The Quest for the Male Soul: In Search of Something More

Rating:
Summary: a good introduction
Review: Having read a number of books in the area of masculine spirituality, I found Pable's book to be a bit derivative. However, it strikes me as a good introduction to the area, and very readable. The scriptural references are good, and I suspect the whole work would be helpful as a discussion and reflection guide for a men's group in a parish or retreat center setting. His extensive references to Promise Keepers at the end of the book may have unnecessarily connected it to a movement whose ideology is controversial and whose endurance is not yet known. Still, with Catholic authors in this area relatively scarce (Richard Rohr comes to mind; I believe both Patrick Arnold and John Carmody are already deceased), Pable makes a valuable contribution.

Rating:
Summary: Old Testament insights into modern male spirituality
Review: The author uses 6 Hebrew words for "man" to make spiritual connections between the various stages of a man's life. At a time when the "institution" of a "masculine male" is popularly regarded in intellectual/spiritual circles as brutish or out-of-date, I think this book helps put the masculine back in male spirituality in a pastoral and realistic way. I found it to be a valuable tool for spiritual direction.

Rating:
Summary: Old Testament insights into modern male spirituality
Review: The author uses 6 Hebrew words for "man" to make spiritual connections between the various stages of a man's life. At a time when the "institution" of a "masculine male" is popularly regarded in intellectual/spiritual circles as brutish or out-of-date, I think this book helps put the masculine back in male spirituality in a pastoral and realistic way. I found it to be a valuable tool for spiritual direction.