_Studies in Spirituality 8_ (1998). 328pp. The Netherlands: Kok Pharos, 1998.
_Studies in Spirituality 9_ (1999). 324pp. The Netherlands: Kok Pharos, 1999.

Reviewed by David A. Salomon, Black Hills State University, davidsalomon@bhsu.edu    
 
These two recent volumes of Studies in Spirituality appear more as essay collections than as
issues of a periodical. The articles published in this journal continue to be of high quality, the
variety of topics covered wide, and the breath of study excellent. In these two volumes one finds
articles on a wide variety of topics, everything from issues in the early Christian Church to
contemporary issues in Hindu spirituality. 

Of the thirteen essays in volume 8 eleven are in English (one is in Spanish, the other in German),
and their topics and authors range from Bernard McGinn on Dionysian mysticism to Daniel
Meyer-Dinkgrafe on the Maharishi. Kees Waaijman's article surveys the use of "transformation"
in spiritual texts while Sandra Schneiders' article looks at the contemporary study of spirituality
as a discipline. An essay on Mary and Martha (by Susan Rakoczy) contributes to our
understanding of the two important biblical figures, particularly as the study of women's
spirituality continues to grow. Perhaps the only troubling piece in this otherwise fine volume is
an essay on a Dutch student's Abbey retreat by Wiel Smeets. Although this type of personal
record is often helpful in our understanding of spiritual topics, the inclusion of such a piece in
this journal devoted to the promotion of "spirituality as a science" seems out of place. Elizabeth
A. Dreyer examines the presence of the Holy Spirit in Medieval devotional literature; Joan
Mueller looks at the legend of Saint Agnes of Rome as a paradigm for medieval women's
spirituality. The role of the ineffable is studied by Albrecht Classen, particularly as evident in
Mechthild. John Udris' essay on "Christlikeness" in the Ignatian mode (and its role in spiritual
direction) is followed by John F. Russell's essay on Therese of Lisieux and her relationship to
spiritual direction; Eduardo de la Serna (in Spanish) also looks at Therese of Lisieux, this time in
relation to the idea of grace. Michael Plattig's fine German essay on combines topics treated in
earlier essays in the volume by looking at the role of both grace and the Holy Spirit in spiritual
direction. Finally, Daniel Meyer-Dinkgrafe reassesses Indian/Vedic theater in light of Vedic
psychology.

Volume 9 includes essays on a wide array of topics: from Meister Eckhart to Ignatius Loyola,
from Thomas Merton to T.S. Eliot. Jean Delumeau's piece on Paradise (in French) is an
interesting supplement to his recent book History of Paradise. Arthur Versluis looks at five
different expressions of gnosis in essay one wishes were longer (his recent Wisdom's Children :
A Christian Esoteric Tradition, one hopes, expands the ideas in this essay). Paul van der Velde's
very long essay examines the notion of the game in Krishnaism. Kees Waaijman's article studies
spiritual conferences in a wide variety of spiritual traditions everything from the Talmudic
tradition to Buddhism. Michael Casey studies the twelfth-century Cistercian Guerric of Igny, and
Margaret Guenther looks at the very general topic of spirituality in Meister Eckhart's sermons.
Perhaps the volume's most intriguing study is Michael Spencer's "Mysticism in T.S. Eliot's Four
Quartets"; the essay provides the reader with a sound introduction to what has been called
"Eliot's mysticism." The volume concludes with Frits Mertens' essay on contemporary
"personal/spiritual development," mostly as displayed in bestselling "new age" works such as
The Celestine Prophecy. The volume also includes essays on John of the Cross (by Catherine
Connors-Nelson), on Ignatius Loyola (by Donna Orsuto), on Francisca del Valle (by Manuel
Diego Sanchez), on Thomas Merton and Zen (by Robert Faricy), on spirituality in the secular
world of the Philippines (by Macario Ofilada Mina), and an essay on the relationship between
poetry and prayer (by Thomas Dienberg), a relationship that dates to the writings of Plato. 

Both volumes of Studies of Spirituality are sound contributions to our field, and every university
library is urged to have them on their shelves. At a time when spirituality has become a pop icon,
it is good to see that the intelligent academic study of spirituality continues in the pages of this
fine journal.

Studies in Sprituality