Church History
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Case Of Galileo And The Church
$18.95Add to cartDid the Church really martyr Galileo?
Throughout the modern era, Galileo Galilei has been presented as a victim of cruel torture of conscience, theological narrow-mindedness, and ecclesiastical harassment typical of a dark, closed-minded Church. Frequently portrayed as such in theaters due to prevailing political ideologies, the story of Galileo points to the long-held tension between “science and faith,” “technology and ethics,” and “progress and the Church.”
The story of the real Galileo, however, which has not been told-until now-is sure to rock the established narrative.
Walter Cardinal Brandmuller, an eminent Church historian and expert in Galilean research, evaluates the scientific research of the recent past and exposes shocking historical errors. Uninterested in whitewashing the problematic pages of Church history, he offers a balanced view of the controversy, illuminating it through the lens of a deeper historical understanding.
Leaving no stone unturned, His Excellency separates the facts from the fiction to reveal:
*Why the Inquisition became involved in Galileo’s “case” and what it really determined
*Galileo’s multifaceted accomplishments, personality, and relationships
*What famous critics, including Aristotelians, had to say about Galileo and his findings
*How Galileo’s case embodied the scientific revolution and its view of the Church
*Whether Scripture and science should be understood separately
*How to perceive Galileo within the broader cultural and historical context of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuriesYou will discover the various aspects and philosophical views of the Galileo controversy, including how his personal polemics at times superseded his scientific research. Moreover, you will learn about significant scientists’ and theologians’ arguments regarding heliocentrism and other topics.
The book includes an extensive bibliography of Galileo’s works and a timeline of his life, as well as a declaration from twelve Nobel Prize-winning scientists on the necessity of dialogue between science and religion and the need for the Church’s guidance.
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1 Lord One Faith One Church
$19.95Add to cartIt’s no secret that there is an abundance of so-called Christian sects populating a wide range of churches, with different worship services and teachings regarding the salvation of your soul. But how can one intelligently make sense of this if there is one God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever?
This book will take you on a fact-based journey from the earliest days of Christianity to now. Wherever your personal faith and belief system currently reside, this book will test that faith and challenge you to believe in the real Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels, and embrace the fullness of the truth found in the one Church that He established.
In these incisive pages, Jesse Romero and Paul Zucarelli present hard evidence and challenge you to disprove the facts. They present proof as to why Jesus Christ established the Church and what we are supposed to do while we await the inevitable – the death of our bodies.
They will help you answer questions such as:
*What is a “church,” and does man define the term differently from how God defines it?
*Did God intend to create an unlimited number of churches with differing beliefs and practices?
*If Jesus Himself created the Church, by what authority does man invent his own churches?
By what process did so many and varying churches develop?
You will learn about the historical origins of the Church, early Church leaders, significant places in Church history, where the tenets of the Nicene Creed come from, and how the books of the Bible were selected. In addition, you will gain an understanding of key Church scandals in history and their “triggering events” that led to further fracturing of the Church. You will also discover how precisely to respond to the division that has occurred throughout the centuries.Moreover, you will receive the biblical basis for the universal Church and the four supernatural proofs for the one true Church. Reflection questions are provided at the end of each chapter for personal consideration and group discussion.
How firm is the foundation upon which your faith is built? Test yourself – and test your faith – by reading this book!
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Francis Of Assisi Movement Maker
$30.00Add to cartAmerican Society of Missiology Series #66
In the early 13th century Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Movement breathed new life into the church, attracting tens of thousands of adherents. Yet within decades this movement split into clashing branches. Why?
Since understanding Francis himself is key to understanding this history, Howard Snyder begins with Francis’s life, conversion, and remarkable mission. He highlights aspects of the story not found in most Francis biographies and identifies key factors that illuminate movement dynamics.
Looking at Francis as an organizer opens new windows of understanding into Franciscan history. Snyder explains how Francis put together his movement and how he led–or on occasion did not lead. He shows why the Lesser Brothers multiplied so quickly, crossing multiple cultural barriers, spreading into Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He also explicates their conflicts and why they eventually fragmented.
Francis of Assisi, Movement Maker offers insights for today’s church and its role in culture, including personal discipleship and the stewardship and healing of the earth.
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Vatican 2 At 60
$32.00Add to cartMarking the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) here are original essays by leading Catholic theological scholars. They address the historic and current significance of the Council, key documents and themes, and the Council’s ongoing challenge for renewal in the Catholic Church of the twenty-first century.
Contents
1. A Council for a World Church, Catherine E. Clifford
2, The Unfinished Business of Lumen Gentium, Paul Lakeland
3. Reform in Motion: Vatican II and the Liturgy, John F. Baldovin, SJ
4. Lumen Gentium, Synodality, and the Universal Call to Participation, Brian P. Flanagan
5. Dei Verbum and the Roots of Synodality, Ormond Rush
6. Being the Church in the World, Marcus Mescher
7. Gender and Ecclesiology since Vatican II, Elyse J. Raby
8. Nostra Aetate Journey to Interfaith Dialogue, Celia Deutsch, NDS
9. The Spirituality of the Second Vatican Council, Gerald O’Collins, SJ
10. Synodality: An Enduring Legacy of the Council, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy -
Triumph : The Power And The Glory Of The Catholic Church – A 2,000 Year His (Exp
$39.99Add to cartA Catholic Classic — UPDATED AND EXPANDED!
