Summary: Spiritual formation is about encountering God, not gaining knowledge. It has been about 18 months since I finished my spiritual direction training. That training was an Ignatian program, although we were not trained to give the whole exercises as Trevor Hudson has done. Ignatius’ exercises have plenty of depth for a wide variety of … Read more
Summary: Zora Neale Hurston, in 1927, interviewed Cudjo Lewis, then 86 years old. He was one of a group of 110 people captured and brought to the US and enslaved just before the start of the Civil War. Barracoon is a short manuscript, only about 100 pages, including the introduction. As an appendix, Hurston recounts some … Read more
Summary: A guide to understanding spiritual development and practices with a trauma-informed lens. As a spiritual director, I have been thinking about the role of trauma in spiritual direction. My training included a whole class on psychology and spiritual formation, primarily focused on ways to avoid moving into counseling or understanding our limits regarding addiction … Read more
Summary: Intro to the work and context of JRR Tolkien. When I tend to get too ambivalent with my current reading (both interested in the topic but not wanting to pick up the book), I often turn to lecture series like the Great Courses on random subjects to either distract me or to be in conversation … Read more
Summary: Karen Swallow Prior writes a helpful introduction and footnotes throughout the book to assist the modern reader. One of the things that I have learned in reading old books is that culture and styles change, and modern readers often need assistance to understand the nuances of old art. It is not that we can’t … Read more
Summary: Basic introduction to the concept of Spiritual Direction and what to expect before you get started as a spiritual director. I am not completely sure how I picked up a copy of this. I think maybe it was a giveaway from the author. I don’t think I agreed to review it. But as I … Read more
Summary: A religious biography of Mister Rogers. It has been two months since I have posted a review on my blog. I have been on vacation but mostly working on finishing up my certificate program in Spiritual Direction with six units of classes. I have read many books for class but little for fun. Amid … Read more
Summary: An exploration of the relationship between relational, emotional, and spiritual health and being Black in America. It has been a week or so since I finished Permission to be Black. I have been trying to figure out how to write this review in a helpful way. I am a white guy in my late … Read more
Summary: A five-hour course introducing the Jesuits. Part of what I keep returning to with my study of Ignatian Spiritual Direction is my need to fill in the holes in my understanding of some of the basics. For instance, “who are the Jesuits, and what is their history ?” I have had John O’Malley’s longer … Read more
Summary: The only one of the Narian books that is primarily focused on the people of the world where the country of Narnia is located. Earlier in the pandemic, I had grand plans of reading to my children chapter books of my childhood every day. We read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and … Read more