Pennington, M. Basil 1931-2005 (M. Robert John Basil Pennington)

PERSONAL:

Born July 28, 1931, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Dale J. (an engineer) and Helene J. Pennington; died June 3, 2005, in Worcester, MA. Education: Received degree from Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, 1951; Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, S.T.L. (cum laude), 1959; Pontifical University of the Gregorianum, J.C.B. (summa cum laude), 1962, J.C.L. (summa cum laude), 1963; graduate study at Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and Benedictine International College of St. Anselm.

CAREER:

Writer, educator, Cistercian monk and abbot. Entered Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO; also known as Trappists), 1951, ordained Roman Catholic priest, 1957; St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, MA, professor of moral theology, 1959-61, professor of theology and church law, 1963-2005, pastoral counselor at Retreat House, 1959-61 and 1963-2005, librarian at Institute of Monastic Studies, 1960-61, lecturer at institute, 1971-72, assistant director of novices, summer, 1962, and vocation director, 1978-81. Head of Monastic Council on Church Law, 1964-2005; member of Commission of Law, Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, 1969-2005; head of Interreligious Monastic Colloquium, 1977. Member of advisory board, Center for Contemplative Studies, North American Board for East-West Relations, and Lilly Foundation; member of board of directors, John Paul II Center for Prayer and Study for Peace and Food for the Poor; Mastery Foundation, chairperson; member of Ecumenical Institute of Spirituality and Academie Nationale de Reims. Cistercian Publications, founding editor, 1968-73, chairperson, 1973-76. Organizer and director of ecumenical conferences and symposia; guest lecturer at conferences, institutes, and universities all over the world; consultant to Second Vatican Council.

MEMBER:

Studies in Formative Spirituality (international board of consultants), Canon Law Society of America, Catholic Theological Society of America, Association of Cistercian Scholars.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Pope John Paul II Award from National Vocation Directors Conference, 1985.

WRITINGS:

(In Latin) Propositum monasticum de Codice iuris canonici recognoscendo (title means "Monastic Proposal for the Renewal of the Code of Canon Law"), St. Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, MA), 1966.

Daily We Touch Him: Practical Religious Experiences, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1977.

O Holy Mountain: Diary of a Visit to Mount Athos, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1978.

(With Sergius Bolshakoff) In Search of True Wisdom: Visits to Spiritual Fathers, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1979.

Centering Prayer, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1980, revised edition published as Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2001.

Jubilee: A Monk's Journal, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1981.

Challenges in Prayer, Michael Glazier (Wilmington, DE), 1982, revised edition published as Challenges in Prayer: A Classic with a New Introduction, Liguori Publications (Liguori, MO), 2005.

Monastic Journey to India, Seabury (New York, NY), 1982.

A Place Apart, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1983.

Called: New Thinking on Christian Vocation, Seabury (New York, NY), 1983.

Monastery, Harper (New York, NY), 1983.

Last of the Fathers, St. Bede's Publications (Petersham, MA), 1983.

The Eucharist Yesterday and Today, Crossroad (New York, NY), 1984.

In Peter's Footsteps: Learning to Be a Disciple, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1985.

Manual of Life, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1985.

Pocketbook of Prayers, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1986.

Prayertimes: Morning-Midday-Evening, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1987.

Breaking Bread: The Table Talk of Jesus, Harper and Row (San Francisco, CA), 1987.

Thomas Merton, Brother Monk: The Quest for True Freedom, Harper and Row (San Francisco, CA), 1988.

Mary Today: The Challenging Woman, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1988.

Retreat with Thomas Merton, Amity House (Warwick, NY), 1988.

(With Carl J. Arico) Living Our Priesthood Today, Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, IN), 1988.

Through the Year with the Saints, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1988.

Centered Living, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1988.

Long on the Journey, Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, IN), 1989.

The Way Back Home, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1990.

Call to the Center, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1990.

The Monastic Way, Crossroad (New York, NY), 1990.

Praying by Hand: Rediscovering the Rosary as a Way of Prayer, Harper Collins (San Francisco, CA), 1991.

Light from the Cloister, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1991.

Way of the Cistercians, Liturgical Press (Collegeville, MN), 1991.

Awake in the Spirit: A Personal Handbook on Prayer, Crossroad (New York, NY), 1992.

The Fifteen Mysteries: In Image and Word, Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, IN), 1993.

Vatican II: We've Only Just Begun, Crossroad (New York, NY), 1994.

Lessons from the Monastery That Touch Your Life, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Yael Katzir) Bernard of Clairvaux: A Saint's Life in Word and Image, Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, IN), 1994.

Thomas Merton, My Brother: His Journey to Freedom, Compassion, and Final Integration, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 1996.

(And editor) Bernard of Clairvaux, a Lover Teaching the Way of Love: Selected Spiritual Writings, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 1997.

(Editor) William of Saint Thierry: The Way to Divine Union—Selected Spiritual Writings, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 1998.

Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures, Crossroad (New York, NY), 1998.

Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina, Continuum (New York, NY), 1999.

(And editor) The Way of Friendship: Selected Spiritual Writings—Aelred of Rievaulx, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 2000.

True Self; False Self, Crossroad (New York, NY), 2000.

Listening: God's Word for Today, Continuum (New York, NY), 2000.

Eucharist: Wine of Faith, Bread of Life, Liguori/Triumph (Liguori, MO), 2000.

Poetry as Prayer: The Psalms, Pauline Books & Media (Boston, MA), 2001.

A School of Love: The Cistercian Way to Holiness, Morehouse (Harrisburg, PA), 2001.

An Invitation to Centering Prayer, Liguori (Liguori, MO), 2001.

(Editor) The Abbey Prayer Book, Liguori/Triumph (Liguori, MO), 2002.

(With Thomas Keating and Thomas E. Clarke) Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2002.

Seeking His Mind: 40 Meetings with Christ, Paraclete Press (Brewster, MA), 2002.

20 Mysteries of the Rosary: A Scriptural Journey, Liguori Publications (Liguori, MO), 2003.

Call to the Center: The Gospel's Invitation to Deeper Prayer, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 2003.

The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk's Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground, foreword by Archimandrite Dionysios, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2003.

The Song of Songs: A Spiritual Commentary, illustrated by Phillip Rather, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2004.

Who Do You Say I Am? Meditations on Jesus' Questions in the Gospels, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 2004.

(Editor) Thomas Merton: I Have Seen What I Was Looking For—Selected Spiritual Writings, New City Press (Hyde Park, NY), 2005.

Engaging the World with Merton: On Retreat in Tom's Hermitage, Paraclete Press (Brewster, MA), 2005.

Journey in a Holy Land: A Spiritual Journal, preface by Thomas Keating, Paraclete Press (Brewster, MA), 2006.

Psalms: A Spiritual Commentary, illustrated by Phillip Rather, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2006.

The Christ Chaplain: The Way to a Deeper, More Effective Hospital Ministry, Haworth Pastoral Press (Binghamton, NY), 2007.

Listen with Your Heart: Deepen Your Spiritual Life with the Rule of Saint Benedict, edited by Chaminade Crabtree, Paraclete Press (Brewster MA), 2007.

EDITOR AND AUTHOR OF INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES

The Cistercian Spirit: A Symposium in Memory of Thomas Merton, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1969.

Thomas Merton, The Climate of Monastic Prayer, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1969.

William of St. Thierry, Exposition on the Song of Songs, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1970.

Guerric of Igny, Liturgical Sermons I, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

Guerric of Igny, Liturgical Sermons II, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

William of St. Thierry, On Contemplating God, Prayer, Meditations, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

Rule and Life: An Interdisciplinary Symposium, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

Bernard of Clairvaux, On the Song of Songs I, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

Aelred of Rievaulx, Treatise, Pastoral Prayer, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

William of St. Thierry, The Golden Epistle: A Letter to the Brethren at Mont Dieu, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1971.

(And contributor) Contemplative Community: An Interdisciplinary Symposium, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1972.

Bernard of Clairvaux: Studies Presented to Dom Jean Leclercq, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1973.

One Yet Two: Monastic Tradition East and West, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1976.

Bernard of Clairvaux, Five Books on Consideration: Advice to a Pope, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1976.

Bernard of Clairvaux, On the Song of Songs II, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1976.

Prayer and Liberation, Alba House (Staten Island, NY), 1976.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Studies Commemorating the Eighth Centenary of His Canonization, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1977.

(And contributor) Finding Grace at the Center, St. Bede's Publications (Petersham, MA), 1978, 3rd edition published as Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer, foreword by Cynthia Bourgeault, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2007.

The Last of the Fathers: The Cistercian Fathers of the Twelfth Century (essay collection), St. Bede's Publications (Petersham, MA), 1983.

Getting It All Together, Michael Glazier (Wilmington, DE), 1984.

Towards an Integrated Humanity, Cistercian Publications (Kalamazoo, MI), 1989.

The Living Testament, Harper and Row (San Francisco, CA), 1989.

Syndicated writer for National Catholic News Service. Contributor of nearly 600 articles and reviews to theology and law journals. Member of board of editors of Citeaux, 1968-2005, Monastic Studies, 1971-2005, Studies in Medieval Culture, 1972-2005, and Studies in Formative Spirituality, 1980-2005; consulting editor, Way of Prayer, 1982-2005, and The Priest, 1984-2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

M. Basil Pennington was, as a Publishers Weekly contributor once described him, a "Cistercian monk and key figure in the liturgical renewal within Roman Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)." For this same contributor, Pennington, who died in 2005, was "a legend in Church circles…. His loving, reverential approach to worship, broad-minded grasp of the Catholic tradition and graceful writing make him a perennial favorite." Best known for his championship of centering prayer, a contemplative sort of prayer that is also known as praying the scriptures, Pennington was the author of over sixty books dealing with aspects of religious life from prayer to spiritual journeys. Pennington was born in 1931 and entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, also known as the Trappists, in 1951 at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. Ordained a priest in 1957, he spent the next half a century in study, contemplation, writing, and giving workshops on centering prayer. He also traveled widely throughout the world, attending conferences and assisting at other monasteries, especially in Asia.

Among Pennington's numerous books are several dealing with Lectio Divina, or praying through the scriptures. His 1999 volume Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina looks at fifteen questions that Jesus posited throughout the New Testament in order to get his followers to think more deeply about their faith. By offering commentary on such queries as "What do I want?" and "Who do you say that I am?" Pennington provides a "vibrant, practical, and readily accessible theological overview of Lectio Divina," according to Booklist contributor Margaret Flanagan. Reviewing Living in the Question for Spirituality in Practice, Frederic Brussat and Mary Ann Brus- sat commented: "The quest in Jesus' questions takes us deeper into ourselves and expands our hearts in such a way that love becomes the only response to a neighbor in need or an enemy who's at our throats." Pennington further explores this same spiritual territory in Who Do You Say I Am? Meditations on Jesus' Questions in the Gospels. Benet Exton, reviewing that work for Curled up with a Good Book, found it "a good spiritual tool to learn how to pray over the Gospels."

Similarly, in Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures, Pennington presents a further overview of this method of prayer. As Library Journal contributor Bernadette McGrath noted, Pennington "emphasizes the experiential aspects of the practice, noting that the intent is not to study Bible passages for knowledge but to deepen awareness of God's presence." And in Psalms: A Spiritual Commentary, Pennington "offers a sweet, personal, almost easygoing response to each [psalm]," according to Library Journal critic Graham Christian.

Among the projects left by Pennington at his death was the posthumously published Journey in a Holy Land: A Spiritual Journal, which chronicles events from four separate tours Pennington made to the Holy Land throughout his life. Here, personal memoir blends with commentary on the sights dealing with the life of Jesus Christ. A Publishers Weekly reviewer found Journey in a Holy Land to be a journal in which "the mundane often morphs into the exceptional." The same reviewer concluded: "Pennington's reflections make for thoughtful reading that will be appreciated by Christian readers, especially those who have traveled to Israel."

M. Basil Pennington once told CA: "My main interest is to help as many people as I can to come to experience how much God loves them, so that their lives can be fuller and happier in a union of love with him. I am also deeply concerned about the union of the churches and all religions as a basis for a world spirituality that will undergird true fraternal collaboration in the social, political, and economic spheres."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Pennington, M. Basil, Journey in a Holy Land: A Spiritual Journal, Paraclete Press (Brewster, MA), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1994, Mary Deeley, review of Vatican II: We've Only Just Begun, p. 461; October 15, 1999, Margaret Flanagan, review of Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina, p. 397; March 1, 2000, Margaret Flanagan, review of Eucharist: Wine of Faith, Bread of Life, p. 1175.

Commonweal, May 19, 1995, Lawrence S. Cunningham, review of Vatican II, p. 40; November 19, 1999, review of Living in the Question, p. 13.

Library Journal, October 1, 1998, Bernadette McGrath, review of Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures, p. 100; March 1, 2006, Graham Christian, review of Psalms: A Spiritual Commentary, p. 94.

Publishers Weekly, March 13, 2000, review of Eucharist, p. 78; November 14, 2005, review of Journey in a Holy Land: A Spiritual Journal, p. 64; May 14, 2007, review of Listen with Your Heart: Deepen Your Spiritual Life with the Rule of Saint Benedict, p. 48.

Reference & Research Book News, August 1, 2007, review of The Christ Chaplain: The Way to a Deeper, More Effective Hospital Ministry.

ONLINE

Curled up with a Good Book,http://www.curledup.com/ (June 13, 2008), Benet Exton, review of Who Do You Say I Am? Meditations on Jesus' Questions in the Gospels.

Spirituality in Practice,http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ (June 13, 2008), Frederic Brussat and Mary Ann Brussat, reviews of True Self; False Self and Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina.

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

America, July 4, 2005, "Basil Pennington Dead at 74; Known Worldwide as Writer and Teacher of Prayer," p. 5.

National Catholic Reporter, June 17, 2005, p. 4.

ONLINE

Centering Prayer/Contemplative Outreach Web site,http://www.centeringprayer.com/ (June 15, 2008), "Dom M. Basil (Robert) Pennington, OCSO: July 28, 1931-June 3, 2005."