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The Universal Monk: The Way of the New Monastics
e-book ISBN given as 9780814639511, but this is already used in the Goodreads database for the hardcover edition.
- GenresChristianity
ebook
First published January 1, 2011
8 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
John Michael Talbot
89 books44 followersTalbot was born into a Methodist family with a musical background in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and started learning to play the guitar at an early age. At age 15 he dropped out of school and was performing as a guitarist for Mason Proffit, a country folk-rock band formed with his older brother Terry.
Talbot embarked on a spiritual journey that led him through Native American religion and Buddhism to Christianity. At this point he and his brother, Terry, joined the Jesus Movement, recording the album Reborn which was re-released by Sparrow Records (originally released as "The Talbot Bros." on the Warner Brothers label).
Two solo albums followed for Talbot: John Michael Talbot (1976) and The New Earth (1977). Both of these were produced by Billy Ray Hearn. Reading the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, he was inspired to begin studying at a Franciscan center in Indianapolis. He became a Roman Catholic and joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1978. He started a house of prayer, The Little Portion.
Talbot moved The Little Portion to Eureka Springs, Arkansas on land he had purchased during his Mason Proffit days. He formed his own community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, at Little Portion Hermitage as an "integrated monastic community" with celibate brothers and sisters, singles, and families. By 1989, Talbot had married Viola Pratka (with the permission of the Catholic Church). Pratka was a former Incarnate Word Sister who had come to the community in 1986.
Talbot's title is General Minister and Spiritual Father. For many years, he has promoted the work of Mercy Corps.
The hermitage suffered a fire in April 2008 in which the library and many common areas were destroyed.
Talbot embarked on a spiritual journey that led him through Native American religion and Buddhism to Christianity. At this point he and his brother, Terry, joined the Jesus Movement, recording the album Reborn which was re-released by Sparrow Records (originally released as "The Talbot Bros." on the Warner Brothers label).
Two solo albums followed for Talbot: John Michael Talbot (1976) and The New Earth (1977). Both of these were produced by Billy Ray Hearn. Reading the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, he was inspired to begin studying at a Franciscan center in Indianapolis. He became a Roman Catholic and joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1978. He started a house of prayer, The Little Portion.
Talbot moved The Little Portion to Eureka Springs, Arkansas on land he had purchased during his Mason Proffit days. He formed his own community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, at Little Portion Hermitage as an "integrated monastic community" with celibate brothers and sisters, singles, and families. By 1989, Talbot had married Viola Pratka (with the permission of the Catholic Church). Pratka was a former Incarnate Word Sister who had come to the community in 1986.
Talbot's title is General Minister and Spiritual Father. For many years, he has promoted the work of Mercy Corps.
The hermitage suffered a fire in April 2008 in which the library and many common areas were destroyed.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2013
Excellent work. Here is a work that shows how everyone can be a monk if one thinks of the new monasticism that includes families as well as celibates, those in their own home as well as those in communities. It is systematic, going through all aspects, conversational, and practical. It is Catholic, but does not demand Zi be Catholic. Inspiring book.
February 5, 2015
I'm more than half-way through this book and will revisit this review after I finish the book. [My e-reader is recharging.}
This is an explanation of the spiritual practices of the "New Monasticism," as practiced by the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a religious group founded by the musician, John Michael Talbot. Talbot is the author.
The New Monasticism is a contemporary spiritual movement found among Christians across denominations. It's found among both Catholics and Protestants. It's designed to be a renewal or reform movement in Christianity, but it can vary in nature and emphasis significantly from group to group, depending on the origin, the leader and other characteristics of the group. New Monastics, particularly Protestant ones, often quote Bonhoeffer when he said in 1935, "the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism which has nothing in common with the old but a complete lack of compromise in a life lived in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount in the discipleship of Christ."
In general terms, the New Monasticism takes, as part of its inspiration, certain aspects of spiritual practice that are characteristic of monastic communities. Included are monastic communities from classical Western Monasticism, Orthodox Monasticism or Oriental monasticism. The New Monasticism usually also picks up some partially-developed features of other charisms, creating "blended religious charisms." It may also pick up features of the popular culture, such as political or social involvements of certain types, again dependent on the group and the founder.
Integration of lifestyles is a key feature of these movements, with people from all walks of life and all stages of life-from childhood to married life to single life-being eligible for participation in most of these groups. These groups are often ecumenical as well.
