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Aspects of the Heart: The Many Paths of a Good Life

ISBN: 9781585958719 (Twenty-Third Publications (Sep 10, 2012 US HC))
ISBN: 9781921946363 Garratt Publishing (Sep 10, 2012 AU PB)
Author(s): Joan Chittister OSB

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
FROM THE FOREWORD by Paula D'Arcy:
In these beautiful and spare reflections, Joan invites us to sit at the world's table and decide what our hearts will offer. She wisely reminds the reader that "there is no such thing as an isolated act." We are each responsible for "doing everything we can to make the world whole." Still, it's not necessary to do something heroic. In making a pilgrimage to the heart, we don't initially struggle with world issues and injustices; we wrestle first with the love struggling to break through our own unique circumstances. We notice how easily and reflexively the heart begins to close when we feel threatened in any way. We notice that bringing love when we confront hatred, as St. Francis prays, is not for the faint of heart. But the result of our effort to meet life fully is that we ourselves become the space through which love can move in the world. We only have to do one thing: Let the heart call us back to love. These pages will help you recognize many characteristics of the heart: A kind heart. A humble heart.

A non-judgmental heart. A celebrating heart. A trusting heart ... They will assure you that the storms of life are the very place to look for God. They will offer the wisdom that "real peace requires resistance to evil. But not in evil ways." They will show that you must "risk becoming new." They will help you acknowledge and value the treasury that is yours. Under Joan's expert and prophetic pen these powerful reflections are like an owner's manual for understanding the power of the heart and the force of love.
 

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The Radical Christian Life: A Year with Saint Benedict

ISBN: 9780814633656 (Liturgical Press)
ISBN: 9780814633656 (John Garratt Publishing)
Author(s): Joan Chittister OSB, Publisher: Liturgical Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Very little in this world stays fresh and life-giving for 1,500 years. But when that happens we should ask ourselves why and what that had to do with us.

In this book, The Radical Christian Life: A Year with Saint Benedict, Joan Chittister encourages us to look at that question. In an introductory essay she examines how the insights and values of the sixth-century visionary Saint Benedict can illuminate today's search for a meaningful life. Then she leads us through the year, reflecting on twelve stories from Benedict's life, anecdotes that give us glimpses into his soul. More than that, she draws from these stories daily thoughts for the development of our own spiritual lives in this day and age.

Joan Chittister, OSB, is a Benedictine sister and international lecturer who has been a leading voice in spirituality for more than thirty years. She has authored over forty books, most recently Uncommon Gratitude and The Monastery of the Heart, part of a program she is helping to develop to enable lay groups to live Benedictine spirituality in a contemporary way.
 

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God's Tender Mercy

ISBN: 9781920682231
Author(s): Joan Chittister Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Sister Joan Chittister is a bestselling author for a very good reason. She takes difficult and even mysterious concepts and 'breaks them open' for us. Here she tackles the virture of mercy and its connection to forgiveness. She challenges us to stop judging, accusing, and criticising those we label 'sinners' and to see ourselves in their number. She invites us to be realistic about our own actions before we 'throw that first stone' at another. This is spiritual reading at its very best.

Sr Joan taps into the contemporary global mood in which minorities are being condemned, harassed and persecuted. Instead of leading the cause of love and respect for all, many conservative Christian churches are failing to demonstrate love, understanding and compassion.

In her discussion of guilt and conscience, she commends both as healthy aspects of human responsibility. She also writes about the power of forgiveness to free us from the burden of anger: 'What I refuse to forgive continues to harm me. It consumes my heart, poisons my mind, drains my energies and cements my soul.' Forgiveness does not tolerate revenge and that is a lesson that is slowly becoming appreciated.
 

Listen to an interview Sr Joan gave about her new book

In the closing chapter of this profoundly prophetic book, Chittister calls us to the spiritual practices of weeping and healing. Of the first, she comments, 'Weeping is a very life-giving thing. It wizens the soul of the individual and it sounds alarms in society. The Book of Ecclesiastes may be nowhere more correct than here. There is definitely a time for weeping. If we do not weep on the personal level, we shall never understand other human beings.'

