Sense Ability

Fr. Byron Miller, CSsR, is an Associate Editor for Liguori Publications. He previously served as its president and publisher (2015-2023) and is the author of numerous faith-based publications. 

Finding God in the ordinary is the path to eternal life. How much more ordinary can one get than to use the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch?  Sense Ability is a body of work, a richly textured tapestry, that artfully invites the reader to experience God through these senses. In a multi-layered approach, Byron Miller, CSsR presents an intricate balance of scientific information, Christian spirituality, prayer, Sacred Scripture and Tradition. He encourages the employment of memory, imagination, intuition, reflection, experience, wisdom and insight as tools for spiritual growth. Let this work guide you to a deeper, more intimate encounter with God through your ability to engage the senses. 

— Bonnie LeMelle Abadie, D. Min., Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas 

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In Sense Ability, Byron Miller, CSsR dispels the erroneous notion that our physical senses are an impediment to the spiritual journey. By artfully weaving words from Scripture with those of artists, mystics, and others, he draws readers toward a deep appreciation for the senses as conduits that awaken the soul to the sacred within the ordinary human experience. Seeing and recognizing, hearing and listening are not the same, and as the author points out, being mindful of the full potential of our senses sets the stage for a sacramental theology that takes believers from the visible to the invisible.  

— Barbara Hughes, author of Mary the Perfect Contemplative 

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Sense Ability is a real gift!  Byron Miller, CSsR gives us an opportunity to slow down, take a few moments throughout the day and appreciate the presence of our loving God through each of our senses.  Take time to read, reflect—and most of all, enjoy—this fine work!    

— Rev. John Ardis, CSP, Vice President, Paulist Fathers, New York 

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By weaving together many strands of sound spiritual wisdom, secular literature and scientific facts, Byron Miller, CSsR has created an informative and enjoyable compendium of reflections on drawing closer to God via our five senses. I came away with a newfound appreciation of God’s amazingly creative gift of the human body as an instrument of the Creator’s deep love of humanity. 

 — Loretta L. Gallagher, OCDS, Administrator for the OCDS Main Office of the Washington Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary