Books by Sister Joan Chittister

Making the monastic tradition available to twenty-first-century seekers, so that we can live our ordinary lives extraordinarily well

Testimonials"Chittister's meditations on the mysteries that her belief affirms in the Creed are rich. She cautions that disbelief in God inevitably leads to a myopic affirmation of one's own divinity, and she repeats the ancient caveats against creating God in our own image, or believing that a human being is able to grasp God intellectually...Her characterization of heaven is both refreshing and challenging...Her reflections on the annunciation and incarnation soar with hope as she affirms the reality of miracles, the active presence of God who fills human flesh 'with an insatiable capacity for the divine.'" --America Magazine"A refreshing and contemporary analysis of the true meaning of the Creed. Honest and thought provoking, In Search of Belief calls us to a spiritual adulthood...Not for the spiritually faint-hearted." --Edwina GatelyEach age has those who understand more deeply than most the essence of belief and the need to liberate religion from itself -- and God from the constrictions of religion. Joan Chittister brings a religious vision, one deeply considered and richly experienced, to the task. In doing so, she offers us the way to new eyes and new hearts when we pray, "I believe." --Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter"...In Search of Belief raises several questions about the Creed.... The book is an invitation to examine the extent to which we have made the Creed a personal statement of what we truly believe....The life of faith is a perilous journey because it involves placing one's trust in God and in transcendent reality. What makes the book so refreshing is that the Creed is made relevant to the modern age. There is absolutely no chance of anyone being bored!" --Trefoil, Southern African Catholic Quarterly"In this stirring testament to the resiliency of the Christian faith, Joan Chittister ...spells out the meaning of the apostles Creed, phrase by phrase. For her, this testament is not an index of dogmas, but a "catalog of choices, an inventory of possibilities, a roster of visions...She breathes new life into these familiar phrases...This is a path-breaking resource for Christian educators to study and use in parishes." --Spirituality & Health"This book is dangerous. Once you have read it, you can never again mumble the Creed complacently, without thought. Joan Chittister

Drawing from the culture and scripture of other cultures, as well as her own monastic tradition, sister Joan Chittister develops a spirituality that understands what it means to be human and the importance of seeing others for what they truly are, sacred.

This is a profound and personal invitation to savour the sacred in everyday life. Drawing from her formation as a Benedictine sister and her international experience as a writer, speaker, and retreat leader, Sister Joan Chittister connects the wisdom of monasticism with the modern world.

Joan Chittister writes from the perspective of decades of deep involvement in religious life. She writes about religious life in the here and now, not about the value of its past nor about the possible shape of its future, asking a simple question: What, if anything, constitutes the spirituality of contemporary religious life? What is the work of religious life now? What are the virtues demanded of religious now that take character and test commitment, that make the world closer to the reign of God and bring a person closer to the Truth of life?