Basil Pennington

M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. (1931–2005) was an American Trappist priest and leading spiritual writer, speaker, teacher, and director. He became known internationally as one of the major proponents of the centering prayer movement begun at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, during the 1970s.

Life

Pennington entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance at St. Joseph's Abbey in June 1951. He received the licentiate in Theology in 1959 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum. He also earned a licentiate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. At St. Joseph's Abbey, he was appointed professor of theology in 1959, professor of canon law and professor of spirituality in 1963, and vocations director in 1978. In 2000, he was appointed superior at Assumption Abbey in Ava, Missouri, and later that same year he was elected abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. He returned to St. Joseph's Abbey after retiring in 2002. He died on June 3, 2005, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, from injuries sustained from a car accident.

Bernard McGinn wrote that Pennington "not only wrote effectively about centering prayer, but he also traveled across the United States and the world spreading the practice through lectures and workshops. The renewal of contemplative prayer in the last decades of the twentieth century owes much to these efforts.": 98 

Bibliography

Pennington's book Centering Prayer was first published in 1980, and had sold more than a million copies by 2002. Translations have been published in Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, and Italian. Pennington published a total of more than 60 books, including:

References

  1. ↑ Flynn, Matthew (2008). "The beginning and the end (1951–2005)". As we knew him: Reflections on M. Basil Pennington. Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press. p. 8.
  2. ↑ Bernard McGinn (2006). "Let us now praise... M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005)". Theology Today. 63 (1): 96–99. doi:10.1177/004057360606300111. ISSN 0040-5736. OCLC 1587753. S2CID 170376377.
  3. ↑ Lynn Garrett & Jeff Zaleski (2002). "Writings of spiritual leaders". Publishers Weekly. 249 (43). Reed Business Information / Reviews: 68. ISSN 0000-0019.
  4. ↑ Jana Reiss & Jeff Zaleski (2002). "Religion notes". Publishers Weekly. 249 (45). Reed Business Information / Reviews: 61. ISSN 0000-0019.
  5. ↑ Jonathan Shear, ed. (2006). The experience of meditation: Experts introduce the major traditions. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House. ISBN 978-1-55778-857-3.. On page 275: "Father Pennington helped formulate Centering Prayer... and his book Centering Prayer has sold over 1 million copies throughout the world."
  6. ↑ Pennington, M. Basil (1986). La oración centrante: renovación de una antigua manera de orar (in Spanish). (Carmen Fernández Aguinaco, trans.). Narcea. ISBN 978-84-277-0713-9. (235 pages)
  7. ↑ Pennington, M. Basil (2006). La prière de silence: Renouveler une forme traditionnelle de prière chrétienne (in French). (Bernard Dionne, trans.). Novalis. ISBN 978-2-89507-684-1. (261 pages)
  8. ↑ Pennington, M. Basil (2003). Modlitwa prowadząca do środka: Powrót do starochrześcijańskiej metody modlitwy (in Polish). Homini. ISBN 978-83-87933-91-3. (280 pages)
  9. ↑ Pennington, M. Basil (2002). Oração Centrante (in Portuguese). Palas Athena. ISBN 978-85-7242-041-9. (296 pages)
  10. ↑ Pennington, M. Basil (2007). Preghiera centrica (in Italian). Gribaudi. ISBN 978-88-7152-903-5.