Few things are as eternal in this world as man's quest to better know and understand his Creator. Because the human mind is far too small to fully grasp the Almighty, believers who try to approach Him intellectually often freeze up, entering into a cloud of unknowing. But God is approachable. The Cloud of Unknowing dates back as far as the fourteenth century and has inspired generations of seekers in their efforts to connect with God. Created as a primer to instruct young monks to develop techniques for encountering God, its tone is not academic or austere but rather a loving call for believers to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer. If you desire to experience God in your heart, and yourself in God's heart, The Cloud of Unknowing will be a book to read and reread for a lifetime.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1901 Edition.

There are many guides and books that give excellent wisdom for those who would seek to make an offering of their lives to God. Still there is little practical information about how about how to go about the day to day business of being a Benedictine Oblate. This little book is an attempt to give practical suggestions to the beginner and the "expert." However, if what you do, gets you closer to God every day, then don't change a thing. But if you need new materials, new practices, new ideas or attitudes; then just consider reading this booklet. This little book is a collection of suggestions and who knows maybe one will turn out to be just the thing that makes all the difference. These are strictly my experiences and opinions. I hope that they will be of some assistance to you as you try get closer to God.

A Monk in High Heels is a journey through the walls of monasteries and into the heart of God. Mixed with humor, deep spirituality, and a passionate pursuit of God, you'll leave this book knowing not only is God enough, but so are you.

On February 2, 2006, two intrepid women set off from Portland, Oregon via Greyhound bus for Limon, Colon, Honduras. There they would establish a new thing, a small monastery and medical mission using sustainable living, voluntary poverty, and religious practice as nuns following Methodist and Quaker traditions of worship and governance. Soon La Doctora, Pediatrician Beth Blodgett, and La muchacha, her assistant, Prairie Naoma Cutting, would be deeply involved helping in nearby clinics. Reading like a frontier women's story, this adventure (still continuing in 2010) has fire, hurricanes, and a robbery as well as other exciting accounts. These gringas become, by the close of the collection of letters home, true hermanas, religious sisters to the neighbors in their rural community. Now professed nuns, they invite other courageous women to join them in a life of service.

"Overall, this is a powerful work that touches, delights, and amazes." --Judge: Writer's Digest 21st Annual Book Awards. "In This Forest of Monks" was selected as a finalist in both the Poetry and the Spirituality categories of the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (judge in Poetry: Kenneth Salzmann. Judge in Spirituality: Richard Cook). It also received the following review/statement from the judge of the 21st Annual Writer's Digest Book Awards: "In This Forest of Monks" examines inner and outer worlds--the poet's life as a Trappist monk and his return visit to the forest surrounding the abbey from which he was expelled years earlier; and the monks' spiritual world and its connection to the physical world. The poet accomplishes this with great skill and art. The writing is excellent; the Han Shan-inspired pieces are simple, clean, and direct. The longer poems are crafted with utmost care and clarity, always with lovely texture and sound. Even when recounting the pain of the poet's expulsion from monastic life, the poems create a serenity in the reader, as if reading were part meditation. There are some stunning, fresh metaphors, such as '...incense rising out/of the puffing thurible of my body' in 'Hiking the Hill That Overlooks the Trappist Abbey Prior to First Vespers of Christmas, 1990.' The poet aids the success of such images and other references by providing a glossary/notes section that defines terms and identifies points of geography; this thoughtful inclusion adds greatly to the reader's enjoyment of these poems. Often religious icons and imagery are grafted to aspects of nature, as in 'Portal' where an old monk's 'fingers and the twigs of trees' pray 'their rosary beads of rain.' The poet, though, also describes an agonized yearning and sense of mourning as he stands on the outside looking in at the setting of his previous life. An exquisite example of this is 'Through the Cloister Fence' as the poet weeps counting the cemetery crosses that have appeared since his departure; monks have died and the trees he planted are green, but 'Which ones, or how many, who can say?' The material is organized in sections that create a narrative, starting with nine poems addressing the poet's expulsion in 1992; then a section of poems about his years in monastic life; and finally, poems of return. Physically, the volume is nicely done, with an enhanced photo of a forest path that's both colorful and appropriately mystical...Overall, this is a powerful work that touches, delights, and amazes."

