Academy #43 Reading List

Reading assignments from faculty of Academy #43 hosted in Tucson, Arizona, at the Redemptorist Renewal Center, and Schuyler, Nebraska, at the St. Benedict Retreat Center. Books are added when received from faculty presenters. Please check back frequently for new book additions.

Session One: November 3-7, 2025 (NE)

 Attentiveness to the Word – Juan Carlos Huertas

Group A: Select one book from this group 

1. Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God by Macrina Wiederkher
2. Things Hidden: Scripture As Spirituality by Richard Rohr

Group B: Select one book from this group

1.  Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization ed. Steve Heinrichs
2. This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley

Spiritual Disciplines – Mary Elizabeth Moore

1. Openings (2nd Edition): A Daybook of Saints, Sages, Psalms and Prayer Practices (Turner Publishing, 2014) by Larry J. Peacock
2. Soul Feast, Newly Revised Edition-Enlarged: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (Westminster John Knox, 2015) by Marjorie J. Thompson

Optional Resources:

• So Much to Love: So Much to Lose (Wipf & Stock, 2023) by Mary Elizabeth Moore
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Session Two: February 9-13, 2026 (NE)

Traditions of Christian Spirituality – Amy Oden

1. Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church Fortress Press, 2nd edition, 2017 by Barbara Holmes
2. Thirsty For God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality, Fortress Press, 3rd edition, 2017 by Bradley Holt

Optional Resources (not required reading) 

• To Pray and To Love: Conversations on Prayer With the Early Church by Roberta Bondi

Hebrew Spirituality/Psalms – Jerry Webber

Select one book from group A (Please choose the first book if it is a new title for you.)

1. Spirituality of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann
2. Praying the Psalms Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit (2nd ed.) by Walter Brueggemann

Select one book from group B. (Please choose the first book if it is a new title for you.)

1. Opening to You: Zen-Inspired Translations of the Psalms, by Norman Fischer
2. Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness, by Nan C. Merrill

Session Three: May 11-15, 2026 (AZ)

New Testament Spirituality – Shively Smith

1. The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton by Sophfronia Scott
2. The Growing Edge by Howard Thurman

Optional Resources (not required) 

• View Images of Interpretation gallery

Liturgy & Spirituality: Claudio Carvalhaes

1. Praying With Every Heart – Orienting Our Lives to the Wholeness of the World (Oregon: Cascade Books, 2021) by Cláudio Carvalhaes
2. What's Worship Got to Do with It? Interpreting Life, Church and the World Liturgically (Cascade Books, 2018) by Cláudio Carvalhaes

Optional Resources (not required reading) 

• Liturgies from Below: Prayers from People at the Ends of the World (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020) by Cláudio Carvalhaes

Session Four: August 31 – September 4, 2026 (AZ)

Orthodox Spirituality – Noel Joy Plourde

1. The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware
2. Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom

Optional Resources (not required reading) 

• The Sayings of the Desert Fathers by Benedicta Ward
• Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons by Henri JM Nouwen

Spirituality and Embodiment – Kat Armas

1. Loving Our Own Bones by Julia Watts Belser
2. Abuelita Faith by Kat Armas

Session Five: October 19-23, 2026 (NE)

Prayer and the Art of Discernment – Robin Dease

1. Putting on The Mind of Christ: Contemplative Prayer and Holisitc Unity by James E Woods
2. Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church by John Onwuchekwa

Roman Catholic Spirituality – Sr. Nancy Schreck, OSF

1. Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old and New edited by Colleen Griffith and Thomas Groome

Session Six: January 25-29, 2027 (AZ)

Protestant Spirituality – Elaine Heath

1. Five Means of Grace: Experiencing God’s Love the Wesleyan Way (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2017) by Elaine A. Heath
2. Lectio Divina—The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer, (Nashville, TN: SkyLight Paths, 2011) by Christine Valters Paintner

Optional Resources (not required reading) 

• The  Mystic  Way  of  Evangelism:  A  Contemplative  Vision  for  Christian  Outreach (Revised  and  Updated  2nd  Edition,  2017) by Elaine A. Heath

Spirituality and Ways of Healing – Beth Richardson

1. My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
2. Davida Angelica Roared by Beth A. Richardson

Session Seven: April 5-9 2027 (NE)

Spiritual Leadership in Local Faith Communities – Valerie Lomax Jackson

1. Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose by Stephen Lewis, Matthew Wesley Williams, & Dori Baker
2. This Here is Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley

Christian Spirituality in the Global Context – Rolf Nolasco

1. Compassionate Presence: A Radical Response to Human Suffering (Cascade Books, 2016) by Rolf Nolasco
2. Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation, (IVP Academic, 2022) by Cindy S. Lee

Session Eight: August 30 – September 3, 2027 (AZ)

Bearing Witness to the Reign of God in the World – Luther Smith

1. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann by Walter Brueggemann
2. Hope Is Here! Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community by Luther E. Smith

Sustaining our Life in Christ – Mary Earle

1. At Home in the World: A Rule of Life for the Rest of Us by Margaret Guenther
2. Soul Feast, Newly Revised: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie Thompson

Optional Resources (not required reading) 

• Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Illness by Mary C. Earle
• The Pilgrim Life: Finding God Along the Way by Deborah Smith Douglas