I mentioned yesterday some spiritual themes from John’s gospel. A superb survey of this and the development of Mysticism generally is Thomas Merton’s “An Introduction to Christian Mysticism”. Be warned, though, that it is not a book but rather lecture notes for course run for novice monks. It means that it is a bit condensed to read, but the material is very good indeed.

You can read an excerpt here. The book is published by Cistercian Publications.

The books I mentioned yesterday on Teresa/John of the Cross were:

Merton, Thomas (1976) Ascent to Truth (Continuum)
Williams, Rowan (2003) Teresa of Avila (Continuum)

For more on Roman attitudes towards Christians try the superb:
Wilkin, Robert L (2003) The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Yale)

On the early church generally, Wilken has written the equally good: The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God which was published by Yale in 2005.

We read the Gospels not merely to get a picture or an idea of Christ but to enter in an pass through the words of revelation to establish, by faith, a vital contact with the Christ who dwells in our souls as God.
Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation, Chapter 21