The majority of these groups are non-canonical in nature. Canonical status isn't important for non-Catholic groups for obvious reasons. Canonical status can be important for Catholic groups for a variety of reasons: unity with the Church, prospects for development, reputation, fund-raising capability and so on.
These groups can be more or less well-informed and well-carried out. For many of them the monastic component is more self-informed in that they know what they're trying to accomplish, while being less historically-informed, in that they may be significantly different from classical monasticism of any type at all, at their real core. In many cases, post-modernism is a key component of these movements.
All this sounds pretty tentative, and it is, but accounts of new movements in the Church always sound strange and tentative. It is possible that something very new and holy could come out of the New Monasticism movement. Only time will tell.
John Michael Talbot's group, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity is canonical--in this particular case, approved by the local bishop in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its classification is "Public Association of the Faithful of Diocesan Right," which means that religious constitutions have been written, approved and are used, and the group has official and public standing in the Catholic Church.
Talbot and the Brothers and Sisters of Charity are the most Catholic version of the New Monasticism that I've seen, and probably the most promising of the lot. The teachings are orthodox, with the exception of a few excursions into Centering Prayer, which is considered suspect among some Christians. The author does explain in a fine way the differences in terms used in different spiritual schools--with the differing uses of the words meditation and contemplation being among the best examples.
John Michael Talbot was raised as a Methodist, but converted to Catholicism in 1978, whereupon he spent some time at a Franciscan Retreat Center in Indianapolis. In that time frame, he became a Secular Franciscan. In 1980, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity were founded on property in Arkansas. The group started out as a Franciscan-focused group, but it has diverged from that, becoming more Benedictine in nature as the years have passed. The BSC is no longer considered part of the Franciscan family, by both the BSC and the Franciscan Family, although it does retain some features of Franciscanism in its blended charism.
Nevertheless, this book, an account of the mode of life in that group, is helpful for its carefully written passages on the spiritual life, particularly those concerning the spiritual anthropology of the soul, and those concerning the nature and degrees of dedication of a person to the religious life.
John Michael Talbot is a lucid and capable writer. I've enjoyed this book far more than I expected to enjoy it. I originally purchased it to look more closely at his foundation-their way of life and charism system. The book has given me that and more. I recommend it to anyone interested in prayer or anyone interested in new religious foundations.
I also plan to read "Hermitage," which is an earlier book with more detail about the initial formation of the charism.
*******
I have the electronic copy because it was a lot cheaper than the paper copy. This is a relatively new book.
This is an explanation of the spiritual practices of the "New Monasticism," as practiced by the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a religious group founded by the musician, John Michael Talbot. Talbot is the author.
The New Monasticism is a contemporary spiritual movement found among Christians across denominations. It's found among both Catholics and Protestants. It's designed to be a renewal or reform movement in Christianity, but it can vary in nature and emphasis significantly from group to group, depending on the origin, the leader and other characteristics of the group. New Monastics, particularly Protestant ones, often quote Bonhoeffer when he said in 1935, "the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism which has nothing in common with the old but a complete lack of compromise in a life lived in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount in the discipleship of Christ."
In general terms, the New Monasticism takes, as part of its inspiration, certain aspects of spiritual practice that are characteristic of monastic communities. Included are monastic communities from classical Western Monasticism, Orthodox Monasticism or Oriental monasticism. The New Monasticism usually also picks up some partially-developed features of other charisms, creating "blended religious charisms." It may also pick up features of the popular culture, such as political or social involvements of certain types, again dependent on the group and the founder.
Integration of lifestyles is a key feature of these movements, with people from all walks of life and all stages of life-from childhood to married life to single life-being eligible for participation in most of these groups. These groups are often ecumenical as well.
The majority of these groups are non-canonical in nature. Canonical status isn't important for non-Catholic groups for obvious reasons. Canonical status can be important for Catholic groups for a variety of reasons: unity with the Church, prospects for development, reputation, fund-raising capability and so on.
These groups can be more or less well-informed and well-carried out. For many of them the monastic component is more self-informed in that they know what they're trying to accomplish, while being less historically-informed, in that they may be significantly different from classical monasticism of any type at all, at their real core. In many cases, post-modernism is a key component of these movements.
All this sounds pretty tentative, and it is, but accounts of new movements in the Church always sound strange and tentative. It is possible that something very new and holy could come out of the New Monasticism movement. Only time will tell.