The spiritual practice of weeping softens our hearts and opens us to the suffering of others and it blesses us with a keen sense that we are all flawed creatures in the same world. Chittister concludes that we cannot heal ourselves by clinging to our wounds. And neither can we contribute to the repairing of the world without practicing forgiveness again and again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sr Joan Chittister, is a Benedictine nun and author of numerous books, including The Breath of the Soul: Reflections on Prayer, and other books that have a profound influence on the contemporary religious world.


REVIEWS:
"Joan's is a prophet's voice telling us that when love breaks through in even one person, the effect for the world is immense. Weep and heal, she writes, willing us to to find, through courageous self reflection and forgiveness, the fullness of our humanity and in that, the kind of love that will lift this world." ...Paula D'Arcy, author of Waking Up to This Day

"I'm sure Sister Joan is tired of being called a prophet. Identifying her message as prophetic leaves the rest of us off the hook as just ordinary souls with considerably limited vision and ambition. This plain-speaking little book on forgiveness will not give the reader that satisfaction, however. She challenged me to reconsider the brazenness of God's mercy, the necessity of my guilt, and the value of continuing to cry — until none of us has anything left to cry about." ...Alice Camille, co-author of The Forgiveness Book with Paul Boudreau
 

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The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages

ISBN: 0824525035
Author(s): Sr Joan Chittister OSB, Publisher: Crossroads Publishing Company

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Benedict of Nursia and his famous "Rule" remain the guiding principles for many religious communities today. Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister contends the spirituality of the twenty-first century because it deals with issues facing us now stewardship, relationships, and spiritual and psychological development.

REVIEW:
"By offering informed commentary that links St. Benedict's Rule with contemporary questions (stewardship, relationships, authority, community, balance, work, simplicity, prayer, and spiritual and psychological development), Sr. Joan succeeds in her task of making an ancient document accessible to a modern reading public." ...New Oxford Review
 

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The Breath of the Soul: Reflections on Prayer

ISBN: 9781920682057
Author(s): Joan Chittister Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

BOOK DESCRIPTION
This simple little book from a great spiritual giant attends to what we human beings are most inclined to forget; preparing for and engaging in prayer. It is an examination of what we ourselves must bring to the discipline of prayer — whatever form it takes — in order to make prayer authentic and real, a deep and profound part of our lives.

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The Story of Ruth : Twelve Moments in Every Woman's Life (Hardcover)

ISBN: 0802847420
Author(s): Chittister, Joan D., Swanson, John August, Publisher: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co

Through twelve texts and complementary pictures, Chittister and Swanson explore a series of defining moments in every woman's life — moments of loss, change, transformation, ageing, respect, independence, recognition, insight, invisibility and fulfilment.

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Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning For You

ISBN: 9780802828941
Author(s): Chittister, Joan, Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Certain questions are common to all of us as human beings. Why was I born? How do I know the right thing to do? What's wrong with me – why can't I change? Such questions are so deeply human that they transcend time and place, religions and cultures. Chittister presents the insights of different cultures to these same questions, from all major religious traditions – Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Chittister shows how each spiritual tradition brings a special gift to the art of living a meaningful, spiritually aware life.

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Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir

ISBN: 9781580511438
Author(s): Joan Chittister, Publisher: Oxford: Sheed and Ward, 2004

REVIEW [from www.journeywithjesus.net]
In this her most recent book, Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and author of twenty-five books, continues to think out loud about just what it means to know, love, and follow Jesus in our crazy, contemporary world. This is the third book by her that I have read, and I have come to appreciate her spirit and gift to do what good writers do, which is to connect with the every day experiences and aspirations of her readers. Using her own spiritual journal entries from across a four year period, she pushes, pokes and prods at the various dimensions of Christian living. In particular, I appreciated three themes from this book that also recur in her other works.

Chittister writes from very much "inside the box," the box that is the Roman Catholic Church. But no one likes to be boxed in, much less a feminist like her, and so one theme from this book is what I would call institutional frustration with the church. Our Christian institutions and churches often purvey a sort of "god of the system" that asks us at some level to sublimate our deeply personal identities to the group identity. But then we risk forfeiting conscience and becoming what she describes as "institutional robots." So, we try, often with very limited success, to change the institution for the better. Others just want to leave the church out of frustration. In the end, Chittister pictures herself as a "loyal member of a dysfunctional family" (p. 135).

