1. 20TH-CENTURY SPIRITUALITY: CLASSIC TEXTS

 

Frederick Von Hügel, The Mystical Element of Religion: As Studied by Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends, ed. Michael Downey (New York: Crossroad, 1999) paperback, $40.  A classic.  First published in 1908, this sprawling, diffuse, yet brilliant study was pivotal in sparking the modern study of mysticism.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (reprint of 1963 edition: New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983) paperback, $12.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. Eberhard Bethge (reprint: Macmillan, 1997) paperback, $14.

Jean Danielou, Prayer: the Mission of the Church, Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought, ed. David L. Schindler (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1996) paperback, $15.

Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day, ed. Daniel Berrigan (reprint: Harper San Francisco, 1997) paperback, $15.

Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage, Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999) paperback, $16.

Robert Ellsberg, Robert, ed., Charles de Foucauld: Writings Selected, Modern Spiritual Masters (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999) paperback, $19.

Marcello Fidanzio, ed., Brother Roger of Taize: Essential Writings, Modern Spiritual Masters (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006) paperback, $15.  NEW.

Bede Griffiths, Return to the Center (Templegate, 1982) paperback, $12.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (reprint: Touchstone Books, 1996) paperback, $7.  This is Lewis’ great apologia to non-believers.

C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (Harcourt Brace, 1983) paperback, $9.

Elisabeth Leseur, Selected Writings, Classics of Western Spirituality, ed. Janet K. Ruffing (New York: Paulist Press, 2005) paperback, $25.

Thomas Matus, ed., Bede Griffiths: Essential Writings, Modern Spiritual Masters (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2004) paperback, $15. 

Johannes Baptist Metz, Poverty of Spirit, trans. John Drury (New York: Paulist Press, 1998) paperback, $7.

Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ As the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology, trans. John Bowden (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993) paperback, $22.

Jürgen Moltmann, The Theology of Hope: On the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Eschatology , trans. James W. Leitch (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993) paperback, $22.

Karl Rahner, The Practice of Faith: A Handbook of Contemporary Spirituality [Praxis des Glaubens: Geistliches Lesebuch], ed. Karl Lehman (New York: Crossroad, 1992).

Anselm Stolz, The Doctrine of Spiritual Perfection, Milestones in the Study of Mysticism and Spirituality (New York: Crossroad / Herder, 2001) paperback, $25.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Writings, ed. Ursula King, Modern Spiritual Masters (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999) paperback, $13.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1989) paperback, $13.

Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness (reprint of 1911 edition: Oxford: OneWorld, 1999) paperback, $21.  A path-breaking turn-of-the-century classic.

Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter, Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought, trans. Aidan Nichols (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1993).

Simone Weil, Waiting for God (reprint: San Francisco: Harper Perennial, 1992) paperback, $13.

 

 2. 20TH-CENTURY SPIRITUALITY: STUDIES

 

Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, ed. Virginia J. Barnett (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999) paperback, $39.

John W. DeGruchy, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999) paperback, $20.

William V. Dych, Karl Rahner, Outstanding Christian Thinkers Series (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992) paperback.

Harvey D. Egan, Karl Rahner: The Mystic of Everyday Life, Spiritual Legacy Series (New York: Crossroad, 1998) paperback, $17.

Philip Endean, Karl Rahner and Ignatian Sprituality, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) paperback, $30.

Michael Ford, Wounded Prophet: A Portrait of Henri J.M. Nouwen (New York: Doubleday, 1999) paperback, $24.

William Henry Griffin, C.S. Lewis, Spirituality for Mere Christians, Spiritual Legacy Series (New York: Crossroad, 1995) paperback, $15.

Ursula King, Spirit and Fire: The Life and Vision of Teilhard de Chardin (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996).

Mark McIntosh, Christology from Within: Spirituality and the Incarnation in Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Studies in Spirituality and Theology, 3 (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1996).

Thomas R. Nevin, Thèrese of Lisieux: God’s Gentle Warrior (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) hardcover, $35.  NEW.

