Brennan Manning

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Brennan Manning (christened Richard Francis Xavier Manning) is an author, monk, priest, contemplative and speaker. Born and raised in Depression-era Brooklyn, New York, Manning finished high school and enlisted in the US Marine Corps, where he fought in the Korean War. When Manning returned to the states, he enrolled at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation from the seminary in 1963, Manning was ordained to the Franciscan priesthood.

In the late 1960s, Manning joined the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, a religious order committed to an uncloistered, contemplative life among the poor. Manning then spent time diversely, transporting water via donkey, as a mason's assistant, a dishwasher in France, a prisoner in a Swiss jail (by choice), and spending six months in a remote cave somewhere in the Zaragoza desert.

In the 1970s, Manning returned the US and began writing after falling into, and climbing out of, alcoholism.

Singer-songwriter Rich Mullins became such a fan of Manning's work, that he named his band A Ragamuffin Band, after one of his books. Warren Barfield's music is also often inspired by Manning.

[edit] Bibliography

Gentle Revolutionaries, 1970
Souvenirs of Solitude, 1979
Stranger to Self-Hatred, 1981
Parable of William Juan, 1985
Prophets & Lovers: In Search of the Holy Spirit, 1985
Lion and Lamb/the Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, 1986
The Ragamuffin Gospel, 1990, 2000, 2005
Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, 1994
The Signature of Jesus, 1996
The Boy Who Cried Abba: A Parable of Trust and Acceptance, 1996
Reflections for Ragamuffins: Daily Devotions from the Writings of Brennan Manning, 1998
Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God, 2001
Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, 2001 (foreword only)
The Wisdom of Tenderness: What Happens When God's Fierce Mercy Transforms Our Lives, 2002
The Journey of the Prodigal: A Parable of Sin and Redemption, 2002
A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred, 2003
The Importance of Being Foolish: How to think like Jesus 2006