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Central to the Christian mystical tradition is the inspired work of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Rich with insights and perceptions of the obscurity and “unknowability” of God, this work reveals God as being on an entirely different plane of existence from human beings—so different that time-bound human language is inadequate to describe God exhaustively or accurately. Intellect and emotion both fail in seeking God, who can only be encountered by rejecting all common earthly means in a “cloud of forgetting” and the discovery of Godself in the dark “cloud of unknowing” that can be pierced only with a “lance of longing love.” Now, we finally have a translation that captures all of this beauty and complexity, without minimizing the nuances, all of which are explained with extensive introductions and accompanying notes.
"If I could keep with me only two books and a journal, this book would be one of the books. As far as I’m concerned it’s the most important book (and among the most influential) on Christian prayer in the last two millennia. I'm delighted to endorse this fine new translation and commentary.”—The Rev. Dr. Chris Neufeld-Erdman, University Presbyterian Church, Fresno, CA , author of Beyond Chaos: Living the Christian Family in a World Like Ours and Returning to the Center: Living Prayer in a Distracting World
"The Complete Cloud of Unknowing includes two classics of medieval Christian contemplative spirituality – essential reading for anyone seeking to deepen their relationship with God through the practice of silent prayer. They are rich texts, full of nuanced wisdom that often gets lost in modern translations. Father John-Julian has captured the beauty, humor and literary elegance of the original versions, but also has supplemented his translation with detailed notes that convey the subtle spiritual insight that makes these works required reading. I'm excited about this book – it's a title I will recommend both to beginners and to longstanding students of The Cloud.” —Carl McColman, author of Answering the Contemplative Call and The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader
Catholic Spiritual Practices
How did the maestro advise the young violinist?
There is a story of a young violinist who had an audition at Carnegie Hall. As she hurriedly exited the subway, she was momentarily disoriented. To her relief, she saw an old man with a violin under his arm and thought that surely he would know.
“Sir, can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” she asked.
“Practice,” he said, with a grin.
It’s the same way with Catholic spirituality–growing in faith is all about practice.
This collection by today’s most respected Catholic writers offers a compendium of these practices, traditional and contemporary, that can enable us to sustain and grow a vibrant spiritual life. This must-have volume will quickly become a trusted companion for an entire lifetime of engagement with the beauty and richness of the Catholic faith.
Contents:
Catholic Spirituality in Practice / Colleen M. Griffith
Practices of Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer / N. T. Wright Praying with the Saints / Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ The Jesus Prayer / Joseph Wong, OSB, CAM Intercessory Prayer / Ann Ulanov and Barry Ulanov Centering Prayer / Joseph G. Sandman The Rosary/ Thomas H. Groome Liturgy of the Hours / Elizabeth Collier Praying with Images / Colleen M. Griffith Everyday Prayers / Compiled by Thomas H. Groome
Practices of Care
Living the Sacramental Principle / Esther de Waal Practicing Hospitality / Ana María Pineda, RSM Practicing Forgiveness / Marjorie J. Thompson Family Life as Spiritual Practice / Wendy M. Wright Día de los Muertos / Alex Garcia-Rivera Practicing Care for the Environment / United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Practices of Spiritual Growth
The Ignatian Examen / Dennis Mamm, SJ Spiritual Direction / Kathleen Fischer Retreats / Anne Luther Lectio Divina / Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM Discernment / David Lonsdale Eucharistic Adoration / Brian E. Daley, SJ The Angelus / Thomas H. Groome Stations of the Cross / Thomas H. Groome Fasting / Joan Chittister, OSB Thanksgiving after Communion / Thomas H. Groome Spiritual Practice Goes Digital / Barbara Radtke
Conclusion: Keep on Practicing, You’ll Get Better at It / Thomas H. Groome
Thank God
There is an old proverb from Eastern Europe that says, “Who does not thank for little, will not thank for much.” In other words, the person who goes through life being thankful for God’s gifts and blessings usually experiences more of life’s goodness—and inhabits more of God’s blessings. This beautiful book celebrates autumn and anticipates the season of Thanksgiving. It challenges people to live in a way that blesses God, from whom all good things come. Includes reflections from a wide array of authors including Henry van Dyke, Sarah Josepha Hale (the “Mother of American Thanksgiving”), Abraham Lincoln, and Louisa May Alcott, as well as many songs, psalms, and prayers.
Dooby Lane
If left alone, what might a place say? If we must leave it, what must we leave behind? Guru Road, Dooby Lane. It was in this place where, nearly twenty years ago, Gary Snyder discovered, considered, and chronicled such latitudinal ruminations by way of one man, DeWayne “Dooby” Williams, and the coalesced stories and tributes which Williams faithfully etched upon granite, his elected canvas. When Snyder and his wife, Carole, were camping along the Black Rock playa, northwest of the Great Basin and northeast of the town of Gerlach, they deviated from their journey down a paved path to explore a little dirt road that glinted with intrigue. This spontaneous decision led Snyder to “this remarkable text of life and spirit” and to Williams who, retired and living with cancer, was creating the testament of a lifetime—that which would transcend corporeal measures and touch the lives of countless people in endless moments for many years to come.DeWayne Williams created this work of Earth Art in the Black Rock desert, near the current site of the Burning Man gathering. This full-color book presents a series of photographs by Peter Goin, accompanied by the prose and poetry of Gary Snyder.
Love and The Turning Seasons
For thousands of years, India has excelled at erotic love poetry, and the genius of its devotional poetry often harnesses great energy and mystical insight. It is in fact often hard to tell whether the poets are offering poems of spiritual longing using the garment of love poetry, or writing erotic poems in the guise of devotion. Perhaps, in a country where erotic sculpture routinely ornaments its many temples and the gods are known for their explosive sexuality, this question has little meaning to these remarkable writers. In their devotional traditions, eroticism and mysticism seem inseparable.This wonderful selection spans 2,500 years, and includes work originally sung or recited by their well-known bards: Kabir, Mirabai, Lal Ded, Vidyapati and Tagore. There are also poems from the Upanishad, from ancient Sanskrit poetry and Punjab folk lyrics. The poets have largely emerged from the ranks of the dispossessed: leather workers, refuse collectors, maidservants, women, & orphans. Their vision is of a democratic society in which all voices count, much like American gospel and blues, Shaker songs, or the grand vision of Walt Whitman. Often they faced persecution for speaking candidly, or daring to speak of spiritual matters at all. The notes include profiles of these legendary lives. Several of these poets simply vanished, absorbed into a deity, or disappeared in a flash of purple lightening. A few produced miracles—most of them have clouds of mystery around them.Andrew Schelling has drawn on the work of 24 other translators, including Ezra Pound, Robert Bly, W. S. Merwin, Jane Hirschfield and Denise Levertov, to build what will be the finest anthology of India’s erotic and spiritual poetry for the general read ever assembled.
Table Talk
Table Talk is a portable dinner party and a book to read alone while laughing out loud. Table Talk is a salon attended by your smartest friends and by all of the wittiest people they know. Table Talk is a collection of brief but critically acclaimed, half serious/half tongue-in-cheek pieces that borrow the format of The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” column. Selected from several decades of The Threepenny Review, known colloquially as the West Coast’s New York Review of Books, these anecdotal essays debate the historical, artistic, and technological developments of our time.Released to coincide with the 35th anniversary of The Threepenny Review in January 2015, Table Talk, edited by Wendy Lesser, Mimi Chubb and Jennifer Zahrt, includes essays by Christopher Ricks, who unfolds a dazzling literary history of the phrase “Table Talk”; Leonard Michaels on why the waltz should be viewed as an aggressive, imperialist dance; and Claire Messud on the art of digression in fiction and conversation. Sigrid Nunez engages with the contemporary vogue for memoir and autobiography, while Luc Sante draws conclusions about postmodern art from a stray bit of graffiti glimpsed on a New York street. Other contributions include Alexander Nehamas on the NEA controversy that roiled the culture wars of the 1990s and Paula Fox’s tips for interacting with difficult children.Ninety-nine pieces become a garden of literary delights, as Table Talk takes an irreverent walk on the wild side of philosophical and cultural speculation that will resonate with readers of any age.
