Tuning in to Grace: The Quest for God

by André Louf

Conversion is a lifelong process, requiring us to put away idols, surrender the false self and allow the real self to emerge by accepting weakness, owning up to our sins and fallings, and working to overcome them. Grace is experienced in prayer, in reading, in solitude and in spiritual companionship, in life's good experiences and in times of trial. Attuning ourselves to God's grace and responding to it in body, mind, and soul is the work of a lifetime.

Genres: Religion

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 1984

About the author

André Louf, OCSO (born 1929 in Leuven, Belgium; died 2010 in France) was a Belgian Cistercian monk, theologian, lecturer, author, and translator.

Reviews

[Cody Hawkins]

This obscure little book is simple, yet abyssal in its depth. There's nothing truly "original" or "refined" about it. It's a brief outline, heavily influenced by the Desert Fathers and monastic tradition, describing how God's grace can break through into our stubborn hearts and common defenses. But it's the way the author presents the information--the simplicity, the tenderness, the conviction, which cuts to the heart. He is not regurgitating maxims or pious thoughts or steps in a manual for spiritual growth. This is someone who has lived what he is describing. There is also an incredible reverence for the human heart and psychological complexities we encounter in our spiritual journeys--no cut and dry formulas or wooden jigs. Some lines:

"Accordingly, conversion always has something to do with time. A human being needs time, and God wants to take time with us. We would be assuming a completely false image of humanity should we suppose that the important things in human life can take place at once, or once for all."

"God waits for us like a patient fisherman."

"...it is easier to live as a hardened sinner or a hardened righteous person than as a sinner-in-process-of-conversion."

"But it is also grace...when gradually we begin to see that for long periods of our life we have remained captive to this illusion and have somewhere lost contact with grace, hence with God, while we sacrifice generously to our little idol... God himself allows it to happen this way. For the time being he settles for it, and this 'for the time being' can last a long time."

"When our idol lies broken in fragments our confusion is so great, and our vulnerability vis-a-vis the true God so intense, that it is much easier for us to deny him or ourselves... than to risk a genuine encounter with him."

And all this only in the first 23 pages!

Sometimes God has a way of bringing you books right when you need them. And I really needed this one.

[Erin Donn]

"Is there anything new in spiritual books these days?" my friend asked when I raved about this book. But I think that's just the point. Louf didn't share anything new or revelatory for progress in the spiritual life, but his insights were nonetheless profound reminders of the simple steps to follow as we approach our continual task of conversion.

[Silvia]

Buen libro para entender a profundidad la fuerza de la oración personal. Resalta la diferencia de hacer oración contando en las propias fuerzas y contando con la gracia en primer lugar, viendo las fuerzas propias como algo más accesorio.

[Ramón S.]

Una primera lectura no es suficiente, es un libro profundo, certero, digno de una lectura pausada y repetida. Puede parecer sencillo por sus pocas páginas pero encierra verdaderos tesoros