The Excitement of the Spiritual Life: Fresh, Vibrant, Practical Guide to Living the Faith with Joy and Humor

The excitement of the spiritual life is as fulfilling as friendship, as mysterious as the soul, and as infinite as the universe. This book is a jumpstart in the faith for those who have tried religion and not found the spirit, or have tried pleasure and not found joy, or have chased after life and not found deep meaning, or thought God to be imagined and not been awakened. The book includes chapters on the infinite interior life, expectant faith, mystery traveler, sex in God's creation, beautiful simplicity, storytelling, difficulties connecting with God, religion unfettered, the New Evangelization, with humor throughout. The final chapter, titled "Evolutionary Christogenesis" includes quotes from Teilhard de Chardin. The author, a Catholic priest, writes unabashedly of straitjacket rituals, institutional stonewalling, and the cynicism of people. Positively, he conveys an enthusiasm in the surge of goodness that is present in this generation. He conveys how you can become a fully rigged ship with sails unfurled in the sea of God's spirit. The divine force has never been absent from nature's scene or from human relational ways. We are called to be faith rebels.

A general practitioner of spiritual health, a Catholic priest of fifty years, a preacher who loves stories, humor, and practical application, a 12-step sponsor and spiritual director, and a birdwatcher and gardener, Father Larry Baumann served in Minnesota and Arizona before retiring to live in Cottonwood, Arizona.