Discipleship
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And You Will Find Rest
$18.95Add to cartFor six years, before becoming a well-regarded retreat master, Fr. Wayne Sattler lived as a diocesan hermit in a one-room cabin on an abandoned farmstead in rural North Dakota, striving to avail himself of the mystery of what God can do in prayer, clinging to the wisdom of the sixteenth-century Carmelite saints John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila as his trusted guides.
Fr. Sattler was asked many times to write a book sharing the fruits of his time in solitude to help others progress in the spiritual life, and after returning to the active diocesan priesthood in 2013, he completed this long-awaited work. Delving deeply into two of the greatest mystical masterpieces ever written, St. John’s Dark Night of the Soul and St. Teresa’s Interior Castle, Father leads you through the intricate pathways of contemplative prayer, providing clarity on this oft-misunderstood subject.
As you journey with these Doctors of the Church and grow in self-knowledge, you will discover:
*How God communicates with us as a Lover and how you can open your heart to Him
*What it may mean if you are nodding off during your meditation (You will be surprised!)
*Four spirits that influence your thoughts and actions
*How St. John explains the dark night of the senses, and methods to cooperate with God’s grace
*Ways to grow in stillness, navigate distractions, and rest completely in the Lord
*Three ways to practice self-denial, cultivate charity, and attain freedom and peace in prayer
St. John of the Cross describes contemplation as “nothing else than a secret and peaceful and loving inflow of God, which, if not hampered, fires the soul in the spirit of love.” This book sheds light upon the great mystery of the mystical life for everyone. Join Fr. Sattler as he guides you in developing the capacity for contemplative prayer in our great hope of being led more deeply into union with God.
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Real Discipleship : How To Follow Jesus His Way – Not Ours
$18.95Add to cartDiscipleship?? Isn’t that a Protestant thing? If you think that, you’re not alone. The concept of Christian discipleship gets stressed so much in Evangelical culture that many Catholics assume that-like “altar calls” or the “Rapture”-it’s not their concern. Or maybe you’re more familiar with a form of “discipleship” that stresses personal fulfillment, moral and doctrinal flexibility, and an individualist gospel that measures success by worldly standards. This idea has roots in Protestant “health & wealth” preaching, but you can find it in Catholic churches, too. Both of those notions are dead wrong, says Fr. Jeffrey Kirby. In his new book Real Discipleship, the author of the bestselling Real Religion says that discipleship should be the central concern of every Catholic-and that far from being all about us and our earthly needs, true discipleship is about following Jesus diligently on the path to the Cross. The temptations to false discipleship are all around us, but Fr. Kirby helps you navigate the straight road by distinguishing truth from falsehood in four areas: the person of Jesus, the example and teachings of his gospel, the way of living to which that gospel calls us, and the summit of that way of life in true eucharistic worship. A lively mix of personal stories, theology, history, Bible study, common sense, and prayerful meditation, Real Discipleship will be a valuable companion on your own journey along Christ’s path-all the way to Calvary and to eternal glory.
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Dearest Soul : A Spiritual Journey With Padre Pio
$24.95Add to cartPadre Pio was well known during his lifetime as a spiritual director to many souls all over the world. What if you, too, could receive his guidance and counsel? You will find just that in the treasures of his letters, written about 100 years ago to his spiritual directors and to his spiritual daughters.
Dearest Soul o?ers spiritual guidance for every soul in Padre Pio’s own words, drawn from those letters. This book illustrates his journey as a prophet of our time, as one who is so similar and yet so di?erent from us. Fr. John Aurilia, OFM Cap., who served as Padre Pio’s secretary in 1967, shows us the human side of a di?cult saint. Padre Pio is a great master in guiding us through life, and we love him because he was one of us, a person full of fears, con?icts, joy, pain, success, discouragement, and hope. Most of all, he was a man of prayer and contemplation, which overshadowed and gave support to all his other gifts. Padre Pio faced many challenges in his spiritual journey and, in doing so, taught us how to make our journey.
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Let Us Begin
$18.95Add to cartIt’s no secret we live in a time of confusion, scandal, and chaos. Our response is often despair, hopelessness, or uncertainty of what to do next. The world, however, needs to be repaired; what is broken needs to be rebuilt. Jesus famously asked Saint Francis of Assisi to rebuild his Church. Today, so many Catholics want their lives, families, nation, and Church repaired as well.
Let Us Begin highlights the unmatched witness of Francis on how to repair the brokenness of the human heart as well as to restore a world in need of renewal. As Francis realized more than 800 years ago, personal conversion is the key to renewing our Church and our culture.
Francis accepted God’s invitation to let Christ change his life, and thus he began to live as Christ. He labored to repair what was broken, but he accomplished this tremendous rebuild by being enamored with Christ. Renewal in our age will follow the same path: When we are made into Christ, we change the world.
