Readings:

Psalm 96:7-13 or 37:3-6,32-33
Wisdom 7:24--8:1
John 4:19-24
Preface of the Dedication of a Church

PRAYER (traditional language)
O God, Origin, Sustainer, and End of all creatures: Grant that thy Church, taught by thy servant Evelyn Underhill, guarded evermore by thy power, and guided by thy Spirit into the light of truth, may continually offer to thee all glory and thanksgiving, and attain with thy saints to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast promised us by our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

PRAYER (contemporary language)
O God, Origin, Sustainer, and End of all your creatures: Grant that your Church, taught by your servant Evelyn Underhill, guarded evermore by your power, and guided by your Spirit into the light of truth, may continually offer to you all glory and thanksgiving, and attain with your saints to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have promised us by our Savior Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.

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EVELYN UNDERHILL

THEOLOGIAN AND MYSTIC (15 JUNE 1941)

To go up alone into the mountains
and come back as an ambassador to the world,
has ever been the method of humanity's best friends.
The windows of Christ's Mysteries split the [Light] up into many-coloured loveliness, disclose all of its hidden richness...make its beauty more accessible to us...And within this place we too are bathed in the light transmitted by the windows, a light which is yet the very radiance of Eternity.

Evelyn Underhill was born in 1875 and grew up in London. Her friends included Laurence Housman (poet and brother of the poet A E Housman) and Sarah Bernhardt (actress), and Baron Friedrich von Huegel, a writer on theology and mysticism. Largely under his guidance, she embarked on a life of reading, writing, meditation, and prayer. From her studies and experience she produced a series of books on contemplative prayer. The list includes the following (I have starred the ones that seem to be most widely read or highly regarded):

1902 The Bar-lamb's Ballad (poetry)
1911 Mysticism **
1913 The Mystic Way *
1913 Immanence (poetry)
1927 Man and the Supernatural
1936 Worship ***
1938 The Mystery of Sacrifice

Miss Underhill (Mrs. Hubert Stuart Moore) taught that the life of contemplative prayer is not just for monks and nuns, but can be the life of any Christian who is willing to undertake it. She also taught that modern psychological theory, far from being a threat to contemplation, can fruitfully be used to enhance it. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time as a lecturer and retreat director. She died on June 15, 1941.

by James Kiefer

Note: Cliking on one of the links above will take you to Amazon.com, where you may buy the book(s) if you like.Some may be out of print and so only available used. Some other books of hers include:
    Practical Mysticism
    The Spiritual Life
Essential Writings
    The Ways of the Spirit