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Spirituality: An Art of Living was born out of a generous impulse: to pass on lessons from the monastic tradition to lay people so as to help them achieve a more ardent and fulfilling spiritual life. In this book, Benedictine monk, teacher, and scholar Benoît Standaert provides ninety-nine entries covering topics like abba, humility, listening and time. The entries are divided in twenty-six chapters according to the letters of the alphabet. A perfect book for all spiritual seekers to sit with and enjoy again and again.
Spirituality: An Art of Living was born out of a generous impulse: to pass on lessons from the monastic tradition to lay people so as to help them achieve a more ardent and fulfilling spiritual life. In this book, Benedictine monk, teacher, and scholar Benoit Standaert provides ninety-nine entries covering topics like abba, humility, listening, and time. The entries are divided in twenty-six chapters according to the letters of the alphabet. A perfect book for all spiritual seekers to sit with and enjoy again and again.
The concept of inspiration is part and parcel of the theological tradition in several religious confessions, but it has largely receded to the background, if not vanished altogether, in the discussions of biblical scholars. The question "Do we still need inspiration?" might well reflect the perplexity of many exegetes today. Systematic theologians, for their part, often further their own reflections on the subject independently of developments in the field of exegesis, with the risk of remaining purely theoretical. Biblical research in the last decades has been marked by new insights about the nature of the biblical texts, stemming from the study of their inner plurality (insofar as they combine and sometimes intertwine conflicting theologies), of their textual fluidity, and of their reception. Can these new insights be integrated into a theological reflection on the notion of inspiration? These questions are often explicitly raised about the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, but they also prove increasingly relevant for Qur’ānic studies. This volume addresses them through contributions from exegetes of the Bible and of the Qur’an and systematic theologians.
Award-winning French author shares the biography and spiritual journey of Cistercian abbot Dom André Louf. Based on a wide variety of interviews, printed sources, and Dom André Louf’s spiritual journal, The Way of the Heart narrates Louf’s spiritual journey from his childhood in Flanders through his becoming a monk in a Cistercian monastery, his ten years of retirement as a hermit in a Benedictine monastery in the south of France, and his death. During his career he struggled with conflicting vocational desires—sometimes wishing to serve as a pastor, academic, abbot, or to immerse himself in eremitic contemplation. That struggle is the leading thread through this biography, which portrays a man whose immense gifts pulled him in many directions, while always endeavoring to submit himself to God’s will.
A the taste of silence t the youthful age of nineteen Bieke Vandekerckhove was diagnosed with ALS (a degenerative neurological disease, aka Lou Gehrig's disease). Unexpectedly, three years later her disease went into remission and, even though partially paralyzed, she has lived with ALS now for more than twenty years. In twenty-seven short chapters, written at various points in her life, the author shares her search for meaning and strength. Much to her own surprise, she found both in the stillness of contemplation, in the richness of silence. The practice of Benedictine spirituality and Zen meditation became, as she says, the two lungs through which she breathes. Along the way of her painful but illuminating journey, she shares insights learned from artists of all stripes, whether poets, painters, sculptors, or moviemakers, and from great contemplatives and thinkers. The result is a work that offers a deep trove of spiritual wisdom for every reader, whether affl icted with debilitating illness or in perfect health.
This volume generates a narrative grammar which unites linguistic, structuralistic, rhetorical, and reader-response methods and then uses it to investigate the textual indicators for interpreting the ending of the Gospel of Mark. The first part of this book generates the narrative grammar in response to significant contemporary writings on methods of narrative analysis. The second part provides a detailed analysis of the Gospel's larger narrative units. The analysis isolates narrative units according to a consistent set of criteria, grounds the interpretation on a limited number of qualifications of the implied reader, indicates the centrality of the literary and rhetorical traditions of the Hebrew Bible for interpretation, clarifies the model of irony used in the narrative, and accounts for the negative presentation of the disciples on narrative grounds.
In All Roads Lead to the Text Dean Deppe offers a user-friendly guide to biblical exegesis and interpretation. Far from a dry, theoretical handbook, this book's example-based approach enlivens the exegetical task and offers immediate payoff by constantly applying concepts to specific texts. Deppe focuses on eight methods that biblical scholars use, from analyzing literary, grammatical, and structural elements to investigating historical and cultural backgrounds to exploring the history of interpretation. Deppe explains each approach using several concrete examples from both Old and New Testament texts, and every chapter concludes with practical, text-based questions for study and discussion.
Jeff Jay argues that the Gospel of Mark should be described as tragic because it elicits tragedy's recurring motifs and moods as well as a highly theatrical atmosphere. He thus revises the typical story of tragic drama's history, which portrays the Judeo-Christian tradition as inhospitable to tragedy because it emphasizes divine grace and justice.
Power is an issue that is attracting increased interest among philosophers, theologians and social scientists. The gospel of Mark, especially in 10:32-45, contains teachings attributed to Jesus about the use and abuse of power. This book applies a combination of different methods and approaches: mainly orality, criticism, literary criticism and a sensitivity for the social and cultural environment of the text, showing the centrality of Jesus's message on the issue of power both for the plot and for the theology of Mark. This message is a call to practice leadership in a way that is subversive toward the networks of power of the empire.
If Christians and Muslims are to live in peace, encouraging one another to grow in holiness and working together for the good of all God's creation, they must move beyond politicized and often negative images of one another. Monastic/Muslim dialogue issuing from friendship and focused on revelation, prayer, and witness is an important component in this effort. Indeed, it is essential. A conference jointly sponsored by the International Institute for Islamic Studies and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue brought together Iranian Shi‘a Muslims and Christian monastics to Qum, Iran. Their first gathering was held a year previous in Rome, Italy and focused on spiritual topics like meditation and prayer. The second meeting in Qum was an occasion to deepen the bonds of friendship that had already been established. The conference theme centered on friendship and the dialogue explored the scriptural, theological, spiritual, philosophical, and practical bases for friendship between monks and Muslims. This follow up book invites readers to listen in and learn from their conversation and witness.