Sung from the first to the fifteenth of August, and at times of illness and distress, the "Paraklesis is a supplicatory song, a canon of praise, a collection of eight odes of love, a series of poems celebrating with honor the mother of Jesus our Lord." Father David Smith shares his own personal meditations on Mary, based on his reflections on the Paraklesis service.
Protestants call it idolatry and modernists see it as superstition, but in these lucid pages, Orestes Brownson shows that veneration of Mary and the saints is not merely permissible; it's essential for every Christian who yearns to worship God in spirit and in truth.
"I don't write this book as a condemnation or as a sermon. The last thing I want to do is provide a 'how to be the best Christian in ten easy steps' guide. I pen these words as a fellow struggler who is learning that what we think about God matters, how we allow Him to reign in our hearts matters, and how we obey Him in the moment matters. It all matters. Everything." Author and speaker Mary DeMuth has been abused, foreclosed, abandoned, and betrayed. She has been pressed and drained till it was too much . . . But it was just enough to bring her to a place of surrender, piece by precious piece. In that surrender, she found the freedom of giving everything to God. And through Scripture, community, and the work of the Holy Spirit, she gives it all over again, every day. In this gentle and challenging book, DeMuth describes the process and the nuances that shape us to be more like Christ. Her words are clear, vulnerable, and thought provoking, and every chapter is infused with Scripture. Most of all, DeMuth provides personal and practical evidence that there is no greater pursuit than Christ. We must surrender everything, but it does not compare to the Everything He is, the Everything He gives.
Glory be to God on high, and thanksgiving, and the voice of praise, who at one time by the mysteries of prophecy, at another by oracles from Heaven, again by the reading of the Gospel, and now by the mouth of preachers, in many ways and by divers channels, most sincerely urges and invites us to honor the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and of the Angels; that by her holy merits, most worthy of all acceptance, we, being delivered from the depths of hell, may be inscribed by her in the ranks of the angels. Aeterna Press
In his book Mary and the Fathers of the Church, Fr. Luigi Gambero presented a comprehensive survey of Marian doctrine and devotion during the first eight Christian centuries. Mary in the Middle Ages continues this journey up to the end of the fifteenth century, surveying the growth of Marian doctrine and devotion during one of the most important eras of Christian history: the Middle Ages. Fr. Gambero presents the thoughts, words, and prayers of great theologians, bishops, monks, and mystics who witnessed to and promoted the dedication of the Christian people to the Mother of God. Each chapter concludes with readings from the works of these important authors. Many of these texts have never before been translated into English. More than thirty great figures each receive an entire chapter, including such giants as the St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Brigid of Sweden, and Raymond Lull. "A fascinating picture of one of the foundational elements of modern Catholic theology, namely, devotion. All in all, a worthwhile and informative study of devotion to the Blessed Virgin." -Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. "This book is indispensable for current students of Mariology." -Kenneth Baker, S.J.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was one of the most remarkable women of her day. From early childhood she experienced religious visions, and at the age of eight she entered a cloistered religious life in the Benedictine monastery of Disibondenberg. Eventually she not only became abbess of the community, but presided over the establishment of an important new convent near Bingen. All but forgotten for hundreds of years, Hildegard was rediscovered in the 1980s and since then her visionary writings have been widely read and studied. Even more surprisingly, music that she composed has been performed and recorded to great acclaim. She has come to be seen by some as a proto-feminist icon -- a woman of great accomplishments who made her own way in a man's world and exerted extraordinary influence over some of the most powerful figures of her time. Much of Hildegard's correspondence has been preserved. It reveals that for more than 30 years this cloistered nun was an unflinching adviser and correspondent to all levels of church and society, from popes and kings to ordinary lay persons, from Jerusalem to England. With the 2004 OUP publication of Volume III of Joseph Baird and Radd Ehrman's translation, the complete correspondence became available for the first time in English. For this new abridgement, Baird has selected 75 of the most interesting and revealing of the letters from Volumes I, II, and III. Freed from the organizational restraints of the Latin edition of the letters, he has arranged them in roughly chronological order and provided greatly expanded, accessibly written introductory notes that contextualize the letters and explain their significance. As a result, this fascinating collection serves as a kind of life in letters that makes an ideal introduction ot this exceptional woman, her world, and her work. This book is the first to give a thorough and definitive illlumination of the personal life of Hildegard of Bingen as viewed through the defining lens of her personal correspondence: her early, hesitant bid for recognition of her spiritual gifts; her courageous, and ultimately futile, fight to retain the companionship of her close personal friend and the poignant outcome of that struggle; her vehement defiance of the male hierarchy in her bid to establish her own communities under her personal governance; her impudent challenge to contemporary conservatives views by the dress and customs she established in her community; her paean of praise for the power of music; and her adamant refusal, even at the advanced age of eighty, to give in to the demands of the male authorities even in the face of excommunication.
THE SAINT ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI COLLECTION [30 BOOKS] CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING — 25 Books in One E-Book: The Complete Ascetical Works and More — Over 3.5 Million Words. 18,824 Active Linked Endnotes — Includes an Active Index and 25 Table of Contents for Each Book — Includes Illustrations by Gustave Dore Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, C.Ss.R. (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists). In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. A prolific writer, he published nine editions of his Moral Theology in his lifetime, in addition to other devotional and ascetic works and letters. Among his best known works are The Glories of Mary and The Way of the Cross, the latter still used in parishes during Lenten devotions. He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI. Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1871. One of the most widely read Catholic authors, Alphonsus Liguori is the patron saint of confessors. ———BOOKS——— THE COMPLETE ASCETICAL WORKS Vol. I: Preparation for Death Vol. II: The Way of Salvation and of Perfection Vol. III: The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection Vol. IV: The Incarnation Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ Vol. V: The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ Vol. VI: The Holy Eucharist Vol. VII & VIII: The Glories of Mary Vol. IX: The Victories of the Martyrs Vol. X & XI: The True Spouse of Jesus Christ Vol. XII: Dignity and Duties of the Priest Vol. XIII: The Holy Mass Vol. XIV: The Divine Office Vol. XV: Preaching Vol. XVI: Sermons for All the Sundays in the Year Vol. XVII: Miscellany Vol. XVIII: Letters of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori THE WORKS OF SAINT ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI Saint Alphonsus de Liguori Biography How to Pray at All Times The Way of the Cross The History of Heresies and their Refutation Uniformity with God’s Will The School of Christian Perfection The Religious State Sermons Upon Various Subjects Devout Reflections on Various Spiritual Subjects The Life of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori FIVE POPULAR BOOK EXCERPTS The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell Nine Discourses for Times of Calamities The Seven Sorrows of Mary SEVEN ARTICLES By and About Saint Alphonsus de Liguori PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING
100 BC In the pagan temple on the site of the Chartres Cathedral, the Druids devoted space to the Virgin who gave birth. 620 The Koran was written with thirty-four references to Mary. 1522 At Christmas Mass, Martin Luther said, This is the consolation and overflowing goodness of God that man, insofar as he believes, can glory in the precious act that Mary is his true Mother, Christ his brother, and God his father. If you believe this, then you really sit in the Virgins lap as her dear child. 1926 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, The feeling I had in Paris about the Virgin Mary has since been growing on me, that all this kneeling and prayer could not be mere superstition. The devout souls kneeling before the Virgin could not be worshiping mere marble. I have an impression that I felt then that by this worship they were not detracting from, but increasing, the glory of God. 2009 Michelle Obama said that President Obama always carries in his wallet a picture of Mary Help of Christians.
