Basil Pennington

Basil Pennington (born July 28, 1931 in Queens ; † June 3, 2005 in Worcester , Massachusetts ) was an American Roman Catholic theologian, Trappist , abbot and spiritual writer.

life and work

monk

Robert Pennington attended schools in Brooklyn until 1950 . In 1951 he entered the Trappist Abbey of Spencer and took the religious name Basil (also: Mary Basil or M. Basil ). In 1956 he made his solemn profession , and in 1957 he was ordained a priest. Then he obtained a licentiate in theology in Rome ( Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas ). From 1959 to 1961 he taught theology in his monastery. He studied again in Rome ( Pontifical Gregorian University ) and graduated in canon law in 1963 . He taught his subject in Spencer and was a member of the Order's Canon Law Commission from 1967. From 1978 he was responsible for vocational pastoral care . 1986–1989 he was a monk and 2000–2001 superior of the Trappist Abbey of Ava . 1991–1998 he lived in Lantao Monastery . 2001–2002 he was elected abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Conyers . In July 2002, he resigned and returned to Spencer. He died at the age of 73 as a result of a car accident.

Editor and author

Pennington made a name for himself as an extremely fruitful author of spiritual writings, some of which have been translated into several languages. Under the influence of Thomas Merton , together with Abbot Thomas Keating and William Meninger (* 1930, from 1979 in the Trappist Abbey of Snowmass ), he developed a special method of meditation , the Centering Prayer . Pennington founded the Cistercian Fathers Series in 1968 and stood at the beginning of the Cistercian Publications . In 1973 he founded the Institute of Cistercian Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo . In 2008 a memorial was dedicated to him.

Works

During his lifetime

• Daily we touch him. Practical religious experiences . Doubleday, Garden City, NJ 1977.
  • (Italian) Respiriamo dio ogni giorno. Esperienze religious pratiche . Rome 1978, 1980.
  • (Portuguese) Deus ao alcance das mãos. Experiências religiosas práticas . São Paulo 1978, 1980.
• O holy mountain! Journal of a retreat on Mount Athos . Doubleday, New York, NY 1978.
  • (Recast) The monks of Mount Athos. A Western monk's extraordinary spiritual journey on eastern holy ground . Woodstock, Vt., 2003, 2010.
  • (French) Ô Sainte Montagne! Journal d'une retraite sur le mont Athos . Éditions du Cerf, Paris 1981.
• (with others) Finding grace at the center . St. Bede Publications, Still River, Mass., 1978, Woodstock, Vt., 2007, 2016.
  • (French) Trouver la grace au center. Central Prière . Montréal 1996.
• Centering prayer. Renewing an ancient Christian prayer form . Complete and unabridged. Doubleday, New York 1980.
  • (Spanish) La Oración centrante. Renovación de una antigua manera de orar . Madrid 1986.
  • (French) La prière de silence. Renouveler une forme traditionnelle de prière chrétienne . Ottawa 2006.
  • (Italian) La preghiera centrica. Che cos'è, come la si vive . Milan 2007.
• Jubilee, a monk's journal . Paulist Press, New York, NY 1981.
• Monastic journey to India . The Seabury Press, New York, NY 1982.
• The last of the fathers . The Cistercian Fathers of the 12th century. A collection of essays. St. Bede's, Still River, MA 1983.
• Called. New thinking on Christian vocation . The Seabury Press, New York, NY 1983.
• Monastery. Prayer, work, community . Harper and Row, San Francisco, CA 1983.
• The eucharist yesterday and today . Crossroad, New York, NY 1984.
• The manual of life . The New Testament for daily living. New York, NY 1985.
• In Peter's footsteps . Learning to be a disciple. Doubleday, Garden City, NJ 1985.
• Breaking bread . The table talk of Jesus. Harper and Row, San Francisco, CA 1986.
• Thomas Merton, brother monk . The quest for true freedom. Harper and Row, San Francisco, CA 1987.
• Mary today. The challenging woman . Doubleday, Garden City, New York, NY 1987.
• Prayertimes . Morning, midday, evening. Garden City, NJ 1987.
  • (revised) The abbey prayer book. Liguori, MO 2002.
• A retreat with Thomas Merton . Warwick 1988. New York, NY 1995 (On retreat with Thomas Merton)
  • (Recast) Engaging the world with Merton. On retreat in Tom's Hermitage. Paraclete, Brewster, MA 2005.
  • (Spanish) Un retiro espiritual con Thomas Merton. Buenos Aires 1994.
• Through the year with the saints . Doubleday, New York 1988, 2011.
• Monastic life. A short history of monasticism and its spirit . St. Bede's Publications, Petersham, MA 1989.
• Long on the journey. The reflections of a pilgrim . Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, IN 1989.
• The monastic way . Crossroad, New York, NY 1990.
• Light from the cloister . New York, NY 1991.
• Praying by hand. Rediscovering the rosary as a way of prayer . Harper, San Francisco, CA 1991.
  • (Recast) 20 mysteries of the Rosary. A scriptural journey . Liguori, MO 2003.
  • (Spanish) 20 misterios del rosario. Un viaje a través de las escritures. Se incluyen oraciones del rosario . Bonum, Buenos Aires 2005.
• The fifteen mysteries in image and word . Huntington, IN 1993.
• Vatican II. We've only just begun . Crossroad, New York, NY 1994.
• (with Yael Katzir) Bernard of Clairvaux. A saint's life in word and image . Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, IN 1994.
• Lessons from the monastery that touch your life . Paulist Press, New York, NY 1994.
  • (Spanish) La Vida desde el monasterio . Desclée de Brouwer, Bilbao 1998.
• Thomas Merton. My brother. His journey to freedom, compassion and final integration . New City, London 1996.
• Lectio divina. Renewing the ancient practice of praying the scriptures . Crossroad, New York, NY 1998.
• Living in the question . Continuum, New York, NY 1999.
• True self / false self. Unmasking the spirit within . Crossroad, New York, NY 2000.
• The Eucharist. Wine of faith, bread of life . Liguori / Triumph, Liguori, MO 2000.
• A school of love. The Cistercian way to holiness . Canterbury Press, Norwich, CT 2000.
• Poetry as prayer. The Psalms . Boston, MA 2001.
• Seeking His at least 40 meetings with Christ . Paraclete Press, Brewster, MA 2002.
• Who do you say I am? Meditations on Jesus' questions in the Gospels . Hyde Park, New York, NY 2004.

Posthumously

• Psalms. A spiritual commentary. Meditations . Woodstock, Vt., 2006.
• Journey in a Holy Land. A spiritual journal . Paraclete, Brewster, Mass., 2006.
• Listen with your heart . Deepen your spiritual life with the rule of Saint Benedict. Paraclete, Brewster, Mass., 2007.
• The Christ Chaplain . The way to a deeper, more effective hospital ministry. Edited by Robert John Pennington. Haworth Pastoral Press, Binghamton, NY, 2007.
• Transformation into prayer . 99 sayings by M. Basil Pennington. Edited by Jean Maalouf. New City Press, Hyde Park, NY, 2009.

editor

• (Ed.) The Cistercian spirit. A symposium in memory of Thomas Merton. Cistercian Publications, Spencer, Mass., 1969.
• (Ed.) The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux: Treatises, I. (Cistercian Fathers Series, Number One). Cistercian Publications, Spencer, Mass., 1970.
• (Ed.) Studies in medieval Cistercian history . Cistercian Publications, Spencer, Mass., 1971.
• (Ed.) Rule and life. An interdisciplinary symposium. Cistercian Publications, Spencer, Mass., 1971.
• (Ed.) Contemplative community . An interdisciplinary symposium. Cistercian publications, Washington, DC, 1972.
• (Ed.) Bernard of Clairvaux. Studies presented to Jean Leclercq . Cistercian publications, Washington, DC, 1973.
• (Ed.) Prayer and liberation. The Ecumenical Institute of Spirituality. Alba, Canfield 1976.
• (Ed.) One yet two. Monastic tradition east and west. Orthodox-cistercian symposium, Oxford Univ., August 26 - September 1, 1973. Kalamazoo 1976.
• (Ed.) Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Studies commemorating the eighth centenary of his canonization . Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1977.
• (Ed.) The living testament . The essential writings of Christianity since the Bible. Harper and Row, San Francisco 1985.
• (Ed.) Thomas Merton's journey . Toward an integrated humanity. Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1988.
• (Ed.) Bernard of Clairvaux: A lover teaching the way of love. Selected writings . New City, New York 1997.
• (Ed.) Aelred of Rievaulx: The way of Friendship . New City Press, Canada 2000.
• (Ed.) Thomas Merton: I have seen what I was looking for. Selected spiritual writings . Hyde Park, New York, 2005.

literature

• As we knew him. Reflections on M. Basil Pennington , ed. by Michael Moran and Ann Overton. Paraclete Press, Brewster, Mass., 2008. (Contents: Priest and Monk. Family Man. Man of Prayer. Dreamer and Creator. Human Being and Friend. Basil's Three Core Teachings and Spiritual Practices. Chronology. Bibliography of Books)

Web links

• Information on Basil Pennington in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France .
• Literature by and about Basil Pennington in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
• Entry in the Cistercian dictionary