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Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Donne, Meister Eckhart, T.S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Archbishop Romero, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Philip Yancey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Loved it!! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I love that this series, including "Bread and Wine:Readings for Lent and Easter," because it challeneges our complacent culture-dictated experience of Advent and Easter. This is not a feel-good book, it is a faith-building book. Be prepared to be shaken up and for God to meet you in a new way.

I bought copies for my friends and family. Everyone loved it!

The diversity of authors come together in surprising unity. This broadened my perspective and made me want to find books written by the individual authors. I also loved that the authors are from all points in history and geography. An experience like this is what all of us in the US need.

Company on the Journey 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Like a kid counting down the days until Christmas, I took a spiritual journey by reading the days until Christmas. My guide, Watch for the
light. Cheaper than a real journey...no stops for gas , no waiting in line. Pop open the book's cover and begin to read. Some funny stories, some poetry, some known authors and some not so well known, all leading the way to Christmas. When Christmas comes, you will be ready.

The Irony of American History

Reinhold Niebuhr

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“[Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away . . . the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.”—Senator Barack Obama Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhr’s masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue. Impassioned, eloquent, and deeply perceptive, Niebuhr’s wisdom will cause readers to rethink their assumptions about right and wrong, war and peace.
“The supreme American theologian of the twentieth century.”—Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Times
“Niebuhr is important for the left today precisely because he warned about America’s tendency—including the left’s tendency—to do bad things in the name of idealism. His thought offers a much better understanding of where the Bush administration went wrong in Iraq.”—Kevin Mattson, The Good Society

“Irony provides the master key to understanding the myths and delusions that underpin American statecraft. . . . The most important book ever written on US foreign policy.”—Andrew J. Bacevich, from the Introduction

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 96 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Deeply insightful and life changing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Henri Nouwen had a truly God-given gift - the gift of explaining timeless spiritual truths in very clear, ordinary language in a conversational and deeply captivating way. His words and his explanations imprint themselves into the memory and stay in the heart, and truly help to change lives. Much of his wisdom surely comes from his own struggles, which he admits to in the book - he personally struggled with depression, pride, desire for success and fame, envy, etc. - common human ailments. He also struggled with feeling unworthy of God, and with feeling distant from God. Yet, he learned to overcome his struggles (though he admits that he is still on a journey), and he describes how.

This is the third book I have read by Neuwen. After reading Life of the Beloved I really didn't think that anything could compare, but this book, if not better, is at least just as good. It is an instantly timeless spiritual classic. The whole book is a reflection on Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. First Nouwen reflects on the younger son who came back from a foreign land. Then he reflects on the older son who witnesses his younger brother's return. Finally, Nouwen reflects on the father figure. His insights are deep and beautiful. He leads the reader to a natural and yet incredible insight: that after identifying ourselves with both the younger and older brother, we must realize that rather than being either of these two brothers, we are called to become the father!

Editorial Review:

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming is a spiritual adventure story. A chance encounter with a poster depicting a detail of Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son set in motion a chain of events that enabled Nouwen to redefine and claim his vocation late in his life. In this book, which interweaves elements of art history, memoir, Midrash, and self-help, Nouwen brings the parable to life with empathic analyses of each character. Nouwen's absorption in the story (and the painting) is so complete that the father's challenge to love the son, and the son's challenge to receive that love, become Nouwen's own. And Nouwen's writing is so clear and his tone is so appealingly frank and humble that readers--no matter how far from home--will find hope for themselves in the prodigal peace Nouwen ultimately achieves. --Michael Joseph Gross

Advent And Christmas Wisdom From Henri J.m. Nouwen: Daily Scripture And Prayers Together With Nouwen's Own Words (Redemptorist Pastoral Publication)

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful! Can't go wrong with this purchase! 5 out of 5 stars.
30 of 32 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful little devotion book for Advent. I have become a huge Henri Nouwen fan.....he always shares his journey and is transparent...I especially enjoy the Advent Action given with each devotion.....the daily devotions give just enough without being overwhelming, allowing me to reflect on it all day. Redemptorist Publishing always offer heart warming devotionals.

Excellent for meditative prayer 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book for getting a better understanding the meaning of Christmas. Short daily advent readings and meaningful prayers. Author writes in a clear, easy to understand manner that you don't have to be a Bible scholar to read it. Great book for those who wants to know more about the Christian celebration of Christmas or seeks to draw closer to God amidst the busyness and commercial season.

