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Great Christian Thinkers - 24 St. Paulinus of Nola
Great Christian Thinkers - 24 St. Paulinus of Nola
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Paulinus of Nola The Father of the Church to whom we turn our attention now is St. Paulinus of Nola. Paulinus, a contemporary of St. Augustine to whom he was bound by a firm friendship, exercised his ministry at Nola in Campania, where he was a monk and later a priest and a b…
Great Christian Thinkers - 38 Germanus of Constantinople
Great Christian Thinkers - 38 Germanus of Constantinople
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Germanus of Constantinople Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople does not belong among the most representative figures of the Greek-speaking world of Eastern Christianity. Yet his name appears with a certain solemnity in the list of the great champions of sacred images drafted by …
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John of Salisbury We shall become acquainted here with John of Salisbury, who belonged to one of the most important schools of philosophy and theology of the Middle Ages, that of the Cathedral of Chartres in France. Like the theologians of whom I have spoken in the past few chapt…
Great Christian Thinkers - 60 St. Bonaventure
Great Christian Thinkers - 60 St. Bonaventure
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Bonaventure Interpreter of Francis I talk now about St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio. I confide to you that in broaching this subject I feel a certain nostalgia, for I am thinking back to my research as a young scholar on this author, who was particularly dear to me. My knowledg…
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Clare of Assisi One of the best-loved saints is without a doubt St. Clare of Assisi, who lived in the thirteenth century and was a contemporary of St. Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church is to courageous women, full of faith like her, who can give a crucia…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 7 Retreat and Reflection
The Monastery Of The Heart - 7 Retreat and Reflection
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Retreat and Reflection “The life of a monastic ought to be a continuous Lent.” There is a time in every life when the very act of looking back and taking stock becomes essential to going forward… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Humility “After ascending all these steps of humility, we will quickly arrive at the ‘perfect love’ of God which ‘casts out fear.’” In Benedictine spirituality, there is a twelve-runged ladder that leads to God… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
Great Christian Thinkers - 1 St Clement, Bishop of Rome
Great Christian Thinkers - 1 St Clement, Bishop of Rome
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St Clement, Bishop of Rome After the first witnesses of the Christian faith, mentioned in the New Testament writings, we find the Apostolic Fathers, that is, to the first and second generations in the Church subsequent to the Apostles. And thus, we can see where the Church’s jour…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Good Zeal “Just as there is a wicked zeal of bitterness which separates from God, so there is a good zeal which leads to God.” The Rule of Benedict was written in the sixth century, in an ascetical climate more given to personal self-denial than to the discipline of community bui…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Epilogue As we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.” Benedictine spirituality is not a spiritual practice that waxes and wanes, comes and goes, as we grow and chan…
Great Christian Thinkers - 18 St. Eusebius of Vercelli
Great Christian Thinkers - 18 St. Eusebius of Vercelli
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Eusebius of Vercelli I invite you to reflect on St. Eusebius of Vercelli, the first bishop of northern Italy of whom we have reliable information. Born in Sardinia at the beginning of the fourth century, he moved to Rome with his family at a tender age. Later, he was institut…
Great Christian Thinkers - 40 St Theodore The Studite
Great Christian Thinkers - 40 St Theodore The Studite
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St Theodore The Studite The saint we meet now, St. Theodore the Studite, brings us to the middle of the medieval Byzantine period, in a somewhat turbulent period from the religious and political perspectives… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 50 Bernard and Peter Abelard: Two Contrasting Theological Models
Great Christian Thinkers - 50 Bernard and Peter Abelard: Two Contrasting Theological Models
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Bernard and Peter Abelard:Two Contrasting Theological Models In my last chapter, I presented the main features of twelfth-century monastic theology and scholastic theology which, in a certain sense, we might call respectively “theology of the heart” and “theology of reason.” Amon…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 1 Introduction
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 1 Introduction
by Christine Valters Painter
INTRODUCTION They can be like a sun, words. They can do for the heart what light can for a field. —John of the Cross, Love Poems from God In October 2009 I was on pilgrimage in Ireland. We were visiting Glendalough, the ruins of an ancient Celtic monastic community founded by St.…
How God Became King - 10f Kingdom and Cross in Mutual Interpretation
How God Became King - 10f Kingdom and Cross in Mutual Interpretation
by SPCK - N T Wright
Kingdom and Cross in Mutual Interpretation What then can we say, in summary, about the evangelists’ portrayal of kingdom and cross, and what we ourselves can learn about each from that explosive, and usually ignored, combination?…
The Edge of Glory - 4 For Group Worship