A keen scholar like Chittister is also full of provocative questions about important issues like women's ordination, the place of gays in the church, global justice, and, as a member of a Benedictine community, obedience to the institutional church. But critical questions are just what the church often suppresses, obscures, or responds to with superficial and ideological answers. We can acquiesce to this, too, out of fear of being wrong or even punished. But Chittister does not want to live the Christian life asking other people's questions or accepting their answers, so she keeps asking, seeking, and knocking: how does the Christian relate questions of personal conscience and intellectual integrity to churchly fidelity?

Personal failure and struggle are also prominent themes for Chittister. The problem, it would seem, is to foolishly accept perfection as our standard or goal. But that goal is an oppressive one, and a set up for failure, for no Christian this side of heaven will ever reach it: "The problem, of course, is that we fail. We know ourselves to be weak. We stumble along, being less than we can be, never living up to our own standards, let alone anyone else's. We eat too much between meals, we work too little to get ahead, we drink more than we should at the office party. We're all addicted to something. Those addictions not only cripple us, they convince us that we are worthless and incapable of being worthwhile. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy of the worst order because it traps us inside our own sense of inadequacy, of futility, of failure" (p. 195). Instead, we ought to view failure as "among the best friends of the soul" (p. 91). Rather than subscribe to the unattainable, we should come to appropriate the "sanctifying nature of mistakes and calculations" (p. ix).

Chittister begins her book with a well known story of the seeker who asked the monk just what they did in the monastery: "Oh, we fall and we get up, and we fall and we get up, and we fall and we get up again." Beyond the institutional frustrations, the stymied but important questions, and the realization of but limited progress, she encourages us to hear God's voice to keep going, to "find the me in me" (p. 111), and to cultivate a sense of being at home with yourself because of the extravagant love and grace of God.

[+]Enlarge Image PAPERBACK

The Front Page: Everyday Ignatian Spirituality

ISBN: 9781921511769
Author(s): Chris Gleeson SJ Publisher: ATF Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Front Page—Everyday Ignatian Spirituality features articles that were written for the parish newsletter during Fr Gleeson's time at St Ignatius Toowong in Brisbane. The stories reflect on everyday life in Australia – with anecdotes from parish life, the people Fr Chris has encountered in his ministry, and even the trials and tribulations of the golf course.

For most of the 'front pages' that follow, my inspiration has been twofold—to elaborate some touching story from my everyday life experience, however banal, and use it as a stepping stone to illustrate how we might more easily find God and be found by God in all things.

Central to Ignatian spirituality is the belief that our world is transparent, reflecting constantly a God who works in the depths of everything. St Ignatius Loyola saw the world as very 'user friendly'. For him every part of it, from the stars in the heavens to the flowers of the field, elevated his mind and heart to God. In Ribadeneira's Life of Ignatius we learn 'how even the smallest things could make his spirit soar upwards to God, who even in the smallest things is Greatest. At the sight of a little plant, a leaf, a flower or a fruit, an insignificant worm or a tiny animal Ignatius could soar free above the heavens and reach through into things which lie beyond the senses.'

Seeking and finding God in all things works on the belief that God is already present in our world and it is our task to uncover his presence and help others to do the same. It is very different to the old, perhaps arrogant, concept of ministry which talked about 'bringing God to the world'.
 

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Modern Credo: Telling the Christ Story Within the Context of Creation

Paperback (AU Edition) ISBN: 9781920682163
Author(s): Kevin Treston Publisher: John Garratt

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Drawing on his many years of communicating the Christ story within different cultural settings, Kevin Treston offers an inclusive approach to telling the Christ story within the context of creation. For two thousand years the Christ story has been a significant influence on the story of humankind, especially in Western orientated countries. However, there is now clear evidence that the Christ story is being marginalised in Western countries.

A growing awareness about ecological concerns and sustainability of the earth's resources is now challenging people to review their ecological responsibilities. Modern science and cosmology observe an interrelatedness among all things in creation. All cultural and religious traditions stand on the common ground of the earth. In a world where there is growing ecological and global consciousness among peoples, there is an urgency for humanity to unite to work for humane and just living for all as well as for care of the earth. Religious faith must speak about both human destiny and the destiny of creation.

For Christians, the Incarnation places the Christ story right at the heart of the web of life in the universe. How can the Christ story be told and lived so that it becomes the Universal Christ story for Christians and for those from other religious traditions and cultures? The aim of the Universal Christ story is to enhance the wellbeing of all beings in creation and to blend the Christ story with other religious and cultural stories so that the heart of the Gospel message of 'life in abundance' is realised.

In this book Kevin proposes a way forward for the Christian community which draws its inspiration from the story of Jesus the Christ and the story of the universe. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kevin Treston has worked for many years across the globe in the areas of education, leadership, spirituality, theology, scripture and personal development. He has a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, (Indiana, USA) and post doctoral studies from Washington, Chicago and Boston educational institutions. Kevin is a member of the Association of Practical Theology Oceania with a special interest in practical theology applied to creation and is the author of seventeen books. Kevin and his wife Kathryn live in Brisbane, Australia.
 

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Eucharist : Participating in the Mystery

ISBN: 9781875938391
Author(s): Frank Andersen MSC, Publisher: John Garratt

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Frank Andersen presents fresh perspectives, grounded in the biblical and wider Christian tradition, on the meaning and celebration of the Eucharist. He explores ways of celebrating Eucharist which enable us to embody Jesus and his values in our lives and come to know and embrace God's faithful compassion for all and continue Jesus' mission in this time and place.

REVIEW:

"Chapter 2 is 'The Vision That Drove Jesus': it is absolutely brilliant. It situates Jesus as a man born into the Jewish tradition and the spirituality of the Old Testament, what His Baptism meant for Him and His adult vision and commitment to God. He grew in nature and grace. As we grow in Christ, I think we need to grow into Christ's relationship with the Father. I think that is where we shall develop the right relationship with both Christ and the Father." ...Peter Ryan in a post on Catholica
 

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Reclaiming Spirituality

ISBN: 9780824517236
Author(s): by Diarmuid O'Murchu Publisher: Crossroads Publishing Co

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In this thought-provoking and rambunctious follow-up to Quantum Theology, English priest and social psychologist Diarmuid O Murchu celebrates the spiritual renaissance of our time as an alternative to religious fanaticism and religious indifference. He sees this phenomenon as part of the evolving spiritual story of humankind stretching back 70,000 years. The spirituality that is appealing to seekers today embodies global, inclusive, co-operative, egalitarian, and feminine values. O'Murchu outlines its linkage of the new cosmology with a respect for the natural world through the spirituality of native peoples. He points out its embrace of pre-patriarchal values of relatedness, passion, feeling, imagination, and justice.

Two other accents of this new paradigm are its emphasis upon the erotic power of spirituality and its reappropriation of the shadow in all its diverse dimensions. Only time will tell what new permutations this global spirituality will take. O'Murchu has done a fine job mapping out its contemporary lineaments.
 

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In the Land of Lark and Heroes; Australian Reflections on St Mary MacKillop

ISBN: 9781921511998
Author(s): Alan Cadwallader (Editor) Publisher: ATF Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The object of this book is to provide an opportunity for voices of other religions to be heard as Australia celebrates its first Catholic saint — Mary MacKillop of the Cross. It is the first publication that seeks to bring together a representative collection of contributions. Here are reflections on sainthood and heroes of faith from within different religious traditions and different Christian denominations. The direction given to contributors was that they illustrate how holy persons and heroes are esteemed in their own tradition and how this might frame that tradition's appreciation of Mary MacKillop. From this, it is hoped that the collection will provide an example of how she might contribute to the wider Australian religious landscape.

Herein, the reader will find critical yet appreciative reflections from Catholic and Seventh Day Adventist to Jewish and Muslim writers. Some have taken the brief as an opportunity to reveal more of the heroes and saints of their own tradition and how they came to be esteemed. Others have directly described how their own tradition esteems saints and heroes in general in order to bring distinct and evocative appreciations of Mary MacKillop, now given hues from a Protestant, Orthodox or Lutheran palette. But whether Baptist or Anglican or traditions beyond Christianity, the writers have extended the capacity of Australians to appreciate Mary MacKillop as an Australian saint and hero.

