It is the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.” He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence. As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.” This unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.

    Here, in one of his most popular of his more than thirty books, Thomas Merton provides further meditations on the spiritual life in sixteen thoughtful essays, beginning with his classic treatise "Love Can Be Kept Only by Being Given Away." This sequel to Seeds of Contemplation provides fresh insight into Merton's favorite topics of silence and solitude, while also underscoring the importance of community and the deep connectedness to others that is the inevitable basis of the spiritual life—whether one lives in solitude or in the midst of a crowd.

    It will give Christians a deeper understanding of Judaism, both as a religion in itself and as a central component of Christian salvation.To Jews it reveals the incomprehensible importance, nobility and glory that Judaism most truly has. It examines the unique and central role Judaism plays in the destiny of the world. It documents that throughout history attacks on Jews and Judaism have been rooted not in Christianity, but in the most anti-Christian of forces.Areas addressed include: the Messianic prophecies in Jewish scripture; the anti-Christian roots of Nazi anti-Semitism; the links between Nazism and Arab anti-Semitism; the theological insights of major Jewish converts; and the role of the Jews in the Second Coming.

    Mitch Pacwa, SJ, tackles these and other questions in this comprehensive book on discernment. He says that first we need to believe in God and his moral laws and make a commitment to please him in all that we do. Then we need to pray so that we can experience the peace that can come only from God. Fr. Pacwa draws from St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, using plenty of everyday examples as well as stories from Scripture to help clarify his points. He encourages readers to develop a rich prayer life and says we can learn to listen to God's powerful voice and hear him speaking lovingly to us even when we are suffering in some way.Confronts modern-day assumptions that can prevent us from being open to God's will for our lives.Emphasizes the many ways we can develop our prayer life to nourish an authentic relationship with the Lord.

    Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Rose of Lima; and The Sinner's Guide (along with The Book of Prayer and Meditation) is one of his two most famous and most popular books.St. Teresa of Avila stated that this work of Venerable Louis converted over 1,000,000 souls in her day. She, along with St. John of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Rose of Lima, all counted it among their favorite spiritual books."We are all destined to one or the other," says Ven. Louis, "either to reign eternally with God in Heaven or to burn eternally with the devils in Hell." This inescapable fact is vividly brought to life on every page of this masterfully written book. Utterly realistic with regard to the ultimate end of human life, Venerable Louis of Granada presents here the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell - even rehearsing with the reader the day of his death and the moment of his judgment. His description of the despair in Hell will shake loose any desire, by even the most hardened sinner, to persevere in sin. Man's classic excuses, such as planning to convert later and the difficulty of practicing virtue, are thoroughly demolished. Moreover, Ven. Louis shows how the sinner's life, because of his gnawing conscience, is a continual torment to him even while still on this earth. Whereas, the practice of virtue brings the wonderful promise of Heaven, plus the beautiful joy of a clear conscience, and the many other marvelous advantages of holiness -even here in this life! The Sinner's Guide is a book of crystal clarity which cuts through the religious fog so prevalent today. It strips away the glamour of sin, fortifying the soul for the resolute practice of the Christian virtues-those true riches which alone will accompany him beyond the grave.

    Through the author's honest (and sometimes funny) examination of these sins in her own life, as well as Church teaching, she gives us the tools to kick these bad habits before they kick us.

    As a mother of seven, she knows we don t just need to be told what kind of women we should be. We need some help getting there.Drawing from her own experience of balancing marriage, motherhood, and work inside and outside the home, Lisa helps you uncover the key to living a busy life with inner calm. What's the secret? Identifying key priorities, and doing first what matters most. With humor and wisdom, Lisa will help you: Stop striving and rest in God's unconditional love. Experience new hope in your marriage. Reach your child's heart. Create clarity in a cluttered home. Find friendships that go below the surface and satisfy. Discover your passion and purpose. Once in awhile, things may seem as if they re under control, but we want to walk with purpose regardless of our circumstances. God wants us to daily experience the joy and contentment that comes from knowing we have given our all to what he considers most important. The abundant and purposeful life we were created to live is just around the corner.

