"So the Celtic approach to God opens up a world in which nothing is too common to be exalted and nothing is so exalted that it cannot be made common." - Esther de Waal

Esther de Waal at Glen Coe

Esther de Waal leading the search for wild flowers at Glen Coe on the 2003 Pilgrimage to Scotland

The author of numerous books on Celtic spirituality and on the Rule of St. Benedict, Anglican writer Esther de Waal is the ideal person to lead this journey back into the days of the undivided Church.

Esther de Waal is a foremost scholar in the Benedictine and Celtic traditions and has published extensively in both fields. Her interest in Celtic spirituality began at Cambridge University where she studied history and lived with Celtic scholar, Nora Chadwick.
While her husband served as rector of Canterbury, she became fascinated with the architecture of the Cathedral (a former Benedictine foundation) and it was there that a deep appreciation for the Rule of Benedict began. In Canterbury, while raising four sons, she studied and wrote on the Benedictine way of life.
She now resides in the Welsh-English Borderlands where she lived as a child.

Her many books include:
 

 

To Pause at the Threshold

Esther de Waal never lets us down! In To Pause at the Threshold she explores how even the busiest life can be lived mindfully and prayerfully. She attunes us to what the Celtic Christians called "thin" moments, those times when what is before gives way to the new, when God is experienced as most palpably present. Life is immeasurably blessed, she assures us, when we receive the next moment, the next event, the next person with reverence and expectation. This fine little book is a lovely companion for the one who lives life on pilgrimage.
 

 

Lost in Wonder: the Art of Spiritual Attentiveness

Esther's 2003 book is in many ways her most personal. Yet she draws from the ancient rich wells of Benedictine and Celtic spirituality to help inform spiritual awareness in the modern age.

     


Tintern: Guidebook to the Abbey
Unknown; ISBN: 1853113123
 

Seeking God : The Way of St. Benedict
Liturgical Press; ISBN: 0814613888
 

Living With Contradiction: An Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality
Morehouse Publishing Company; ISBN: 0819217549
   
A Life-Giving Way : A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict
Liturgical Press; ISBN: 0814623581
   

The Celtic Vision
St Bedes Pubns; ISBN: 0932506836
 



The Celtic Way of Prayer
Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd Pap); ISBN: 0385493746
Hardcover:Doubleday; ISBN: 0385486634
 

Every Earthly Blessing
Morehouse Publishing Company; ISBN: 0819218065
   

God Under My Roof
Paraclete Press; ISBN: 0941478424
   

The Rule of Saint Benedict
Morehouse Publishing Company; ISBN: 0852441681
 

A Seven Day Journey With Thomas Merton
Servant Publications; ISBN: 0892837896
   



Tintern
Unknown; ISBN: 1853113123
   



The Way of Simplicity : The Cistercian Tradition
Orbis Books; ISBN: 1570751951

How did Esther de Waal, the daughter of an Anglican vicar, get involved with the Rule of St. Benedict?


Return to Celtic Pilgrimage Home

The pilgrimage group will be small. Don't be disappointed. Register now.

Contact Us

Find your roots. Find yourself.

For more information contact:
Therese Elias, OSB
Guardian Angels Monastic House
4220 Mercier
Kansas City, MO 64111
816/561-6855

An ecumenical ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas