_Studies in Spirituality_ 6 (1996). (Netherlands: Kok Pharos, Titus Brandsma Institute)
         ISSN:  0926-6453
         Reviewed by David A. Salomon, das93006@uconnvm.uconn.edu,
                  University of Connecticut
        
             With the sixth number in its run, Studies in Spirituality continues to
        establish itself as one of the premiere journals in the study of mysticism and
        spirituality. The journal, published in the Netherlands, cites its mission as the
        publication of "scientific and specialist articles on spirituality and mysticism,
        and thus [to] promote spirituality as a science." 
             This number of the journal includes sixteen articles, most in English,
        ranging in subject from Kees Waaijman's piece on "The Soul as Spiritual Core
        Concept" (5-19) to Marinus van Ulden and Joseph Pieper's 
        psycho/sociological examination of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
        (276-88). Throughout, the essays are clear, well-written and insightful. While
        most are for specialists in our field, some of the pieces are welcome
        introductions to their topics. Hein Blommestijn's piece on Gerard Zerbolt of
        Zutphen (73-102) is particularly noteworthy as an introduction not only to
        Zerbolt but the Devotio Moderna movement as a whole. 
             This review will touch on essay in brief. The volume opens with
        Waaijman's essay on "The Soul as Spiritual Core Concept" in which Waaijman
        sets out to "explore the multi- dimensionality of the soul as this emerges in
        Scripture" (5). Guided by the term _nephesh_ which is the Hebrew equivalent
        of the English word "soul", Waaijman notes the word _nephesh_, in its 750
        occurrences in Scripture, appears with divergent meaning. From Lev 5:21
        where the one who mistreats his neighbor is said to violate his soul, to the
        interesting uses of the soul as a spatial term, Waaijman's analysis is insightful
        and expansive. Just which pronoun, Waaijman asks, should we use to describe
        the soul? I? You? And just how much of I is the soul? 
             The second essay is one of two German pieces in the volume. Geert
        Franzenburg studies the importance of the male and the female in the work of
        Gregory of Nyssa, particularly in the _Life of Moses._ Just how much of the
        _Life of Moses_ is biography is brought into question, and Franzenburg
        suggests we read it as "double biography," following Origen's theory of
        Biblical exegesis, reading in both a spiritual and literal sense. 
             Joan Muller's essay on "Franciscan Reconciliation" (36-48) builds a
        bridge between the scholarly and the devotional. This is evident in the opening
        paragraph where not only the "purpose" and "method" but the "mission" of
        the essay are presented: "for the service of contemporaries desiring
        spiritualities of peacemaking and reconciliation while engaging in a violent
        world" (36). Mueller explores the paradox inherent in the traditional
        Franciscan greeting "The Lord give you peace!" In successive sections, she
        addresses the idea of reconciliation, conversion and peace as they are evident
        in the life of Francis and in Franciscan theology. 
             Michael Plattig's essay in German, "Heinrich Seuse Als 'Christliche
        Erosgestalt'!" (49-72), appears on the seventh hundredth anniversary of
        Seuse's birth and the 630th anniversary of his death. The piece discusses the
        issue of erotics in Seuse's thought as well as the currently popular topic of the
        body and its implications.. 
             Karen-Claire Voss writes on "Imagination in Mysticism and
        Esotericism" (103-130). The essay is particularly concerned with "Marisilio
        Ficino, Ignatius de Loyola, and Alchemy" and Voss suggests interesting issues
        related to the use of the imagination in the mystical experience. Though the
        essay is broken up into sometimes-too-small sections, ample footnotes provide
        the curious reader with further reading.
             "Possessed by Pure Love: The Spirituality of Catherine of Genoa," by
        John Udris (131-44), begins with two interesting ideas. First, the essay's
        epigraph: "Love is thy beginning, thy middle, and ought to be thy end" from
        book three of Catherine's Spiritual Dialogue. Second, a statement many
        students of Catherine often forget: "Catherine herself wrote no books" (131).
        From here Udris develops a thorough discussion of love and the soul in
        Catherine's thought.
             Macario Ofilada Mina's "Philosophy and Spirituality: Reflections from
        St. John of the Cross" (145-52) takes up the question "Do or can Philosophy
        and Spirituality coexist?" 
             Eulogio Pacho's "El 'Gemido Pacifico de la Esperanza'" (153-67),
        another examination of John of the Cross, addresses John's "spiritual plan" as
        present in his entire canon.
             Like Voss' essay earlier in the volume, Charles Andre Bernard's "La
        Perception Mystique Visionnaire" (168-93) deals with the imagination and
        perception in the mystical experience. Beginning with a helpful reading of
        Augustine, Bernard discusses the importance of visions and visionary
        experience in the history of not only mysticism but Christian thought in
        general. An interesting graph (180) illustrates how visionary experience fits in
        with the faculty psychology of Augustine and other early Church Fathers.
             Wendy M. Wright gives us "Salesian Spirituality and the Art of
        Spiritual Direction" (194-219). Wright has published several books on
        Francois de Sales, including _Bond of Perfection: Jeanne de Chantal and
        Francois de Sales_ (Paulist Press, 1985). The essay is an excellent introduction
        to Salesian spirituality in addition to being an important discussion of a
        neglected figure--Jeanne de Chantal. 
             Gunnel Cleve's "A Query About William Law's Mysticism" (220-38)
        suggests the influence of earlier English mystics, particularly Walter Hilton, on
        Law's thought. 
             "Conversion as Turning, Conversion as Deepening" is James E.
        Royster's contribution to this volume. Royster examines the "classic"
        conversions of Paul, Augustine, Martin Luther, Teresa of Avila, John Welsey,
        and Thomas Merton in an attempt to discover universals in the conversion
        experience.
             Philip F. Sheldrake's "The Sacredness of Place" (258-75) distinguishes
        between "space" and "place" and shows the importance of "place" in religious
        writers as diverse as Julian of Norwich and Gerard Manly Hopkins.
             Veronica Brady offers "Towards an Australian Spirituality" (289-300).
        Noting that "Australia is essentially a society of migrants" (292), Brady
        suggests a distinctly Australian spirituality based partly on the literature of
        Australia. Those who are interested in more on this topic should consult
        Brady's published books.
             _Studies in Spirituality_ is certainly destined to be a major forum in the
        fields of spirituality and mysticism. It belongs on all of our bookshelves; failing
        that it belongs on the bookshelves of our universities' libraries.