The University of St. Thomas

Catholic Spirituality


Research Resources

For further help, contact Jan Malcheski, Theology Reference Librarian at Ireland Library.


DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality. Edited by Michael Downey. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1993.IRL Ref BX 2350.65 .N49

Over 300 articles with bibliographies on Catholic spiritual concepts and schools (but not individual writers).

The New Westminster Dictionary of Christian Spirituality. Edited by Philip Sheldrake. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox, 2005.IRL Ref BV 4488 .N49 2005

Lengthy articles on themes, movements, regions, and periods in Christian spirituality ? but not biographies of individual persons. The geographical coverage is largely limited to those areas of interest to the English-speaking world. Also includes a section of short essays on the relationships between spirituality and other disciplines (e.g. culture, history, psychology, science).

The Westminster Dictioary of Christian Spirituality. Edited by Gordon S. Wakefield. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.IRL BV 4488 .W47 1983

This older work is still useful, since its replacement has a thoroughly different editorial stance. It includes articles on spiritual schools, writers, and themes. The Catholic tradition is well represented along with Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and to a lesser extent non-Christian religions.

An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mysticism and the Mystery Religions. By John Ferguson. London: Thames & Hudson, 1976. IRL BL 31 .F47

Includes articles on persons and topics from Christianity as well as non-Christian religions. Articles range from one line to a page. A fine one-volume work for the non-expert.

Dictionnaire de spiritualit? asc?tique et mystique: doctrine et histoire. Paris: Beauchesne, 1932-1996. 17 volumes.IRL Ref BX 841 .D67

The most comprehensive Reference work in the field with long, signed articles covering concepts of spiritual theology and explaining their origin and development through the centuries with frequent References to sources.

Dizionario di Mistica. Edited by L. Borriello et al. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998.
IRL BV 5082.2 .D59 1998

Over 600 articles on mystics and spiritual themes.

New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: Gale, 2002. 15 volumes.
IRL and OSF Ref BX 841 .N44 1967 & 2003
Two print editions 1967 and 2003
Online Edition

The major English-language encyclopedia on Catholic topics, this work contains some 17,000 articles, each with a bibliography. There is an article entitled "Spirituality, Christian (History of)" which identifies major spiritual masters and schools for each of which there is an article in the encyclopedia.

The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Encyclopedia Press, 1905-1922. 16 volumes + 2 supplements.Print version: IRL Ref BX 841 .C25 1907
Free Web version: xhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen

For over fifty years this work was the chief source of information on the Catholic Church in English-speaking countries. Owing to depth and breadth of coverage its length (it has almost twice as many words as the 1967 New Catholic Encyclopedia) and its emphasis on historical articles, it is still useful for the pre-20th century world.

HANDBOOKS AND GUIDES

The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology. By Adolphe Tanquerey. Westminster, Md.: Newman, 1932.IRL BV 5032 .T3513 1932

A handbook covering the general principles of the spiritual life and each of its three stages as conceived in the traditional manner (purgative, illuminative, unitive). Excellent bibliographies.

A Practical Guide to Spiritual Reading. By Susan Muto. Revised edition. Petersham, Mass.: St. Bede's, 1994.IRL BX 2350.2 .M884 1994

A guide for reading programmes for individuals and groups. Suggested readings on specific topics (e.g. the desert experience) from Scripture, spiritual classics, and modern spiritual works.

Western Mysticism: A Guide to the Basic Works. By Mary Ann Bowman. Chicago: American Library Association, 1978. IRL BV 5082.2 .B68 1978

A selective bibliography of primary and secondary sources on mystics and mysticism suitable for the general reader. Arranged chronologically.


COLLECTIONS AND DIGESTS

Masterpieces of Catholic Literature in Summary Form. By Frank N. Magill. New York: Salem, 1965.
IRL BX 885 .M2 1965
Four to five page summaries of over 300 major Catholic works, including historical, philosophical, theological, spiritual, and devotional literature.

The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom. Edited by John A. Hardon. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
IRL BX 885 .T73 1987
An anthology of outstanding Catholic literature from the first century to modern times. Lengthy excerpts from the writings of mystics, theologians, and poets.

HISTORY

Each of these works is a chronological presentation of the development of Christian spirituality from the early Church to modern times.

The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism. By Bernard McGinn. New York: Crossroad, 1992 - present. (3 of 4 volumes published).
IRL BV 5077 .E85 M34

The Study of Spirituality. Edited by Cheslyn Jones et al. New York: SPCK, 1986.
IRL BV 4501.2 .S87 1986

History of Christian Spirituality. By Louis Bouyer and others. New York: Seabury, 1963-1969. 3 volumes.
OSF BV4490 .H513 3 vols.

Some Schools of Catholic Spirituality. By Jean Gautier. New York: Desclie, 1959.
IRL BQT 2163 .G3 E5

Christian Spirituality. By Pierre Pourat. Westminster, Maryland: Newman, 1953-1955. 4 volumes.
IRL BV 5021 .P5813 1953

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The 14th-Century English Mystics: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography. By Valerie Marie Lagorio and Ritamary Bradley. New York: Garland, 1981.
IRL BV 5077 .G7 L33 1981
An annotated list of over 800 books and journal articles on five English mystics. The listings also include some general works on mysticism.

A Bibliographical Index of Five English Mystics. By Michael E. Sawyer. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 1978.
IRL BV 5077 .G7 S39 1978
Citations for over 600 books and journal articles, but with very few annotations.

DATABASES AND INDEXES
 

Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI).
Online version (1981 - )
Print version (1930 - ) Ireland Library


Over 200,000 bibliographic citations to Catholic books, book reviews, and journal articles from more than 160 Catholic magazines. Much of the material comes from newspapers and popular magazines. A larger number of articles on historical topics is found in the pre-1981 volumes of the print version, when index coverage was wider.

ATLA Religion Database.
Online version (1949 - )

Over one million bibliographic citations to journal articles, essays in books, and book reviews in the field of religion.  

Bibliographia internationalis spiritualitatis.
IRL BX 2350.2 .B52 (1966 - )

An annual list of books and articles in the field of Catholic spirituality. The most recent volume lists almost 8,000 items. No annotations.

WEB SITES

It is difficult to select good web sites becasue of the sheer number of Inetrnet web pages on devotional and spiritual topics (many of which have little academic or research significance).