Book Notices

BOOK NOTICES

The intention of these book notices is very simple: to draw attention to new spirituality 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 about 65 titles with short descriptions. They are not meant to be comprehensive and in-depth book reviews.

Adogame, Afeosemime U. (Ed.), The Public Face of African New Religious Movements in Diaspora Imagining the Religious ‘Other’, Farnham: Ashgate, 2014 (Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements), 300 pages, ISBN: 9781472420107 (Hb.); 9781472420114 (Eb. PDF); 9781472420121 (Eb. Epub). This book provides new theoretical and methodological insights for understanding and interpreting African new religious movements (ANRMs) and African-derived religions in diaspora. Contributors focus on groups and movements drawn from Christian, Islamic, Jewish and African-derived religious movements and explore their provenance and patterns of emergence, their belief systems and ritual practices. The book offers new insights into how ANRMs can be better defined, approached, and interpreted by scholars, policy makers and media practitioners alike. Afe Adogame is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh.

Alfsvåg, Knut, & Thor Strandenaes (Eds.), Urban Christian Spirituality: East Asian and Nordic Perspectives, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2014, 198 pages, ISBN: 9783631657867. This book explores some of the challenges presented to church and mission from the contemporary culture of globalization and how this affects Christian spirituality in various ways. The attention is primarily focused on contemporary East Asian urban life, but from the assumption that this may not be all that different from what is experienced in urban contexts in other parts of the world. The authors all share an affiliation with institutions related to the Norwegian Mission Society and its work in East Asia. Knut Alfsvåg is a Professor of Systematic Theology at the School of Mission and Theol- ogy at Stavanger (Norway). Thor Strandenæs is a Professor Emeritus of Missiology at the School of Mission and Theology at Stavanger (Norway).

Allen, Michael J. B. (Ed.), Marsilio Ficino on Dionysius the Areopagite, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015 (The I Tatti Renaissance Library), 2 volumes (LXXI, 516; XXXVII, 483 pages) pages, ISBN: 9780674058354 (vol. 1); 9780674743793 (vol. 2). In 1490/92 Marsilio Ficino, the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus who was largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato, made new translations of, with running

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commentaries on, two treatises he believed were the work of Dionysius the Areopagite, the disciple of St. Paul mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. His aim was to show how these two treatises (in fact the achievement of a sixth-century Christian follower of the Neoplatonist Proclus) had inspired pagan thinkers in the later Platonic tradition like Plotinus and Iamblichus. These major products of fifteenth-century Christian Plato- nism are here presented in new critical editions accompanied by English translations, the first into any modern language.

Alva, Reginald, The Spirituality of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2014 (Christian Heritage Rediscovered; 4), XIX, 188 pages, ISBN: 9789351480068. Soon after the end of the Second Vatican Council, the Charismatic Renewal spread in the Catholic Church in 1967. The Charismatic Renewal Movement, which had a mod- est beginning, had a phenomenal growth. This grace of the Holy Spirit has touched the lives of millions in all the continents. People of all nations, languages and cultures have had a tremendous experience of God, which has changed their lives. What is the spirituality of this movement that makes it so attractive among people? Has this spirituality truly enriched the spiritual lives of the people associated with it? This book seeks to answer these questions objectively and welcomes readers for further reflection. Reginald Alva is presently teaching at Nanzan University, Seto, Japan.

Arblaster, John, & Rob Faesen (Eds.), A Companion to John of Ruusbroec, Leiden: Brill, 2014 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition; 51), XII, 448 pages, ISBN: 9789004265400. John of Ruusbroec (1293-1381) is one of the most important mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of Ruusbroec studies, including a survey of the mystical tradition in the Low Countries before Ruusbroec, a discussion of his life and works, the manuscript tradition, the most significant mystical- theological and literary themes, Latin translations of his work, and the widespread reso- nance of his thought across Europe until 1800. Finally, it offers a summary of secondary research since the nineteenth century. To complement the range of scholarly articles, this work also includes the first English translation of a series of Middle Dutch texts that offer deeper insight into Ruusbroec, his thought, and his mystical and literary context.

Arcement, Ephrem, In the School of Prophets: The Formation of Thomas Merton’s Prophetic Spirituality, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2015 (Cistercian Studies Series; 265), XXV, 218 pages, ISBN: 9780879072650 (Pb.). The distinctive prophetic quality of Thomas Merton’s spirituality, shaped by figures ranging from the Hebrew prophets to Thich Nhat Hanh, emerges from this fresh examination of the works Merton read, responded to, and celebrated in his own writing. This book examines the final decade of Merton’s life, mainly through the lens of his journals and letters, and helps to fill a gap in contemporary Merton studies. William Blake and various Latin American poets; novelists Boris Pasternak, Albert Camus, and William Faulkner; existentialists Søren Kierkegaard and Gabriel Marcel; monks of the Egyptian desert; and Bernard of Clairvaux number among those who helped shape

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Merton’s prophetic consciousness, leading him to reexamine what it means to be both a human being and a contemplative monk of the twentieth century. Ephrem Arcement, OSB, is a monk of St. Joseph Abbey in Louisiana and currently teaches courses in Scripture and spirituality at St. Joseph Seminary College.

Bale, Anthony Paul (Ed.), The Book of Margery Kempe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015 (Oxford World’s Classics), 275 pages, ISBN: 9780199686643 (Pb.). The Book of Margery Kempe (c. 1436-38) is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother, and mystic. Known as the earliest autobiography written in the English language, Kempe’s Book describes the dramatic transformation of its heroine from failed businesswoman and lustful young wife to devout and chaste pilgrim. She vividly describes her prayers and visions, as well as the temptations in daily life to which she succumbed before dedicating herself to her spiritual calling. She travelled to the most holy sites of the medieval world, including Rome and Jerusalem. In her life and her boisterous devotion, Kempe antagonized many of those around her; yet she also gar- nered friends and supporters who helped to record her experiences. Her Book opens a window on to the medieval world, and provides a fascinating portrait of one woman’s life, aspirations, and prayers. This new translation preserves the forceful narrative voice of Kempe’s Book and includes a wide-ranging introduction and useful notes. Anthony Bale studied at the universities of Oxford and York and at the Hebrew Uni- versity of Jerusalem.

Barrie, Thomas, Julio Cesar Bermúdez, & Phillip Tabb (Eds.), Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality, Farnham: Ashgate, 2015, 303 pages, ISBN: 9781472441713 (Hb.). Architecture has long been understood as a cultural discipline able to articulate the human condition and lift the human spirit, yet the spirituality of architecture is rarely directly addressed in academic scholarship. The seventeen chapters provide a diverse range of perspectives, grouped according to topical themes: Being in the World; Sacred, Secular, and the Contemporary Condition; Symbolic Engagements; Sacred Landscapes; and Spirituality and the Designed Environment. Even though the authors’ approach the subject from a range of disciplines and theoretical positions, all share interests in the need to rediscover, redefine, or reclaim the sacred in everyday experience, scholarly analysis, and design. Thomas Barrie AIA is a Professor of Architecture at North Carolina State University. Julio Bermudez is an Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning. Phillip Tabb is Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University.

Birat, Kathie, & Brigitte Zaugg (Eds.), Literature and Spirituality in the English-Speak- ing World, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2014 (Recherches en Littérature et Spiritualité; 22), VI, 233 pages, ISBN: 9783034314947. This collection of essays focuses on the role of spirituality in American literature through an examination of the multiple ways in which a deep engagement with the spiritual has shaped and affected literature in the Americas (three of the essays involve Canadian and Caribbean literature). The essays in the first section explore the intimate

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links between the spiritual and the social as they are manifested in forms of fiction like fantasy, science fiction, and the Christian fundamentalist fiction of Jerry B. Jenkins. The second section looks at the ways in which poetry has allowed writers as diverse as Emily Dickinson, Ellen Glasgow, Fanny Howe and Leonard Cohen to use language as a tool for exploring their complex relation to the spiritual seen in terms of radical other- ness, or of exile, or of the search for common ground as human beings. The final section approaches spirituality as a defining element of the American experience, from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Toni Morrison and Paul Auster. Kathie Birat is Emeritus Professor of American Literature at the University of Lorraine (Metz, France). Brigitte Zaugg is Associate Professor at the University of Lorraine (Metz, France).

Blum, Jason N., Zen and the Unspeakable God: Comparative Interpretations of Mystical Experience, University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2015, 192 pages, ISBN: 9780271070797. This book reevaluates how we study mystical experience. Forsaking the prescriptive epis- temological box that has constrained the conversation for decades, ensuring that methodology has overshadowed subject matter, the author proposes a new interpretive approach – one that begins with a mystic’s own beliefs about the nature of mystical experience. He brings this approach to bear on the experiential accounts of three mystical exemplars: Meister Eckhart, Ibn al-Arabi, and Hui-neng. Through close readings of their texts, the author uncovers the mystics’ own fundamental assumptions about transcendence and harnesses these as interpretive guides to their experiences. The predominant theory-first path to interpretation has led to the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of individual mystical experiences and fostered specious conclusions about cross-cultural compara- bility among them. The author’s hermeneutic invites the scholarly community to begin thinking about mystical experience in a new way – through the mystics’ eyes. Jason N. Blum is Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at American University in Cairo.

Bregman, Lucy, The Ecology of Spirituality: Meanings, Virtues, and Practices in a Post- Religious Age, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2014, 198 pages, ISBN: 9781602589674 (Pb.); 9781602589681 (Eb. PDF); 9781306460439 (Eb. Epub). In this work, the author surveys the many and varied religious, psychological, and sociological definitions of spirituality on offer. Spirituality has been made and remade many times over in the hope of fitting it to some new cultural need. The author argues that a better understanding of spirituality is instead rooted in specific professions and practices, and she demonstrates that it is not an irrevocably ambiguous pop cultural phenomenon, but is embodied in historic virtues and practices of a craft.

Caspers, Charles, Zacht, doch Krachtdadig: Anna Catharina van Hees en de Oorsprong van de Congregatie Dochters van Maria en Joseph, Baarn: Adveniat, 2015, 192 pages, ISBN: 9789492093110 (Hb.). Two hundred years ago, the unmarried Anna Catharina van Hees (1768-1825) allowed a group of young women to sew clothes for poor children in the ‘mouse hole’, her room

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at the Bossche Market. Encouraged by their commitment, the young pastor Jacobus Heeren came up with the idea to set up an institute of sisters of charity. The mystically gifted Anna Catharina assisted him as a spiritual traveling companion. Her fame spread, and still Den Bosch knows her as Holy Kaatje. Her grave is no longer available and there are no portraits of her, there are only objects such as the penitential bodice that she wore under her clothes, and the coffee pot from which she drank Chichorei. Her real legacy is a thriving community of nuns that has spread across the world and gives education and loving care to mostly deaf children: the sisters of the Choorstraat, the ‘Daughters of Mary and Joseph’, with their mother house at the Papenhulst 5 in Den Bosch. This book looks at the very beginning of this movement that began in the early nineteenth century with two people: Anna Catharina and Pastor James Lord. Charles Caspers is Academic Secretary of the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Cattoi, Thomas, & Christopher M. Moreman (Eds.), Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015 (Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism), 281 pages, ISBN: 9781137472076 (Hb.); 9781137472083 (Eb. PDF); 9781137472090 (Eb. Epub). Contemporary society tends to conceal death and the dying process from public view, seeking to erase them from our consciousness. This attitude of denial stands in great contrast to the approach of the great spiritual traditions of humanity, for which the dying process was an integral and often crucial part of our own spiritual practice. This volume offers a sample of reflections from scholars and practitioners on the theme of death and dying from scholars and practitioners, ranging from the Christian tradition to Hinduism, Lacanian psychoanalysis, while also touching on the themes of the after- life and near-death experiences.

Clapper, Gregory Scott, As If the Heart Mattered: A Wesleyan Spirituality, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014, 112 pages, ISBN: 9781630871475 (Eb.). This book expounds on John Wesley’s image of religion as a house by exploring three main parts: the porch of repentance, the door of faith, and holiness (the house itself). Useful study helps include references to John Wesley sermons and Charles Wesley hymns. But this approach to spiritual life transcends Methodism and provides essential biblical truth applicable to all Christians. Questions for reflection or discussion are provided at the end of each chapter. Gregory S. Clapper is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Indi- anapolis and is Affiliate Professor of United Methodist Studies at Christian Theological Seminary.

Coady, Mary Frances, Merton and Waugh: A Monk, a Crusty Old Man, & the Seven Storey Mountain, Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2015, 155 pages, ISBN: 9781612616285 (Hb.). From 1948 to 1952 the lives of Trappist monk Thomas Merton and British novelist Evelyn Waugh were closely intertwined. During these years, Waugh became enthusias- tic about American Catholicism, and in particular, monasticism as seen through the

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eyes of the author of The Seven Storey Mountain. He agreed to edit Merton’s autobiography and the subsequent Waters of Siloe for publication in Britain. In this close examination of their friendship, through their correspondence, we see Waugh’s coaching of a younger writer and Waugh’s brief infatuation with America. Most of all, we witness Merton the writing student and spiritual master and Waugh the master of prose and conflicted penitent. And we see how the two men diverge as the Second Vatican Coun- cil takes hold in Catholicism and the church experiences profound change.

Curran, Charles E., & Lisa A. Fullam (Eds.), Ethics and Spirituality, Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014 (Readings in Moral Theology; 17), XII, 275 pages, ISBN: 9780809148738 (Pb.): 9781587683626 (Eb.). This volume compiles writings by leading moral theologians and ethicists on an important, emerging topic in the field of ethics. As spirituality asserts its broad humanistic interdisciplinarity, and moral theology emerges from its fixation on sin to address broader questions of human formation and Christian discipleship, the need for the two disciplines to be in dialogue is clear.

Daughtry, Phil, Karl Rahner and a Spirituality of Silence: His Meaning and Relevance for Contemporary Formation, Saarbrücken: Scholars’ Press, 2014, 320 pages, ISBN: 9783639717433. This book offers an interpretation of the life and work of the great 20th Century, Roman Catholic theologian, Karl Rahner. Its specific purpose is to introduce and rec- ommend him as an important resource for contemporary initiatives in spiritual formation. The guiding notion through which this book is developed is that of a perceived ‘spirituality of silence’. This notion is explored and developed with reference to Rah- ner’s biography, his Ignatian spiritual roots, his first and most widely read book of prayers and his theologies of mystery, word and sacrament. Finally, the book facilitates an extended discussion between the dimensions of ‘spirituality of silence in Rahner’ and the contemporary spirituality of Western culture and the place and role of the Christian faith community.