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Mother Angelicas Keys To The Interior Life
$18.95Add to cartFor years, Mother Angelica blessed viewers with her timeless wit and wisdom. Now, this beautiful collection provides highlights of her trademark compassion and down-to-earth advice.
Mother teaches how to truly love and forgive amidst life’s many challenges. She provides guidance on how to live Catholicism in the modern world and grow in your personal relationship with God. With this candid and inspired expression of the Faith, you will feel your devotion to our Eucharistic Lord and the Blessed Mother deepen, and find healing in the transformative power of suffering that leads to joy.
With this spiritual master to guide you, you will also learn how to open your heart to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and be filled with the courage you need to boldly live out your faith.
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Head Heart And Hands
$18.99Add to cartSt. Bonaventure’s theology and philosophy no longer needs to feel esoteric or obscure. In this introductory book on Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, Bruce Epperly helps make this medieval Franciscan philosopher’s work accessible for non-theologians and laypeople. Weaving Bonaventure’s unique contributions to theology with personal stories and spiritual exercises, Epperly shows how Bonaventure’s theology can become “incarnational” in our own lives. As Epperly writes, “This is where the spiritual journey begins: flesh and blood, peace and anxiety, dazzled by beauty and concerned about the latest news headline. God is in this place–your home and mine–and the journey into God is the quest to know it!”
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Oblate Life
$39.95Add to cartRecognizing that Benedictine oblates are a diverse and ever-changing lot, found throughout the world in a wide variety of circumstances, The Oblate Life embraces this richness of oblate expression and offers guidance for lifelong spiritual formation in the Rule of Saint Benedict. Drawing deeply on the wisdom of monastics and oblates from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, The Oblate Life is designed as a perpetual source of aid, inspiration, and enlightenment for men and women oblates and candidates as well as oblate directors.
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1 Body Of Christ In A Quantum Age
$32.00Add to cartWriting from a font of experience as a Franciscan friar and spiritual teacher, Father Bernie Tickerhoof invites readers to enrich their spiritual journey as they learn from the physical sciences. The One Body of Christ in a Quantum Age explores the many resonances between quantum theory, consciousness studies, and relational and holistic spirituality through spiritual practices like prayer, relationship-building, service, and creativity.
Introducing and engaging challenging topics with compassionate vision, Tickerhoof fosters a conversation among spiritual and scientific pilgrims as we find ourselves in the beginning of a new era of life on and with our planet. Perfect for individual study or small-group discussions, The One Body of Christ in a Quantum Age will reframe your understanding of spirituality, offering hope and vision for anyone seeking greater authenticity, connection, and purpose in their spiritual life.
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Good Life : 15 Essential Habits For Living With Hope And Joy
$28.00Add to cartIn this internationally bestselling book, Pope Francis shares fifteen rules for how to live a happy and fulfilling life.
Life can be hard, but no matter what challenges you are facing, Pope Francis wants you to know you were created by God for this moment. There is always a way to find joy and to celebrate the wonder of the life we have been given.
In this brand-new book, Pope Francis offers fifteen mindsets that allow readers to find hope and meaning in every circumstance. He encourages us to defend and protect the light that shines in us, to believe in the beautiful, to find meaning in the struggles, to work for peace, and to build something wherever we are. He also reminds us of the importance of gratitude, warns Christians against complacency, and encourages real, face-to-face connection over conversations merely on screens. He points us toward the light, and also opens up with powerful vulnerability about times he has faced the darkness himself, calling us all to meaningful prayer.
None of us knows how many days are left before us. The wisdom in this heartfelt collection will encourage, inspire, equip, and ultimately help you to live a beautiful and meaningful life.
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Whats Next : Surrendering Your Plans To Jesus
$12.95Add to cartLetting go of control is not always easy.
Whether it’s about timing, vocation, occupation, or what to eat for their next meal, many people spend their lives asking the question “what’s next?”
What’s Next? Surrendering your Plans to Jesus takes Fr. Mike’s homily series “What’s Next” and transforms it into an easy-to-read and easy-to-digest booklet.
This new booklet in The Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz Collection invites Catholics to surrender their next steps to God and helps them shed the weight of needing to control the future.
In four short chapters, this booklet introduces the reader to:
*Surrendering control and placing confidence in God
*How to trust that God is providing in the present
*How to move forward with the future
*And more!Complete with thought-provoking questions, prayerful meditations, and real-life challenges after each chapter, this booklet is perfect for individual devotion or group study.
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Saint Pauls Eight Steps To Happiness
$18.95Add to cartHere is the book that will help you climb St. Paul’s “eight steps,” to attain happiness, holiness, and Heaven. Best selling author Kevin Vost breaks open St. Paul’s life and spirituality through the lens of St. Thomas Aquinas as well as other saintly and noble men and women. You will see how human knowledge (e.g. science and philosophy) point to the truth of the Divine and how the virtues St. Paul proposes in his letter to the Philippians lead to abiding joy.
