One of the most valued books on Miss Eagle's bookshelves is A Testament of Devotion by Quaker writer, Thomas R Kelly. So well does Miss Eagle regard this work that she puts it right up there beside the oldest book on spirituality in the English language, The Cloud of Unknowing. The slim devotional volume, published posthumously, comprises a biographical memoir of Kelly by his friend Douglas V Steere and five essays. The titles of the essays lead one to consider the integral experience, values and outcomes of the devoted life. They are:- The Light Within
- Holy Obedience
- The Blessed Community
- The Eternal Now and Social Concern
- The Simplification of Life
At the beginning of the fourth essay are three sentences which might be of interest to readers of this blog.
There is an experience of the Eternal breaking into time, which transforms all life into a miracle of faith and action. Unspeakable, profound, and full of glory as an inward experience, it is the root of concern for all creation, the true ground of social endeavor. This inward Life and the outward Concern are truly one whole.
