Today I was at the Ignatius House Retreat Center in Atlanta, just long enough to meet with my spiritual director and talk to a few folks about an upcoming retreat…
Category: Books
Modern Mystics: The Latest from Bernard McGinn
I make the following statement in my forthcoming New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: Some writers and scholars, who might humbly deny identifying themselves as mystics, nevertheless have contributed much to…
Want to Learn More About Julian of Norwich? Start Here
Next month — May 2023 — marks the 650th anniversary of the visionary “showings” of the great 14th century English mystic, Julian of Norwich! To make the occasion, for the…
Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership (Pre-Order Today)
Friends, I am so honored to announce that I have an essay appearing in an upcoming anthology called Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership which is being…
Encountering Silence: A Conversation with Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of “We Were Made for These Times”
Friends, here is the latest episode of the Encountering Silence podcast. This episode features a conversation the Encountering Silence team had last year with Buddhist author Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of We Were…
Brother Elias Marechal, OCSO (1936-2023)
Friends, I am heartbroken to report that my dear friend and mentor, Trappist monk and author Elias (Paul) Marechal, passed away last night at the age of 86. He had…
Beyond the Seven Storey Mountain: Noteworthy Biographies & Autobiographies of Mystics
A regular reader of this blog wrote to me and asked if I could recommend a good biography on Hildegard of Bingen. As I thought about what book to recommend,…
Coming in August 2023: the NEW Big Book of Christian Mysticism (Pre-Order Your Copy Today)
Friends, I am thrilled to announce that on August 29, 2023, the new edition of my book on Christian mysticism will be published! The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism is…
Mystical Literature: Poetry and Fiction
A reader of this blog (and a Patreon member) wrote to me and asked: Hi Carl: Do you have a list of fiction and poetry you recommend for those on…
Books To Read and Savor During Advent and Christmas
A reader of this blog wrote to me last week and asked: I am writing to ask if you have any good recommendations for spiritual reading during Advent. There are…
Twelve Mystical Anthologies That Belong in Every Contemplative Library
There are literally hundreds of mystics in the Christian tradition alone — or, should I say, hundreds of mystics who were writers (no one knows how many great mystics were…
Happy Birthday, Dawn Treader!
The year 1952 in England has gotten a lot of attention lately, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Her seventy-year reign, the longest ever for a British monarch, began…