I have little doubt that this will also become a spiritual bestseller following on from his previous much acclaimed book, The Shattering of Loneliness.

Dominic Walker, Church Times

Varden's work is the fruit from a tree for the healing of the nations, from a monk who has his feet firmly and incarnationally on the ground.

Lutheran Theological Journal

[Erik's] homilies are accessible – written in clear, standard English – but rich, sometimes breathtakingly, in their content.

Catholic Herald

These [homilies] are as bracing and enlivening for the reader as they will have been for the congregations who heard them … Varden's combination of extensive learning, passionate engagement with the history and demandingness of Christian life, and the sharp focus of a keen mind, make his preaching something from which many will benefit.

The Tablet

Varden's erudition in this edifying work of Catholic monasticism should earn him comparisons to Edith Stein.

Publishers Weekly