This lovely little book, published during the height of COVID when breathing was difficult for many, wasn’t written specifically for Lent. But its division into six chapters and its meditative approach make it ideal for Lenten study. Roman Catholic theologian Joseph Piccione is deeply trinitarian in his theology, and in these beuatifully written pages he lays put a mode of contemplative prayer that draws from a wide range of sources to help readers answer the Trinity’s invitation to “find ourselves within the divine current of love” that courses through the cosmos.
“… The depth and breadth of God’s love is more fully explored in Lamm’s book, God’s Kinde Love. It is a text that also offers fresh insight into the life and text of Julian as a theologian rather than a preacher. Lamm reminds us that theology is not merely created from intellectual exercises or discussions; our understanding of God is mediated by our experiences, and those who have gone before us. It is the classic “three-legged stool” of the Anglican tradition. We need scripture, reason, and tradition. Any of those alone do us and God a disservice. Lamm’s text is deep, thorough, and engaging. She begins by providing the background and context for her writing on Julian as a theologian and the context in which Julian lived and wrote. As with any theologian, while there is much that is universal in her texts, our understanding is enriched when we know something of Julian’s world – of plagues and life in medieval England. Lamm goes on to examine the theme of “Revelation as Exposure” and then ultimately to discuss Julian’s writings along- side Romans 5:5 and Augustine’s Doctrine of Grace. The most significant chapters, and the most significant impact of Lamm’s work, focus on developing a rich and deep understanding of God’s Grace and God’s Mercy.
Lamm notes, “Julian resisted the dominant religion-political understanding of mercy-as-amnesty . . . and retrieved instead a Biblical understanding of mercy-as-compassion,” and Julian’s understanding of grace is about God as “the cheerful gift-giver who delights in humanity” and a world where “human persons are equal to one another in dignity” (p. 177). It is this explication of Julian’s doctrines over the course of multiple chapters, as well as the engagement with longstanding theological traditions, that make Lamm’s text so compelling and important. It is not hard to argue the dam- age that has been done over the centuries from a theology embedded in patriarchy that emphasized power, sin, and punishment. How different might our world be if the starting place for understanding God, ourselves as individuals, and humanity, was the grounded belief that God is compassionate and delights in us, and we have an essential dignity that cannot be taken away? These may be understandings frequently found in contemporary theological texts, but they are not the dominant theme of patristic or medieval texts and their almost exclusively male authors.
Lamm’s understanding of Julian and her presentation of her as a theologian make God’s Kinde Love a text that should be a part of historical and systematic theology courses. So often students only encounter Julian along with the other mystics of her time – Rolle, Kemp, Cloud of Unknowing, etc. She does belong there. She also belongs in classes that discuss the doctrines of Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, etc. Our world, institutions, education, and our own faith lives could all benefit from a theological understanding that emphasizes compassion, delight, and dignity….”
There have been a plethora of books on Julian of Norwich, both scholarly and popular, in recent decades, but none is as incisive theologically as Julia Lamm’s God’s Kinde Love. Drawing on the best textual editions of the Revelations, and shirking none of the challenges that are raised by the necessary comparison of its earlier and later versions, Lamm illuminates with wonderful clarity the thoroughgoing originality of Julian’s thought. In particular, there is simply nothing better in the existing secondary literature on the Julian’s distinctive account of grace, and its daring departures from the standard ‘Western’, Augustinian tradition. Through her meticulous, but fully accessible, rendition of Julian’s theological vision, Lamm gives Julian the systematic significance she deserves: not merely a ‘medieval woman mystic’, but a theological thinker of unique distinctiveness and contemporary relevance.
Based on his experience with breathing meditation and influenced by
Thich Nhat Hanh, Joseph Piccione’s book offers meaningful insights on
how to integrate contemplative breathing with prayer to enrich a Christian
practitioner’s Trinitarian spirituality. In a classroom setting, however, the
Christian perspective will need to be complemented with readings that
explain the doctrinal foundations of Buddhist breathing exercises.