Dijk, Rudolf van, & Rijcklof Hofman, Salome Sticken (1369-1449) en de Oorsprong van de Moderne Devotie, Hilversum: Verloren, 2015 (Bibliotheca Dissidentium Neer- landicorum; ), 460 pages, ISBN: 9789087045135 (Pb.). Modern Devotion (ca. 1375-1575) is the most powerful spiritual reform movement of the late Middle Ages in Europe. The charisma of inner renewal germinated at the Car- thusians and inspired (semi-)religious communities. The followers of the movement emphasized everyone’s personal responsibility and left a rich literary heritage. In this book, Rudolf van Dijk O.Carm. (1935-2015) highlights life, work and significance of Salome Sticken (1369-1449), the most prominent among the early generations of religious women belonging to the Modern Devotion. The author shows that medieval women’s mysticism and female devotees have played a very important role in the onset and development of this movement. After the death of Rudolf van Dijk, this book was finished by Rijcklof Hofman and includes a first critical edition of the Statute of the Meester-Geertshuis, procured by Marinus van den Berg.

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Rudolf van Dijk was and Rijcklof Hofman is an Academic Staff Member of the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where Marinus van den Berg is an Associated Researcher.

Dreyer, Elizabeth, Accidental Theologians: Four Women Who Shaped Christianity, Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2014, XIV, 153 pages, ISBN: 9781616365141. One might well be tempted to think that the history of Christianity, particularly its theology, has been largely shaped by men. This book dispels that notion to some degree by highlighting the four women Doctors of the Catholic Church (someone who contributes significantly to the formulation of Christian teaching): Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Thérèse of Lisieux. Though they did not intend to be theologians, their teachings about Christian belief and practice mark them as key figures in the history of Christianity. While most of the books written about these four women deals mainly with their spirituality, this volume shows how they came to know God, as well as how they changed and challenged the Church in their day. It looks at these women from several perspectives: their life and works, the times in which they lived, the core of their theology, and the implications of their theology for us.

Duffy, Kathleen, Teilhard’s Mysticism: Seeing the Inner Face of Evolution, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014, XIV, 140 pages, ISBN: 9781626980853. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a French Jesuit priest and scientist, charted a new path in reconciling Christian theology with evolutionary science. Though church officials in his lifetime rejected his work, his posthumously published writings have illuminated many of the most pressing issues of our time. In particular, he articulated a new mystical vision, in tune with the findings of science and our expanding knowledge of the universe. This book, by a physicist, examines Teilhard’s mysticism, showing how science can help to illuminate the mystical path, while also demonstrating the compatibility between Teilhard’s thought and current frontiers in scientific exploration.

Farley, Wendy, The Thirst of God: Contemplating God’s Love with Three Women Mystics, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015, 182 pages, ISBN: 9780664259860. In this volume, the author brings the work of three female mystics – Marguerite Porete, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Julian of Norwich – into creative conversation with contemporary Christian life and thought. From alternatives to the standard, violent understandings of the atonement, to new forms of contemplation and prayer, these figures offer us relevant insights through a theology centered on God’s love and com- passion. The author demonstrates how these women can help to refresh and expand our awareness of the depth of divine love that encompasses all creation and dwells in the cavern of every human heart.

Finley, Stephen C., Margarita Simon Guillory, & Hugh R. Page, Jr. (Eds.), Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: ‘There Is a Mystery’, Leiden: Brill, 2014 (Aries Book Series; 19), 406 pages, ISBN: 9789004283091. In this book, the authors assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise

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focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Dias- pora. The goals of this new field – while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies – are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated. Stephen C. Finley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the African and African American Studies Program at Louisiana State University. Margarita Simon Guillory is an Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester. Hugh R. Page Jr. is Associate Professor of Theology and Africana Studies as well as Vice President, Associate Provost, and Dean of the First Year of Studies at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN).

Fraeters, Veerle, & Imke de Gier (Eds.), Mulieres Religiosae: Shaping Female Spiritual Authority in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, Turnhout: Brepols, 2014 (Europa Sacra; 12), XX, 311 pages, ISBN: 9782503549125. Whilst current scholarship often emphasizes binaries within the fields of gender and religious authority, this volume examines the manifestation of female religious authority in its multiple facets. It looks both at individuals displaying exceptional forms of agency such as prophesying, as well as more commonplace, communal activities such as letter-writing and music-making. By taking into account the pervasiveness of spirituality in society as a whole in the Pre-Modern era, this collection of essays renegoti- ates the relationship between the spiritual and the social domain. Through the chron- ological organization of the contributions insight is gained into the changes in the means and forms female religious authority could take between 1150 and 1750. The narrative is clearly impacted by late medieval enclosure policies and by changing modes of spirituality. Whereas women in the earlier period tended to represent them- selves as a door through which God could advance towards mankind, later on they functioned more frequently as a portal through which others could advance towards God.

Gale, John, Michael J.P. Robson, & Georgia Rapsomatioti (Eds.), Insanity and Divin- ity: Studies in Psychosis and Spirituality, London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Fran- cis Group, 2014 (International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psy- chosis Book Series), XXX, 255 pages, ISBN: 9780415608619 (Hb.); 9780415608626 (Pb.). Bringing together an international range of contributors and covering many different types of religious experience, this book presents its theme in three parts: Psycho analysis, belief and mysticism; Anthropology, history and hagiography; Psychology, psychosis and religious experience. Each section includes discussion of the hinterland between madness and religious experience from the perspective of a number of religions, autobiographical accounts of those who have experienced a psychosis in which spirituality played a key part and a comprehensive review of the position of psychology research into the meaning and function of spirituality in relation to the psychoses.

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John Gale is a former Benedictine monk who later trained as a psychotherapist and is now CEO of the charity Community Housing and Therapy. Michael Robson is the Director of Studies in Divinity at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. He is the author of a number of books and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Francis of Assisi. Georgia Rapsomatioti is a community mental health advocate who previously worked at Community Housing and Therapy as deputy manager at Lexham House and senior therapist at Highams Lodge. She has an interest in Lacanian psychoanalysis, trauma and psychosis.

Gan, Peter Chong-Beng, Dialectics and the Sublime in Underhill’s Mysticism, Singapore: Springer, 2015, X, 243 pages, ISBN: 9789812874849. This book represents a study of Evelyn Underhill’s premier work on mysticism, using Hegel’s dialectics and Kant’s theory of the sublime as interpretive tools. It especially focuses on two prominent features of Underhill’s text: the description of the mystical life as one permeated by an intense love between the mystic and infinite reality, and the detailed delineation of stages of mystical development. Given these two features, the text lends itself to a construction of a valuable discourse predicated on dialecticism, sublimity, and mysticism. The book also articulates a number of insights into the content and nature of the writings of Christian mystics. Peter Gan is an Academic in the Philosophy and Civilization Section of the School of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.

Garner, Daniel, Antitheodicy, Atheodicy, and Jewish Mysticism in Holocaust Theology: Atheodic Theologies after Auschwitz, Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2014 (Gorgias Stud- ies in Judaism; 57), XI, 251 pages, ISBN: 9781463203948 (Pb.) The Holocaust has provoked many different Jewish theological responses, yet upon closer inspection interesting commonalities can be observed between even seemingly antithetical thinkers. One of these common trends within Holocaust theology has been the rejection and replacement of traditional theodicies which explain and justify suffer- ing, with responses centred on ideas of recovery, consolation and divine mystery. Another widespread, though largely unrecognized trend is use of Jewish mystical themes by Holocaust theologians. This study shows how the presence of Jewish mysticism can be explained, at least in part, by this post-Holocaust collapse of theodicy.

Gates, Donald K., & Peter Steane, Spiritual Formation: A History of Mysticism, Cham- paign, IL: Common Ground Publishing, 2015, 252 pages, ISBN: 9781612295374 (Eb. PDF). Mystical experiences from the Old and New Testaments are described as are the revelations of early church leaders, from Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, to later European mystics and Saints such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. The eighteenth- century Enlightenment saw mystics, such as John and Charles Wesley, emphasize a ‘social holiness’ evidenced in social action, such as Wilberforce’s Anti Slavery Crusade. This emphasis on practical holiness continued with William and Catherine Booth’s founding of The Salvation Army, which is typically Wesleyan in its understanding of holiness-in-action, and aligned with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Natural Evolutionary

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Theology. The authors argue that spiritual leaders, poets, and musicians satisfy Matthew Fox’s definition of a mystic as holding a ‘vital belief in a transcendent reality (…) as they can communicate with that reality by direct experience’. Donald Gates is a retired Salvation Army officer with fifty-four years of service. Peter Steane is a Catholic priest with three decades experience in education, formation, and leadership development. He is currently a Professor of Management at Australian Cath- olic University.

Gori, Franco (Ed.), Augustinus Enarrationes in Psalmos 110-118, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum; 95/2), 208 pages, ISBN: 9783110411164 (Hb.); 9783110411775 (Eb. Epub); 9783110411720 (Eb. PDF). As part of the first critical edition of Augustine’s commentary on the psalms, the edition of Expositions on Psalms 101–150 was developed in collaboration between the CSEL and the Istituto Patristico Augustinianum (Rome); this volume completes the sub-project, developed by Franco Gori together with Angelo De Nicola. Franco Gori teaches ‘Complementi di Storia della Chiesa’ at the Università di Urbino, Urbino, Italy.

Green, Arthur, The Heart of the Matter: Studies in Jewish Mysticism and Theology, Phil- adelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2015 (Jps Scholar of Distinction Series), XVII, 366 pages, ISBN: 9780827612136 (Hb.); 9780827612273 (Eb. PDF). This collection of essays brings together Green’s scholarly writings, centered in the history of early Hasidism, and his highly personal approach to a rebirth of Jewish spirituality in our own day. In choosing to present them in this way, he asserts a claim that they are all of a piece. They represent one man’s attempt to wade through history and text, language and symbol, an array of voices both past and present, while always focus- ing on the essential question ‘What does it mean to be a religious human being, and what does Judaism teach us about it?’ Thus he considers this book. Arthur Green is director of Hebrew College’s Rabbinical School. In addition he is Irving Brudnick Professor of Philosophy and Religion and is Professor Emeritus at Brandeis University.

Harrington, James C., & Sidney G. Hall, Three Mystics Walk into a Tavern: A Once and Future Meeting of Rumi, Meister Eckhart, and Moses De León in Medieval Venice, Lanham: Hamilton Books, 2015, 168 pages, ISBN: 9780761865438. In this book, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Moses de León, and Meister Eckhart – three of the greatest mystics of all time – meet in Venice for an imaginary night-long conversation that will inspire everyday individuals of the twenty-first century to find their own spirituality and realize that everyone can be a mystic. Although the mystics came from different backgrounds and religious traditions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), their spiritual paths led them to similar understandings of a union with the Divine. The three mystics have a timeless and timely message for people who walk the earth eight centuries after they did, no matter an individual’s religious background or even if they have none. It is a message of connecting with the ‘divine spark’ deep within us and within the universe.

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Ho, Pao-Shen, Plotinus’ Mystical Teaching of Henosis: An Interpretation in the Light of the Metaphysics of the One, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2015, 3 graphs, XVI, 172 pages, ISBN: 9783631656730 (Hb.); 9783653049855 (Eb.). Plotinus’ mysticism of henosis, unification with the One, is a highly controversial topic in Plotinian scholarship. This book presents a careful reading of the Enneads and suggests that Plotinus’ mysticism be understood as mystical teaching that offers practical guidance concerning henosis. It is further argued that a rational interpretation thereof should be based on Plotinus’ metaphysics, according to which the One transcends all beings but is immanent in them. The main thesis of this book is that Plotinus’ mystical teaching does not help man attain henosis on his own, but serves to remind man that he fails to attain henosis because it already pertains to his original condition. Plotinus’ mysticism seeks to change man’s misconception about henosis, rather than his finite nature. Pao-Shen Ho holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Universität Innsbruck (Austria).

Ingram, Paul O., Living without a Why: Mysticism, Pluralism, and the Way of Grace, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014, XII, 124 pages, ISBN: 9781625647078. In this book, the author adds his voice to a long list of writers seeking to relate Chris- tian tradition to the hard realities of this post-Christian age of religious and secular pluralism. As a Lutheran, he thinks grace flows over this universe like a waterfall. So he brings Christian mystical theology into a discussion of the meaning of grace. Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophical vision provides a language that serves as a hermeneu- tical bridge by which historians of religions can interpret the teachings and practices of religious Ways other than their own without falsification, and by which theologians can appropriate history-of-religions research as a means of helping Christians advance in their own faith journeys. The purpose of the journey of faith is what Whitehead called ‘creative transformation’. The contemporary theological tradition that has most system- atically and coherently followed Whitehead’s lead in its reflection on non-Christian Ways is process theology, which is perhaps the only liberal or progressive theological movement now active in the twenty-first century. Paul O. Ingram is Professor Emeritus of History of Religions at Pacific Lutheran Uni- versity in Tacoma, Washington.

John Julian [Fr.] (Ed.), The Complete Cloud of Unknowing: With the Letter of Privy Counsel, Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2015, XLIII, 293 pages, ISBN: 9781612616209 (Pb.). Central to the Christian mystical tradition is the inspired work of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Rich with insights and perceptions of the obscurity and ‘unknowability’ of God, this work reveals God as being on an entirely different plane of existence from human beings – so different that time-bound human language is inadequate to describe God exhaustively or accurately. Intellect and emotion both fail in seeking God, who can only be encountered by rejecting all common earthly means in a ‘cloud of forgetting’ and the discovery of Godself in the dark ‘cloud of unknowing’ that can be pierced only with a ‘lance of longing love’.

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Keating, James (Ed.), Entering into the Mind of Christ: The True Nature of Theology, Omaha, NE: Institute for Priestly Formation, 2014, 268 pages, ISBN: 9780988761322. This book is a compilation of essays that were written to address the question: ‘How does spirituality supply theological study with the correct method?’ Edited by Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., these essays affirm the fact that the study of theology necessarily involves spirituality. The essays explore the definitions of ‘theology’ and ‘spirituality’, recognizing that the two concepts are often defined incompletely. Furthermore, the role of faith, as well as the importance of dialogue, in the understanding and practice of theology is presented.