In this gem of a book, Dr. Kevin Vost reveals hidden treasures such as:
*Why St. Paul is a “four-in-one special” (You will never guess!)
*Three intellectual virtues that help us discover important truths
*Two fundamental senses of truth, and three vices opposed to truth
*Eight aspects of the nature of truth according to Aquinas
*Eight types of justice and how you can exercise them in your life
*The link between modesty and latria, dulia, and hyperdulia (Do you know?)Each chapter unpacks one of these outstanding virtues and contains an invaluable “Summing Up” section. Further highlighted are exemplary individuals to imitate in their exercise of the heroic virtue, from St. Dominic to Our Lady and St. Joseph to St. Agnes of Rome and St. Brigid to Aristotle and Cicero. Also contained are several handy tables that break down the teachings of St. Paul and St. Thomas in connection to the Sacred Scriptures and your daily life for easy referencing.
You will find the six types of grace and their effects that God is waiting to pour into your life. Most significantly, you will find our practical ways to develop each virtue, the fruits that result, and how to reap them in your daily life. Thus you will see how loveliness begets friendship and much more.
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Holy Silence : A Practical Guide To Recollection In God
$17.95Add to cartFr. Basil Nortz masterfully builds upon the classic reflections of Sr. Marie-Aimee de Jesus, a nineteenth-century spiritual mystic and Carmelite nun, on the twelve degrees of silence. By cultivating these types of silence, you will find out how you can – even amid your busy days filled with chatter, commotion, and noise – listen to the voice of God.
In these profound pages you will find ways to overcome your fear of silence and discover:
*Keys to obeying God’s will
*Kinds of silence that are holy and kinds that are unholy
*Ten tips on what to do – and what to avoid – to bridle your senses
*Seven ways to guard your imagination and foster recollection
*How to direct your emotions with reason and foster silence of the heart
*Effective ways of responding to injusticeYou will learn the one sinful attitude that cuts us off from the merciful forgiveness of God and will acquire ways to stop passing judgment against others. Additionally, you will learn the most important attitude that disposes us to God’s plans and allows us to enter into His love and converse with Him affectionately throughout the day. Moreover, you will find practical techniques for overcoming distractions in prayer and advice from the saints on methods of meditation to develop silence of the spirit.
Above all, you will glean how to maintain peace of soul and live free from anxiety and despair, regardless of temptations or life’s battles. By relying totally on God, you will fearlessly rise after falls and begin again. You will begin to see the loving hand of God in all things, contemplate the light of His presence, and “be still” in the silence of His love.
“Holy silence is what helps the soul acquire the strength necessary to bear the presence of the all-pure God, who is ipsum esse subsistens (subsistent being itself),” explains Fr. Nortz. “The intensity of that fullness, far from inspiring languid inaction, produces a vibrant joyfulness that St. John expresses in the book of Revelation in terms of the saints singing with full voice.”
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Lets Look Together
$20.00Add to cartHenri Nouwen was a role model for mentoring–not because he was perfect but because even when broken, he was real, insightful, hopeful, and willing to be open to make things new again and again. Although amazingly talented, his shortcomings were also a gift. He let them become portals for grace and an honest appreciation of God’s love amidst his own neediness, imperfections, and failures. Seeing him find his way, gives us courage and direction to find ours. Let’s Look Together presents four major themes from Nouwen’s life and writings (Desert Wisdom, Ordinariness, Compassion, Prayer and Vulnerability), as Robert Wicks builds on, and seeks to apply, them in daily life, offering an invitation to readers to do the same.
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Things Hidden Companion Guide
$19.99Add to cartDiscover the hidden connections between Scripture and your own spiritual life.
In Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, Franciscan friar and bestselling author Richard Rohr lays out his case for a view of the Bible as a living text that can transform your way of seeing the world. This companion to Things Hidden offers a way for you to delve even deeper into a vibrant relationship with God through Scripture.
The purpose of this guide is threefold:
*To allow you to reflect on the major themes running through the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
*To learn and engage in Christian contemplative practices that deepen those reflections
*To set intentions for becoming a more loving and engaged presence in the world.
Questions for journaling and reflection, meditation prompts, and prayer practices encourage you to focus on both action and contemplation. Through these concrete lessons in linking Scripture and spirituality, you can find personal meaning in Fr. Richard’s many insights.
The guide also contains detailed suggestions for adapting the material for small groups, offering a way for faith communities to grow together in their understanding and appreciation of the Bible.
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Is Jesus Still Suffering
$14.95Add to cartThe crucifix, a symbol at the heart of our Catholic worship, is a prominent, visual reminder of the suffering of Christ. But do we understand the encompassing reality of Christ’s suffering?
Many Christians are unaware that Jesus suffers even now, today-that his suffering is ongoing, not a single event two thousand years ago. This book seeks to shed light on Christ’s continual suffering. Through this understanding, we can be further attuned to Christ’s sacred humanity-his joys and sorrows-and recognize the urgency to console his Heart.This understanding of our responsibility to not only love but also console the heart of Christ, will act as an epiphanic turning point in our Christian lives. The author first focuses on friendship with Christ in our spiritual lives, outlining the most helpful means of getting to know him through revelation, the Gospel, and prayer.
The second part addresses the two motivations to respond to Christ’s love: gratitude and compassion for his sorrowful Heart. This compassion includes a co-redemptive desire to relieve his wounds, which in turn spurs our generosity. Thus, the perennial relevance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is revealed.
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Holiness For Everyone
$17.95Add to cartIn this spiritual powerhouse of a book, Eric Sammons organizes the wisdom of St. Josemaria Escriva into an action plan for living out holiness in your everyday life. The goal: to foster God’s grace within you so that you can be transformed into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Declared “the saint of ordinary life” by Pope John Paul II, St. Josemaria Escriva — a twentieth-century Spanish saint and founder of Opus Dei — did more than anyone to convey that holiness isn’t reserved for those in religious life but is a universal call for all of us, whatever our vocation. St. Josemaria’s riches-to-rags story is an inspiration for anyone who seeks to answer Jesus’ call to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
In these pages, you’ll discover details about his mystical experiences as well as the nitty-gritty of his daily living. What’s more, you’ll find out how to implement a plan based on his everyday spirituality. Specifically, you will learn:
*How to be a contemplative in a noisy world
*How to offer your work to God and make the secular sacred
*How to be a faithful apostle, not an activist
*How to use suffering to draw closer to Christ
*How to incorporate spiritual disciplines into your prayer life
*How to identify and overcome your chief vices and replace them with virtuesIn page after page, Eric Sammons unpacks St. Josemaria’s spirituality and offers you practical reflections and suggestions for meditation, oral prayer, and contemplation. With this book as your guide, you’ll soon make a habit of powerful spiritual exercises that will assist you in advancing in holiness and keeping Christ at “the pinnacle of all activities.”
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Life Lessons From Therese Of Lisieux
$16.95Add to cartMeet St. Therese as never before in this latest book from Br. Joseph Schmidt! He provides practical teachings on how to live a life of grace and gratitude derived directly from the qualities and lessons that Therese learned to rely upon. Each chapter contains material directly from the writings and life experience of Therese, as well as mentoring messages that connect her wisdom with daily life today. It’s like having St. Therese as your spiritual director. And what could be better than that?
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Come To Marys House
$15.95Add to cartFriendship with Mary is possible. She is real, accessible, and relatable. She is our companion in the life of prayer and in our whole life with Jesus.
Filled with reflections and brief imaginative sequences, Come to Mary’s House invites you to imagine you are with the Blessed Virgin – visiting in her living room, working in her garden, or catching up over coffee. The goal is to encourage your encounter with Mary as a friend, sister, and mother – in a comfortable, gentle way. By developing a personal relationship with her, you’ll let her lead you closer to Jesus.
This book is for all who long for Mary and want to live in spiritual companionship with her. If you want to pray more deeply, love Jesus more, and serve authentically from the heart, you couldn’t choose a better master of the spiritual life than Our Lady.
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Forming Intentional Disciples (Expanded)
$19.95Add to cartHow can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples.
As we emerge from a pandemic into a post-Christian world, these are times of immense challenge and enormous opportunity for the Catholic Church in the United States. Consider these statistics:
*Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.
*Nearly three-quarters of young Catholics think that they could be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday.
*Catholic marriages have declined by almost two thirds since 1969, even as the number of Catholics in the United States has grown significantly.
*Only one third of Catholics believe that the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ at the consecration during Mass.
If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized. In other words, Catholics in the pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him.
Ten years after it was first published, Forming Intentional Disciples is still helping scores of Church leaders, parish staff, and all Catholics transform parish life from within. World-renowned author and speaker Sherry Weddell leads you through the steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.
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Frequent Confession : Its Place In The Spiritual Life
$18.95Add to cartThis is the book you need to discover the significant advantages of frequent Confession and the keys to making each Confession more fruitful. Spiritual master Fr. Benedict Baur quells criticisms of frequent Confession and shares why it is more efficacious for vanquishing sin and repairing the damage due to sin.
In this exceptional book, Fr. Baur shows you how to develop a well-formed conscience, properly confess your sins, and develop a firm, practical purpose of amendment. He also shares how to make a meticulous examination of conscience and daily examen, and offers methods for compiling a detailed inventory of your sins. Moreover, Father provides a reflection on the most common sins of omission that lead many to fall into dangerous self-righteous dispositions.
