Religious communities and monasticism Books

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Book SynopsisThe Deeds of the abbots of St Albans records the history of one of the most important abbeys in England, closely linked to the royal family and home to a school of distinguished chroniclers, including Matthew Paris and Thomas Walsingham. It offers many insights into the life of the monastery, its buildings and its role as a maker of books, and covers the period from the Conquest to the mid-fifteenth century.Trade ReviewA wonderfully detailed picture of life in the medieval abbey...To have this work available in one volume in English rather than multiple volumes in Latin is a great service to medieval and monastic historians * ALBAN LINK *Table of ContentsIntroduction The translation and its sources The Deeds of the Abbots of St Albans Appendix: A thirteenth-century precis of the Deeds of the Abbots of St Albans Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA full and comprehensive survey of the development of the Cistercian Order which emerged from the tumultuous intellectual and religious fervour of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Cistercians (White Monks) were the most successful monastic experiment to emerge from the tumultuous intellectual and religious fervour of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. By around 1150 they had established houses the length and breadth of Western Christendom and were internationally renowned. They sought to return to a simple form of monastic life, as set down in the Rule of St Benedict, and preferred rural locations "far from the haunts of men".But, as recent research has shown, they were by no means isolated from society but influenced, and were influenced by, the world around them; they moved with the times. This book explores the phenomenon that was the Cistercian Order, drawing on recent research from various disciplines to consider what it was that made the Cistercians distinctive and how they responded to developments. The book addresses current debates regarding the origins and evolution of the Order; discusses the key primary sources for knowledge; and covers architecture, administration, daily life, spirituality, the economy and the monks' ties with the world. Professor Janet Burton teaches at theSchool of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David; Dr Julie Kerr is Honorary Research Fellow in the School of History, University of St Andrews.Trade ReviewWell-structured and rigorously edited. * ANALECTA CISTERCIENSIA LXIII *This is an excellent introduction.providing a well-balanced and easily accessible overview. It is recommended to anyone interested in monastic or medieval history. * H-FRANCE REVIEW *A treasure trove of detailed information. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *[The authors] are due the thanks of all interested in medieval monastic life for this fine addition to the literature on one of its most important manifestations. * AMERICAN BENEDICTINE REVIEW *It will serve undergraduates in the area of Cistercian studies as an introduction to the riches of the primary sources and as a pointer to debates in academic literature. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *An interesting and well-argued book. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *A much needed introduction. [It offers] a detailed and readable account of the Cistercians' origins and an analysis of the distinctiveness of the medieval Cistercians' way of life. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *Concise yet comprehensive...this book deserves to become a standard introductory work for anyone intent on serious Cistercian studies. * NORTHERN HISTORY *An impressive work of seminal scholarship. * MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW *An engaging and authoritative history of the Cistercian order from its origins to the end of the Middle Ages. This volume, a further contribution to Boydell's excellent Monastic Orders series, is a wide-ranging, Europe-wide history of the Cistercians, considering them in the religious, cultural, political and economic contexts of their world and time. * REVIEWS IN HISTORY *For those who teach religious orders or church history, this is must have....It provides a wider understanding of the Cistercian Order and how they interacted with the world as well as a firm basis of their organisation and life in general. * H-WRBI *A valuable contribution to Cistercian history. Recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsThe 'desert-place called Cîteaux' 'In mountain valleys and plains': the spread of the Cistercian Order 'Lonely wooded places': the Cistercians, their sites and their buildings Unity and concord: the administration of the Order Ora et labora: daily life in the cloister 'Angels of God': Cistercian spirituality Conversi, granges and the Cistercian economy 'Lanterns shining in a dark place': the Cistercians and the world Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA pioneering, comprehensive investigation into a major Italian monastery. The Benedictine abbey of Holy Trinity, Cava, has had a continuous existence since its foundation almost exactly a thousand years ago. From its modest beginnings, it developed during the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries into one of the wealthiest and most influential monasteries in southern Italy. This path-breaking study, based on many years research into the, largely unpublished, charters of Cava, begins by examining the growth of the abbey's congregation and property, and its struggle subsequently to defend its interests during the troubled thirteenth century. But, in addition, it uses the extensive evidence available to study its benefactors and dependents, administration and economy, and through this material to analyse the social and economic structures of the principality of Salerno. There is also a re-evaluation of the problem of forgery, practised on a large scale at Cava during the thirteenth century, a factor which has complicated and discouraged previous study of this important institution. A major advance both in the study of the south Italian Church and of the medieval Mezzogiorno during the central Middle Ages, the volume presents a vivid and detailed picture of local society and its workings, and of the families and individuals who had dealings with the abbey.Trade ReviewThe Social World of the Abbey of Cava represents a deeply impressive piece of work offering a nuanced and multi-faceted reconstruction of a fascinating monastic institution. -- AL-MASAQ JOURNALG. A. Loud's thorough and innovative study of the sociopolitical contexts and institutional life of the abbey of Cava adroitly bridges social, institutional, and political history, and will be the standard historical work-for the foreseeable future-on the exterior life of Holy Trinity, Cava during its first three centuries. Loud does not restrict analysis to documents in Pergamene scelte, but provides a historiographically wide-ranging discussion of the administration, finances, political life, and socioeconomic entrenchment of Holy Trinity from its origins under the Lombards to the later thirteenth century. -- Mihow McKenny, University of Notre Dame * Fides et Historia *Table of ContentsList of maps and charts Acknowledgements Abbreviations A note on the organisation and publication of the Cava archive Dates Currency, weights and measures The Abbots of Cava, c. 1020-1300 Introduction Part I: the Abbey of Cava (1) The Origins of the Abbey of Cava: from hermitage to monastery (2) The Era of growth c. 1076-1190 (3) Defending monastic lordship, c. 1190-1300 (4) Forgery, its extent and purpose Part II: Society and Economy (5) Landscape and Environment (6) Patrons and Benefactors (7) Family Connections (8) Administration and Personnel (9) Lordship (10) Peasants, their obligations and the exploitation of Cava's lands (11) The monastery, the city and the regional economy Conclusion Appendix: Purchase and Expenditure by the Abbey of Cava, at Selected Periods between 1175-1230 Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of how Æthelwold and those he influenced deployed the promotion of saints to implement religious reform. Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester and his associates were some of the most radical monastic reformers in tenth-century Europe. In two generations, they took over most of the powerful churches in the kingdom of England and implemented a number of the policies found in their ambitious monastic manifestos. They also had a major impact on the early development of the kingdom itself, taking a role in the establishment of a shire system that lasted a thousand years, negotiations with invaders, and attempts to create a standardized English language. Æthelwold and his circle were also enthusiastic venerators of saints. This book examines a range of sources, from hagiographies to charters, from liturgy to archaeological remains, to argue that saints' cults helped these men and women secure their power, wealth, and relationships with groups outside their monasteries. The saints that Æthelwold's circle promoted most lavishly were not necessarily the ones that they studied or the ones that matched their ideological agenda. Rather, Æthelwold's monks and nuns connected themselves to a wide range of saints, including the Virgin Mary, St Swithun, Æthelthryth of Ely, Iudoc, Grimbald, Botulf, Cuthbert, and many others. Venerating these saints helped Æthelwold and his followers appeal to other groups in society, including unreformed ecclesiastics, lay nobles, and the workers on their estates. This book therefore not only has implications for the study of early English history and literature, but also for the history of western European monasticism and saints' cults more generally.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Intellectual Priorities, Individuals, and Intra-Communal Veneration 2. Saints and Property 3. Saints and Unreformed Clerics 4. Saints and Nobles 5. Saints, the Laity, and Sacred Spaces 6. Saints and the Second Generation Conclusion Appendix 1: Saints and Property in Royal Grants, 900-1000 Appendix 2: Members of the Circle Appointed to High Ecclesiastical Offices, 956-1016 Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAt first sight the lives of hermits, living in solitude and committed to a life of prayer and contemplation seems to be a world apart of the active practice of interfaith dialogue. Yet, there is a long tradition of seeking the divine together and thus making a contribution to better mutual understanding and an active contribution to peace between Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism in India.Drawing on his experience of travelling to some of India's holy places, the life and work of writers like Thomas Merton, Charles de Foucauld and Abishaktanda and being himself a Benedictine hermit and Professor of Divinity at the University of St Andrews, Mario Aguilar opens up new possibilities for dialogue between three of the world's major religions in today's world. He shows how his own experience of an eremitic life has brought him into deep communion with pilgrims of other faiths, be it through shared silence or listening to each other's experience, through reading sacred scriptures together, through poetry or interfaith worship that draws on practices and texts from Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.This is a book for all engaged in interfaith dialogue and seeking to explore how spiritualities of silence, contemplation and prayer can make a contribution to peace and harmony in the world today.Trade ReviewIn a culture characterised by incessant noise, Mario Aguilar's celebration of the sound of silence could not be more welcome. This book will not only engage your mind with its thoughtful insights - its prayerfulness and beauty will touch your soul. -- Right Reverend Dr Russell Barr, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandIn this heartfelt and personal account, Professor Aguilar takes the reader on a journey into the practice and ideas of the hermit across traditions and his or her understanding of life as a journey to a fulfillment in a higher reality. This is an engaging and highly readable account. -- Professor Gavin Flood FBA, Senior Research Fellow, Campion Hall, Oxford UniversityProfessor Aguilar's book moves across continents and religious traditions with the ease and grace that comes from the depth and empathy of a lifetime's familiarity and study. Whether meeting Buddhists in Chile, Sikhs in India, or Hindus in Scotland we feel the personal friendships and experiences which have inspired him. However, its particular strength and uniqueness is the way he explores the places of the hermit's life as a site of meaning and sacred connectedness. Both those fresh to interreligious dialogue and lifelong practitioners and scholars in the discipline will find fresh insights and perspectives in the pages of this work. -- Paul Hedges, Associate Professor of Interreligious Studies at RSIS, NTU, Singapore and author of Towards Better Disagreement: Religion and Atheism in DialogueIn a world awash with chatter and superficial talk-fests, the choice of solitude and silence is spiritually challenging. Memory lives in silence. God is found there. With a deep and movingly autobiographical thread, The Way of the Hermit creatively probes the contribution of the eremitic life to Christian interfaith encounter. -- Professor Douglas Pratt, University of Waikato & University of BernDigging deep and drawing generously from the wells of experience and expertise, Professor Aguilar throws open the richness of dialogue that happens in the depths of silence and solitude that characterise a life of hermitage. Theologically imaginative and spiritually inspiring, the book recovers the potential of presence, poetry and prayer for dialogue in fresh and fascinating ways. -- The Reverend Dr Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar, Programme Executive, Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, World Council of Churches, SwitzerlandMario Aguilar's personal homage to silence is eloquent, lucid, and simple. Not so much an argument for silence or against words which remain fundamental in every tradition, his meditations witness to his own instinct for silence and his growing solitude as a hermit in the world. The story of a soul, The Way of the Hermit joins the canon of spiritual autobiographies, akin to the monastic journeys of Thomas Merton, Henri Le Saux, and Bede Griffiths. It mirrors the broad interreligious wisdom of Raimon Panikkar, and stands in harmony with a multitude of Hindu and Buddhist experiences in today's world. A contemplative gift, The Way of the Hermit aids us in recovering quiet in today's noisy world. -- Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Director, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University'How great the multitude of truths which the garment of words can never contain!' ~ Baha'u'llahDialogue in silence; speaking without words; this complex book explores the possibility of connection between faiths in the sacred space that silence allows and is a useful addition to the growing literature on interfaith dialogue. -- Dr Maureen Sier, Director of Interfaith ScotlandThis is Aguilar's first book on the eremitic life and how it relates to/enhances his own interfaith encounters, be they virtual or in situ. The broad range of topics he addresses and the variety of literary styles he uses-at times reflective, at times descriptive-can demand patience of the reader, but a patience that is well worth the effort. ..I found his work to be enlightening, informative, reflective, and provocative. He is a true seeker and peacemaker. -- Angela Del Greco, a lay consecrated hermit in the Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud and an Oblate of Saint Benedict * Monastic Interreligious Dialogue *The reader who has had experience of interfaith encounter will delight in this book. The reader whose experience of other traditions is more limited would find it a valuable introduction. Those of us who may feel oppressed by the noise and tumult of the world will find an invitation to an inner silence and an opportunity to explore our own cave of the heart, and the God who dwells therein. In this most valuable volume we may discover clues to intimacy with All in solitariness and the Voice of God in silence. -- Kevin Tingay * The Christian Parapsychologist *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Experiencing Dialogue. 1. Hermits in Christianity and Hinduism. 2. Ordering Time, Space and Meditation Together. 3. Inter-Faith Encounters and Silence. 4. Creating Liturgies for the Absolute. 5. Reading Texts: Upanishads and Bodhisattvas. 6. The Silence of Death. Appendix 1. An Indian Eucharistic Prayer. Appendix 2. Morning Christian-Hindu Prayers. Appendix 3. Evening Christian-Hindu Prayers. Appendix 4. Roman Indian Liturgy (Eucharist). Appendix 5. Christian-Hindu Liturgies (Midday Worship). Appendix 6. Declarations for a Shared Humanity (St. Andrews and India).

