Writings by a dozen modern spiritual masters highlight the need for an engaged spirituality, in touch with the needs of the world. Writers include: Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, Thea Bowman, Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, Mohandas Gandhi, Dom Helder Camara, Mother Maria Skobtsova, Madeleine Delbrel, Howard Thurman and Catherine de Hueck Doherty.
This anthology highlights stories and essential teachings of a dozen modern spiritual masters, each of whom embodied a form of engaged spirituality–attuned both to God and the needs of a wounded world. Balancing contemplation and action, the mystical and the political, prayer and compassion, these figures–including some of the world’s best-known spiritual writers–represent a model of spirituality sensitive to tradition as well as the challenges of our time.
Robert Ellsberg is the publisher of Orbis Books and the author of several books, including All Saints and Blessed Among All Women. As general editor of the Modern Spiritual Masters Series, he has edited volumes on Thich Nhat Hanh, Charles de Foucauld, Flannery O’Connor, and Carlo Carretto. His most recent book is The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day.