The Classics of Catholic Spirituality

by Peter John Cameron

This brief introduction to fouteen major literary works in the area of spirituality is a practical guide to the knowledge, love, esteem, and practice of the Catholic faith.

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., (Playwright, Director) holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in playwriting from the Catholic University of America. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and is the author of more than a dozen plays. His first play, Full of Grace, received the David Lloyd Kreeger Creativity Award and was performed in showcase at the Kennedy Center in 1988. Fr. Cameron's play about the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, The Sacrament of Memory, was produced in 1998. He recently wrote a screenplay for a video about the vocation to the priesthood produced by the Knights of Columbus. Fr. Cameron is the former Artistic Director of the American Catholic Theater, and the former Director of Creative Affairs for Paulist Productions, Los Angeles, and the founder of the Blackfriars Repertory Theatre.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book. If you (like me) desire to read all the Catholics classics, but don't know where to start (or if there are any you could just skip over...), this is a fabulous introduction. It summarizes several of Catholicism's greatests works, from St. Augustine to St. Ignatius to St. Catherine of Siena. It makes these works digestible, and you get a basic sense of what each are about.

I recommend taking notes throughout, because some will stand out more than others. I've starred the ones that I'd like to read the full book, and quietly bypassed those I'm not as interested to delve deeper into. And at the end, there's a summary of what each of these works have in common—including God's infinite love, and the need for the communion of saints.

It's a book to revisit again and again, not only for these summaries but also a reminder of God's greatness. In condensed form.

[Damien Rappuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, short primer on the classics of Catholic spirituality. Great to introduce new Catholics to the breadth of the treasures of the Church.

[Richard Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Quick Read On Catholic Spirituality

Rather than reading the entire texts of the spiritual classics, this summary allows you to choose which works you want to spend your valuable time on.

[Jungsook Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Classics of Catholic Spirituality by Peter John Cameron is a summary of main points for fourteen major literary works in spiriturality. Fourteen works are:
1. St. Augustine: Confessions
2. The Cloud of Unknowing
3. The Little Flowers of St. Francis
4. Julian of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love
5. St Catherine of Siena: The Dialogue
6. Thomas a Kempis: the Imitation of Christ
7. St. Ignatius of Loyola: The Spiritual Exercises
8. St. John of the Cross: The Ascent of Mount Carmel
9. St. Teresa of Avila: Interior Castle
10. St. Francis de Sales: Introduction to the Devout Life
11. Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection: The Practice of the Presence of God
12. St. Louis de Montfort: True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
13. Jean-Pierre de Caussade: Abandonment to Divine Povidence
14. St. Therese of Lisieus: Story of a Soul
Conclusion: The Pattern of Holiness

I have read most of the saints or authors' writing without understanding fully, but this book helped me get to the points of the works, especially with the Dialogue, The Imitation of Christ, The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, and Interior Castle. Out of these, I love (maybe most) Jean-Pierre de Caussade who I was not familiar with. According to Caussade, we have to abandon ourselves to do or follow God's Will only. If we surrender ourselves completely to God, all we are and do has power and our lives become sermons. Our every present moment is the sacrament. We are like ambassadors who declare the will of God.

We become holy by the eager acceptance of every trial sent by God. By faith we recognize that trials are sent "so that our lives may be made more splendid by our overcoming them." "We can not be settled in the state of pure love until we have experienced a lot of setbacks and many humiliations." "the whole business of self-abandonment is only the business of loving, and love achieves everything."

I can not introduce all the saints' key points. But I can tell this much, I burst into laughing while reading this profound spiritual book as I agreed with some points so strongly because I understood the points from the bottom of my heart by my own spiritual experiences. I gradually fell in love with this book and am interested in the writer who did the job very splendidly. I strongly recommend this book to those who want to be spiritual or interested in spirituality.