Spiritual Classics -
Spirit and Light Collaborative
-
-
The Spiritual Classics discussion group, under the auspices of Spirit and Light Collaborative, meets in person at the Ascension Parish Center Dining Room, generally on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM during the school year.
We discuss books that inspire our spiritual growth, recount the spiritual lives of saints and others who have grown close to God, or provide us with spiritual sustenance. We’ve discussed several books by Pope Francis, books by several saints, books from the Middle Ages, and books by spiritual giants like Thomas Merton and John of the Cross. We also discuss works of fiction that have a spiritual emphasis. A list of books we’ve discussed is linked below.
We select books that are approachable, relatively short, and worthy of a discussion for about an hour. Reading the book is not required in order to join the discussions.
For more information, send an email to Jeff Wood at [email protected].Spiritual Classics for 2025-2026:
- October 7 - Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
- November 4 - Mr. Blue, Myles Connelly
- December 2 - The Friendship of Christ, Robert Hugh Benson - SEE BELOW!
- February 3 - The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene
- March 3 - Job (Old Testament)
- April 7 - The Risen Christ, Caryll Houselander
-
-
The Friendship of Christ - December 2, 2025
-
Spiritual Classics for Advent - Discussion on Friendship with Christ
As we begin Advent and look to the coming of Christ, it's an excellent time to ponder the heartwarming words Jesus spoke to his apostles before his arrest: "I call you friends." Jesus comes to us as a friend who invites us to a close relationship with him.
Come to the next Spiritual Classics gathering on Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00 PM in the Ascension Parish Center Dining Room, when we will discuss The Friendship of Christ by Robert Hugh Benson, a book of meditations on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Rich Kordesh will lead the discussion. All Oak Park parishes are welcome.
Benson wrote this book in Rome in 1912 towards the end of his life. He was an Anglican priest, the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and a prominent English convert to Catholicism who was ordained in 1904. Benson wrote many novels, plays, essays, and spiritual classics.
For more information, send an email to Jeff Wood at [email protected].
-
-
Books We Have Read
-
-
- The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous
- Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’ Greatest Miracle by James Martin
- Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating
- The World of Silence by Max Picard
- The Hidden Life: Collected Works by Edith Stein
- The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton
- Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
- Selected Stories by Flannery O’Connor
-
-
-
- The Gift of Peace by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin
- Selected Writings by St. Francis
- The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Houwen
- Why God Became Man by St. Anselm
- Selected Stories by Flannery O’Connor
- The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- The Living Flame of Love by St. John of the Cross
- The Mirror of Simple Souls by Marguerite Porete
-
-
-
- A Simple Path by Mother Teresa
- Rediscovering the Saints by Matthew Kelly
- True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort
- New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
- The Divine Milieu by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Loaves and Fishes by Dorothy Day
-
-
-
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
- Advent Meditations by Alfred Depp
- Let Us Dream by Pope Francis
- The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis
- Our Father by Pope Francis
- Our Mother Earth: The Challenge of the Environment by Pope Francis
-
-
-
- The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux
- The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander
- The Way of the Pilgrim
- On Loving God by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
- The Rule of Benedict by St. Benedict Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
- Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
-
-
-
- The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
- Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross
- Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
- The Cloud of Unknowing Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
-
-
