An Intimate Good

"An Intimate Good gracefully merges St. Teresa of �vila's timeless wisdom with Laurel Mathewson's thought-provoking insights, creating a profoundly inspiring guide for skeptical and deconstructing Christians. This beautifully crafted book offers a trustworthy roadmap through the vast terrains of the spiritual journey, encouraging transformative self-discovery and a deeper connection with the Divine. A captivating exploration that leaves an indelible mark on the heart, An Intimate Good is a must-read for those seeking a more meaningful understanding of their faith. --Rev. Brandan Robertson Pastor and Author, Dry Bones and Holy Wars: A Call for Social and Spiritual Renewal Christian mystical experience in the American context includes shimmering testimonies from Ann Lee, Nat Turner, Rufus Jones, Howard Thurmond, Thomas Merton, Kathleen Norris, and more. Now add the surprising experiences of Laurel Mathewson--a thoroughly postmodern priest, wife, and mother in Southern California--who falls in love with sixteenth-century Spanish saint Teresa of �vila. Mathewson's voice is so refreshing one is tempted to guzzle her words--but sip and savor. The voyage of a single soul is more precious than all else. Mathewson invites readers on a candid journey through spiritual wreckage that anyone serious about knowing God will confront. With St. Teresa of �vila guiding Mathewson, and Mathewson guiding us, we can learn to breathe in the darkness. --Rose Marie Berger Author, Bending the Arch: Poems Senior Editor, Sojourners magazine (sojo.net) I was deeply moved by An Intimate Good. Laurel Mathewson is a fantastic guide to St. Teresa of �vila's masterpiece TheInterior Castle. The writing is engaging, accessible, and deeply sincere. And yet this book is more than a companion to reading Teresa of �vila--it's also a powerful personal memoir of Mathewson's own journey of experiencing the close presence of God through the gift of prayer and contemplation. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand why Teresa of �vila's writings on prayer have been celebrated for hundreds of years and the integral connection between a life of contemplation and a life of action. --Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Author, A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community President, Sojourners Laurel Mathewson offers an intimate and contemporary inquiry into Teresa of �vila's life and spiritual journey. Many who seek a deeper knowing have heard of the saint of �vila, yet relatively few have walked Teresa's way for years and years, journeying closer and deeper into the heart of God. Those who abide in the journey will, at turns, discover frustration, enlightenment, muteness, surprise, boredom, ecstasy, doubt, confirmation, and more. The author describes her own experience of persistently walking alongside Teresa, supported and accompanied by the divine presence. Readers of this book will meet wonder, joy, the desert, and a deeper and more expansive knowing of God and self. Teresa's journey is both contemporary and ancient, and her wisdom a bountiful gift for our season. --Katharine Jefferts Schori Former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States Long recognized as a classic text on the mystical way, The Interior Castle of Teresa of �vila can seem remote and impenetrable to the contemporary reader. Not so for this author, who engages Teresa as an experienced guide and teacher. By chronicling her own spiritual journey with a disarming candor that reflects Teresa's own transparency, Laurel Mathewson opens the way for readers to find their own story embedded in those ""dwelling places"" with God whose contours Teresa knows so well. This is, above all, a helpful book for spiritual seekers no matter their starting point along the inner path. --The Reverend Julia M. Gatta, PhD Bishop Frank A. Juhan Professor of Pastoral Theology The School of Theology, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN Author, Life in Christ: Practicing Christian Spirituality and The Nearness of God: Parish Ministry as Spiritual Practice There seems to be an invitation afoot to unfurl our hand, unclench our fist, release the stormy first draft of how we see God, how we think about religion and spirituality. Through the depth of Laurel's hike, her wrestle, her honesty, and the intimacy of her conversation with St. Teresa of �vila, we are invited to re-member, re-story and wonder anew. An Intimate Good is the book I want to read when I'm wrestling with my faith. This is a book I want more of. --Felicia Murrell Author, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World So many of us are disillusioned, despairing, weary of all the cacophonous, hollow God-talk we hear today. Yet we can't quell our soul's ache for an encounter with divine love. St. Teresa knew this despair, this ache--and Laurel Mathewson knows it too. These pages, from the heart of a pastor with the pen of a poet, carry us through deep, mysterious waters and into the Mercy that will never let us go. --Winn Collier Director, The Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI Author, Love Big, Be Well and A Burning in My Bones: The Biography of Eugene Peterson"