The Music of Time: Words and Music and Spiritual Friendship - Hardcover

John S. Dunne holds the John A. O'Brien Chair in Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Drawing on his own life, John Dunne came up with two central instances of choosing "roads in life". One was the solitary way of the spiritual adventure, and the other was the way of companionship in life. The solitary way was the road chosen. The next choice between alternative paths came in the form of choosing between the way of words and the way of music. The way of words was the road taken. Now, many years later Dunne finds that these diverse paths are coming together again, the way of music rejoining the way of words, the solitary way of the spiritual adventure coming together with the way of human companionship, spiritual friendship. Dunne beautifully describes the feeling of wholeness, the feeling of the new life he finds in these reunions. Dunne describes mystery as the unknown in life that "shows itself and at the same time withdraws". This rhythm of showing and withdrawing he calls "the music of time", and it is the ebb and flow of human life and human relationships. What counts in life, Dunne concludes, is our relation to the ebb and flow of mystery. The Music Of Time is immensely thoughtful, illuminating, rewarding reader that allows the reader to benefit by the life experiences and insights of a talented, articulate, informative Christian theologian. -- Midwest Book Review