THE AUTHOR and CONTRIBUTORS:
Rev Dr Alan Cadwallader is an Anglican Priest and Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, in the School of Theology, Australian Catholic University (ACU), Canberra Campus. Dr Cadwallader introduces the essays by Ismail Albayrak, Islamic scholar; John Chryssavgis, Greek OrthodoxL Mary Cresp RSJ, Catholic; Allie Ernst, Lutheran, Richard Ferret, Seventh Day Adventist; Robert Gribben, Uniting Church of Australia, Merrill Kitchen, Churches of Christ; Rachael Kohn, Jewish scholar; Marita Munro, Baptist; Lynlea Rodger, Anglican; John Skrzypaszek, Seventh Day Adventist.

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On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men

Paperback ISBN: 9780829433029
Author(s): Richard Rohr Publisher: Loyola University Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In the opening meditations of On the Threshold of Transformation, male spirituality expert Richard Rohr writes, "We need to fail, to fall, to jump into the central mystery of our own existence, or we'll have no way of finding our true path". Those words summarise the central idea of all 365 meditations in this daily guide for men: that wholeness and holiness can be found only through some form of suffering or letting go.

With nearly every man dealing with some form of darkness or hurt in his life, this book readily acknowledges the pain and deals with it directly, unapologetically and redemptively. While much of our culture today would have us believe that failure and suffering are inherently bad, Fr Rohr helps men see that pain, in whatever form it takes, is inevitably the only doorway through which they can pass to reach their authentic, best selves, which is where they will truly encounter God.

Ultimately this book helps men, over the manageable timeline of one year, learn how to transform their pain so they don't transmit it.

The meditations in this book clearly reveal that neither taking a pass on pain nor passing pain along to others is an option. The meditations demonstrate that to become a better man, in the deepest sense of that phrase, requires that each man deal with his own darkness and allow that darkness to give way to total transformation.
 

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The Naked Now : Learning to See as the Mystics See

ISBN: 9781920682040
Author(s): Richard Rohr Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

EXCERPT:
"We already know far more than Jesus or Buddha ever knew, but the great difference is that they knew what they did know from a different level and in a different way."

DESCRIPTION:

For Christians seeking a way of thinking outside of strict dualities, this guide explores methods for letting go of division and living in the present. Drawn from the Gospels, Jesus, Paul, and the great Christian contemplatives, this examination reveals how many of the hidden truths of Christianity have been misunderstood or lost and how to read them with the eyes of the mystics rather than interpreting them through rational thought. Filled with sayings, stories, quotations, and appeals to the heart, specific methods for identifying dualistic thinking are presented with simple practices for stripping away ego and the fear of dwelling in the present.

Richard Rohr is a well known lecturer who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation. He has been a featured essayist on the NPR program This I Believe, a guest on the radio show Oprah and Friends, and he appeared in the documentary ONE, featuring spiritual teachers from around the world. He is a regular contributor to Sojourners and Tikkun magazines, and he is the author of numerous books, including Adam's Return, The Enneagram, Everything Belongs, Simplicity, and Things Hidden. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

REVIEW:

"Rohr is enriched by other world religious traditions, but clearly knows his own. Those interested in contemplative Christianity, and particularly Catholics interested in their own tradition, will benefit from this book." ...Publishers Weekly

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Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity

ISBN: 9780802831675
Author(s): Larry W. Hurtado Publisher: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

This outstanding book provides an in-depth historical study of the place of Jesus in the religious life, beliefs, and worship of Christians from the beginnings of the Christian movement down to the late second century. Lord Jesus Christ is a monumental work on earliest Christian devotion to Jesus, sure to replace Wilhelm Bousset's Kyrios Christos (1913) as the standard work on the subject.

Larry Hurtado, widely respected for his previous contributions to the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, offers the best view to date of how the first Christians saw and reverenced Jesus as divine. In assembling this compelling picture, Hurtado draws on a wide body of ancient sources, from Scripture and the writings of such figures as Ignatius of Antioch and Justin to apocryphal texts such as the "Gospel of Thomas" and the "Gospel of Truth". Hurtado considers such themes as early beliefs about Jesus' divine status and significance, but he also explores telling devotional practices of the time, including prayer and worship, the use of Jesus' name in exorcism, baptism and healing, ritual invocation of Jesus as "Lord", martyrdom, and lesser-known phenomena such as prayer postures and the curious scribal practice known today as the "nomina sacra". The revealing portrait that emerges from Hurtado'scomprehensive study yields definitive answers to questions like these: How important was this formative period to later Christian tradition? When did the divinization of Jesus first occur? Was early Christianity influenced by neighboring religions? How did the idea of Jesus' divinity change old views of God? And why did the powerful dynamics of early beliefs and practices encouragepeople to make the costly move of becoming a Christian?