Kikuchi, Satoshi, From Eckhart to Ruusbroec: A Critical Inheritance of Mystical Themes in the Fourteenth Century, Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2014 (Mediaevalia Lovaniensia – Series 1/Studia; 44), 312 pages, ISBN: 9789058679857 (Pb.); 9789461661647 (Eb. PDF). In this thorough textual, historical, and doctrinal study the author seeks to clarify the relationship between two prominent mystics of the fourteenth century: Meister Eck- hart, the German Dominican, and Jan van Ruusbroec, the Brabantine Augustinian. Special attention is paid to Ruusbroec’s criticism of mystical tenets circulating in Bra- bant at that time which were both textually and doctrinally related to Eckhart’s con- demned propositions in the papal bull In agro dominico. This fact implies that Ruus- broec was confronted with the impact of the condemnation of Eckhart’s doctrines on the people in Brabant. Situating Ruusbroec’s life and works within the aftermath of Eckhart’s arrival, the author elucidates Ruusbroec’s position regarding the relevant mystical themes in the later Middle Ages, and follows a process of critical inheritance of mystical tradition from Eckhart to Ruusbroec.

Kim, Sung-hae, The Gourd and the Cross: Daoism and Christianity in Dialogue, St. Petersburg, FL: Three Pines Press, 2014, VIII, 236 pages, ISBN: 9781931483285. This publication goes back to an actual dialogue that occurred in Korea in 1998, between Sister Kim, a Catholic nun and professor of Chinese religions, and two Korean Daoist scholars, a philosopher and a practitioner of internal alchemy. First published in Korean in 2003, the work consists of eight chapters discussing methodological issues as well as specific topics. Reflecting highly personal understanding and exploration, it cor- relates Dao and the reign of God, compares Jesus and the sage of the Daode jing, and matches ideas of freedom in the Zhuangzi and the New Testament. It also establishes a dialogue between Daoist mind-fasting and Christian unknowing, examines concepts of Eastern immortality versus Western egalitarianism, and discusses visions of nature and humanity in the two religions, both traditionally and in terms of modern ecology. It concludes with an exploration of the interaction of Daoism and Christianity in Korean folk piety. Breaking exciting new ground, it brings Daoism to the fore in the growing field of interreligious dialogue. Sung-hae Kim served as Professor of Chinese Religion at Sogang University in Seoul until 2006. Since her retirement, she has worked as the general councilor of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Chicago.

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Lazenby, Donna J., A Mystical Philosophy: Transcendence and Immanence in the Works of Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014, XII, 325 pages, ISBN: 9781472522801 (Hb.). Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, the author shows how these thinkers’ refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and pro- mote a mystical way of knowing. This work contributes to the contemporary resurgence of interest in spirituality, but from an entirely new direction. This book provides a warning against reductive scientific and philosophical models that impoverish our understanding of ourselves and the world, and a powerful endorsement of ways of knowing that give art, and a restored concept of contemplation, their consumma- tive place.

Lee, Bo Karen, Sacrifice and Delight in the Mystical Theologies of Anna Maria van Schur- man and Madame Jeanne Guyon, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2014 (Studies in Spirituality and Theology Series), XIV, 250 pages, ISBN: 9780268033910. In this compelling study of two seventeenth-century female mystics, the author examines the writings of Anna Maria van Schurman and Madame Jeanne Guyon, who, despite different religious formations, came to similar conclusions about the experience of God in contemplative prayer. The author analyzes and compares the themes of self- denial and self-annihilation in the writings of these two mystics. In van Schurman’s case, the focus is on the distinction between scholastic knowledge of God and the intima notitia Dei accessible only by radical self-denial. In Guyon’s case, it is on the union with God that is accessible only through a painful self-annihilation. For both authors, the author demonstrates that the desire for enjoyment of God plays an important role as the engine of the soul’s progress away from self-centeredness. The appendi- ces offer facing Latin and English translations of two letters by van Schurman and a selection from her Eukleria. Bo Karen Lee is Associate Professor of Spirituality and Historical Theology at Prince- ton Theological Seminary.

MacDonald, Elizabeth, Skirting Heresy: The Life and Times of Margery Kempe, Cincin- nati, Ohio: Franciscan Media, 2014, XIII, 210 pages, ISBN: 9781616367169. It was perhaps England’s darkest hour. The roots of the Protestant Reformation were in place, although it would be another century before Martin Luther and King Henry VIII upended Catholicism. It was a time when unauthorized preaching was against the law, and there was a death penalty in place to stop heresy; even Catholic priests were being burned alive. Margery Kempe was born into this world. She dared to follow her truth, and the calling she knew came from Jesus Christ himself. But she paid mightily for it, and she was repeatedly arrested, put on trial, even threatened with death. Kem- pe’s only lifeline was her wit, determination, and a few influential friends who believed in her cause. Margery Kempe is also credited with dictating the first autobiography in English, The Book of Margery Kempe.

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Maryks, Robert A. (Ed.), A Companion to Ignatius of Loyola: Life, Writings, Spirituality, Influence, Leiden: Brill, 2014 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition; 52), XIV, 345 pages, ISBN: 9789004251137 (Hb.). This companion to Ignatius of Loyola aims at placing Loyola’s life, his writings, and spirituality in a broader context of important late medieval and early modern movements and processes that have been appreciated too little by historians who explored Ignatius more as the colossal icon of the so-called Counterreformation than as a man influenced by the dramatic and revolutionary period in which he lived. One book will be never able to cover all aspects of such rich and controversial a figure as Ignatius of Loyola but the fifteen chapters of this volume indicate important directions of current scholarship that reassesses the previous scholarship and suggests new angles of studies on this pivotal figure of early modern period. Robert Aleksander Maryks is Associate Professor of History and director of the Institute of Jesuit Sources at Boston College.

Mayse, Ariel Evan (Ed.), From the Depth of the Well: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism, New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014, XXXIII, 361 pages, ISBN: 9780809148790. This volume gathers the most significant and treasured writings from the Jewish mystics as published in the Classics of Western Spirituality series, with all new introduc- tions.

Mieth, Dietmar, Meister Eckhart, Munchen: C.H. Beck, 2014 (Beck’sche Reihe; 6131), 298 pages, ISBN: 9783406659867 (Pb.). The Dominican Meister Eckhart (ca. 1260-1328), the ‘magister sacrae scripturae’ (Pro- fessor of Sacred Scripture), has developed an autonomous philosophy and theology which in his own time fascinated many and was discovered again and again. His last years in Cologne were overshadowed by an inquisition process that was unique against such a renowned teacher of theology. For it was not primarily about academic disputes, but the pastoral impact of his German sermons and writings in connection with the prosecution of so-called ‘free spirits’, but also the ‘beguines’, i.e. communities of women living the religious life. The author tries to picture Eckhart’s profile as a thinker, as a preacher and as a life teacher. He sees in him not just a historical phenomenon, but an advance thinker. Moreover, he includes social contexts, in particular the former religious women’s movements. And last but not least, he is giving his own opinion on Eckhart’s teaching conflict.