John J. O’Donnell, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Outstanding Christian Thinkers (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992).

Brigid O’Shea Merriman, Searching for Christ: The Spirituality of Dorothy Day (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994).

Melissa Raphael, Rudolph Otto and the Concept of Holiness (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).

John Riches, The Analogy of Beauty: The Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1986).

Peggy Rosenthal, The Poets’ Jesus: Representations at the End of the Millennium (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) paperback, $20.

Judson B. Trapnell, Bede Griffiths: A Life in Dialogue, SUNY Series in Religious Thought (New York: SUNY, 2001) paperback.

John Webster, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000) paperback, $20.

 

 3. THOMAS MERTON: WRITINGS

 

Thomas Merton (d.1968) has been perhaps the most popular spiritual writer of the 20^th century, at least in the English-speaking world.  He was also extraordinarily prolific.  Here is a small sampling of his major works.

 

Lawrence S. Cunningham, ed., Thomas Merton, Spiritual Master: the Essential Writings  (New York: Paulist Press, 1992) paperback, $15.  An excellent anthology of Merton’s spiritual writings.  It offers a valuable introduction to enormous range of Merton’s interests and ideas.

 

Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain (reprint of 1948 edition: New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978) paperback, $15.  This is Merton’s masterful autobiography, a work that became a bestseller and made Merton famous.  It presents a highly romanticized view of monasticism (and a correspondingly pessimistic view of the secular world), a view that Merton would later reject.  Still a beautifully written and poignant self-portrait. 

 

Patrick Hart & Jonathan Montaldo, eds., The Intimate Merton: His Life from His Journals (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1999) paperback, $16.  This is a selection drawn from the remarkable 8-volume series of Merton’s intimate journals.  This (and the whole series) sheds important new light on Merton.  Kenneth Woodward has remarked that “Merton’s real autobiography is in his personal journals. They reveal an uncaged mind ceaselessly churned by contemporary events and culture.”

 

Thomas Merton, The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (reprint of 1973 edition: New York: New Directions, 1988) paperback.

Thomas Merton, Cassian and the Fathers: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition, ed. Patrick F. O’Connell, Monastic Wisdom 1 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2005) paperback, $20.  NEW.

Thomas Merton, The Cold War Letters, ed. Christine Bochen and William Shannon (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006) paperback, $16.  NEW.

Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (Garden City, NJ: Image, 1968) paperback, $13.

Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action, Gethsemani Studies in Psychological and Religious Anthropology, ed. Robert Coles (reprint: Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1999) paperback, $14.

Thomas Merton, Mystics and Zen Masters (reprint of 1967 edition: Noonday Press, 1986) paperback, $14.

Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (reprint: New York: New Directions, 1974) paperback, $11.  Merton’s finest statement of his contemplative spirituality.

Thomas Merton, Zen and the Birds of Appetite (reprint of 1968 edition: New York: New Directions, 1988) paperback, $10.  A set of essays that reflect Merton’s late turn to Buddhist spirituality.

 

 4. THOMAS MERTON: BIOGRAPHIES & STUDIES

 

For up-to-date studies on Thomas Merton, see The Merton Annual: Studies in Culture, Spirituality & Social Concerns, edited by George A. Kilcourse, Jr. and Victor A. Kramer, and published by Continuum.  15 volumes to date.  Here are some of the important book-length studies:

 

Michael Mott, The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986) paperback, $20.  This is a massive and thorough biography.  Mott was Merton’s official biographer and had access to his private journals—which have just been published.  He exposes the rich complexity (and foibles) of the man. 

 

William H. Shannon, Christine M. Bochen & Patrick F. O’Connell, eds., The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002) NEW in paperback, $35.  This is a major resource for all students of Thomas Merton, a good place to start one’s research on the various aspects of Merton’s life and thought.

 

Rob Baker and Gray Henry, eds., Merton and Sufism: The Untold Story (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2000) paperback, $26.

