Father Matthew Kelty was an especially beloved monk at the historic Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Perhaps best known as Thomas Merton's colleague and confessor in the year prior to Merton's
A monastery is not just for monks. Laypeople enjoy visiting monasteries and learning from the women and men who live there. The silence of the monastery is a retreat from the clatter and bluster of ci
The Vita Christi, a spiritual classic of the fourteenth century by the Carthusian Ludolph of Saxony, was an early and extremely comprehensive book of meditations on the events recorded in the gospels.
For three decades, Monastic Practices has been a valued resource for English-speaking aspirants to monastic life. In this second edition, updated and expanded, Charles Cummings, OCSO, explores the com
Dom André Louf (+2010) was abbot of the Trappist-Cistercian monastery of Mont-des-Cats in northern France from 1963 to 1997. This book brings together talks given to a variety of audiences in whic
As master of novices for ten years (1955–1965) at the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky, Thomas Merton was responsible for the spiritual formation of young men preparing for monas
“How should we live in this house of God? We know that the way a building is shaped also helps in determining the way those within it live and relate. We are indeed formed by what we form. Qualities s
Light in the Shoe Shop offers readers a unique and intimate glance into the day-to-day experience of living the cloistered life in feminine mode. In her cobbler’s contemplations”no metaphor here: the
Saint Bernard’s famous work, The Steps of Humility and Pride (in Latin, De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae), is a short book consisting of a mere fifty-seven paragraphs. In it, the Abbot of Clairvau
As novice master of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky, Thomas Merton presented weekly conferences to familiarize his charges with the meaning and purpose of the vows they aspi
The monastery has often been likened to a powerhouse of prayer, providing light and energy for the countless numbers who make up the Body of Christ. This image has inadvertently furthered the view of
In his chapter on the procedure for the reception of new brothers, Saint Benedict makes provision for entrusting them to the care of a senior who is skilled in winning souls who will diligently pay at
As founding abbot of Clairvaux, Bernards giftedness and good judgment made him an often sought resource by both church and secular powers, and in that capacity, he proved to be sometimes a delight and
Cistercian Spirituality: An Ashram Perspective is a spiritual directory written by Fr. Francis Acharya for the monastic community that he founded at Kurisumala (Kerala, India). As the editor, Fr. Mich
At Home with Saint Benedict is a selection of the author's conferences onSaint Benedict's Rule for Monasteries delivered to the monks of Assumption Abbey of Ava, Missouri, when he was abbot there. The
In this set of novitiate conferences from the late 1950's, Thomas Merton provides an introduction to the traditional pattern and practices of the monastic day during the period immediately preceding
In his novitiate conferences on the Rule of Saint Benedict, Thomas Merton introduces young men embarking on monastic life to the guiding document of that life. He emphasizes the importance of consider
The twenty-year correspondence between Jean Leclercq, a French Benedictine monk and scholar, and Thomas Merton, an American Cistercian monk, provides a fascinating record of their common yearnings. Wh
For almost half a century Trappist monk Matthew Kelty has delivered homilies to monks and retreatants in his unique style. Visitors at his monastery have been inspired, and challenged by his talks, gi
Set amid the tumult of the Spanish Civil War, this spiritual biography recounts the efforts of a fervent young Spanish aristocrat to come to grips with his artistic talent, his intense personality and
Introduced to the spiritual theology of the twelfth-century Cistercian Fathers when he entered the abbey of Scourmont, Belgium, Charles Dumont shared his ever deepening knowledge as editor of the Orde
Andre Llouf's probing essay on the nature of humility reVisions this fundamental Christian virtue away from the misunderstandings of both the scholastic tradition and its modern counterparts to locate
Charged with training young monks at Gethsemani Abbey, Thomas Merton combined his literary genius and his love of the monastic tradition to produce Monastic Orientation Notes as the bases of his class
Like Bernard of Clairvaux, whose last act was to leave his cloister to mediate 'successfully 'between two nobles and prevent bloodshed, Thomas Merton found in the monastic life of prayer a source of s
Leonardo da Vinci stood on a bridge between medieval thought and the modern mind. In this selection of entries from his dozens of coded notebooks and unpublished manuscripts, his unending curiosity in
Musician, physician, humanitarian, and philosopher, Albert Schweitzer was a 20th-century Renaissance man who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "Reverence for Life" philosophy. The Wisdom of Albert Sch
One of the great minds of the 20th century, Bertrand Russell explored philosophy, mathematics, and a variety of other intellectual, political, historical, and social issues in his lifetime. In this in
Leo Tolstoy was born to an aristocratic Russian family, became a world-famous influential novelist, and then chose to lead the simple life of a peasant. Dating from this last part of his life, Tolstoy
