Pathways of Spiritual Living [Paperback]

Susan Muto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

Founded on the premise that each of us is to be a sign of the living God, "nourishing the world with spiritual fruits," Pathways of Spiritual Living is a primer on spiritual formation for Christians in the world. Focusing on the universal call to holiness, acclaimed author Susan Muto, takes us through each step along the path of spiritual living: silence, solitude, prayer, reading, meditation, journal-keeping, contemplation, and service.

Grounded in scripture as well as the classic mystical texts, Pathways of Spiritual Living successfully harmonizes the wisdom of medieval spiritual masters with contemporary spiritual living in the midst of secular pursuits. Throughout, the reader is awakened to the reality of being present, being open, and being reconciled. The author's own personal struggles as a modern laywoman--as well as the application of the struggles we all encounter, regardless of our walk in life--lend a useful immediacy to the reader and an insight into the means of integrating our interior life and our public tasks. Such harmonious living is a realizable goal, Muto contends, and in invitation to which all Christians must respond.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Muto, Ph.D., executive director of the Epiphany Association and a native of Pittsburgh, is a renowned speaker, author, teacher, and Dean of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality. A single lay woman living her vocation in the world and doing full-time, church-related ministry in the Epiphany Association, she has led conferences, seminars, workshops, and institutes throughout the world.

Professor Muto received her Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Pittsburgh, where she specialized in the work of post-Reformation spiritual writers. Beginning in 1966, she served in various administrative positions at the Institute of Formative Spirituality (IFS) at Duquesne University and taught as a full professor in its programs, edited its journals, and served as its director from 1981 to 1988. An expert in literature and spirituality, she continues to teach courses on an adjunct basis at many schools, seminaries, and centers of higher learning. She aims in her teaching to integrate the life of prayer and presence with professional ministry and in-depth formation in the home, the church, and the marketplace. In faithfulness to the principles of the original European Epiphany approach, she addresses her teachings to the contemporary needs of laity, clergy, and religious.

As co-editor of Epiphany Connexions, Epiphany Inspirations, and Epiphany International, as a frequent contributor to scholarly and popular journals, and as herself the author and coauthor of over thirty books, Doctor Muto keeps up to date with the latest developments in her field. In fact, her many books on formative reading of Scripture and the masters are considered to be premiere introductions to the basic, classical art and discipline of spiritual formation and its systematic, comprehensive, formation theology. She lectures nationally and internationally on the treasured wisdom of the Judeo-Christian faith and formation tradition and on many foundational facets of living human and Christian values in today's world. Professor Muto holds membership in numerous honorary organizations and has received many distinctions for her work, including a Doctor of Humanities degree from King's College in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Epiphany Books (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880982293
• ISBN-13: 978-1880982297
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid spiritual life directives, March 17, 2000

By 

Jacques Molyneux - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pathways of Spiritual Living (Paperback)

Muto calls the lay person to a life of holiness. To be a witness for Christ one must integrate the basics of Christian spirituality to the routine of life. She says, "The call to holiness beckons us to return to the basics, that is, to those conditions for fostering single-hearted, awe-filled, grateful abandonment to God's will, revealed in the midst of our life in the everyday world." The aim of the Christian is to place into practice the foundations of spiritual formation through silence, listening to God's word, reflection, prayer, contemplation and service to God. The author examines Jesus' desert experience and relates that to the way of true discipleship. She speaks of the desert and discipleship by stating, "To follow Christ means that we must let go of excessive attachments to passing pleasures and possessions, to ploys of autonomous power, to tangible goods as if they were ultimate. Christ asks us to abandon our idols, whatever they may be, and to love him with our entire being." Basically, we are stripped of our ego, pride and attachments in the desert and freed to follow Christ. Muto suggests that the way to love Christ in discipleship be found in our spiritual formation. Once we have abandoned self, we are liberated to follow Christ through silence, being quiet in our noisy world; through formative reading, the art of listening to God's word; through meditation, chewing on God's word; and through contemplation, being in the total presence of the Transcendent. The fruits of these disciplines will find themselves in the awareness and service of God in occupation, family, neighborhood and daily routine. This is discipleship according to Muto, We want to help others see his face in every person, event, and thing. This is what it means as Christians to be missioned. Missionary duty is not limited to evangelizing work in foreign lands. It is what we are to do every day in our homes and professions. Whether we are involved in teaching, law, nursing, medicine, or social work, whatever our position or profession, we have to remain faithful disciples despite daily pressures. An excellent work on the spiritual disciplines.