"Whatever it was you expected when you heard about the new Classics of Western Spirituality(TM) series from Paulist Press, forget it. The real thing is better." The Crux of Prayer Luis de Le n: The Names of Christ translated and introduced by Manuel Duran and William Kluback preface by J. Ferrater Mora As Christ is a source or rather is an ocean which holds in itself all that is sweet and meaningful that belongs to man, in the same way the study of his person, the revelation of the treasure, is the most meaningful and dearest of all knowledge. Luis de Le n (1527-1591) The Names of Christ is a masterpiece of the Golden Age of Spain. Written in the style of a pastoral novel, the work is a meditation on the philosophical and theological significance of the names of Christ. Based on a careful examination of ten names given Christ in the Scriptures, the book reflects elements of Augustinian, Jewish, and Islamic spirituality that were part of sixteenth-century Spain. Luis de Le n was born in 1527 in Belmonte, a small village in the Castile region of Spain. An Augustinian friar, a brilliant professor, an artful poet, he was a true Renaissance man whose vision of the fullness of Christ sustained him in the face of persecution at the hands of the Inquisition and infused his writing with a sensitivity that has made The Names of Christ a treasure of Spanish literature and a classic of Catholic mysticism. +
This book is the keystone work of one of the three greatest Christian mystics of the era. The only reasons Luis de Leon isn't as famous as St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila, are political ones: he resisted the Inquisition and called for the Bible to be printed in local languages (rejecting Vulgate). All of which has nothing to do with this book. This book will enthrall and inspire you. This is a book to "dip in to," because it is so good, you can't read too much of it before you need to go for a walk to let it soak in.
Here is an admirable book!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This title lives up to the standards of the Western Spirituality Series. The introduction provides an exciting narrative of this holy man's life, situating his thought within the hour of the Inquisition. Fray Luis de Leon's treatment of each name of Christ is situated within a dialogue format between friends. One reads with a felt sense of their earnest desire for God. It is captivating! So much so that it is hard to understand how he has remained so little known!
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