Thomas Merton is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the 20th century. He has written more than 60 books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race. Some of his most popular titles include New Seeds of Contemplation, No Man Is an Island, The Seven Storey Mountain, Thoughts in Solitude, and Way of Chuang Tzu.

Tian Dayton has a doctorate in clinical psychology, a masters in educational psychology and is a fellow and Scholar's Award recipient from the American Society of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. She has presented psychodrama to audiences across the United States for nearly two decades, integrating action methods into the fields of mental health and addiction. Dayton serves as director of program development for the Caron foundation and is also the director of the New York PsychoDrama Training Institute at Caron, New York. Dr. Dayton taught psychodrama, sociometry, and group...

Rev. Dr. Tilden Edwards is a leader in the rebirth of contemplative spirituality in an ecumenical context. An Episcopalian priest, he is the founder and former executive director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, a respected ecumenical Christian community dedicated to fostering contemplative living and leadership. Since 1979, Edwards has designed and led many ecumenical contemplative leadership programs, ecumenical and denominational workshops, retreats, and lectures related to the spiritual life for ordained and laypeople throughout the United States as well as in Korea, Canada, and South America. His many...

Tim Muldoon is the author of The Ignation Workout and Seeds of Hope: Young Adults and the Catholic Church in the United States. Cynthia S. Dobrzynski is a spiritual director and a contributor to Lifelong Faith. They both live in Boston, Massachusetts.

Timothy E. O’Connell is a professor of Christian ethics in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University. He previously served as director of the institute from 1982 to 1994. Before that he taught at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Nudelein, Illinois. The author of six books, Dr. O’Connell lectures extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV, is considered to be one of the greatest interpreters of the spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola. He is a popular retreat leader, an Ignatius scholar, and a lecturer. He is the author of several books, including Begin Again, Discerning the Will of God, The Examen Prayer, An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer, and Meditation and Contemplation. He lives in Boston. Daniel P. Barron, OMV, is a priest at Our Lady of Grace Seminary in Boston.

Beattie was a mature student at the University of Bristol, where she read theology and religious studies before going on to do a PhD on Marian theology and symbolism in engagement with the ideas of Luce Irigaray under the supervision of Professor Ursula King. Since then, she has lectured at the University of Bristol and Wesley College, Bristol and also taught with the Open University before taking up a full-time post at Roehampton University in 2002. She has a wide range of teaching and research interests in the area of...

Todd A. Salzman has a Ph.D. in theology from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He completed his dissertation in 1994, taught at the University of San Diego from 1995-1997, and began teaching at Creighton university in 1997. He has published six books, written over 50 scholarly articles, and presented numerous papers at national and international conferences. Salzman's essay on religious, cultural, and ethical responses to the rape victims in the former Yugoslavia was honored by the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in New York in 2001. Saltzman...