Deep Rhythm and the Riddle of Eternal Life

In Deep Rhythm and the Riddle of Eternal Life, John S. Dunne’s twentieth book, he examines the end of earthly life and the prospect of eternal life. He begins with two questions: Is death an event of life? Is death lived through? If we answer yes to both questions, then we face “the riddle of eternal life.” This book explores that riddle.

Dunne finds his answer in the Gospel of John, with its three great metaphors of life, light, and love. Dunne contemplates the meaning of the metaphors in “deep rhythm,” the deep rhythm of rest in the restlessness of the heart. The words of eternal life in the Gospel speak of life and light and love but also of life passing through death, of light passing through darkness, of love passing through loneliness. So, too, Christ, embodying life and light and love, passes through death and darkness and loneliness. This deeply meditative book from one of our most gifted spiritual writers and teachers will offer consolation to those at the end of life as well as hope for all readers who contemplate eternal life.

John S. Dunne (1929–2013) was the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and the author of twenty books, including Circle Dance of Time (2010), Deep Rhythm and the Riddle of Eternal Life (2008), and A Vision Quest (2006), all published by the University of Notre Dame Press.