Tales of a Magic Monastery (Tales Magic Monastry Ppr) [Paperback]

Theopane the Monk (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tales Magic Monastry Ppr | Publication Date: February 25, 1981

Here, the charming, mature stories from the internationallly beloved monk are accompanied by original art. Like the parables of Jesus, these tales repeatedly unfold new levels of meaning if we are willing to sit with them.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (February 25, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824500857
• ISBN-13: 978-0824500856
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Monasticism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book inspires and charms, August 11, 2002

By 

reading matters "readsliz" (Wheeling, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of a Magic Monastery (Tales Magic Monastry Ppr) (Paperback)

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Father Theophane. I'd enjoyed this book, and I'd already given several copies to friends. But, I had assumed the some monks banded together and made up Theophane. There is such a whimsical and free feeling about these stories that a pretend author seemed not only possible but likely. It surprises me that one person could come up with all these different perspectives. But, Father Theophane himself is surprising! He first strikes you as a sort of reprobate monk - a bit wild in appearance and manner. Except, when he says Mass, all that personality and charisma are companioned by Theophane's deep reverence. He's an exceptional character. This book helped me know God better and know myself better. I highly recommend it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theophane's Good News, December 6, 2008

By 

zenhole (Minot,MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tales of a Magic Monastery (Tales Magic Monastry Ppr) (Paperback)

Father Theophane is my friend. I spent five years at Saint Joseph's Abbey when he was Vocation Director. He was a "zen koan" in the flesh.
After five years I left to become a teacher in a Catholic boy's high school near Boston. Every day in every class I taught, I would wait for silence from everyone, then sound a pair of small Tibetan cymbals and read a selection from an Emily Dickinson poem, or the Writings of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton, or the Sermon on the Mount, or Tao Te Ching, or a story from Theophane's Tales of a Magic Monastery. Then I would begin class which could be Chemistry, Physics, Math, Scripture or Sexuality. For over 35 years I maintained this practice.
Through the years my former students have testified how wonderful it was to begin every class this way. The stories of Theophane the Monk have stayed with them for all the years since we shared my class. Many of them have practiced meditation into their older middle age. Especially beloved from Tales are the following: "The Pearl of Great Price", "Myself","The Gun", and most especially "Now!"
I have always felt that "Tales of a Magic Monastery" will last as long as "Apothegmata Patrum"(the "Sayings of the Desert Fathers"). Thank you Father Theophane and may we meet again.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wanderings of a peaceful spirit., September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales of a Magic Monastery (Tales Magic Monastry Ppr) (Paperback)

Open to any page and walk into a place of calm and tranquility. Where Theophane treads one finds no hostility, no discord, only blessed peace. Read these vignettes when things are out of hand and you will be rewarded.