Tending the Holy

Spiritual Direction Across Traditions

"God is mystery," writes Norvene Vest in the Introduction to Tending the Holy, "and every form of religion is an effort to respond faithfully to the mystery of God by whatever name. The Divine breaks through into human experience in many ways, and humans respond variously to the awesome experience of God." And those various responses are what the contributors to Tending the Holy document. In this provocative and cutting-edge collection readers are given the opportunity to see what spiritual direction looks like--and what questions are asked--through a variety of lenses. From an examination of the spiritual direction relationship in the Evangelical Christian tradition, to Buddhism and Hindu ones, to the better-known ones of the Benedictines, Carmelites, and Ignatians, and finally, to the contemporary lenses of feminism, Generation X, the institutional perspective, and even one based on the natural world and the spirituality of St. Francis, this collection explores unexplored territory. Tending the Holy is an important resource for spiritual directors and pastoral counselors. Contributors include: Ven. Tejadhammo Bhikku (Sangha Lodge Buddhist Monastery, Australia); Chrisopher Key Chapple (Loyola Marymount University); Rabbi Zari Weiss (Seattle, Washington); Sr. Marian Cowan, CSJ (Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis, Missouri); Lisa Myers (La Canada, California); Dr. Michael Plattig (University of the Capuchins, Germany); Sister Katherine Howard, OSB (St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota); John H. Mostyn, CBC (Rome); The Rev. Dr. John Mabry ( San Francisco); Norvene Vest (Altadena, California), and The Rev. Dr. H. Paul Santmire (Watertown, Massachusetts).