Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Contemplative

Books

Select a Category Activism Announcements Art Books Catholicism Celtic Christianity Christian mysticism Christianity Contemplation Current events Etc. Family humor interfaith dialogue Interfaith Wisdom Interspirituality Lay Cistercians Living the Faith Meditation movies Mysticism Mystics nature Poetry Reviews Scripture silence Spirituality Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 May 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 March 2012 December 2011 September 2011 October 2010 August 2010 March 2010 September 2009 July 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2004

June 2017

June 06, 2017

Sacred Rhythms: How Monastic Spirituality Can Nurture Your Walk with God

Would you like to learn more about the beautiful spirituality of Christian monks and nuns?

May 2017

May 02, 2017

Essential Writings from Two Important Living Catholic Authors

Orbis Books has a long-standing collection of books called the "Modern Spiritual Masters Series." With over...

April 2017

April 25, 2017

Can Beauty Help Us to Be More Ecumenical?

Five hundred years ago this coming October, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on a...

April 24, 2017

C. S. Lewis, Brendan the Navigator, and Evelyn Underhill

In March I was one of several presenters at a symposium on C. S. Lewis and...

April 03, 2017

Books I Recommend (On Various Topics)

I'll admit — I love lists of books. I find browsing someone's list of recommended...

March 2017

March 22, 2017

Ten Books for Learning the Basics of Christian Contemplation

A reader of this blog sent me an email recently that said in part: I...

March 20, 2017

Talking to Christine Valters Paintner about the Wisdom of the Body

My friend and colleague Christine Valters Paintner has recently released a book called The Wisdom of the...

March 03, 2017

Why Evelyn Underhill Remains Required Reading After Over 100 Years

A Book for All Time: Why Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism Still Matters For pretty much...

February 2017

February 27, 2017

It’s Not Too Late to Select Your Lenten Reading!

In chapter 48 of his Rule for Monasteries, St. Benedict instructs monks to read a...

February 10, 2017

Seven Essential Books on the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

The headwaters of the Christian contemplative and mystical tradition — aside from the Bible, of...

January 2017

January 01, 2017

A Christian Mystics Bibliography

In my books The Big Book of Christian Mysticism and Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages, I suggest...

December 2016

December 03, 2016

Books to Give Away this Christmas

It's that time of year again... Advent! And if you're like me and many other...

September 2016

September 14, 2016

Who’s Your Favorite Mystic? Here’s a Book to Help You Find Out

I'm happy to announce that my latest book — Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages...

August 2016

August 20, 2016

Books For Celebrating the Canonization of Mother Teresa

Next month, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be canonized — the process by which the...

June 2016

June 09, 2016

Rehabilitating Catholicism?

Rodney Stark is a Protestant historian who teaches at a prominent Baptist university. He's not...

May 2016

May 18, 2016

Who’s Who Among the Christian Mystics…

My friends, I'm happy to announce my forthcoming book, due in October 2016. Christian Mystics:...

March 2016

March 10, 2016

Dear Pope Francis… (or as they say in Ireland, A Phápa Proinsias, a chara…)

Did you know that when Pope Francis was a little boy, he wanted to be...

March 01, 2016

A Memoir with a Message

As part of the Patheos Book Club, I've recently read Operating on Faith: A Painfully...

February 2016

February 12, 2016

Faith, Doubt and Perseverance

A couple of years ago, Bart Ehrman's book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a...

January 2016

January 12, 2016

Busting the “Goody Two Shoes” Stereotype of Saints

One of the perks of being a Patheos blogger is the opportunity to review books...

December 2015

December 04, 2015

Talking about “Befriending Silence”

Earlier today I joined Deborah Arca, one of the editors of Patheos, for a Skype...

November 2015

November 09, 2015

Why Trappists Make Great Spiritual Guides

If you want access to a living Catholic contemplative tradition, look to the Trappists. In...

May 2015

May 15, 2015

The Intelligent Person’s Guide to Prayer

Like so many folks in the blogosphere, I was fascinated by the story of Leah...

January 2015

January 31, 2015

Seven Essential Thomas Merton Books

Today is the 100th anniversary of Thomas Merton's birth. To celebrate this day here is...

January 26, 2015

Following the Ancient Path Today

If you're anything like me, the first thing you'll notice about The Ancient Path: Old Lessons...

August 2014

August 20, 2014

Mainline Neo-Monasticism?

Elaine A. Heath is a true friend of contemplation. She recognizes the vital importance of bringing...

August 08, 2014

A Beautiful New Bible and a Contemplative Request

Today I wrote a letter to Adam Lewis Greene, who is known for his wonderful...

July 2014

July 04, 2014

Monastic Life from the Inside

Recently I have read two wonderful books that offer a glimpse into the life of...

April 2014

April 16, 2014

Finding Faith in Midlife

Talk about a trip down memory lane. Richard Cole's Catholic By Choice: Why I Embraced...

March 2014

March 31, 2014

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, and today I want to celebrate two such persons in particular....