“Charlie’s book, Adventures with the Holy Spirit, illustrates how the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our lives.” – Carol Hess, parishioner, Incarnate Word Parish, St. Louis, MO
“In Adventures with the Holy Spirit, Deacon Charles Durban recounts numerous surprise experiences of being saved from disappointment or disaster by a mysterious presence in his life which he calls the saving work of Ruach, or the Holy Spirit. For even the casual reader these incidents will trigger memories which will now have a far deeper meaning because of a ‘Presence’ which is now recognized for the first time. ‘There is Someone with me and He is taking me to a place with a new purpose and a new meaning.’ I hope you enjoy the adventure!” – Bishop Robert J. Hermann, author of Come Alive in Jesus! Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
“Using his own life journey in the Spirit, Deacon Charlie Durban offers his readers a possible template for looking at the manifestations of God’s abiding presence in the reader’s life experience. This can be a great tool for individual faith exploration or a group study approach. Read the whole book and discern how it might relate to your own story.” – Deacon J. Gerard Quinn, J.C.L.
“What we learn through another’s journey can enhance our own recognition of the influences in our own journey. I have been fortunate to journey in a professional career with Charlie for 40 years. Together, we have shared our faith experiences, discussed our differences, and agreed that God is present in our lives. In Adventures with the Holy Spirit, Charlie provides insight and a template for us to examine our journey and to recognize that the paths opened to us and traveled are influenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. As you read this life journey, I encourage you to stop at the end of each chapter and reflect on your own journey as I did. Consider where has the Holy Spirit made its presence known for you at various times in your life journey? By traveling with Charlie, you will awaken to what you hadn’t perceived and in turn see God’s Presence through the Holy Spirit in your journey. A wise man once told me, ‘We are all here to walk each other down the path to the end.’ The experiences that Charlie has shared show us that we are not walking that path alone.” – W. Dennis Derr, Ed.D., LPC, author of Building Personal Resiliency; A Simple Book of Practice for Living a Life of Resiliency
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deacon Charlie Durban has served St. Anselm parish in St. Louis, MO, for 15 years. His professional life of 50 years included mental health programs in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Missouri; and, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) regionally, nationally and internationally. His parish assignments included Assistant to the Pastor and Director of Liturgy. He served for 5 years as Assistant Director of Psychological and Counseling Services at Kenrick Glennon seminary. Somewhat retired, he remains very active leading men’s prayer groups, St. Vincent de Paul conference, Kairos prison ministry, and a variety of parish assignments. He and his wife Penny co-teach Counseling Skills to the men in deacon formation and several classes of the Archdiocesan Spiritual Direction program. He is also an Army veteran, serving at the Pentagon and one year in Vietnam. Along with his professional training and education, Deacon Charlie has also completed the two-year professional certification in Spiritual Direction at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. Semi-retirement has increased his hopes of getting out once a week for 18 holes of golf, usually with a variety of results. Fortunately, his parish golfing buddies are generous with their “gimmes” on the greens. He and his wife Penny eagerly await the grace of grandchildren and further “adventures”.