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Book SynopsisThe Vowed Life reflects on a paradox in the Church today: one that represents an important challenge to its mission and witness. Vows continue to be made sacramentally in the Church, yet there remains a great longing for a vowed life which would be truly transforming and life-giving. Vows are simultaneously alluring and unappealing: lay memberships of religious orders have escalated, yet very few traditional religious communities have attracted younger members due to their more demanding lifelong commitments. The Vowed Life explores why and how this has come to be, and how the Church urgently needs to respond to this paradoxical challenge. Returning to baptism as the anchor of all other Christian vows, a range of contributors consider whether the longing for forms of life that are profoundly life-changing is a displaced desire for something that should be intrinsic to Christian life. In a Church that prioritises pastoral sensitivity, they ask how those demands could be newly expressed for our culture. In seeking a coherent theology of vows in liturgical practice and sacramental context, they find that fresh attention to ‘the vowed life’ also has much to offer to the Church’s continuing conversations about sex, gender and identity, and to a ‘mixed ecology’ approach to the life of the Church and its mission.

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Book SynopsisRichard Carter swapped a life of simplicity with an Anglican religious order in the Solomon Islands for parish ministry in one of London's busiest churches, St Martin-in-the-Fields. Seeing a need for monastic values in the centre of the city, he founded the Nazareth Community. Its members gather from everyday life to seek God in contemplation, to acknowledge their dependence on God’s grace and to learn to live openly and generously with all. Part story, part spiritual meditation, The City is My Monastery offers spiritual wisdom for daily life rooted in the Nazareth Community’s seven guiding principles: Silence, Service, Scripture, Sacrament, Sharing, Sabbath Time and Staying.Trade Review‘This wonderful book is both recognizable and startlingly new. What we are given here is not simply another book on ‘spirituality’ but a workbook for living in and with meaning, Christian meaning, Jesus-shaped meaning.’ -- Rowan Williams‘This book is a generous gift. The City is My Monastery is rich and moving reading which warmed my spirit and encouraged me to stay.’ -- The Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London‘This is a book that moved me deeply and will surely strengthen and give heart to many. It is an autobiography of poetry and prayer. Above all, a powerful poetic meditation on meeting God every day on the streets and in the people of London.’ -- Neil MacGregor, founding director of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, director of the British Museum 2002-2015‘Precious few are the books that accomplish what this masterfully practical and inspiring book accomplishes. Nor do they do so with such grace, depth and unflinching insight. Those who tread the pathless path of contemplation will be grateful to be in Richard Carter’s debt for the gift of this remarkable book.’ -- Martin Laird OSA, author of An Ocean of Light‘The City is my Monastery is beautiful, inspiring, humble and attractive. It is so deeply soaked in loving attention and that is what makes it so infectious.’ -- The Revd Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields‘This is a life-changing book, and needs to be read as it is written - as a prayer.’ -- Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor Emerita, University of Cambridge‘There are treasures on every page: wisdom gathered, practised and shared. This book is so readable it could be a quick read, but linger and use it slowly over the months and years. This is a guide to life.’ -- The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury‘This is one of those books that can be a lifetime’s companion, holding before us what we are here for: Life.’ -- Father George Guiver, Community of the Resurrection‘Richard Carter has written a book not of abstract theory but of lived experience and practice. It will inspire urban and rural dwellers alike.’ -- Revd Lucy Winkett Rector St James's Church, Piccadilly

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Book Synopsisthe Jesuits have always defined themselves, not by any particular place or specific ministry, but by a universal outreach. they were ready to go wherever the needs were great and the opportunities promising. Adaptability became their hallmark. From early on the Jesuits spread rapidly: to the Far East, starting with Francis Xavier in 1540, to North and South America, to Africa and eventually to Australasia. In their reports to Rome, they spoke about the different situations they faced, their successes and failures, their frustrations and hopes. This little volume tells the stories of a few of these Jesuits, from different continents and eras. In the hope that their commitment and struggles will prove inspirational once again today.

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Book SynopsisMany books have already been written on spiritual counselling, especially in the Ignatian tradition. But very few consider how Ignatius gave spiritual advice in his letters, directed to various and specific situations. If God really leads us in our spiritual journey, as Ignatius believed, what is the role of the spiritual adviser? What part is played by the numerous rules given in the Spiritual Exercises? The letters show that Ignatius really wanted to give scope to his correspondents and to their awareness of the work of the Holy Spirit within them. Ignatius deployed a “Pedagogy of Consolation” in which his correspondents were trained to exercise their own spiritual agency by discovering God’s abundant gifts. It was clear to Ignatius that a counselling relationship was first grounded in God’s freedom but also in the freedom of the person who asks for assistance. In six chapters, Patrick C. Goujon focuses on eight letters. He offers a careful reading which emphasizes what makes giving spiritual help possible in a conversation. We are shown how Ignatius deals with decision-making and with obstacles in the spiritual life. He is also revealed giving encouragement and correction and advising about how to offer these to others. His aim is to help people grow in freedom which, in turn, permits them to live according to God’s will. Through his letters, we are allowed to enter not only Ignatius’s study, the famous camerata in Rome, but also into his heart. “This volume is an excellent introduction to the letters of Ignatius of Loyola (…) making it an important scholarly contribution not only for those interested in Ignatian spirituality, but also for those interested in the history of spirituality more broadly”, Mark Rotsaert, ARSITrade Review‘Anyone interested in Ignatian spirituality will read this book – it is challenging and transforming. Your life will be changed in reading this book.’ -- Eileen Quinn Knight * Catholic Profiles *‘This is a delightful and welcome addition to Ignatian literature. It will enrich the reader with a greater knowledge and love of Ignatius.’ -- Denis Blackledge SJ * Catholic South West newspaper *'ANYONE with an interest in understanding more about Ignatian spirituality may find this scholarly exploration of St Ignatius's letters helpful.' -- William Scholes * The Irish News *‘an excellent introduction to the teachings and spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits’ -- Ruadhán Jones * The Irish Catholic *'an excellent theoretical background to read the letters of Ignatius... Goujon provides interpretative keys that can be effectively employed in various situations that need counsel ...' * Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu *'...clear, well-structured and practical...to be recommended, especially for spiritual directors and those training in this important ministry.' * The Furrow *

