Bøger i Classics of Western Spirituality Series serien

"...an important ecumenical series..." Methodist Recorder John and Charles Wesley: Selected Prayers, Hymns, Journal Notes, Sermons, Letters and Treatises edited with an introduction by Frank Whaling, preface by Albert Outler "... I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." John Wesley (1703-1791) John and Charles Wesley were the leaders of the Methodist revival that swept early eighteenth-century England and resulted in the founding of what was destined to become a major force in the history of Christianity. In this volume, the works of the two men who shared a spiritual as well as a natural brotherhood are considered. From John's early period are taken his Forms of Prayer, Scheme of Self-Examination, and translations of German hymns. His mature spirituality is revealed in selections from his Journal, Rules for Methodist Societies, the Plain Account of Genuine Christianity, the Covenant Service of 1780, selected letters, and the classic treatment of the fundamental theme of his life, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Together with a selection of Charles's hymns, these works reveal a spirituality that synthesized into a unique "Wesleyan" blend elements from the Church Fathers, Catholic mystics, and Protestant Reformers. In so doing, explains Frank Whaling in his introduction to this book, the Wesleys have given us a vision of God that is a gift "so far mainly appropriated by the people called Methodists, but available in essence to all...." +

Here, under one cover, are selections form his major works in a revised translation by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. Taken as a whole, this volume represents the essential St. John of the Cross and will serve well both the newcomer and the expert.

The most in-depth and scholarly panorama of Western spirituality ever attempted!In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic and Native American traditions have been critically selected, translated and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders.The texts are first-rate, and the introductions are informative and reliable. The books will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of every literate religious persons". -- The Christian Century

"The Classics of Western Spirituality(TM) Series promises to be one of the most important and valuable tools for the teaching of western spiritual traditions in coming years." Bernard McGinn Professor of Historical Theology and History of Christianity, The University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, Illinois Richard of St. Victor: The Book of the Patriarchs, The Mystical Ark, Book Three of the Trinity translation and introduction by Grover A. Zinn, preface by Jean Chatillon "Contemplation is free and clear vision of the mind fixed upon the manifestation of wisdom in suspended wonder...." Richard of St. Victor (?--1173) One of the great mystics of the Christian Tradition, Richard is the link between the early tradition of Pseudo-Dionysius and the great mystical awakening in Medieval Europe. For his genius in bringing together both the Latin and Greek Traditions all contemplatives owe him a great debt. Born in twelfth century Scotland, he joined the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris where he became Superior and Prior. The Twelve Patriarchs (or Benjamin Minor) is his preparation of the soul for contemplation. The framework is a scriptural allegory based on the story of Jacob. Richard uses the meaning of the names and the elements of the story to illustrate a unified view of the person and the relationship between contemplation and action. His Mystical Ark ( or Benjamin Major) completes this study. In his Book Three of the Trinity we see Richard's doctrinal basis for the spiritual conclusions of his earlier work. Richard can teach us about the discipline and the dangers of the mystical quest. He can enlighten us concerning the relevance of symbols and symbolic structures as modes of communication. Jean Chatillon, of the University of Paris, who wrote the preface, is the world's Victorine scholar. +

"...while offerings by lamas and yogis have been plentiful, books on Western mystics were - and are - hard to find." "The Paulist Press has just published... an ambitious series that should help remedy this situation." Psychology Today Catherine of Genoa: Purgation and Purgatory, The Spiritual Dialogue translation and notes by Serge Hughes introduction by Benedict J. Groeschel, O.F.M. Cap. preface by Catherine de Hueck Doherty "All that I have said is nothing compared to what I feel within, the witnessed correspondence of love between God and the Soul; for when God sees the Soul pure as it is in its origins, He tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to Himself with a fiery love which by itself could annihilate the immortal Soul." Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) Catherine, who lived for 60 years and died early in the 16th century, leads the modern reader directly to the more significant issues of the day. In her life she reconciled aspects of spirituality often seen to be either mutually exclusive or in conflict. This married lay woman was both a mystic and a humanitarian, a constant contemplative, yet daily immersed in the physical care of the sick and the destitute. For the last five centuries she has been the inspiration of such spiritual greats as Francis de Sales, Robert Bellarmine, Fenelon, Newman and Hecker. Friedrich von Hügel's famous Mystical Element of Religion was a study of the spirituality of Catherine. Purgation and Purgatory is a collection of sayings on spiritual purification in this life and the next. The Spiritual Dialogue gives us a readable and coherent inner history of Catherine. The translation and notes for the volume are by Serge Hughes, Professor of Italian at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Dr. Hughes is best known for his The Fall and Rise of Modern Italy and The Little Flowers of St. Francis. Dr. Benedict J. Groeschel, who authored the Introduction, is Director of the Office for Spiritual Development of the Archdiocese of New York. He teaches pastoral psychology and ascetical-mystical theology at Iona and Fordham, and at St. Joseph's, Immaculate Conception and Maryknoll Seminaries. The Preface has been written by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, the founder and Director General of Madonna House. She is author of such well known books as Poustinia and The Gospel Without Compromise. +

Midrash is exegesis, explanation of a biblical text and commentary on it. In this latest volume in the Classics of Western Spirituality series, Reuven Hammer brings a selection of these "God-intoxicated texts" of the early rabbinic masters, the Tannaim, to a wider public and accompanies them with explanations and commentary on their theological, literary, and historical importance.

