Jon Sweeney
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Auschwitz And Absolution
$29.00Add to cartFew people know that in the face of his execution, the notorious Rudolf Hoss, the Commandant for Auschwitz, met with a Polish Jesuit priest, Fr. Wladyslaw Lohn. Hoss made a confession to Fr. Lohn for approximately four hours, and from Fr. Lohn he received communion. This compelling account of a secret and sacramental meeting not only tells what happened but seventeen Christian and Jewish scholars offer a critical challenge to, or celebration of Christian notions of forgiveness.
We have access to Hoss’s confession by way of selections from his published memoirs. Fr. Lohn said almost nothing about his encounter and certainly nothing about the confession itself. In addition to writing a thorough introduction to this encounter, in order to contemplate the priest’s thoughts, James Bernauer has composed a work of imagination, a diary of how this Jesuit might have scrutinized this meeting. Bernauer’s hope is that, in addition to giving a sense of a historical encounter, the reader will perform their own imaginative reflection on the issues. Throughout the work, the limitations on religious absolution of sin are heightened by recall of alternative Christian practices (historical and contemporary), as well as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warnings about “cheap grace.”
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Saint Francis And The Way Of Lent
$19.95Add to cartThe Francis of Assisi Spiritual Practices series utilizes New City’s groundbreaking and now complete Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volumes 1-4 to offer readers of all backgrounds inspiring, encouraging, and challenging entry-points to the essential issues of a Christian life. Each book in the series should appeal to readers who desire to walk the Way of Saint Francis with relevance to his life, writings, and legacy.
Saint Francis and the Way of Lent offers a four-week format designed for both individual and group use. Each week, or chapter, focuses on a Lenten theme:
Week 1: Lent as a Balanced Way of Life
Week 2: The Lost Art of Compunction
Week 3: Spending Time Alone
Week 4: Imitating Christ
Short introductions are written by the editor and designed to preface selections from the primary texts, and these are followed by questions for discussion or reflection. There are six readings for each week, followed by prayers of intention and spiritual practice suggestions practice suggestions to deepen your Lenten journey as you follow Christ in the Way of Saint Francis.
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Nicholas Black Elk
$19.95Add to cartServant of God Nicholas Black Elk (1863 – 1950)’s legacy is popularly celebrated for his fascinating spiritual life. How could one man, one deeply spiritual man, serve as both a traditional Oglala Lakota medicine man and a Roman Catholic catechist and mystic? How did these two spiritual and cultural identities enrich his prayer life? How did his commitment to God, understood through his Lakota and Catholic communities, shape his understanding of how to be in the world?
But, to fully understand the depth of Black Elk’s life-long spiritual quest requires a deep appreciation of his life story. He witnessed devastation on the battlefields of Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee, but also extravagance while performing for Queen Victoria as a member of “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show. Widowed by his first wife, he later shared a home with his second wife and their eight children. Black Elk’s spiritual visions granted him wisdom and healing insight as a child, yet he grew progressively physically blind in his adult years. These stories, and countless more, offer insight into this extraordinary man whose cause for canonization is now underway at the Vatican.
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James Martin SJ
$16.95Add to cartFr. James Martin, SJ, is one of the most recognized Catholic priests in the United States. His book My Life with the Saints introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to many saintly heroes. More recently, Building a Bridge called the Catholic Church to more respect and compassion for the LGBT Community–and made Martin not only a friend to LGBT people but a lightning rod for some “traditionalist” Roman Catholics. His articulate and winsome personality has endeared him to millions inside and outside the Church. Now it is time to tell the story of his own life, to explore the experiences that made him the person he is today.
And there’s no better narrator for the story than Jon M. Sweeney, an award-winning and highly accomplished writer in his own right. In James Martin, SJ: In the Company of Jesus, Sweeney probes Martin’s early life, his experiences as a corporate executive, his call to religious life, his ministry and spirituality, his feelings about both the adoration and the criticism he receives from so many, and much more. Readers will come away with a much better understanding of one of today’s most interesting and influential Catholics.
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Jesus Wasnt Killed By The Jews
$19.00Add to cartThe Passion narratives contain painful anti-Semitic tropes–particularly the Gospel of John, which is read world-wide every Holy Week. These readings have been used over the centuries to brand the Jewish people as Christ-killers and to justify discrimination and violence. Here, religious scholars and writers address the historical, theological, and exegetical considerations to be addressed by every Christian in order to move beyond this toxic history. Contributors include Walter Brueggemann, Mary Boys, Richard Lux, Wes Howard-Brook, Massimo Faggioli, Bishop Richard J. Sklba, Gregg Garret, and Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.
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Course In Desert Spirituality
$19.95Add to cartThomas Merton’s sessions with the young monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani showcase Merton’s brilliant ability to survey the key figures, and synthesize their writings, inspiring his listeners and readers with what it means for the spiritual life. Like its companion volume A Course in Christian Mysticism, this book is a collection of fifteen lectures that get to the heart of Merton’s belief that monastic wisdom and spirituality are applicable for everyone. This compact volume allows anyone to learn from one of the twentieth century’s greatest Catholic spiritual teachers. The study materials at the back of the book, including additional primary source readings and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, make this an essential text for any student of Christian desert spirituality.
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Saint Francis Prayer Book (Deluxe)
$17.99Add to cartWith this guide you will pray the words that Francis taught his spiritual brothers and sisters to pray, explore Francis’s time and place and feel the joy and earnestness of the first Franciscans, and experience how it is possible to live a contemplative and active life, at the same time.