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Great Christian Thinkers - 66 Marguerite D'Oingt
Great Christian Thinkers - 66 Marguerite D'Oingt
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Marguerite D'Oingt With Marguerite d’Oingt, we are introduced to Carthusian spirituality, which draws its inspiration from the evangelical synthesis lived and proposed by St. Bruno. We do not know the date of her birth, although some place it around 1240. Marguerite came from a p…
Great Christian Thinkers - 68 St. Bridget of Sweden
Great Christian Thinkers - 68 St. Bridget of Sweden
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Bridget of Sweden On the eve of the Great Jubilee in anticipation of the Year 2000, the Venerable John Paul II proclaimed St. Bridget of Sweden co-patroness of the whole of Europe. I now present her, her message, and the reasons why - still today - this holy woman has much to…
Great Christian Thinkers - 70 Julian of Norwich
Great Christian Thinkers - 70 Julian of Norwich
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Julian of Norwich I still remember with great joy the apostolic journey I made in the United Kingdom in 2009. England is a land that has given birth to a great many distinguished figures who enhanced Church history with their testimony and their teaching. One of them, venerated b…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 1c Four Individual Gospels
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 1c Four Individual Gospels
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Four Individual Gospels To sum up so far: The Gospels exhibit a significant degree of commonality. Yet each Gospel has particularities that set it apart from the others. John’s Gospel is the most distinct, but each of the four distinguishes itself from the others in certain ways……
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 1d Authorship, Audiences, and Aims Authorship
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 1d Authorship, Audiences, and Aims Authorship
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Authorship, Audiences, and Aims Authorship Who wrote the Gospels? The four Gospels are traditionally assigned to Matthew, the tax collector and disciple (Matt. 9:9); Mark, the travel companion of Paul (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11) and associate of Peter (1 Pet. 5:13); Luke, physician …
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 4b Jerusalem, Passion, and Resurrection (21:1–28:20)
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 4b Jerusalem, Passion, and Resurrection (21:1–28:20)
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Jerusalem, Passion, and Resurrection (21:1–28:20) Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem signals the beginning of the end. He enters the holy city in a kingly fashion (21:1–11), recalling the identification of Jesus as “king of the Jews” in the birth narrative (2:2) and pointing forward to …
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 5d The Characterization of the Disciples
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 5d The Characterization of the Disciples
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Characterization of the Disciples By no means is Luke oblivious to the failings of the disciples (e.g., 8:22–25; 9:12–13), but his portrait of the disciples is more positive than Mark’s and even Matthew’s.28 This is evident from a comparison of parallel episodes. Luke does no…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 2 A Seeker's Path
The Monastery Of The Heart - 2 A Seeker's Path
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
A Seeker’s Path OUR SEARCH “Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way.” The search for God is a very intimate enterprise. It is at the core of every longing in the human heart. It is the search for ultimate love, for total belonging, for the meaningful life… Tak…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
A Single Vision “Perform the Opus Dei where you are… Those on a journey are not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can.” The Benedictine Rule is based on the notion that community life is the preeminent form of the spiritual journey, because it provides…
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 - 6 Prayerful Reading
The Monastery Of The Heart - 6 Prayerful Reading
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Prayerful Reading “Listen readily to holy reading.” Benedictine spirituality is not an exercise in private devotion or personal pieties. Benedictine prayer is not simply ceaseless recitation of scripture passages and psalmic verse… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Ch…
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 - 23 Sacred Art
The Monastery Of The Heart - 23 Sacred Art
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Sacred Art “They are to practice their craft with all humility.” The bond between Benedictine spirituality and art goes deep. Medieval monasteries were centres of the arts and patrons of the arts because art, as a reflection of beauty- which is itself an attribute of God- came to…
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