Book List For The Discerner

[chrysostom]

What would you recommend reading for someone discerning religious life in general? I know there are classics which make great spiritual reading for any person at any time.  I guess I'm thinking of works that specifically reference religious life.  Off the top of my head I can think of:

 

Papal documents about religious life

Imitation of Christ

Aquinas on religious life

Various rules of orders

 

And what about books for someone looking into becoming a monk?  (i.e. me.)

[Anselm]

Dear Chrysostom,

 

My (soon-to-be) Novice Master has, over the past year or so, recommended:

 

The Cloud of Unknowing and the Book of Privy Counsel

Evagrius Ponticus' 'Praktikos' and 'Chapters on Prayer'

All of St John Cassian

The Desert Fathers

Henri Neuwen's 'Genessee Diary'

 

A monk from another monastery with whom I also exchange letters recommended

 

Abbot Aelred Carlyle's 'Our Purpose and Method'

Dom Prosper Gueranger's 'On the Religious Life'

St Aelred of Rievaulx's 'On Spiritual Friendship'

 

I've managed to find cheap second-hand copies of all of them and have found them all very useful indeed.

[NotreDame]

I think a book on discernment would be helpful and I'd recommend Fr Gallagher's books and (free) podcasts on the subject:

 

http://www.discerninghearts.com/?page_id=1146

[chrysostom]

Dear Anselm,

 

Thank you very much.  I will certainly look into getting a hold of those.

 

Notredame,

 

Thanks for the link.  I recently moved so I don't have a spiritual director anymore, but I'm hopeful that I'll find one in the next few weeks.  :)

[NotreDame]

Notredame,

 

Thanks for the link.  I recently moved so I don't have a spiritual director anymore, but I'm hopeful that I'll find one in the next few weeks.  :)

 

Though one would certainly help, I'm not sure you need a director to discern - you certainly don't need one to benefit from the books/podcasts.  (Neither would all directors be familiar with Ignatian spirituality.)

[chrysostom]

Though one would certainly help, I'm not sure you need a director to discern - you certainly don't need one to benefit from the books/podcasts.  (Neither would all directors be familiar with Ignatian spirituality.)

 

Mmhmm.  I mostly want a director to help me follow in the ways of God generally.  The closer I am walking on the path of charity the easier it will be to discern and submit to God's will.

 

I have already discerned insofar as I have recognized my ability to become a religious (in a general sense:  I am a Catholic male without specific impediments), my desire to follow the evangelical counsels, and my love for the charism of a particular community.  I am thinking about getting a spiritual director who also follows the Rule of that community.  I don't think it's strictly necessary, though.

[SilentJoy]

"But I Have Called You Friends", Sr. Margaret Mary Frances

[TheresaThoma]

"And You are Christ's" by Fr Thomas Dubay is really good for anyone considering religious life.

 

If you are in contact with a specific community ask for recommendations from the vocation director. They usually have really good ideas!

[Spem in alium]

Would also recommend Fr Gallagher.

 

I enjoy reading autobiographies/memoirs of religious. I particularly like "He Leadeth Me" and "With God in Russia" by Fr Walter J. Ciszek, SJ. Very profound.

 

"Finding God in All Things: A Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius" by Fr William A. Barry, SJ (though I read it without doing the Exercises).
 

Also, "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life" by Fr James Martin, SJ. It has some wonderful sections on decision-making and vocations.

 

(Can you tell I have a thing for Jesuits?)

 

Edited March 25, 2014 by Spem in alium

[OnlySunshine]

When God Asks for An Undivided Heart by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR

Religious Vocation: An Unnecessary Mystery by Fr. Richard Butler, O.P.

 

[Benedictus]

Here's a list of several books/ writings that I've been advised to read:

Discovering your Personal Vocation: The Search for Meaning Through the Spiritual Exercises, Fr Herbert Alphonso SJ

The Religious Life: An Unnecessary Mystery, Fr. Richard Butler OP

Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope John Paul II

Perfectae Caritatis, Second Vatican Council

The Priest in Union with Christ, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
 

[chrysostom]

Dear all,

 

Thank you all so much!  I look forward to reading a lot in the next couple of years.

 

I should add two titles which have been recommended to me elsewhere:

 

Christ, the Life of the Soul:  Bl. Columba Marmion

Christ, the Ideal of the Monk:  Bl. Columba Marmion

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumor Godden

Dorothy Day's recently published letters and diaries are fantastic, and give a very good picture of community life, her very complex and very human emotions about love, and are just a joy to read. 

 

[SilentJoy]

"But I Have Called You Friends", Sr. Margaret Mary Frances

Maybe I should have added an explanation to this recommendation.

 

I asked a Benedictine if she could recommend a resource that would help me to understand the role and function of human friendship within the religious community; I wasn't sure how much of that would be encouraged, since it seemed like the primary friendship with God might eclipse having personal friendships with other people. She said that, though Mother Frances spoke from Franciscan spirituality, the Benedictines were very similar in their view on friendship.

[Eowyn]

I think a book on discernment would be helpful and I'd recommend Fr Gallagher's books and (free) podcasts on the subject:

 

http://www.discerninghearts.com/?page_id=1146

 

 

Father Gallagher is awe.some - the book on Ignatian discernment is very good.