For 2,000 years, Catholicism-the largest religion in the world and in the United States-has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution.
Triumph offers an accessible, affirmative, and exciting entry into that history. Inside, you’ll discover the spectacular story of the Church from Biblical times and the early days of St. Peter-the first pope-to Pope John Paul the Great (already a saint), Pope Benedict XVI (a master theologian), and the controversies surrounding Pope Francis.
It is a sweeping drama of Roman legions, great crusades, epic battles, toppled empires, heroic saints, and enduring faith, as well as Dark Age skullduggery, the Inquisition, the Renaissance popes, and the Protestant Revolt.
A classic for twenty years — now updated and expanded — Triumph is a brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic that will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the power and the glory the Catholic Church and the gripping stories of some of its greatest men and women.
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Advent : The Season Of Hope
$20.99Add to cart“Christians believe not just in one coming of Christ, but in three.”
We tend to think of Advent as the season of anticipation before Christmas–and while it is that, it’s also much more. Throughout its history, the church has observed Advent as a preparation not only for the first coming of Christ in his incarnation but also for his second coming at the last day. It’s also about a third coming: the coming of Christ to meet us in our present moment, to make us holy by his Word and Sacrament.
In this short volume, priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren explores all three of these “comings” of Christ and invites us into a deeper experience of the first season of the Christian year.
Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring how its traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals all point us to Jesus.
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Pentecost : A Day Of Power For All People
$20.99Add to cart“The power of Pentecost is inseparable from the good news of the Christ who is proclaimed in the Gospels, in accordance with the Scriptures.”
Pentecost may well be the most misconstrued day on the church calendar. A long legacy of cessationism has drained Pentecost of much of its significance, and it’s largely misunderstood in many Western churches today, if not outright ignored.
That’s not the case in Emilio Alvarez’s tradition, though. In this Fullness of Time volume, the Pentecostal bishop and theologian offers us a rich biblical and theological introduction to the day of Pentecost and sets it in its liturgical context–not only in the Protestant tradition but also in Catholic, Orthodox, and Pentecostal expressions. The result is a rich theological feast and an invitation to find afresh the power of the gospel for all peoples.
Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.
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Worship By Faith Alone
$35.99Add to cartIn every age, the church must consider what it means to gather together to worship God.
If the church is primarily the people who follow the risen Christ, then its worship should be “gospel-centered.” But where might the church find an example of such worship for today?
In this Dynamics of Christian Worship volume, scholar, worship leader, and songwriter Zac Hicks contends that such a focus can be found in the theology of worship presented by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury during the English Reformation. Hicks argues that Cranmer’s reformation of the church’s worship and liturgy was shaped primarily by the Protestant principle of justification by faith alone as reflected in his 1552 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, which was later codified under Elizabeth I and has guided Anglican worship for centuries.
Here, we find a model of “gospel-centered” worship through which the church of today might be reformed yet again.
The Dynamics of Christian Worship series draws from a wide range of worshiping contexts and denominational backgrounds to unpack the many dynamics of Christian worship–including prayer, reading the Bible, preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, music, visual art, architecture, and more–to deepen both the theology and practice of Christian worship for the life of the church.
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Lent : The Season Of Repentance And Renewal
$20.99Add to cartLent is inescapably about repenting. Every year, the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week. It’s an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ.
Often, though, we experience the Lenten fast as either a mindless ritual or self-improvement program. In this short volume, priest and scholar Esau McCaulley introduces the season of Lent, showing us how its prayers and rituals point us not just to our own sinfulness but also beyond it to our merciful Savior.
Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.
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Fathers Of The Faith Saint Augustine
$14.95Add to cartIn this volume from the Fathers of the Faith series, you’ll be introduced to Saint Augustine of Hippo. Who was he? What did he teach? Where and when did he live? Why is he an important figure in the history of the Church?
In this accessible, bite-sized introduction, renowned author, speaker, and television host Mike Aquilina gives an overview of Augustine’s life as a proud North African in the fourth and fifth century. His conversion from sinful young man to Catholic priest and bishop is well known from his autobiography, Confessions.
One of the four great Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church, Augustine is considered the authority on almost everything because he wrote about practically everything. He incorporated the best of secular philosophy and science into his thought. His works are an encyclopedia of the Christian faith, and his writings have impacted countless millions. His legacy endures today.
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Fathers Of The Faith Saint Irenaeus
$14.95Add to cartIn this volume from the Fathers of the Faith series, you’ll be introduced to Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. Who was he? What did he teach? Where and when did he live? Why is he an important figure in the history of the Church?
