Today I had a conversation with a friend who is working on a manuscript for a book to be published in the next year or so. We were chatting about…
Category: Books
Mysticism is a Love Story: A Baker’s Dozen of Contemplative Books for Valentine’s Day (or Any Day)
Simply put, mysticism — at least, Christian mysticism — is all about love. To explore Christian mysticism basically means to explore love. It’s an invitation to join the noblest of…
My Christmas Recommendations for 2019: Books to Give to the Contemplatives You Love
Here’s a list of books published in the last eighteen months on a variety of contemplative themes. Most of these books are anchored in the Christian tradition, although several have…
Revisiting Grace: A New Edition of Writings and Photographs from a Trappist Monk
If you are looking for a wonderful Christmas gift idea, I’ve got a suggestion for you: the newly released “Memorial Edition” of Grace Revisited: Epiphanies from a Trappist Monk by Fr….
A New Edition of One of My Older Books is Coming Out Next Summer!
In my book Unteachable Lessons I talk about how, before I became a Catholic in 2005, I wrote a number of books that reflected my interest in pre-Christian spirituality — books…
Unteachable Hope, or, My Dream for Readers of My Latest Book
“What is your greatest hope for this book?” This question came to me the other day from my friend Colette Lafia, a spiritual director and the author of Comfort and Joy and Seeking…
Howard Thurman: With Head and Heart
So in reading Howard Thurman’s autobiography, I expected to bask in his deeply authentic humility, his compassionate heart, and his keen sense of God’s presence, justice and mercy. But what truly blew me away about the autobiography was the evidence of just how deep a mystic he was — and the continual delight of enjoying his rhetorical skill as a writer.
Remembering the Monk Who Wrote About Grace
Last week Father James Behrens, OCSO died suddenly. He was 71 years old. Father James had been a Catholic priest for 45 years and a Trappist monk for 25 years….
Advance Praise for “Unteachable Lessons”
One of the scariest moments for me, as an author, is when my editor and I have finished working on a book, and we then send the manuscript out to…
What Inspired Me to Write About Christian Mysticism
This month marks nine years since The Big Book of Christian Mysticism was published. Hard to believe it’s been that long! To mark this anniversary, I’m reposting here an “author’s statement” about the book that…
Celebrating Evelyn Underhill
It was forty years ago this summer — the summer of 1979 — that I first discovered Evelyn Underhill, the British spiritual author whose writings introduced me to the beauty…
Eight Pagan Books (by a Christian Author)
In my book Unteachable Lessons I tell how I spent a period of time estranged from Christianity — the faith I was brought up in, and the faith I adhere to now….