Saturday, December 21, 2019

Book List for a Spiritual Director Certificate Program

A week ago, I placed my order for the first 2 books on the reading list for the spiritual director certificate program.

I confess that when I first looked at this list, I felt a bit of a panic.  Could I really do this program while also working both as a full-time administrator and an adjunct English faculty member?  I worried that I might not be able to be able to read this much--and then I had to laugh at myself.  It's not like I'm being asked to master ancient Greek or Hebrew.  Of course I can read a book a month and write a report.

I worried I might not be able to find the books, but in our modern age, that's not likely to be a problem.  I did feel a bit of relief to discover that they're available and affordable.

I wondered, as I always do, if I should just get them from the library.  I already have so many books.  But I want to be able to mark in them if I feel so inclined.  I don't want to have to keep track of when library books are due.

If one of these books turns out to be ghastly expensive, I might change my mind.  Of course, my public library might not carry that kind of book.  Right now, I don't have access to an academic library.

I'm lucky--right now I have the resources to buy the books I need.  So I went ahead and purchased the first two books on the list.

In case you are interested, here's the whole list:


2020-2121 Reading List

Report Due
Title
Author
02/10/20
The Practice of Spiritual Direction
Wm Berry & Wm Connolly
03/10/20
Open Mind, Open Heart
Thomas Keating
04/10/20
Healing the Soul Wound
Eduardo Duran
05/10/20
Primary Speech
Ann Ulanov & Barry Ulanov
Silence
Thich Nhat Hanh
07/10/20
Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative
Practices of the Black Church.
Barbara Holmes
08/10/20
The Orthodox Church[1]
or
The Orthodox Way[2]
Timothy Ware
Or
Kallistos Ware
09/10/20
Holy Listening
Margaret Guenther
10/10/20
God's Voice Within
Mark Thibodeaux
11/10/20
Soul Feast
Marjorie Thompson
12/10/20
Spiritual Friend
Tilden Edwards
01/10/21
Celebration of Discipline
Richard Foster
02/10/21
Seeds of Contemplation
Thomas Merton
03/10/21
Confessions
or
Revelations of Divine Love[3]
St. Augustine
or
Julian of Norwich
04/10/21
Reaching Out
Henri Nouwen
05/10/21
The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective
Richard Rohr
06/10/21
Take the MBTI online; no report.

Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung &Teresa of Avila
Welch




[1] This version includes a detailed and helpful history of the Orthodox church; for those of you who love history, we would suggest this one.
[2] This version omits the history portion and focuses solely on the practices of the Orthodox tradition.
[3] A really good edition of Julien of Norwich is The Sayings, translated by Mirabeau Starr.



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