In this accessible, bite-sized introduction, renowned author, speaker, and television host Mike Aquilina gives an overview of Irenaeus’s life as a second-century Greek and the historical surroundings that affected his life and thought. A friend of Saint Polycarp from the same town in Asia Minor, Irenaeus was born in a Christian family and eventually became a bishop. His foundational works include Against Heresies and The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, and their relevance endures today.
More than 1,800 years after Ireneaus’ death, the U.S. bishops voted unanimously in agreement with a French initiative that Irenaeus be named a doctor of the Church, testament to the importance of his writings and teachings. In 2019, the bishops’ approval was forwarded to the Vatican for consideration by Pope Francis.
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Christian Tradition In Global Perspective
$45.00Add to cartThis one-volume text designed for classroom use situates the history of Christianity within its various social and political contexts by including a wide range of perspectives, ecumenical as well as non-Western, while exploring key movements, documents, developments, and individuals.
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Recapturing An Enchanted World
$30.99Add to cartWhile the Free Churches rightly sought to cleanse the church of the abuses of sacramentalism, in that process they also set aside some of the church’s historic practices and theology. In response to this liturgically thin space, Mennonite theologian and minister John D. Rempel considers the role of the sacraments and ritual within the Free Church tradition, helping us perceive the sacramental nature of our faith and worship.
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Francis Of Assisi
$19.95Add to cartRobert Waldron’s new book serves as an introduction to the life of the world’s favorite saint. The author explores Francis from three perspectives: biographical, psychological and aesthetic. His book is innovative because he understands Francis through our new science of psychology and through the beauty of Bellini’s masterpiece St. Francis in the Desert, the painting shown on the cover of the book. For a psychological understanding Waldron employes Carl Jung’s theory of individuation: the steps taken by Francis to become his True Self. Waldron also employs Bellini’s painting to shed light on St. Francis the mystic, he who was gifted by God with the Stigmata. Waldron also addresses Francis’s poem The Canticle of the Creatures, offering an exegesis of the poem that also provides insights into the saint’s life as Christian and as a mystic. Waldron’s book provides a Study Guide that encourages the reader to go more deeply into understanding Francis’s life.
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Studying The Life Of Saint Clare Of Assisi (Workbook)
$24.95Add to cartThis one-of-a-kind resource helps readers discover St. Clare through a series of crisp chapters that first teach them about the sources for St. Clare’s life and writings and then apply that knowledge to manageable topics from her life. The book provides also an important introduction to feminine spirituality and religious life options for Medieval women.
This workbook has been successful with high school graduates and Ph.Ds. It works for anyone who wants to do a guided study of the life of St. Clare of Assisi using primary sources. Those benefiting from this unique approach include Franciscans of all kinds, especially those in formation programs, students of medieval or female spirituality, historians of religious life, women and men working in Franciscan ministries, former pilgrims who have visited Assisi and anyone wanting to learn how different people in the history of the church responded to its changing circumstances.
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Medieval Cistercian History
$44.95Add to cartThomas Merton’s deep roots in his own Cistercian tradition are on display in the two sets of conferences on the early days of the Order included in the present volume. The first surveys the relevant monastic background that led up to the foundation of the Abbey of Citeaux in 1098 and goes on to consider the contributions of each of the first three abbots of the “New Monastery” that would become the epicenter of the most dynamic religious movement of the early twelfth century. The second set investigates the arc of medieval Cistercian history in the two centuries following the death of Saint Bernard, in which the Order moves from being ahead of its time, in its formative stages, to being representative of its time in its most powerful and influential phase, to becoming regressive with the rise of new religious currents that begin to flow in the thirteenth century. Merton stresses the need to respect the complexity of the actual lived reality of Cistercian life during this period, to “beware of easy generalizations” and instead consider the full range of factual data. The result is a richly nuanced picture of the development of early Cistercian life and thought that serves as a fitting concluding volume to the series of Merton’s novitiate conferences providing a thorough “Initiation into the Monastic Tradition.”
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Benedictine Reader 530-1530
$49.95Add to cartThis Benedictine Reader, 530-1530, has been more than twenty years in the making. A collaboration of a dozen scholars, this project gives as broad and deep a sense of the reality of the first one thousand years of Benedictine monasticism as can be done in one volume, using primary sources in English translation. The texts included are drawn from many different genres and from several languages and areas of Europe. The introduction to each of the thirty-two chapters aims to situate each author and text and to make connections with other texts and studies within and outside the Reader. The general introduction summarizes the main ideas and practices that are present in the Rule of Saint Benedict and in the first thousand years of Benedictine monasticism while suggesting questions that a reader might bring to the texts.
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Saint Oscar Romero
$15.99Add to cartKerry Walters explores the Salvadoran archbishop’s journey from carpenter’s son through his early priesthood, his selection as a “safe” bishop who wouldn’t rock the government boat, to his transformation into someone who proclaimed the truth of the Gospel so unswervingly that it led to his assassination.