"The Spirit of Saint Dominic" by Fabio Giardini, OP explores the charism of the Order of Preachers by delving into the personality, character and spirituality of the Order's founder: Saint Dominic. Using the early documents of the Order as well as material from the Process of Canonization, Giardini skillfully paints a portrait of this remarkable Saint and the rich inheritance he bequeathed to his spiritual sons and daughters in the Dominican Family.

Sickened by the post-Roman turmoil of 5th Century Italy, Benedict renounced the world and retired to a life of Christian contemplation in a cave just west of Rome. Revered for his sanctity, local monks asked him to become their abbot. But Benedict's discipline proved too strict - the monks tried to poison him, and he left to establish many small monasteries, eventually founding the famous monastery on Monte Cassino and gaining the title 'Father of Western Monasticism'. This book is the saint's directions for establishing an orderly and pious monastic community, covering, among other matters, the community, authority and obedience, good works, control of speech and thoughts, humility, contemplation, work, vows and hospitality. Full of guidance and inspiration, 'The Rule of St Benedict' is for anyone seeking peace and fulfillment in their life.

The funeral prayer is prayed on the monk during his ordination so as to raise him from the earthly life to a heavenly life. For this reason many people left the world and their family and lived in the deserts and caves longing for this life, the life of Christian perfection.Today many books are published about the lives of these monks which drew many youth To the monastic life, yet one question is repeatedly asked "what are the signs of the Monastic calling?"In this book there are many spiritual experiences of a monk who tasted the sweetness of this life in the wilderness of scetis and we hope that through this book you will find the answer to this question.

In a series of seventeen conferences, Fr. Walter Wagner, O.P. of the St. Joseph Province of the Order of Preachers offers his reflections on the Rule of Saint Augustine. With wisdom and wit Father unearths hidden treasures in this ancient Rule and concretely applies the Rule to 21st Century Dominican Life as it is lived today by thousands of priests, brothers, nuns, sisters, and lay men and women. Enlightening and challenging, both brand-new postulant and wisened Diamond Jubilarian will benefit from this delightful commentary. The conferences were transcribed from the original audio recording of the 2011 Annual Retreat preached to the Dominican Nuns of Summit, NJ by Fr. Walter Wagner, OP and edited for publication. This book is now in its Second Edition.

Edited By R. F. Serenus Cressy And Right Reverend Abbot Sweeney. Extracted out of more than Forty Treatises.

Edited By R. F. Serenus Cressy And Right Reverend Abbot Sweeney. Extracted out of more than Forty Treatises.

We are quickly approaching the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation which by "most" accounts began in 1517 with Martin Luther's 95 Theses and was completed (or ended) in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia. Moreover we are also approaching the 700th anniversary of the end of the Knights Templar with the burning at the stake of the last Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay in 1314. So what better time to review both as they interrelate to one another? Did you know that "pre-Protestants" such as the Waldensians were being burned at the stake 300 years before Martin Luther's 95 theses? Did you know that the Knights Templar and their mysterious disappearance most likely played a role in the protection/germination of the seeds that would lead to Protestantism? As my Masters of History thesis I was told to tackle a "challenging" subject that might even go against the "status quo" of established historicity; not only have I attempted to do this, but I was dumbfounded by some of the discoveries I have found along the way linking the Knights Templar to Protestantism 200 years earlier than Martin Luther. *Even more awakening is how applicable and necessary many of these "monk-like" themes are today in our increasingly post-Christian world."The restoration of the church must surely depend on a new kind of monasticism, which has nothing in common with the old but a life of uncompromising discipleship, following Christ according to the Sermon on the Mount. I believe the time has come to gather people together to do this."- Dietrich BonhoefferJames Stroud has undergraduate studies in both History and Religious Studies as well as post graduate studies in Theology/History at APUS, Trinity Seminary, Biola and the University of Arkansas. He currently resides in the New York City Area. (www.TheLollards.org)

An unwilling, desperate nun trapped in the cloister, unable to gain release: such is the image that endures today of monastic life in early modern Europe. In By Force and Fear, Anne Jacobson Schutte demonstrates that this and other common stereotypes of involuntary consignment to religious houses shaped by literary sources such as Manzoni's The Betrothed are badly off the mark.

