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BOOK NOTICES The intention of these book notices is very simple: to draw attention to new spiritua- lity books that could be of interest to readers of Studies in Spirituality. Henk Rutten, the librarian and information manager of the Titus Brandsma Institute, lists here some fifty titles with short descriptions. They are not meant to be comprehensive and in-depth book reviews. Alfeyev, Hilarion, St. Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition, Oxford [etc.]: Oxford University Press, 2000 (Oxford Early Christian Studies), XIII, 338 pages, ISBN 0-19-827009-7. This book is a study of the mystical nature of tradition, and the traditional nature of mysticism, and of St. Symeon as both a highly personal and very traditional ecclesiasti- cal writer. The teachings of St. Symeon (949-1022) created much controversy in Byzan- tium and even led to a short-lived exile to Asia Minor in 1009. For the first time in modern scholarship these teachings are examined from within the tradition to which both St. Symeon and the author belong. Benke, Christoph, Die Gabe der Tränen: Zur Tradition und Theologie eines vergessenen Kapitels der Glaubensgeschichte, Würzburg: Echter, 2002 (Studien zur systematischen und spirituellen Theologie, Band 35), XII, 446 pages, ISBN 3-429-02416-1. Feelings are more and more in the centre of attention lately. The phenomenon of cry- ing is an elementary expression of the feelings. Tears are an eminent place for the emer- gence of man’s greatness as well as his vulnerability. In the history of Christian faith the ‘gift of tears’ is a neglected chapter, for which there is a rich, until now hardly discussed religious-theological tradition available. This book brings up a basic draft for a ‘science of tears’ with the help of testimonies of spiritual tradition from different periods in history. The theological reflection founded upon this shows, that the ‘way of tears’ is in no way dark, but that it opens the door to resurrection in this life. The gift of tears is an expression of the redemption, which moves the believer, even into his corporality. By weeping life lands salutarily in a flow. Tears are grace made corporeal, sign of the hea- ling attention of God. Insofar this book deals with a piece of concrete soteriology. Berger, Klaus, Was ist biblische Spiritualität?, Gütersloh: Quell, 2000, 245 pages, ISBN 3-579-03308-5. From the point of view of the New Testament contact with heaven is the only meaning of spirituality and mysticism. The author shows ways to discover the bible once again as the source of this spirituality. Jesus prays in solitude at night and celebrates with the people during the day. His connection with heaven awakens messianic joy. Jesus’ pas- sion and Paul’s path of life show, that contact with God can also mean obedience and 334 BOOK NOTICES suffering, but joy is central. This joy, a gift of the Holy Ghost, is until this day the cen- tre of all Christian spirituality. The author tries to uncover the spiritual treasures of the bible for faith and life again and to understand the roots of spirituality and mysticism. Buckley, Thomas, Standing Ground: Yurok Indian Spirituality, 1850-1990, Berkeley (CA) [etc.]: University of California Press, 2002, XII, 325 pages, ISBN 0-520-23358-1 (hbk), 0-520-23389-1 (pbk). This account of spiritual training and practice within an American Indian social net- work emphasizes narrative over analysis. The author’s foregrounding of Yurok narratives creates one major level of dialogue in an innovative ethnography that features dialogue as its central theoretical trope. He places himself in conversation with contemporary Yurok friends and elders, with written texts, and with twentieth-century anthropology as well. He describes Yurok Indian spirituality as ‘a significant field in which individual and society meet in dialogue – cooperating, resisting, negotiating, changing each other in manifold ways. “Culture”, here, is not a thing but a process, an emergence through time’. Burkhardt, Margaret A. and Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson, Spirituality: Living Our Con- nectedness, Albany (NY): Delmar, 2002, XVIII, 380 pages, ISBN 0-7668-2082-3. This book is designed to assist participating nurses and students in developing confi- dence and competence in integrating spirituality into their practice. Users are encoura- ged to address and nurture their own spirituality and recognize spirituality in everyday life as a means of effectively assessing the spiritual concerns of their patients. This work discusses methods of heightening spirituality such as prayer, meditation and mindful- ness; bodywork, touch and movement; rest and leisure; music and ritual; and play and creativity, that can be applied both personally and professionally. Caner, Daniel, Wandering, Begging