Boasting an unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage — the book speaks authoritatively on everything from early Christian history to themes in biblical studies to New Testament Christology — Hurtado's Lord Jesus Christ is at once significant enough that a wide range of scholars will want to read it and accessible enough that general readers interested at all in Christian origins will also profit greatly from it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Larry W. Hurtado is professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

REVIEWS:
"The present volume is a veritable tour de force, as Hurtado wends his way through the NT, the writings of the apostolic and apologetic Fathers of the Church, and second-century Christian apocrypha. ... Lord Jesus Christ is a book that deserves to appear on the reading list for comprehensive examinations in theology, not to mention that it also deserves to appear on the library shelves of those who consider themselves veterans in NT study." ...Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"The scope of Hurtado's reading and his grasp of sources leave us in his debt. ... He has enabled his readers to comprehend the contours of early Christian beliefs." ...Times Literary Supplement

"Hurtado approaches the early church with an integrity and thoroughness that should be a model for historians and theologians working in this area. ... His writing is uncomplicated and illuminating, and his sensibilities are evangelical in the best sense of the term." ...First Things

"This book provides a painstaking and monumental study of the place of Jesus in the religious life, beliefs and worship of Christians from the beginning of the Christian movement down to the late second century. An outstanding investigation of the origin and development of the earliest Christian devotion to Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ should finally replace Wilhelm Bousset's Kyrios Christos as the standard work on the subject. . . . All in all, Lord Jesus Christ is to be welcomed as a truly landmark study in the area of early Christian devotion to Jesus." ...Biblica

Larry W. Hurtado: Lord Jesus Christ:
Devotion in Earliest Christianity: AU$69.95

 

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Saying Hello to God: Learning to Pray

ISBN:9781920721381
Author(s): Graham English Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

As Anatole France's story of the juggler in the monastery shows, all prayers are acceptable to God. All people are acceptable to God. Graham English tells us over and over, that our prayer no matter how seemingly imperfect always brings us closer to the God who loves us.

In this context he introduces us to the many ways that we can talk to God. He tells us when and how to pray both in personal and community prayer. He briefly covers how we can address God, praying alone and with others, using traditional prayers, meditation, listening and seeing, using music and song, meditating on biblical passages, and gesture. To this he adds many examples showing how we can speak directly to God in our own words.

You will love the tone of this book expressed in English's writing and illustrations. You will find a book you will enthusiastically give to friends and anyone who asks how to pray.

It is an excellent resource for high school students.

'If you really listen to God and see things as God does, you will realise that God finds you delightful and nothing you ever do can change that. Trust God on this. You are deeply lovable. You are deeply loved. This is what Jesus is all about. God sent his son because God loves us, every one of us, by name.'

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Further Along the Track (Book and CD ROM_

ISBN:9781920721930
Author(s): Jim Quillinan & Susan Daily ibvm Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
A PRAYER RESOURCE FOR SCHOOLS, PARISHES & PRIVATE REFLECTION: Since its inception as a one-page weekly newsletter for a spirituality program, Along the Track has been providing a much-needed, ready-to-use resource for busy teachers and church leaders who want refreshing material relevant to today's teachers and parishioners.

Jim Quillinan is Head of Education Services for the Sale diocese, Victoria. He knows what teachers and church leaders need to do their daily work most effectively. His style is down-to-earth and rooted in the everyday Australian here and now. He finds faith and belief all around, in the seemingly secular as well as the more traditional religious. His authority stems partly from the church documents and bible references he uses along with a wide array of other sources, but partly from himself as a committed Christian. His experience tells.

The combined result is a delivery of reflections and prayers that are authoritative yet personal in appeal, and so versatile that groups can also be lead by their witness. Each reflection is designed to print out on one page. Each is beautifully illustrated by a graphic from Loreto sister, Susan Daily.

