Christian Teachings on the Practice of Prayer From the Early Church to the Present

by KISLY, LORRAINE

• ISBN13: 9781590302996
• ISBN10: 1590302990
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-10
• Publisher: New Seeds

Summary

From John Chrysostom in the fourth century to Teresa of Avila in the sixteenth to William Butler Yeats in the twentieth, this wide-ranging collection is a treasury of writings on prayer from throughout the history of Christianity. Lorraine Kisly has arranged the material according to the great general themes of prayersuch as praise, thanksgiving, repentance, and purificationto make this anthology serve as a course in Christian prayer for anyone, as well as a marvelous companion for the contemplative journey in general. "If this book is read truly," says Bishop Seraphim Sigrist, in his introduction, "the reader will surely find the beginning of prayer itself, and this is to open another book with no end at all." Christian Teachings on the Practice of Prayer features writings by: Angela of Foligno Augustine of Hippo Bernard of Clairvaux Dietrich Bonhoeffer Ephrem of Syria Francis of Assisi John Donne George Fox C. G. Jung Soren Kierkegaard C. S. Lewis Martin Luther Thomas Merton Meister Eckhart Henri Nouwen Flannery O'Connor Marguerite Porete Seraphin of Sarov Teresa of Avila Pierre Teilhard de Chardin John Wesley Evelyn Underhill many more

Author Biography

For more than twenty years, Lorraine Kisly has studied and worked with the texts of the great religious traditions. She was the editor of Parabola: Myth, Tradition, and the Search for Meaning; the founding publisher of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and editor of Tricycle Books; and publisher of Pilgrim Press. Her earlier collection, Ordinary Graces: Christian Teaching on the Interior Life , was published in 2000. She lives in rural Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Bishop Seraphim Sigrist
Foreword	xiii
Answer Amen to Me
The State of Prayer Within	1	(18)
Gateway to Grace
Repentance and Awakening	19	(24)
The Luminous Eye
Lectio Divina	43	(16)
The Heart of Our Desire
Supplication and Divine Will	59	(22)
You Are Reconciled
Without Weakness No Mercy	81	(16)
Lean Toward Love
The Crace of the Holy Spirit	97	(14)
The Prayer of Prayers
Experiencing the Our Father	111	(14)
Attention of the Heart
Conscience and Presence	125	(26)
Liberty of the Spirit
Sacrifice, Suffering, and Freedom	151	(26)
Fuel for the Fire
Keeping a Rule of Prayer	177	(22)
Pure Fire with Neither Flame nor Smoke
Contemplation	199	(22)
All the Way to Heaven Is Heaven
At One in Love	221	(12)
Acknowledgments and Sources	233