The greatest pain of the world today is loneliness. Loneliness is a part of the journey of faith. When loneliness comes upon you, you want to go and hide in some corner—self-pity carries you like a big, huge wave on a beach all full of stones. You see that beach in your mind and you think you are going to be broken up on the rocks... But in the depths of every heart there is a garden enclosed. …

The Psalms run like a golden thread through the beautiful garment of Orthodox and Eastern Catholic worship. In addition to inspiring the public prayer of the church, the Psalms are an indispensable part of the private devotions of all who seek a closer relationship with God. Most important, however, the Psalms point toward the ultimate liberation of humanity from sin, death and despair through …

Translated by Norman Russell, Introduction by Sister Benedicta Ward SLG Eyewitness accounts of the lives and teachings of the fourth-century Desert Fathers from the Historia monachorum in Aegypto. This book is a Cistercian publication. ". . . may make a good source for the historian; it may give some information and pleasure for the casual reader. But the spiritual man will never forget the …

Praying with Benedict explores the spirituality of the monastic tradition and draws out the essence of a way of praying that embraces the whole of the Christian's life. Korneel Vermeiren begins by examining the spirituality of the early monastic tradition from the fourth to the sixth centuries. He looks at the central place of prayer in the Rule of St Benedict and the tradition of continuous …

Dom Augustin Guillerand Learn to Pray as Monks Pray For nearly a thousand years, monks of the Carthusian Order have withdrawn from the world so they can place themselves in the presence of God. Alone in their cells, they pray, work, and take their meals, freed from worldly distractions and the cacophony of thoughts that course through your mind and mine, when, at the end of the day, we kneel …

One of the great problems facing working women and housewives seems to be their inability to find time to lead full spiritual lives. Many feel they do not have time for God, the Church or religion in their hectic daily routines. Also, material ambitions often obstruct their need to know and love God. In these and similar situations, it becomes easy to stop praying and to forget about God …

Rejection can hurt beyond any other state or emotion. Rejection is a part of the journey of faith. To be rejected by friends hurts—being rejected by family even more so. This rejection is a mystery that encompasses you when you choose to follow Jesus Christ. Like him, you will experience that strange feeling of rejection by God himself, when you too cry out, “Father, Father, why have you …

This seasonal devotional features meditations drawn from the down-to-earth and eminently practical writings of Catherine Doherty. Providing daily spiritual guidance, there are deep insights on prayer and spiritual growth as well as homespun words of advice on everyday work and family life. Nostalgic entries even recall Christmas and Easter customs from Catherine's childhood in the Old Russia …

By Rev. Irénée Hausherr S.J.; Translated by Charles Cummings OCSO How the Jesus Prayer developed and the names by which early Christians addressed Christ. This book is a Cistercian publication. ". . . deservedly a classic in spiritual writing and necessary reading for all those interested in the method of Eastern Christian prayer." -The Heythrop Journal "For the reader who desires God, here is …

The Discernment Of Spirits Although Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, is one of the most influential spiritual leaders of all time, most readers find his Rule hard to understand. Father Gallagher, an authority and gifted teacher, help us understand the rule and how its insights are essential for our spiritual growth today.

Tomás Spidlík S.J., Anthony P. Gythiel, Translator This second volume on Eastern Christian spirituality amplifies in depth the final two chapters of the earlier The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook . Like St. John Cassian in writing his Conferences, Cardinal Spidlík does not advocate any particular pattern of prayer, but sets out faithfully to collect and share the …

“Recommended for every believer who wishes to grow in personal prayer.” — Catholic Bishops National Bulletin on Liturgy Written in a practical and personal style, Catherine Doherty’s popular book brings us to the very heart of prayer. Her words give evidence of deep spirituality and practical wisdom as she draws on her years of reflection on Eastern Christian (Byzantine) and Western Christian …

Trustful Surrender To Divine Providence . "To remain indifferent to good fortune or to adversity by accepting it all from the hand of God without questioning, not to ask for things to be done as we would like them but as God wishes, to make the intention of all our prayers that God's will should be perfectly accomplished in ourselves and in all creatures is to find the secret of happiness …

Saint John Cassian on Prayer Translated, with an introduction, by Augustine M. Casiday Cassian’s insights on prayer have been read and honored for sixteen centuries by Christians in both East and West. His two classic conferences, conversations with desert monks, are published here in a new translation. Augustine M. Casiday, currently Leverhulme Fellow in the Department of Theology at Durham …

In this volume is the authentic text of one of the most famous examples of Russian spiritual literature, which deals with various aspects of the Jesus Prayer. A redaction of this text is thought to have been written no earlier than 1859. 

Doubts come to everyone—but you are not alone. In her new book, Catherine Doherty walks with us through some of the doubts that trouble us most in this day and age. Doubts are part of the journey of faith. When you’re affronted by doubts, when you can’t get a handle on the answers that make you feel secure, you are walking in the company of the saints. Doubts come: Does God exist? Where is …

The Ways Of Mental Prayer by the Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey One of the Church's greatest classics on mental prayer, highly commended by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrance and Pope St. Pius X. Concentrates on the beginning stages of mental prayer up through the "prayer of quiet," but also goes into the higher levels. Describes the passage from ordinary prayer to mystical prayer, which is the giant …

Fr. Thomas Green, S.J., well-loved author and seminary professor, brings the wisdom he has gained through thirty-five years as a spiritual director to The Friend of the Bridegroom , a personal and insightful look at spiritual direction in the life of the Christian. Rooted in Green's experience, focusing on the directee's spiritual needs, The Friend of the Bridegroom inspires as well as …

In this volume is the authentic text of one of the most famous examples of Russian spiritual literature, which deals with various aspects of the Jesus Prayer. A redaction of this text is thought to have been written no earlier than 1859.