If, as 17th-century bishop Francis de Sales wrote, contemplation is "the mind's... permanent attention to the things of God," the current resurgence of interest in a contemplative lifestyle can only mean good news for many publishers. "Whenever I go to conferences, people will say to me, 'I need a book to take on retreat with me,' or 'I need a book to read during Lent,' " said John Tintera, sales manager at Crossroad, which specializes in books from the Western contemplative traditions. "People are returning to the essence of spirituality, the core practices and beliefs. They're not trusting other people to do it for them any more."

What they are trusting, it seems, is the wisdom they believe God has given throughout the centuries to those Christians who view every detail of their lives as a prayer. Christian contemplatives through the centuries have sought to live intentionally, ever aware of the activity of God in and around them. And while that may conjure up visions of monks and hermits, the reality is that today's contemplatives can be found in all walks of life.

Honest Doubts

"Contemplative spirituality draws a lot of readers because of the honesty in the writing," Lillian Miao, CEO of Paraclete Press, told PW. "They express honesty in the struggle of faith, the struggle to believe in the love of God, or even the existence of God; yet they have made a firm commitment to God. These doubts, honestly expressed and sincerely struggled, find resonance in today's readers."

Miao is one who should know. Not only is she personally a part of the contemplative Community of Jesus on Cape Cod, Paraclete itself is an outreach of that community. And seldom was the need for its ministry more apparent than in the days following September 11, when a number of Cape Cod residents were killed in the hijacked planes that originated in Boston.

"We were right in the midst of it," said Miao. "We've seen many more visitors to our church since then, people who want to feel a connection to the ancient liturgical expression of faith that they've missed." In Boston, Trinity Bookshop, whose affiliation with historic Trinity Church brings in tourists as well as church members, saw a significant increase in the demand for contemplative titles following the attacks, especially during the holiday season. "A lot of people became spiritual seekers after September 11," bookshop manager Mike Colyott said. "They've been on a quest for meaning, and they've come to our store searching for contemplative books for that reason."

Crossing Denominations

Today, Christian contemplative spirituality straddles the lines that separate liturgical and evangelical churches. That was not always the case, though—the counterculture's embrace of Eastern religions in the 1960s and '70s made evangelicals wary of practices like meditation and contemplation. As the evangelical clergy and the laity became reacquainted with the tradition of contemplative life that once permeated Christianity, the evangelical taboo against all things contemplative began to erode. That, coupled with a growing sense among believers that they were missing some crucial element in developing a closer relationship with God, broke down the final barriers that had kept the contemplative tradition almost entirely within the liturgical churches.

Publishers and booksellers alike credit two pivotal 20th-century works with promoting an interest in contemplative spirituality, especially among the laity: Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain (originally published in 1949 and reissued many times, most recently by Harcourt Brace) and Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk (Riverhead, 1996). Merton's autobiography and his subsequent writings translated the contemplative experience of a monastic into terms that resonated with the laity, and today's leaders in the contemplative movement credit Merton with restoring that tradition to modern life. Norris's book showed the laity how they could have a monastic experience of their own and adopt a contemplative approach toward their everyday lives. It paved the way for monastic and other spiritual memoirists.

One of the CBA houses that has successfully managed to incorporate contemplative spirituality titles into its list is NavPress, the nonprofit publishing arm of the discipleship-oriented Navigators ministry. "We would classify these books as deeper discipleship or spiritual formation," associate publisher Toben Heim told PW. "So much of what is published today offers a fluffy, quick fix. Contemplative books take those people who are in a much more serious pursuit to a deeper level of spirituality."

Shelving Dilemmas

One of NavPress's recent titles, Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart, an examination of what it takes to become truly Christlike, sold 23,000 copies in the three months following its April release, with the sales split evenly among general market, CBA and Internet sales channels. The somewhat higher than usual Internet share may serve to confirm what Heim has long suspected—that erratic shelving in bookstores often makes contemplative titles difficult for browsers to find. Online book site search engines streamline the process.

One factor that makes shelving a challenge is the diversity of subtopics that form an integral part of contemplative life, including contemplative prayer, lectio divina (contemplative, prayerful reading of Scripture or other spiritual writings), sacramental living, monasticism, classic writings, desert wisdom and spiritual direction. And with the publication of works like Robert Waldron's bluehope, a Paraclete novella about a man whose search for peace leads him to a monk-poet who lives as a hermit, contemplative titles are even finding their place in the fiction department.

Contemplative prayer—wordless, mental prayer that focuses on the presence of God—releases believers from the burden of thoughts and emotions in their enjoyment of His presence. Contemplatives come to God with empty hands that hold no laundry list of needs and wants, no agenda, no rigid expectations. When the Soul Listens (NavPress, May) by Jan Johnson is among the current titles that emphasize allowing God to reshape a person's life through returning to the spiritual disciplines of wordless prayer and contemplation, waiting on God and practicing His presence.

Seeking Direction

A longstanding tradition among contemplatives is the practice of seeking guidance from a spiritual director—a term widely known among liturgical churches that only in recent years has made inroads into the evangelical camp. Unlike a counselor, a spiritual director guides a person toward spiritual activities that allow him or her to discover what God is trying to show that person. The director is seen as "walking alongside" a person who is seeking spiritual truth. Bruce Demarest's Soul Guide (NavPress, Dec.) takes spiritual direction a step beyond human activity by showing how Jesus can be the ideal spiritual mentor, helping readers to make decisions, deal with life issues and find the joy and passion for living they may have lost.

Publishers and readers alike continue to dip into the deep well of the contemplative past to draw a measure of spiritual depth and wisdom that's often missing in contemporary writings. Brother Lawrence's classic The Practice of the Presence of God (various publishers, including Thomas Nelson and Fleming H. Revell)—which Miao considers the forerunner of today's contemplative books—remains a perennial favorite, as do Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love, also known as Showings (various, including Penguin and Paulist) and the writings of Teresa of Avila. A paraphrase of Julian's work, The Essence of Julian (Northstone Publishing) by former broadcaster and church administrator Ralph Milton, is coming in October. Renewed interest in the desert fathers and other classical authors has resulted in a number of new titles, including Paraclete's Eternal Wisdom from the Desert, published in 2001, and Ascent of Mount Carmel: John of the Cross (October), both edited and modernized by Henry L. Carrigan Jr.

Monastic journals and memoirs have taken on a life of their own since the publication of Norris's Cloister Walk. Upcoming titles include Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing: Living the Hermit Life Within and Without (Paraclete, Sept.) by W. Paul Jones, a former United Methodist minister who now lives as a hermit in association with a Trappist monastery in the Ozarks. His book traces the struggles he faced during his first extended experience as a hermit. Although not a memoir, Corrine Ware's Saint Benedict on the Freeway: A Rule of Life for the 21st Century (Abingdon Press, Nov.) highlights the rules of the monastic life, showing readers how the divine offices and other monastic practices can be creatively adapted to life "on the freeway"—the everyday, sensory-overloaded life of 21st-century America. Ave Maria Press has The Gift of Saint Benedict (Sept.), edited by Verna Holyhead (a member of a Benedictine order of nuns) and illustrated by Lynne Muir. It, too, offers a primer on the Rule of St. Benedict for modern seekers. In The Abbey Up the Hill: A Year in the Life of a Monastic Day-Tripper (Morehouse, Aug.), lobbyist, speechwriter, and spiritual seeker Carol Bonomo chronicles her experiences as a lay person living by the Rule of Benedict. Medical librarian Mark Plaiss describes his experiences as a married lay monastic in The Inner Room: A Journey into Lay Monasticism (St. Anthony Messenger, Dec.).

Also enjoying a surge in popularity is the ancient practice of lectio divina. M. Basil Pennington's Seeking His Mind: 40 Meetings with Christ (Paraclete, Nov.) is a devotional based explicitly on the practice, with each meditation structured in the classic lectio format. With a nod to modern technology, Crossroad recently released The Jesus Meditations: A Guide for Contemplation by Michael Kennedy, with an accompanying CD narrated by Martin Sheen. Aimed at the poor to whom Kennedy ministers in L.A., the book leads people through spiritual poetry and guided visualization to a personal experience of the Gospel stories about Jesus.

