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Rating: 
Summary: Buy it - now!
Review: I have read this book three times. Every time I wish to send a gift to a Catholic friend, this is what I send. Why? Because it is loaded with the best stuff the Catholic Church has to offer. That may be a drawback. It is unlikely that readers who aren't Catholic would be familiar with many of the experts on prayer who are quoted and interpreted. Persons who aren't Catholic, however, who are seeking to grow in their spiritual life, will have a hard time finding a more useful method to pray the psalms than what is offered here. The entire Bible, of course, is presented as our first source for prayer and meditation, but the specifically Catholic traditions may be offputting to some. For over a year now, ever since I read this book for the first time, I have been spending an hour with God in the morning before I do anything else. It has changed my life.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it - now!
Review: I have read this book three times. Every time I wish to send a gift to a Catholic friend, this is what I send. Why? Because it is loaded with the best stuff the Catholic Church has to offer. That may be a drawback. It is unlikely that readers who aren't Catholic would be familiar with many of the experts on prayer who are quoted and interpreted. Persons who aren't Catholic, however, who are seeking to grow in their spiritual life, will have a hard time finding a more useful method to pray the psalms than what is offered here. The entire Bible, of course, is presented as our first source for prayer and meditation, but the specifically Catholic traditions may be offputting to some. For over a year now, ever since I read this book for the first time, I have been spending an hour with God in the morning before I do anything else. It has changed my life.
Rating:
Summary: richness and depth of catholic spiritual tradition
Review: Leisurely to read, commodious in depth and breadth, this book is a showcase of the learning and expository ease of two well-respected professors of theology and religious studies. For anyone who wishes to acquaint themselves with major themes in the Catholic spiritual tradition in painless indulgence, I highly recommend this book.Each chapter focuses on a theme, such as the spiritual journey, meditation and contemplation, asceticism, living in the presence of God, solitude in community, or friendship. In the selection of themes and in their treatment, the discussion leans heavily towards established monastic, medieval, or post-Reformation traditions. This holds true even though the authors may take up modern innovations, such as Gustavo Gutierrez' liberation spirituality or Thomas Keating's centering prayer. Unfortunately or not, given this tendency, very significant modern developments get short shrift--for example, the "little way" of St. Therese of Lisieux. I was delighted to see the authors pick up shiny gems from the Catholic classics like shells on a beach stroll. Turning the pages, I happened upon the penthos of the desert fathers, the epektasis of St. Gregory of Nyssa, the schola of St. Benedict, the contemplatio of St. Dominic, the discretio of St. Ignatius Loyola, and the gustos of St. Teresa of Avila. Interspersed throughout the text I came across citations of the likes of The Brothers Karamazov, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, or Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, making the book an engaging display wherein the modern is lightly hung upon the traditional like decorations. This book was intended as an introductory overview. For a fuller discussion, the reader should consult the original texts and scholarly works, for which the authors provide a modest bibliography. Excluded as an important reference is Jordan Aumann, O.P.'s Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition (1985), which I would strongly recommend as a historical survey.
Rating: 
Summary: A basic book
Review: While Christian Spirituality is a fairly basic book about the spectrum of the spiritual life,its main focus is spirituality developed within the Roman Catholic tradition. Cunningham brings his description forward to the 21st century keeping the roots connected to the future. I particularly liked his chapter on Friendship and how it relates to one's spiritual growth. That is one of the more unique contributions this book makes. Cunningham's foundational approach is a good start for someone initially exploring this topic. He presents every chapter in a chronological manner, describing first the scriptural basis of this aspect and then bringing it forward through the history of Christian history. Obviously this is not done in depth, but provides a reader with many footnotes, bibliography and some exercises to help the reader look for his/her own nuance. I have read and heard many of the things Cunningham wrote, but I found his presentation be to be a concise and terse one. I enjoyed that. It is the kind of book one can go back to find something quickly for further exploration.
Rating:
Summary: A basic book
Review: While Christian Spirituality is a fairly basic book about the spectrum of the spiritual life,its main focus is spirituality developed within the Roman Catholic tradition. Cunningham brings his description forward to the 21st century keeping the roots connected to the future. I particularly liked his chapter on Friendship and how it relates to one's spiritual growth. That is one of the more unique contributions this book makes. Cunningham's foundational approach is a good start for someone initially exploring this topic. He presents every chapter in a chronological manner, describing first the scriptural basis of this aspect and then bringing it forward through the history of Christian history. Obviously this is not done in depth, but provides a reader with many footnotes, bibliography and some exercises to help the reader look for his/her own nuance. I have read and heard many of the things Cunningham wrote, but I found his presentation be to be a concise and terse one. I enjoyed that. It is the kind of book one can go back to find something quickly for further exploration.
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