Most importantly of all, Fr. Baur reveals what is really meant by “Christian perfection” and how to attain it in this life. He describes concrete ways to grow in knowledge of self, acquire the strength to uproot sins, and conquer self-love. You’ll deepen your spiritual life measurably as you learn how to:
*Focus on the root causes of sin and surmount sins that you habitually commit
*Overcome thoughts and impulses that are occasions of sin
*Detect when you are becoming lukewarm and promptly revive your love for God
*Grow in reverential love for God and conform your life to His will
*Atone for the temporal punishment due to sin – now, before PurgatoryWith clarity and wisdom, Fr. Baur explains why your conscience is holy and must therefore be obeyed. He conveys how frequent Confession increases sanctifying grace in your soul, gives glory to God, and brings healing, joy, and fulfillment.
An invaluable resource, this book will enrich your sacramental life and inspire you to greater charity for your neighbor. It will also move you to more frequent and fervent reception of Holy Communion.
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Living Beyond Sunday
$11.95Add to cartIncorporate faith into your day-to-day family life.
Our relationship with God is not supposed to stay within the walls of our parish when we leave Sunday Mass. Instead, faith should transform our hearts, our families, and our homes into a welcoming place to encounter Christ.
But this isn’t always easy. Home life can be difficult and busy, and it’s easy to get distracted from the point of it all: raising a family of saints.
In Living Beyond Sunday: Making Your Home a Holy Place, two married couples share what has helped them make their homes a place of encounter with God-a place where saints are being made.
This book goes beyond the aesthetic or surface-level attributes of a Catholic home. Beyond that, it shares how to foster holiness in all the little moments in Catholic family life.
Within these pages, Catholics will find:
*Ways to pray as a family.
*Guidance for cultivating a peaceful home even with growing children.
*Ways to strengthen each individual relationship in your family.
*Practical suggestions for seeking holiness in the midst of family life.
*Advice on how to take advantage of the daily opportunity to grow in faith as a family.
*Examples of how to show your children the importance of your marriage.Living Beyond Sunday is also a great addition to any marriage preparation program.
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Passion Of The Christ Through The Eyes Of Mary
$19.95Add to cart“As I stood at the foot of the cross, this pure white garment became saturated with the streams of crimson blood which gushed from His precious body!” -Our Lady to Saint Anselm
There is no human person who loved Christ more than Mary. And there is no greater act of love than Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
In these pages, you will find two of the most stirring revelations of Christ’s passion and death ever recorded by Doctors of the Church-Saint Anselm, the Magnificent Doctor, along with writings attributed to Saint Bernard, the Mellifluous Doctor. These private revelations given by Our Lady will enhance one’s prayer life while drawing one deeper into the passion narratives of the Gospels. But what makes this book unique is the heartfelt dialogue between Our Lady and her spiritual sons. Those who read this book will be profoundly moved to not only weep for their sins but to weep for Him whose blood was completely emptied for our salvation.
The Mother of Sorrows is the woman of the interior life who leads us to the Master of the interior life, the Man of Sorrows. There is no better way to contemplate the passion of Christ than through the eyes of Mary, she who loved Him above everything, she who loved Him with a mother’s heart, and she who stood firmly when everyone else fled.
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In Gods Holy Light
$18.99Add to cartRenowned spiritual writer Joan Chittister explores the sayings of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, finding wisdom from that ancient tradition that speaks to your life today. This popular introduction to a powerful source of Christian wisdom can be a companion to your own spiritual journey.
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Domestic Monastery : Creating A Spiritual Life At Home
$10.99Add to cartWhat is a monastery? A monastery is a place set apart–a place to learn the blessings of powerlessness, and that time is not ours but God’s. Our home and our duties can, just like a monastery, teach us those things. The vocation of monastic men and women is to physically withdraw from the world. But the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation, and provide a desert for reflection.
In ten brief and powerful chapters, Fr. Ron explores how monastery life can apply to those who don’t live in a cloister:
– Monasticism and Family Life
– The Domestic Monastery
– Real Friendship
– Lessons from the Monastic Cell
– Ritual for Sustaining Prayer
– Tensions within Spirituality
– A Spirituality of Parenting
– Spirituality and the Seasons of Our Lives
– The Sacredness of Time
– Life’s Key Question -
Spiritual Excellence : The Path To Happiness, Holiness, And Heaven
$18.95Add to cartPope Benedict XVI affirmed the ongoing growth and perpetual validity of the Traditional Latin Mass, insisting that “what earlier generations held as sacred remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”
However, with the 2021 release of Traditionis Custodes, his successor has declared precisely the opposite, sending shockwaves through the Church by calling for the restriction and eventual suppression of her most beautiful and venerable form of worship – and the one experiencing the most dramatic and impassioned growth.
What is a conscientious Catholic to do?
In this pivotal book, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski offers an essential treatise on the question of obedience in the Church-whence it derives and how it is to be properly and prudently understood and lived. He explores St. Thomas Aquinas’s guidelines on the subject, what type of obedience is necessary for salvation, and which types are lawful and unlawful. Can there be situations where the usual structures of obedience become impediments to, rather than facilitators of, the Church’s mission and the good of souls? Have there been instances in Church history where faithful priests have exercised their ministry in violation of ordinary canonical norms? How should the clergy respond if the traditional Latin Mass is forbidden to them or if it were to be declared “abrogated”? What is the proper role of conscience and how are liberal and conservative views of it defective?
