Sr. Mary Margaret Funk
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LECTIO MATTERS
Before the Burning Bush
Lectio Divina is a clear teaching from the Alexandrian School for catechumens (Didaskeleion) that is also recommended by the Rule of Benedict. Most current teachings on Lectio Divina are derived from the later Scholastic tradition summarized by the Carthusian prior Guigo II (d. 1188).
In this book Sr. Mary Margaret Funk retrieves the tradition that was in use by the much earlier Desert Elders who were foundational for the monastic rules. Lectio Divina is understood as a revelatory text that has many doors. Scripture is the hallowed point of entry but also God comes as God through the windows of personal experience and the powerfully pervasive "Book of Nature".
Lectio Matters is for those who have encountered God through either or all of these revelatory texts and those who want to sustain their lectio into habits of a lifetime. 216 pages, hardcover.
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HUMILITY MATTERS
The Practice of the Spiritual Life
In this third volume of her trilogy (other titles are Tools Matter and Thoughts Matter), the springboard is the teaching on humility of St. Benedict and fifteen years Sr. Mary Margaret Funk spent in interreligious dialogue. "Humility," she says, "is the essence of being human. Humility for a disciple of Jesus Christ is what enlightenment is for a Buddhist, surrender for a Muslim, realization for a Hindu, and sincerity for a Confucian." Hardcover, 188 pages
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TOOLS MATTER
For Practicing the Spiritual Life
In this second volume of her trilogy (other titles are Tools Matter and Humility Matters), Sr. Mary Margaret Funk turns to the wisdom of the desert fathers for the means of removing obstacles to spiritual growth, which include thoughts of food, sex, possessions, anger, dejection, and pride, among other preoccupations. Redirecting thought away from such weeds in the garden of the spirit can lead to a greater awareness of God. This somewhat Zen-like method to mental discipline may seem impossible at first, Funk admits, but those who succeed at it are rewarded with a liberating experience as they come to observe and control individual thought processes.
Drawing on the writings of the fifth-century monk John Cassian, Funk goes on to explore deeply using such tools as memory, imagination, and rational thinking -- tools right out of early Christianity -- to work on inner healing. She also explains how other positive tools, such as ceaseless prayer, manual labor, and isolation, may lead to uncluttering the mind and purifying the heart. Paperback, 167 pages
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THOUGHTS MATTER
The Practice of the Spiritual Life
In this first volume of her trilogy (other titles are Tools Matter and Humility Matters), Sr. Mary Margaret Funk explains the theory and practice of dealing with mindless thoughts developed by the great fourth-century monk John Cassian, and she interprets them in a contemporary way suitable not only for nuns and monks but for all lay persons who are serious about the spiritual life.
What are the thoughts that matter? According to John Cassian's classic list, they are thoughts about food, sex, things, anger, dejection, acedia or weariness of soul, vainglory, and pride. The book devotes a chapter to each of these "thoughts" and shows how, with prayer and practice, we can discipline our thoughts and achieve a "mind at peace, stilled, available for conscious thinking-at-will." Paperback, 144 pages
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