Meister Eckhart's Book of Secrets: Meditations on Letting Go and Finding True Freedom


Jon M. Sweeney - 2019
    They make Eckhart clear, concise, and very compelling!" —Richard Rohr, OFM, bestselling author of Falling UpwardAn elegant rendering of the great mystic's thoughts on the mysteries of the authentic lifeThis is a little book about soul freedom. It is a book about discovering the secret to all the things we most desire: contentment, meaning, peace of mind, and true freedom. This skillfully edited translation of selections from the writings of Meister Eckhart provides a roadmap to the spiritual life for contemporary seekers. Eckhart takes us on a journey of discovery; a journey in which we learn to let go, relinquish our need to know everything, and lose those things that we think are important for a life of worth. And in the end he shows us that the true secret is this: to find yourself, you must lose yourself.Here is timeless wisdom from a medieval mystic who has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Arthur Schopenhauer, Dag Hammarskjöld, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th-century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition.Divided into five sections—Seeking the Light, Facing Darkness, Risking Love, Knowing Nothing, and Embracing Everything—the book leads readers on the path to an authentic spiritual life.

Gilles Deleuze: An Apprenticeship in Philosophy


Michael Hardt - 1993
    Many poststructuralist and postmodernist practices can be traced to Deleuze's 1962 resurrection of Nietzsche against Hegel. Hardt shows how Deleuze's early analysis of Bergson's critique of ontology and determination led him to a conception of a positive movement of differentiation and becoming, which in turn led him to the field of forces, sense, value, and the thematic of power and affirmation in Nietzsche. The theory of power in Nietzsche provided the link for Deleuze to an ethics of active expression in Spinoza: Deleuze's discovery and analysis of Spinoza's cultivation of joy and practice at the center of ontology finally resulted in a complete break from the Hegelian paradigm that had reigned over continental philosophy and history. Michael Hardt is the translator of Antonio Negri's "The Savage Anomaly: the Power of Spinoza's Metaphysics and Politics" (Minnesota, 1990), Giorgio Agamben's "The Coming Community" (Minnesota, 1993), and co-author (with Antonio Negri) of "Labor of Dionysus" (Minnesota).

A More Elite Soldier


Chuck Holton - 2003
    Army Ranger Chuck Holton shows how God oversees our training and gives each of us specific skills to accomplish the mission He has for us in this great spiritual war.The rigor of becoming an Airborne Ranger is exceeded only by the challenge of being one--but those who join their ranks find fulfillment in something bigger than themselves. In the same way, pursuing God's objectives energizes our everyday lives.In this riveting book, you will be issued potent spiritual ammunition for your daily battles from the perspective of a seasoned Special Operations soldier. Life is combat. From the instant the alarm clock signals the beginning of your day, you're jumping into a zone of uncertainty and your survival depends on having a clear focus. Your objective: Get on mission as an elite soldier and become part of something bigger than yourself. God will lead you through the danger zone of today's insecurity, equipping you to make a difference.

From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith


Sohrab Ahmari - 2019
    Nearly two decades later, he would be received into the Catholic Church. In From Fire, by Water, he recounts this unlikely passage, from the strident Marxism and atheism of a youth misspent on both sides of the Atlantic to a moral and spiritual awakening prompted by the Mass. At once a young intellectual’s finely crafted self-portrait and a life story at the intersection of the great ideas and events of our time, the book marks the debut of a compelling new Catholic voice.“Sohrab Ahmari is emerging as one of the finest minds and writers of his generation, and the story of his conversion recounted here will stay with the reader for a very long time.” —Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, from the Foreword"[A] striking memoir." —Ross Douthat, The New York Times“Lives — indeed, as I believe, eternal destinies — will be changed by this book. I wish every angry young man who hates God could read this moving, challenging personal confession of a still-young man who has been where they are, and who gained wisdom and release.” —Rod Dreher, The American Conservative“If I could, I would order a copy for everyone graduating college this year. An urgent and compelling account of the search for truth.” —Ed Condon, Catholic News Agency“The author’s extraordinary gift for writing truly approaches, as best as one can at any given time, a true account of the incomparable beauty of the reality he recounts.” —Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke“Relentlessly honest, deeply moving, Sohrab Ahmari’s story of his intellectual and spiritual journey from dismissive disbelief to vibrant Catholic faith — a journey propelled by some intriguing companions, including Nietzsche, Camus, and Koestler — is food for both mind and soul and an important testimony to the invigorating power of truth.” —George Weigel, Author, Witness to Hope and The End and the Beginning“This book is a testimony of Eucharistic triumph. God seeks us and will transform us if we let Him. Sohrab Ahmari’s beautiful memoir will help all of us trust in God alone better.” —Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor-at-Large of National Review “Remarkable. . . . From Fire, by Water is a spiritual memoir perfectly suited to our time.” —Jonathan V. Last, Commentary“[B]rave, honest and often very dramatic . . . a powerful story, powerfully told.” — The Tablet “Ahmari’s memoir took me to places I have never been, and gave me a fresh look at people and places that seemed very familiar. Most especially, Ahmari’s book explored a restless human heart, searching and seeking, until, quite unexpectedly, coming to rest in the Lord.” —JD Flynn, Catholic News Agency“Buy Sohrab’s superb book for its story of personal faith but also its revelations of life under a farcical theocracy.” —Tim Stanley, The Catholic Herald“If you're going to write a book about your religious conversion it'd better be a great yarn. And if you're going to write a memoir while you’re still in your early thirties you'd better be a great writer. In From Fire, by Water, Sohrab Ahmari has both boxes checked. . . . Ahmari is a precise and evocative writer, which makes From Fire, by Water easy reading and good reading.”—Matthew Hennessey, The University Bookman“Memoirs written by people who are still in their thirties are almost never of interest to anyone. Sohrab Ahmari’s, however, is a grand exception.” —Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University“A thought-provoking story . . . a breath of fresh air . . .The author is a gifted wordsmith, ably portraying a variety of colorful scenes and scenarios — physical and philosophical.”—Lela Gilbert, Newsmax“[A] forthright and well-written spiritual memoir.” —Hannah Niemeier, The New Criterion“His book offers a long, candid, and unsparing look at the young Ahmari, at the Shi'ite Muslim society into which he was born in Iran, and the secular America where he came into maturity.” —Philip F. Lawler, Catholic Culture“From Fire, By Water is a book that I would place in the hands of any young, over-confident, over-zealous skeptic. It's a book that college-age kids need to read as they flirt, perhaps for the first time, with new ideas that sound avant-garde and rebellious for rebellion's sake, but only end up disappointing.” —Andrew Walker, The Public Discourse“[E]loquent prose and a compelling story.” —Madeleine Kearns, National Review“An arresting sort of modern-day permutation of St. Augustine’s Confessions. Like Augustine’s spiritual autobiography, Ahmari’s compellingly written memoir is punctuated with soul-aches and poignant laments for misspent time. It brims with final awe at the irruption of grace into a soul so wounded by sin.” —Julia Meloni, Crisis Magazine“A wonderful read for anyone who is seeking a deeper meaning to life, whether they be persons of devout faith or of none at all.” —Christine Rousselle, The Washington Examiner“An engaging account of [Ahmari’s] journey to faith. . . . extraordinary talents as a writer.” —R.R. Reno, First Things“Ahmari writes beautifully, and the story he tells is fascinating. . . . Although Ahmari’s context is a different one from [Thomas] Merton’s, more than once while reading the book I saw correlations between their autobiographies.” —Gregory Hillis, America“I thought From Fire, By Water was a story about conversion. But it's far more than that. It's about the journey of civilization and the great problems of our time.” —Seth Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

A Field Guide to the English Clergy: A Compendium of Diverse Eccentrics, Pirates, Prelates and Adventurers; All Anglican, Some Even Practising


Fergus Butler-Gallie - 2018
    When he was late for a service, Bishop Lancelot Fleming commandeered a Navy helicopter. ‘Mad Jack’ swapped his surplice for leopard skin and insisted on being carried around in a coffin. And then there was the man who, like Noah’s evil twin, tried to eat one of each of God’s creatures… In spite of all this they saw the church as their true calling. These portraits reveal the Anglican church in all its colourful madness.

Go to Heaven: A Spiritual Road Map to Eternity


Fulton J. Sheen - 1960
    Why is it, asks Bishop Fulton Sheen, that one hears so often the expression "Go to hell!" and almost never the expression "Go to heaven!" Here, at his most penetrating, challenging, and illuminating best is Bishop Sheen with his answer, in a book that breathes new meaning into the truths about heaven and hell, and new life into the concepts of faith, tolerance, love, prayer, suffering, and death.Beginning with "The First Faint Summons to Heaven," Sheen shows how unpopular it is today to be a true Christian, and describes the struggle for living our faith amid the disorders of our times.  Keenly aware of evil in the myriad forms it takes in today's world, Bishop Sheen writes about the constant battle man faces with the "seven pallbearers of character" - pride, avarice, envy, lust, anger, gluttony and sloth - linking them with the corrosive forces that never cease in their attacks on the Church and those who earnestly desire to be serious Christians.In Go to Heaven, a great spiritual teacher and writer, deeply aware of the human and spiritual conflicts being waged in the world, shows us the way to heaven in a most eloquent book, encouraging the reader to choose heaven now, and to understand the "reality of hell."

Anna and the Black Knight


Fynn - 1991
    Anna and the Black Knight introduces us to Mister John, a veteran of World War I and local schoolmaster, who was to have a profound effect on Anna. Anna's astonishing capacity for looking at things from fresh perspectives, and her fascination with mathematics and Mister God, stands her in good stead as her life is opened up to new things, such as school, priests and motor cars.This sequel also includes the full text of Anna’s Book, reproductions of her own letters and writings. Her artless and transparent conversations speak to the heart and are recorded using her own unique and colourful spellings. The book is again illustrated throughout with Papas’s unequalled drawings.

The Idea of Decline in Western History


Arthur Herman - 1997
    Through a series of biographical portraits spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, the author traces the roots of declinism and aims to shows how major thinkers of the past and present, including Nietzsche, DuBois, Sartre and Foucault, have contributed to its development as a coherent ideology of cultural pessimism.

One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor's Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions


Kevin Vost - 2014
    Thomas wrote, then turn to The One-Minute Aquinas, the fast-paced book that provides busy readers with simple, readable explanations of the truths that, for 750 years now, have caused the works of St. Thomas to be sought out by kings and popes, scholars and saints, as well as by ordinary souls like you — hungry to know God and to love him more and more.In this book’s lucid pages, author Kevin Vost gives you small, digestible portions of St. Thomas’s life-giving wisdom that you can enjoy one minute at a time. Tables and graphics will help you grasp and remember St. Thomas’s key ideas with a minimum of time and effort.Best of all, in The One-Minute Aquinas you’ll find quick, sure refutations of the countless relativistic, secular, and pseudoscientific ideas that are so influential in our culture today — and so shallow, contradictory, and wrong!Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.” Now The One-Minute Aquinas enables even those with limited time and only a modest education to benefit from the wisdom of this great saint.Here, with minimal effort and among scores of other things, you’ll finally come to know and understand:--Why God permits evil--Heaven: what it is (and is not)--Five simple proofs that God exists--Why God became man--Why Jesus let himself be tempted--How you can grow quickly in virtue--Why all souls need the sacraments--Why Jesus let himself be crucified--The causes of lust--The natural law and the Commandments--The soul, free will, sin, and damnation--The angels, their ranks, and their powers--How God governs (and refrains from governing)--God’s power and its limits--The Bible: why didn’t Jesus just write it himself?--The surprising qualities of our resurrected bodies

The Visions of the Children: The Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje


Janice T. Connell - 1992
    The author tells what has happened to the six apparitioners since the book was first published, and the Blessed Mother's monthly messages have been updated through 1997. There is also a new list of Marian Centers across the nation.The Visions of the Children features exclusive conversations with the six apparitioners who have been receiving, for more than fifteen years, visions and messages of the Virgin Mary, including extraordinary secrets about the final chapter in the history of the world. This book not only tells of the need for love and spiritual awakening, but casts a powerful perspective on the wholescale devastation in Bosnia during the last few years.

General Catholic Devotions


Bonaventure Hammer - 2010
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Flags Out Front: A Contrarian's Daydream


Douglas Wilson - 2017
    Caesar had his Rubicon. What did Bible college presidents have? A Rubik's Cube?"Tom Collins, mild-mannered president of a dwindling Bible-belt college, starts taking fire when a drunk prankster swaps his campus's American flag with the Christian one, and Tom refuses to "fix" the situation. Big media, exuberant students, petty enemies, and pretty secretaries all play a part in this happy-go-lucky satire from the award-winning author of Evangellyfish (Best Fiction of 2012, Christianity Today). Readers of PG Wodehouse's Leave It to Psmith and Christopher Buckley's Thank You for Smoking will appreciate this lighthearted new satirical novel.

The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ


Randy Singer - 2006
     Witness the disturbing display of events as Jesus stands against His detractors and the unbridled might of the Roman Empire. In this unsparing up-close account, you will experience the greatest injustice in history — the trial and punishment of Jesus of Nazareth — and gain a fresh appreciation for the enormity of the stakes.His innocence convicted Him.But you will also travel with Jesus in the years leading up to His final trial as He reveals eternity’s greatest truths in response to hostile questions from the religious leaders of His day. ·Can you prove that you’re the Messiah?·How can you defend a woman caught in adultery?·What does it take to reach heaven?·How can we know God?·What is truth? Whether you embrace the claims of Christ or your verdict is still out, you’ll gain provocative insight into the driving passion behind the carpenter from Nazareth. As you take a juror’s seat in this monumental case, you’ll realize that as Jesus answers His accusers, He’s not just talking to them, He’s talking to you.

Augustine for Armchair Theologians


Stephen A. Cooper - 2002
    Augustine has had a towering influence in the history of Christianity and his Confessions has long been regarded as one of Christianity's classic texts. Cooper introduces the life and thought of Augustine through discussing the Confessions and shows how many of Augustine's human struggles are still with us today. He also examines the theological views of Augustine that emerged through the important controversies of his times.Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound moments and theologians in Christian history. These books are essential supplements for first-time encounters with primary texts, lucid refreshers for scholars and clergy, and enjoyable reads for the theologically curious.

The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Volume I


René Descartes - 1911
    They were intended to replace the only reasonably comprehensive selection of his works in English, by Haldane and Ross, first publsihed in 1911. All the works included in that edition are translated here, together with a number of additional texts crucial for an understanding of Cartesian philosophy, including important material from Descartes' scientific writings. The result should meet the widespread demand for an accurate and authoritative edition of Descartes' philosophical writings in clear and readable modern English.