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Saints On Sunday
$19.95Add to cartHow might Ambrose of Milan, Hildegard of Bingen, and Catherine of Siena inspire us to improve Sunday worship? What about Lawrence, John of Damascus, Thomas Cranmer, Johannes Kepler, Margaret Fell, and Dorothy Day? Even Amy Carmichael can point our assemblies toward more profound worship. In Saints on Sunday, Lutheran laywoman Gail Ramshaw, listening to twenty-four sainted voices, proposes how our past might enliven our future. Characterized by rigorous scholarship and no-nonsense honesty, her essays suggest ways to enrich the gathering, word, meal, and sending of our assemblies on Sunday.
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Church Rocks : A History Of The Catholic Church For Kids And Their Parents
$15.95Add to cartThe story of the Church is an epic drama, filled with adventure, danger, politics, sacrifice, and courage. Sister Mary Lea Hill tells this exciting story in a book sure to thrill children ages 10 and up, taking readers on a whirlwind tour of Church history that will enlighten and entertain everyone.
Hill starts with the very beginnings of Christianity and goes on to the troubles of the early Church, the conversion of Constantine, the “days of danger” of the fifth-century persecutions, the mystery of the Dark Ages, the Great Schism, the different popes, saints, and missionaries, the Crusades, the breakaway of the Protestant Reformation, the dialogue between science and religion, political movements, and finally brings readers to the new evangelization of the 21st century.
Sometimes it’s easy to feel disconnected from the past: this is true for families and countries, and it’s also true for religions. The Church Rocks will help young readers reconnect with their collective history and understand how the past led to the present? and leads on still further into the future.
Features & Benefits:
Highlights of Church history are presented in an engaging way for children, parents, and teachers, with every chapter including:-Fun fictional “eyewitness accounts” to make events come alive
-Additional “factoids,” small snippets of information
-“Once upon a word,” providing explanations of word meanings
-Timelines, so that readers can see events in relation to each other
-A prayer relating to the situations and people in the chapter
-Brief biographies or “snapshots” of each major character
-A “mystery of history” that sparks curiosity about mysteries of the past
-The “latest and greatest” tying Church-related episodes to concurrent events in the secular world
-“On the record” excerpts from historic accounts and quotes from major players
-Activities that complement information, and resources for further exploration -
Saint Columban : His Life Rule And Legacy
$29.95Add to cartColumban: His Rule and His Movement contains a new English translation of a commentary on the entire Rule of Columban. Columban was a sixth-century Irish monk who compiled a written rule of life for the three monasteries he founded in France: Anegray, Luxeuil, and Fontaines. This volume also includes the first English translation of the Regula cuiusdam Patris ad Virgines, or the Rule of Walbert, compiled by the seventh-century Count Walbert from various earlier rules designed for women, including those of Columban, Benedict, Cassian, and Basil. This book begins with an extensive introduction to the history of Columban and his monks, as well as various indices and notes, which will be of interest to students and enthusiasts of monastic studies.
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Rise And Fall Of The Incomparable Liturgy
$32.99Add to cartMost histories of Church of England liturgy, for good reason, begin in the 1530s, and centre on the 1549 and 1552 Books of Common Prayer. That is important for initial doctrinal changes, and the establishment of the liturgical text, However, both liturgies were extremely short-lived, and the real history of the Book of Common Prayer as the Liturgy of the Church of England begins with the Elizabethan Settlement, 1559, and a long tenure of the enacted Elizabethan liturgy. The only revision of any note was that of 1662, and this revision lasted without serious challenge until the 19th century, and without legal alternative until the twentieth century. This study therefore concentrates on 1559 until the Report of the Royal Commission in 1906 which paved the way for liturgical revision.
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Life Of Saint Victor Son Of Romanus
$14.00Add to cartSaint Victor is one of the church’s renowned martyrs. He denied his earthly position as an army general to stand up for his faith and refused to worship idols. His life inspires young people today to stand strong in their faith and became a living sacrifice to Christ the King.
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Remapping The History Of Catholicism In The United States
$34.95Add to cartFor more than thirty years, the U.S. Catholic Historian has mapped the diverse terrain of American Catholicism. This collection of recent essays tells the story of Catholics previously underappreciated by historians: women, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and those on the frontier and borderlands.
