Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition

by Fr. Jordan Aumann O.P.

Jordan Aumann, O.P. The well-known author gives a complete overview and history of Catholic spirituality from the Apostles to the present day.

Genres: Spirituality, Theology, Religion, Catholic, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 1985

Reviews

[Br. John Mary Lauderdale OFM Cap · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a little under 300 pages, this book gives an excellent overview of the development of spirituality within the Catholic Church over its 2000 year history. I highly recommend this book for those who want just that: an overview without getting too bogged down in the details. My only complaint about this book as that there were times where I wanted more details. Often the book resorted to lists or a single paragraph on a particular figure or spirituality (The Capuchins are hardly even mentioned in the section on post-tridentine spirituality and the Carmelites were breezed over in the section on medieval spirituality!). I think this book could have easily been fleshed out to a good 600 pages, but then again, maybe it wouldn't have been a simple overview at that point. To be fair, the entire history of Catholic spirituality is just hard to fit into 300 pages.

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition starts off with a solid grounding in emphasizing Sacred Scripture and Tradition as the soul of theology, with the Gospels containing "Christian spirituality par excellence." This survey of the history of Catholic spirituality rightly starts out in Scripture (both Old Testament and New) and runs through key individual figures, types of spiritualities, and various religious orders, while not shying away from describing heresies and heterodox teachings. Written in 1985, Fr. Aumann, takes us right to Vatican II.

As a companion volume to Fr. Aumann's "Spiritual Theology", the stated goal in the Preface is to move from the theory and principles of that book to the actual life and witness of Catholics throughout the centuries. The hope is to acquaint the modern reader with the origins, development, and adaptation of Christian spirituality, perhaps helping to discern "what is of perennial value in Christian spirituality."

In this "modest" one-volume history, Fr. Aumann meets -- and exceeds -- his goals. Aside from wishing he had spent more time on later 20th century figures and movements (it takes up only seventeen pages - mainly covering the late 19th century into the early 20th century), the rest of this historical survey is exceptionally well done. It flows very well and is eminently readable, but it is very dense in content -- the author has a wonderful gift of being able to condense and distill the most important aspects of a certain time and place, spirituality, or individual. (For example, St. Augustine may have been given the most space in this book at about seven pages, but it is the best treatment of him in so little space that I have ever seen - one really gets an excellent understanding of his spirituality.) What this provides is a correct understanding of the topic being covered in its proper context. This should not be underestimated because spiritual movements so often depend on world and Church events.

Acknowledging that it is one volume (a rich 277 pages sans end notes), the extensive footnoting provides the interested reader the opportunity to go in depth on any subject with these solid sources. But footnotes or not, one can easily find additional resources on, and writings of, key figures in any major book outlet or through the internet. Chances are you will, like me, run out and purchase additional materials on particularly striking individuals to dive into their writings. And because of his wonderful scholarship and engaging style, you will want to check out his other books, especially the aforementioned "Spiritual Theology".

My highest recommendation to any Christian (Catholic or not), or any other spiritual person for that matter, who wants to understand better the history of the Church, its leading lights, and how we got where we are today. And maybe while you're at it, you'll discover what spirituality is of "perennial value" to you.

[Seth W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book that does exactly what the title says it does.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year I read Fr. Jordan Aumann’s theology which I absolutely loved. I recently finished another book he wrote Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition which is sort of a companion book to Spiritual Theology. While Spiritual Theology provided an excellent guide to the Church’s ascetical and mystical teaching on prayer this book looks at the history of Christian spirituality from the start of the Church to more modern times.

A quite fascinating and detailed book as it looks at the various movements of Catholic spirituality and how they developed and led to other movements. I was aware of bits and pieces and various sections of this spiritual history, but Fr. Aumann really puts them all in contexts and pins down the developments. The book also introduced me to many saints and others I was hardly aware of. It is also quite interesting in how this history of spirituality shows that the more things change that they remain the same. This history shows all the ebb and flow of Christianity and how each age much repent and reform. While they have and will continue to be movements of reform, there are also many false starts and dead ends into false spiritualities. Fr Aumann as a theologian and capable historian of the spiritual life puts it all together into a book well worth reading.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first opened this book, I was a little put off by certain sources and phrases used, that at first I thought he was a modernist heretic or sympathizer and so was tempted to put it down altogether or belay completing this book. Yet, as I read on, I was able to appreciate the scope and detail of research done in the presentation for this books material, just as much as the book is deep it is also accessible to most despite the voluminous nature of the work.

This book is very helpful to those who read it both in the objective sense as well as in the subjective sense. In the objective sense, you can see the development of Christian thought over the ages, which is a tremendous help in vocational discernment; this of course leads into the subjective sense, because it can help the reader better know what best fits with their own spirituality as it pertains also to their temperament and experiences.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid survey of the Catholic Christian tradition in the West.