Biographies
Showing 151–200 of 214 resultsSorted by latest
-
John Main : Essential Writings
$22.00Add to cart1. Prologue
2. Holy Mystery
3. Being With God
4. Letting Go
5. Embracing The World
6. 100 Saying On Prayer
7. Conclusion
186 PagesAdditional Info
John Main (1926-1982), an English Benedictine monk, pioneered the practice of Christian meditation. His genius was to recover a way into the contemplative experience for ordinary people within the Christian tradition. Through books and retreats he promoted the practice of meditation as a way for modern people to develop a deeper spiritual life. Hailed by Bede Griffiths as the “most important spiritual guide in the church today,” his work inspired the foundation of the World Community for Christian Meditation and a network of hundreds of meditation groups around the world. -
Finding Heaven : Stories Of Going Home
$16.95Add to cartIn this personal autobiography, author Christopher de Vinck shares his belief that there is indeed a heaven and that we can find evidence of it in the ordinary experiences of our lives. Prompted by his son’s desire for proof of heaven, de Vinck collected thirty lighthearted stories that reveal the presence of heaven in the everyday.
-
Privilege Of Love
$29.95Add to cartUnique in the Church, the Camaldolese life is ordered to a three-fold good: solitude, community, and witness. Men and women as hermits live by a monastic rule, committed to both solitude and community life. The discipline of solitude combined with the second good, the rigors of community living are intended to widen the heart in service of the third good: bearing witness to the abundance of God’s love as the self, others, and every living creature are brought into fuller communion in the one Love.
The essays in The Privilege of Love convey the richness and the depth of the Camaldolese Benedictine spirit. Their diversity of expression is itself a manifestation of the magnitude of God’s bonding Love. This bonding is the Spirit’s own gift, weaving together the many voices found in these pages-voices of women and men, of monk, hermit, and layperson. The voices speak of historical roots, of the riches found in solitude and the grit of community life, of the psychological strength required in any pursuit of God, of the vulnerability of the human heart which is the home for wisdom’s Word, and of the privilege of being in love with Love itself.
-
Edith Stein : Essential Writings
$22.00Add to cart1. In And For The Life Of The World
2. Letting God’s Plan Guide Us
3. Searching For Deep Truth
4. Woman And Women
5. Freedom At The Cross
158 PagesAdditional Info
Edith Stein (1891-1942), who was recently canonized, was one of the most intriguing Catholics of the twentieth century. A Jewish convert, an eminent philosopher, educator, and advocate for women, she became a Discalced Carmelite nun, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was arrested by the Nazis and died in Auschwitz in 1942. This volume highlights the extraordinary features of her spirituality – a vision that integrated her philosophical training, her affinity for Carmelite mysticism, and her personal identification with the way of the Cross. Edith Stein provides a wonderful introduction to an extraordinary mind. -
Saint Patrick : The Real History Of His Amazing Life From Tragedy To Triump
$14.95Add to cartHe “found Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian.” Kidnapped as a boy, Patrick was a slave for six years in pagan, druid Ireland. He miraculously escaped, only to have a dream years later calling him back.
By his death, Patrick founded 300 churches, baptized 120,000 believers and his followers re-evangelized Europe!
-
Rufus Jones : Essential Writings
$19.00Add to cartA Quaker mystic and social activist, Rufus Jones won a Nobel Prize as co-founder of the American Friends Service Committee. Widely considered one of the most significant religious voices in America at the time of his death in 1948, his writings impart an Emersonian vision of the ever-present reality of God in our souls and in our world. Indeed, his quintessentially American “affirmative mysticism” infuses all contemporary spirituality and offers an uplifting, positive, and powerful message today.
-
In Praise Of The New Knighthood
$29.95Add to cartThe monk and the knight-the two quintessentially medieval European heroes-were combined in the Knights Templar, men who took the monastic vows and defended the holy places and pilgrims. With characteristic eloquence, Bernard of Clairvaux voices the cleric’s view of the knights, warfare, and the conquest of the Holy Land in five chapters on the knight’s vocation. Then, in another eight chapters the abbot who never visited the Holy Land provides a spiritual tour of the pilgrimage sites guarded by this ‘new kind of knighthood.’
