by Daniel O’Leary. Published by Garratt Publishing, 2021. Reviewed by Mary Betz

Poet, priest, prophet, mystic, writer — these are some of the ways we know Daniel O’Leary, who died in 2020. Horizons of Hope explores his major conviction that if we are seeking God, we need look no further than ordinary everyday life. The Introduction images God as the unfolding love-energy of life, and, had he lived, Daniel intended to further explore God incarnate in all creation, an Incarnation that has been happening for 14 billion years.

The book’s 46 chapters were originally Tablet articles and unpublished correspondence, mostly 2-4 pages each. They focus on myriad ways of seeing God everywhere: people, music, art and nature; creation as theophany; real presence as everyday life; the grace of seeing; love; loneliness; and awareness and attentiveness as doorways to God’s presence. Daniel was a great reader, so each chapter is full of references to other theologians and spiritual writers (my only criticism would be that I would have liked all the references footnoted!).

Anyone willing to look for God outside the sanctuary and be open to fresh creative understandings of traditional ideas will be swept along in the Spirited breeze of Daniel’s writing.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 265 November 2021: 27