"The Classics series, which has inspired many less successful imitations over the years, has fulfilled its promise and given us an invaluable resource of the soul." The Catholic Historical Review Jean Gerson: Early Works translated and introduced by Brian Patrick McGuire preface by Bernard McGinn "However much advanced scholarship and great learning in God's law may be quite suitable for the person who wishes to come to the height of contemplation, nevertheless sometimes such knowledge blocks this pursuit. Learning is not in itself a problem. Rather, it is the arrogance and the self-inflation that the learned person derives from his knowledge. For it is clearly impossible to reach true contemplation except through humility, as the Apostle teaches (1 Cor 3:18). For if anyone, he says, seems wise in this world, he must become a fool in order to be wise. In other words, he should take on humble understanding and consider himself a fool with regard to God's wisdom. From The Mountain of Contemplation [2] Jean Gerson (1363-1429), chancellor of the University of Paris from 1395 until his death, was one of the outstanding theologians and preachers of his time. Today he is all but forgotten, except in terms of his role in resolving the schism of the Western Church. Gerson deserves to be seen as a man of great passion and learning. He sought to map the path to the contemplative life in a way that made it accessible to groups outside the universities. Partly because of continuing closeness to members of his family, especially his sisters, Gerson insisted on writing many of his works in French. His Mountain of Contemplation is a major event in the history of language and in terms of gender relations in the religious life. Gerson knew how innovative his approach was, for he opened his treatise with the words: "Some persons will wonder and ask why, in a matter so lofty as that of the contemplative life, I choose to write in French rather than in Latin, and more to women than to men." Thanks to Gerson's personal letters, translated here for the first time, it is possible to get close to the doubts and pain of a man who sought the vision of god and yearned for affective bonds. Gerson's life and writings can be seen as a search for unity in the midst of a rich and chaotic age whose spirituality we are only now beginning to appreciate. In giving advice to confessors, attacking the Romance of the Rose, preaching on the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, discerning between true and false revelations, and in outlining his Practical Mystical Theology, Gerson emerges as one of the most articulate voices of a Christian spirituality that transcends the Middle Ages and speaks to our time. +

"The books will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of every literate religious person." The Christian Century John Ruusbroec: The Spiritual Espousals, The Sparkling Stones, and Other Works translated and introduced by James A. Wiseman, O.S.B. preface by Louis Dupre "God's interior stirring and touch make us hunger and strive, for the Spirit of God is pursuing our spirit. The more there is of the touch, the more there is of the hunger and striving. This is a life of love at the highest level of its activity." John Ruusbroec (1293-1381) The fourteenth century in Europe has been called "the age of adversity." It was a time when medieval society was racked by the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, and peasant turmoil of the age, saw the decline of its mendicant orders, the "Babylonian Captivity" of the papacy in Avignon, and the rise of wide-ranging heretical movements such as the Free Spirit heresy that disparaged the Church and its sacraments in favor of an immediate experience of God. In this context John Ruusbroec (1293-1381) lived as a monk in the duchy of Brabant and produced a corpus of works on the spiritual life that has made him the most important Flemish mystic in an age of such greats as John Tauler, Julian of Norwich, and Birgitta of Sweden. For the first time in English, four of Ruusbroec's most influential writings have been collected in one volume: The Spiritual Espousals, A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness, The Little Book of Clarification, and The Sparkling Stone. This new translation by James Wiseman offers a fresh, contemporary rendering of Ruusbroec's brilliant discourses that caused Abbot Cuthbert Butler to comment that "in all probability...there has been no greater contemplative; and certainly there has been no greater mystical writer." +

The General Introduction is an intellectual and spiritual biography that sketches the fascinating steps by which, largely through mystical favors from God, Ignatius reached his inspiring worldview, with everything in it ordered to the greater glory of God.

Zeitlin was martyred in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. This is the first time his works have been translated into English. Largely neglected in the postwar era, Zeitlin's writings will have much to say both to contemporary Jews in search of ways to reembrace mystical teachings as a part of their tradition and to Christians

Here is an award-winning, new translation that brings to light Gregory's complex identity as an early mystic. Gregory (c. 332-395) was one of the Greek Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen.

Liechty presents selections from writings of the Anabaptist movement that illustrate the Anabaptists' distinctive approach to Christian spirituality. The writings represent the multiple origins of Anabaptism, with selections from three main groupings: Swiss, South German/Austrian, and North German/Dutch.