"As Director of Catholic Education, I am delighted to recommend Along the Track to anyone who strives to grow in the life of the Holy Spirit, who speaks so gently and so urgently to us from within the fabric of our daily lives." ...Dr Therese D'Orsa - Director of Catholic Education (Diocese of Sale)

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The Case for God

ISBN: 9781847920355
Author(s): Karen Armstrong Publisher: Random House

An essential book for our times: Karen Armstrong answers bestselling atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and argues that faith still has a fundamental role in the modern world.

BOOK DESCRIPTION
The enormous popularity of books by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and others shows that despite the religious revival that is under way in many parts of the world, there is widespread confusion about the nature of religious truth. For the first time in history, a significantly large number of people want nothing to do with God. In the past people went to great lengths to experience a sacred reality that they called God, Brahman, Nirvana or Dao; indeed religion could be said to be the distinguishing characteristic of homo sapiens. But now militant atheists preach a gospel of godlessness with the zeal of Christian missionaries in the age of faith and find an eager audience. What has happened?
Karen Armstrong argues that historically atheism has rarely been a denial of the sacred itself but has nearly always rejected a particular conception of God. During the modern period, the Christians of the West developed a theology that was radically different from that of the pre-modern age. Tracing the history of faith from the Palaeolithic Age to the present, Armstrong shows that until recently there was no warfare between science and religion. But science has changed the conversation. The meaning of words such as belief, faith, and mystery has been entirely altered, so that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God - and, indeed, reason itself - in a way that our ancestors would have found astonishing.
Why has the modern God become incredible? Has God a future in this age of aggressive scientific rationalism? Karen Armstrong suggests that if we draw creatively on the insights of the past, we can build a faith that speaks to the needs of our troubled and dangerously polarized world.

REVIEWS
"The best sort of popularizing: there is no sacrifice of integrity and no dumbing down" ...Edward Norman, Literary Review
"A remarkable history... fascinating and highly readable... profoundly relevant" ...Julie Wheelwright, Independent
"This book deserves nothing but praise" ...Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times
"A subtle and funny memoir" ...Sunday Telegraph
"An exceptionally impressive autobiography. Karen Armstrong's account of her spiralling journey provokes thought and inspires respect" ...Daily Telegraph

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The Battle for God

ISBN: 9780006383482
Author(s): Karen Armstrong Publisher: Harper Collins

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Britain's greatest religious historian chronicles the rise and rise of fundamentalism.
One of the most potent forces bedevilling the modern world is religious extremism, and the need to understand it has never been greater. Focusing in detail on Protestant fundamentalism in the United States, Jewish fundamentalism from sixteenth century Spain onwards and Muslim fundamentalism over the last four hundred years, Armstrong examines the patterns that underlie fundamentalism. These evolve from the clash between the conservative pre-modern mind that is governed by a love of myth, and the progressive rational society that relishes change.

Fundamentalists view the contemporary world with horror, rejecting its claims to truth, and a state of war now exists over the future of our culture. They are not terrorists, rather, they are innovative, existing in a symbiotic relationship with an aggressive modernity, each urging the other on to greater excess. The Battle for God is original in its thesis and in its understanding; as a history of religious ideas it is fascinating, and as an explanation of one of the most destabilising forces at large in the world today it is extraordinary.

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Visions of God: Four Medieval Mystics and their Writings

ISBN: 9780553351996
Author(s): Karen Armstrong Publisher: Bantam/Random House

BOOK DESCRIPTION
The mystics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were, writes Karen Armstrong, like "the astronauts of our own day. They broke into a new religion, blazed a new trail to God and to the depths of the self, a trail far from the beaten pilgrimage paths of Chaucer and Langland." Mysticism is a spiritual mystery shared in some form by all faiths; it has a supernatural quality that extends beyond the given boundaries of religious creed and may be experienced by any lay person. The thrilling intensity of a mystical experience, as represented in this volume by the writings of four mystics of the Middle Ages, can inspire other spiritual seekers with its insight into the limitless wonder of both human and divine experience. Dissatisfied by the strictures of dogma and a religion that failed to quench the human thirst for knowledge of a mystical order, these four mystics—Richard Rolle of Hampole, Walter Hilton, Dame Julian of Norwich, and the unknown author of The Cloud Of Unknowing—communicate an intense and passionate experience of faith rare in any time. Because of their unique beliefs and spiritual strength, their knowledge and writings have proved timeless, and in this beautiful volume show contemporary seekers important new insights into the nature of divine love.