Drawing on records of the Congregation of the Council, held in the Vatican Archive, Schutte examines nearly one thousand petitions for annulment of monastic vows submitted to the Pope and adjudicated by the Council during a 125-year period, from 1668 to 1793. She considers petitions from Roman Catholic regions across Europe and a few from Latin America and finds that, in about half these cases, the congregation reached a decision. Many women and a smaller proportion of men got what they asked for: decrees nullifying their monastic profession and releasing them from religious houses. Schutte also reaches important conclusions about relations between elders and offspring in early modern families. Contrary to the picture historians have painted of increasingly less patriarchal and more egalitarian families, she finds numerous instances of fathers, mothers, and other relatives (including older siblings) employing physical violence and psychological pressure to compel adolescents into "entering religion." Dramatic tales from the archives show that many victims of such violence remained so intimidated that they dared not petition the pope until the agents of force and fear had died, by which time they themselves were middle-aged. Schutte's innovative book will be of great interest to scholars of early modern Europe, especially those who work on religion, the Church, family, and gender."

2010 Reprint of 1923 Edition. In this brilliant reflection on the poor friar of Assisi, G.K. Chesterton unfolds the life and times of St. Francis, from his conversion as a young man to his receiving of the Stigmata at the end of his life. While many modern biographers stumble in their effort to grasp the essence of the saint, Chesterton shows that Francis' entire life, his prayer, his poverty, his asceticism, his love of creation, and all his eccentricities, flowed from his profound love for Christ and all men. In Chesterton's colorful prose, St. Francis shines with the splendor of sanctity and calls each of us to the same intense and animating love for God and His people.

Over the course of its history the Christian monastic tradition has developed a desert spirituality" of solitude, silence, and self-knowledge that fosters openness to the divine presence and its transformative power. Today the divine presence is manifesting itself anew in the "desert of otherness," that sacred space in which we encounter the other as one whose difference, even of religion and spirituality, can enrich us, rather than as one who must be drawn to and converted to our own "truth." The encounter of Christians with other believers will increasingly become a place of hardship and testing that leads to union with the divine. This "third monastic desert" is, in reality, the nucleus of the Kingdom that is coming into being, where communication becomes communion. Such has been the experience of monastic men and women - Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians - who have engaged in dialogue. Having discovered an unanticipated bond between dialogue and silence, openness to the other and interiority, Christian monks invite the whole Church to join them on this journey into the desert of otherness.

"Fabrice Blee was born in epernay, France. He is a full professor on the faculty of theology of Saint Paul University, Ottawa, where he teaches in the areas of interreligious dialogue and Christian spirituality. He is also the director of a series on "Spiritualties in Dialogue" (MediasPaul); a member of the editorial board of "Dilatato Corde, " the online journal of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue; and an advisor to the board of directors of the North American commission of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue.""

This is a group of spiritual short stories. Some of them are true, others are true in part, the rest are fiction. Each story contains a certain idea to deliver a spiritual lesson. In these short stories we tried to convey some of the fathers' philosophy in asceticism, dying to the world and how they rejected the pleasures of life, to be filled from Christ and ultimately unite with Him This is an opportunity for the reader who could not visit the monasteries to learn about the monastic life, the struggle of the fathers and the wars of the devil.