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Book SynopsisIn 16th and 17th century Ireland religion and nationality fused together in a people’s struggle to survive. In that struggle the country’s links with Europe provided a life line. Members of religious orders, with their international roots, played an important role. Among them were the Irish Jesuits, who adapted to a variety of situations – from quiet work in Irish towns to serving as an emissary for Hugh O’Neill in the south of Ireland and in the courts of Rome and Spain, and then founding seminary colleges in Spain and Portugal from which young Irishmen returned to keep faith and hope alive. In the seventeenth century persecution was more haphazard. There were opportunities for preaching and teaching and, at time, especially during the Confederation of Kilkenny in the 1640s, for the open celebration of one’s religion. This freedom gave way to the savage persecution under Cromwell, which resulted in the killing of some Jesuits and others being forced to find shelter in caves, sepulchres, and bogs, the Jesuit superior dying alone in a shepherd’s hut on an island off Galway. There followed a time of more relaxed laws during which Irish Jesuits publicly ran schools in New Ross and, for Oliver Plunkett, in Drogheda, but persecution soon resumed and Oliver Plunkett was arrested and martyred. At the end of the century, as the forces of King James II were finally defeated, some Jesuits lived and worked through the sieges of Limerick and then nerved themselves to face the Penal Laws in the new century.Trade Review‘With a broad stroke and a light touch, the author paints a fascinating picture of an unrecognisable Ireland from just a few centuries ago...[an] exceptional story, exceptionally told’ INTERCOM -- Fr Paul Clayton-Lea * Intercom *"Approachable yet detailed" The Irish Catholic 2021 -- Peter Costello * The Irish Catholic *‘Morrissey combines an immense knowledge of his subject with an engaging, accessible style’ -- Colmán O'Clabaigh * The Furrow *

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Book SynopsisWalking with Ignatius is a celebration of 500 years of the Society of Jesus, as seen through the eyes of its first Latin American Father General, Arturo Sosa. Comprised of interviews with Father General conducted over a period of two years by Dario Menor, Walking with Ignatius retraces the ‘inner tension’ – both personal and communal – that defines the quest for meaning over the ages: from the time when St Ignatius begged for alms to sustain his studies to a world transformed by globalisation. Menor’s questions reflect the spirit of the Ignatian practice of discernment: unafraid to ask questions and to face up to the challenges of the present, Menor and Sosa engage in a spiritual conversation that covers such topics as the life of Ignatius, the life story of Sosa, the challenge of the unsettling twenty-first century, and the future of the Church. With great care Sosa sifts through the past, present, and future of the Society of Jesus and of the Church. The reader is invited in the Ignatian spirit into a conversation about the future direction of the Church in which the question of being a Catholic is replaced with the question of how we become Catholics. Included is a section-by-section guide – complete with bible references, pointers for prayer, and tips for spiritual conversation – that encourages the reader to embark on a spiritual journey of their own. Intended for those within and outside the Ignatian family, Walking with Ignatius is both an exemplar of spiritual conversation in action and a response to Pope Francis’s call for Jesuits to bring the practice of discernment to the world. Trade Review‘I challenge any reader who picks up this book not to be amazed and challenged by its contents... a life-giving and life-enhancing book, one of the best I have ever had the privilege to review’ -- Denis Blackledge SJ * Catholic South West newspaper *'...grounds the celebration of the Jesuits' half-millennia in a contemporary context. Sosa explains the four 'Universal Apostolic Preferences'...that shape and focus a mission of reconciliation and justice that resonates with many today in a world transformed by individualism and division.' Irish News June 2021 -- William Scholes * Faith Matters, The Irish News *‘...attractively presented and very readable...engaging and captivating...highly recommended...’ The Furrow July 21 -- Tomás Surlis * The Furrow *‘...offers profound insights into the religious life and Ignatian spirituality...the structured approach is appealing as it turns each chapter into a moment of prayer.’ * The Way *

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Book SynopsisThis book tells the life of Pedro Arrupe SJ, 1907-1991, whose cause for beatification was introduced in 2019. Arrupe played a central role in the Church of the twentieth century and his influence endures in the many who are fired by his idealism, vision and way of life. A tiny man with a heart truly larger than the world, he lived like a church mouse, prayed for four hours daily, and had a vibrant relationship with the three divine Persons through his sixteen years as General of the Jesuits. Born in Bilbao, he experienced the poverty of the Madrid slums while pursuing medical studies, and witnessed miracles at Lourdes which led him to join the Jesuit Order in 1927. He was expelled from Spain with his fellow-Jesuits in 1931 and began working in Japan in 1938 only to endure thirty-three days of solitary confinement on charges of espionage, and was a first responder in the oven of Hiroshima when the atom bomb fell there in 1945. He was elected in 1965 as superior general of the Jesuits, then numbering 36,000, and led them fearlessly for sixteen challenging years as the Church grappled with the decrees of the Vatican Council, 1962-1965. He made a refreshed Ignatian spirituality available not only to the Society but to Christians everywhere who try to find God in their daily lives. His renewal of Jesuit life and mission crystallised around the faith that does justice, and he challenged Jesuit alumni worldwide to become ‘men and women for and with others’. In 1980 he founded the Jesuit Refugee Service which has now spread globally. Trade Review‘This book will enrich whoever picks it up, open the eyes of your heart, giving a true flavour of this remarkable man.’ * Catholic South West *‘More than a memoir, this is a meditation on the life and death of Pedro Arrupe...this book belongs with the best in recent spiritual biography’. * The Furrow *‘this really is an account of a saintly life’ * The Pastoral Review *‘...a multidimensional portrayal of one of the greatest Church figures of our times...the author’s clear, measured exposition of the guiding principles of Arrupe’s life make this an accessible, provocative read.’ * Intercom *

