Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Contemplative Prayer

by Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton

A guide to modern prayer draws on such influences as John of the Cross and Eastern desert monasticism and serves as an argument against drug-induced inner peace. Reissue. NYT.

A reverent study of the monastic world assesses the meaning of the cloistered life in modern times, journeying through a liturgical year to capture the relevance and spiritual significance of the religious life. Reprint. Tour. NYT. PW.

The Seven Storey Mountain

by Thomas Merton

This publication is the complete and unedited edition of Thomas Merton's autobiography. It tells of a life spent in devotion, and offers insights into the religious experience.

Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina

Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina

by Michael Casey

This work offers a bold and engaging examination of the Western tradition of lectio divin, the contemplative approach to sacred writings, notably the Bible and the Spiritual classics.

The Brothers Karamazov

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Introduction by Malcolm Jones; Translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

The Rule of Benedict for Beginners: Spirituality for Daily Life

The Rule of Benedict for Beginners: Spirituality for Daily Life

by Wil Derkse

Benedictine spirituality is simple and down to earth. Not only does the Benedictine lifestyle fit well within the walls of the monastery, its interpretation of life is also suitable to other forms of society. In The Rule of Benedict for Beginners, Wil Derkse reveals how elements from Benedictine spirituality and the Benedictine lifestyle may be fruitful outside the monastery to strengthen the quality of societal... (more)

Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment

Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment

by Vicki Mackenzie

This is the incredible story of Tenzin Palmo, a remarkable woman who spent 12 years alone in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas. At the age of 20, Diane Perry, looking to fill a void in her life, entered a monastery in India--the only woman amongst hundreds of monks---and began her battle against the prejudice that had excluded women from enlightenment for thousands of years. Thirteen years later, Diane Perry... (more)

The Seven Storey Mountain

by Merton Thomas

In This House of Brede

by Rumer Godden

This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In This House of Brede was the basis of a 1975 made-for-television film starring Diana Rigg.

A Long Way from Tipperary: What a Former Monk Discovered in His Search for the Truth

A Long Way from Tipperary: What a Former Monk Discovered in His Search for the Truth

by John Dominic Crossan

I have spent thirty years reconstructing the historical Jesus. I have done so self-consciously and self-critically and have tried to do the same on reconstructing myself. But what justifies this memoir is how my own personal experience, from Ireland to America, from priest to professor, from monastery to university, and ... from celibacy to marriage, may have influenced that reconstruction. Where has it helped me... (more)

Voices of Silence: Lives of the Trappists Today

Voices of Silence: Lives of the Trappists Today

by Frank Bianco

Journalist Bianco, who has lived among Trappist monks in the U.S. and France, reports on the rigors, routines, and rituals of the monks' daily lives. Bianco recounts how he sang psalms in choir, ate vegetarian at the monastic table, slept under the communal roof, and worked every day. New monks speak openly of their past and the conflicting calls of solitude and solidarity. Photographs.

Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way Of Love

Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way Of Love

by Daniel Homan

In an age of terror, it is difficult to look into the eyes of a stranger without cringing. We carefully peruse our fellow passengers before we board a plane. We bolt our doors and feel safest when we are with our close friends and family. It may seem natural, given the devastating recent attacks on our country, but isn't there a better way to live? From the authors who delighted thousands of readers with... (more)

Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer

Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer

by Michael Casey

In clear and often delightful prose, Casey brings out the personal techniques and practicalities involved in transforming prayer from an "activity" to a way of life. The freshness of his language reinforces the basic premise of this book that spiritual communion with God must be lived, not merely studied or repeated ritualistically.

Benedict's Way: An Ancient Monk's Insights for a Balanced Life

Benedict's Way: An Ancient Monk's Insights for a Balanced Life

by Lonnie Collins Pratt

In the sixth century, a monk named Benedict devised a code of practical principles by which he and his fellow monks could live together and grow in Christian spirit. Centuries later, the Rule of St. Benedict continues to guide and nurture men and women--both inside and outside monasteries--who seek to live a balanced spirituality. This contemplative guide is for individuals of all faiths in search of... (more)

Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love (Bridges to Contemplative Living With Thomas Merton Series)

Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love (Bridges to Contemplative Living With Thomas Merton Series)

by Thomas Merton

Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton gently leads participants on a journey toward spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. Each eight-session booklet offers an introduction to Merton and contemplative living through prayers, readings from Merton and other spiritual masters, and questions for small group dialogue. The fourth book, Discovering the... (more)

Living Your Deepest Desires (Bridges to Contemplative Living With Thomas Merton Series)

Living Your Deepest Desires (Bridges to Contemplative Living With Thomas Merton Series)

by Thomas Merton

Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton gently leads participants on a journey toward spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. Each eight-session booklet offers an introduction to Merton and contemplative living through prayers, readings from Merton and other spiritual masters, and questions for small group dialogue. Book Three: Living Your Deepest... (more)

The Better Part: Stages of Contemplative Living

The Better Part: Stages of Contemplative Living

by Thomas Keating

Father Thomas Keating is known throughout the world for his efforts to retrieve the practice of Christian contemplation. Those efforts have been printed in his many books and Outreach programmes. This book contains a series of lectures intended to help train one to eliminage life's distractions.

The Benedictines of PetershamPhilip Zaleski

The Benedictines of Petersham

by Philip Zaleski

In the Light of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 : Life-Spirituality-Doctrine)

In the Light of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 : Life-Spirituality-Doctrine)

by Vasilii?

This authoritative work gives Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 AD), monk and later abbot of the monastery of St Mamas, the place he deserves as a spiritual renovator, the first and perhaps greatest Byzantine mystic. Drawing on Scripture and certain traditions of the Early Church, Symeon explores the theory and practice of contemplation, culminating in a direct perception of the Divine Light. Always more the... (more)

The Silent Life

by Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton wrote The Silent Life a decade after he took orders. In his Prologue, Merton describes the book as "a meditation on the monastic life by one who, without any merit of his own, is privileged to know that life on the inside . . . who seeks only to speak as the mouthpiece of a tradition centuries old." It is a remarkable work-one that combines a lucid and informative description of the nature and forms... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: monasticism

by Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton

by Kathleen Norris

by Thomas Merton

by Michael Casey

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

by Wil Derkse

by Vicki Mackenzie

by Merton Thomas

by Rumer Godden

by John Dominic Crossan

by Frank Bianco

by Daniel Homan

by Michael Casey

by Lonnie Collins Pratt

by Thomas Merton

by Thomas Merton

by Thomas Keating

by Philip Zaleski

by Vasilii?

by Thomas Merton