Helpful Books
We recommend the following books to any who are considering a monastic vocation.
The Cistercian Experience
- Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire, Michael Downey
- Beyond the Walls: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life, Paul Wilkes
- The Cistercian Way, André Louf
- Monastic Practices, Charles Cummings
- The Genesee Diary, Henri Nouwen
- The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trappist Monks, David D. Perata
- The Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton
- The Cistercians: The Way of Simplicity, Esther de Waal
- The Voices of Silence, Frank Bianco
- The Cistercians: Ideals and Realities, Louis Lekai
Monastic Prayer
- Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton
- Sacred Reading, Michael Casey
- Towards God, Michael Casey
- Tuning into Grace: the Quest for God, André Louf
- Grace Can Do More, André Louf
- Music of Silence, David Steindl-Rast
- Asking the Fathers, Ælred Squire
- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, (ed.) Benedicta Ward
- Thoughts Matter, Mary Margaret Funk
- Tools Matter, Mary Margaret Funk
The Benedictine Way
- Seeking God, The Way of St. Benedict, Esther de Waal
- Living with Contradiction, Esther de Waal
- The Monastic Journey, Thomas Merton
- Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris
- A Monk in the World, Wayne Teasdale
Monastic History and Culture
- The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, Jean Leclercq
- Christian Monasticism, David Knowles
- Lovers of the Place: Monasticism Loose in the Church, Francis Kline
- Contemplation in a World of Action, Thomas Merton
- The Monastic Achievement, George Zarnecki
- Dakota, Kathleen Norris
