Spiritual Classics -
Spirit and Light Collaborative
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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
- February 3 - The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene
- March 3 - Job (Old Testament)
- April 7 - The Risen Christ, Caryll Houselander - SEE BELOW!
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Encountering the Risen Christ - April 7, 2026
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Spiritual Classics - Encountering the Risen Christ
Jesus gives us life, writes Caryll Houselander, so that we have the opportunity to share it with others. As the Easter season begins, we’ll discuss Houselander’s short and powerful book, The Risen Christ, at the next Spiritual Classics gathering on Tuesday, April 7 at 7:00 PM in the Ascension Parish Center Dining Room. Jeff Wood will lead the discussion. All Oak Park parishes are welcome.
Houselander’s book is full of hope and joy. She writes about Jesus on his final days on earth: “He came back from the long journey through death, to give us his Risen Life to be our life, so that no matter what suffering we meet, we can meet it with the whole power of the love that has overcome the world.” The author of many spiritual books, Houselander lived in the early part of the 20th century and had a natural talent for empathizing with and helping people who were suffering. The Risen Christ was her last book.
For more information, send an email to Jeff Wood at [email protected].
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Books We Have Read
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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