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This definitive biography of the heroic life of Servant of God Cardinal Thuan is told by his sister Élisabeth, with Father Stefaan Lecleir, in the context of his family life, priesthood, and prison life, and the very challenging times in which he lived. It focuses especially on his profound spiritual life, his great suffering during a thirteen-year imprisonment by the Communists, his strong capacity for friendship with his enemies, and his deep veneration for Christ in the Eucharist. Élisabet...

The Catholic Church invented what we know as the "university," including the cultural tradition of free and open debate on disputed questions. Catholic colleges and universities thus stand poised to help reform institutions of higher learning at a moment of crisis in academic life throughout the western world.In his commencement addresses to colleges and universities large and small, George Weigel challenges graduates to understand an academic degree as a summons to become the trustee of a gr...

Best-selling novelist Michael O'Brien returns to the theme of people of faith striving to find their way through a societal collapse during the rise of new dimensions of totalitarianism. Set in the near future, all of North America is plunged into crisis as basic communications and other services suddenly and inexplicably fail. As the tension mounts, a disparate group of people come together from several directions, apparently by coincidence. Many of them are strangers to each other, and some...

With over one hundred books to his name, Peter Kreeft is the most prolific Catholic author of his generation. He's also one of the most loved, having influenced countless Catholics in the U.S. and beyond. But who, exactly, is the man behind the books? In this new autobiography, Kreeft finally tells readers his own story, including the encounters, people, and ideas that led him to the Catholic Church as a young man. With his signature insight and sharp wit, Kreeft takes readers through his chi...

This diary of a young American Jesuit's vocation and first six years of seminary training in the early 1960s before being assigned as a missionary to Taiwan is full of youthful optimism. It is the positive, personal story of a vocation told in a relaxed, often humorous voice. It reveals the longing of a heart that finds fulfillment in giving up everything to follow Christ and serve others as a Jesuit. At the Jesuit seminary in Los Gatos, Calif., the novice learns both the skill of harvesting ...

This book examines how thirteen extraordinary men and women from apostolic times to the present--most of them canonized saints--came to see how God wanted them to organize their lives and, seeing that, set out to shape their lives accordingly. It adopts a new and illuminating approach to a familiar literary genre--the lives of the saints and what the turning points were in their dedicating themselves to God. Instead of concentrating on the question of vocation, the book situates the thirteen ...

Spanning nearly 500 miles across the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Trail is an epic, arduous route through some of America's most breathtaking natural grandeur. In the summer of 2022, Fr. John Nepil, priest-theologian and mountaineer, set out to traverse the entire trail as a "thru-hike" with a trio of companions, accompanied along the way by an eclectic rotating cast of priests and young people. This memoir, which is simultaneously a theological reflection on life, Christianity, and the moun...

This is a simple, comprehensive guide for men seeking to grow daily in their relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ. It introduces men to the rhythm of prayer throughout their entire day - from the moment they wake to their last conscious thought. It offers quick insights and prayers for common concerns facing men throughout their day/life. It also introduces men to traditional devotional practices and prayers of the Church. Prayers for Catholic Men supports men in their primary vocations in...

Joy: we look for it, long for it, and spend our lives chasing it. Yet do we really know what it is? Is it a feeling, a state of mind, or a reward for success? Do we know where to find it? The more we seek it, the more it eludes us. Yet joy is real. "Joy", writes philosopher Peter Kreeft, "is a mystery. It is bigger than we are." Joy's secret, however, is that it cannot be reached or found but only given. True joy is God Himself, who, giving Himself, takes us outside ourselves, across valleys ...

This in-depth, page-turning biography of Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder of Ignatius Press and the University of San Francisco's Saint Ignatius Institute, is written by one of Fessio's earliest Jesuit mentors, historian Father Cornelius Buckley, S.J.Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area during the golden age after World War II, the bold, often reckless Joe Fessio would suddenly enter the Society of Jesus at age twenty and, by divine providence, find himself studying under three of...

This unparalleled introduction to St. John Henry Newman--mind, heart, soul, and personality--brings the great cardinal to life before our eyes, and with him the charged air of nineteenth-century England. Drawing from his letters, writings, and journal entries with precision and poetic flair, the book is one of Ida Friederike Görres' masterworks. While famous for his brilliance, Cardinal Newman did not hide in an ivory tower. His life was one of risk, sacrifice, and immense charity. His sharp ...

