André Louf OCSO – författare

Andre Louf's probing essay on the nature of humility revisions this fundamental Christian virtue away from the misunderstandings of both the scholastic tradition and its modern counterparts to locate humility in the ancient sources of the monastic tradition. His incisive study prefaces a collection of primary texts which range from the early desert fathers to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The translator has added further information about the author and his other writings as well as a bibliography for further reading. Andre Louf served as abbot Cistercian Abbey of Mont des Cats in northern France until his retirement in 1997 and now lives as a solitary. Previous books in English include Teach Us To Pray, Tuning into Grace, Grace Can Do More: Spiritual Accompaniment, and Mercy in Weakness: Meditations on the Word. Lawrence S. Cunningham is Professor of Theology at Notre Dame and book notes columnist for Commonweal.

Dom André Louf (+2010) was abbot of the Trappist-Cistercian monastery of Mont-des-Cats in northern France from 1963 to 1997. This book brings together talks given to a variety of audiences in which he shared his spiritual experience from both his life of prayer and his life in community.Each chapter offers inspiring insights on the spiritual experience, the priority of love, and other areas of our Christian life: community life, obedience, prayer, psalms, the liturgy, and more.In this book we enter "a school of contemplation" wherein the monastic experience enlightens our lives and service to the world and the Church.

Blessed Weakness contains Dom André’s homilies on the Gospel passages for Year A of the church’s three-year liturgical cycle. These homilies reflect Dom André’s spiritual insights about the wisdom in the teachings of Christ. The title conveys a favorite theme of Dom André’s: God’s special love for humans in their weakness, manifested in Jesus’ leaving behind his glory to become one of us in weakness, living among and ministering to the poor. Contemplative reflection on these Gospel passages and on Dom André’s insights will provide a path for the reader and hearer to seek a deeper union with God.

Blessed Weakness contains Dom André’s homilies on the Gospel passages for Year B of the church’s three-year liturgical cycle. These homilies reflect Dom André’s spiritual insights about the wisdom in the teachings of Christ. The title conveys a favorite theme of Dom André’s: God’s special love for humans in their weakness, manifested in Jesus’ leaving behind his glory to become one of us in weakness, living among and ministering to the poor. Contemplative reflection on these Gospel passages and on Dom André’s insights will provide a path for the reader and hearer to seek a deeper union with God.

Spiritual accompaniment-patient listening and honest openness has become widespread among Christians of many traditions in recent years. Is this modern application of an ancient 'discernment of spirits' the best way for individual persons and groups of Christians to be formed as the People of God?Can anyone today accompany another person's spiritual experience without a sound knowledge of psychology? Do spiritual accompaniment and psychological therapy overlap? Can one replace the other? Should an accompanist also be a therapist, as some have suggested?Writing from his years of experience in a cistercian monastery, in which spiritual accompaniment is a living tradition, the author reflects on some first steps towards answering these questions.