Other questions on obedience that Dr. Kwasniewski deftly engages include:
*Is it ever licit for individuals to follow Enlightenment ideology and be their own authority?
*What should you do when your superior instructs you to do something in contravention of God’s law?
*Why is opposing the traditional liturgy equivalent to opposing the work of the Holy Spirit and harming the Church’s common good?
*Are Catholics required to live in blind obedience, even in situations of anarchy or breakdown, corruption or apostasy?
*Can Catholics who strive to preserve traditional beliefs and practices ever be credibly denounced as disobedient revolutionaries?
*Why are unjust laws acts of violence?
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Things Hidden : Scripture As Spirituality
$21.99Add to cartDiscover how reading the Bible can change your life.
The Bible is meant to be about transformation, not merely information. In Things Hidden, Richard Rohr invites you to experience Scripture as spirituality–as a living text that can breathe new life into your relationship with God and change your way of seeing the world.
Diving deep into topics like morality, power, and wisdom, Rohr paints a picture of a biblical God who is grace-filled and abundant, and who calls us to be fully alive. Things Hidden will invigorate your relationship with the Bible and leave you feeling nourished, hopeful, and better able to embody a Christ-centered spirituality.
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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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Saint Joseph Tender Father
$12.95Add to cartSt. Joseph was an ordinary man who was chosen to celebrate the extraordinary. A devout husband, tender father, and skilled worker, he was completely dedicated to both his family and God’s will. In this book, Louise Perrotta invites you to meet and learn from this largely unnoticed saint who was called in a unique way to reveal God’s glory to the entire world. Encounter him in his struggles and triumphs and find how a simple life lived with integrity and faith can be the most impactful. Come to understand in a new way how St. Joseph is an excellent example for living a devout Christian life today.
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Putting On The Mind Of Christ
$22.00Add to cartPutting on the Mind of Christ examines the biblical, historical, scientific, and theological aspects of contemplative prayer and mysticism that can change our outlook on the world and enable us to see God and neighbor as a holistic unity, thus emulating a Christ-like manner of perceiving the world.
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Turning Over Tables
$17.00Add to cartWith keen insight and unwavering conviction, visionary pastor Kathy Escobar guides readers on a Lenten journey inspired by the ways of Jesus to dismantle the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice.
From flipping the moneychangers’ tables in the temple to uplifting the poor and marginalized, Jesus’ actions and words turn the world’s idea of power on its head.
With each week of Lent, readers will dig deeper into Jesus’ challenge to the pervasive influence of privilege and oppression that have dominated since ancient times. Through poignant reflections and thought-provoking practices, readers will discover how they can harness the disruptive power of Jesus’ teachings to effect meaningful change in their communities and beyond. Together, we can turn the tables and build a world where justice, healing, and greater equity reigns supreme.
With keen insight and unwavering conviction, visionary pastor Kathy Escobar guides readers on a Lenten journey inspired by the ways of Jesus to dismantle the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice.
From flipping the moneychangers’ tables in the temple to uplifting the poor and marginalized, Jesus’ actions and words turn the world’s idea of power on its head.
With each week of Lent, readers will dig deeper into Jesus’ challenge to the pervasive influence of privilege and oppression that have dominated since ancient times. Through poignant reflections and thought-provoking practices, readers will discover how they can harness the disruptive power of Jesus’ teachings to effect meaningful change in their communities and beyond. Together, we can turn the tables and build a world where justice, healing, and greater equity reigns supreme.
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God Ever Greater
$5.00Add to cartIn recent years Ignatian spirituality has experienced a resurgence. There has been a widespread desire to learn more about Ignatius and his legacy, and many people have made the Spiritual Exercises in one of their many forms, growing through the experience.
God Ever Greater is accessibly written for those who are looking for an introduction to Ignatian spirituality, while being suitable for those who have some acquaintance with the Ignatian tradition. It will draw its readers into an exploration of a rich Christian heritage that continues to live and breathe today.
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Rescued : The Unexpected And Extraordinary News Of The Gospel
$14.95Add to cartHow can we believe and be transformed by the gospel? Once we understand that the gospel is not merely good news but explosive, life-changing news, we will never be the same again. And in response to God’s work in our lives, what part can we play in recreating the world for his good plan? In this powerful book, Fr. John Riccardo helps us to see the world through God’s lens, with a clear vision of the future.
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Shaped By The End You Live For
$24.95Add to cartTo understand the life and thought of Thomas Merton, one must understand him as a monk. After introducing his vocation and entrance into the Trappist order, this book highlights some of his basic spiritual presuppositions. Relying primarily on Merton’s writing, Bonnie B. Thurston surveys his thought on fundamental aspects of monastic formation and spirituality, particularly obedience, silence, solitude, and prayer. She also addresses some of the temptations and popular misunderstandings surrounding monastic life. Accessible and conversational in style, the book suggests how monastic spirituality is relevant, not only for all Christians, but also for serious spiritual seekers.