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Daily Reflections for Advent 2009

ISBN: 9780867169188
Author(s): Daniel J Harrington SJ Publisher: St Anthony Messenger Press

"The word Advent means 'coming, arriving, becoming present.' During the Advent season we tend to focus on Jesus' first coming, at his birth in the land of Israel some thousand years ago. However, the readings point us toward Jesus' second coming. They lead us to reflect on what is the goal and the horizon of Christian hope: eternal life with God through Jesus Christ." ...From Daily Reflections for Advent 2009

Keeping "Christ" in your Christmas preparation is now easier with Daily Reflections for Advent 2009. Using the method of lectio divina (literally meaning the "sacred reading" or the practice of carefully reading, analyzing, meditating, praying and acting upon a biblical text), Scripture scholar Daniel Harrington guides you daily through Advent. He breaks open each day's Bible readings from Mass and suggests how the text may relate to your own life. His insightful reflections include a brief prayer, often taken from the day's psalm, and an action to incorporate into your preparation for Jesus' birth.

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Jesus and Prayer: What the New Testament Teaches Us

ISBN: 9781593251536
Author(s): Daniel J Harrington SJ Publisher: Word Among Us

How did Jesus pray, and what can we learn from his teachings on prayer?

Daniel Harrington looks at the prayers of Jesus as well as the New Testament prayers about him. His insightful explanations consider the Jewish heritage of the prayers as well as their use by the early Christians.

Each chapter ends with a "think, pray, and act" section that helps us to see how these ancient prayers can deepen our relationship with God and shape our character and outlook on the world and other people. Our own conversations with the heavenly Father will be enriched when we turn to him as Jesus did.

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Prayer of the Heart: The Contemplative Tradition of the Christian East

ISBN:9781594711831
Author(s): George Maloney SJ Publisher: Ave Maria Press

In this comprehensive guide to contemplative prayer, George Maloney SJ, a leading exponent of the Eastern spiritual tradition in the decades after Vatican II, opens up this tradition of prayer—in particular the Jesus Prayer—to Western Christians in a clear and practical manner. Unmatched as a readable and complete guide to Eastern spirituality during its fifteen-year history of publication, it fills a void in the spirituality market for today's readers as well.

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Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton (Paperback)

ISBN: 9781920721817
Author(s): Edited by Morgan Atkinson with Jonathan Montaldo, Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

Containing a considerable amount of rich material unused in the documentary, Soul Searching is alive with the narrative of those who either knew Merton well or passionately care about him: Father Daniel Berrigan, Rosemary Ruether, Martin Marty, Paul Elie, and many others. A companion to award-winning producer Morgan Atkinson's documentary of the same title, this work draws us into the geographical landscape of Thomas Merton's life in America, a landscape that was intrinsic to his spiritual journey. The picture that emerges, through both the narrative and vivid photography, is filled with provocative insights into the interior landscape of one of the spiritual giants of modern times. Also available is the Soul Searching DVD (see the Note below).

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Faith at the Edge: A Book for Doubters

ISBN:9780802864734
Author(s): Robert Wennberg Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

A candid, encouraging guide for those who wrestle with doubt in their journey of faith.

Call it existential doubt or "the dark night of the soul", however you term it, God-doubting is undeniably a part of the Christian experience, suffered by saints throughout history from Therese of Lisieux to Mother Theresa. In fact, nearly all believers doubt God at one time or another. Faith at the Edge is a book designed for doubters who struggle with their faith within the Christian tradition.

What causes that sense of divine absence? Are we at fault? How should we respond? Robert Wennberg answers these and other troubling questions through personal illustrations and through the wisdom and insight of such figures as Blaise Pascal, G. K. Chesterton, Simone Weil, C. S. Lewis, and Martin Marty. Laying out a credible theological account of what happens during doubt, Wennberg helps us understand how we can cope with these dark episodes and even profit from them spiritually.