by Emily McDonald
South East Correspondent

Rick Mathis, Ph.D., wrote “The Christ-Centered Heart: Peaceful Living in Difficult Times” as much for himself as he did for anyone else.

Like many people who will read the book, Mathis, age 42, is caught up in an existence where meeting daily professional and personal obligations can become the proverbial rat race. He decided to take a long-time interest in and study of Benedictine spirituality and write a book showing how it can help people, like himself, who are living fast-paced lives.

The result of that effort, “The Christ-Centered Heart” was recently published by Liguori-Triumph Press, a Catholic press based in Liguori, MO.

Mathis is a parishioner at St. Peter’s, Chattanooga and manager of medical policy healthcare management for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. Mathis believes that the Benedictines provide a nice model of how to live. A lot of books have been written about the same type of subject but their authors have been monks, psychologists and other professionals.

“I was somebody in the middle of it,” Mathis said. “I wanted to try to apply it [the Benedictine model] in a normal work life.” For example, he worked with two companies that were undergoing major changes, TVA and Provident in Chattanooga, and he had to make changes in his own career as a result. “I wanted to show how to lead a Christ-Centered life in the world,” Mathis said. His goal is to get people to slow down and be a little bit more reflective.

Mathis believes that centering our lives upon Christ enhances the ability to love but responding with love is difficult in many circumstances. When a life is Christ-centered, however, the person’s perspective is changed and the person is focused as much as possible on a life built around God and the love of others rather than on his or her own needs.

The author draws on a number of sources, including the Bible, the Desert Fathers and contemporary writers like Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. “I was really influenced by ‘The Practice of the Presence of God,’” Mathis said. The book deals with Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a 17th century French monk who tried to find God is all of life’s, experiences. “To him a spiritual exercise was washing dishes.” Mathis also uses personal experiences, his own and those of others, to make his points about how sin can keep us from a Christ-centered life and how grace can help us move toward that kind of life.

Although the holder of a doctorate in political science and public policy (from Johns Hopkins University), the author doesn’t write in an academic style but in a readable, easy-to-understand manner. At the end of each chapter Mathis offers exercises and techniques to aid the reader in seeking a Christ-centered life.

“Healing in the Rhythm of Prayer” is the working title of a book that Mathis is currently researching. “I am looking at some of the scientific studies of the effects of prayer,” Mathis said. This book will offer ways of incorporating healing type prayer into one’s daily life.

“The Christ-Centered Heart” ($14.95), available in April.