-
Mother Teresa : Essential Writings
$19.00Add to cart“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Before her death in 1997 Mother Teresa of Calcutta had come to embody for people of all nations and faiths the very definition of holiness. This selection of her writings highlights the essence of her spiritual message, of Christian love and service to the poor–which is not only a path of faithful discipleship but the way to human happiness and fulfillment. “Will inspire ordinary readers and challenge deeper thinkers alike. Humanity simply stands in awe of her.”–National Catholic Register
-
Meet Padre Pio
$18.99Add to cartThis brief biography of Padre Pio is designed to introduce readers to one of the most popular and beloved saints of the 20th century. This book presents a life sketch of the famous mystic and miracle worker that is laced with quotations from his writing and that describes his spirituality.
-
Hildegard Of Bingen
$34.95Add to cartHildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision shows that Hildegard’s opus was filled with balance, unity, and a stress on the Gospel-a life and work that served as an inspiration and a challenge for the twelfth century and now for us at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Hildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision considers Hildegard as a whole person and places her within her own century and context. It accents what makes her such a compelling figure for the modern reader while retaining the integrity of her peerless voice. It also serves as an introduction to Hildegard and a resource for simplistic interpretations of a complex and gifted woman whose legacy is a multitude of works.The first chapter explains Hildegard’s mystical polyphony by exploring the forces which shaped Hildegard’s development throughout her life, stressing her historical context, personal history, and the setting in which she lived and wrote. Chapter two explores her mystical polyphony in the explicitly visionary theological works: the Scivias, the Liber vitae meritorum, and the De operatione Dei. The third chapter considers Hildegard’s musical vision in depth. Chapter four explores her non-visionary works, including the “unknown language,” the lingua ignota; her lives of the saints and founders; and her commentaries and theories about the natural world, linked to her cosmology. Chapter five looks at Hildegard’s prophetic gifts and voice. It examines her relationships with others: in the communities in which she lived and governed, “in the world” by correspondence or encounter, in her encounters with authority, and in her claim to be an authority in her own right.
King-Lenzmeier concludes with such questions as What makes Hildegard unique as a mystic, and what does she share with others? and How is Hildegard’s mystical journey a paradigm for other mystical journeys? She draws forth the major elements that integrate Hildegard’s life and work and indicates in what way she is an example for other mystics who share her polyphonic character and spiritual path. The final chapter demonstrates Hildegard’s uniqueness among the mystics while presenting the universal appeal of her mysticism.
By considering all of Hildegard’s talents, works, and trials Hildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision shows the depth of the challenge she presents to us. She calls us to look beyond the everyday, but to value it at the same time; to challenge our preconceived notions of gender in the div
-
Guide To Living In The Truth
$19.99Add to cartThis book shows us how humility brings a basic happiness that is able to cope with difficulties and sorrows. Casey translates the ancient wisdom of Saint Benedict into the modern arena of capitalistic competition. He also demonstrates how people must stop regarding others as rivals and be content with what we have because it is a waste of time to envy those who possess qualities different than our own. Humble individuals are content with both the gifts and limitations inherent in who they are.
-
Rome Sweet Home
$17.95Add to cart1. From The Cradle To Christ
2. From Ministry To Marriage
3. New Conceptions Of The Covenant
4. Teaching And Living The Covenant As Family
5. Scott’s Search For The Church
6. One Comes Home To Rome
7. The Struggles Of A Mixed Marriage
8. A Rome-antic Reunion
9. Catholic Family LifeAdditional Info
The well-known and very popular Catholic couple, Scott and Kimberly Hahn, have been constantly travelling and speaking all over North America for the last few years about their conversion to the Catholic Church. Now these two outstanding Catholic apologists tell in their own words about the incredible spiritual journey that led them to embrace Catholicism.
Scott Hahn was a Presbyterian minister, the top student in his seminary class, a brilliant Scripture scholar, and militantly anti-Catholic … until he reluctantly began to discover that his “enemy” had all the right answers. Kimberly, also a top-notch theology student in the seminary, is the daughter of a well-known Protestant minister, and went through a tremendous “dark night of the soul” after Scott converted to Catholicism.Their conversion story and love for the Church has captured the hearts and minds of thousands of lukewarm Catholics and brought them back into an active participation in the Church. They have also influenced countless conversions to Catholicism among their friends and others who have heard their powerful testimony.
Written with simplicity, charity, grace and wit, the Hahns’ deep love and knowledge of Christ and of Scripture is evident and contagious throughout their story. Their love of truth and of neighbor is equally evident, and their theological focus on the great importance of the family, both biological and spiritual, will be a source of inspiration for all readers.
“One of the beautiful and bright-shining stars in the firmament of hope for our desperate days is this couple, the Hahns, and this story of their life and their conversion.”
— Peter Kreeft, Author, Back to Virtue
“Dynamic, fresh, and devoted are terms which describe the approach that Scott and Kimberly Hahn take to assist in the renewal of the Church in the United States. Now, with their conversion, they are admirably suited to assist Catholics in re-discovering the treasure that has been entrusted to them. My hope is that many people will benefit from contact with Scott and Kimberly Hahn through their stories of conversion.”
— Most Reverend John Myers, Bishop of Peoria
-
Sabbatical Journey : The Diary Of His Final Year
$24.95Add to cartThe complete, unabridged journal of Nouwen’s last year of life. His struggles and joys, and hopes and fears come into vivid relief as each moment unfolds. An intimate encounter with the beloved spiritual guide who has inspired millions of readers.
-
Life Of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
$9.99Add to cartThe beatification of Francis Xavier Seelos (1819-1867) by Pope John Paul II on April 9, 2000, came as a surprise to many Catholics who had never heard of this humble Redemptorist missionary priest. This informative biography provides a much-needed sketch of Blessed Francis X. Seelos’ life and work.
The holiness of Blessed Francis X. Seelos consisted not in heroic deeds as the world considers them, but in faithfully and joyfully performing his daily duties, and bearing his daily cross. He teaches us, therefore, that true holiness is possible to all, and that the Lord calls us all to be holy in every walk of life, serving God and neighbor from a full and devoted heart.
-
Journal Of A Soul
$20.00Add to cartNo other pope of this century has aroused so much interest and universal affection throughout the world as has Pope John XXIII. Journal of a Soul is an inspiring reading experience that records this pope’s thoughts and traces his spiritual development from adolescence to the seminary to a career as a priest, a European papal diplomat, Patriarch of Venice, and finally Pope John XXIII.
-
Anthony DeMello : Essential Writings
$22.00Add to cartBringing together the wisdom of East and West, the Indian Jesuit Anthony de Mello used stories and parables to awaken his listeners to an awareness of God’s presence in their midst. Since his death in 1987, countless readers have been challenged to encounter the God who lies behind words, concepts, and religious formulas.
-
Journeys At The Margin
$19.95Add to cartHow does the experience of being an immigrant, an ethnic minority person on the margins of society, affect one’s way of doing theology? In Journeys at the Margin prominent Asian-American theologians reflect on how being an Asian and a North American has shaped the way they understand the Christian story.
Asian Americans, having roots in Asia, do not fully belong either to America or Asia. They find themselves straddling two different world cultures, sharing something of both but belonging entirely to neither. Thus, their marginality can best be understood in terms of their experience of living “in-between” two cultures, that of the immigrant and that of the dominant group, and being “in-both” of these cultures-and, ultimately, being “in-beyond” the two cultures altogether.
Coming from different parts of the Far East and nourished by diverse Christian traditions, the contributors to Journeys at the Margin bring to their work richly divergent perspectives, resources, and methods. More than an anthology of personal stories, this collection of essays develops the emerging theological themes (including the contributors’ visions of a new America) out of their experience. What binds these highly varied essays is their authors’ common journeys at the margin.
As the United States becomes increasingly multiethnic and multicultural at the threshold of a new millennium, Journeys at the Margin offers useful suggestions on how to meet the challenge of cultural diversity in both Church and society.