Timothy Matovina’s opening essay sets the theme for the volume, encouraging a remapping of U.S. Catholic history to more widely encompass its various localities and peoples, especially the significance of non-European ethnic groups and the role of Catholics in the American Southwest. Jeanne Petit explores Catholic womanhood’s strength and organizational zeal in the post-World War I era, noting the obstacles and successes of women’s attempts to be recognized fully as American citizens and members of the Church. Anne Klejment weaves together the lives of Dorothy Day and Cesar Chavez to illustrate their use of nonviolence and “weapons of the spirit” to respond to societal injus-tice. Amanda Bresie provides a window into the life of Mother Katharine Drexel, noting the generosity of the millionaire heiress, but also her meticulous record keeping and close supervision of her funding of educational and evangelization efforts among Native and African Americans. Kristine Ashton Gunnell analyzes the ways in which the Daughters of Charity crossed cultural boundaries to offer charitable assistance to Mexican and Japanese communities in Los Angeles. Matthew Cressler explores the intersection of Black Power and distinctive African American-inspired liturgies, arguing that the liturgy became a site of struggle as black self-determination and nationalism impacted worship and black Catholic identity. Finally, Joseph Chinnici offers an important essay on re-envisioning post-conciliar U.S. Catholicism in its global context, offering a new approach to how we consider the Ameri-can Catholic narrative and write its history.
Together these path-breaking studies serve as a model for historians seeking to engage in the cartographic task of remapping the U.S. Catholic experience.
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Christian Monks On Chinese Soil
$39.95Add to cartThe contribution of monks to the evangelization of lands not yet reached by the preaching of the Gospel has certainly been remarkable. The specific witness that the monastic community gives is of a radical Christian life naturally radiating outward, and thus it is implicitly missionary. The process of inculturation of Christian monasticism in China required a bold spiritual attitude of openness to the future and a willingness to accept the transformation of monastic forms that had been received. In Christian Monks on Chinese Soil, Matteo Nicolini-Zani highlights the willingness of foreign monks to encounter the cultural and spiritual realities of China and the degree of acceptance by the Chinese of the form of monastic life that was presented to them by the missionaries.
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Ancient Christian Worship
$34.00Add to cartThis introduction to the origins of Christian worship illuminates the importance of ancient Christian worship practices for contemporary Christianity. Andrew McGowan, a leading scholar of early Christian liturgy, takes a fresh approach to understanding how Christians came to worship in the distinctive forms still familiar today. Deftly and expertly processing the bewildering complexity of the ancient sources into lucid, fluent exposition, he sets aside common misperceptions to explore the roots of Christian ritual practices–including the Eucharist, baptism, communal prayer, preaching, Scripture reading, and music–in their earliest recoverable settings. Students of Christian worship and theology as well as pastors and church leaders will value this work.
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Augustine And The Catechumenate (Revised)
$39.95Add to cartSt. Augustine (354-430), one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Christianity, was also a struggling North African pastor who had a flair for teaching and who meditated deeply on the mysteries of the human heart. This study examines a little-known side of his career: his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism. This reconstruction of Augustine’s catechumenate provides fresh perspectives on the day-to-day life of the early church and on the vibrancy and eloquence of Augustine the preacher and teacher.In this new edition, both the text and notes have been revised from top to bottom to better reflect the state of contemporary scholarship on Augustine, on liturgical studies, and on the catechumenate, both ancient and modern. This edition also includes new findings from some of the recently discovered sermons of Augustine and incorporates new perspectives from recent research on early Christian biblical interpretation, debates on the Trinity, the evolution of the liturgy, and much more.
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35 Doctors Of The Church (Revised)
$34.95Add to cartThe 35 Doctors of the Church presents the most comprehensive and fascinating collection available anywhere on the lives and labors of the saints who have been declared the Church’s Doctors. From St. Athanasius (c. 297-373) to St. Therese of Lisieux (1873 1897), you ll find the amazing stories of 35 extraordinary men and women who are honored both for their holiness and for the eminence of their teachings about the Faith. Their work and witness are truly timeless; their lives and wisdom show us how to be holy in our own lives, how to confront the challenges of today, and how to proclaim the Gospel to a modern world hungering for Jesus Christ.
Originally published as The 33 Doctors of the Church by Father Christopher Rengers, O.F.M. Cap., The 35 Doctors of the Church has been updated by Dr. Matthew E. Bunson, K.H.S., to include two new chapters about recently proclaimed Doctors, St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen. The revised edition also includes a new Introduction with a detailed explanation of how the Church proclaims Doctors and their meaning for today.
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Saint Paul And The New Evangelization
$22.95Add to cartSaint Paul and the New Evangelization is your guide to participating in one of the most important renewal movements in the history of the church. Several popes have spoken of the urgent need to reenergize those who have either grown lukewarm in their faith or abandoned it altogether. You know people like this. You probably have friends and family members you pray for every day.
Ronald D. Witherup, SS, analyzes the techniques of one of the church’s best evangelists Paul of Tarsus to show how we can help reinvigorate the faith of friends and loved ones. You don t need to know a lot about the Bible or theology. Just follow St. Paul s inspiring example, and discover how to talk about your faith in ways that change hearts.
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Decline And Fall Of The Catholic Church In America
$24.95Add to cartThe Roots of the Crisis That’s Rocked the Pulpits and Emptied the Pews Many Catholics blame Vatican II for the decline of the Church in America these past 30 years: traditionalists say it caused too many changes, liberals say too few.
