Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening - by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is Listening, pastoral theologian Daniella Zsupan-Jerome invites readers on a retreat-rooted in the Benedictine tradition-that promotes a spirituality of communication built on listening, engagement with the Word, and hospitality to others"--

Book Synopsis

In step with the Spirit, how can we communicate faithfully as we encounter one another online?

Communicating faith is about living it, and sharing it with others, in word, and witness of life. These days, many people find themselves navigating the joys and struggles of life through screens and scrolling digital devices. As pilgrims on the journey, we are called to be intentional about how we share our stories and may wonder how our presence in digital spaces invites faithfulness. How can we communicate authentically as we encounter one another online? In Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening, pastoral theologian Daniella Zsupan-Jerome invites readers on a retreat--rooted in the Benedictine tradition--that promotes a spirituality of communication built on listening, engagement with the Word, and hospitality to others.

Intended as a devotional resource for all faithful communicators, Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening is a lectio divina-based guide that invites prayer and reflection around the theme of communication in the Bible. Through the lens of Scripture, readers will discover what each selected passage reveals about communication, and in particular, the realities of digital culture today. It is for anyone seeking a more life-giving way of being connected with one another faithfully out of a sense of Spirit and communion.

Review Quotes

"Through her reflections, Zupan-Jerome weaves together scripture, spiritual life, daily life, and the digital world to give retreatants significant food for thought as they continue their day, allowing them to meet her challenge, 'that our words too reach out and truly communicate Good News, build up people and communities, and inspire others with hopes, possibility and new life' -- something that is desper-ately needed in today's world."
Benedictines

-- (5/1/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"A necessary addition to the growing library of communications spirituality! Encased in a monastic framework, these Scripture-based reflections on our digital culture challenge readers to consider intentionality in the digital experience and prayerfully reflect on whether communication encounters lead to authentic communion. At the same time, she proposes ways to maintain a constant relational presence online as faithful communicators of God's creative love."
Sr. Nancy Usselmann, FSP, director of Pauline Media Studies
-- (7/22/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"This beautiful and necessary book shows us how to inject our increasingly divisive digital world with a sense of peace and hope, and it invites us to withdraw from the 24/7 connectivity now and then to interact with God so we may better interact with others."
Mary DeTurris Poust, writer, communications specialist, and digital content creator-- (8/12/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Amid the fake news and the breaking news, the gossip, the memes and the commentary that comprise so much of modern communications, Daniella Zsupan-Jerome has provided us all with the means of taking a deep breath. This book is a series of mini retreats for anyone in the communications business. By listening to God's Word and reflecting on how God communicates with us, Daniella invites us to reflect on how we communicate with each other."
Greg Erlandson, former director of Catholic News Service
-- (7/24/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"With this collection of timely and prayerful reflections, Dr. Zuspan-Jerome provides more than insight into a spiritual dilemma of our digital age. She offers a rehumanizing invitation to practice pausing, lingering with the word of God, and reorienting the way we communicate toward building up the Body of Christ. Imagine a world in which we more genuinely 'listen with the ear of our heart' and 'share our presence with one another.' That vision begins here."
Samuel Rahberg, author of Enduring Ministry: Toward a Lifetime of Christian Leadership
-- (7/8/2024 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, PhD, is an assistant professor of pastoral theology and director of the Sustained Encuentro Program at Saint John's University School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota. She is passionate about Catholic media and has taught many classes on social communication. Daniella is also the author of Connected Toward Communion (2014) and is a regular contributor to Give Us This Day, both published by Liturgical Press. A member of Catholic Media Association, she is also a Benedictine oblate of Saint Joseph's Abbey, Covington, Louisiana.