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Book SynopsisThis book introduces us to St Bernard of Clairvaux through the lens of friendship. Close reading of Bernard’s writings, not least of his letters, brings out the humanity of the saint and reveals the role of human friendship in his life. The author shows how similar are the experiences of this twelfth-century monk, with his needs and joys, hopes and feelings of inadequacy, to our own experiences of relationship in our present world with its pressures and social media. Liz Carmichael, Emeritus Research Fellow, St John’s College, Oxford This fascinating and intimate portrayal of Bernard will inspire anyone wishing to explore the essential place of spiritual friendships in forming true disciples of Christ. Nick Swanson, Baptist Union Church Minister; Spiritual Direction trainer, Launde Abbey Team; IPCS Pastoral Supervision tutor Jennifer Campbell’s brilliance in the book is how she has curated original material from the letters and reflections of the monks that by and large speak for themselves—and yet speak directly into our own age. One cannot read the book and not have one’s own experience touched and illumined by the deeply authentic wisdom it contains. Chris Blakeley, Director of the St George’s House Leadership Fellows Programme at Windsor Castle, Spiritual Direction Tutor

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Book SynopsisThe Lost Abbey of Eynsham will be of interest not just to local historians but to those with an interest in the development of monasticism and medieval art and architecture, particularly the Romanesque. Eynsham was one of the few religious foundations in England in continuous use from the late Saxon period to the Dissolution. Its first Benedictine Abbot was the internationally renowned scholar and teacher, Aelfric, and it was frequently visited by medieval kings given its close proximity to the royal hunting lodge of Woodstock. Hugh of Avalon, later canonised, was appointed Bishop of Lincoln at a royal council at Eynsham in 1186. Shortly afterwards the abbey achieved fame with the Vision of the Monk of Eynsham which is said to have influenced Dante. Its reputation was further enhanced when Eynsham acquired an important relic, the arm of St Andrew in 1240. In the later Middle Ages, the abbey went into decline and was beset by scandal. It surrendered to the Crown in 1538 and the huge structure was gradually demolished and pillaged for its building materials. Now, nothing remains in situ above ground. This book aims to rescue this important abbey from obscurity by summarising its history and examining the material remains of Eynsham Abbey, most of which have never been published before.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Beginnings Chapter 2. Aelfric’s Abbey Chapter 3. Re-foundation Chapter 4. Abbey Stones Chapter 5. Fame and Ambition Chapter 6. The Shrine of St Andrew Chapter 7. The Oxfordshire School Chapter 8. The Wrath of God Chapter 9. Visions of Heaven and Hell Chapter 10. Keeping up Appearances Chapter 11. Laying Up Treasures on Earth Chapter 12. Scandal Chapter 13. Endings Chapter 14. Rediscovery Chapter 15. Rescue Appendix 1: A List of Eynsham’s Abbots Appendix 2: Eynsham Abbey’s Properties Appendix 3: The Bainbridge Slide Collection Appendix 4: Glossary of some Architectural terms Bibliography Sources Index

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Book SynopsisNew approaches to understanding religious women's involvement in monastic reform, demonstrating how women's experiences were more ambiguous and multi-layered than previously assumed. Over the last two decades, scholarship has presented a more nuanced view of women's attitude to and agency in medieval monastic reform, challenging the idea that they were, by and large, unwilling to accept or were necessarily hostile towards reform initiatives. Rather, it has shown that they actively participated in debates about the ideas and structures that shaped their religious lives, whether rejecting, embracing, or adapting to calls for "reform" contingent on their circumstances. Nevertheless, fundamental questions regarding the gendered nature of religious reform are ripe for further examination. This book brings together innovative research from a range of disciplines to re-evaluate and enlarge our knowledge of women's involvement in spiritual and institutional change in female monastic communities over the period c. 1000 - c. 1500. Contributors revise conventional narratives about women and monastic reform, and earlier assumptions of reform as negative or irrelevant for women. Drawing on a diverse array of visual, material and textual sources, it presents "snapshots" of reform from western Europe, stretching from Ireland to Iberia. Case-studies focussing on a number of different topics, from tenth-century female saints' lives to fifteenth-century liturgical books, from the tenth-century Leominster prayerbook to archaeological remains in Ireland, from embroideries and tapestries to the rebellious nuns of Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, offer a critical reappraisal of how monastic women (and their male associates) reflected, individually and collectively, on their spiritual ideals and institutional forms.Table of Contents1 Debating Identities: Women and Monastic Reform in the Medieval West, c. 900-1500 Julie Hotchin and Jirki Thibaut 2 Liturgy and Female Monastic Hagiography around the Year 1000: A lecture croisée of the Life of Liutrud, the Second Life of Glodesind of Metz and the So-called Pontificale Romano-Germanicum Gordon Blennemann 3 Remakers of Reform: The Women Religious of Leominster and their Prayerbook Katie Anne-Marie Bugyis 4 The Materiality of Female Religious Reform in Twelfth-Century Ireland: The Case of Co-Located Religious Houses Tracy Collins 5 Women as Witnesses: Picturing Gender and Spiritual Identity in a Twelfth-Century Embroidered Fragment from Northern Germany Julie Hotchin and Vera Henkelmann 6 Mulieres Religiose and Cistercian Nuns in Northern Italy in the Thirteenth Century: A Choice of 'Order' Elena Vanelli 7 Circulation of Books and Reform Ideas between Female Monasteries in Medieval Castile: From Twelfth-Century Cistercians to the Observant Reform Mercedes Pérez Vidal 8 Women, Men and Local Monasticism in Late Medieval Bologna Sherri Franks Johnson 9 Building Community: Material Concerns in the Fifteenth-Century Monastic Reform Jennifer Edwards 10 Who Made Reform Visible? Male and Female Agency in Changing Visual Culture Katharina Ulrike Mersch 11 Nuns, Cistercian Chant and Observant Reform in the Southern Low Countries John Glasenapp Index

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Book SynopsisIn the dark and turbulent centuries after the Roman occupation of Britain, and during the Anglo-Saxon colonisation, the light of heaven still shone through the work and witness of the monastic communities, 'villages of God', which dotted the land. One of the most remarkable figures of those times was Hilda of Whitby. Born and reared amid warring pagan tribes, through the influence of Celtic saints and scholars she became a dominant figure in the development of the British Church, above all at the famous Synod where Celtic and Roman Churches came together. Until recently, though, the story of this extraordinary woman has not received much attention. Published to coincide with the 1400th anniversary of her birth, this book not only explores the drama of Hilda's life and ministry but shows what spiritual lessons we can draw for Christian life and leadership today.Trade ReviewThere have been times and places where the wise woman or wise man was central to the community. These people were not pandered celebrities, but those open to the depths of God, and a way of love. Hilda was such a woman. 'Hilda of Whitby' reveals Hilda's secret as well as her history and perhaps may challenge us to seek new styles of leadership for today. Penny Warren, Members' Guardian, Community of Aidan and Hilda

