personal devotions and family worship. -San Francisco Chronicle