In this groundbreaking book, sociologist David Carlin shows that although Vatican II was the flashpoint for change in the Church, the roots of today’s crisis go deeper than anything that happened at the Council.
Basing his conclusions on sociological analysis rather than on theology or Church teachings, Carlin shows that in the 1960’s the Church in America was weakened by the triumph of tolerance as an American virtue (which led Catholics to downplay their uniquely Catholic beliefs for the sake of unity) and then was battered by a culture that, seemingly overnight, had become boldly secularist and even libertine.
Called by Vatican II to engage the culture in order to evangelize it, while pressed by the culture to downplay its Catholicity in the name of tolerance, the Church in America lost its way.
The result? A widespread loss of Catholic identity; weakening of fidelity to Church teachings; Catholics abandoning their faith; and a diminishment of the Church’s role as a moral voice in American society.
Carlin’s analysis has uncovered a problem that’s older and even more dangerous for the future of Catholicism than the deeds that have lately thrust the Church onto the front pages. Indeed, says Carlin, the scandals are merely symptoms of this deeper problem that will continue to drain the Church’s vitality long after the scandals are forgotten.
The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America: essential reading for all who seek to understand the decline of their beloved Church and who hope to devise effective ways to restore her.
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Smoke Of Satan In The Temple Of God
$31.49Add to cartTaking as his point of departure Pope Paul VI’s observation that seven years following the close of the Second Vatican Council conditions in the Church were such that it was as if “the Smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God,” the author recounts how it was that the misimplementation of the council’s documents resulted in the emergence of what Henri De Lubac termed “a different Church from that of Jesus Christ,” all under the guide of updating (aggiornamento) and renewal. Pope Paul was of the mind that by 1972 the greatest need in the Church was to be defended against the adversary power of darkness, the Devil. For the Pope the unmistakable signs of the Evil One’s penetration of the Church were a vast undermining of Catholic moral teaching (particularly sexual morality), the ideological seduction of fashionable theological errors (particularly neomodernism) which spawned doctrinal uncertainty, a radical denial of God, and the watering down of and even rejection of the spirit of the Gospel.
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Roots Of Christian Mysticism
$29.95Add to cartBy linking together a series of brilliantly chosen texts from the early centuries of the Church, the author lays bare the roots of the deeply mystical spirituality that has flourished among Christians throughout the ages. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in the field of spirituality. It is a masterly contribution to Christian scholarship, and this second edition includes an extraordinarily useful Index.
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Vatican 2 : The Essential Texts
$22.00Add to cartA collection of the essential documents of the Vatican II Council to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this landmark event that forever changed the Catholic Church, with introductions by Pope Benedict XVI (conservative) and James Carroll (progressive).
By encouraging Catholic engagement with the modern world and refocusing Catholic teaching, the Vatican II Council brought new life to the practice of Catholicism. With many current Church issues finding their roots in differinginterpretations of Vatican II, it has never lost relevance. Vatican II: The Essential Texts brings together the key documents of the council. As the council is commemorated on its 50th anniversary, readers will return to these sourcematerials to understand the Church’s developing positions. In addition to the introductions, the documents are accompanied by brief historical prefaces by theologian Professor Edward Hahnenberg.
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Keys To The Council
$24.95Add to cartAs the church marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, too few Catholics have an adequate grasp of what the council contributed to the life of the church. The problem is understandable. The Second Vatican Council produced, by far, more document pages than any other ecumenical council. Consequently, any attempt to master its core teachings can be daunting. There is a danger of missing the forest for the trees. With this in mind, Keys to the Council identifies sixteen key conciliar passages, central texts that help us appreciate the vision of the council fathers.
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Carmelite Tradition
$26.95Add to cartEight hundred years ago Albert of Jerusalem gave the hermit-penitents of Mount Carmel a way of life to follow. Since then, this rule has inspired and formed mystics and scholars, men and women, lay and ordained to seek the living God. In The Carmelite Tradition Steven Payne, OCD, brings together representative voices to demonstrate the richness and depth of Carmelite spirituality. As he writes, “Carmelite spirituality seeks nothing more nor less than to ‘stand before the face of the living God’ and prophesy with Elijah, to ‘hear the word of God and keep it’ with Mary, to grow in friendship with God through unceasing prayer with Teresa, to ‘become by participation what Christ is by nature’ as John of the Cross puts it, and thereby to be made, like Therese of Lisieux, into instruments of God’s transforming merciful love in the church and society.”
The lives and writings in The Carmelite Tradition invite readers to stand with these holy men and women and seek God in the hermitage of the heart.
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Maronites : The Origins Of An Antiochene Church A Historical And Geographic
$29.95Add to cartThe Maronite Church is one of twenty-two Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the Pope of Rome. Her patriarch is in Lebanon. Forty-three bishops and approximately five million faithful make up her presence throughout the world.
