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Title: Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light by Joan Chittister ISBN: 1-57075-233-8 Publisher: Orbis Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A wonderful little book of meditations
Comment: I admit it, I am a fan of Joan Chittister. And I am a fan of my autographed copy of this book. It's on my night table right now, and I am in the midst of my 3rd read-through. Now that I've explained my own prejudices...
If one is looking for an in depth analysis of Benedictine spirituality (as some other reviewers seem to be) then this is not the book. However, there is value here. The book has 26 entries, an A-Z of monastic values, each a small perfect jewel in itself. One can pick up this book and spend just a few minutes reading in one area, then put the book down until the next time. If the next time is months later, nothing is lost in the interim. Each little essay can stand on its own. You don't need to read the whole book, all at once, and in linear progression. Pick one value, read the essay, meditate upon it, comtemplate it. A form of lectio is you will. Contemplate it for 5 minutes, 5 days or 5 months. Then move on to another. Jump around. Skip some. Stay with your top 5 favorites or do them all, one per 2 week period, and get through the book in a year.
The beauty of this format is that it is so easily accessible, accessible to ANY spiritual seeker. Joan Chittister's writing is eminently practical and down to earth. No scholarly analysis or 25 cent words to trip over. No esoteric concepts. This may be the plain bread and cheese at a table of gourmet delicacies... but sometimes you just want a grilled cheese sandwich.
Rating: 5
Summary: a must for spiritual seekers
Comment: I don't believe that the reviews here do justice to this profound work. I have read many books on the spiritual search and this is one of the best. I have lately been struggling with what prayer means and her chapter on prayer is the best I've ever read. It is a refreshing antidote to the books that say prayer, and God, for that matter, are a means to personal power and things going your way. Joan Chittister is a wise woman, steeped in years of the contemplative tradition, and in this book she shares the fruits of her wisdom. She illuminates all of us.
Rating: 3
Summary: 2.88 stars : Pretty, pleasant, progressive
Comment: Oh, dear. To say unpleasant things about such a tome makes one feel slightly guilty, as if we were hurling unprintable epithets at the head of Walter Mondale, or attacking a banana split with a chainsaw, but we find in these 26 "drive-by" meditations nothing more than the attempted resuscitation of dead progressive cliches. We detect a note of wounded pride in Chittister's comparison of "canonical silencings" to the Inquisition and the Taliban. We learn (if we haven't learned already) that dogmas and doctrine are bad, that "openness" is good, and that Rome is a four-letter-word, in a manner of meaning other than the strictly orthographic. And sin (if it exists) isn't something we should fret over. The pert assessment of Sister Chittister as "girl guru" is, I'm afraid, very much on the mark.
One might wish to look at "Living with Contradiction" by the Anglican laywoman Esther de Waal for a slightly more rewarding exploration of Benedictine spirituality.
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Title: Seeing With Our Souls: Monastic Wisdom for Every Day by Joan Chittister ISBN: 1580511236 Publisher: Sheed and Ward Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope by Joan D. Chittister ISBN: 0802812163 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today by Joan Chittister ISBN: 0060613998 Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco Pub. Date: 10 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series) by Joan D. Chittister ISBN: 0824525035 Publisher: Crossroad Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 October, 1992 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Listen With the Heart: Sacred Moments in Everyday Life by Joan Chittister ISBN: 1580511392 Publisher: Sheed and Ward Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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