The Light from the Cloister by M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O.

My library has a lot of books that are authored by monks and it all started with Thomas Merton. One day I'm going to compile a list. Light from the Cloister is practical spirituality for practical Christians inspired by monastic practice. M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. is a Cistercian monk of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, MA. He is a teacher of centering prayer and the author of numerous books on prayer, monastic spirituality and Christian practice.

From the back cover of the book:

All people, when they reach out to God, inevitably do so in some sort of practice. It might be meditation, it might be prayer, it might be an act of work or fasting. As we reach out again and again, we fall back on habitual practices developed and refined b the great religious traditions.

Christian monasticism has much to teach us about religious practice. The twentieth century lay person can benefit from this "light from the cloister" since, ultimately, the spiritual life is the same for everyone. From the centuries-old practice of monks, we can learn anew the simple paths of silence, listening, prayer, obedience, work, fasting, peacemaking and friendship.

"When those who love God try to talk about him, their words are blind lions looking for springs in the desert."   ---- Leon Bloy