Anthony de Mello

For the cricket administrator, see Anthony de Mello (cricket administrator).

Book authored by the priest.

Anthony "Tony" de Mello (4 September 1931, Bombay, British India – 2 June 1987, New York City) was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality. An internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer and public speaker, de Mello hosted many spiritual conferences. See below for the names of these programs which are available on audio CD and film. He traveled to many countries to study and later to teach, most notably Spain and the United States.

The few talks which he allowed to be filmed, such as "A Rediscovery of Life" and "A Way to God for Today," have inspired many viewers and audiences since being released; and have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of TV watchers throughout the United States, Canada, and Central America; in colleges, universities, Newman centers, and communities. De Mello established a prayer center in India. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1987, at age 56. His works are readily available and additional writings were published after his death.

Work

De Mello authored numerous spiritual books and conducted courses based upon his work.

Tony's first book "Sadhana - A way to God" was published in 1984. For many years a bestseller in the English language, Sadhana has now been translated into more than 20 different foreign languages. The other books published during his lifetime include "The Song of the Bird", "One Minute Wisdom" and "Wellsprings". The first two were collections of stories and the last a collection of exercises similar to "Sadhana". After his death, his publishers Gujarat Sahitya Prakash published "The Prayer of the Frog" in two volumes. Few years after that was published "Contact with God", "One Minute Nonsense" and "The Call to Love".

Controversy

11 years after de Mello's death, in 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the leadership of its Cardinal-Prefect Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI), conducted a review of de Mello's work and released a lengthy comment expressing their theological concerns. While the group showed appreciation for many of de Mello's writings, some positions were found to be 'incompatible with the Catholic faith'. It was seen by many as an attempt by Rome to undermine the clergy in Asia and indicative of widening fissures between Rome and the Eastern Church. Despite the church's concerns, his works are popular, especially among those interested in Ignatian spirituality.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography

Not all the works of Father de Mello were submitted for publication by the author himself; some were published posthumously as collections, or based upon notes or recordings of his conferences. Below are the most recent list of available publications:

• Wake Up! Spirituality for Today, 90 minutes of talks given before a live audience.
• The Song of the Bird, 1984. ISBN 978-0-385-19615-4
• Sadhana: A Way to God, 1984. ISBN 978-0-385-19614-7
• Wellsprings, 1986. ISBN 978-0-385-19617-8
• One Minute Wisdom, Image, 1988. ISBN 978-0-385-24290-5
• Awareness, Image,1990. ISBN 978-0-385-24937-9
• Taking Flight, 1990. ISBN 978-038-541-3mjml
• The Way to Love, 1992. ISBN 978-0-385-24939-3
• The Heart Of The Enlightened, Image, 1994. ISBN 978-0-517-11474-2
• Awakening, Image, 2003. ISBN 978-0-385-50995-4
• Contact with God, Image, 2003. ISBN 978-0-385-50994-7
• One Minute Nonsense
• The Prayer of the Frog Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. In the English printing, these are titled "Taking Flight" and "The Heart of the Englightened."
• Praying Naked: The Spirituality of Anthony de Mello (by J. Francis Stroud, S.J.), Image

External links

• De Mello Spirituality Center website
• Online de Mello resource including videos and MP3s
• Summary of his writings
• Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ
• Tony de Mello, S.J.: A Short Biography, by Bill De Mello (brother)
• Here & Now with Anthony de Mello, a 2001 workshop presentation by Malcolm Nazareth
• Spiritual Stories from Anthony de Mello
• Anthony de Mello quotes
• Rediscovery of Life, a conference by de Mello in five parts