App FAQs

Manage Account

Delete Account

<DIV>This is one of a two-volume collection of texts and documents issued by the International Theological Commission (ITC), a body of theologians that advises the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The texts and documents of the ITC address pressing theological issues, drawing upon theological experts from around the world who represent differing branches of theology yet who share a common commitment to authentically-Catholic theological reflection. <P><B>Volume 2, 1986-2007</B>, includes texts and documents exploring the following themes: faith and inculturation, the interpretation of dogma, eschatology, God the Redeemer, Christianity and world religions, the Church and the faults of the past, the diaconal ministry, human beings as the image of God, and the hope for the salvation of unbaptized infants. <P>"The special contribution of the Commission is to gain a hearing for the common voice of theology amid all the diversities that exist. For notwithstanding the legitimate pluralism of theological cultures in the Church, the unity of theology must remain, and empower theologians to offer some common account of their subject. In these pages, therefore, one will not find the exciting theses of innovative individuals. If there is excitement here, it lies in the discovery that even in our contemporary situation it is possible to say something together despite all our differences and so to take part together in a further exploration of the one faith of the Church. All the texts which follow are the fruit of a long and often difficult dialogue. In that dialogue, not only have various disciplines, methods and ways of thought found a common path. Over and above that, the wider dialogue of theologians with the bishops, as well as between bishops and the Petrine office in the Church, has found a voice. It is precisely for this reason that the Theological Commission represents an authentic continuation of the great experience of the Council and a clarification of its true bearing."<br><B>�Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger</B> from the Preface to Volume One</DIV></P></P>

International Theological Commission: Texts and Documents 1987-2007

<DIV><P><I>Understanding the Sacraments</I> is a popular guide for prayer and study of all seven sacraments, designed for use by individuals and groups. In this guide, the well-known Fr. Peter Stravinskas, gives you a clear and faithful Catholic teaching in chapters on each of the seven sacraments. Everyday examples and anecdotes enliven the text. An introductory chapter explains the meaning of the word "sacrament", while the closing chapter tells you how to recover a sense of the sacred in the liturgy and how to receive God's healing through the sacraments. </P><P>To help you apply the teaching, frank and thoughtful questions for group discussion are included at the end of all the chapters-making this guide ideal for use in any parish or religious education program. </P><P>Whether at home, your parish, or in a prayer or study group, this popular guide will help you come to a deeper understanding of the sacraments and their important place in your Christian life. </P></DIV>

Understanding the Sacraments: A Guide for Prayer and Study

<DIV><P>In one of his most penetrating books, Kreeft ponders the meaning of a terminal illness we all have: death. The three vital questions of Life, Death, and God are approached through a variety of human experiences. Kreeft's book is a new statement of the Christian vision: the meaning of our existence, and of death, is the fulfillment of our deepest desire for the infinite joy and love of God. </P></DIV>

Love Is Stronger Than Death

<DIV><P>Fifty years ago, nearly 200,000 religious sisters worked in Catholic schools, hospitals and other institutions throughout the United States. American Catholics honored these women of faith who founded and built these flourishing works of mercy.</P><P>Then came the ideological shifts and moral upheavals of the 1960s, and ever since, most women's orders in the United States have been in a state of crisis. Now the sisters are aging, with fewer and fewer younger women to take their place. Perhaps related to this demographic shift is the continuing doctrinal confusion that has come under the scrutiny of the Vatican.</P><P>Using the archival records of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and other prominent groups of sisters, journalist and author Ann Carey shows how feminist activists unraveled American women's religious communities from their leadership positions in national organizations and large congregations. She also explains the recent and necessary interventions by the Vatican.</P><P>After examining the many forces that have contributed to the crisis, Carey reports on a promising sign of renewal in American religious life: the growing number of young women attracted to older communities that have retained their identity and newly formed, yet traditional, congregations.</P></DIV>

Sisters in Crisis: Revisited

<DIV>Fr. Robinson has done a great service in revitalizing Lorenzo Scupoli's classic, <I>Spiritual Combat</I>, so that contemporary Catholics can rediscover this rich work that has served many generations of Catholics. This book is about the life of prayer and personal reform and renewal. It fits squarely into the tradition of the &#34;great masters&#34; of the spiritual life, and to the line of great modern writers on spirituality. It is a work of particular relevance that confronts modern culture with the tough-minded, deeply authentic challenge of spiritual combat.<P>Robinson has retained Scupoli's appeal to the Catholic reader through a conversational style, short chapters, familiar examples from everyday life, and the pastoral bent which has marked his own outstanding career. Covering the basic difficulties of daily prayer and of obstacles to living the virtues, Scupoli and Robinson test the mettle of real Catholics by calling us to live an interior life for and with God.</P></DIV>

Spiritual Combat Revisited

<DIV><P><B>Foreword by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn</B><P>In 2005 the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn wrote a guest editorial in <I>The New York Times</I> that sparked a worldwide debate about "Creation and Evolution". Pope Benedict XVI instructed the Cardinal to study more closely this problem and the current debate between evolutionism and "creationism," and asked the yearly gathering of his former students to address these questions. <P>Even after Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, he has continued to maintain close contact with the circle of his former students. The "study circle" <I>(Schulerkrers)</I> meets once a year with Pope Benedict XVI for a conference. Many of these former Ratzinger students have gone on to become acclaimed scholars, professors and writers, as well as high ranking Church prelates.<P>This book documents the proceedings of the remarkable conference on the topic of "Creation and Evolution" hosted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo. It includes papers that were presented from the fields of natural science, philosophy and theology, and records the subsequent discussion, in which Pope Benedict XVI himself participated. <P> "Ultimately it comes down to the alternative: What came first? Creative Reason, the Creator Spirit who makes all things and gives them growth, or Unreason, which, lacking any meaning, strangely enough brings forth a mathematically ordered cosmos, as well as man and his reason. The latter, however, would then be nothing more than a chance result of evolution and thus, in the end, equally meaningless. As Christians, we say: I believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in the Creator Spirit. We believe that at the beginning of everything is the eternal Word, with Reason and not Unreason." <br/><B>— Pope Benedict XVI</B></P></DIV></P></P></P></P>

Creation and Evolution: A Conference with Pope Benedict XVI

<DIV><P>A major book on the subject of heaven, this expanded edition examines the hunger for heaven that is so strong in all of us. Fascinating and upbeat, Heaven, the Heart's Deepest Longing thoroughly explores the psychological and theological dimensions of this search for total joy and for the ultimate reality that grounds it. <BR /></P></DIV>

Heaven, the Heart's Deepest Longing

<DIV><P>In <I>Beyond Modernity</I>, Father Rutler shows the emptiness and vanity of modern man's attempts to deify progress and look at modernity as a goal in itself. Written in a style reminiscent of Chesterton, this book is a theological and sociological commentary on the bankruptcy of progressivism.</P><P>"The modern age is becoming outmoded, the thing it thought most unlikely. This poses a problem overwhelming to set minds: what happens when the age which was supposed to be the end of all the ages ends itself? The stark reply is, modern man is the least equipped to know. While posturing as the breath of things to come, he was insinuating the first civilized denial of the future. Modernity is worse than a rejection of the past; it is a defiant avoidance of that which is next, probably the first school of discourse to cancel tomorrow as a thing as vapid as part of yesterday."<BR /> — George W. Rutler, from the Foreword</P></DIV>

Beyond Modernity: Reflections of a Post-Modern Catholic

Opening credits

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION

PREFACE TO THE 1968 EDITION

PREFACE TO THE 1969 EDITION

I. BELIEF IN THE WORLD OF TODAY

II. THE ECCLESIASTICAL FORM OF FAITH

I. PROLEGOMENA TO THE SUBJECT OF GOD

II. THE BIBLICAL BELIEF IN GOD

III. THE GOD OF FAITH AND THE GOD OF THE PHILOSOPHERS

IV. FAITH IN GOD TODAY

V. BELIEF IN THE TRIUNE GOD

I. I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON OUR LORD

EXCURSUS꞉ CHRISTIAN STRUCTURES

II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAITH IN CHRIST IN THE CHRISTOLOGICAL ARTICLES OF THE CREED (Sections 1-3)

II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAITH IN CHRIST IN THE CHRISTOLOGICAL ARTICLES OF THE CREED (Sections 4-6)

I. THE INTRINSIC UNITY OF THE LAST STATEMENTS IN THE CREED

II. TWO MAJOR QUESTIONS POSED BY THE ARTICLES ON THE SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH

Closing credits

<p><strong>Revised Edition</strong><br><br>One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth 20 page preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man. That approach puts the question of God and the question about Christ in the very center, which leads to a "narrative Christology" and demonstrates that the place for faith is in the Church.<br><br> Thus, this remarkable elucidation of the Apostle's Creed gives an excellent, modern interpretation of the foundations of Christianity. Ratzinger's profound treatment of Christianity's basic truths combines a spiritual outlook with a deep knowledge of Scripture and the history of theology.</p><p></p>

Introduction to Christianity

<DIV><P>With brilliance and creativity, Peter Kreeft has taken all of the sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and provided us with imagined questions for each in a totally contemporary setting. Kreeft asks 285 questions in the form of “letters to Jesus”, each in the voice of a different questioner. The answers of Jesus are taken verbatim from Matthew and printed upside down so that the reader must invert the book to read them.</P><P>Along with its unique format, the genius of <I>Letters to Jesus </I>is its clever matching of questions to answers that get to the essence of Jesus’ teachings as they apply to our world today.</P></DIV>

Letters to Jesus (Answered)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

<p>With <em>The Ninth Day</em>, acclaimed film director Volker Schlondorff creates a moral thriller that &ldquo;succeeds in illuminating an almost unimaginably dark story&rdquo; (The New York Times). Inspired by the true story of a dissident priest&rsquo;s temporary furlough from Dachau, <em>The Ninth Day</em> transforms an ethical crisis into a nail-biting showdown and unspeakable horror into transcendent redemption. From inside the hell of the Dachau concentration camp &ldquo;Priest Block,&rdquo; Father Henri Kremer clings to a fragile life and challenged faith. But Gestapo officer Gebhardt, a young and ruthless lapsed seminarian, arranges a nine-day reprieve for the priest. If Kremer can persuade his staunchly anti-Nazi Bishop to capitulate to Nazi occupation, he&rsquo;ll go free. But if he fails or tries to escape, death awaits.</p>
<p>Torn between duty, faith, fear for his own life, and for the lives of his loved ones, in just nine days, Kremer must find a way to ease his conscience, protect his family, hold on to his faith, and uphold his vows. Ulrich Mattes is &ldquo;eerily convincing as a man torn by moral choices&rdquo; (Time Out New York). Together, pilgrim Kremer and tempter Gebhardt &ldquo;are singularly fascinating as tension-filled incompatibles&rdquo; (NY Observer). Matthes, Diehl and Bibiana Beglau, as Kremer&rsquo;s sister, contribute powerfully eloquent performances. <em>The Ninth Day</em> showcases the sensitive visionary precision that has kept Volker Schlondorff on the leading edge of international cinema for four decades.</p>

The Ninth Day

<DIV><P>Increasingly, the future is becoming a theme for theological reflection. In the background we can detect a growing concern among many people for the future of faith. Does faith have any future at all, and, if so, where in all the confusion of today's trends will we discover its embryo? </P><P>But the problem of the future assails not only the believer. In the ever more rapidly advancing process of historical evolution, man is confronted with enormous opportunities, but also with colossal perils. For him, the future is not only hope, but sorrowa nightmare, indeed. He cannot avoid asking what part faith can play in building tomorrow's world. </P><P>Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, approaches this problem of universal concern from a variety of angles, bringing his deep personal faith and theological brilliance to bear on these serious questions. </P></DIV>

Faith and the Future

Opening Credits

Prologue

1. The End of His Life

2.  Back to Normal

3. Do You Really See Us

4. Citizen of the Month

5. A Really Boring Guy

6. A Voice in the Night

7. The Safety of the Cage

8. A Triad of Sages

9. Ganymede and the Eagle

10. Neuron Paths in the World-Brain

11. The Winter World

12. The Hollow Men

13. Cabins and Palaces

14. Surely We Have Met Before

15. Around the Great Wheel

16. In the Underground

17. The Vault of Degradation

18. Millenium Angel

19. Scenes of Historical Importance

20. On the Little-Little Ob

21. Petropavlovskaya Poustyn

22. The Well in the Desert

23. Clerks and Ballerinas

24. A Bad Day at Listvyanks

25. The Clinic at Ozero Baikal

26. A Voice from the Past

27. I Give You Everything

28. The Enchantress

29. Snake and Crocodile

30. The Snowhouse

31. The Icon in the Fire

32. The War of the Winter-Born

33. A Cadre of One

34. Strength and Weakness

35. The Bell Tower

36. A Message in the Ark

37. To Another Country

38. We Know Everything

39. The Realm of the Dispossessed

40. The Silence

41. Upstairs and Downstairs

42. Integrated into a Mission

43. Does Simply No One Believe Me?

44. One May Circle the World

45. Will He Want Me?

46. Kingfishers Catch Fire

Acknowledgements

Author's Note

Closing Credits

<div>
<p>"A modern retelling of the parables The Good Shepherd and The Prodigal Son." <br><strong>- Michael O'Brien</strong><br><br>Canadian bookseller Alex Graham is a middle-age widower whose quiet life is turned upside down when his college-age son disappears without any explanation or trace of where he has gone. With minimal resources, the father begins a long journey that takes him for the first time away from his safe and orderly world. As he stumbles across the merest thread of a trail, he follows it in blind desperation, and is led step by step on an odyssey that takes him to fascinating places and sometimes to frightening people and perils.<br><br>Through the uncertainty and the anguish, the loss and the longing, Graham is pulled into conflicts between nations, as well as the eternal conflict between good and evil. Stretched nearly to the breaking point by the inexplicable suffering he witnesses and experiences, he discovers unexpected sources of strength as he presses onward in the hope of recovering his son--and himself.</p>
</div>

The Father's Tale: A Novel

<DIV><P><B></B></P><P> From Luther to Kierkegaard, from Heidegger to Sartre, the theme of anguish has dominated both philosophy and spiritual theology. In our ""societies of depression"" where individuals confront their own loneliness, this theme has recently regained its intensity. </P><P>In these dense and luminous pages, he is not content merely to show how much this feeling is profoundly inscribed in the heart and the word of God-from the Psalms to the Gospels-but he enters into intimate dialogue with contemporary thought and in particular its existentialist expression. For Balthasar, the Christian faith does not offer a ready made response, but is simultaneously a journey through the torment of the cross and the liberation from fear by the gift of grace. In the wake of a Bernanos, or a P覵y, Balthasar emphasizes how much confidence in God leads to a hope which is inexhaustible.</P></DIV>

The Christian and Anxiety

<P>Father Augustine Wetta reaches back into monastic history to answer one of the most critical questions facing young people today: &quot;How do I make up my mind?&quot; With his characteristic wit and novel approach to classical art, Father Augustine looks to the wisdom of the Desert Fathers to unearth an ancient and highly efficient method for resolving life&#39;s most pressing dilemmas&mdash;even in the midst of distractions, temptations, and disruptions.</P><P>Profoundly Biblical and astonishingly practical, these trailblazing saints laid the foundations of Christian discernment by combining their genius for interpreting Scripture with their uncompromising search for the truth. Their patience and remarkable sense of humor gave their words a practicality that speaks as clearly today as it did in the third century. In three steps, each broken down into three parts, the Desert Fathers will teach you how to make decisions in a way that is peaceful, joyful, focused, realistic, and open to the ever-prodding finger of God.</P><P>As he did in his best-selling <I>Humility Rules,</I> Father Wetta illustrates each chapter with color reproductions of famous works of art that he has embellished with comic flourishes. He provides a discernment worksheet to help anyone with making a difficult decision.</P>

Pray. Think. Act.: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Fathers

<DIV><P>Renowned scholar Dr. Tim Gray masterfully guides you through the tumultuous and inspiring life of Peter--from his call to discipleship to his eventual martyrdom in Rome. Using Sacred Scripture and tradition, Dr. Gray highlights these important lessons from Peter's life, including:</P><ul><li>How to become a trusting disciple and "cast into the deep"</li><li>The pitfalls of living discipleship at a distance and the eventual denial that will come</li><li>How to recover from sin and accept God's mercy</li><li>How to become a bold witness to others of the love of Jesus</li></ul><P>Come to better know, love, and follow Jesus through the Rock on whom he built his Church.</P></DIV>

Peter: Keys to Following Jesus

<DIV><P>What are miracles? Why do miracles happen? Do miracles still happen? The subject of miraculous activity is one that has compelled believers for millennia. This book describes and recounts some of the most fascinating stories that have taken place not on the dusty pages of some centuries-old manuscript, but here and now in our own modern world. </P><P>Fr. Paul Glynn, a Marist priest, takes the reader on a trip around the world to the sites of miraculous happenings, including healings, apparitions and conversions, including Lourdes, Knock, and Fatima. Through personal accounts and meticulous studies, he is able to show solid evidence and proof of Godಙs work in our lives. These inspiring stories will enhance the readerಙs faith as well as provide a bastion of comfort for those in doubt. Illustrated with many photos. </P></DIV>

Healing Fire of Christ: Reflections on Modern Miracles

<DIV><P><I>Three Women and the Lord</I>&#160;presents three key figures in Saint Luke&#39;s Gospel: Mary Magdalen, the unnamed woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, and Mary of Bethany.</P><P>As Adrienne von Speyr meditates on the Gospel passages about these three women, she explores the particular, personal mission that the Lord gave each one and links it with one of the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and love.</P><P>Through the stories of these women, von Speyr demonstrates that every person who encounters Jesus and receives his mercy is changed by him and given a unique way to reveal his identity as Savior and Lord.</P></DIV>

Three Women and the Lord

<DIV><P>At the Nazi concentration camp Dachau, three barracks out of thirty were occupied by clergy from 1938 to 1945. The overwhelming majority of the 2,720 men imprisoned in these barracks were Catholics—2,579 priests, monks, and seminarians from all over Europe. More than a third of the prisoners in the "priest block" died there.</P><P>The story of these men, which has been submerged in the overall history of the concentration camps, is told in this riveting historical account. Both tragedies and magnificent gestures are chronicled here--from the terrifying forced march in 1942 to the heroic voluntary confinement of those dying of typhoid to the moving clandestine ordination of a young German deacon by a French bishop. Besides recounting moving episodes, the book sheds new light on Hitler's system of concentration camps and the intrinsic anti-Christian animus of Nazism.</P></DIV>

The Priest Barracks: Dachau 1938-1945

<DIV><P>Most people assume that the way to mend divisions and factions in our world - marriages, parishes, dioceses, religious orders - is to engage in civil discussions, attend local, regional or national meetings, draw up committee reports and recommendations. To a point this may help, but sad experience makes clear that these approaches alone never heal the polarization problems which plague our civil and ecclesial life. <P>The Biblical therapy is radically different - and it achieves results. This book explores the divine strategy in detail. Research discovers in Scripture 40 or 50 themes that bear on discovering truth and recognizing that it has been solidly found. We learn how we discern whether we are being led by the Holy Spirit or by our own unredeemed inclinations and desires, whether it is the spirit of God or the prince of darkness that is operating in our disagreements and programs. We find in these themes clear responses to key questions: </P><P> Why are there divisions and factions in the Church? </P><P> How are these polarizations to be healed? </P><P> What are the sure signs that some people have truth, while others are in error? </P><P> What are the conditions for finding and maintaining a shared vision in marriage, </P><P>parishes, dioceses, religious orders, the universal Church? </P></DIV></P>

Authenticity: A Biblical Theology of Discernment

<DIV><P>In this newly updated, expanded version of his popular work of apologetics, Shea presents a lively and entertaining look at his conversion to Catholicism from Evangelicalism and his discovery of Christian tradition. As an Evangelical, Shea accepted the principle of "sola scriptura" (Scripture alone) as the basis of faith. Now as a Catholic convert, he skillfully explains how and why Sacred Tradition occupies a central role in Divine Revelation.<P>Tracing his own journey of intellectual and spiritual awakening, Shea begins by looking for a rejoinder to those modern-day false prophets who would claim that Scripture itself is not to be trusted, and ends with his conviction that tradition, as explained by the Catholic Church, is the only sure guarantee of the truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ.</P></DIV></P>

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition

<DIV><P>The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated by many followers of Jesus Christ as an important part of their practice of the faith. Believing that she is the Mother of God because her Son is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who for our salvation took on human nature, Christians of both East and West honor Mary in various ways. They strive to imitate her as a great model of Christian discipleship.</P><P>Cardinal Arinze wrote this book for both those devoted to the Blessed Mother and those who do not yet know or understand her. Based on the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church, and the sacred liturgy, the cardinal provides a solid foundation for Marian veneration—one that can benefit all Christians, regardless of their church affiliation.</P></DIV>

Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations

<DIV><P><B></B></P><P>This volume is unique among the works of the great theologian and spiritual writer von Balthasar for it is a collection of short, personal and very readable reflections and aphorisms that are the fruit of his prayer and study over the course of his life on the central themes of the Christian spiritual life. Balthasar's style-intimate, lucid, precise and yet poetic, along with the intensity of his contemplative vision-invites every reader to meditate deeply on the fullness and dynamism of Christian truths in all their splendor. </P><P>In addition to his own meditations, Balthasar also includes quotes and thoughts from some 30 saints and spiritual writers including Augustine, Francis de Sales, John of the Cross, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Teresa of Avila, Fenelon, Therese of Lisieux and more. </P><P>These rich, thought-provoking gems provide wonderful meditations for laity by one of the masters of the spiritual life. </P><P>"Every careful reader of Hans Urs von Balthasar will discover that the precious alchemy of his thought results from the deeply fruitful marriage he achieves between keen intelligence and ardent piety, which is the very heart of the Christian intellectual endeavor. Balthasar proves to be one of the scant few thoroughly reliable teachers and pathfinders in the thicket of late-twentieth-century life because he himself exemplifies the truth of his own aphorism that only the one whose eyes can encompass much may be said to have an integrated vision." <BR /><B>-Dr. Erasmo Leiva</B>, From the Foreword</P></DIV>

The Grain of Wheat: Aphorisms

<DIV><P>Contemporary spiritual writer Fr. Donald Haggerty offers penetrating observations of the phenomenon of Christian conversion. Arranged as a collection of concise, meditative reflections, this book discusses the essential elements of a soul's return to God, including the repercussions of sin, the proper understanding of mercy, and the importance of a more radical response to God's will.</P><P>Fr. Haggerty also explores the fruits of conversion that make the difference between a mediocre relationship with God and a truly holy life. He identifies these special graces as love for the poor, simplicity of lifestyle, and devotion to the Eucharist.</P><P>The author's treatment of a ""second conversion"" is a unique and thought- provoking contribution to his subject. The ever renewed invitation to embrace a deeper passion for God is the thematic undercurrent of this inspiring work.</P></DIV>

Conversion: Spiritual Insights Into an Essential Encounter with God

<DIV><B>Foreword by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger</B><P>This is one of a two-volume collection of texts and documents issued by the International Theological Commission (ITC), a body of theologians that advises the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The texts and documents of the ITC address pressing theological issues, drawing upon theological experts from around the world who represent differing branches of theology yet who share a common commitment to authentically-Catholic theological reflection. <P><B>Volume 1, 1969-1985</B>, includes texts and documents exploring the following themes: reflections on the objectives and methods of the ITC, priestly ministry, theological pluralism, apostolic succession, Christian ethics, the relationship of theology to the Magisterium, human development and human salvation, Christian marriage, Christology, penance and reconciliation, the dignity and rights of the human person, ecclesiology, and the consciousness of Christ. <P>"The special contribution of the Commission is to gain a hearing for the common voice of theology amid all the diversities that exist. For notwithstanding the legitimate pluralism of theological cultures in the Church, the unity of theology must remain, and empower theologians to offer some common account of their subject. In these pages, therefore, one will not find the exciting theses of innovative individuals. If there is excitement here, it lies in the discovery that even in our contemporary situation it is possible to say something together despite all our differences and so to take part together in a further exploration of the one faith of the Church. All the texts which follow are the fruit of a long and often difficult dialogue. In that dialogue, not only have various disciplines, methods and ways of thought found a common path. Over and above that, the wider dialogue of theologians with the bishops, as well as between bishops and the Petrine office in the Church, has found a voice. It is precisely for this reason that the Theological Commission represents an authentic continuation of the great experience of the Council and a clarification of its true bearing."<br><B>�Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger</B> from the Preface to Volume One</DIV></P></P></P>

International Theological Commission: Texts and Documents 1969-1985

<DIV>One of Adrienne von Speyr's most cherished concerns was to rekindle Christians' desire for contemplation and thus to renew the Church's prayer. Light and Images is one of the most important of her works on the subject. She sets forth the deepest theological foundations of contemplative prayer according to the reciprocal relationship between "light" and "images".<P>Like the simple images that open up infinite depths to the eye of faith, this little book contains an overwhelming wealth of insight into contemplation. One comes away from it with a vastly transformed understanding of the nature of prayer and an appreciation for its irreplaceable role in Christian life. With its disarmingly simple language, Light and Images is immediately accessible; and yet the new perspectives it offers on prayer surprise and challenge at every turn. The book is therefore both an incomparable introduction for those who wish to learn what it means to pray, and excellent spiritual reading for those seeking to draw more deeply from the Church's great treasury of prayer.</P></DIV>

Light and Images: Elements of Contemplation

<DIV><P>Malcolm Muggeridge was one of Great Britain's most well-known journalists and television personalities, having interviewed practically every major public figure of his time. He shocked the world with his conversion to Christianity later in life. "St. Mugg", as he was affectionately known, was clear in his new-found faith: It is the truth that has died, not God, and "Jesus was God or he was nothing." These wonderful selections of Muggeridge's writings and speeches cover a wide variety of spiritual themes, revealing his profound faith, great wit, and lively writing style. Topics include "Jesus: The Man Who Lives", "Is There a God?", "The Prospect of Death", "Do We Need Religion?", "Peace and Power", and many more.</P><P>"The counter-countercultural declaration of Mr. Muggeridge's conversion was especially eye-catching given the great legions traveling in the opposite direction. His larger public knew him through his work as a television host and critic. But all of literate England, and much of America, knew him as a learned and incisive journalist who had written Winter in Moscow, a searing exposé of Communism. His intellect and historical savoir-faire gave his criticisms a very long reach. In America he made regular appearances as book editor of Esquire magazine. No Englishman has a more mordant, more attractive wit."<BR /><B>—William F. Buckley, Jr.</B>, From the Introduction</P></DIV>

Seeing Through the Eye: Malcolm Muggeridge on Faith

<DIV><P>C. S. Lewis and Ronald Knox were two of the most popular authors of Christian apologetics in the twentieth century ... and for many years they were neighbors in Oxford. In <I>Second Friends</I>, Milton Walsh delves into their writings and compares their views on a variety of compelling topics, such as the existence of God, the divinity of Christ, the problem of suffering, miracles, the way of Love, the role of religion in society, prayer, and more. They both bring to the conversation a passionate love of truth, clarity of thought, and a wonderful wit. </P><P>Lewis and Knox both experienced powerful conversions to the Christian faith, an important aspect that Walsh covers in detail. Both wrote about their conversion experiences because they wanted to explain to others why they took that life-changing step. They each valued logical thinking, and they professed that the Christian faith should be embraced, not only because it is good, but because it is true. Reason provides the intellectual foundation of belief for both authors. </P><P>For both these apologists, Christianity is much more than a doctrinal system: it is above all a personal relationship with Christ that entails romance, struggle, and loyalty. A common adjective applied to Lewis and Knox as writers was "imaginative". They saw lack of imagination as a great hurdle to faith, and they believed that imagination is a privileged path leading to a deeper apprehension of the truth. </P><P>Lewis and Knox, while convinced that the Christian faith rested on sound reason and that it fulfilled the deepest human longings, also knew that God is a mystery-and so is the human heart. In the face of these twin mysteries, Milton Walsh shows that both men approached their evangelizing efforts in a spirit of humility, as he explores how they appealed to the mind, the heart, and the imagination in presenting the Christian faith. </P><P>"It is a great delight to see that Fr. Milton Walsh has brought together the incomparable Knox and the indomitable Lewis in a way that enables us to understand both of them better." <BR /><B>-Joseph Pearce</B> Author, <I>C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church </I></P><P>"This-to quote C.S.Lewis-ಘis the most noble and joyous book I've read these ten years.'... This book has led me deeper into Lewis's own writings than any I've read." <BR /><B>-Walter Hooper</B>, C.S. Lewis' former secretary and biographer </P></DIV>

Second Friends: C.S. Lewis and Ronald Knox in Conversation

<DIV> Everyone needs love. Everyone desires love. But not everyone understands love. In fact, love is probably the most misunderstood subject in history. <P> In his first Encyclical, Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love &mdash; human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity. He writes beautifully and inspirationally of how man was made for love by the God who is love, the God who became one of us out of love &mdash; Jesus Christ. </P><P> In the second part of the Encyclical, Benedict addresses the Church&#39;s practice of love. He examines the relationship between justice and charity, as well as the call of every Catholic to serve others in love. The Pope&#39;s &quot;love letter&quot;&#160;to mankind is remarkably accessible and timely. </P></DIV>

God Is Love: Deus Caritas Est

<DIV><P>This small and simple spiritual gem offers a profound contemplation of the Seven Last Words of Christ, with specific application to the seven sacraments he instituted. Adrienne von Speyr leads us to the foot of the Cross, where she gazes upon the crucified Christ and listens deeply as he cries out in suffering and opens the portals of divine grace.</P><P><I>The Cross: Word and Sacrament</I>&#160;will challenge and encourage the reader to participate more deeply in the Paschal Mystery through a greater appreciation and understanding of the sacraments and their source in the Cross. The words Jesus utters in his agony, as recorded in the Gospels, contain not only the gifts experienced in the sacraments of the Church but also questions: Do you truly understand what is being offered to you? Will you accept these gifts? Will you suffer the mystery contained in such love?</P><P>In short, this book calls the reader to conversion, which is a continual process of turning toward the Son, who leads us, in union with the Holy Spirit, into an ever-deepening relationship with the Father. Thus is the reader invited to enter the very life of the Trinity, that communion of love without end.</P></DIV>