Monks: Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity, Berkeley (CA) [etc.]: University of California Press, 2002 (The transformation of the Classical Heritage; 33), XIV, 325 pages, ISBN 0-520- 23324-7. An apostolic lifestyle characterized by total material renunciation, homelessness, and begging was practiced by monks throughout the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. Such monks often served as spiritual advisors to urban aristocrats whose patronage gave them considerable authority and independence from episcopal control. This book is the first comprehensive study of this type of Christian poverty and the challenge it posed for episcopal authority and the promotion of monasticism in late antiquity. Focusing on devotional practices, the author draws together diverse testimony from Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere to reveal gospel-inspired patterns of asce- tic dependency and teaching from the third to the fifth centuries. Throughout, his point of departure is social and cultural history, especially the urban social history of the late Roman empire. BOOK NOTICES 335 Cazzulani, Guglielmo, Quelli che amano conoscono Dio: La teologia della spiritualità cristiana di Giovanni Moioli (1931-1984), Milano, Glossa, 2002 (Dissertatio SR 35), 402 pages, ISBN 88-7105-143-2. Although he passed away after a short life, don Giovanni Moioli (1931-1984) was a lea- ding figure in the field of modern Italian theology. In the short lapse of thirty years of tea- ching, he left a rich academic production with regard to different fields of theological reflection. Jesus of Nazareth, the hope, the fourth sacrament, spirituality… attracted his attention. This publication is presenting reflections of Moioli concerning Christian spiri- tuality. Since this expert of Milan was attracted to this field of research from the begin- ning of his academic career, the result is very fruitful. We can find here an interesting pro- posal to rethink the epistomological principles of spiritual theology, an argument that during a long period remained rather left aside but discussed at length at the moment. Chase, Steven, Angelic Spirituality: Medieval Perspectives on the Ways of Angels, New York [etc.]: Paulist Press, 2002 (The Classics of Western Spirituality), XXIII, 375 pages, ISBN 0-8091-0513-6 (cloth), 0-8091-3948-0 (paper). What is it about angels that so fascinates us, inspires us and makes us want to know more about them? In this work the author introduces readers to the rich and varied tra- dition of angels in the lives of men and women. Drawing on works from a variety of medieval writers from roughly the 4th to the 13th centuries, he explores the extensive landscape of angels in medieval Christian devotion and, for the benefit of modern rea- ders, retrieves a very rich vein in the Christian spiritual tradition. Section One explores issues in angelic spirituality ranging from metaphysical speculation to practical, forma- tive, devotional and contemplative themes as developed in the works of, among others, Augustine, Bernard of Clairvaux and Gregory the Great. Section Two offers selections from medieval commentaries that explore angelic spirituality in the light of symbolic theology, the moral life, contemplation, aesthetics and mystical consciousness. Connor, Peter Tracey, Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin, Baltimore (MD) [etc.]: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000, XII, 198 pages, ISBN 0-8018-6268-X (hbk), 0-8018-7735-0 (pbk). In this book, the author argues that literary scholars have tended to neglect or misunder- stand Bataille’s interest in mysticism. This study corrects this distorted view of Bataille, giving us a more complete picture of the complex and influential writer. With careful attention to Bataille’s historical and intellectual context, the author raises many important questions: What drew Bataille to the mystics? How did he conceive of their thought in relation to his own? And what is the connection between mysticism and morality? This last question raises an especially interesting issue for Bataille, an atheist whom readers generally associate with images of transgression and sin. Through examination of Batail- le’s writings the author shows the surprising connection between Bataille’s mysticism and his sense of personal and political ethics. Mysticism, the author argues, lies at the heart of Bataille’s double identity as an intellectual and as a kind of anarchic prophet. 336 BOOK NOTICES Crossing Boundaries: Ethics in the History of Mysticism / edited by G. William Barnard and Jeffrey Kripal, New York [etc.]: Seven Bridges Press, 2002, 471 pages, ISBN 1- 88911-925-3. The contemporary study of religion has witnessed a consistent interest in and concern about the relationship between