-
Charles De Foucauld
$20.00Add to cartDrawn from writings, sermons, and letters and including a brief biography, this collection offers a full introduction to Charles de Foucauld, French aristocrat and soldier in North Africa at the turn of the century, who experienced a radical conversion. de Foucauld, who died a martyr in the desert of Algiers, was, as Richard Rohr says, “one of those rare souls who leaves no one untouched and many transformed.”
-
Francis Of Assisi
$18.95Add to cart23 Chapters
Additional Info
Yes, Francis wore sandals and preached to the birds, but these pages take you beyond the nature-lover of popular myth to the real St. Francis of Assisi, model of holiness and Christian courage.Here author Michael de la Bedoyere makes Francis and his times live again as he relates with heart-stopping intensity the adventures of this man who, precisely because of his great love for God, strove mightily to overcome his sinful nature.
You’ll learn the full story behind the famous incidents in Francis’s life including his hugging the leper and his sermon to the birds. You’ll hear of Francis’s perilous journey into the heart of Islam, where Catholics were killed merely for professing Christ and where Francis actually offered to be set on fire to establish the truth of the Catholic Faith!
Here, then, is the complete story of the man who cheerfully gave himself to God, without paying the least attention to the cares of this world . . . and did it with constant good humor and unflagging trust in God.
St. Francis of Assisi is a superb model for each of us today: an ordinary man who by God’s grace was able to do extraordinary things.
-
Breakpoint : A True Account Of Brainwashing And The Greater Power
$24.95Add to cartThis unique prison journal integrates a fascinating scientific biopsy of brainwashing with astonishing spiritual implications. In 1951 the communist government of Czechoslovakia sent a young medical doctor to prison for refusing to repudiate his faith. There he experienced solitary confinement, brainwashing and torture for seven years. Since he was trained in psychology, Dr. Krcmery was able to recognize the strategies used against him. Ultimately, what saved him from total physical and mental collapse was the Gospel of John which he had memorized before imprisonment and then turned to again and again. In a supreme act of generosity Silvester Krcmery has opted to recall the horrors of that time in order to give us this singular account of the scientic and spiritual basis of brainwashing.
-
Gift Of Peace
$17.00Add to cartJoseph Cardinal Bernardin’s gentle leadership throughout his life of ministerial service had made him an internationally beloved figure, but the words he left behind about his final journey would change the lives of many more people from all faiths, from all backgrounds, and from all over the world.
In the last two months of his life, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin made it his ultimate mission to share his personal reflections and insights as a legacy to those he left behind. The Gift of Peace reveals the Cardinal’s spiritual growth amid a string of traumatic events: a false accusation of sexual abuse; reconciliation a year later with his accuser, who had earlier recanted the charges; a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and surgery; the return of cancer, now in his liver; his decision to discontinue chemotherapy and live his remaining days as fully as possible. In these pages, Bernardin tells his story openly and honestly, and shares the profound peace he came to at the end of his life. He accepted his peace as a gift from God, and he in turn now shares that gift with the world.
-
Venerable Bede
$26.95Add to cartFrom his remote Northumbrian monastery, Bede (673-735) exerted an enormous and enduring influence on the study of Scripture, history, mathematics, and Latin literature. This overview of his life and writings, first published in 1990, has now been revised in the light of the most recent scholarship. In it noted scholar Sister Benedicta Ward introduces Bede and analyzes his works and the traditions and events which gave form to his thought.
-
Book Of Margery Kempe
$19.00Add to cartThough a familiar name, little was known about the English mystic Margery Kempe (c. 1373-c. 1440) for hundreds of years except that she had an association with the great Julian of Norwich. This all changed in 1934 with the discovery of The Book of Margery Kempe in a library where it had lain hidden for four hundred years. Finding Margery’s own story was important not just because of the light it shed on her life, but it also turned out to be the first known autobiography in the English language. Even more intriguing to the experts of the day, this unique document was written by a woman.