Beatrice Bruteau, Merton and Judaism: Holiness in Words: Recognition, Repentance and Renewal (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2003) paperback, $29.

Lawrence S. Cunningham, Thomas Merton and the Monastic Vision, Library of Religious Biography (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999) paperback, $16.

James Finley, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere: A Search for God Through Awareness of the True Self (reprint: Ave Maria Press, 1980) paperback, $10.

James H. Forest, Living With Wisdom: A Life of Thomas Merton (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991) paperback.

Patrick Hart, ed., Thomas Merton, Monk: A Monastic Tribute, Cistercian Studies 52 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1983) paperback, $11.

Patrick Hart, ed., The Message of Thomas Merton, Cistercian Studies 42 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981).

Patrick Hart, ed., The Monastic Journey of Thomas Merton, Cistercian Studies 133 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1977 / 1992) paperback, $13.

Jonathan Montaldo, ed., Merton and Hesychasm (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2002) paperback, $26.

Edward Rice, The Man in the Sycamore Tree: The Good Times and Hard Life of Thomas Merton (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985).  Great photos by one of Merton’s college friends.

William Henry Shannon, Silent Lamp: The Thomas Merton Story (New York: Crossroad, 1992).

William Henry Shannon, Thomas Merton’s Dark Path, rev. ed. (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1987).

Bonnie Thurston, Merton and Buddhism: Realizing the Self (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2007) paperback, $27.  NEW.

Paul Wilkes, ed., Merton: By Those Who Knew Him Best (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984).

 

 5. MARTIN LUTHER KING: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Martin Luther King, Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., ed. James M. Washington (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1986) paperback, $23.

Clayborne Carson, ed., The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., 2 vol. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995) hardcover, $45 per volume.

Noel Leo Eskine, King Among the Theologians (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1994) paperback, $15.

Peter J. King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Routledge Historical Biographies (New York: Routledge, 2002) paperback, $16.

Richard Lischer, The Preacher King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Word That Moved America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) paperback, $17.

Charles Marsh, God’s Long Summer: Stories of Faith and Civil Rights (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997) paperback.

 

 6. SPIRITUALITY OF LIBERATION: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Kevin F. Burke, The Ground Beneath the Cross: The Theology of Ignacio Ellacuría (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000) hardcover, $55.

Gustavo Gutierrez, We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People, trans. Matthew J. O’Connell (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1984) paperback, $16.

Gustavo Gutierrez, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent, trans. Matthew J. O’Connell (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1987) paperback, $15.

Gustavo Gutierrez, Las Casas: In Search of the Poor Christ, trans. Robert Barr (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993) paperback, $20.

James B. Nickoloff, ed., Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings, The Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996).

Robert S. Pelton, Monsignor Romero: A Bishop for the Third Millennium (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004) paperback, $23.

Christopher Rowland, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999) paperback, $19.

Jon Sobrino, Spirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1987) hardcover, $40.

Jon Sobrino, The Principle of Mercy: Taking the Crucified People from the Cross (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994) paperback, $18.

Jon Sobrino, Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims, trans. Paul Burns (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001) paperback.

 

 7. POPULAR SPIRITUALITY: A MISCELLANY OF RECENT WORKS

 

Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Prayer (New York: Paulist Press, 1988) paperback, $7.

Robert Coles, The Spiritual Life of Children (reprint: New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1991) paperback, $13.

James W. Fowler, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning (reprint of 1981 ed.: San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1995) paperback, $16. 

William Johnston, Christian Zen (reprint: New York: Fordham University Press, 1997) paperback, $17. 

Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life (reprint: Harper Perennial, 1994) paperback, $14.

Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk (New York: Riverhead Books, 1997) paperback, $13.

Henri J.W. Nouwen, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life (New York: Image Books, 1986) paperback, $11.

Henri J.W. Nouwen, Wounded Healer (New York: Image Books, 1979) paperback, $11.

M. Basil Pennington, Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form (New York: Doubleday, 1980) paperback, $10.

 

 

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Revised: August 21, 2007

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  William Harmless, SJ