Worshipping a Hidden God


Book Description

“The ways of God are not our ways, and the spiritual life is almost the contrary of what we fancy it.” So declares author Luis Martinez, the Mexican bishop and mystic whose wise spirituality, rooted in St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of Lisieux, shows you here how to enter into an intense, sustained communion with God. Bishop Martinez doesn’t offer new rules of prayer or demand that you abandon the forms of meditation that suit you. He simply reminds you that our God is a hidden God. To find Him, says Martinez, we have to seek Him, but through His ways, not ours. If we do that, the gaze of faith will always find Him right where He hides: in the spiritual desolation that led us wrongly to believe He was far away. Martinez shows you how to live in the obscurity of faith, detached both from consolations and desolations, and why this is best for your soul. The Christian who learns to do this leaves behind the perturbations of the world that shake the faith of those who don’t In the obscurity of faith, the Divine Master will listen to you, speak to you, and instruct your soul, but without the noise of words. Says Martinez: “Once you know how to profit from faith and to live by faith, you will always find God. You will have solved your problem; you will have discovered the great secret of the interior life.” Let these pages teach you that secret!




The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.







Introduction to the Spiritual Life


Book Description

A compelling exploration of the biblical foundations, contemplative practices, and spiritual path of Jesus himself—from the bestselling author of The Case for Jesus “What happens when a biblical theologian explores classic spirituality? This book. Pitre’s students have asked, Why have we never heard this before? The reader wonders the same.”—Dr. David Fagerberg, author of Liturgical Mysticism The path of following Jesus is an ancient and storied spiritual tradition. Yet many believers are not familiar with the three major forms of prayer and the three stages of spiritual growth that exist to bring them closer to God. In his most personal book yet, Brant Pitre, PhD, draws on the riches of the Bible, the words of Jesus, and the writings of mystics across the centuries to shed light on the mystery—and wonder—of the spiritual life. Starting with the age-old belief that the path of prayer is not only informative but transformative, Dr. Pitre explores • the scriptural roots of the major forms of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation • the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages of spiritual growth • the spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving • the Jewish roots of the Lord’s Prayer • Lectio Divina: how to pray with the Bible • seven vices and their seven opposing virtues • the battle of prayer: how to deal with difficulty and distractions • the “dark night of the soul” in the Scriptures Full of sacred truths, contemplative insights, and practical steps, Introduction to the Spiritual Life is a biblical road map of the spiritual landscape that enables us to follow Jesus as our primary guide.




Grace in Tension


Book Description

We all face stress and tension in our daily lives. We might even wonder why our God of abundant goodness doesn’t remove the everyday struggles we face. Jesus’ interactions with Martha and Mary in the Gospel provide us the key to understanding how God shows us his love by allowing tensions in our lives. As we follow the sisters’ transformative journeys through their own struggles, reflecting on what transpires between Scripture verses, we see their initial tension become the catalyst that drives both Mary and Martha to the feet of Jesus — the place where all discover peace. Grace in Tension explores the areas where stress arises in our own lives. Each chapter ends with a thought-provoking prayer to inspire us to go to God with our problems, followed by questions for reflection to help us see all the ways he’s working for our good. God doesn’t create any of it, but he does show up amid life’s difficulties, ready to lead us through. No matter how big or small our struggle, when we seek him out, he reveals what we need to do to resolve our tension, transforming it into grace. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Claire McGarry is the founder of MOSAIC of Faith, a ministry for mothers of infants to school-aged children to explore their faith through motherhood. She contributes regularly to CatholicMom.com and blogs at ShiftingMyPerspective.com. She is the author of Lenten devotional With Our Savior, and her work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Keys for Kids, These Days, and Focus on the Family magazine. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.




When Jesus Sleeps


Book Description

When Jesus Sleeps shows you how to trust God even when He seems unresponsive and remote -- even when, as in the incident in the Gospels, He seems to sleep while you are buffeted by storms. You'll make better sense of your life once you realize that God is closest to you when He seems farthest away; and once you learn why He often speaks to you only in silence.




The Book of Secrets


Book Description

"The Book of Secrets is the finest and most profound of Deepak Chopra’s books to date. Want the answers to the secrets of life? Let me recommend that you start right here." —Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything We all want to know how to find a soul mate, what career would be most fulfilling, how to live a life with meaning, and how to teach our children well. We are looking for a personal breakthrough, a turning point, a revelation that brings with it new meaning. The Book of Secrets—a crystalline distillation of insights and wisdom accumulated over the lifetime of one of the great spiritual thinkers of our time—provides an exquisite new tool for achieving just that. Every life is a book of secrets, ready to be opened. The secret of perfect love is found there, along with the secrets of healing, compassion, faith, and the most elusive one of all: who we really are. We are still mysteries to ourselves, despite the proximity of these answers, and what we most long to know remains lodged deep inside. Because answers to the questions at the center of life are counterintuitive, they are often hidden from view, sequestered from our everyday gaze. In his ongoing quest to elevate our experience, bestselling author Deepak Chopra has isolated fifteen secrets that drive the narrative of this inspiring book—and of our lives. From "The World Is in You" and "What You Seek, You Already Are" to "Evil Is Not Your Enemy" and "You Are Truly Free When You Are Not a Person," The Book of Secrets is rich with insights. It is a priceless treasure that can transport us beyond change to transformation, and from there to a sacred place where we can savor the nectar of enlightenment.




Telling Secrets


Book Description

Unabashedly Christian....a meditation on the connection between knowing and sharing secrets and discovering the reality of a loving and merciful God. --Chicago Tribune Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.




Spiritual Secrets of a Trappist Monk


Book Description

Long years of prayer and contemplation disclosed to a holy Trappist monk many long-forgotten secrets about God and man -- surprising secrets that reveal to you who God is and who you are in His sight. The author, Father M. Raymond, gives you the keys to unlock the mysteries of pain and of success and failure. Father Raymond's electrifying message will revolutionize your view of yourself and of the meaning of the events of your daily life; it will fill your soul with a new sense of your own dignity in Christ, and it will fire you with delightful excitement for the things of God.