While I was beseeching Our Lord today…I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions. — St. Teresa of AvilaA masterpiece of spiritual literature, this sixteenth-century work was inspired by a mystical vision that came upon the revered St. Teresa of Avila, one of the most gifted and beloved religious figures i ...
Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus, bent on destroying the city's Christian community, when a blinding flash of light stopped him in his tracks. Forever changed, the former persecutor of Christians adopted the name Paul and became one of the faith's most famous and active converts. Paul's living example, showing that no sinner is beyond redemption, added a powerful weight to his missionary work. The apostle's letters t ...
During the Lenten season of 1823, a German nun experienced a series of ecstatic visions that transported her to Jerusalem on the eve of the Last Supper. This is her compelling visionary account of the events surrounding Jesus' final days. A primary source for Mel Gibson's epic movie, The Passion of the Christ. ...
Despite having written War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy, at the age of 51, looked back on his life and considered it a meaningless, regrettable failure. A Confession provides insight into the great Russian writer's movement from the pursuit of aesthetic ideals toward matters of religious and philosophical consequence.Authentic and genuinely moving, this memoir of midlife spiritual crisis was first distributed in 1872 and marked ...
A highly influential figure in the Church of England, John Henry Newman stunned the Anglican community in 1843, when he left his position as vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic church. Perhaps no one took greater offense than Protestant clergyman Charles Kingsley, whose scathing attacks against Newman's faith and honor inspired this brilliant response. Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman's spiritual autobiography, ex ...
He was called «the greatest of all mystical theologians» by spiritual teacher Thomas Merton. And when St. John of the Cross was proclaimed to be a Doctor of the Church, Pope Pius XI praised his work as «a guide and handbook for the man of faith who proposes to embrace a life of perfection.» The writings of the pious Carmelite priest, as well as those of St. Teresa of Avila, are regarded as the peak of Spanish mysticism. This remarkable guide to ...
God hides behind the simplest of daily activities; finding Him is a matter of total surrender to His will. That's the message of this eighteenth-century inspirational classic by a French Jesuit writer. The Reverend Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675–1751) encouraged others to «live in the moment,» accepting everyday obstacles with humility and love.Caussade's counsel, which promises comfort and holiness to every soul with good wil ...
The Most Amazing Harvest is the continued love story of how a town came together for one of their own. The Most Amazing Harvest went viral because it was a love story. A group of people came together for a fellow farmer, not expecting anything in return. Someone made the comment, “A farmer can ask for no better crop than a bountiful harvest of friends”. Pam Bates and Paula Patty continue this feel-good story about a farmer in a small town ...
Violence is not just physical; like everything in life, it bears spiritual implications. Thus, nonviolence offers more than just a method for resisting oppression. It offers a spiritual revolution – a way of seeking life to cultivate the reality of God’s kingdom in a world where the myth of redemptive violence is rampant. In this book, Dr Aung Htoo places Walter Wink’s political theology in conversation with both Aung San Suu Kyi and the work o ...