Prayer, for Sister Barbara June (1934–2021), begins in attentive listening: listening for ‘the voice in the heart’ and learning to seek the hidden face of Christ in silence, darkness, and ordinary life. Drawing especially on St Thérèse of Lisieux, John the Baptist, and the rhythms of monastic prayer, she reflects on contemplation not as escape from reality but as a patient schooling in love, receptivity, and inward freedom.
These essays explore leisure, liturgy, laughter, solitude, and the contemplative vocation with wit and spiritual depth. Whether writing about the hidden joy of the Divine Office, the need for true leisure in a restless culture, or the silence that underlies authentic prayer, Sister Barbara June consistently returns to the transforming simplicity of ‘having the whole being set on God’. Throughout, she combines her insight with an affectionate understanding of ordinary human frailty and the slow work of grace. Gentle, wise, and quietly joyful, these reflections offer a widely accessible guide to contemplative living.