The story of Maron, a fifth-century hermit-priest, and the community gathered around him, later called the Maronites, tells another fascinating story of the monastic and missionary movements of the Church. Maron’s story takes place in the context of Syrian monasticism, which was a combination of both solitary and communal life, and is a narrative of Christians of the Middle East as they navigated the rough seas of political divisions and ecclesiastical controversies from the fourth to the ninth centuries.
Abbot Paul Naaman, a Maronite scholar and former Superior General of the Order of Lebanese Maronite Monks, wisely places the study of the origins of the Maronite Church squarely in the midst of the history of the Church. His book, The Maronites: The Origins of an Antiochene Church, published during the sixteenth centenary of Maron’s death, offers plausible insights into her formation and early development, grounding the Maronite Church in her Catholic, Antiochian, Syriac, and monastic roots.
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True And False Reform In The Church
$39.95Add to cartArchbishop Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII) read True and False Reform during his years as papal nuncio in France and asked, “A reform of the church-is such a thing really possible?” A decade later as pope, he opened the Second Vatican Council by describing its goals in terms that reflected Congar’s description of authentic reform: reform that penetrates to the heart of doctrine as a message of salvation for the whole of humanity, that retrieves the meaning of prophecy in a living church, and that is deeply rooted in history rather than superficially related to the apostolic tradition. Pope John called the council not to reform heresy or to denounce errors but to update the church’s capacity to explain itself to the world and to revitalize ecclesial life in all its unique local manifestations. Congar’s masterpiece fills in the blanks of what we have been missing in our reception of the council and its call to “true reform.”
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Worshiping With The Church Fathers
$27.99Add to cartChristopher Hall invites us to accompany the church fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life in this unique survey of the life of worship from the perspective of the early Church.
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Ignatian Tradition
$24.95Add to cartThe Ignatian tradition sprang up in the sixteenth century, the fruit of graces bestowed on a Basque nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola. Guided by a passion to find God in all things, Ignatius and his first companions founded the Society of Jesus and inspired many other religious orders and lay movements. Their influence spread across the globe even as they embraced various aspects of the cultures, languages, and institutions they encountered.
This introduction-a mere sampling of the men and women influenced by Ignatius-draws on the stories and writings of nineteen exemplary individuals as well as the corporate voice of the Jesuit order. Here we meet missionaries, scholars, artists, advocates, and martyrs. Contemplatives in action, they follow Christ by serving others. They embody the freedom born of a passionate knowledge of God’s unending, unconditional love; precisely in this, they show us how to live well today.
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Ecumenical Councils Of The Catholic Church
$29.95Add to cartThere have been twenty-one universal gatherings-ecumenical councils-of the Catholic Church. The first opened in 325, the last closed in 1965, and the names of many ring out in the history of the church: Nicea, Chalcedon, Trent, Vatican II. Though centuries separate the councils, each occurred when the church faced serious crises, sometimes with doctrinal matters, sometimes with moral or even political matters, and sometimes with discerning the church’s relation to the world. The councils determined much of what the Catholic Church is and believes. Additionally, many councils impacted believers in other Christian traditions and even in other faiths.
In this accessible, readable, and yet substantial account of the councils Joseph Kelly provides both the historical context for each council as well as an account of its proceedings. Readers will discover how the councils shaped the debate for the following decades and even centuries, and will appreciate the occasional portraits of important conciliar figures from Emperor Constantine to Pope John XXIII.
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Fathers Of The Church
$21.99Add to cartBetween March 2007 and June 2008, Pope Benedict XVI devoted thirty-six catecheses at his Wednesday audiences to the Fathers of the Church, from St. Clement of Rome to St. Augustine of Hippo. He devoted talks not only to the saints of the church, but also to writers not venerated – one subject, Tertullian, even died outside the Catholic communion.
Pope Benedict’s catecheses often begin with some historical information about his subject, setting the writer in the context of his time. He pays attention to the teaching of the Father, but often in unexpected ways – his concern is not only with Christian doctrine, but also with care for the poor and with the relation of the Church to the state. He sometimes applies the teaching of his subject to some contemporary situation. Finally at the end of several catecheses, he quotes a prayer written by his subject.
These catecheses are distinctive. The Pope is not giving academic lectures, nor is he giving sermons. Rather, he is instructing those who are coming to the Church and those who want to have their faith confirmed and strengthened. Pope Benedict clearly believes that the Fathers of the Church speak to Christians today, and he presents the Fathers in a way that makes them accessible to every reader. That accessibility often makes that reader eager to look further into the writings of these great early Christians.
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Outposts Of The Faith
$39.99Add to cart“The Anglo-Catholic movement which flourished in the early and mid twentieth century is famed for its dedicated and heroic work in inner-city slum areas, yet little is recorded about its impact in rural areas, nor have the stories of its more flamboyant rural priests been told. “”Outposts of the Faith”” tells the entertaining stories of ten parishes where the Anglo-Catholic movement made a particular impact, or took a significant turn that affected the wider church and the subsequent direction of the movement. Included are the stories of a number of well known names – Athelstan Riley, Samuel Gurney, Maurice Child and Clive Beresford among others, about whom very little has previously been written. Here we meet eccentricity and devotion in equal measure – one priest who removed parts of his clerical clothing whenever the 1662 Prayer Book was mentioned, another who was shot by a parishioner, another who served the same Devon parish for 70 years.”
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Gregorian Chant : A Guide To The History And Liturgy
$19.99Add to cartGregorian Chant offers a detailed tutorial in the history and liturgy of Gregorian chant for musicians and musicologists, clergy and liturgists, passionate participants, and others who are interested in the revival of chant in the church, today.
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In A Great And Noble Tradition
$22.95Add to cartThe Benedictine abbey of Solesmes in France is famous for the quality of its Gregorian chant, recordings of which are appreciated throughout the world. Nevertheless, the life of its founder, Dom Prosper Gueranger (1805-1875) is still relatively unknown. This is partly due to Gueranger himself, who never sought to promote his life story. While he published many liturgical and spiritual works, this highly personal account of his early life and events surrounding the foundation of Solesmes in 1833 was never intended for publication, and indeed was never completed. For this reason, the manuscript remained in the archives of the abbey of Solesmes for well over a hundred years. Growing recognition of its wider importance and interest led to its eventual publication in 2005, the bicentenary of Gueranger’s birth. The book is far more than a personal portrait of an interesting and innovative individual. Through the prism of events surrounding his early life as a seminarian, secular priest and then Benedictine monk, Gueranger’s account illustrates many of the wider issues at play in early nineteenth-century France and French Catholicism. Gueranger’s first-hand account of various political events under the regimes of Napoleon I, the Bourbon Restoration and Louis-Philippe has its own historical value. Above all, however, the book shows how Gueranger’s project to re-found Benedictine life in France, after its disappearance in the wake of the French Revolution, stood in relation to other currents of religious thought and monastic tradition, notably Gallicanism, Ultramontanism, the Maurists and the Cistercians. Those interested in monastic life and liturgical spirituality will further draw inspiration from Gueranger’s narration of the human relationships and mystical experiences that inspired his Benedictine vocation and subsequent life’s work. Gueranger’s lively text is also enjoyable in its own right. His optimism, determination, creativity, unwavering trust in divine providence, capacity for friendship and often humorous (and occasionally devastating) portraits of the many people whom he encountered give a particular charm and colour to his writing. Ultimately, however, this account of Gueranger’s spiritual and intellectual awakening provides impetus for a renewed contemporary appreciation of his convictions, which are of perennial value for all who are seeking God. The monastic community founded by Gueranger bears witness to the transforming power of contemplative l
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Great Divide : Catholic Doctrine And Biblical Truth A Chronological History
$17.99Add to cartThis book is a brief, chronological history of when and by whom, non-biblical ideas entered the Church and how those false ideas became official doctrines in what would emerge over the centuries as the Roman Catholic Church. These doctrines crystallized over the gradual abandonment of the exclusive authority of the Bible in the life of the Church by the establishment of doctrines based on human tradition. There is much pressure today by the Roman Catholic Church on Protestant Evangelicals of all persuasions, to set aside doctrinal differences and “evangelize together” so that the world will see a “united” Church. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that the Church of Jesus Christ is to be the pillar and foundation of the truth in the midst of society (1 Timothy 3:15). How can we abandon the truth for the sake of “unity” and think that we can actually accomplish God’s will for His Church. Does the truth really matter?
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Loves Trinity : A Companion To Julian Of Norwich
$39.95Add to cartIn the year 1373 a young Englishwoman whose name we do not know-she is called “Julian” because she lived part of her life as an enclosed solitary in the church of St. Julian in Norwich-experienced a series of intense visions that she later recorded in two versions. The formal title of the “long text” of that book is A Revelation of Love. It is commonly called Showings, the word Julian herself used to describe her visions.
This edition incorporates the long text of the Showings, as translated by Father John-Julian, and a commentary written by Frederick S. Roden. A lay affiliate member of the Order of Julian of Norwich, Roden gives us a companion that is reflective yet learned. It is designed to draw the reader more fully into an understanding and experience of what Julian tells us she saw and heard. In the text and commentary we begin to comprehend the truth Julian summarizes at the end of the Showings: “Love was His meaning.”
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Church History 101
$13.99Add to cartOne may read about the “early church” or the “Renaissance popes” without having a clear idea of the who-where-what-why-and-how of those eras. This slim volume answers the basic question “what did the Church look like in this particular period?” for the four traditionally recognized eras of Church history: early, medieval, Reformation, and modern.
Each chapter includes a map and timeline to locate the reader in place and time. Then they address these topics:
1) The Big Picture – a broad overview of the era
2) The Church’s Hierarchy – a look at the popes, cardinals, and bishops with their concerns
3) The Church in the Pews – what Christianity was like for the average person
4) What Made This Period Unique – taking a comparative approachAll chapters conclude with discussion questions and a list for further reading.
