This study provides background on wisdom forms, the key Qumran sectarian texts, and wisdom studies related to the Dead Sea Scrolls. 4QInstruction includes poetic discourses, hymnic material, and short wisdom sayings and admonitions. A major focus is placed on the admonitions, which are discussed in terms of their structure, wisdom forms, and setting. The admonitions are expressed in biblical wisdom forms, showing a familiarity with and acceptance of traditional Hebrew wisdom, including a focus on traditional themes. Yet, when read from the sectarian perspective, 4QInstruction reinforces the guidelines and theology of the key Dead Sea Scroll documents.

The early years are packed with first experiences that are laden with significance and emotional impact for the child and those close to them. This little book of twenty meditations celebrates the specialness of all those firsts – first smile, first steps, first tooth – in a babys life.

The divine warrior is an important motif in the Old Testament, leading many to study profitably the motif in its most prominent manifestations in poetic texts. This study builds on that foundation by examining the divine warrior in detail in the exodus narrative to construct a broader picture of the motif in the Old Testament.

Ecoutez! Now listen to the story I tell … Setting out one day to gather firewood, young Bernadette Soubirous stops to cross a stream near a grotto. Here she witnesses a beautiful vision that will change her life, and the French village of Lourdes, forever. In a series of rhyming verse, children’s author Eleanor Gormally tells the much-loved story of Bernadette and the Lady of Lourdes.This book is suitable for children aged four to eight and comes beautifully illustrated by Barbara Croatto.

This multi-contributory work examines the issues of patronage of Irish schools and the options and decisions around sending children to Catholic schools. The contributors reflect the many perspectives on this debate. They include a parent, a former primary school principal, an academic and a primary Diocesan Advisor, along with Amalee Meehan from education trust CEIST, and Baroness Nuala O’Loan. With an introduction by Michael Drumm, chairperson of the Catholic Schools’ Partnership, this book is essential reading for parents who wish to understand more about what a Catholic school can offer.

At the request of Diodorus, bishop of Tyre, Epiphanius of Salamis produced this exegetical treatise on the gemstones in the High Priest's breastplate. The oldest Christian work on gemstones, the the author deals with the stones according to their appearance and their medical benefit as well as their attribution to the twelve tribes based on Christian exegesis. Only extracts of this work are preserved in Greek. This volume provides the important – but hereto unconsidered – Armenian text with a German translation and commentarial annotations, as well as an English introduction.

This booklet is offered as an aid in choosing and composing prayers of intercession for various occasions for the Prayer of the Faithful.

With a comprehensive collection of prayers and blessings for all occasions in family life, this beautifully-presented hardback volume from the Council for Marriage and the Family is ideal for use in the family home. This prayer book can be used by both those preparing for marriage and married couples, and by individual family members or families who pray together. It offers prayers for daily use or it can be dipped into from time to time, and contains a section of prayers suitable for times of need and difficulty.

It is my hope that this book will convey something of the continuity of the crowning act of providence, something of that witnessing, appreciation and love. So says Fr Stephen Redmond in the foreword to this book, wherein he tenderly and lovingly recalls some of the great statements that have been written down through history about the Eucharist, the great sacrament of love. Retelling in his own words passages from some of the great Christian saints and figures - and one star of stage and screen! Fr Redmond displays his own gift for verse in his reworkings, making this book a loving testament to his own devotion to the Eucharist and a wonderful aid to anyone’s contemplation of the mystery of the Eucharist. We’re called to live in God in heaven to get there special help is given we call it Eucharist which means a lovely Gift for that is what Christ is. Saint Thomas Aquinas

In this volume, a reprint of his 1966 monograph, H. J. W. Drijvers investigates the life and teachings of Bardaisan of Edessa, determining his place in the religious and cultural life of Edessa in the second half of the second century of the common era.

Irish philosopher and priest Dr Brendan Purcell has spent years endeavouring to unravel what makes us human, investigating the mystery of human origins and exploring the drama of human existence. In this work written in his honour, the contributors offer their own valuable insights into the human voyage of self-discovery. They guide us through some of the teachings of significant authors, such as Plato, William of Ockham, John Henry Newman, Walker Percy, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Eric Voegelin, Bernard Lonergan, Patrick Kavanagh, Chiara Lubich, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Lévinas. They also offer us reactions on topics such as faith and science, religious freedom and dialogue, Trinity and creation, language and human symbolism, bodiliness, art, holiness and conscience.

This booklet, to aid in reflecting on and praying the Stations of the Cross, takes as its inspiration and illustration the Passionist Retreat Centre, Tobar Mhuire, in Crossgar, Co. Down, and the beautiful Stations installed there. The Stations follow the biblical Stations as introduced by Pope John Paul II in 1991, with Kieran Hill providing thoughtful and reflective meditations on each.

Treasures of Irish Christianity was published to great acclaim in the summer of 2012. This second volume offers readers further scholarly yet readily-accessible short articles on a vast array of treasures from the Irish Christian tradition, with a focus on the Irish and their relationship with the Word. It covers items ranging from religious folk tales to reflections on Yeats, Joyce, Kavanagh and Beckett; from words on the margins of ancient manuscripts to the first Lutheran congregation in Dublin; from early High Crosses to the thirteenth-century Kilcormac Missal; from the Medieval Office of St Brigid to Pugin architecture; and from Church of Ireland hymnody to the recent Share the Good News publication. Written by a large number of Irish scholars from a variety of disciplines, this second volume is also richly illustrated.

Originally published in 1997, this is a lively and readable account of the life of Colum Cille. Considered one of the three patron saints of Ireland, little is known about Colum Cille, although stories about him range from his founding a monastery on the island of Iona to starting a war by copying another man’s book. Desmond Forristal details the main events of the saint’s career and also includes the best-known tales and legends. He paints a picture of a man to be reckoned with – fiery, idealistic, learned, a respector of nature and lover of humankind, a fearless preacher and missionary. Above all, he shows us a man who lived his life in the presence of God.

This volume contains papers from the First International Congress on Eastern Christianity held in Córdoba, Spain, November 2005. The encounter of medieval Christian writers with several linguistic traditions through the Middle Ages produced one of the most important branches of Middle Eastern literature. This encounter not only changed the nature of the respective writings throughout time, but also influenced considerably the development of the legacies transmitted by the writers and the scholars of various Eastern Christian churches.

Despite having been written over a century ago, the 3rd edition of Rubens Duval's History of Syriac Literature remains one of the best - and most readable - introductions to Syriac literature. This edition provides the first English translation of the work, translated by Olivier Holmey.