The most important biographical record of the Reagan years--from the Reagan governorship to the 40th president's period in the White House--has not been written, until now: it is the story of Ronald Reagan's indispensable man, confidant, and single most important adviser: William P. Clark, known to many as simply "The Judge." With his record, resume, and the respect he earned from so many quarters, why did Bill Clark never pen an autobiography? Why did he never write memoirs, even while less ...

This definitive biography traces Cardinal George Pell's life from his childhood in Australia to his role as the Vatican treasurer; through his trials, unjust imprisonment, and exoneration to his untimely passing away on January 10, 2023. Richly endowed with intellectual and athletic talent, strong faith in Christ, a solid family, and a great capacity for friendship, the young Pell turned down a professional Australian Rules football contract and instead entered the seminary in 1960. After his...

An Ignatius Press Reprint Ignatius Press Reprints are identical in content with the most recent print edition of the original title. In order to keep important titles available at reasonable prices, we reprint them digitally in small quantities. We use high quality, acid-free paper, but the books are not smyth-sewn as is customary with our offset press print editions. What do Christians believe? What gives meaning to our life? What is the purpose of life? The Christian answer to these questio...

The power of a woman is most concretely observed in the seeds she plants, day after day, in the lives of those around her. Soul Garden is a sizable collection of personal stories, essays, poems, and recipes written to cultivate the motherly role of women by offering inspiration, camaraderie, and encouragement.Contributors from across the country and around the world invite readers to put away their screens and to pick up this lovely, tangible book, in which they can find nourishment for the s...

In this unique work, a collection of Catholic scholars address several theological topics about which Latter-day Saints and Catholics hold contrary beliefs: the Great Apostasy, the papacy, the Eucharist, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the nature of God, justification, sainthood, liturgy, and deification. The contributors, some of whom are converts to Catholicism from Mormonism, offer a respectful, though critical, analysis of the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Catho...

In sixth-century Ireland, the memory of the great missionary Saint Patrick was strong, but so was the influence of the old pagan religion. There was still much work to be done to spread the Christian faith.This book tells the story of one of the greatest saints of the Emerald Isle after Patrick, Saint Kevin, whose monastery at Glendalough was a beacon of light for eight hundred years. Saint Kevin worked miracles, communed with animals, and inspired thousands to leave everything to follow Chri...

With eloquent, moving prose, Sheldon Vanauken tells about those years following the death of his beloved wife, Davy, and how he moved step-by-step through the darkness of his grief into the light of God's love. But this poignant volume is much more than a sequel to the runaway best-seller, A Severe Mercy: it is a continuing autobiography and an engrossing chronicle of Vanauken's writings, and always a challenge to live the spiritual life.Under the Mercy also mirrors the times during which Van...

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen was one of the greatest spiritual leaders--and entertainers--in America's tumultuous twentieth century. His television shows, for which he eventually won an Emmy Award, reached millions of viewers, and in the 1950s and '60s, "Fulton Sheen" was a household name.But his greatest gift was in finding lost sheep. Through his thought, wit, and compassion, many thousands of people likely entered the Church, from all walks of life. Among them were jazz legend Ada "Bricktop" ...

In every century of Christianity, lives of serious discipleship have been lived in response to--not in isolation from--the state of the Church and the world. The inherent link between history and Catholic spirituality, between holiness and the dark forces at work in a given era, is as real and pertinent today as ever. In this powerful work that may very well prove prophetic, renowned spiritual writer Fr. Donald Haggerty plumbs the depths of this connection, offering a profound reflection on t...

At a time in which stress, depression, anxiety, and suicide are all on the rise, Peace Be with You will guide you and your loved ones on how to overcome negative thoughts, be freed -- externally and internally -- from sinful habits, access supernatural grace, and grow in happiness and holiness. You will learn concrete strategies for coping with emotions such as anger, sadness, doubt, worry, inferiority, and fear. The renowned missionary and psychologist Fr. Narciso Irala explains the secret t...

A Catholic Guide to Finding Mental and Emotional Well-Being Winner of a first-place award in the healing and self-help category from the Catholic Media Association and a third-place award in general interest from the Association of Catholic Publishers. Are you or someone you love struggling with depression, anxiety, grief, or other mental health concerns? Tommy Tighe, a licensed marriage and family therapist, wants to help you take steps toward reaching and maintaining mental and emotional we...

