The Only Necessary Thing—Living a Prayerful Life

Henri J. M. Nouwen

As we grow in life we make peace with growing uncertainty, respect the mystery, and trust the darkness. This book is intended for the person who feels the call to go more deeply within to discover who he or she really is. Perhaps it is a mid-life call, or a call that happens as a result of a precipitating event. Within is where we discover the kingdom “within,” where God has taken up his abode, and where we are most authentically ourselves without masks and fears to blind us. This book is a compilation by theme of Nouwen’s profound advice on prayer. It includes chapters on listening, discipline, solitude, community, action, forgiveness, Eucharist, and more.  learn more<<

The Imitation of Christ

Thomas à Kempis

Next to the Bible, The Imitation of Christ is the most widely read best loved religious book in the world. It was written by Thomas a Kempis, a monk in the14th Century who lived in a time of political and religious turmoil similar to our own day. Through periods of peace and war, pestilence and plague, panic and depression, good times and evil, The Imitation has provided inspiration and food for spiritual strength and consolation for people of every creed. The purpose of the book is to point the way by which all would be able to follow Christ’s teachings and imitate his life.  learn more<<

The Practice of the Presence of God

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

This classic consists of the letters and recorded conversations of Brother Lawrence, a simple seventeenth-century French monk who, through the most ordinary of everyday activities, was able to achieve a profound intimacy with God. He taught that the person who seeks God finds God by practicing the presence of God. It’s such a simple method, as simple as a conversation with someone you love, and he clearly outlines it in his letters. The volume I’m suggesting also includes the Spiritual Maxims of Brother Lawrence.   learn more<<

The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions

Mike Aquilina

The largest compilation of step-by-step guidelines to the Church’s devotions. Covers traditional prayers, the rosary, examination of conscience, the Mass and Eucharistic Visit, sacramentals such as holy water, medals, novenas, pilgrimages, and the stations of the cross; spiritual reading; spiritual direction and the making of a plan of life. Each devotion is explained and step-by-step instructions walk the reader through the process.  learn more<<

Christian Prayer

The Liturgy of the Hours (or Christian Prayer as the one volume edition is called) is the official prayer of the Church prayed daily by priests and nuns. The treasures of this prayer are recommended by the Church also to the laity, for those who take part in this prayer have access to holiness of the richest kind through the life-giving word of God found in abundance in this prayer. Christian Prayer is the more complete edition, which includes psalms and scriptural reading distributed over six different times of the day.  learn more<<

Shorter Christian Prayer is smaller condensed version for the busy layman. It offers a selection of the Christian Prayer for three prayer times a day: morning, evening and night prayer.

This hardcover edition comes with xx ribbons. The binding is stitched so that the book withstands daily use.

This handsome volume is small enough to be slipped in a briefcase or pocketbook. learn more<<

Dear Heart Come Home

Joyce Rupp

Midlife is often the sacred turn in one’s life journey where we find ourselves wrestling with inner wounds. Through the ups and downs we discover the way forward, the way of wisdom, forgiveness, beauty, and honest truth. Dear Heart Come Home is Joyce Rupp’s own midlife journey and the lessons she learned: we can find wisdom in the wounds we’re carrying, past regrets must be let go of or they drain us of energy, the loving part of us can always out-wrestle the hating part, surprises of beauty await us, some of what we once thought to be unbreakable truth is now shattered pottery, our struggle to find a deeper spirit of prayer will lead us to wonderful places. Highly recommended.  learn more<<

He and I

Gabrielle Bossis

Prayer can be talked about and practiced, but at times thinking about it can wear us out. Sometimes we just need to hear something refreshingly new and yet at the same time reassuringly true. The bestseller He and I is such a book. It records the words of our Lord to a French woman called Gabrielle Bossis. The words of Jesus address every experience of the human heart, with a voice of love. For example, “Give yourself a rest from saying prayers to enjoy My love.”  This was the first spiritual book that I read that awakened in my heart an awareness of just how personal God’s love can be. If you are longing to hear how you are the beloved of God, then this book is for you.  learn more<<

Abandonment to Divine Providence

Jeanne Pierre de Caussade

You may ask how the advice drawn from the talks and letters of an 18^th Century Jesuit to a group of Visitation nuns could possibly have anything to do with your life—I certainly did when a director advised me to read this book in the 1980’s! If a bit of culture shock hits you at first, stick with this book through the first two chapters. You’ll be hooked. This is one of THE classics of the spiritual life. In surrendering to God’s will in this present moment (not rushing to the future, not reliving the past) is our peace.  learn more<<

Discernment: Acquiring the Heart of God

Marko Ivan Rupnik, SJ

Discernment is the art of living in the Holy Spirit, learning to savor the presence of God and to look a life through the heart of God. Discernment: Acquiring the Heart of God  is not a book on “how-to-make-a-holy-decision,” rather it is about learning to approach life in a whole new way. As the author states in his introduction: “This book explores discernment, drawing out its dynamics as the art of communication between God and us, as the art of reciprocal understanding.” This is a great book for someone who wants to go beyond fulfilling bare-minimum obligations of the spiritual life, and cast out into the depths of God’s love.   learn more <<

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