Valentine to St. Francis, Martin Luther to Billy Graham, best-selling author Robert J. Morgan introduces you to a parade of preachers, popes, martyrs, heroes, and saints. Intriguing and inspiring stories from two thousand years of Christianity offer a glimpse into church history.On This Day in Christian History is an introduction to 365 of the most remarkable men and women of faith you will ever meet. Simple, colorful stories tell you about history-making events in the lives of people who loved God wholeheartedly. This unique devotional:Provides a rarely seen view of believers and their roles in the Christian churchOffers daily Scripture reading from the Contemporary English VersionIs a goldmine of speech starters—lesson and sermon illustrations for speakers, preachers, and teachersIncludes a helpful index of selected topicsOn This Day in Christian History brings a year’s worth of insight and spiritual challenge as you learn what some Christians endured because of their love for God.

    She could have sailed home to England and comfortably dined out on her fame for the remainder of her long days. Instead, she conducted a ruthless post-mortem on every moment of her wartime service and found herself entirely wanting. She did not try to hide her mistakes; instead, she sought to broadcast them so that everyone would understand what happens in unsanitary medical facilities. She could well have slid into self-pity and inertia, yet she spent the next several decades campaigning for reforms. One hundred and fifty years ago, the respect we now have for nurses and the intense training that nurses must undergo was nothing but a seed in Florence Nightingale's imagination. If we believe that nurses are some of the most respectable and hardworking people in our community, we owe that belief to Florence Nightingale. But she never took the credit. As an old woman of seventy-seven, she deflected all her accomplishments onto God with the words, "How inefficient I was in the Crimea! Yet He has raised up Trained Nursing from it!"

    Each story is accompanied by scripture, prayer, and discussion exercises designed to remind readers of Mary of Medjugorje's intercession on their behalf and God's personal love for them. Watkins gives nationwide talks and workshops and works as a spiritual director in the Bay Area, in addition to maintaining an active website and e-mail newsletter.

    Francis de Sales). However, we can begin today to make good this neglect by using the powerful spiritual means described in this inspiring book. In Read Me or Rue It the very popular priest writer, Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, tells many true stories about the Poor Souls in Purgatory. He relates incidents from the lives of the Saints to show their great sufferings, our obligation to help them, as well as the many helps and graces which they obtain for their benefactors in return. This already-famous little book needs to be spread far and wide. It will lead to a powerful link between ourselves and the "Church Suffering," our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer the torments of Purgatory - a powerful bond of charity whereby we shall please God, send souls to Heaven, and obtain for ourselves and our families a host of priceless graces and blessings.Don't miss the companion booklet, "How to Avoid Purgatory": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

    The only available source for the exact words of Joan of Arc, compiled from the transcript of her trials and rearranged as an autobiography by Willard Trask.

    This is the thrilling story of Nicky Cruz's desperate battle against drugs, alcoholism, and a violent environment, as he searched for a better way of life on the streets of New York City.

    The remarkable discovery recently of a considerable number of letters and sermons by Augustine has thrown fresh light on the first and last decades of his experience as a bishop. These circumstantial texts have led Peter Brown to reconsider some of his judgments on Augustine, both as the author of the Confessions and as the elderly bishop preaching and writing in the last years of Roman rule in north Africa. Brown's reflections on the significance of these exciting new documents are contained in two chapters of a substantial Epilogue to his biography (the text of which is unaltered). He also reviews the changes in scholarship about Augustine since the 1960s. A personal as well as a scholarly fascination infuse the book-length epilogue and notes that Brown has added to his acclaimed portrait of the bishop of Hippo.

    Benedict has for centuries been the guide of religious communities. St. Benedict's rules of obedience, humility, and contemplation are not only prerequisites for formal religious societies, they also provide an invaluable model for anyone desiring to live more simply. While they presuppose a certain detachment from the world, they provide guidance and inspiration for anyone seeking peace and fulfillment in their home and work communities. As prepared by the Benedictine monk and priest Timothy Fry, this translation of The Rule of St. Benedict can be a life-transforming book. With a new Preface by Thomas Moore, author of The Care of the Soul."God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land. The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--may we follow their directions home."--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    Now he shares the lessons he learned. He writes, “The issue of faith arises in almost every area of human existence, so it is important to understand its multiple meanings. In this book, my primary goal is to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to past, present, and future events in America and around the world. The religious aspects of faith are also covered, since this is how the word is most often used, and I have included a description of the ways my faith has guided and sustained me, as well as how it has challenged and driven me to seek a closer and better relationship with people and with God.” Quoting eminent Protestant theologians, in Faith President Carter describes his belief in religious freedom, moral politics, and the place of prayer in his daily life. He examines faith’s many meanings, he describes how to accept it, live it, how to doubt and find faith again. This is a serious and moving reflection from one of America’s most admired and respected citizens.

    But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells the story of an idea that shaped Christianity, and of the evolution of a belief that looked very different in the fourth century than it did in the first.A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman reveals how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty, Creator of all things. But how did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? In a book that took eight years to research and write, Ehrman sketches Jesus’s transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’s followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today.Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.

    From the United Kingdom to a YMCA training camp in Egypt during World War I, Chambers was a man utterly devoted to God and to sharing the timeless wisdom of the Bible with others. Discover a remarkable story, and find inspiration for your walk with Christ.

    In this unprecedented brilliantly wrought biography, Mary comes believably to life. We are so used to the legendary image of the Madonna that the very idea of her as a real person sets the eyes alight. Starting with the dark-skinned, hard-muscled girl barely out of adolescence when she gave birth, Lesley Hazleton weaves together the many facets of Mary's existence: peasant villager, wise woman and healer, activist, mother, teacher, and yes, virgin, though in a sense we have long forgotten. She follows her through the worst any mother can experience-the excruciating death of her child-and then looks at how she transforms grief into wisdom, disaster into renewal. Strong and courageous, the source of her son's powers of healing and wisdom, the Mary we see here did not merely assent to her role in history, but actively chose it, and lived it to the fullest.As a former psychologist and political reporter with deep roots in both Judaism and Catholicism, Hazleton has drawn on years of Middle East experience as well as on anthropology, history, theology, and above all, empathy to reconstruct Mary's life. The woman she discovers is neither demystified nor diminished, but on the contrary, all the more meaningful and admirable. By honoring her reality, Hazleton has given her back to herself-and to us.

    Much of what we know about the beliefs of the Sadducees and Pharisees comes from Josephus. Without Josephus, we would know very little about the Essenes, the ancient Jewish group most frequently associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls.Features include:The War of the Jews—an account of the Jewish revolt against Rome up to the destruction of the temple in JerusalemThe Antiquities of the Jews—a history of the Jews from Creation to the Roman occupation of PalestineThe Life of Flavius Josephus—the autobiography of Josephus, who fought against Rome and later served the empireAgainst Apion—a defense of the origin of Judaism in the face of Greco-Roman slandersDiscourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades—a text Whiston attributed to JosephusIndex of parallels between Josephus’s Antiquities and the Old Testament including the Apocrypha

    It is literally the word of God, and, along with Sacred Tradition, is one of the two pillars upon which all our beliefs and practices rest. The Bible Compass provides readers with the tools to study the Word of God with confidence and purpose. This book demonstrates how to read the Bible within the living Tradition of the Catholic Church, and it addresses all the common questions about the Bible.

    His memory is preserved in statues, paintings, feature films, history books, and biographies. Yet to many Americans, Mandela may be somewhat unknown. Many people around the world consider Mandela one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century. He received hundreds of honors during his lifetime—among them the Nobel Peace Prize—for his work in helping free the peoples of South Africa from the oppression of apartheid. He earned the respect and love of people from all walks of life.