Christian Spirituality Studies Blog

The essays of the latest issue of Spiritus (Spring 2021; v. 21, n. 1) share a single theme: the relation between spirituality and COIVID-19. The journal's editor, Steven Chase, writes "In the midst of the experience and knowledge found in these essays, may you find peace and mercy even in the confusion, uncertainty, darkness, and suffering of this past year and in preparation for the time to come." His introduction, which offers brief summaries of each essay (including the Society's annual Presidential Address by Timothy Robinson), is available. (The poems in the issue also reflect...

Catherine of Siena's letters to people in every station in life including popes and other church officials had a profound impact on her times. In her open access article, Diana Villegas argues that Catherine's letters to Gregory XI communicate "a spirituality of papal governance." Here is the article's abstract:

Well known as a mystic, Catherine of Siena has been credited with pope Gregory XI’s return to Rome from Avignon, with convincing him to pursue a crusade and with playing a major role in making peace between the Papal League and Italian City states. This narrative ascribes these...

In this article, Professor David Perrin focuses on Paul Ricoeur's mimetic theory as a resource for research in Christian spirituality and spiritual theology. Here is the article's abstract:

A shorter version of this article was first presented at a conference titled The Study of Christian Spirituality and Spiritual Theology: Evolving Methodologies sponsored by the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and The Forum of Professors of Spirituality Theology in Rome, Italy, September 25-28, 2019. The essay presents the mimetic framework ...

Fr. Joseph LaBelle's book has deep roots in Christianity's spiritual tradition as it draws on biblical, patristic, and medieval sources. But he also incorporates contemporary religious and secular sources to show how timeless (and contemporary) the seven virtues of discipleship are. Here is an excerpt from the book's introduction:

The book does not pretend to be a theological study of the proposed virtues, nor is it specifically a "how to" manual; rather, it examines the seven qualities through the practical (lived) Christian spirituality along the arc of its long history. The overall...

Although this article's author Phil Daughtry focuses on the spirituality of youth in Australia, readers may find that his descriptions sound quite similar to the experiences of youth in their own geographic area. Here is the article's abstract:

The Australian spiritual consciousness has been described as “a whisper in the mind, a shy hope in the heart.” This is not a spirituality of explicit religious language or loud evangelicalism but rather a deeply grounded hope, spoken of tentatively and with great care. This description by Gary Bouma alerts...

SSCS member Emily Griesinger reviews Paulsell’s book in the Woolf Studies Annual, vol. 26, 2020, 158-160. In the review’s opening paragraph, Griesinger writes

Stephanie Paulsell’s Religion Around Virginia Woolf refuses “aggressive agnosticism” as the “only lens” through which we might legitimately read the life and writing of Virginia Woolf. . . . Indeed Paulsell casts a remarkably wide net, drawing together seemingly incongruous materials, everything from the mysticism of Teresa of Avila to the process theology of Alfred North Whitehead, to prove her thesis that, despite her disbelief in...

by Jonas

In her essay, Emily Griesinger agrees with those who say Virginia Woolf should not be considered purely a secularist despite her rejection of traditional Christianity. Indeed, in a careful reading of Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse, Griesinger argues that there’s evidence of a particular stream of spirituality. Griesinger writes:

While others have studied Woolf and mysticism, few have interpreted her work through the lens of Quaker mysticism with its emphasis on “Divine Radiance” and “Inner Light.” Such an approach is warranted, however, when reading To the Lighthouse, a...

Dr. Pan Yi Jung‘s article argues for the need of bridging the gap between theory and practice, and doing so within the Chinese context. Her discussion includes a proposal for an integrative approach. Here is the article’s opening paragraph:

Teaching students to engage a classical text of spirituality and equipping them to interpret it theologically has been one of my major commitments in theological education. I perceive the demanding need to explore a hermeneutical methodology as one engages with spiritual text, church’s praxis and strategic action within one’s own cultural-political...

Scholars of writings by past masters in Christian spirituality often find teachings of great relevance for contemporary readers. Such is the case in this article where the author, Annie Pan Yi Jung, explores the importance of Teresa’s writing for feminine spirituality. Here is the article’s opening paragraph:

Female spirituality is a new research area in Chinese seminaries as well as in most Chinese churches. Recently, discussions on female Christian spiritual formation have become the focus in different occasions and international conferences. One of the research methods of feminine...

In this article, Celia Kourie argues that using the historical-critical method to interpret the Bible has proven to be too limiting. A more spiritual, mystical reading of scripture can add a depth of understanding unavailable to a strictly rational approach. Here is the beginning of the article’s abstract:

This paper takes as its starting point the increasing interest in spirituality and Scripture. This is clearly part of the relatively recent, unprecedented research in the field of spirituality studies. We are moving away from the distrust of a spiritual or mystical reading of Scripture...