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Sacraments And Consumer Culture
$24.95Add to cartWhat does consumerism have to do with the sacraments? We live in cultures where our senses of meaning, identity, and purpose are often found in what we purchase.
Apart from the question of hedonism, there is the question of how we orient ourselves in an environment in which we end up marketing our very selves. In this book, Timothy Brunk examines how this consumer culture has had a corrosive effect on the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. He also assesses how sacramental worship can provide resources for responsible Christian discipleship in today’s consumer culture.
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Overcommitted : How To Cut Chaos And Find Balance
$16.95Add to cartAre you pulled in so many directions that you wonder if you are just overcommitted? Rachel Balducci, mom of six, has wondered the same thing. In “Overcommitted”, she gives us a solution to our frenzied days and a plan for achieving balanced, God-centered days.
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33 Days To Greater Glory
$16.95Add to cartFr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of 33 Days to Morning Glory, one of the most popular Catholic books of the last decade, brings us his first new book in three years. 33 Days to Greater Glory completes a trilogy of consecrations: first to Mary, then to Jesus, the Divine Mercy, and now to God, our Father. This final consecration to our Heavenly Father truly is the “greater” consecration, the one in which all others find their origin and end.
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Hineni : An Imitation Of Abraham
$16.95Add to cartHow do you encounter the mystery of the other? This is the central question at the heart of spiritual direction and central to the human quest. Hineni–presence–is not an answer to the mystery but a response to the challenge. At a time when people on the edges of religion increasingly seek out spiritual direction as a way of confronting life’s unanswerable questions, Hineni indicates a fundamental reality beyond labels. And in an age that seems to suffer from disconnection, Hineni indicates a way in.
A helpful resource to anyone interested in spirituality beyond easy answers or (in)convenient labels, Hineni: In Imitation of Abraham is a stark exploration of what it truly means to be present–to yourself, to the one before you, and to the one we call God.
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Desert Dangers And Delights
$19.95Add to cartThe spirituality and lives of the desert fathers and mothers are often seen as the beginning and end of Christian monastic life. Their stories and messages inspire not only the most devout Christians but also the “nones” and the “dones.” In Desert Dangers and Delights John Michael Talbot reflects on his experience as a spiritual father and a popularizer of Catholic Christian spirituality through his music and teaching. He uses his own stories, Scripture, and the stories and sayings of the desert fathers and mothers to show a radically alternative way of living and thinking in Christ. With questions for reflection at the end of each chapter, this book will aid all readers, whether they are an experienced monastic or someone just beginning a spiritual journey with Christ.
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Im Catholic Now What
$19.95Add to cartNow that you’re Catholic, you are might be wondering, “Now what?” Shaun McAfee understands. As a convert, he wanted to take part in the sacraments, really prepare for Mass, learn how to defend and share his faith, and understand certain Catholic devotions. Yet he wasn’t sure how to do any of this, or where to look for answers once RCIA was finished. If you feel the same way, I’m Catholic. Now What? Is the perfect resource for you!
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Truly Seeking God
$24.95Add to cartTruly seeking God is the one requirement Saint Benedict establishes for the admission of a candidate to the monastery. Once inside, that is exactly what he or she will be doing. In the first part of the book, “From the Rising of the Sun to its Setting,” Bernard Bonowitz recounts the ways in which the monk actively seeks God in all the practices and places of the monastic life-in silence and liturgical prayer, work and leisure, solitude and community, spiritual direction and fraternal friendship, the encounter with nature and the encounter with the unsuspected recesses of his or her own heart. Grace is ever at work through the ongoing fidelity of a monk or nun to the monastic vocation. In the second half of the book, “The Making of a Monk,” Bonowitz describes the gradual transformation that grace effects, transforming the innocently self-centered novice into the young solemnly professed, content to carry the weight of responsibility within the community, and finally into the beautiful elder, joyfully focused on God and neighbor and filled with desire for eternal life.
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Drop Your Nets And Follow Jesus
$16.95Add to cartThe questions facing believers and sincere seekers in the Church universal account for the publication of this most needed book: “What does it mean to follow Jesus? What must I do to merit being called his disciple in this Third Millennium of Christianity? How can I live the Good News I have received and pass it on to future generations?” Each chapter presents through the lens of discipleship the building blocks of how to become spiritually mature by having the courage to drop whatever obstacles stand in the way of following the Lord. It considers in an experiential way the conditions for discipleship he himself lived to the full, among them, obedience, hope, joy, and fidelity. The chapters open with a thematic poem and end with a closing prayer, followed by questions for reflection. Each chapter invites readers to enter into personal reflection as well as to engage in small group faith sharing.