Moffett, Joe, Mysticism in Postmodernist Long Poems: Contemplation of the Divine, Beth- lehem: Lehigh University Press, 2014, XI, 165 pages, ISBN: 9781611461626 (Hb.). Written from a literary critic’s perspective, this book borrows insights from Religious Studies and critical theory to examine the role of spirituality in contemporary poetry, specifically the genre of the long poem. Descending from Whitman’s Song of Myself, the long poem is often considered the American twentieth-century equivalent of the epic poem, but unlike the epic, it carries few generic expectations aside from the fact that it simply must be long. This makes the form particularly pliable as a tool for spiritual inquiry. The period following World War II is often described as a secular age, but

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spirituality continued as a concern for poets, as evidenced by this study. These writers look beyond conventional faith systems and instead seek individual paths of understanding; they engage in mysticism, in other words. With chapters on H.D. and Brenda Hillman, Robert Duncan, James Merrill, Charles Wright, and Galway Kinnell and Gary Snyder, this study demonstrates how these poets engage the culture of consump- tion in the postwar years at the same time they search for opportunities for transcendence. Not content to throw over the earthly in favor of the otherworldly, these poets reject the familiar binary of the worldly and metaphysical to produce distinctive paths of spiritual understanding that fuel what Wright calls a ‘contemplation of the divine’.

Ogren, Brian (Ed.), Time and Eternity in Jewish Mysticism: That Which Is Before and that Which Is After, Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2015 (Studies in Jewish History and Culture; 48), 228 pages, ISBN: 9789004290310. Time and eternity are concepts that have occupied an important place within Jewish mystical thought. This present volume gives pride of place to these concepts, and is one of the first works to bring together diverse voices on the subject. It offers a multivalent picture of the topic of time and eternity, not only by including contributions from an array of academics who are leaders in their fields, but by proposing six diverse approaches to time and eternity in Jewish mysticism: the theoretical approach to temporality, philosophical definitions, the idea of time and pre-existence, the idea of historical time, the idea of experiential time, and finally, the idea of eternity beyond time. This multivocal treatment of Jewish mysticism and time as based on variant academic approaches is novel, and it should lay the groundwork for further discussion and exploration. Brian Ogren is the Anna Smith Fine Assistant Professor of Judaism in the Religion Department at Rice University.

Palmén, Ritva, Richard of St. Victor’s Theory of Imagination, Leiden: Brill, 2014 (Inves- tigating Medieval Philosophy; 8), VIII, 299 pages, ISBN: 9789004278325 (Hb.). Richard of St.Victor (†1173) developed original ideas about the faculty of imagination in a twelfth-century Parisian context. Related to the historical study of philosophical psychology, this volume acknowledges that the faculty of imagination, being a neces- sary precondition for human reasoning and a link between soul and body, plays an important role in Richard’s understanding of the human soul. Richard also deals with the interpretation of biblical language, metaphors, rhetoric, and the possibility of creative imagination. Considering all these aspects of the imagination in Richard’s texts improves our understanding of his theological epistemology and sheds new light on the theory of the imagination in the history of medieval philosophy in general. Ritva Palmén is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, working currently on medieval disputational literature.

Pansters, Krijn (Ed.), The Carthusians in the Low Countries: Studies in Monastic History and Heritage, Leuven: Peeters, 2014 (Miscellanea Neerlandica; 43; Studia Cartusiana; 4), 8 unnumbered pages of plates, 397 pages, ISBN: 9789042931800 (Pb.). Most of the essays gathered in this volume evolved from papers that were delivered at a conference in the former charterhouse Our Lady of Bethlehem in Roermond (1376).

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This conference was held on the occasion of The Secret of Silence: The Hidden World of the Carthusians of Roermond (27 March – 21 June 2009), an international exhibition that explored the history and spirituality of the Carthusians, highlighting the Order’s outstanding artworks now kept in public and private collections. The current volume explores the history of the Carthusians and their cultural and spiritual heritage in the Low Countries. It presents Carthusian monasticism as a multidimensional phenomenon requiring a multidisciplinary approach that explains the broader historical dimension of the Carthusian Order in relation to its local manifestations, cultural forms, and the centrality of its spirituality.

Poor, Sara S., & Nigel Smith (Eds.), Mysticism and Reform, 1400-1750, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2015 (Reformations: Medieval and Early Modern), 424 pages, ISBN: 9780268038984. The apparent disappearance of mysticism in the Protestant world after the Reformation used to be taken as an example of the arrival of modernity. However, as recent studies in history and literary history reveal, the ‘Reformation’ was not experienced in such a drastically transformative manner, not least because the later Middle Ages itself was marked by a series of reform movements within the Catholic Church in which mysticism played a central role. In this book, contributors show that it is more accurate to characterize the history of early modern mysticism as one in which relationships of continuity within transforma- tions occurred. Rather than focus on the departures of the sixteenth-century Reforma- tion from medieval traditions, the essays in this volume explore one of the most remarkable yet still under-studied chapters in its history: the survival and transformation of mysticism between the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Sara S. Poor is Associate Professor of German and Director of the Program in Medieval Studies at Princeton University. Nigel Smith is the William and Annie S. Paton Foun- dation Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature at Princeton University.

Prodan, Sarah Rolfe, Michelangelo’s Christian Mysticism: Spirituality, Poetry, and Art in Sixteenth-Century Italy, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014, XVI, 251 pages, ISBN: 9781107043763 (Hb.); 9781107619043 (Pb.). In this book, the author examines the spiritual poetry of Michelangelo in light of three contexts: the Catholic Reformation movement, Renaissance Augustinianism, and the tradition of Italian religious devotion. She combines a literary, historical, and bio- graphical approach to analyze the mystical constructs and conceits in Michelangelo’s poems, thereby deepening our understanding of the artist’s spiritual life in the context of Catholic Reform in the mid-sixteenth century. She also demonstrates how Michel- angelo’s poetry is part of an Augustinian tradition that emphasizes mystical and moral evolution of the self. Examining such elements of early modern devotion as prayer, lauda singing, and the contemplation of religious images, the author provides a unique perspective on the subtleties of Michelangelo’s approach to life and to art. Through- out, she argues that Michelangelo’s art can be more deeply understood when considered together with his poetry, which points to a spirituality that deeply informed all of his production.

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Sarah Rolfe Prodan is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria University in the University of Toronto, where she has designed and taught cultural history courses for the Renaissance Studies program and lectured on Italian language and literature.

Ridgeon, Lloyd V. J. (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Sufism, New York, NY: Cam- bridge University Press, 2015 (Cambridge Companions to Religion), XVI, 310 pages, ISBN: 9781107018303 (Hb.); 9781107679504 (Pb.); 9781316190647 (Eb.). Sufism, the mystical or aesthetic doctrine in Islam, has occupied a very specific place in the Islamic tradition, with its own history, literature and devotional practices. Its development began in the seventh century and spread throughout the Islamic world. This Cambridge Companion traces its evolution from the formative period to the present, addressing specific themes along the way within the context of the times. In a section discussing the early period, the devotional practices of the earliest Sufis are considered. The section on the medieval period, when Sufism was at its height, examines Sufi doctrines, different forms of mysticism and the antinomian expressions of Sufism. The section on the modern period explains the controversies that surrounded Sufism, the changes that took place in the colonial period and how Sufism transformed into a transnational movement in the twentieth century. This volume sheds light on a multi- faceted and alternative aspect of Islamic history and religion.

