Contemplative Community: An Interdisciplinary Symposium

Washington, D. C.: Cistercian Publications/Consortium Press, 1972. First edition. Octavo, original beige cloth, original dust jacket. Small "St. Jos Abbey" price-sticker to bottom of front flap. Slight fading to edges of near-fine cloth, minor creasing and tears to spine ends of dust jacket. A near fine copy.

"THE CONTEMPLATIVE ATTITUDE IS ONE OF OPENESS TO THE TRANSCENDENT" First edition collecting papers exploring the dual monastic aims of contemplation and community. Presented at the Third Cistercian Symposium at the Abbey of Notre Dame du Lac in the summer of 1971. The twelve contributions (by Cistercian, Benedictine, and Dominican participants) reflected a multi-disciplinary approach balancing perennial themes such as Scripture, Monastic Community and Monastic Tradition, Liturgy, and Theology together with modern academic perspectives integrating Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology. The "concrete" purpose of the symposium was stated this way: "I am a Cistercian. I live in community. I am trying to be a man of prayer. I want to be fully responsive to my community, each man in it and the community as a whole. At the same time I want to live an intense prayer life and attain to the deepest possible union with God and experience of Him." Published as part of the Cistercian Study Series, edited by Basil Pennington, OCSO., with his Introduction, dated "St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer / Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary / October 11, 1971." With Ecclesiastical permission to publish (received, dated September 23, 1971).