Only with this balanced perspective can students sharpen their understanding
of interreligious dialogue and gain a fuller picture of the relationship
between Buddhism and the author’s argument for “a Trinitarian breathing
meditation.”
Piccione’s work aims to offer Christians a sensory method to deepen their
prayer through a breathing meditation, which is founded on his Trinitarian
framework. Piccione builds his framework with arguments drawn from
Scripture and theologians, such as John Ruusbroec, Yves Congar, and
Henri Nouwen. The analysis begins with the life-giving function of God’s
breath, which animated human beings (22-24). Piccione advocates that
through awareness of breathing in various activities in daily life, Christians
can find God’s presence (26).
In Piccione’s proposed breathing meditation, the practitioner breathes in
to receive God’s breath and realizes their identity as beloved in the beloved
(52, 58). Through the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit, a practitioner
receives and responds to God’s gift through breathing in and out, respectively
(67). As breath travels through the body, the Christian meditator “rides” their
breath to access their core and find Jesus (39, 77). Piccione suggests that the
awareness of inhaling can be integrated with prayer and communion (88, 89).
He presents exhaling as a response to self-recovery of our identity in “God
Trinity” and to our brothers, sisters, and the cosmos (58, 62, 83). Through
the cycle of breath-in-and-out, a meditating Christian engages God’s loving
intimacy within themself.
Piccione presents the readers with an innovative application of breathing
techniques for Christian prayer and meditation (92, 93), influenced by his
practice of Cognitive Based Compassion Training (note 10, 18) developed
at Emory University, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, shaped by
Jon Kabat-Zinn (8). These techniques are, in turn, derived from Buddhism.
His book provides Christian devotees with a practical guide to cultivate
Trinitarian spirituality and a perspective on the interior activity of God
(104). In terms of using the book for academic discussion on interaction
between Zen and Trinitarian contemplation, educators need to investigate
the following aspects further.
Piccione frequently mentions that his interpretation of Zen breathing
meditation is based on Nhat Hanh’s How to Sit (Berkeley, CA: Parallax
Press, 2014), which he primarily applies to set forth his own interpretation
of Christian dogma. Piccione’s references to Nhat Hanh’s work are principally
concerned with the techniques of Zen meditative breathing rather than its
philosophy. The author avoids examining the theological differences
between the two practices. For example, he does not explore the insights
embedded in Buddhist breathing praxis or engage with Mahāyāna philosophy
or the Zen tradition’s understanding of them.
To address Buddhist breathing in the classroom, I recommend providing
excerpts from Thich Nhat Hahn’s masterful book devoted to this subject,
Breathe! You Are Alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Berkeley,
CA: Parallax Press, 1996). Here, Nhat Hanh translates and comments on
the early, canonical Buddhist meditation manual, Sutra on the Full
Awareness of Breathing, which instructs meditators on employing breath to
examine their physical sensations and investigate doctrines such as impermanence,
no-self, attachment.
Although Piccione’s cover mentions Zen, the author omits Buddhist doctrines
related to breath meditation. His imagined reader is a devout Christian.
There could have been fertile discussion in this interreligious area, such as
that explored by Rōshi Robert Kennedy, SJ, in his Zen Gifts to Christians
(New York: Continuum, 2000). Zen practice is tied to the Mahāyāna
Buddha nature theory that locates the potential for enlightenment in every
human being; it is indifferent to feeling a higher being’s love. To discern
how to negotiate the theological difference between Zen and Trinitarian spirituality
using the breath, educators could include the section “Sitting with the
Buddha” from Nhat Hanh’s How to Sit.
Piccione’s book gives readers concrete guidelines of Christian breathing
meditation interwoven in Trinitarian spirituality. With complementary readings,
this work can be used in class to examine Christian contemplation practice
influenced by techniques derived from Buddhism.