Ridgeon, Lloyd V.J., Sufis and Salafis in the Contemporary Age, London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, X, 301 pages, ISBN: 9781472523877 (Hb.). This book explores the dynamics at play between what are usually understood as two very different forms of Islam, namely Sufism and Salafism. Sufism is commonly understood as the peaceful and mystical dimension of Islam whereas Salafism is perceived as strictly pietistic and moralist, and for some it conjures up images of violent manifestations of Islam. Of course these generalisations require more nuanced investigation, and this book provides a number of case studies from around the Islamic world to unpack the intricate relationship between the two. The diversity of the case studies that focus on Islamic groups in India, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and South East Europe reflect the multiplicity of relationships that exist between the Salafis and Sufis. The specific case studies are framed by an introduction that provides essential historical background and definitions of the terms, and also by general studies of the Sufi–Salafi relationship which enable the reader to focus on the large picture.

Riehle, Wolfgang, & Charity Scott-Stokes (Transl.), The Secret Within: Hermits, Recluses, and Spiritual Outsiders in Medieval England, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2014, 448 pages, ISBN: 9780801451096 (Hb.); 9780801470936 (Eb.). In considering the origins and evolution of the English mystical tradition, the author begins in the twelfth century with the revival of eremitical mysticism and the early growth of the Cistercian Order in the British Isles. He then focuses in depth on the great mystics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: Richard Rolle (the first great English mystic), the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Walter Hilton, Margery Kempe, and Julian of Norwich. The author carefully grounds his narrative in

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the broader spiritual landscape of the Middle Ages, pointing out both prior influences dating back to Late Antiquity and corresponding developments in mysticism and theology on the Continent. He discusses the problem of possible differences between male and female spirituality and the movement of popularizing mysticism in the late Middle Ages. Filled with fresh insights, The Secret Within will be welcomed especially by teachers and students of medieval literature as well as by those engaged in historical, theological, philosophical, cultural, even anthropological and comparative studies of mysticism.

Ringma, Charles R., & Karen Hollenbeck-Wuest (Eds.), Walking with God: Christian Spirituality in the Asian Context, Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.; Asian Theological Seminary, 2014, 249 pages, ISBN: 9789710092734. Christian spirituality is a topic of great interest in our contemporary world as many people are seeking to find sustainable life values and practices. This is particularly so in the Asian context, with its profound religious traditions and its intergration of spirituality into every dimension of life. What is striking in this volume is that the practices of prayer and meditation are not simply discussed within the frame of a personal spirituality, but also in its outworking in the social arena. Here is a spirituality that is shown to have relevance for culture, natural disasters, persecution, and poverty. In these pages you will find discussions on prayer and ecology, spirituality and the social sciences, the journey of ‘the dark night of the soul’, and the relevance of the Medieval Christian mystics for present-day Asian evangelicals.

Rohrhofer, Raphaela Sophia, Familial Discourses in the Book of Margery Kempe: ‘Blyssed Be the Wombe That the Bar and the Tetys That Yaf the Sowkyn’, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2014 (European University Studies. Series 14: Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature; 473), 175 pages, ISBN: 9783631641804 (Pb.); 9783653033786 (Eb.). The Book of Margery Kempe (ca. 1438) offers an illuminating account of late medieval female spirituality, affective devotion and subversion. This study approaches Margery Kempe’s roles in her earthly, heavenly and spiritual families from an interdisciplinary perspective. It details the tension between the domestic and spiritual life of the eccen- tric visionary and examines the intense agony and ecstatic pleasure imposed on her by the divine. Extensive research is devoted to late medieval female mysticism and the complex question of authorship and genre of The Book of Margery Kempe. In addition to a meticulous textual analysis, contemporary socio-religious, historical, medical and legal sources yield profound insights into the emotional and spiritual climate of the late Middle Ages. Raphaela Sophia Rohrhofer’s current research at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London considers the making and meaning of medieval art.

Rolf, Veronica Mary, Julian’s Gospel: Illuminating the Life and Revelations of Julian of Norwich, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014, 660 pages, ISBN: 9781626980945. Julian of Norwich, a medieval English mystic who spent the latter part of her life as an enclosed anchoress, is largely known through her extraordinary Revelations, one of the most popular and influential works of Christian mysticism. It was also the first book

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ever written by a woman in the English language. But until now, the woman herself was an elusive figure. In this fascinating work, the author has offered a convincing reconstruction of Julian’s life, along with a comprehensive commentary on her Revela- tions – rendered here in a new translation from the Middle English.

Rubinstein, Ernest, From Ecclesiastes to Simone Weil: Varieties of Philosophical Spiritual- ity, Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2014, XVIII, 281 pages, ISBN: 9781611477245 (Hb.); 9781611477252 (Eb.). This book reads major philosophers from the Western philosophical canon and beyond for the spirituality implicit in their metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and logic. Its aim is to revive for the modern reader the spiritual import of philosophy as an area of inquiry and study. Spirituality is understood as a lived orientation towards the sacred. The sacred is characterized as the source of all being and human wellbeing. Philosophy is presented as an avenue of approach to the sacred alternative to the western religious traditions. Philosophers treated include Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Emerson, William James, Bertrand Russell, and Simone Weil. Ernest Rubinstein is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Humanities at the New York Uni- versity School of Continuing and Professional Studies and an associate librarian emeritus at Drew University.

Sheldrake, Philip, Spirituality: A Guide for the Perplexed, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014 (Guides for the Perplexed), 216 pages, ISBN: 9781441180926 (Hb.); 9781441191335 (Pb.). This book aims to provide readers with a reliable and comprehensive guide to ‘spirituality’ as an area of study, religiously, historically and in the social sciences. It explores the tools that are used to study the subject and to interpret spiritual classics (whether these are written texts or other forms such as art) from different times and cultures. Attention is paid to spirituality in a variety of religious and non-religious forms in their own terms and comparatively. However, for the sake of simplicity greatest attention is given to the study of spirituality within a religious perspective with illustrations drawn from texts, personalities and themes associated with the Christian tradition. The book concludes with an exploration of spirituality in contemporary perspective – in particular how spirituality is currently employed in areas such as health-care, education and busi- ness among other examples.

Stein, Murray, Minding the Self: Jungian Meditations on Contemporary Spirituality, New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014, 132 pages, ISBN: 9780415377850 (Hb.); 9780415377843 (Pb.); 9781315797632 (Eb.). This book offers suggestions for individual spiritual development in our modern and post-modern times. Here, the author argues that C.G. Jung and depth psychology provide guidance and the foundation for a new kind of modern spirituality. The author explores the problem of spirituality within the cultural context of modernity and offers a way forward without relapsing into traditional or mythological modes of consciousness. Chapters work towards finding the proper vessel for contemporary spirituality and dealing with the ethical issues that crop up along the way. The author shows how it is

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an individual path but not an isolationist one, often using many resources borrowed from a variety of religious traditions: it is a way of symbol, dream and experiences of the numinous with hints of transcendence as these come into personal awareness. This book uses research from a wide variety of fields, such as dream-work and the neuro science of the sleeping brain, clinical experience in Jungian psychoanalysis, anthropology, ethics, Zen Buddhism, Jung’s writings and the recently published Red Book. Murray Stein is a training and supervising analyst at the International School of Ana- lytical Psychology, Zurich, Switzerland.