Elizabeth Prout stands at both the heart and the crossroads of nineteenth-century history. From her birth in 1820 as the daughter of a cooper in a brewery, beside a cotton mill and an ironworks in the suburbs of Shrewsbury, to her death of tuberculosis, beside the glass and chemical works of St Helens, in 1864, she experienced the industrial, educational, social, economic and religious changes that transformed English society at that time. It was, however, her close friendships with those two...

The exhilarating scope of the title - Words and the Word - may seem almost undercut by its sober subtitle: The Use of Literature as a Practical Aid to Preaching. But the value of this book lies in its very bi-polarity. On the one hand, here are practical ways of enhancing the word delivered from the 'mountain' of the pulpit (usually not so lofty these days); on the other, here are some of the great themes that pervade theology and life. This duality seems utterly right. And both aspects are i...

What is Carthusian life really like? What actually goes on in a Charterhouse? Is the Order's ancient mixture of carefully regulated solitary and community life a hopeless harking back to the Middle Ages, or is it relevant to modern lifestyles and problems? If any book can answer these questions, it is The Wound of Love. It provides background information on the Carthusian Order, including letters from St Bruno, its founder, and a reflection on Bruno's continuing significance today. The many c...

The Year of Thamar's Book is set in the months from the spring of 2015 to the summer of 2016. An elderly recluse living in a quiet village in Burgundy discovers he is not as alone in the world as he has for many years assumed. His grandson, well-educated but ignorant, comes to the village to help the old man make a book of the pile of chaotic manuscript that tells the story of a difficult, painful yet luminous life. As he writes, and listens, the young man learns a good deal, and begins to co...

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the...

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the...

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the...

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the...

What is the Christian calendar? Would you know how to make an Advent wreath? When is Candlemas? Who was the original St Nicholas? Why do we eat Hot Cross Buns? These and many other questions are all answered in A Year Book of Seasons and Celebrations - a guidebook to the traditional Christian year, which is also a cookery book, a mine of interesting information, and a source of amusement, inspiration, and faith. Living the calendar, celebrating its feasts, enjoying the ways in which they mesh...

EARLY CHRISTIANITY explores how in the first centuries the followers of Jesus Christ lived their faith centred upon Him. It provides a comprehensive introduction, starting from New Testament times, to key figures in the rise of Christianity including Mary, Mother of God, and Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the founders of Christian Rome. The book shows how the theological tradition of the primacy of Rome developed in the Church and with the Papacy. It considers a wide range of issues in the life ...

What moves us first of all in these 'Conversations' is, in the words of Father Boucher CSsR, Van's spiritual director, 'The unbelievable familiarity and ... the tenderness of which Brother Marcel has been the object on the part of his heavenly interlocutors. On reading the little sheets that he handed over to me each week I had the feeling that this very small Redemptorist brother whom Jesus, Mary and Thérèse were leading by the hand would have a role to play in the Church and in the world.' ...

Since the publication of its predecessor volume Contemporary Catholic Education in 2002, the Catholic education landscape has experienced significant developments and challenges. The notion that the perennial, in the form of the rich heritage of the Catholic education tradition, must remain in constant dialogue with the transitional educational landscape permeates this publication. This is rooted in a sacramental vision of the human person and is anchored in three core principles: the dignity...

The Twenty-Four Conferences or Collations of St. John Cassian, written in the early fifth century, were to have a tremendous impact in the West on the spirituality of monastics and other Religious. A classic of spirituality, they were compulsory reading for St. Benedict's monks, the favourite spiritual reading of St. Dominic in the late twelfth century and were treasured by St. Philip Neri in the sixteenth. The Collations were likened by St. John Cassian himself to the twenty-four elders of t...

Edith Stein admitted that there was time when she 'consciously and deliberately lost the habit of praying'. She tells us this because she re-discovered it during the journey which brought her to Carmel. We all need to make our own spiritual way through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, with guides who help us to see the pitfalls and inspire us to persevere. The journey of prayer is one of the great adventures which we should all undertake because it leads us to the mountain which is God himse...

