Modern Spiritual Masters

"Through biographical reflections and selected writings, this anthology highlights the essential teachings of a dozen modern spiritual masters, each of whom embodied a form of engaged spirituality - attuned both to God and the needs of a wounded world. Each opposed a style of spirituality focused entirely on the inner life, while at the same lime stressing the importance of prayer and silence as the foundation for service and activism. Balancing contemplation and compassion, these figures - including some of the world's best-known spiritual writers - represent a model of spirituality sensitive to tradition as well as the challenges of our time."--BOOK JACKET.

Scottish naturalist John Muir (1838-1914) helped spark the modern environmental movement. Living for months and even years in the wilderness, he experienced a deep communion with the sacred and his contemplations on the natural world are filled with mystical intuitions of God's reality. This volume contributes to a strain of spirituality that finds an echo in today's environmental movements.

"With a substantial introduction Thomas Merton includes a broad range of Merton's writings, including his letters, and highlights his threefold call: to prayer, to compassion, and to unity. It offers the essential writings of one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Etty Hillesum (1914-1943), a young Dutch Jewish woman, died in Auschwitz at the age of 29. This volume, drawn from her letters and diaries, lays out the themes of her distinctive and inspiring spiritual vision.

Drawn from more than twenty of the books of Thich Nhat Hanh, these are the essential writings of one of the most popular spiritual writers of today. Thought-provoking and inspiring, this selection is aimed at the mind, body and spirit.-- Provided by publisher.

These selectionis from his prolific writings highlight the deeply spiritual dimension of his work: the encounter with god, the response to suffering, the spirit of contemplation, and the maning of discipleship.

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) is widely regarded as one of the great American writers of the twentieth century. Only in 1979, however, with the publication of her collected letters could the public fully see the depth of her personal faith and her wisdom as a spiritual guide. Drawing from all her works this anthology highlights as never before O'Connor's distinctive voice as a spiritual writer, covering such topics as Christian Realism, the Church, the relation between faith and art, sin and grace, and the role of suffering in the life of a Christian. This volume also includes the complete text of O'Connor's short story, Revelation. Book jacket.

"Karl Rahner (1904-1984), a Jesuit priest, was one of the most influential Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. A major force at Vatican II, his writings effected a paradigm shift in modern theology. Yet it was the experience of prayer and a deeply mystical faith that animated and inspired his scholarly activity. In the end, Rahner's message was simple and accessible: an appeal to recognize and appropriate God's self-gift, the mystery that Christianity calls grace - a reality that is at least latent in every human mind and heart." "This anthology shows that if Rahner was an important theologian, it was because he was more fundamentally a modern spiritual master."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved