-
John Main · 1988 · Book
This collection of talks and writings by Benedictine monk John Main emerged from his years establishing Christian meditation communities and teaching contemplative prayer to lay Christians. Drawing from his experience founding meditation…
-
Thomas Keating · 1992 · Book
Thomas Keating's Invitation to Love emerged from his decades of teaching Centering Prayer and leading retreats at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. Writing as both a Cistercian monk and founder of…
-
Anonymous (The Cloud of Unknowing) · 1350–1400 · Treatise
The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous fourteenth-century treatise on contemplative prayer, written in Middle English by an unknown English mystic for a young disciple seeking deeper union with God. Emerging from…
-
Francisco de Osuna · 1530 · Treatise
Francisco de Osuna's Fourth Spiritual Alphabet stands as the masterwork of early sixteenth-century Spanish mysticism, written by a Franciscan friar who helped shape the golden age of Iberian spirituality. Composed in 1530,…
-
Teresa of Ávila · 1566 · Book
For anyone learning to pray: written for her nuns, practical and warm, built around the Our Father; read after the Life.
Read hereFreeAudioOriginal languageModerate
-
Kallistos Ware · 1979–1995 · Other
The Philokalia is a monumental anthology of Eastern Orthodox spiritual texts spanning fifteen centuries, compiled in the eighteenth century by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and Macarius of Corinth. Drawing from the…
-
John Main · 1985 · Book
The Present Christ emerged from John Main's decades of teaching Christian meditation at his Montreal Benedictine community and the Christian Meditation Centre he founded there. A Benedictine monk who had discovered the…
-
Martin Luther · 1529 · Treatise
For every reader, and especially new Christians and families: the faith in a few pages of questions and answers, meant to be learned by heart.
Read hereFreeOriginal languageEasy or light
-
Teresa of Ávila · 1560–1581 · Other
For readers of the Life who want what came after: her accounts of her prayer written for her confessors.
Read hereFreeAudioOriginal languageDemanding
-
Ignatius of Loyola · 1522–1548 · Treatise
The Spiritual Exercises emerged from Ignatius of Loyola's own profound conversion experience following a leg wound suffered during the 1521 siege of Pamplona. During his lengthy convalescence, this former soldier underwent a…
Free
-
Francisco de Osuna · 1530 · Treatise
Francisco de Osuna's Second Spiritual Alphabet is a systematic guide to contemplative prayer written for the growing community of reformed Franciscans in early sixteenth-century Spain. Published in 1530, this treatise emerged during…
-
Madame Jeanne Guyon · 1680–1717 · Letter
The spiritual letters of Jeanne Guyon emerged from decades of correspondence with seekers across France and beyond who sought guidance in contemplative prayer and mystical union with God. Writing primarily between 1680…
-
Madame Jeanne Guyon · 1690–1704 · Treatise
These spiritual treatises emerged from Madame Jeanne Guyon's pastoral correspondence and teaching ministry during the final decades of the seventeenth century. Writing primarily for devout laypeople seeking deeper union with God, Guyon…
-
Madame Jeanne Guyon · 1704 · Treatise
Torrents spirituels stands as Jeanne Guyon's most systematic exposition of mystical prayer and the soul's journey toward divine union. Written during her mature period of spiritual direction, this treatise emerged from her…
-
Gerhard Tersteegen · 1769 · Book
Geistliche Brosamen (Spiritual Crumbs) represents the mature devotional wisdom of Gerhard Tersteegen, the influential German Reformed pietist who spent decades guiding souls in quiet mystical prayer. Published in 1769, near the end…
-
Alexander Whyte · 1896 · Book
Alexander Whyte's devotional study emerged from his deep admiration for the prayer life of Lancelot Andrewes, the seventeenth-century Bishop of Winchester whose private devotions had recently been discovered and published. Writing as…
Free
-
Andrew Murray · 1905 · Book
Andrew Murray's "The Inner Chamber and the Inner Life" emerged from his decades of pastoral ministry in South Africa and his deep concern for the prayer life of ordinary Christians. Writing at…
Free
-
John Main · 1989 · Book
The Way of Unknowing collects talks and writings by Benedictine monk John Main, who devoted his life to recovering the ancient Christian practice of meditation through the use of a sacred word…
-
Kallistos Ware · 2000 · Book
The Inner Kingdom gathers seventeen essays and lectures that Kallistos Ware delivered over two decades, offering Western readers accessible entry points into Eastern Orthodox spirituality and theology. Written by a convert to…
-
Martin Luther · 1529 · Treatise
For anyone who wants plain Christian teaching: the Commandments, Creed, Lord's Prayer and sacraments explained for households and pastors. Warm, blunt and readable.
Read hereFreeOriginal languageModerate
-
Richard of St. Victor · 1150–1173 · Treatise
Benjamin Minor stands as one of the most systematic treatments of contemplative prayer to emerge from the medieval monastery. Written by Richard of St. Victor during his tenure as prior of the…
-
Guigo II (Carthusian) · 1150–1188 · Treatise
The Scala Claustralium, or "Ladder of Monks," emerged from the contemplative silence of the Grande Chartreuse in the late twelfth century. Guigo II, the ninth prior of the Carthusian order, wrote this…
-
Ramon Llull · 1290–1310 · Treatise
The Ars contemplationis stands as one of Ramon Llull's most ambitious attempts to create a systematic method for mystical prayer and divine contemplation. Written during the mature period of his literary output,…
-
Thomas à Kempis · 1420–1430 · Treatise
Thomas à Kempis wrote this treatise on the elevation of the mind during the early fifteenth century as part of his broader project of spiritual instruction for the Brethren of the Common…