A Sense of the Whole
In 1997, Mark Gonnerman organized a yearlong research workshop on Gary Snyder’s Mountains and Rivers Without End at the Stanford Humanities Center. Members of what came to be known among faculty, students, and diverse community members as the Mountains & Rivers Workshop met regularly to read and discuss Snyder’s epic poem. Here the poem served as a commons that turned the multiversity into a university once again, if only for a moment.The Workshop invited writers, teachers and scholars from Northern California and Japan to speak on various aspects of Snyder’s great accomplishment. This book captures the excitement of these gatherings and invites readers to enter the poem through essays and talks by David Abram, Wendell Berry, Carl Bielefeldt, Tim Dean, Jim Dodge, Robert Hass, Stephanie Kaza, Julia Martin, Michael McClure, Nanao Sakaki, and Katsunori Yamazato. It includes an interview with Gary Snyder, appendices, and other resources for further study.Snyder once introduced a reading of this work with reference to whitewater rapids, saying most of his writing is like a Class III run where you will do just fine on your own, but that Mountains and Rivers is more like Class V: if you’re going to make it to take-out, you need a guide. As a collection of commentaries and background readings, this companion volume enhances each reader’s ability to find their way into and through an adventurous and engaging work of art.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Unfortunately, on occasions too frequent and destructive to enumerate, the teachings of Christ have been either ignored or distorted by the very people calling themselves Christian. Whether directed towards social intolerance or attitudes of warlike aggression, these right-wing citizens have claimed a power of influence that far exceeds their numbers. Blessed Are the Peacemakers collects the sayings of Jesus, selected by Wendell Berry, who contributes an essay of introduction. This is a book of inspiration and prayerful compassion, a ringing call to action at a time when our country and the world it once led stand at a dangerous crossroads.
The Spirit of a Woman
Combining storytelling and courageous honesty, The Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower and Inspire is an indispensable resource for every woman, providing inspiring stories of female creativity and compassion for those who want to lead lives full of meaning and purpose.Consisting of approximately two dozen nonfiction essays—by authors such as Lauren Artress, Christina Baldwin, Bobbi Gibb, Mama Donna Henes, Jyoti, Dr. Gladys McGarey, Suni Paz, Hagit Ra’anan, Janet Grace Riehl, and Sheri Ritchlin—the book is a celebration of courageous women living spiritual lives in the face of challenging circumstances. Each story is unique and demonstrates the art of storytelling at its best.The women who wrote the stories come from many nations, ages, and personal histories. They have encountered the difficulties that are part of a fully lived life, and instead of fleeing the unknown, they have honored the mystery and faced fear with faith. They see closed doors as openings to new choices and possibilities. They are spiritual optimists and activists, fighting for causes that resonate deep within their souls. Some have used the backgrounds of their cultures and traditions to lead richer, more meaningful lives. Some have moved from one faith to another or even to many other faiths. Others have left tradition behind to encounter spirituality in new and wonderful ways. And every single one of them sees life as a sacred trust.
The Los Angeles Review No. 22
• Anthology of diverse, contemporary, cutting edge fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and reviews, stemming from Los Angeles and streaming outward nationwide • Short entries and diversity of authors’ voice make for quick, stimulating read • Quirky, unusual, often controversial subject matter • Events planned for Los Angeles (a Literary Salon Series, a biannual Translations reading series at Alias Books, and a reading at Book Soup) and New York