Explores how a church once known as a force for social justice became known for a few key wedge issues, then looks at the opportunities for change in the "age of Francis." The first non-European pope in more than a millennium, Pope Francis is shaking up a church that has been mired in scandal and demoralized by devastating headlines.--Publisher's description. The author, a Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, an advocacy group, analyzes...

The story of a French priest who goes to New Mexico and, with another priest, wins the Southwest for the Catholic Church. After forty years, he dies--the archbishop of Santa Fe.

Who is Mary to you? What role does she play in your spiritual life? Are you struggling to get focused spiritually or looking for a way to grow to new heights? Mary is the most famous woman in history. She has inspired more art and music than any other woman and she fascinates the imaginations of men and women of all faiths. Many holy men and women of monumental virtue considered Mary's humility to be a sure path to intimacy with God. They have surrendered...

Spirituality meets philosophy in the Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection collection "The Practice of the Presence of God and the Spiritual Maxims." This challenging yet fruitful read describes Brother Lawrence's philosophy that a relationship with God is more important than the service and work done in God's name. Through a series of letters to nuns and other monks, he states that people become caught up in trying to prove their worth to God. According...

Publisher's description: Scott Hahn argues that every society--be it nation, neighborhood, family, or Church--is held together by the power of personal commitments. When we really want to change our lives, when we want to make love endure, we mark the transition by an oath. That's what people do on their wedding day, on the day they become citizens, on the day they enter the military, or on the day they assume public office. The words we say bind...

The National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Reformation returns with the definitive history of Christianity for our time. Once in a generation a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be heard-a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such an audio book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers...

The New York Times has described James Martin as maybe "the only Jesuit priest with a degree from the Wharton School," and in the wake of our current economic crisis, the story of his remarkable journey from corporate America to the Society of Jesus couldn't be more timely. From the halls of General Electric under Jack Welch to his entry into the priesthood, In “Good Company” tells this seeker's powerful story with humor and grace. The book's...

The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies of contemporary...

Written in the 16th century by a reform-minded Carmelite monk, Dark Night of the Soul is a treatise focusing on the metaphor of a dark night to represent a lonely phase in one's personal spiritual life. Saint John was a Roman Catholic mystic and a Spanish poet, and this work reflects his mystical stages toward union with God. Written on a scroll smuggled to him by one of his guards, his songs are the ultimate expression of the spiritual seeker's journey...