The Anglican Spiritual Tradition, parts 1 and 2
By Martin Thornton PART ONE There is good reason for dividing this lecture into two unequal parts. I must first offer a brief resumé of…
Walter Hilton
Marian Penitence
“Penitence,” wrote Martin Thornton, “becomes a search for the truth of one’s vocation” (The Purple Headed Mountain, Chap. 5). Penitence can take on this character…
Martin Thornton’s Ressourcement Syllabus
[from the appendix to English Spirituality: An Outline of Ascetical Theology According to the English Pastoral Tradition, rev. ed. 1986.] A Course of Study in Ascetical…
Is the Psalter the heart of the Divine Office?
It is often said, by way of catechesis, that the Psalms constitite the heart of the Divine Office. Herein, I propose a slight, yet ascetically…
The Case for a Prologue Office of Praise
“It is not sufficient to participate regularly in the Eucharist, with its unequal stress on individuality and formalism; rather we have to be eucharistic people.…
Regula, Sacred Space, and Sacred Time
The Church is Christ’s body, and He is the head of the body. In this sense, the Church is the “extension” of the incarnation of…
Martin Thornton on Walter Hilton
The Prayer Book as Regula, a Slideshow
If the first Christians were Catholic, it was because of their threefold prayer life (Acts 2:42) seen as the total, systematic means for repentence and…
Nine Texts toward Catholic Renewal in Anglican Parishes
If over the coming years a critical mass of faithful Anglicans become serious students of English spirituality, does that in fact enact a Catholic renewal?…
Theology as Food
When a person looks sickly, perhaps with an obviously pale complexion, and shows a distinct lack of energy — obviously not his or her normal…