The fourth title in NavPress's Reflections journal series was released last year. The Trinity joins Kenneth Boa's other lectio divina titles, Sacred Readings, The Psalms and Historic Creeds. Each book features an introduction detailing the lectio divina process, followed by a 90-day devotional. A brief phrase or Scripture verse opens each daily page, followed by space for personal writing related to meditation, prayer and contemplation. Also focusing on meditation is Morehouse's Keeping Silence: Christian Practices for Entering Stillness (Oct.) by C.W. McPherson, which offers instruction for Christian meditation.

Taking a contemplative approach to the rites of the church is Robert Benson, who leads readers to prepare themselves for the elements of the Eucharist in his May Paraclete release, That We May Perfectly Love Thee. Evincing the return to an interest in liturgical and monastic ritual is Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours series, a modernization of the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer. The final title in the Doubleday trilogy, Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime, was published in October 2001.

Staying in Print

As publishers continue to provide new titles, the old titles continue to find new readers. One of Crossroad's more recent backlist titles (1999), Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer by Richard Rohr, remains among the top-selling contemplative titles on both Amazon and the B&N online site. Thomas Keating's Open Mind, Open Heart (Element Books, 1992), Active Meditations for Contemplative Prayer (Continuum, 1997) and Intimacy with God (Crossroad, 1996) have also sold well. And two of the oldest top-selling Christian contemplative titles—Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation (New Directions) and Contemplative Prayer (Doubleday)—were first published in 1972.

"With our older titles, we do well with the classics, like Julian of Norwich and St. Augustine's Confessions. We also sell lots of titles by Frederick Buechner and Henri Nouwen, and we get a lot of requests for fiction titles like City of God by E.L. Doctorow, a very contemplative novel, and Susan Howatch's books," Mike Colyott said. Buechner has been published regularly since 1950, Nouwen since 1970; Nouwen's The Only Necessary Thing (1999) and Here and Now (1994) remain among Crossroad's top-selling releases. City of God (Random House) came out in 2000, while the six books in Howatch's Church of England series (also known as the Starbridge series) were released in hardback by Random House from 1987 to 1995.

Finally, the renewed interest in "all things Benedictine," as Tintera described the trend, has not only kept Benedictine titles in print—like Crossroad's still-popular Rule of Benedict by Joan Chittister, which was published in 1992—it has also resulted in an increase in the variety and number of visitors to Benedictine abbeys. At the Coury House Book Store, affiliated with a retreat center and Benedictine abbey in Subiaco, Ark., manager Donna Forst sees retreatants representing all denominations. "People are drawn to the Rule of Benedict because his rule said you could experience [contemplative] spirituality in everyday life," Forst said. Retreat-related titles include The Green Desert: A Personal Account of a Silent Retreat (PageMill Press, Oct.) by Rita Winters, the creative director for an advertising agency who sought spiritual restoration by spending two weeks on a silent retreat in the Sonoran Desert; Thirty Days: On Retreat with the Exercises of St. Ignatius (Penguin Compass, Feb. 2003), poet and literary critic Paul Mariani's spiritual memoir focusing on the Jesuit practice of guided prayer and meditation; and Margaret Silf's Going on Retreat: A Beginner's Guide to the Christian Retreat Experience (Loyola, Sept.), a nuts-and-bolts guide.

In addition to backlist books by Chittister, Coury House continues to sell older titles such as Elizabeth Canham's Heart Whispers: Benedictine Wisdom for Today (Upper Room, 1999); Esther de Waal's Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (co-written with Kathleen Norris, 1985) and A Life-Giving Way (1995), both published by Liturgical Press; and Nouwen's Bread for the Journey: A Day Book of Wisdom and Faith (Harper San Francisco, 1996).

"We've seen quite a bit more interest lately from people wanting to do individual retreats," Forst said, adding that business is picking up once again, after dropping off late last year due to post—September 11 travel concerns. "There's quite a bit more interest in focusing on personal spirituality. The Rule of Benedict shows people how they can accomplish that in their everyday lives."