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Book SynopsisThis is the most useful survey of medieval Franciscan history available. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW St Francis of Assisi is one of the most admired figures of the Middle Ages - and one of the most important in the Christian church, modelling his life on the literal observance of the Gospel and recovering an emphasis on the poverty experienced by Jesus Christ. From 1217 Francis sent communities of friars throughout Christendom and launched missions to several countries, including India and China. The movement soon became established in most cities and several large towns, and, enjoying close relations with the popes, its followers were ideal instruments for the propagation of the reforms of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215. They quickly became part of the landscape of medieval life and made their influence felt throughout society. This book explores the first 250 years of the order's history and charts its rapid growth, development, pastoral ministry, educational organisation, missionary endeavour, internal tensions and divisions. Intended for both the general and more specialist reader, it offers a complete survey of the Franciscan Order. Dr MICHAEL ROBSON is a Fellow and Director of Studies in Theology at St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

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Book SynopsisThe monastic life, traditionally considered as an area of withdrawal from the world, is here shown to be shaped by metaphors of war, and to be actively engaged with battle in the world outside. An extremely interesting and important book... makes an important contribution to the history of medieval monastic spirituality in a formative period, whilst also fitting into wider debates on the origins, development and impactof ideas on crusading and holy war. Dr William Purkis, University of Birmingham Monastic culture has generally been seen as set apart from the medieval battlefield, as "those who prayed" were set apart from "those whofought". However, in this first study of the place of war within medieval monastic culture, the author shows the limitations of this division. Through a wide reading of Latin sermons, letters, and hagiography, she identifies a monastic language of war that presented the monk as the archetypal "soldier of Christ" and his life of prayer as a continuous combat with the devil: indeed, monks' claims to supremacy on the spiritual battlefield grew even louder asChurch leaders extended the title of "soldier of Christ" to lay knights and crusaders. So, while medieval monasteries have traditionally been portrayed as peaceful sanctuaries in a violent world, here the author demonstrates thatmonastic identity was negotiated through real and imaginary encounters with war, and that the concept of spiritual warfare informed virtually every aspect of life in the cloister. It thus breaks new ground in the history of European attitudes toward warfare and warriors in the age of the papal reform movement and the early crusades. Katherine Allen Smith is Assistant Professor of History, University of Puget Sound.Trade ReviewA major study. [...]Smith's brilliant volume is easily the best synthesis of knightly monastic culture in any language. [...]This book is a highly recommended masterpiece, a model of how historians should investigate the cross-cultural contacts between two elites, seemingly opposites, in the High Middle Ages. * CHURCH HISTORY *This important book is a welcome addition to the recent literature on the relations between medieval church and society. * THE CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *Skilfully demonstrates that martial imagery was a major force in the creation of monastic culture. [...] Truly a remarkable achievement. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction Encountering War in the Scriptures and Liturgy Monks and Warriors: Negotiating Boundaries Spiritual Warfare: The History of an Idea to c.1200 Martial Imagery in Monastic Texts Warriors as Spiritual Exemplars Conclusion Appendix: The Loricati, c.1050-1250 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive survey of the origins, development, and influence of the most important monastic order in the middle ages. The men and women that followed the sixth-century customs of Benedict of Nursia (c.480-c.547) formed the most enduring, influential, numerous and widespread religious order of the Latin middle ages. Their liturgical practice, andtheir acquired taste for learning, served as a model for the medieval church as a whole: while new orders arose, they took some of their customs, and their observant and spiritual outlook, from the Regula Benedicti. The Benedictines may also be counted among the founders of medieval Europe. In many regions of the continent they created, or consolidated, the first Christian communities; they also directed the development of their social organisation,economy, and environment, and exerted a powerful influence on their emerging cultural and intellectual trends. This book, the first comparative study of its kind, follows the Benedictine Order over eleven centuries, from their early diaspora to the challenge of continental reformation. JAMES G. CLARK is Professor of History, University of Exeter.Trade ReviewThe author masters with a seldom met richness a wealth of evidence from the infinitude of particular aspects of Benedictine monasticism. This richness not only stems from the broad perspective of the well-read author's tackling the matter, his constant flow of fresh quotations and references to medieval authors of all genres, printed or still in manuscript, but also his discussions and possible explanations carry the note of careful respect for historical truth within reach of historical possibilities. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *A masterful work. AMERICAN BENEDICTINE REVIEW, December 2012 * . *[Advances] a distinctive and intensively-researched interpretation of the order's history. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Impresses from the outset with its detail. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Many readers will enjoy this book, and it certainly merits a wide audience. It is also a must-read for specialists and is bound to become a key reference in future discussions about ways of telling Benedictinism's story in the Middle Ages. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *This attractive volume offers a broad survey of the Benedictines and their immense influence on the medieval Church. * CHURCH TIMES *Provides a comprehensive introduction and [is] an invaluable resource to all students of the European Middle Ages. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *A work of impeccable and original scholarship. [It] is an especially recommended and seminal contribution to academic library World History, European History, Catholic History, and Medieval Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists. * LIBRARY BOOKWATCH *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Making of a European Order Observance Society Culture The Later Middle Ages Reformations Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisLawmen were crucial to the economic wellbeing of medieval nunneries; this book looks at the relationship between them and how cases were conducted. In late medieval England, cloistered nuns, like all substantial property owners, engaged in nearly constant litigation to defend their holdings. They did so using attorneys (proctors), advocates and other "men of law" who actuallyconducted that litigation in the courts of Church and Crown. However, although lawyers were as crucial to the economic vitality of the nunneries as the patrons who endowed them, their role in protecting, augmenting or depleting monastic assets has never been fully investigated. This book aims to address the gap. Using records from the courts of the common law, Chancery, and a variety of ecclesiastical venues, it examines the working relationships withoutwhich cloistered nuns could not have lived in fully enclosed but self-sustainingc communities. In the first part it looks at the six mendicant and Bridgettine houses established in England, and relates the effectiveness and resilience of their cloistered spirituality to the rise of legal professionalism in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It then presents cases from ecclesiastical and royal courts which illustrate the work of legal professionals on behalf of their clients. Elizabeth Makowski is Ingram Professor of History, Texas State University.Trade ReviewA learned, useful, and often engaging study of the legal business of these female houses. Overall the book is gracefully written, thoroughly documented, and well disciplined. Its scrupulous organization makes it easy to navigate if one is looking for specific information; it is also an admirable work of sustained and mature scholarship. * MEDIEVAL PROSOPOGRAPHY *This carefully researched book deserves a wide readership. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *A meticulously researched and precisely written study. ... An engaging and useful book. * PARERGON *Provides a valuable treatment of this neglected, and richly documented, dimension of monastic life. ... [It] will be welcomed by ecclesiastical and legal historians alike. * THE RICARDIAN *An elegant and masterful study of a little known aspect of the history of nuns in later medieval England. * HISTORIANS OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS *Table of ContentsIntroduction Cloistered Spirituality and English Nuns Legal Professionalism and English Lawyers Letters of Appointment and Routine Business Proceedings at Common Law Chancery Suits Episcopal Arbitration Papal Appeals Conclusion Appendix Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive survey of the origins, development, and influence of the most important monastic orders in the middle ages. The men and women that followed the sixth-century customs of Benedict of Nursia (c.480-c.547) formed the most enduring, influential, numerous and widespread religious order of the Latin middle ages. Their liturgical practice, andtheir acquired taste for learning, served as a model for the medieval church as a whole: while new orders arose, they took some of their customs, and their observant and spiritual outlook, from the Regula Benedicti. The Benedictines may also be counted among the founders of medieval Europe. In many regions of the continent they created, or consolidated, the first Christian communities; they also directed the development of their social organisation,economy, and environment, and exerted a powerful influence on their emerging cultural and intellectual trends. This book, the first comparative study of its kind, follows the Benedictine Order over eleven centuries, from their early diaspora to the challenge of continental reformation. JAMES G. CLARK is Professor of History, University of Exeter.Trade ReviewThe author masters with a seldom met richness a wealth of evidence from the infinitude of particular aspects of Benedictine monasticism. This richness not only stems from the broad perspective of the well-read author's tackling the matter, his constant flow of fresh quotations and references to medieval authors of all genres, printed or still in manuscript, but also his discussions and possible explanations carry the note of careful respect for historical truth within reach of historical possibilities. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW, July 2013 *A masterful work. * AMERICAN BENEDICTINE REVIEW, December 2012 *[Advances] a distinctive and intensively-researched interpretation of the order's history. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Impresses from the outset with its detail. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Many readers will enjoy this book, and it certainly merits a wide audience. It is also a must-read for specialists and is bound to become a key reference in future discussions about ways of telling Benedictinism's story in the Middle Ages. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *This attractive volume offers a broad survey of the Benedictines and their immense influence on the medieval Church. * CHURCH TIMES *Provides a comprehensive introduction and [is] an invaluable resource to all students of the European Middle Ages. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *A work of impeccable and original scholarship. [It] is an especially recommended and seminal contribution to academic library World History, European History, Catholic History, and Medieval Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists. * LIBRARY BOOKWATCH *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Making of an European Order Observance Society Culture The Later Middle Ages Reformation