John Michael Talbot's group, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity is canonical--in this particular case, approved by the local bishop in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its classification is "Public Association of the Faithful of Diocesan Right," which means that religious constitutions have been written, approved and are used, and the group has official and public standing in the Catholic Church.
Talbot and the Brothers and Sisters of Charity are the most Catholic version of the New Monasticism that I've seen, and probably the most promising of the lot. The teachings are orthodox, with the exception of a few excursions into Centering Prayer, which is considered suspect among some Christians. The author does explain in a fine way the differences in terms used in different spiritual schools--with the differing uses of the words meditation and contemplation being among the best examples.
John Michael Talbot was raised as a Methodist, but converted to Catholicism in 1978, whereupon he spent some time at a Franciscan Retreat Center in Indianapolis. In that time frame, he became a Secular Franciscan. In 1980, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity were founded on property in Arkansas. The group started out as a Franciscan-focused group, but it has diverged from that, becoming more Benedictine in nature as the years have passed. The BSC is no longer considered part of the Franciscan family, by both the BSC and the Franciscan Family, although it does retain some features of Franciscanism in its blended charism.
Nevertheless, this book, an account of the mode of life in that group, is helpful for its carefully written passages on the spiritual life, particularly those concerning the spiritual anthropology of the soul, and those concerning the nature and degrees of dedication of a person to the religious life.
John Michael Talbot is a lucid and capable writer. I've enjoyed this book far more than I expected to enjoy it. I originally purchased it to look more closely at his foundation-their way of life and charism system. The book has given me that and more. I recommend it to anyone interested in prayer or anyone interested in new religious foundations.
I also plan to read "Hermitage," which is an earlier book with more detail about the initial formation of the charism.
*******
I have the electronic copy because it was a lot cheaper than the paper copy. This is a relatively new book.
February 28, 2025
The author may be better known as a composer and performer of Christian music. He also founded an intentional Christian community made up of families and single adults. This book describes the monastic principles that guide their communal life, spiritual principles that he believes could benefit all who desire a deeper walk with Christ.
September 2, 2011
I think this is the best of the current breed of books on new monasticism. it's as good as Jonathan Wilson-Hargrove's "The New Monasticism: What it Has To Say To Today's Church", and much fuller than Rutba House's "12 Marks". I've made it required reading in a course I teach on spiritual formation in communities and networks.
The author brings a deep wisdom to the topic. As a Franciscan, he has seen traditional monasticism and mendicant ministry; as the founder of an integrated, Celtic-style monastic community, he has led a new wave of intentional community. It is this combination which serves the book and its readers very well. JMT doesn't just talk about history; he lives it and finds a way that fits contemporary culture.
My main complaint is that it could be better edited. Lots of "and such"s and other colloquialisms clutter up the page, and it doesn't feel tightly organized. However, the meat is good. It's very approachable and provides food for thought for anybody interested in Christian community, whether from a Catholic perspective or another viewpoint.
The author brings a deep wisdom to the topic. As a Franciscan, he has seen traditional monasticism and mendicant ministry; as the founder of an integrated, Celtic-style monastic community, he has led a new wave of intentional community. It is this combination which serves the book and its readers very well. JMT doesn't just talk about history; he lives it and finds a way that fits contemporary culture.
My main complaint is that it could be better edited. Lots of "and such"s and other colloquialisms clutter up the page, and it doesn't feel tightly organized. However, the meat is good. It's very approachable and provides food for thought for anybody interested in Christian community, whether from a Catholic perspective or another viewpoint.
January 24, 2014
I have heard John Michael Talbot's inspiring music on and off for years, and have been intrigued by his "fathering" of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity lay monastic order less than an hour from my home. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history, rules, struggles, joys, of such a community...
August 14, 2012
For the modern Christian who is interested in practices of faith as opposed to the intricate nature of doctrine, this is a wonderful inroad to deeper and more meaningful living within the context of the world -- but on your own, Christian terms.
April 22, 2012
Though this book had some interesting information, I felt bored with it and unmoved by it. I doubt I'll recommend it. Prior to this book I read "In The Spirit of Happiness: A Book of Spiritual Wisdom" which is monastic-oriented; I enjoyed it very much.
December 21, 2011
This is an excellent work on contemporary monasticism, providing insight into basic principles, history and the place of this spirituality in the modern world.
January 3, 2012
A little uneven, but JMT's views of the emerging new monasticm are interesting and informed by his own experience as founder of a new Franciscan order of celibates, singles, and families.
March 15, 2013
Excellent! Want to go back and reread again to glean more out of it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews