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English professor and mother Carolyn Weber tells how her desire to control the events of her life came into contact with God's desire to give her each day as a gift from himself. Join her on a winding path through literature, history and daily life—leading finally to the still, quiet place of the present moment.
A beloved contemporary classic, Holy Days is a personal account of New York's Hasidic community, its beliefs, its mysteries, and its encounter with secularism in the present age. Combining a historical understanding of the Hasidic movement with a journalist's discerning eye, Harris captures in rich detail the day-to-day life of this traditional and often misunderstood community. Harris chronicles the personal transformation she experienced as she grew closer to the largely hidden men and women of the Hasidic world.
The myriad events and interactions that make up our everyday life provide a rich opportunity for us to examine our impulses and actions and grow spiritually, according to the Jewish practice of Mussar. Mussar is an eminently wise, practical, and effective way to cultivate awareness, gratitude, personal growth, and ethical action on a daily basis. The path has its origins in Orthodox Judaism but it has become popular with Jews of all affiliations who are interested in a practice that can infuse daily life with more purpose and meaning. This daybook will be an essential companion to anyone who wants to experience this life-changing contemplative practice. Using a "soul trait" such as honesty, courage, enthusiasm, honor, and equanimity as a starting point, each practice page includes: • a teaching that illuminates the trait of the day • an affirmation phrase focused on that trait • a practical exercise to expand our experience of the trait • a space for journaling about experiences with the trait To learn more, visit www.mussarinstitute.org.
The mass protests that greeted attempts to open the 1893 Chicago World's Fair on a Sunday seem almost comical today in an era of seven-day convenience and twenty-four-hour shopping. But the issue of the meaning of Sunday is one that has historically given rise to a wide range of strong emotions and pitted a surprising variety of social, religious, and class interests against one another. Whether observed as a day for rest, or time-and-a-half, Sunday has always been a day apart in the American week.Supplementing wide-ranging historical research with the reflections and experiences of ordinary individuals, Alexis McCrossen traces conflicts over the meaning of Sunday that have shaped the day in the United States since 1800. She investigates cultural phenomena such as blue laws and the Sunday newspaper, alongside representations of Sunday in the popular arts. Holy Day, Holiday attends to the history of religion, as well as the histories of labor, leisure, and domesticity.
The Levitical Day of Atonement was a day of penitence, confession, and judgment for Israelites of loyal character and a day of covenant renewal for the nation of Israel. On this day, sin was removed from the tabernacle through the application of sacrificial blood to its altars and compartments, as well as by the dismissal of the goat for Azazel, which carried all the community’s sin to a “barren land.” As it became ingrained in the veil of Jewish consciousness, the Day of Atonement underwent a “process of abstraction” over many centuries leading up to Second Temple times, when the Most Holy Place lay devoid of the ark of the covenant and its mercy seat. Continuing to reverberate in the Jewish imaginaire, the Day of Atonement was received by the authors of the New Testament, including John of Patmos, to whom its sacrificial typology provided irresistible motifs which they used to proclaim “the Christ event.” By utilizing a coherent intertextual approach, this book explores how John wove the Day of Atonement into the colorful literary tapestry of Revelation.
"If we, by our prayers and sacrifices, freed a soul from purgatory, we would then have another intercessor for us in heaven." - Venerable Solanus Casey Every day we have another opportunity to pray for the holy souls in purgatory - author, speaker, and purgatory expert Susan Tassone gives you a unique tool to do just that. Day by Day for the Holy Souls includes prayers, teachings about purgatory, real-life stories, Susan's own wisdom, meditations, quotes from the saints, and more. You can use this book however you like - as a daily devotional, as a year round novena, to follow the liturgical seasons - or, just pick it up and read as the Spirit leads you. God has given us the duty, power and privilege of praying for the release of the holy souls. Now Susan Tassone has given you a powerful way to accomplish that mission.
It’s easy to feel disheartened when you’re facing dreams that haven’t come true, heartbreak that never seems to end, or financial strains that weigh you down. Maybe you’re wondering if God can still use you with all your imperfections. In the 100 devotions in Everyday Holy, New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Big Mama Blog Melanie Shankle says absolutely yes. If you’re looking for the line that connects the dots, Everyday Holy is for you! Inside, Melanie reminds readers: God uses unlikely, ordinary people to accomplish His divine purposes. God specializes in using everyday acts of faithfulness to change the world around us. God has incomparable spiritual riches for us when we trust in Him. This keepsake devotional includes: 100 devotions, each with a Scripture and inspirational story. Everyday Holy makes a beautiful gift for any friend or loved one for birthdays, Mother’s Day, or the holidays. Or, curl up with it yourself when you want a reminder that the hope you’ve been called to is much greater, deeper, and more powerful than anything we can fathom when we trust in Him.
When Carolyn Weber set out to study Romantic literature at Oxford University, she didn't give much thought to God or spiritual matters—but over the course of her studies she encountered the Jesus of the Bible and her world turned upside down. Surprised by Oxford chronicles her conversion experience with wit, humor, and insight into how becoming a Christian changed her. Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of truth, love, and a life that matters. From issues of fatherhood, feminism, doubt, doctrine, and love, Weber explores the intricacies of coming to faith with an aching honesty and insight echoing that of the poets and writers she studied. Surprised by Oxford is: The witty memoir of a skeptical agnostic who comes to a dynamic personal faith in God Rich with illustration and literary references Gritty, humorous, and spiritually perceptive An inside look at Oxford University Weber eloquently describes a journey many of us have embarked upon, grappling with tough questions and doubts about the meaning of faith—and ultimately finding it in the most unlikely of places.
Michelle Van Loon helps us treasure our time as a gift and a spiritual responsibility, and God as faithfully present in all our moments and days. People rarely slow down to experience their days, and so they feel rushed through life even as they begin to suspect that life lacks significance. By introducing (and reintroducing) us to the feasts and festivals of the Bible, as well as the special celebrations of the Christian calendar, Moments and Days restores a sacred sense of time throughout our year, enriching our experience of each “holy day” and enlivening our experience of even the most “ordinary time.”
EVERY MOMENT HOLY, Vol. 2: DEATH, GRIEF, & HOPE, is a book of liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving--liturgies such as "A Liturgy for the Scattering of Ashes" or "A Liturgy for the Loss of a Spouse" or "A Liturgy for the Wake of a National Tragedy" or "A Liturgy for the Weighing of Last-Stage Medical Options." These are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose and eternal hopes even when, especially when, suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us. -over 100 liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving -beautiful leather-bound hardcover -over 20 illustrations by Ned Bustard -silk bookmark -gilded edges