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Book SynopsisAn examination of the importance of anchoritism to social, cultural and religious life in the middle ages. Originating in the deserts of northern Africa in the early years of Christianity, anchoritism, or the enclosed solitary life, gradually metamorphosed into a permanent characteristic of European religiosity; from the twelfth century onwards, and throughout the middle ages, it was embraced with increasing enthusiasm, by devoted laywomen in particular. This book investigates the wider cultural importance of medieval anchoritism within the different religious landscapes and climates of the period. Drawing upon a range of contemporary gender and spatial theories, it focuses on the gender dynamics of this remarkable way of life, and the material spaces which they generated and within which they operated. As such, it unites related - but too often discrete - areas of scholarship, including early Christian anchoritism, anchoritic guidance texts and associated works, fourteenth and fifteenth-century holy womenwith close anchoritic connections, and a range of other less known works dealing with or connected to the anchoritic life. Dr LIZ HERBERT MCAVOY is Senior Lecturer in Gender in English and Medieval Studies at Swansea UniversityTrade ReviewLiz Herbert McAvoy is to be congratulated for her work over the past decade in helping to bring so many hermits out of their seclusion, and for presenting them to a much wider public than that to which they had long become accustomed. * THE ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Medieval Anchoritisms [...] draw together the recurrent concerns and approaches that have characterized McAvoy's work to date and applies them to a wide range of texts. The book is [...] always stimulating and has a singleness of purpose that is compelling. * THE CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *Medieval Anchoritisms provides an enlightening look into the mechanisms at work behind medieval anchoritic lifestyles and the discourses that shaped it. McAvoy thoroughly investigates tensions that existed between medieval and late antique conceptions of masculinity and enclosure that shaped monasticism and anchoritism. * HORTULUS *McAvoy's work [...] is substantial and well-researched, and should be of real interest to its intended audience. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Table of ContentsIntroduction Miles Christi: Early Anchoritic Masculinity and the Sacred Videte vocacionem vestram: Late Medieval Male Anchoritism and the Spectral Feminine Writing the Flesh: Female Anchoritism and the Master Narrative Reading with the Eyes Closed: Revising the Master Narrative Mapping the Anchorhold: Anchorites, Borderlands and Liminal Spaces Afterword Bibliography

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Book SynopsisLate eleventh-century spiritual counsel for a woman recluse, anticipating medieval advice literature for anchoresses. Goscelin's Liber Confortatorius is extraordinary both as an example of high-medieval spiritual practice and as a record of a personal relationship. Written in about 1083 by the monk Goscelin to a protegee and personal friend, the recluse Eva, it takes up the tradition of St Jerome's letters of spiritual guidance to women, and anticipates medieval advice literature for anchoresses. As a compendious treatise, it has much to tell us about the intellectual interests and preoccupations of religious people in the late eleventh century. As a personal document, it allows a fascinating and uncommonly intimate insight into the psychology of religious life and the relationships betweenmen and women in the high middle ages. This English translation is presented here with notes and introduction. Monika Otter is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College.Trade ReviewProvides ambitious students of the Middle Ages with a rare opportunity to experience in English the complex, rich, and often impenetrable world of the monastic imagination, as dazzling in what it reveals as it is frustrating for what it conceals. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisSelections from this widely varied original mystical treatise offer insight into the lives of C13 female religious in northern Europe. Here is one of the great surprises of German medieval literature. Compiled between c.1250 and c.1282, it is an extraordinary piece of imaginative writing. It integrates visions, auditions, dialogues, prayers, hymns, lyrical love poems, letters, allegories and parables, and draws creatively on features from hagiography, the disputation, the treatise, and magic spells, as the author documents her relationship with God and with her contemporaries. Selectionsfrom the text are presented here in translation with introduction and notes. Dr Elizabeth A. Andersen teaches in the School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University.Trade ReviewReaders will welcome this thoughtful selection. * JOURNAL OF ENGLISH & GERMANIC PHILOLOGY (hardback edition) *

