Important links exist between physical, emotional and mental health and spirituality. A mature and effective spiritual life has major benefits in all these areas, including longevity, resistance to disease and greater happiness. In Wellness: Life, Health and Spirituality, Richard Woods demonstrates how spirituality is good for you and good for the world! Its pages explore a number of areas in which a vibrant and healthy spirituality enables people to live longer, healthier lives, contribute to society and avoid many of the discontents of our hectic technology-drive, commercialised, artificial and often lethal way of living in todays world.

There are many passages in the Bible which refer, directly or indirectly, to the Eucharist. Such passages are found in the Old Testament as well as in the New. Indeed, there is a fundamental unity between both Testaments: both have Jesus Christ at their centre, and, therefore, both have Eucharist at their centre. The Breaking of the Bread: Biblical Reflections on the Eucharist explores the Eucharist theme in both testaments. The purpose of this book is to be an aid in deepening our Eucharistic faith and nourishing our Eucharistic devotion. It is not intended primarily as a theological study, but rather as a book for meditation and prayer. Humbly, this book aims to be a work of biblical theology on its knee.

The Stations of the Cross, whether celebrated in our Christian communities or as private prayer, call us into the depths of the mystery of God. As we remember again the political, social and religious systems that condemned, violated and killed one innocent man, we are faced with the truth of our own cultural time and the systems we ourselves support. The journey with Christ, through the fear and through the darkness, gives us a light and a strength, an insight and a context when silence falls in our own lives. This journey of intense suffering and sorrow remains beyond our comprehension and yet, within it, and because of it, we too find the inner strength and enduring faith for the last mile. When Silence Falls is a prayer book, telling us of hope that endures and of hearts that go on, even in the darkest hour.

Getting married is one of the biggest days of your life. It can all go by in a flash compared to the amount of time, effort, money and planning it takes to get to that trouble-free day. Many people are daunted by the prospect of organising their wedding and have no idea of where to start. Written by the established wedding planner, Bláithín OReilly Murphy, Distinctive Weddings: Tying the Knot Without the Rope Burns brings together in one attractive book all the information you need, from sourcing the ring to booking the band, from picking the menu to hiring the transport, and everything in-between. Also included are handy insider tips, what to ask, forms for bookings, templates for invitations, mass booklets, and listings of some of the most popular prayers, readings, gospels and hymns. The ultimate guide to planning your wedding day.

Aphrahat the Persian Sage, (fl. 337-345 C.E. ), was a Syriac Christian author who wrote twenty-three treatises entitled The Demonstrations. This book examines “temple” as a key image for Aphrahat’s theological anthropology. The temple is central for both Jews and Christians; it is the place of sacrifice, meeting, and communication with the Divine. For Aphrahat, the devout Christian person may be a micro-temple which then allows one to encounter the divine both within oneself and through a vision ascent to the heavenly temple.

The accepted standard of Christian poetry in an Islamic context is disclosed in this two-volume collection that contains vocalized Arabic poems, biographical introductions, and commentary. Volume one includes poets from before the Islamic period while volume two covers those during the Islamic period.

The accepted standard of Christian poetry in an Islamic context is disclosed in this two-volume collection that contains vocalized Arabic poems, biographical introductions, and commentary. Volume one includes poets from before the Islamic period while volume two covers those during the Islamic period.

The accepted standard of Christian poetry in an Islamic context is disclosed in this two-volume collection that contains vocalized Arabic poems, biographical introductions, and commentary. Volume one includes poets from before the Islamic period while volume two covers those during the Islamic period.

This work explores the points of contact, as well as the differences between the distinct notions of divine embodiment developed by Maximos the Confessor (580-662), one of the greatest Greek Fathers, and Tsong kha pa (1357-1419), arguably the most important thinker in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Both authors developed a spiritual theology where natural contemplation and the practice of the virtues are invested with a transformative value and are construed as a response to a cosmic intelligence, which sustains the universe, but also becomes manifest in history.

The Coups of Hazael and Jehu offers a narrative reconstruction of the events surrounding the rise of Hazael to the throne of Aram-Damascus and Jehu to the throne of Israel in the mid-eighth century. These near-simultaneous dynastic changes were parts of a major shift in the political, military, and economic structure of the Levant, which took place as the mighty armies of Assyria pushed into the region. The book argues that Jehu’s bloody overthrow of Joram and Hazael’s irregular seizure of power after the death of his predecessor were not independent events, but responses to the Assyrian threat.

A substantial Festschrift for Sebastian P. Brock, this volume contains 34 essays from a variety of scholars across the field of Syriac studies. The breadth of the submissions illustrates the multiplicity of approaches taken in contemporary Syriac studies, and while no overall limitations were set for the contributions, a lively interest in Jacob of Serug remains evident. No scholar in this discipline will want to miss this important collection that represents the latest in serious exploration of the world of Eastern Christianity in Late Antiquity.

The observation that scholarly work on the Bible is of little use to theologians is the starting premise for this volume. As a possible solution to this impasse, the contributors explore the potential insights provided by a distinct tradition of biblical interpretation that has its roots in both the patristic School of Antioch and in the Syriac Fathers, such as Ephrem and Jacob of Sarug, and which has survived and developed in the Churches of the Antiochene Patrimony, such as the Maronite and Syriac.

In the context of a society that has become unbelievably rich, but where many feel uncomfortable at the levels of homelessness and poverty that continue to exist, Jesus: Social Revolutionary? is an attempt to open a debate about the meaning of faith and the obligations that belonging to the Christian community imposes on us. ""This book may seriously damage what is not infrequently considered to be Christian faith, lead you to a new sense of freedom, an increasing interest and wonder at the world around you, reveal to you a personal wealth that surpasses your wildest dreams, a wealth that no one can take from you, from which everyone can benefit, and which increases in value the more it is shared. ""-- Gerard W. Hughes SJ

This book takes a fresh look at problems we all face at Christmas time: finances; present buying; and family relations. It examines how we can approach the season in new ways.

This book is written for the over-fifties to help develop an understanding of what Chrsitian life is all about, how it is relevant to today, what it means to get to know Jesus and how that relationship affects all the other relationships that we will ever make. The author emphasizes the practical nature of the love, compassion and teaching of Jesus. He talks about building and repairing relationships on the basis of a personal relationship with Jesus and illustrates the nature of servant-hood and what it means to be salt and light to a broken world.

A special selection of extracts from the letters of Mary Aikenhead - one for every day of the year - containing much wisdom, inspiration and challenge, reflecting her deep spirituality. Mary Aikenhead left a rich legacy of almost eleven hundred letters to the congregation of the Religious Sisters of Charity, which she founded in 1815. The Religious Sisters of Charity is a congregation of women dedicated to working with the poorest and most vulnerable people through various ministries in social/pastoral work, education and health care. Today, their ministries continue in California. Zambia. England, Ireland, Nigeria, Venezuela and Scotland.