Spiritual Saints

Deeply rooted in Christian tradition, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are poignant meditations on spirituality, often used in retreats to facilitate spiritual growth. Since its inception in 1524, countless Christians have been invigorated and challenged by these exercises, as their heads, and minds, have been opened to God's will.

Saints are not unattainable beings of stained glass or carved stone. “Saints are ordinary and human, doing things any person can learn to do,” teaches Lama Rod Owens. “Our era calls for saints who are from this time and place, who speak the language of this moment, and who integrate both social and spiritual liberation. I believe we all can and must become New Saints.” With The New Saints, Lama Rod shares a guidebook for becoming an effective agent of justice, peace, and change.

Carrying only basic camping equipment and a collection of the world's great spiritual writings, Belden C. Lane embarks on solitary spiritual treks through the Ozarks and across the American Southwest. For companions, he has only such teachers as Rumi, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Thomas Merton, and as he walks, he engages their writings with the natural wonders he encounters, demonstrating how being alone in the wild opens a rare view onto one's interior landscape, and how the saints' writings reveal the divine in nature.

The saints, the heroes of the Roman Catholic faith, lived lives of holiness, dedicated to serving God. The saints lived at different times in different places throughout history, but they all shared a love of God that has been documented through the teachings of the Church. Today, the saints serve as examples for all Catholics, showing the believers how to lead a more spiritual life. Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals and practices of worship or in honour of the saints that are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church.

In the 1700s, Saint Germain dazzled royal courts with his amazing alchemical feats, such as removing the flaws from diamonds and became known as the Wonderman of Europe. His skills were praised by Louis XV, who provided him with a laboratory and residence at the royal castle of Chambord. He formed secret societies and was a leading figure in the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, and Knights Templar of the period.

Saint Augustine's contributions to Christian theology are second to no other post-apostolic author in the whole sweep of church history. Yet along side his doctrinal treatises, Augustine tells a story of his life devoted to Christ as his only satisfaction. The Confessions is at once the autobiographical account of Augustine's life of Christian faith and at the same time a compelling theology of Christian spirituality for everyone.

In this engaging narrative, Nathan Foster draws insights from saints of old to uncover fresh ways of living for the contemporary, postmodern Christian. Through his successes, struggles, and failures, Foster invites listeners on a journey of freedom, pain, frustration, and ultimately joy as he learns to rise above selfish desires, laugh at his own failures, and fall in love with God.

Adolfo Affatato is one of the last living spiritual sons of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Recently translated into English, “Padre Pio and I” is the culmination of what he witnessed as he sat by the saint’s side for sixteen years. This is not a typical biography by a journalist, friar, or academic; instead, the author presents “the Padre” intimately and personally -- as a father figure who tenderly guided and directed him. This book is filled with riveting new accounts of the mystical side of Padre Pio: from the moment Affatato was called by name by Padre Pio out of a crowd to Padre ...

In Keeping the Heart, John Flavel (1627-1691) centers his teaching on Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Flavel maintains that it is our great responsibility as Christians to watch our hearts and guard them against sin and lifelessness in spiritual duties. This watchfulness also results in a more joyful and victorious life that adorns the Gospel with beauty. The main part of the book provides advice on how to approach various seasons of life that each pose their own dangers to the heart. This book was first published in 1670 as “...

In My Sisters the Saints, author Colleen Carroll Campbell blends her personal narrative of spiritual seeking, trials, stumbles, and breakthroughs with the stories of six women saints who profoundly changed her life: Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Faustina of Poland, Edith Stein of Germany, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Mary of Nazareth. Drawing upon the rich writings and examples of these extraordinary women, the author reveals Christianity's liberating power for women and the relevance of the saints to the lives of contemporary Christians.

In Accidental Saints, New York Times best-selling au­thor Nadia Bolz-Weber invites readers into a surprising encounter with what she calls "a religious but not-so-spiritual life." Tattooed, angry and profane, this former standup comic turned pastor stubbornly, sometimes hilariously, resists the God she feels called to serve. But God keeps showing up in the least likely of people - a church-loving agnostic, a drag queen, a felonious Bishop and a gun-toting member of the NRA.

365 Days of Angel Prayers What if every day you could encounter the divine? What if you could regularly know the blessing of deep peace and abiding joy? What if you could talk to angels? Great news—you can! 365 Days of Angel Prayers is a multi-author anthology of daily readings written to inspire and guide you to experience a rich and continuous communion with the angelic realm. Whether you choose to read that day’s entry or take a more spirit-led approach, these prayers, blessings, invocations, poems, and essays will help you learn how to communicate with angels. And as you allow the ...

Heavily tattooed and foul-mouthed, Nadia Bolz-Weber, a former stand-up comic, sure as hell didn't consider herself to be religious-leader material - until the day she ended up leading a friend's funeral in a smoky downtown comedy club. Surrounded by fellow alcoholics, depressives, and cynics, she realized: These were her people. Maybe she was meant to be their pastor. Using life stories, Nadia uses humorous narrative and poignant honesty to portray a woman who is both deeply faithful and deeply flawed, giving hope to the rest of us along the way.

This audiobook combines a world-famous Catholic novelist, Louis de Wohl, with one of the most thrilling and dramatic saints’ lives in history, St. Joan of Arc. De Wohl uses his famed narrative skill to tell young people about the brave teenage French girl who had visions and led armies in battle, but also about how her entire life testifies to the amazing power of God’s grace. It’s all here: How Joan, a humble maiden in an insignificant town, was told by St. Michael the Archangel, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, to lead the French in battle against the English.

"Worldly Saints provides a revealing treasury of primary and secondary evidence for understanding the Puritans, who they were, what they believed, and how they acted. This is a book of value and interest for scholars and students, clergy and laity alike."

Do you long to find a spiritual practice that meets you where you are? A way of connecting with the Divine that feels deeply meaningful to you? In truth, there are four spiritual paths each of us will walk in our lifetime: Mystic, Lover, Seeker and Saint. In fact, we’ll each walk all of these paths—some for a short time, some for most of a lifetime—but we’ll walk them all, as part of our journey of soul growth. When you understand the spiritual path you’re on right now, everything becomes clear. No more trying to fit into other people’s expectations of what spiritual practice is...

This audiobook contains both the biography and the writings of St. Catherine, a 15th century Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic (1447 - 1510). She was famous for her work among the sick and the poor, particularly during the plague which ravaged Genoa, where she died.

As early as Primary, you may have absorbed this confusing message: "God loves us....but He's so disappointed in you". For a religion that preaches hope, the message of "do more" often seems to win out. With so many programs, assignments, callings, commandments, standards, and honor codes, how can you keep up? The adversary highlights the shame you feel when you constantly fall short. Do you feel only heaviness as you consider the Latter-Day Saint path to exaltation? How can God not be disappointed in someone like me?

In the throes of a long illness and confronting the possibility of death, 17th-century theologian Richard Baxter found comfort in the reality of heaven that awaits believers of Christ. During his recovery, Baxter wrote about the afterlife in what would become his best-selling book. The Saints' Everlasting Rest meditates on what Scripture reveals about heaven, helping believers live an abundant, God-honoring life in anticipation of eternal rest. Baxter encourages listeners not to become distracted or discouraged by the temporal as he refocuses their minds on the eternal.

We are capable of so much more than we think. You have no idea what you are capable of. None of us do. God is constantly trying to open our eyes to the amazing possibilities that he has enfolded in our being. The saints continue this work, encouraging us to explore all our God-given potential, not with speeches but with the example of their lives. When we have the courage to collaborate with God and pursue our truest self, he lights a fire within us that is so bright and warm, it keeps shining long after our days on this earth have come to an end.