Norris, Kathleen. The quotidian mysteries: laundry, liturgy, and  women\u27s work . New York: Paulist Press, 1998

Frey, Barbara

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Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 24Issue 2 Essays on Liturgy and Worship Article 1911-1-1998The quotidian mysteries: laundry, liturgy, and'women's work'Barbara FreyFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationFrey, Barbara (1998) "The quotidian mysteries: laundry, liturgy, and 'women's work'," Consensus: Vol. 24 : Iss. 2 , Article 19.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol24/iss2/19132 ConsensusThe Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and “Women’sWork”Kathleen NorrisNew York/Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 199889 pages, $5.95 SoftcoverThere is a sacred connection between laundry, liturgy and “women’swork”, Kathleen Norris claims in this book which is the published text of her1998 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality. By probing her own daily acts ofwashing dishes, doing laundry and cleaning house, even as she writes poetryand books and delivers lectures, Kathleen Norris invites the reader to reflectpersonally on the meaning of the incarnation in the daily, routine, mundanetasks of everyday life. Surprisingly, given her adeptness in exploringincarnation in relation to geography {Dakota, 1993), she falls short ofdisplaying a similar incarnational depth in relation to daily household tasks.By way of numerous vignettes (ranging from her struggle withdepression and her college years, to reflections on relationships, time spentin a monastery and her own journey as a writer), and interspersed with biblicalexcerpts, Norris examines the quotidian (the daily or ordinary) mysteries ofday to day life. She determines that “dailiness can lead to...despair and yetalso be at the core of our salvation” (10). Careful to dispel the myth thathousehold and domestic tasks are the sole domain of women and defineswho women are, Norris acknowledges the spiritual import inherent in thesetasks. Linking her vignettes and reflections on daily life, Norris invites thereader to learn to appreciate the “thankless, boring, repetitive [dailyl tasks”(27) and to “convert the drudgery” (28) of these tasks into praise, play andrenewal. If one does not realize the spiritual significance of the daily routinesof life, it becomes easy to resent their endless repetition despite the necessityof the tasks. This resentment is what is then expressed in acedia: a boredomwith our daily lives which leads to a listless, apathetic inner spiritual life. Work(whether inside or outside of the home), liturgy, and relationships are allprone to acedia, a numbing spiritual apathy which prevents us fromappreciating mystery, beauty and holiness in the everyday. These everydayoccurrences, however, also hold the potential for the transformation of ourlives. “[We] have the power to transform what seems meaningless — theendless repetitions of a litany or the motions of vacuuming a floor. What wedread as mindless activity can free us, minds and heart, for the workings ofthe Holy Spirit, and repetitive motions are conducive to devotions such as theJesus prayer or the rosary” (82-83).Norris touches on a crucial link between the sacred and the everyday bycomparing the domains of domestic tasks to her experiences of liturgy, butBook Reviews 133in so doing she imports religious experience and meaning onto daily tasks,rather than mining them for sacred or religious meaning embodied in the actitself. Cleaning her basement, sorting and dusting bits and pieces of herpast, leads her to sing a hymn; defiantly hanging out her laundry on a bittercold winter day breaks her claustrophobic mood; going for a walk at dawngrants her the time and space to turn her thoughts to the newness of eachday. The daily tasks of life afford her the opportunity to break free fromdepression and acedia and transport her to a place of trust, hope andcontentment in God. The tasks create a “cloister” for herself in the midst ofdrudgery or chaos, but the doing of the tasks themselves is mundane andnot intrinsically religious. Norris, therefore, touches on but skirts the veryincarnational embodiment of daily life she seeks to uplift.Despite this fact, this book is an important contribution to the field ofspirituality and encourages readers to examine the artificial boundariesbetween daily/sacred, religious/secular, holy/mundane. As such it providesexcellent material for personal reading and small group reflection on thereligious and spiritual significance experienced in the everyday acts of ourlives.Barbara FreyCambridge, OntarioThe Tiny Red Bathing Suit of Mr. JulyJean ClaytonWinfield, BC: Wood Lake Books, 1997127 pages, $12.95 SoftcoverThis is an inspiring resource book for those interested in offering pastoralcare to the chronically ill who are institutionalized. Jean Clayton draws on hernine years of chaplaincy in a long term care facility and shares a variety ofvignettes around various themes outlining her personal and professionallearnings. She has offered ministry to those in need and has learned ministryfrom those in need. She addresses issues such as sexuality, dementia,ethics, worship services, communication challenges, multicultural realities,death and funerals. The title refers to a poster that a resident had on herhospital room wall that helped the residents and some staff address some oftheir sexual needs.The strengths of the book are many. The issues that she addresses areimportant ones and she offers some insightful practical interventions aroundthese issues. The book is easy to read, inspirational, and focuses on

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