Dom Erik Varden is Abbot of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire. Norwegian by birth, he was, before entering religious life, a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He has published several translations and scholarly monographs and is much in demand as a preacher, spiritual director and lecturer.
I have little doubt that this will also become a spiritual bestseller following on from his previous much acclaimed book, The Shattering of Loneliness. * Dominic Walker, Church Times * Varden's work is the fruit from a tree for the healing of the nations, from a monk who has his feet firmly and incarnationally on the ground. * Lutheran Theological Journal * [Erik's] homilies are accessible - written in clear, standard English - but rich, sometimes breathtakingly, in their content. * Catholic Herald * These [homilies] are as bracing and enlivening for the reader as they will have been for the congregations who heard them ... Varden's combination of extensive learning, passionate engagement with the history and demandingness of Christian life, and the sharp focus of a keen mind, make his preaching something from which many will benefit. * The Tablet * Trappist monk and bishop Varden (The Shattering of Loneliness) muses about a contemporary devout approach to life in this sophisticated treatise...The author assumes from his readers a high degree of familiarity with the Bible and historical works of Catholic exegesis, meaning that specialists will get the most out of this. Varden's erudition in this edifying work of Catholic monasticism should earn him comparisons to Edith Stein. * Publishers Weekly *