But if anyone had expected to find her anything like her cloistered contemporary, Julian, they were in for something of a surprise. Far from being a typical holy woman, Margery Kempe was married and mother of fourteen children. Moreover, she had been a woman of substance, even running a large brewery for a time. After turning to religion, she traveled thousands of miles around the known world on pilgrimages to distant lands.
Beyond the circumstances of her life, what’s most compelling about the text is the inner Margery that emerges. Her account of spiritual awakening, far from being a blissful episode is instead full of conflict and recrimination. What good was this new way of life if it caused her such trouble? Was this really the only way to lead a holy life? Margery remained unsure of the answers. But her patience in her struggle is a wonder to behold, and an example for us today.
-
Jesuit Saints And Martyrs (Revised)
$19.95Add to cartHere is a collection of short biographies of Saints, Blessed, Venerables, and Servants of God of the Society of Jesus. The brief biographies are arranged by calendar date and highlight significant information to reveal what it means to be a Jesuit and what it means to be saintly. This recent edition is a wonderful resource for Jesuits, lay Catholics, and those who enjoy reading about the saints.
-
Mother Teresa : In My Own Words
$9.99Add to cartExperience the same Spirit-filled words that Mother Teresa shared with the poor, the dying, the hurting, and the skeptical. The quotes, stories, and prayers in this book are hers.
Mother Teresa’s work for-and among-the poor has become the yardstick by which millions measure compassion and generosity across religious and political divides. While Mother Teresa herself always stressed action over words, it is the latter that have provided solace and hope to those who never have had the opportunity to meet her during her life. Though the world has lost one of its most admired women, Mother Teresa’s words and her memory still serve to move men and women from every race and religious background to volunteer to help the poor.
-
Cloister Walk
$16.00Add to cartAmazon.com
In the tradition of Thomas Merton, Kathleen Norris gives us an intimate look at how religious life fills a gap in the soul. Her poetic sensibilities internalize the monastery as a symbol of spirituality, with its sanctity and humor, questioning and uncertainty, rhythm and vigor. Beyond moral precepts and Bible stories, Cloister Walk is a very personal account of religion lived fully. It depicts a depth and beauty of spirituality in monastic life that has survived the vicissitudes of Roman Catholic politics and pomp.From Publishers Weekly
The allure of the monastic life baffles most lay people, but in her second book Norris (Dakota) goes far in explaining it. The author, raised Protestant, has been a Benedictine oblate, or lay associate, for 10 years, and has lived at a Benedictine monastery in Minnesota for two. Here, she compresses these years of experience into the diary of one liturgical year, offering observations on subjects ranging from celibacy to dealing with emotions to Christmas music. Like the liturgy she loves, this meandering, often repetitive book is perhaps best approached through the lectio divina practiced by the Benedictines, in which one tries to “surrender to whatever word or phrase captures the attention.” There is a certain nervous facility to some of Norris’s jabs at academics, and she is sometimes sanctimonious. But there is no doubting her conviction, exemplified in her defense of the much-maligned Catholic “virgin martyrs,” whose relevance and heroism she wants to redeem for feminists. What emerges, finally, is an affecting portrait?one of the most vibrant since Merton’s?of the misunderstood, often invisible world of monastics, as seen by a restless, generous intelligence. -
Dialogue Of Life
$16.00Add to cartDialogue of Life is the inspiring testament of Bob McCahill, a priest and missioner who for twenty years has pursued an unusual witness among the Muslim poor of Bangladesh. Rather than traditional pastoral work, McCahill simply tries to live as a friend and brother to his Muslim neighbors, offering a positive witness to the gospel ideals of service and love. In a series of small towns he has lived a life of utter simplicity, serving the sick, showing respect for Muslim piety, and explaining to all those who inquire the reasons for his way of life and good works. In simple yet vivid prose, Father McCahill describes his life, the rhythms of his days and those of his poor but faith-filled neighbors, the occasions for “interreligious dialogue” that emerge out of this living encounter, and his challenging reflections on the implications of this experience for Christian life and mission in the world. Enhanced by McCahill’s own prizewinning photographs, Dialogue of Life is a moving example of spirituality in action, and witness to “God who is larger than our hearts.”