In the first section of this fascinating study, 'Cistercian Chronicles and the Events of Nature', David Williams reveals the wealth of information to be gleaned from medieval and later Cistercian chronicles on the effects felt from earthquakes, floods, drought, extreme temperatures, pestilence and plague, as well as the impact of eclipses and comets, on the monks themselves and on the wider population. The second section of the book provides an invaluable survey of Cistercian Necrologies from...

"The mystery of the human person becomes truly clear only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word." Taken from the Constitution Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Council, this phrase is the foundation of Christian anthropology, an area very often neglected in theological studies. Mgr Jean Laffitte offers us a wealth of reflections on a wide range of themes including the family, love, life, suffering and death, the moral conscience, society, Christian action, forgiveness and the Heart of Chri...

A vocation is an extremely mysterious reality. The call of God is not something extrinsic; it penetrates to the most intimate centre of the heart. We are what we are on account of this call. The Call of Silent Love is a profound and eloquent examination of the twin themes of vocation and discernment in which the father-master speaks about the nature of a calling, and the internal and external struggles, the discernment of spirits and the overall framework in which we live our lives. 'The read...

Why do some religious believers slaughter those who refuse to convert to their faith, refuse scientific evidence for an ancient universe, or hold God to be an utterly arbitrary being? Why do some scientists believe that universes pop into existence from nothing, that aliens seeded life on earth, or that fish turn into reptiles by chance processes? The answer, for both, is the same: the abandonment of realism, the human way for knowing reality. In The Realist Guide to Religion and Science, Fr ...

Dom Jeremy Driscoll offers a fresh approach both to theology and to the eucharistic celebration itself. He sets forth and develops here a method for the tasks of academic theology inspired by the eucharistic rite. There are studies of the foundational role of the liturgy for conceiving the identity of fundamental theology; a proposal for developing a curriculum on the basis of the shape of the eucharistic rite; historical studies on the relationship between liturgy and doctrine; and suggestio...

St Therese of Lisieux is one of the best-loved saints of the Church. Her writings are amongst the most popular works of spirituality the world has ever known. Admitted to Carmel in 1888 at the age of fifteen, she only lived nine more years. St Therese wrote with utter simplicity, and yet, because of her outstanding spiritual discernment, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church. Her gifts as a poet, however, have remained largely unknown to English-speaking readers - here for the...

In practically the only recent book in English to give a global picture of the theology of creation, Paul Haffner explores God's masterpiece, the spiritual and material cosmos, from the angels to man and woman centred in Christ. Paul Haffner provides an authoritative, detailed and systematic introduction to this fundamental subject in Christian theology. This is the first volume in a series that has now seen publication of The Sacramental Mystery, the Mystery of Reason and the Mystery of Mary...

Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American ReadDon Quixote has become so entranced reading tales of chivalry that he decides to turn knight errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, these exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray--he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants--Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world togethe...

Come Follow Me is a series of exegetical reflections based on the assigned Gospel reading for the Sundays of a liturgical year. Each reflection contains insights that are explained and applied to the lived experience of a Christian disciple. Each insight section concludes with a set of questions intended to help the reader apply the various points to their practical faith lives. The primary focus of this writing is to facilitate both personal discipleship study of the Gospels as well as to pr...

During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, it was high treason—and therefore punishable by death—to be a Catholic priest in England. In this dangerous era, hiding places were essential whenever pursuivants arrived in search of clergy. Among the master craftsmen responsible for constructing these ingenious “priest-holes,” one name stands above the rest: St. Nicholas Owen. A small and later crippled man, Owen built the majority of England’s priest-holes, saving the lives of countless priests...

Monastic Tradition invites readers—especially those new to the spiritual life—into a deeper search for God through three classic monastic “books”: the book of nature, the book of Scripture, and the book of one’s own lived experience. Drawing from thirty years of monastic life, Sr. Laurentia weaves these strands together in a series of meditative poems that resonate with the rhythms of both the natural and liturgical seasons. Beginning with Advent, the poems unfold through the year, reflecting...

The biblical “primal history” of Genesis 1–11—from the Fall to the Tower of Babel—portrays a pattern of human evil that resonates strongly with the modern world. Yet the doctrine of original sin has become problematic for many today, shaped by a modern outlook that sharply separates nature and freedom. In this final work, Raymund Schwager offers an interdisciplinary exploration that seeks to bridge this divide. Drawing from evolutionary theory, contemporary philosophy, theology, and developme...