The four Gospels are foundational to Christianity. Yet Christian readers are often puzzled by the differences between the Gospels, preferring to harmonize the four into a single narrative. Now, this 24-part lecture course invites you to understand each Gospel's distinctive message. Along the way, you will examine theories about how the three Synoptic Gospels are related. You will also learn why the evangelists are symbolized by four living creatures: the man or angel, the lion, the ox, and the eagle.

Most scholars agree that the Gospel according to Mark is the earliest of the four canonical gospels. It is also the shortest, with swift dramatic turns throughout its fast-paced narrative. Because of its brevity, Mark's Gospel leaves many questions unanswered, and it has often been overlooked in the history of Christianity. As you will discover, though, Mark's Gospel is compelling in its combination of simplicity and sophistication. This audio course guides you through Mark's Gospel sequentially, offering you fresh insights and a deeper understanding of its overall shape.

From the time of the early Christians, the book of Revelation has fascinated and puzzled its readers in equal measure. Now you can join one of the world’s leading experts in exploring this important - and often misunderstood - biblical book.

You are invited into the classroom in which Thomas Merton delivered some of his most impassioned lectures on a timeless topic. In 1962 at Gethsemani Abbey, Thomas Merton taught an extraordinary course on the heart of Benedictine spirituality.

Every week, Catholics profess their faith in a “world without end” and “the resurrection of the body.” How can eschatology - the study of the Last Things - strengthen your hope in these beliefs? Filled with fresh and fascinating perspectives, Eschatology: The Theology of Ultimate Hope gives you the tools to understand the Last Things. Your guide, veteran Boston College professor Father Harvey Egan, will change the way you think about existence, both in this life and beyond it.

A retreat with the Gospel of Matthew will enable you to spend prayerful time with Jesus Christ. Containing prayerful reflections, outstanding biblical scholarship, and an engaging presentation style, this audio retreat is brilliantly presented by Fr. Felix Just, SJ (PhD, Yale), an award-winning biblical retreat leader. His acclaimed conferences combine insightful examinations of Matthew's Gospel with three methods of biblical prayer: reflective meditation, imaginative contemplation, and centering prayer.

Join Fr. John R. Donahue, S.J., one of Catholicism's leading Mark experts, in exploring the Gospel of Action. Christianity was at a crossroads. The great apostles Peter and Paul had died. Members of the original Christian communities had passed. Jesus' word might also soon be buried and forgotten. But it was Mark's good news - not Matthew's - that saved the faith.

In this 18-lecture course, Fr. Just explores the structure and contents of the Lectionary, examines its history and development, and suggests ways you can use it more fully. The content will be valuable not only for people already involved in liturgical ministries but also for anyone who wishes to become more familiar with the Lectionary and the liturgical year. Fr. Just will address all your questions about the Lectionary, including What is the Lectionary for Mass? How was it developed? How is it related to the Bible?

From internationally acclaimed New Testament scholar Fr. Raymond F. Collins, essential listening for Christians, Catholics, and all who seek to understand scripture. Through this audio course, the capstone of Fr. Collin’s decades of teaching and scholarship, you’ll understand Paul’s Epistles like never before. Through 24 erudite and engaging lectures, you will gain new insights into the 13 letters attributed to Paul, the New Testament’s oldest texts.

Through 12 fascinating and spiritually edifying conferences, you will spend prayerful time with Jesus Christ, using the Gospel according to Luke. Your guide is Scripture expert Fr. Felix Just, SJ (PhD, Yale University).

In this course, you will enrich your daily life with the timeless spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Your guide, Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV, STD, is a renowned Ignatian spiritual leader and brilliant teacher whose expertise will enlighten you.

Available as an audiobook for the first time ever, Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life invites you to adopt Nouwen as your personal spiritual guide. Each session was carefully prepared by Dr. Michael Christensen, an award-winning professor of Christian ministry and practice, and Dr. Rebecca Laird, who was Nouwen’s student at Yale Divinity School. Like other volumes in The Nouwen Trilogy, this audiobook collects Nouwen’s unpublished homilies, interviews, classes, and speeches, as well as excerpts from his published writings.

You will love this fascinating and exceptionally well-taught course. What really happened at the Council of Trent? After Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII, the Council of Trent is one of the most frequently invoked names regarding the Reformation. Even so, few know much about it. As renowned historian Fr. John O'Malley demonstrates, the reality of Trent differs radically from how you probably conceive of it.

No other institution, except possibly the papacy, has more greatly influenced the church and the larger history of the Western world than the ecumenical council. Most of us, however, know little about it. This course is designed to take you through the fascinating history of the ecumenical (church-wide) council, from its first appearance in Nicaea (325) through Vatican Council II (1962-1965). This 12-part audio series explores the deep issues of faith and the sometimes curious issues of clerical behavior with which the councils dealt.

Since Pope Benedict XV1 died he has had a remarkably good press. Indeed many have argued that there is a natural evolution between Pope Benedict`s mission and that of his successor Pope Francis. Here for the first time are assembled a collection of Pope Benedict`s most important public speeches and addresses. Dubbed and dismissed by many as an unrepentant traditionalist, we now see a man of profound intelligence and wisdom on matters relating not just to religion but to what is not termed ` The Common Good`.