When Jude and Violet find something out of the ordinary in their back garden they decide to investigate, only to find themselves caring for a baby dragon! One cold night they take to the skies and embark on a daring quest to rescue the creatures that live in a secret forest. Join the children on a journey of courage, discovery and trust as they make magical new friends and must work together to defeat a hidden villain older than living memory. This story includes themes which encourage broad mindedness, challenge stereotypes and celebrate diversity in a magical story of friendship.
"Hidden Mountain Secret Garden: a theological contemplation on prayer" helps the reader discover the riches of mental prayer in the Catholic Tradition. In fact, the images of the "Hidden Mountain" and the "Secret Garden" are ancient metaphors for contemplative prayer, a kind of prayer that begins and ends in faith. This book is especially for those whose prayer is a search for the loving eyes of One who has conquered death. This kind of prayer beholds the wonder of Christ's living but hidden presence in one's highest thoughts and most noble aspirations as well as in one's instinctual urges and deepest longings. The ecstasy of this kind of prayer extends beyond even the vast unexplored horizons of the human heart and opens to an immensity of such excessive mercy that all else is forgotten -- and only love remains. The whole world needs this love: it is the secret garden, the hidden mountain, the inexhaustible riches only prayer knows and an excess of grace only prayer can make known. This is why Blessed John Paul II told the Church not to be afraid to open wide the doors of our hearts to Christ and it is why He told the young people of the world to be proud to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord. For those brave souls who have faithfully open their hearts to the Lord through this discipline of this kind of prayer, every Christian owes you a debt of gratitude. For those who want to join them, this work encourages you along the way -- for the journey you endeavor is at once the most perilous, the most heart-rending and the most wonderful adventure this world has ever known. "Dr. Anthony Lilles has authored an introduction to prayer that is inspiring and encouraging. For those desiring to pray this is a resource that is full of practical advice - written simply and attractively. This book bears the mark of a man - husband, father and teacher - who is not only imbued with the wisdom of the Saints, but who has also, through his own prayer, learned how all of us can, through prayer, foster faith in and love for Jesus and his Gospel." THOMAS G. WEINANDY, O.F.M., CAP. Executive Director for the Secretariat for Doctrine United States Conference of Catholic Bishops This is a wonderful book. I've taught spiritual theology many years and I wish I had had this text use. In fact, I wish I had written this book. It is scriptural, patristic, historical, theological, mystical, experiential and user friendly. Dr. Lilles takes us through the spiritual journey of prayer, citing Fathers and doctors, saints and even sinners to guide us on our Christian way toward contemplation. Weaving many themes into a harmonious whole, he opens up the life of contemplation for all Christians, our baptismal birthright in a way that is accessible and attractive. This is a book one will read more than once. FR. GILES DIMOCK, O.P., S.T.D University Parish of St. Thomas Aquinas At the University of Virginia In this book we find the real meat of the new evangelization. The church in America will not be renewed by "facts about Jesus" but only through one's choice to let Christ reach the heart and change it from within. It is an ancient message received by only few: Do not be afraid of letting go of what now defines you. Let Christ tell you who you are. Dr. Lilles is one of the ablest guides to lead us through to such a choice. Will I stay with knowledge about Jesus or will I enter the garden of prayer and finally come to know Him!! Do not be afraid to be loved, read this book. DEACON JAMES KEATING, PH.D, Institute for Priestly Formation, Omaha, NE
Here today -- but where tomorrow? Frank and Joe have gone hunting -- but instead of sniffing out wildlife, they're out to find the Wilkersons. Darren Wilkerson, the Hardys' classmate, and his family were living in Bayport under the safety of the Witness Protection Program -- until someone found them out. Unable to get in touch with the government, the Wilkersons were forced to flee without its assistance. Now Darren and his family have made it to Canada, but they're not yet out of the woods. The Hardys quickly arrive on the scene to help. But just when they're hot on the Wilkersons' trail, they get caught in a trap. Can Frank and Joe escape in time to save the Wilkersons from their predators?
"If I had learned anything during the war, it was that our walk in the sun is brief, and so I resolved to wander from monastery to monastery, a sojourner in the world of last things." So poet and journalist Christopher Merrill tells us near the beginning of this gripping account of the transforming pilgrimages he made to Mount Athos, in Greece, in the aftermath of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. "It was time for me to come to terms with the way my life had turned out: the love I had squandered, the misgivings I had about my vocation and my faith, the dread I felt at every turn." In despair and longing to end his spiritual desolation, Merrill became one of a handful of visitors permitted entry to Mount Athos--a mysterious land that for more than a thousand years has been the secret heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church. There, amid the beautiful terrain, the ancient rhythms, and the spiritual rigor of this holy place, he found a haven. As Merrill's story unfolds, we, too, hike the rough trails of Athos, exploring a place and a way of life scarcely altered since medieval times. We share encounters with monks and spiritual seekers; visit Athos's twenty monasteries, where exquisite art treasures are sequestered; make our way to lonely hermitages that clutch the cliffs above the sea. Like Merrill, we come to consider existence in a new and different light. Part journal of personal discovery, part meditation upon the history and traditions of the contemplative life, Things of the Hidden God takes us where the temporal and the eternal intersect, where community and solitude coexist, and where centuries-old practices offer insight for how to live today.
The bestselling Journey to the West comic book by artist Chang Boon Kiat is now back in a brand new fully coloured edition. Journey to the West is one of the greatest classics in Chinese literature. It tells the epic tale of the monk Xuanzang who journeys to the West in search of the Buddhist sutras with his disciples, Sun Wukong, Sandy and Pigsy. Along the way, Xuanzang's life was threatened by the diabolical White Bone Spirit, the menacing Red Child and his fearsome parents and, a host of evil spirits who sought to devour Xuanzang's flesh to attain immortality. Bear witness to the formidable Sun Wukong's (Monkey God) prowess as he takes them on, using his Fiery Eyes, Golden Cudgel, Somersault Cloud, and quick wits! Be prepared for a galloping read that will leave you breathless!
The traditional Emperor’s Journey is meant to be uneventful. But as the princesses Seika and Ji-Lin—twin sisters—travel to pay respects to their kingdom’s dragon guardian, unexpected monsters appear and tremors shake the earth. The Hidden Islands face unprecedented threats, and the old rituals are failing. With only their strength, ingenuity, and flying lion to rely on, can the sisters find a new way to keep their people safe?
The legend of Shangri-La emerged from the Tibetan Buddhist belief in beyul, or hidden lands. Tibetan prophecies proclaim that the greatest of these mythical sanctuaries lies at the eastern edge of the Himalayas, veiled by a colossal waterfall at the heart of the forbidding Tsangpo gorge. After years of research and investigation, Buddhist scholar and world-class climber Ian Baker and his team made worldwide news by reaching the bottom of the Tsangpo gorge and finding a magnificent 108-foot-high waterfall - the legendary grail of both Western explorers and Tibetan seekers. The Heart of the World recounts one of the most captivating stories of exploration and discovery in recent memory - an extraordinary journey into one of the wildest and most inaccessible places on earth, a meditation on our place in nature, and a pilgrimage to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism.
Follow the adventures of Mike, Peggy, Nora, Jack and their friend Prince Paul as they discover mysterious goings on in one of Blyton's most exciting and adventurous stories.
NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SOCIAL ANIMAL Are you on your first or second mountain? Is life about you - or others? About success - or something deeper? The world tells us that we should pursue our self-interest: career wins, high status, nice things. These are the goals of our first mountain. But at some point in our lives we might find that we're not interested in what other people tell us to want. We want the things that are truly worth wanting. This is the second mountain. What does it mean to look beyond yourself and find a moral cause? To forget about independence and discover dependence - to be utterly enmeshed in a web of warm relationships? What does it mean to value intimacy, devotion, responsibility and commitment above individual freedom? In The Second Mountain David Brooks explores the meaning and possibilities that scaling a second mountain offer us and the four commitments that most commonly move us there: family, vocation, philosophy and community. Inspiring, personal and full of joy, this book will help you discover why you were really put on this earth.
