Deb, thank you. Though I didn’t know the woman personally, there is a collective shock in being part of a community where she was known and loved by many around me.

Yes, Winner does mention Orthodoxy as a tradition that continues to incorporate many of these disciplines — through the liturgy and the church calendar, feast days, and other things.

The church has not lost most of these practices, I think they are just hidden. In Orthodoxy we still observe mourning (9th day, 40th day, and every year near the anniversary), but of course, it is punctuated with joy and the promises of the resurrection. A church friend was surprised, when she attended the Jewish funeral of the wife of another parishioner, the same psalms are read at both funeral services.

I agree that tradition does not necessarily equal legalism, but can completely understand the resistance. I think it can be hard to unlearn what we have been taught.

So very sorry for the loss of your church friend. The suddenness must be a shock for everyone.

“With the saints give rest, 0 Christ, to the soul of Thy servant where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting!”

May she rest in peace. Prayers for the family and friends.

I like the way you worded this: “her insight into the relationship between the outward disciplines and the inner life.” I’m so glad you read this book and then wrote about it. I think I’ll put it in my re-read pile (I’ve been fiction-heavy all year).