-
Tales Of Padre Pio
$15.00Add to cartInspiring stories of Padre Pio’s miracles, clairvoyance and bi-location.Capuchin monk and spiritual leader, Padre Pio (1887-1968), is known and venerated throughout the world. Drawn by his stigmata (bodily wounds similar to those of the crucified Christ) and by his extraordinary powers of spiritual and physical healing, literally millions of people have made their way to his little monastery in Italy from every corner of the globe.
Tales of Padre Pio is a collection of first-hand accounts of various meetings with this humble and holy friar. Driven by curiosity and a bit of skepticism, the author first sought out Padre Pio some forty years ago and soon became a fervent disciple. Convinced of the man’s saintliness, he remained a close confidant until Pio’s death. As fascinating and inspiring as these stories are, they represent just a small portion of the countless miracles attributed to Pio.
-
Life Of Saint Dominic
$15.00Add to cartIn the Life of St. Dominic, Father Bede Jarrett, one of the truly eminent Dominicans of our century, presents a portrait of St. Dominic and his times with a brilliance and clarity that result from a perfect understanding of the beloved saint and his ideals. St. Dominic was plunged accidentally — and, as it turned out, providentially — from a quiet choir stall and scholarly life to the active and contentious life of a street-corner preacher. Called upon to dispute with heretics who threatened the very existence of the thirteenth-century Church, he found the vital inspiration of his life to lie in personal austerity, holiness, and ardent dedication of the intellect to Christ. He not only defended the truth of the faith, but through the Order he founded (the Dominicans) he spread the faith throughout existing Christendom.
Austere and joyous, physically hardy, affectionate, compassionate, and full of a lively gaiety of heart, St. Dominic was ideally suited to be a brilliant preacher. He was well-educated, trained expertly to argument, and had that flaming Spanish enthusiasm and radiant character that immediately attracted eager followers to his Order. Father Jarrett’s Life of St. Dominic is by far the best English biography of St. Dominic and brings him and his Order — one of the richest ornaments of the Church and of the entire intellectual world — to vibrant life for the modern reader.
-
Mission Legacies : Biographical Studies Of Leaders Of The Modern Missionary
$45.00Add to cartMission Legacies was inspired by the popular series of biographies from the International Bullentin of Missionary Research (IBMR). Seventy-eight of these legacies have been edited and gathered in this major reference and resource for church, libraries, students, and scholars. Mission Legacies tells the story of the missionary movement both in its classical achievements and in its time-bound weaknesses. These biographies are solid, critical assessments of their subjects. Their authors are a “who’s who” of church historians, carefully chosen for their mastery of the life and significance of the leaders featured and the context in which they worked.
-
Life Of Aelred Of Rievaulx
$24.95Add to cartWalter Daniel knew Aelred well and attended him on his deathbed in 1167. He remembered, and portrayed, him as abbot, counsellor, and friend. Contemporaries who had known him as a public figure so immediately criticized the Life that Walter was driven to justify his portrait in the subsequent Letter to Maurice. A new introduction incorporates scholarship of the forty years since Sir F. M. Powicke’s translation was first published.
-
Jerome Nadal 1507-1580
$16.95Add to cart17 Chapters
Additional Info
Jerome Nadal’s influence on the development and growth of the early Society of Jesus is second only to that of its founder, Ignatius Loyola. As Loyola’s vicar, Nadal visited Jesuit houses throughout Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, and the Low Countries. At each community, he explained the ways of the Society of Jesus, shared his understanding of Ignatius and his teachings, and promulgated the Society’s Constitutions. Although historians have long recognized Nadal’s importance for the Society’s spirituality and history, there has not been a biography published in the English language until this one. Using the volumes of letters and writings published by the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome, and monographs in other languages, Bangert gives a vivid portrait of an important and controversial figure. -
Life Of Beatrice Of Nazareth
$39.95Add to cartThe life and mystical experiences of an intelligent and artistic thirteenth-century flemish nun are described in this contemporary biography, drawn from a lost autobiography. Her own Seven Manieren van Minne is incorporated into the text and given in translation from two redactions: the Latin of her biographer and her own vernacular.