Sutton, Matthew Lewis, Heaven Opens: The Trinitarian Mysticism of Adrienne Von Speyr, Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2014, 272 pages, ISBN: 9781451473018 (Pb.); 9781451479881 (Eb.). Adrienne von Speyr was one of the most important mystical theologians of the last century. However, her work has been eclipsed in many ways by her personal connection to Hans Urs von Balthasar. This book provides one of the first comprehensive accounts of von Speyr’s theology. The author argues that the eternal, immanent relations of the Triune God ground the mystical theological vision of von Speyr. Here, von Speyr’s work is for the first time given an independent hearing, expositing its content, features, and connections, and assessing its contribution to contemporary Catholic theology.

Sweeney, Jon M., When Saint Francis Saved the Church: How a Converted Medieval Troubadour Created a Spiritual Vision for the Ages, Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2014, X, 175 pages, ISBN: 9781594714863 (Hb.). In this work, popular historian Jon Sweeney presents an intriguing portrait of Francis beyond the readily familiar stories and images. In the tradition of Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization, the author reveals how the saint became a hinge in the history of the Christian faith and shows how in just fourteen years – from 1205 to 1219 – the unconventional and stumbling wisdom of a converted troubadour changed the Church. The author outlines Francis’s revolutionary approach to friendship, ‘the other’ (people at the margins), poverty, spirituality, care (for people, creatures, and the natural world), and death. This book presents the unsullied life and message of Francis in its essential details, offering a sweeping, informative, remarkable look at how Francis and his movement quite literally saved the Christian faith – and continues to offer a spiritual vision with contemporary relevance.

Treflé Hidden, Sheelah (Ed.), Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Mystical Perspectives on the Love of God, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, 200 pages, ISBN: 9781137443311 (Hb.); 9781137443328 (Eb.). The resurgence of mysticism in the religions in the last few decades undoubtedly stems from a widespread need for a deeper, more contemplative spirituality. This work explores what Jews, Christians, and Muslims can learn from their own faith, from the experience of a dialogue that seeks, at its best, to face them with something new, strange, and unexpected. The book bears witness, by means of the great spiritual thinkers of the three traditions, to what becomes possible when friendship and integrity are allowed to flourish.

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Tyler, Peter, Teresa of Avila Doctor of the Soul, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, 240 pages, ISBN: 9781441119957. In this book, published to mark the fifth centenary of Teresa of Avila’s birth, the author takes the writings of the sixteenth-century Spanish reformer and brings them into dialogue with some of the foremost thinkers who have shaped our contemporary notion of self. Starting with Freud and Kant, the author shows how the post-modern deconstruction of the self has allowed new possibilities for the spiritual to emerge once again as a vital force in our self-understanding. Key psychological and philosophical notions such as the unconscious, ego and desire are presented in ways that open up the door to the soul. Peter Tyler is Senior Lecturer and Programme Director of Pastoral Theology at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, UK.

Wiethaus, Ulrike, German Mysticism and the Politics of Culture, New York: Peter Lang, 2014 (American University Studies 7: Theology and Religion; 303), X, 235 pages, ISBN: 9781433108877 (Hb.); 9781453908518 (Eb.). Probing deeply into texts by and about prominent Christian mystics, religious authors, and saints, this volume challenges the reader to rethink the medieval past as a contemporary presence. This ‘presence of the past’ shapes memory of place, valor- izes the trope of ecstatic sexual union as death, and continues the religious marginali- zation of female voice and authority. The chapters focus on the works and lives of Hadewijch, Marie d’Oignies, Dionysius of Ryckel, Heinrich Seuse, Margarete Ebner, St. Elisabeth, Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, and the stigmatic Therese Neumann. Part One of the volume examines the dynamics of cultural memory and forgetting as they relate to issues of sexuality, female authority, and national politics. Part Two explores themes of love and death, erasure and displacement. Medieval Christian mysticism, the author argues, cannot be narrated as a story of great cultural accomplishment but, rather, as a fundamentally agonistic scenario shaped by actors whose impact still affects us today. Ulrike Wiethaus is currently Professor in the Department of Religion with a joint appointment in American Ethnic Studies at Wake Forest University.

Willer, Barbara, An Ecofeminist Ignatian Spirituality: Supporting Women in Their Spiritual Journey, Marylhurst, OR: Marylhurst University, 2014, 1 online resource (II, 131 leaves), Dissertation. Can a praxis of twenty-first century ecofeminist Christian theology and Ignatian spirituality, which was birthed in a patriarchically-dominated sixteenth century, create a spirituality for women in their spiritual journey? An ecofeminist Christian theology and Ignatian spirituality are explored for their ability to be a theological framework, spirituality and praxis for women in their spiritual journey. The thesis begins with an introduction and statement of methodology, then presents a review of the literature. The review of ecofeminist theology explores an understanding of ecofeminist and ecofeminist Christian theology, a philosophy of women and nature, and an ecofeminist Christian response to the ecological crisis. Ignatian spirituality accompaniment and direction were also researched for the application to retreat work. A retreat was created to offer contemplative space for women in the forest.

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Williams, Alan, The Vision of Rumi: Revealing the Masnavi, Persia’s Great Masterpiece, London: I.B. Tauris, 2014, 224 pages, ISBN: 9781780766256 (Hb.). ‘The Masnavi’ is the six-volume masterpiece created by one of the world’s greatest poetic geniuses, Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273). It is perhaps the single most influential piece of mystical writing ever conceived. Though the Persian poet Rumi is now hugely popular in the West, his most famous oeuvre still remains enigmatic. The author here offers a novel approach to reading and understanding this great jewel of world literature. Recognizing that all medieval and modern attempts to ‘explain’ the ‘Masnavi’ have been based on an examination of its teachings, the author shows that those who have tried to find the key to its message in its separate themes have had little success. He argues that the work can only be fully comprehended if the ‘meaning’ of the text is understood to lie in the poetry itself, in the language. The closely woven tapestry cannot be unwoven into prosaic explanation without losing the whole. The visionary poetic metaphors and devices are not the container for the teachings: they are the teachings. This revelatory unlocking enables Rumi’s voice and purpose to become fully transparent.

Zimmerl-Panagl, Victoria (Ed.), Monastica 1 Regula Donati, Fragmentum Regulae Ad Virgines, Vita Pachomii, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiastico- rum Latinorum; 98), IX, 243 pages, ISBN: 9783110333978 (Hb.); 9783110335941 (Eb. PDF); 9783110389289 (Eb. Epub). This volume presents a critical edition of two Latin monastic texts from late antiquity along with a scholarly introduction.The Regula Donati and the anonymous Fragmen- tum Regulae were both designed for nunneries. Donat’s rules in particular transmit a complex tradition of early monastic rules. Victoria Zimmerl-Panagl is a member of the CSEL (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiastico- rum Latinorum) department, University of Salzburg, Austria.

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