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Book SynopsisA brief meeting with a Buddhist nun in India made a deep impression on Christine Toomey. It sent her on a two-year, 60,000-mile odyssey to learn more about the contemporary women choosing in their thousands to become part of a long tradition of female spirituality that stretches back through the centuries and now embraces the radical possibility that the next Dalai Lama could be female. In The Saffron Road, Toomey follows in the footsteps of earlier generations of Buddhist nuns to trace the routes by which the philosophy has spread from a solitary order in a remote area of India in the 5th century BC, via 1950s San Francisco where Zen was popularised by the Beat generation, to the globally-renowned practitioners of mindfulness of today. Beginning her journey in the Himalayas, close to the birthplace of the Buddha, Toomey travels from Nepal, to India, through Burma, Japan and on to North America and Europe, along the way visiting contemporary nunneries to meet the women who practise there. Amongst those she talks to are a group of "kung fu" nuns, an acclaimed novelist, a princess, a concert violinist, a former BBC journalist, and a one-time Washington political aide. Through these conversations, the daily reality of the Buddhist existence is gradually revealed, together with the diverse spiritual paths leading these women towards nirvana. Combining travelogue, history, interviews and personal reflection, The Saffron Road opens the door to a rarely glimpsed world of ritual, discipline and enlightenment.

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Book SynopsisThe dedicated religious life of monks and nuns has a fascination for many of us-at a distance. We live in the world we have, and it's hard to figure out how to do it in a God-filled way. "The World is Our Cloister" is about the new religious life; a life to which Protestant, Catholic, Hindu or those with no label can relate. It is a guide to living the devotional life, not behind the walls of a monastery, but in the world. It's about engagement in the world as well as withdrawal, the balance between a life of action and one of contemplation; how to be in the world but not of it. It is also a guide to the mystical experience at the heart of all religion. Beyond the barriers of belief and practice lies the stark and simple reality of relating to God: "the practice of the presence of God".Trade ReviewShows clearly how people belonging to different spiritual traditions or no tradition at all can make their spiritual journey to the source of our life. In a world where many people are dissatisfied with the traditional religions and looking for a different way, this book will be a good companion. Brother John Martin Sahajananda

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Book SynopsisThe combination of Fresh Expressions and the explosion of interest in monastic spirituality is resulting in the emergence of new monastic communities inspired by historic patterns of religious life, but reframed for the contemporary world. This worldwide movement is seen as a radical expression of ecclesial community and was named in Mission Shaped Church as one of the leading new forms of church that would help people reconnect with Christianity. A new monastic community may be a dispersed group of families and individuals meeting to share meals and worship, it might be a group connected virtually; it might be a youth group exploring monastic spirituality. In this book, leaders of traditional religious communities and emerging 'new monastic' communities tell their stories and reflect on how an ancient expression of being church is inspiring and shaping a very new one. Included are many well-known contributors: Graham Cray, Tom Sine, Shane Claiborne, Ray Simpson, Abbot Stuart Burns and others exploring intentional living in the UK and the US.Trade Review'As an introduction to what the contemporary church can learn from our ancestors in the faith, this book is a helpful starter ... Bishop Graham Cray observes that our culture is making disciples more effectively than the Church, and shows how some monastic practices may help us catch up. Shane Claiborne's 12 marks of the New Monasticism are a very useful summary, and Tom Sine provides an insightful plea for us to help our young people reflect that they are the first generation since the war whose lifestyles will not exceed that of their parents.''This book is full of hope. Wonderful things are occurring. A different church is possible - one responsive to the signs of our times, compassionate, inclusive and passionate about God's Reign of Peace, Justice, Reconciliation and Wholiness. We need a book like this in a moment in which the forces of retrenchment are prevailing.' -- Frank Regan

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Book SynopsisThe Jesus Prayer has been with us since the earliest years of Christianity. With its many variations, from “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" to the single word “Jesus” it has been a fount of prayer and a way of being attentive to God for the monks, nuns, clergy and lay people of the Eastern Church for centuries. Today, the Jesus Prayer is practiced all over the world in every Christian tradition. Simple in form, but powerful in its potential to develop and transform the heart, it becomes a way of life for those who practice it. This short, simple guide is ideal for all who are new to this ancient spiritual practice and all who are learning to make it part of their daily practice of prayer.

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Book SynopsisAround the year 500 St Benedict wrote a short guide for a small community who wanted to live together the balanced life of body, mind and spirit. The Rule of St Benedict became not only the foundational guide for monastic life in the West, but remains a potent spiritual resource that speaks authentically to countless individuals today. Fr Laurence Freeman OSB has described the text as the most important document for Christian living after the Bible. In this reflective commentary, Esther de Waal recognises the profoundly scriptural emphasis of St Benedict’s writings. She shows how his Rule may be read personally and prayerfully by people such as herself seeking practical encouragement and support in their following of Christ.Trade Review‘Esther de Waal reminds us that St Benedict was, in fact, a lay person. So the value of this book is that Esther is a lay person writing for lay people about what is the core of Benedictine spirituality. I believe she has done something very important for all of us.’ -- Cardinal Basil Hume‘Through the writings of Esther de Waal over the years, many people have been led into the heart and mind of St Benedict... This new edition brings out the overall shape of Benedict’s Rule with refreshing clarity. Monks, nuns and laity will all enjoy the insights of this thoughtful commentary.’ -- Christopher Jamison

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Book SynopsisIn this collection Mary, the mother of Jesus, goes for a contemplative skate on a frozen pond where 'praises piggyback until her soul topples over', and John the Baptist tries to explain his purpose to a very perplexed Senator and chairman of the board. These are personal and universal, imaginative and biblically rooted reflections.

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Book SynopsisCarmelite spirituality is a way of life that spells Freedom. Rooted in the experience of the desert mothers and fathers who sought God in solitude, it can accommodate many temperaments and approaches. The primary focus is on Finding the way of prayer that will bring you closest to God. This warm and engaging book introduces six great Carmelite Figures and their individual ways of prayer. Let Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, Brother Lawrence, Therese of Lisieux and others help you discover the pathway to authentic spiritual growth.

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