Try a Little Tenderness might have been a nicer title for this book had the songwriter not claimed it first. Benedictine spirituality is known for the gentleness with which it patiently massages away at the monk's hardness of heart. The flowing robes they wear, the flowing chant they sing, the endless repetition of the day's structure based on prayer, manual labour and spiritual reading; all bear witness to a seamless process of conversion, the lowly contemplatives ever waiting on God's quiet voice within their hearts. However, it's not as easy as it sounds, so when Brother Daniel fled the world, back in the sixties, he was in no way prepared for a conflict of such dimensions with the worldly self he had forgotten to leave behind. Try a Little Lowliness traces his journey, strewn with stumbling blocks and banana skins, with a mischievous humour, but also with great insights into monastic spirituality. It lovingly paints the diversity of characters peopling the abbey, especially the irrepressible Father Lawrence, Daniel's novice-master and mentor, the wise old Prior, the inscrutable Abbot, the incorrigible cook, the lovable Sam. Both the author and Father Robert O'Brien, fellow novice and friend from Caldey Abbey, hope that Try a Little Lowliness will appeal to men and women, both young and not so young, providing a signpost to the contemplative life on their spiritual journey. Brother Daniel's humanity exudes a love of life, however strange the circumstances, and the warmth of his portrayal leaves the reader never far from laughter or tears. Paddy Lyons lives in north London with his wife, Elsie, their five grown-up children and four grandchildren all settled nearby. It wasn't always like that. In the early sixties, after a Jesuit schooling, military service and management training with Unilever, he renounced the world, survived an early brush with the Carthusians, and eventually landed on Caldey Island in the Bristol Channel to spend several generally happy and profitable years in the Cistercian Order. Later, having trained as a social worker and marrying Elsie (on the rebound from monastic life, she maintains), he turned to journalism and worked for the Financial Times. Renouncing the world a second time he used his writing skills to manage the communications of a national children's charity. After retiring he spent a decade caring for the deaf blind. Now with nothing else to do . . .

Fr Abd el-Mesih el-Habashi is one of the twentieth century's great ascetics who lived in the Egyptian desert. His life is a witness to the continuity of the desert spirituality of the 4th century. He was man who was not concerned about anything or for anyone. His only concern was for the One. His eyes were directed towards eternity. He was content with enough food sufficient to keep him alive and enough clothing to cover his nakedness. He chose God as his way as well as his means. He unintentionally attracted us to him through sharing and exchanging the many tales that thousands of people have experienced in mixed feelings of wonder, joy, and deep contemplation. The multitude of people who saw him and dealt with him have all attested to that lion who has the heart of a child. He had a clear vision and a way of life. He did not act haphazardly but his behavior was a result of deep spiritual understanding. Fr Abd el-Mesih's character combines the weakness of the human nature and the strength of the spiritual personality. He was not of a special breed of people, like anyone he was agitated, tasted pain, and suffered trials. He left all these experiences for us as an example in persevering in trials. He lived an austere ascetic life and experienced many hardships. The devil waged many wars against him but he escaped them all. All the information in this book are documented in either voice recordings or written accounts of Metropolitans, Bishops, Priests, Monks, or Lay people, who gratefully shared their stories and photos that they had for this great father.

Upon the recommendation of a Scottish publisher, we are reprinting as a single volume this most critically acclaimed and popular of modern Camaldolese books. It is a guide to the hermit way of life, based on the teaching of Blessed Paul Giustiniani and featuring a memorable preface by Thomas Merton. Jean Leclerq, O.S.B. (1911-1993) is widely regarded as the foremost twentieth century scholar of Western monasticism, and this is one of his most impressive achievements. If you are only going to read one work of monastic spirituality in your lifetime, this could be your best choice.

The Life, Doctrine, and Rule of Blessed Paul Giustiniani. On the Landscape of Christian hermit life, Paul Giustiniani (1496-1528), Blessed by fame, is a towering figure. To him that dazzling genius, Jean Leclercq, O.S.B., devoted two of his finest monastic studies. We are pleased to offer them here: the biography, never before published in English; and the doctrinal synthesis, Alone with God, much-loved when it first appeared and out-of-print for over a generation. And this is not all. Leclercq's masterpieces are flanked on the left by a variegated general introduction and on the right by selections from Blessed Paul's Rule, a translation of St. Romuald's Brief Rule with commentary, an epilouge sketching the history of Monte Corona, and ample indices. There are also more than a dozen carefully selected illustrations.

During the 4th and 5th centuries, thousands of Christian men and women withdrew to the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. In these remote locations, they led lives of rigorous discipline and solitude. Their techniques of prayer, spiritual direction, discipleship and stories have provided inspiration for many Christians to this day.

"The Wisdom of the Desert" is a collection of stories and sayings compiled from the literature of these first Christian monks, and serves as an introduction to the thoughts, lives and doctrines of the early desert Christians.

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