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Spiritual Way : Classic Traditions And Contemporary Practice
$29.95Add to cartIn The Spiritual Way: Classic Traditions and Contemporary Practice, Philip Sheldrake aims to make the wisdom of Christian spirituality better known to contemporary readers. After an introductory chapter on the foundations of Christian spirituality, Sheldrake describes its diverse riches through the centuries in terms of five distinctive types of Christian spiritual wisdom, illustrated by a rich selection of classical examples. The five types are “The Way of Discipline,” “The Contemplative-Mystical Way,” “The Way of Practical Action,” “The Way of Beauty,” and “The Prophetic Way.” This book also briefly explores the contemporary interest in spirituality within and beyond conventional religion and suggests how we might engage with these five types on our spiritual journeys in today’s world.
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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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Marys Life In The Holy Spirit
$15.95Add to cartSometimes, we can forget that the Blessed Mother is a created being just like the rest of us. Though conceived without sin, she was human and had the same concerns, cares, joys, and sorrows that each of us have. In this practical look at Mary and the Holy Spirit, author Andi Oney demonstrates that while Marys relationship with the Holy Spirit is a unique one, yet it is one that God wants for each of us. This book examines Marys relationship with the Holy Spirit: how she had to be choose to be open to the Holy Spirit, how she was guided by the Spirit, how she cooperated with the Spirit, and how her relationship with the Holy Spirit is a model worth emulating.
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Universal Brother : Charles De Foucauld Speaks To Us Today
$19.95Add to cartRather than relying too heavily on Charles de Foucauld’s spiritual writings, little sister Kathleen draws on fresh material taken from his correspondence and diaries to set out his legacy for those who live in the deserts of the modern world, reminding us that at the heart of the Christian adventure is friendship with Jesus of Nazareth. Anchoring his spiritual life in the home of Nazareth, Charles discovered that being Jesus’s little brother meant becoming a brother to the least and the most forsaken, a universal brother. It is what led him to settle on one of humanity’s fault lines in the Algerian Sahara during the French colonial era in order to “cry the Gospel with his life.” All of his plans seemed doomed to failure, be it that of forming a community of little brothers or of drawing the Tuareg people closer to the Gospel. His death at the hands of Islamic extremists has obvious contemporary overtones, and yet, he leaves in the heart of his disciple the conviction that it is not a question of success but of abandonment into the hands of a loving Father who grounds our identity as brother or sister deeper than any of our divisions.
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Church : What Is It Who Is It
$14.95Add to cartIn our contemporary world, many people ask, “What purpose does the Church serve? What does it do?” Chiara responds with a concept that is emerging more and more also in ecumenism, namely, that the Church has the task, within humanity, of being a catalyst for unity. And it can be this because it draws its life from God who is Love.
In her way of viewing the Church and in her efforts to “be” the Church, through her charism of unity Chiara Lubich offers important ideas for living in this era of change. From the very beginning of her spiritual adventure, her approach was anything but passive. She encouraged an approach to Church that spoke of sharing in its life and generating it into life. She never considered it an institution outside or above the people.
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Finding Our Way To God
$32.99Add to cartFinding Our Way to God offers an approach to spiritual direction using mental prayer that can be used to create healing and peace when conducting guidance sessions with seekers.Based on the teachings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorists, Fr. Dennis Billy’s approach examines the moral life in the context of spiritual direction. While thoroughly Catholic, St. Alphonsus was so pastoral – focusing on the poor and marginalized – that the approach can be easily learned and used by adherents of other religious, philosophical, and ethical traditions.
In Finding Our Way to God, Fr. Dennis Billy:
*Teaches active listening, which is essential for spiritual directors.
*Emphasizes the continuity between a person’s spirituality and morality through growth in the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
*Provides an understanding of how the model of spiritual direction can be adapted to meet the needs of a wide variety of people.
*Helps the reader use Alphonsian spirituality as a backdrop for conducting spiritual direction. -
Contemplating Christ : The Gospels And The Interior Life
$24.95Add to cartThe incarnation has made mystics of us all. What if we read the gospels as if that were true? In his book Contemplating Christ,Vincent Pizzuto offers an exploration of the interior life for modern contemplatives that is as beautiful as it is compelling. With an emphasis on the gospels and Christian mystical tradition, his book explores ancient themes in new and surprising ways. Drawing on his rich experience as an academic and priest, Pizzuto gradually unfolds the Christian mystery of deification to which the whole of biblical revelation and the Christian contemplative life are ordered: through the incarnation, we have all been made “other Christs” in the world.
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Dashed Hopes : When Our Best Laid Plans Fall Apart – Seasons Of Our Lives
$6.39Add to cartWhere do we turn when our hopes are dashed, when we look at best-laid plans and see only shattered dreams? With fresh perspectives on Jeremiah’s plans for “a future of hope,” Jesus’ agony in the garden, and Isaiah’s promise of “a way in the wilderness,” Laura Kelly Fanucci offers hope for those wondering what comes next when life feels broken.
