Spiritual Practices

Journaling & Spiritual Autobiography  ~  Retreat
Lectio Divina  ~  Prayer  ~  Confession

General Resources

• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster
  • Celebrating the Disciplines: A Journal Workbook to Accompany Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster and Kathryn A. Yanni
• Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie Thompson
• Thoughts Matter: The Practice of the Spiritual Life by Mary Margaret Funk
• Also by Mary Margaret Funk: Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life
• The Shape of Living: Spiritual Directions for Everyday Life by David Ford
• Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People edited by Dorothy C. Bass. Books in the Practicing our Faith Series:
  • Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time by Dorothy Bass
  • Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice by Stephanie Paulsell

• Journal to the Self by Kay Adams
• Life's Companion: Journal Writing As A Spiritual Quest by Christina Baldwin
• Journaling: A Spirit Journey by Anne Broyles
• Journal Keeping: Writing for Spiritual Growth by Luann Budd
• Visual Journaling: Going Deeper Than Words by Barbara Ganim and Susan Fox
• How to Keep a Spiritual Journal: A Guide to Journal Keeping for Inner Growth and Personal Discovery by Ron Klug
• Spiritual Journaling: Recording Your Journey Toward God by Richard Peace
• At a Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability by Ira Progoff
• The New Diary: How to Use a Journal for Self-Guidance and Expanded Creativity by Tristine Rainer
• A Book of Life: Spiritual Journaling in the Twenty-First Century by Katrine Stewart

spiritual autobiographies

• Writing the Sacred Journey: Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir by Elizabeth Andrew
• Remembering Your Story: Creating Your Own Spiritual Autobiography by Richard Morgan
• Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography by Richard Patterson
• Spiritual Autobiography: Discovering and Sharing Your Spiritual Story by Richard Peace
• Memoirs of the Soul: Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography by Nan Phifer
• The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography by Dan Wakefield

• Wilderness Time: A Guide for Spiritual Retreat by Emilie Griffin
• Going on Retreat: A Beginner's Guide to the Christian Retreat Experience by Margaret Silf
• Silence, Simplicity & Solitude: A Complete Guide to Spiritual Retreat by David Cooper
• The Woman's Retreat Book: A Guide to Restoring, Rediscovering, and Reawakening Your True Self in a Moment, an Hour, a Day, or a Weekend by Jennifer Louden
• Resting Place: A Personal Guide to Spiritual Retreats by Jane Rubietta
• Vacations That Can Change Your Life: Adventures, Retreats and Workshops for the Mind, Body and Spirit by Ellen Lederman
• Sacred Refuge: Why and How To Make A Retreat by Thomas Santa
• Coming Down the Mountain: How to Turn Your Retreat into Everyday Living by Thomas Hart

• Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina by Thelma Hall
• Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures by M. Basil Pennington
• Reading the Bible for the Love of God by Alan Reynolds
• The Word Is Very Near You: A Guide to Praying With Scripture by Martin L. Smith
• Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina by Michael Casey

• Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: Living in the Spirit of the Prayer of Saint Francis by Kent Nerburn
• Say a Little Prayer: 101 Everyday Ways to Pray by Joanne Redmond
• The Practice of Prayer (New Church's Teaching Series, Vol 4) by Margaret Guenther
• 189 Ways to Contact God by Marlene Halpin
• In God's Presence: Theological Reflections on Prayer by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki
• The Way We Pray: Celebrating Spirit from Around the World by Maggie Oman Shannon
• Praying With Our Hands: 21 Practices of Embodied Prayer from the World's Spiritual Traditions by Jon M. Sweeney, et al.

prayer tools: prayer beads

• A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads by Eleanor Wiley, Maggie Oman Shannon

• Beads of Faith by Gray Henry, Susannah Marriott

• Praying With Sacred Beads by Joan Hutson

• Simply Pray: Modern Spritual Practice to Deepen Your Life by Erik Walker Wikstrom

• Praying by Hand: Rediscovering the Rosary As a Way of Prayer by M. Basil Pennington

prayer tools: icons

• The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ by Rowan Williams

• Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin by Rowan Williams

• Praying With Icons by Jim Forest

• Sacred Doorways: A Beginner's Guide to Icons by Linette Martin

• Behold the Beauty of the Lord by Henri J.M Nouwen

• The Icon: Window on the Kingdom by Michel Quenot

centering/contemplative prayer

• A Taste of Silence: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Centering Prayer by Carl Arico
• Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry by Thomas Keating
• Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel by Thomas Keating
• Invitation to Love: The Way of Christian Contemplation by Thomas Keating
• Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton
• New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
• Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form by Basil Pennington
• Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer by Basil Pennington
• Centered Living: The Way of Centering Prayer by Basil Pennington
• An Invitation to Centering Prayer: Including an Introduction to Lection Divina by Basil Pennington
• Cloud of Unknowing
• Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer by Richard Rohr
• Circling to the Center: One Woman's Encounter with Silent Prayer by Susan Tiberghien
• Speaking of Silence: Christians and Buddhists on the Contemplative Way by Susan Walker

>> See also the section on lectio divina (praying with scripture) <<

Confession

• Reconciliation: Preparing for Confession in the Episcopal Church by Martin L. Smith

For resources on art as a spiritual practice, see
our recommendations for spirituality and creativity.

Do you have any recommendations for books on these or other spiritual practices?
Email suggestions to jomiller@mco.edu 

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