Religious Books

The bible is, above all other things, a record of God's love for the human race. In its words and through its stories God reveals himself and calls those who hear the word into communion with him. When we first approach the bible, however, we encounter a variety of literary styles -- histories, poetry, sagas, moral advice and visionary productions. There is often a problem of discerning the simple theme of call-and-response in all these styles, or of finding a connection in the bible to our 20th century existence. This book opens the door to the deep message the bible conveys to individual Christians today. Putting aside for a moment questions of doctrine or historical interpretation, it concentrates on the spiritual teaching of the Old and New Testaments. It begins with God's call to humanity and to each of us individually. Then it considers the human adventure of our journey through life. Finally it looks at our ultimate homecoming to the Father. The many references to biblical passages and daily life make this an invaluable book for those who want to know about the bible -- but even more, who want to live it.

Henri Nouwen's never-before-published story of his surprising friendship with a traveling trapeze troupe.

During the last five years of his life, best-selling spiritual author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen's own life, a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction.

In Flying, Falling, Catching, Nouwen's colleague and friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents his unpublished trapeze writings framed by the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. Readers will meet Nouwen as a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.

What will we do with our lives, and with whom will we do it? In this story of flying and catching, Nouwen invites us all to let go and fly, even when we are afraid of falling.

"'Jesus, where are you?' I prayed every night as I wept . . . I felt I had failed as a priest, for I had preached love and the people made genocide. . . .Then I heard God speak to me. Jesus wanted me to use these experiences to evangelize later. It was then that I knew my life would be spared. God would make a way."

During the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga tells the dramatic story of how he survived while losing more than eighty of his family members and 45,000 of his parishioners in the killings. In the aftermath, Fr. Ubald experienced a renewed sense of purpose as a minister of reconciliation and a healing evangelist in his homeland and around the world. In Forgiveness Makes You Free, he offers five spiritual principles that can help those traumatized by the past to experience healing and peace in Christ.

In 1994 the world looked on in disbelief and horror as Rwanda erupted in violent bloodshed. All across the landlocked African country, militant Hutus rose up to exterminate the Tutsi population, including women and young children. One hundred days later, a million bodies littered fields, streets, and even churches. Now, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a powerful testimony emerges of the power of God to bring peace and reconciliation into hearts full of fear and hate.

In Forgiveness Makes You Free, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga shares his own dramatic story of how he survived the genocide and its traumatic aftermath. He testifies about how God spared his life so that he might help others with deep physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds to experience peace and healing. In retelling the story of how he forgave the man who killed his family and cared for the man's children while he was in prison, Fr. Ubald demonstrates how showing mercy can facilitate true forgiveness even in the most painful circumstances of our lives.

Throughout the book, Fr. Ubald teaches about five spiritual keys that draw us to Christ, the only source of lasting peace:

Each chapter combines Fr. Ubald's story with reflection questions that guide readers along their own path of healing: from fear to faith, from shame to freedom, from isolation to reconciliation, from resentment to mercy, and from conflict to peace.

The final chapter offers a guided meditation to help those who need to experience the power of God to release those held in bondage by fear and hate and to find the secret of peace. An appendix contains information about "The Mushaka Reconciliation Project," a catechetical tool that has been used successfully by parishes in Rwanda, and could easily be adapted by parishes in the United States, to mediate reconciliation between individuals and groups who have become estranged by violence, trauma, and ethnic or cultural divisions.

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

This book is now part of Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Reader program. Quizzes are currently available.

Confession is somewhat daunting for many of us; yet Father Farren argues, "Our understanding of the sacrament reveals our image of God. If our image of God is one of an uncompromising judge, then the sacrament can fill us with dread."Instead of coming to confession to avoid judgment and hellfire, Father Farren paints a picture of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which presents a loving God who longs for a restored relationship with His children. It is an inspirational picture and one that is presented compellingly.

Examine the meaning of Lent and its significance in spiritual formation and the preparation for Easter, and walk through the holy season of Easter. Leading North American spiritual writers reflect on what one theologian has called the "bright sadness" of Lent: that it is not about feeling of broken and lost, but about cleansing the palate so we can taste life to a greater extent. In the Lent and Easter seasons, we encounter the God who, in all of life, is for us--for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Even in death we can find resurrection.

This bestselling graduation gift addresses questions grads will encounter as they move into the next phases of life and is a wonderful keepsake full of answers straight from God's Word. Beautifully packaged in a stylish brown Leathersoft with foil stamping and a ribbon marker, this book is a perfect fit for today's graduates.

God's Answers(R) for the Graduate is a fantastic graduation gift that addresses questions grads will encounter throughout life. It's a wonderful keepsake full of answers straight from God's Word.

To commemorate your favorite student's high school or college graduation, give the gift of God's answers to the many questions they're sure to face as they take their next steps in life. God's Answers(R) for the Graduate addresses carefully chosen topics, such as character, relationships, time management, and decision-making, that are vital to successful living for a lifetime. Available in Leathersoft with foil stamping, rounded corners, and a ribbon marker, this book is a perfect fit for today's graduates. The design lends itself to personalization by imprinting the graduate's name.

"God's Knowledge of the World examines theories of divine ideas from approximately 1250-1325 AD (St. Bonaventure through Ockham). It is the only work dedicated to categorizing and comparing the major theories of divine ideas in the Scholastic period. A theory of divine ideas was the standard Scholastic response to the question how does God know and produce the world? A theory was deemed to be successful only if it simultaneously upheld that God has perfect knowledge and that he is supremely simple and one. These questions cause the Scholastic authors to articulate clearly, among other things, their positions on the nature of knowledge, relation, exemplar causality, participation, infinity, and possibility. An author's theory of divine ideas, then, is the locus for him to test the coherence of his metaphysical, epistemological, and logical principles"--