For many reasons, it is so difficult for me to begin this book. In the first place, writing a book can be such a lonely act of self-discipline. Jackie Kennedy suggested this herself. Also, writing is not such a glamorous enterprise whenever people become critical of the result. People take pot-shots at books and their authors all the time, even if the critics have not read them yet. Truth be told, everyone is a critic. Another reason writing becomes so challenging is the number of books that come out every month, thousands of them. So much is written about Christianity, spirituality, mysticism, faith, and religion already. Why add to it?

Who am I to add my two cents worth to the debate? After so many have said so much about so little for so long, how can I add my thoughts to the pile? Moreover, with so much material having been written already, I am forced to wonder whether I can gain the attention and interest of a single reader. Indeed, will I even be heard at all? More importantly, I wonder if I have anything new or important to say. Does anybody care enough about Christian Spirituality these days to accept another new book on the topic?

The questions are a bit unsettling. Beyond these, of course, is the fact that writing a book is very hard work, even for those who love to write. This list seems endless, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, syntax, editing, and everything that makes writing come together to present powerful ideas that touch the emotions. I know plenty of reasons for not beginning this book. Somehow, though, none of them matters. I am compelled to move forward by the knowledge that something more has to be said about that particular singular person of history whom St. Paul reminds us is simply "a person passing by." After all, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Living Word among us. "to the predominant part played in that development by the free and prevenient action of the Supernatural. As Dent, (2003), reminds us in theological language: "by grace - as against all merely evolutionary or emergent theories of spiritual transcendence."