This talk begins by looking at two aspects of the way in which we come to have any knowledge of God – the Apophatic and Kataphatic traditions. The first is through not knowing, or self-emptying using stillness, meditation or contemplation, and the second is through images and actions using liturgy and spoken prayers. Tom shares that the two ways belong together and the apophatic must be seen in relation to the kataphatic tradition, they are not either/or, as the first occurs in the context of the second. He goes on in this talk to speak powerfully of the kingdom of God, a phrase coined by Jesus himself, which is the result of a three-fold process of integration and maturing from the beginning of Jesus’ life i) profound reflection upon the scriptures; ii) prayer and lifestyle; iii) engaging with the signs of the times. He states that the kingdom is born in us not built by us! The talk finishes by exploring the reality of over-development today and suggests practical things everyone can do to resist it.
There are a few moments of silence during the talk and it concludes with the Creation Liturgy at 53mins.
