Cardinal Ratzinger examines how these beliefs are linked to the Church's faith in Jesus Christ. Far from competing with the truth about Christ, the Church's Marian beliefs uphold and underscore that truth. Mary's role in salvation, according to Cardinal Ratzinger, was anticipated in the Old Testament. She was prefigured in Eve, the Mother of the Living; in the holy women of the Old Testament, such as Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Esther, and Judith; and in the prophetic image of the daughter Zion. Cardinal Ratzinger also considers Mary's place as the embodiment of created wisdom, who faithfully received the Uncreated Wisdom of the Word of God in the Incarnation. Daughter Zion avoids the extremes of ignoring the biblical foundation for Marian doctrine on the one hand and fundamentalistic proof-texting on the other. Instead, the author beautifully and lucidly develops key biblical themes to help readers understand and appreciate the Mother of God.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Josemaria Escriva helps you develop a strong, lasting friendship with the God who is close to us. St. Josemaria gives you a broad picture of the basic human and Christian virtues, so that you can not only follow closely in our Lord's footsteps, but establish and maintain a filial dialogue with God. Each of his homilies here are not only heartfelt conversations with the Christian who is immersed in ordinary life, but also a prayerful colloquy with God. With a masterful pastor's hand St. Josemaria combines theological depth with evangelical clarity. He gives you here not only a lesson in doctrine, but an introduction to essential aspects of the Christian life. Simple, compassionate, and profound, these homilies are a full expression of St. Josemaria's passionate, expansive love for God.

    Here we encounter a profound spiritual penetration into the mystery of Mary’s unique and sublime role in our salvation. Though brief, it can be read over and over with great benefit since it is –just as the title suggests—both a meditation and a prayer on the meaning of Mary. This booklet also contains a brief sketch of Padre Pio’s life and numerous edifying pictures of this saintly stigmatist.

    And yet it is this which can allow us to know the grace of God most powerfully. This study explores why Henri Nouwen is, perhaps, the modern writer who has done most to confront the question of woundedness. In doing so his work brings us face to face with Jesus the wounded healer and can release new depths of grace in the reader's life

    Martin Laird shows that the Christian tradition of contemplation has its own refined teachings on using a prayer word to focus the mind, working with the breath to cultivate stillness, and the practice of inner vigilance or awareness. But this book is not a mere historical survey of these teachings. In Into the Silent Land, we see the ancient wisdom of both the Christian East and West brought sharply to bear on the modern-day longing for radical openness to God in the depths of the heart.Laird's book is not like the many presentations for beginners. While useful for those just starting out, this book serves especially as a guide for those who desire to journey yet deeper into the silence of God. The heart of the book focuses on negotiating key moments of struggle on the contemplative path, when the whirlwind of distractions or the brick wall of boredom makes it difficult to continue. Laird shows that these inner struggles, even wounds, that any person of prayer must face, are like riddles, trying to draw out of us our own inner silence. Ultimately Laird shows how the wounds we loathe become vehicles of the healing silence we seek, beyond technique and achievement. Throughout the language is fresh, direct, and focused on real-life examples of people whose lives are incomparably enriched by the practice of contemplation.

    Some people are thrill-seekers; others are homebodies. Some people are loners; others love big families or communities. Some people express things creatively; others consume what is created. Some sing; others listen to music. Whatever we find happiness in, we are united by our desire for work that matters and relationships that fulfil.As Christians, we often fall into the trap of basing our hopes on earthly things, even when we know they only make us happy for a short time. But how are we to experience happiness in this life? How do we avoid expecting too much of earthly things and being disappointed, or expecting too little and becoming cynics?In this book, recovering cynic Barnabas Piper helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun. He shows how having a clear view of the reality of the fall and the promise of redemption frees us to live a life that's grounded, hopeful and genuinely happy.

    Rather than having to depend on our own strength, it is our Christian privilege to enter into God’s presence. As we do, He will supply answers to our problems and give direction for our lives. In Waiting on God, Andrew Murray shares thirty-one heartfelt meditations, one for each day of the month, to help renew our vision and quicken our desire to turn to the Lord for His quiet, peaceful strength. Discover how God’s loving presence can refresh the weary heart that learns to wait on Him.

    They engage in the most remarkable act a human can perform, and, in so doing, unleash God's sustaining power. In No Easy Road, Dick Eastman offers challenge, guidance, and encouragement to help believers on the sometimes difficult, though always rewarding, journey of prayer. This best-selling classic, originally published by Baker in 1971, tracks a Pilgrim's Progress-like progression down the road of prayer. Using stories from biblical times to today, it walks readers through the Peak of Unbelief, the Plateau of Intercession, the Mountain of Self-will, and more. Designed for all believers who seek to revitalize their prayer lives, it is also a pertinent resource for pastors, prayer leaders, missionaries, and others who wish to mobilize others to pray.

    Originally preached for the congregation of All Saints' Episcopal Church in downtown Atlanta, the topics of these sermons range from conversations with Abraham and Moses in the texts of the Hebrew scriptures to our awareness of the communion of saints and how to recognize a miracle when one comes our way.

    Jung to show how dreams can help us find healing and wholeness and reconnect us to a living spiritual world.Featuring a new preface by the author and using case histories from his own experience as a counselor, Dreams traces the role of dreams in the Bible, analyzing their nature and examining how Christians, through fear and the constraints of dogma, have come to reject the visions through which God speaks to humanity, making dreams -- in Sanford's words -- "God's forgotten language."

    So was the French poet, Paul Claudel. Kathleen Norris is an oblate, and so was Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in Europe to earn a Ph.D. What connects them all? There are at least ten thousand oblates in the United States today (no one knows for sure how many), and each of them is connected in meaningful ways to a monastery or abbey. Most oblates are ordinary lay people from various Christian traditions. They are linked together by common appreciation for the Rule of St. Benedict. Originally written for monks, the principles in the Rule may be applied by everyone else---and in today's hectic, changing world, being an oblate offers a rich spiritual connection to the stability and wisdom of monastic life. This essential guide explains how people who live and work in "the world" are still invited to balance work with prayer, cultivate interdependence with others, practice hospitality, and otherwise practice their spirituality like monks.

    Francis De Sales' classic work transcends secular lines and provides a unique handbook of spiritual reflection for people in every avenue of life.

    These forty-six daily meditations on the life and ministry of Jesus drawn from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are a spiritual solvent to help remove the layers of lacquer comprised of political and cultural assumptions that prevent us from seeing just how challenging and compelling Jesus of Nazareth really is. The Unvarnished Jesus is a forty-six day project to restore the incomparable image of Christ.

    It is also an enlightening glimpse at the history, folklore, and liturgy of the Celtic people.Esther de Waal introduces readers to monastic prayer and praise (the foundation stone of Celtic Christianity), early Irish litanies, medieval Welsh praise poems, and the wealth of blessings derived from an oral tradition that made prayer a part of daily life. Through this invigorating book, readers enter a world in which ritual and rhythm, nature and seasons, images and symbols play an essential role. A welcome contrast to modern worship, Celtic prayer is liberating and, like a living spring, forever fresh.