Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press)
The Classics of Western Spirituality
series is one of my favorite collections of primary spirituality documents,
accompanied by clear and helpful commentary. Unfortunately, some are out
of print and hard to find. On this page, some titles found at Amazon.com
will be highlighted.
Celtic Spirituality (Classics of Western Spirituality)
by Oliver Davies (Editor), Thomas O'Loughlin (Editor).
From Library Journal: "The latest
from Paulist Press's extraordinary series on world spiritual traditions and
classics--one that has brought great theologians and mystics to the attention of
scholars and general readers alike, this generous volume includes writings by
and about saints Patrick, Brigit, and Brendan, as well as less familiar poems,
liturgies, narratives, and sermons all capably translated and presented by
Davies (theology and religious studies, St. David's Coll., Univ. of Wales). It
is a joy to see these texts gathered for the modern reader for the first time
and to revisit the distinctively ardent, earthy religious experience of Celtic
Christianity in the Middle Ages. Highly recommended."
The
Theologia Germanica of Martin Luther (The Classics of Western Spirituality)
by Bengt Hoffman. This is a simple yet very
profound book about life in God as it translates into life in the world. It was
written around 1350 by an anonymous author. This translation has been entitled
The Theologia Germanica of Martin Luther since it is based on the Reformer's
edition of 1518. Luther wrote: "next to the Bible and St. Augustine, no other
book has come to my attention from which I have learned-and desired to
learn-more concerning God, Christ, man and what all things are."
- from Amazon.com
Description.
Johannes
Tauler: Sermons (The Classics of Western
Spirituality)
by Johannes Tauler, Maria Shrady. Along with
Meister Eckhart and Henry Suso, Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361) was one of the
most influential German mystical writers of the fourteenth century. Born in
Strasbourg, he spent virtually all of his life there working as a mendicant
preacher in the Order of Preachers. A product of the newly ascendant merchant
class, he attempted to address its concern for a practical, active spirituality
while being true to the apophatic tradition that he saw in Eckhart. If Eckhart
can be called the greatest theoretician of the spiritual life in
fourteenth-century Europe, then Tauler was certainly the one who most
effectively interpreted Eckhart's message to a broader audience, adding a
measure of balance and clarity lacking in his master. - from Amazon.com
Description.
Henry
Suso: The Exemplar, With Two German Sermons (Classics of Western
Spirituality) by Heinrich Seuse, Frank Tobin,
Henry Suso, Frank J. Tobin. The Dominican friar,
Henry Suso, was one of the most fascinating mystics of the fourteenth century,
an era of singular richness in the history of Christian mysticism. His Exemplar,
here translated in its entirety, contains a rich diversity of religious
experience- autobiographical, devotional, speculative and pastoral. Suso's Life
compares with Augustine's Confessions in the realm of spiritual autobiography,
while his major mystical works, the Little Book of Eternal Wisdom and the Little
Book of Truth, witness to the intermingling of speculative mysticism dependent
on Meister Eckhart and a devotional piety typical of the late Middle Ages. Henry
Suso was one of the most popular of all late medieval writers. His Exemplar is a
true classic of Western Spirituality.- from Amazon.com
Description.
Devotio
Moderna: Basic Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality)
by John H. Van Engen. The "Modern Devotion"
appears in nearly every textbook account of medieval spirituality as the
characteristic expression of later medieval religious life. One written
testimony to this "Modern Devotion," The Imitation of Christ, was to prove the
single most influential devotional book in the history of Western Christianity.
Yet apart from the Imitation itself, the spiritual works that taught this "New
Devotion" have rarely been translated into English and have never been gathered
in a single place. With the publication of this volume, Van Engen has made
available the essential sources of the devotional movement that later medieval
people looked upon as "modern" or "new."- from Amazon.com
Description.
Spiritual
Journey Press
