He explains Matthew's challenge to let go of the conventional wisdom that comes with contemporary American culture. Each of seven talks brings us closer to the heart of the Sermon. Rohr contrasts conventional wisdom with the wisdom of Christ and draws the listener into the Kingdom of God, the end of the world and the experience of enlightenment. He explains that each generation lives in end times, that the Kingdom is for those willing to let go of all cultural idolatry (past and present) and that those who live in reality travel a path of life which unfolds into freedom. This series is a powerful call to follow Jesus Christ in the commandments of the New Testament. Talk 1: Awakening the Heart: Recognizing Cultural Idolatry Talk 2: Voices of the World: Social Institutions Talk 3: Table Fellowship: Alfalfa Sprouts and Gravy Talk 4: Matthew's Gospel: Charter for a New World Order Talk 5: Transformation: Jumping Off the Tower Talk 6: The Sermon and Conventional Wisdom Talk 7: Love and Power, Power and Love

    Nancy Ortberg encourages readers to see God in this very personal, very engaging series of essays that will bring God into focus and allow you to grow deeper in your relationship with him than you had ever imagined.

    But what about us? What of the wounds that keep us from living the life we want to live?In Tattered and Mended, readers walk through a gallery of reclaimed and restored art as well as broken and restored lives of those who have gone before us. With a gentle touch and personable wisdom, Cynthia Ruchti shows how even the most threadbare soul can once again find healing and hope.

    This exciting, entertaining account of a Christian family's life in the Middle East offers an inspiring dare to live boldly wherever you are.

    Paul exhorts us to “pray without ceasing” — a beautiful goal that sounds daunting, even impossible. But wait! These pages break open an authoritative, time-tested method that countless laymen still use today to pray with constancy and thereby soar to the heights of holiness. It’s called the Liturgy of the Hours. Also known as the Divine Office or the breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours is an important vehicle for advancing in the spiritual life — a step that any serious Catholic, with the help of Fr. Timothy Gallagher, can take today. Relying on insights from popes and saints, as well as on his five decades’ experience praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Fr. Gallagher opens your eyes to this spiritual treasury and shows you how, by means of its sanctifying rhythm, it will help you progress on your spiritual journey. Soon, you will be among the multitude of Catholics who pray the Hours daily and are richly blessed by the flow of graces these prayers yield. From the wise Fr. Gallagher, you’ll learn: • The basic elements of the Liturgy of the Hours • How to incorporate them into your day, no matter how busy it may be • How the Hours will revitalize your daily prayers and prevent them from becoming routine • How they will extend the graces you obtain at Mass into your entire day • How praying the Hours with your family will link you more intimately to each other—and to the universal Church If you’re looking to invigorate your prayer life and draw closer to Our Lord in friendship and holy contemplation, discover the Liturgy of the Hours.

    In His Image explores 10 attributes of God that Christians are called to reflect—they are called to be holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise. This book calls readers to discover the freedom and purpose in becoming all that God made them to be.

    Francis of Assisi, "Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire" is the first book to consider the ways in which praying with the natural elements can enliven Christian spiritual life. Paintner offers concrete suggestions and guided contemplative exercises; for instance, Paintner suggests that readers take time to "watch the sunrise or sunset and breathe in the beauty of the fiery sky. Contemplate what those beginnings and endings have to say in your own life." Readers benefit from Paintner's extensive training in theology and Benedictine spirituality, as well as her unique work in bringing the expressive arts to spiritual direction.

    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...

    "There is a whole sensible world around me that I should be able to turn to Your praise." Written between 1946 and 1947 while O'Connor was a student far from home at the University of Iowa, A Prayer Journal is a rare portal into the interior life of the great writer. Not only does it map O'Connor's singular relationship with the divine, but it shows how entwined her literary desire was with her yearning for God. "I must write down that I am to be an artist. Not in the sense of aesthetic frippery but in the sense of aesthetic craftsmanship; otherwise I will feel my loneliness continually . . . I do not want to be lonely all my life but people only make us lonelier by reminding us of God. Dear God please help me to be an artist, please let it lead to You."O'Connor could not be more plain about her literary ambition: "Please help me dear God to be a good writer and to get something else accepted," she writes. Yet she struggles with any trace of self-regard: "Don't let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story."As W. A. Sessions, who knew O'Connor, writes in his introduction, it was no coincidence that she began writing the stories that would become her first novel, Wise Blood, during the years when she wrote these singularly imaginative Christian meditations. Including a facsimile of the entire journal in O'Connor's own hand, A Prayer Journal is the record of a brilliant young woman's coming-of-age, a cry from the heart for love, grace, and art.

    Yet what happens if we continue to be plagued with spiritual and emotional problems, and the intimacy we long for with Christ seems elusive?What we need, says inner healing expert Charles H. Kraft, is deep-level healing: healing for our whole person--spirit, body, mind, emotions and will. Using a simple, proven process, refined through 25 years of successful ministry, Kraft leads readers step by step through deep-level healing.Once you experience true freedom, you will find the intimacy with Jesus that you desire, and you'll be equipped to help others find this freedom as well.

    That is important to all of us, but especially for beginners. If this is your first attempt to return to this most ancient of Christian practices, it is wise to remember that you are entering into a discipline and, like all disciplines, this one sits hard and heavy upon one at times. There are hours you will miss and/or some that you can’t even begin to figure out how to observe. That is all right, for either the joy will carry you into greater joy and transmute the discipline into privilege, or you will find yourself simply the wiser and the richer for such experience as you have had. As the rabbi said, that is what matters ultimately."In her acclaimed trilogy, The Divine Hours, Phyllis Tickle introduced modern Christians to the time-honored practice of "praying the hours." In this exquisite new volume, she provides a vibrant program of prayer dedicated to the anticipation of Christ’s resurrection. Beginning with Ash Wednesday and moving through Lent and on to Easter Sunday, Eastertide provides the daily prayers that bring practitioners into the full spirit of this season. Each day is filled with psalms, readings from the Bible, and hymns of praise and worship, just as they appear in the larger volume, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime. Newcomers to this beloved tradition will find that Eastertide is the perfect introduction to joining the ancients in the tradition of fixed-hour prayer.

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

    Though we know the Bible says to walk in the Spirit, the majority of Christians are illiterate (and even nervous) about how to practically live in His power. The result is lives marred by continued brokenness and ministries plagued by fruitlessness. In contrast, believers from Acts understood the ancient path of the Spirit Walk. That extraordinary power was not just for them, but for us also.Gleaning insights from implementation in dozens of Acts-like movements around the world, Spirit Walk "lifts the hood and shows us the real secret behind apostolic, disciple-multiplying movements" (Neil Cole, author of Organic Church). Whether you need a movement of God in your personal life or in your ministry, this book takes you through the timeless principles of the Bible.The Spirit Walk path has helped thousands of ordinary people shift from a fundamental reliance upon methods and self-helps to the essential reliance upon the Spirit who empowers these. Spirit Walk reminds us of the ancient path and explains it in a practical discipline that you can remember daily.Discover how to start on the journey of being filled again and again by the Spirit. But more importantly, learn how to stay full of the Spirit as you abide in Christ throughout the day, and your life.

    Like a good friend, Brian comes alongside those seeking help in trials of life to help them find meaning and strength.

    But if you are like the rest of us, every day presents a mountain of to-do items, jobs to go to, errands to run, projects to complete, meals to cook, children to raise... You forge ahead and get it done, but you know that things aren’t as they should be. Even when you check every item off your daily list, you still feel as though something meaningful and essential is missing from the very center of your life.   Spiritual director and writer Becky Eldredge has felt that same longing, and she knows what people are missing—a relationship with God through prayer. In Busy Lives & Restless Souls, Eldredge interprets principles of Ignatian spirituality in a fresh way to equip us with prayer tools that are accessible and practical within the relentless realities of our daily routines. Just as important, she shows us how we can bring our relationship with God to life by becoming what St. Ignatius called “contemplatives in action.” For all who sense that there is a missing peace in their lives, Busy Lives &Restless Souls will help them find it—right where they are.