    Miriam James Heidland’s life as a successful college athlete proved unfulfilling, she went searching for something deeper and ended up falling in love with Jesus. By charting her own journey toward wholeness, Heidland invites young Catholics to pursue their own relationship with Jesus.   Although originally full of athletic ambition and goals for a career in sports news, Heidland was transformed in a very slow but deep way during her undergraduate years, moving from party girl to bride of Christ. In Loved as I Am: An Invitation to Conversion, Healing, and Freedom through Jesus, Heidland helps readers learn from her experience of seeking love in the wrong places and instead finding it in Christ. She shares her struggles—learning she was adopted, battling alcoholism, and healing from childhood sexual abuse—as signs of hope that anyone who desires to know Christ can find him and be loved intimately by him in return. By bringing readers into Heidland’s healing process, Loved as I Am provides a gentle and subtle template for finding peace and freedom in Jesus.

    In a new analytic commentary, Stiegman examines Bernard's language, logic, and theology, demonstrating the vital importance of reading medieval authors on their own terms, without superimposing categories developed by later generations.

    Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live?Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his faithSome didn’t believe in God, or even in the existence of truth.Others said they were spiritual but didn’t think you needed religion to be happy.Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines over-complicated the pure gospel.And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday.Why We’re Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it’s the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief—and brings us joy.

    Don’t just read the words of the Bible ... understand them. The Great Adventure Bible makes the complexity of reading the Bible simple. The narrative approach gives the big picture of salvation history and shows how everything ties together. This is the only Bible that incorporates the The Great Adventure’s color-coded Bible Timeline learning system, a system that has made The Great Adventure Bible study resources the most popular and influential in the English speaking world. The color-coded tools make it easy to read and easy to remember. This is a game changer. There has never been another Bible like it. How you’ll learn... Color-coding for easy reference. Uses the popular Bible Timeline system that’s used by hundreds of thousands of Catholics to learn the Bible Articles to help you understand the overarching story and important covenants that tie the entire Bible together. Key event callouts to help you quickly identify important points in the Bible that ordinarily take readers a long time to find and categorize in their head. Detailed charts giving a visual overview of important characters, key events, maps, major covenants, and historical context. Newly Designed Full-Color Maps to help visualize Bible story locations. This Bible, beyond all its teaching features, is a complete Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition Get the Bible that will help guide you through it. Understand Key Catholic Themes. Add this new weapon to your Catholic spiritual arsenal. Features A full-color Bible with a beautiful eye-catching design Each book of the Bible is color-coded with printed tabs, indicating where it belongs within The Bible Timeline. Twelve Timeline charts provide a visual overview of the Bible, including: important characters, Key Events, geography, major covenants, world rulers, and contemporary events in secular his

    Outside her window, two nuns were discussing what they could write in her obituary that could possibly be of any interest, since the twenty-four-year-old nun had never done anything worth noting. Therese was pleased, for she had always kept a low profile. With the posthumous publication of her spiritual autobiography in 1898, however, that low profile would vanish instantly. She became one of the most beloved saints of all time, and her influence will expand dramatically because of Pope John Paul II's declaration that she is a Doctor of the Church. Amid growing interest in her writings comes the collected correspondence between her and a humble young seminarian, Maurice Belliere. Though they never met in person, they exchanged twenty-one letters that opened a window on the heart of Saint Therese that would have remained forever closed had Maurice not written to the Mother Superior at the convent asking for a nun to pray for him. The Mother Superior chose Therese, and in these conversational letters the Little Flower reveals herself in a way that we would never have known from her autobiography. In his accompanying text, Bishop Patrick Ahern expertly leads the reader into the worlds of Maurice and Therese and reveals the full beauty of this saint's spirituality.

    Based primarily on the famous revelations of Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich and Ven. Mary of Agreda, it also includes many episodes described in the writings of St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Elizabeth of Schenau. To read this book, therefore, is to share in the magnificent visions granted to four of the most priviledged souls in the history of the Church.In complete harmony with the Gospel story, this book reads like a masterfully written novel. It includes such fascinating details as the birth and infancy of Mary, her espousal to St. Joseph and her Assumption into Heaven where she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.For young and old alike, The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics will forever impress the reader with an inspiring and truly unforgettable understanding of the otherwise unknown facts concerning Mary and the Holy Family. Imprimatur. 280 pgs, PB