While training for the priesthood, a stint with a hospital chaplaincy team brought Mark face to face with a depth of suffering that blew his young, confident faith apart. Years later he was still picking up the pieces, but they began to show an entirely different picture of where and how God could be found. The Collage of God is for all who find it difficult to reconcile the realities of life with easy and comfortable notions about faith. In imaginative and beautiful language, and illuminated by many quotes from modern writers and poets, Mark Oakley reconstructs faith as a collage of traditions and texts, the myriad experiences of living, imagination, silence and prayer by which we respond to the grace of God revealed in fragile lives. A contemporary spiritual classic.

"‘Rich and diverse in illustrations…it underpins [a] refreshingly innovative approach for finding God. I was asked to review this book after an accident which I found hard to bear. Its gentle humour, wide sympathies and compassion cheered me greatly. I recommend this book unreservedly.’" - Towards Wholeness

"‘This is literally a collage of a human being’s experience of God in moments of delight and near despair. Laughter and tears, delight and duty, are all touched upon …I read it on a commuter train and it transformed my journey from one of purgatory to one of pilgrimage.’" - Retreats magazine

"‘It is a rare to find a book about the spiritual that radiates laughter but when one does, it is wonderfully refreshing… It is a book that invites us to compose our won collage, for it is by sharing our experiences of faith with one another, listening to each other’s stories, that we journey as a company of the faithful. l have already bought several copies to give to friends. It is that good!’" - The Tablet