Thomas Merton wrote to Catherine de Vinck back in 1966, "You have a wonderful Blake-like response to the sacred world". And Cornelia Jessey Sussman expressed these sentiments about her poetic gift: "...perhaps there are only three or four every century... given the gift to voice the eternal vision, to put into words what we know cannot be put into words. Like the sun breaking through the clouds of a dark frozen winter sky, such poets bring the ...

Ronald Knox was one of the most influential British convert-writers of the 20th century. Of his many works, The Belief of Catholics is his best-known book and his premiere piece of apologetics. While it deals extensively with Protestantism, its target is more the unchurched or lightly-church modern who, if he gives any thought at all to Catholicism, thinks it mildly foreign.<P>As Knox knew, it is not the most difficult part of modern ...

How do theologians go about doing what they do? Why do they do it that way? Higgins helps readers understand the construction of a theological argument and the thought processes involved in developing a theological position. He invites them to analyze and reflect on four theological debates from the history of Christianity that continue to have vital significance today. Excellent for leading people to a deeper understanding and richer ...

Peer ministry can be described most simply as one young person helping another. The positive peer influence that occurs naturally can be nourished and enhanced, becoming a source of energy for the entire community. This program, developed over twenty years of working with teens, offers a step-by-step approach to recruitment, training and spiritual development for Christian young people involved in formal peer ministry.<P>Friend for the ...

If you've ever thought about community, whether as a lifestyle or simply as an expression of deeper fellowship with others, this book is essential reading. In the fifteen years since it first appeared in English, it has become "the" classic text on the subject -- read, dog-eared, borrowed, and discussed.<P>Vanier is not a rosy idealist. That is because his writing is based not on theories, but on a wealth of wisdom gleaned over many years ...

This book contains the stories of Catholic priests who are happy in their callings. They share with candor and honesty their joys, rewards, and frustrations of this special life. ...

This wonderful companion to Murray Bodo's classic Francis: The Journey and the Dream is an inspirational account of Clare's spiritual journey and struggle to love both Jesus and Francis with a love that was beautifully human and divine. In rewriting this book to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Clare's birth in 1193, Bodo incorporated new insights about Clare that he hopes broaden and deepen the image of St. Clare. He writes, "These new ...

Thirty-one icons present varying faces of Mary, one of the most loved people of all time. From the Black Madonna to Our Lady of Sorrows, Megan McKenna's reflections on the imagery of the icons leads us deeper into Mary's devotion and reverence before God. ...

Plunkett ponders the mystery of the recent apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Yugoslavia to find meanings in the messages put forth by the Blessed Mother--her pleas for peace, prayer, and simplicity--and their relationship to a rapidly changing world feeling the weight of its future. Queen of Prophets is a book to console and to challenge. ...

How did we come to revere this thirteenth-century Italian merchant's son as a saint? This penetrating meditation provides what may be the best answer yet, by gently but sure-handedly cutting through every pious legend to discover what is timeless and universally true about Saint Francis. ...