The 88 page soft-cover book includes 28 days of advent devotionals and 12 days of Christmas devotionals. Each day has a short excerpt of writing from Nouwen, a scripture reading, a prayer and a call to action. The devotional is reflective, practical and will help you put God in the middle of the Christmas season.

I also highly recommend this book as a Christmas gift.

The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society

Henri Nouwen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Wounded Healer is a hope-filled and profoundly simple book that speaks directly to those men and women who want to be of service in their church or community, but have found the traditional ways often threatening and ineffective. In this book, Henri Nouwen combines creative case studies of ministry with stories from diverse cultures and religious traditions in preparing a new model for ministry. Weaving keen cultural analysis with his psychological and religious insights, Nouwen has come up with a balanced and creative theology of service that begins with the realization of fundamental woundedness in human nature. Emphasizing that which is in humanity common to both minister and believer, this woundedness can serve as a source of strength and healing when counseling others. Nouwen proceeds to develop his approach to ministry with an analysis of sufferings -- a suffering world, a suffering generation, a suffering person, and a suffering minister. It is his contention that ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. For Nouwen, ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering -- in the image of Christ. In other words, we heal from our own wounds. Filled with examples from everyday experience, The Wounded Healer is a thoughtful and insightful guide that will be welcomed by anyone engaged in the service of others.

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Love this book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is probably one of the best, if not the best book I've read in a long time. Henri Nouwen's journey through anguish and depression--straight from the heart and every single chapter illuminating!! His words helped me to change the way I look at others, myself and God. I highly recommend this profound book!

Editorial Review:

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom is a collection of passages from Henri Nouwen's journals, written during a period when his self-esteem evaporated, his energy to work disappeared, and God seemed entirely unreal. This is not a book to be read straight through: each short chapter takes time to digest, because, like the following passage, each of Nouwen's thoughts has the raw complexity of real honesty:

Your body needs to be held and to hold, to be touched and to touch. None of these needs is to be despised, denied, or repressed. But you have to keep searching for your body's deeper need, the need for genuine love. Every time you are able to go beyond the body's superficial desires for love, you are bringing your body home and moving toward integration and unity.

--Michael Joseph Gross

Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study of Ethics and Politics (Library of Theological Ethics)

Reinhold Niebuhr

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Poli-sci major? 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The principles in this book are as pertinent today as it was 75 years ago. "The individual or the group which organizes society, however social its intentions or pretension, arrogates an inordinate portion of social privilege to itself."

The author warns against religious patriotism because the natural impulse of christians is to love their fellow man, but the patriot nationalist leads them to selfishness and love of country more than people.

Every page has something of value. Anyone with even a passing interest in political science, or sociology for that matter would view him important.

"Social intelligence may prompt disillusionment without the immediate lesson of complete disinheritance. But the degree of anti-nationalism among workers will always depend somewhat upon the measure of social injustice from which they suffer.

Niebuhr's Class on Politics and Inequality 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is one of Niebuhr's best books, and thank goodness it is still available. Niebuhr's Christian Realist thought seeks ways to try to pursue the high ethics of the Gospel realistically, knowing the flawed and sinful nature of our political lives, where entrenched interests and institutional powers limit our capacity to realize love and justice on earth. Some people love Niebuhr, others can do without him. I believe he has some essential insights on politics, economics, inequality, and the Christian religion. Niebuhr wanted a more just and equitable society. He experimented with socialist thought, and found it wanting. But he also saw a savage, heartless hole in the unfettered mechanisms of free-market capitalism, and wanted to steer between the extremes; the "Scylla and Charybdis" of socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. An excellent read, which I highly recommend.

The Dance of Life: Weaving Sorrows And Blessings into One Joyful Step

Henri J. M. Nouwen, Michael Ford

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Life-Changing 5 out of 5 stars.
30 of 31 people found this review helpful.

This book changed my life. I was so engrossed that I read it in the course of one very intense day - a day filled with insights, with a sense of wonder and beauty and of God's all-sustaining love. It is a book that I will keep returning to for many years.

This is the sort of book that I want to buy a thousand copies of to hand out at street corners. Especially poignant are Nouwen's insights on intimacy, acceptance, and prayer.

The real beauty of Nouwen's teaching is his incredibly accepting and open approach to the self - where we are to celebrate our individuality and to incorporate even our failings and negative emotions into our understanding of ourselves.

Gems from Nouwen 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've been a Nouwen fan for several months now, having graduated from Merton's Sign of Jonas to Nouwen's Road to Gennessee. Have thoroughly enjoyed his journals and have been touched by his openness and honesty. He is quick to mention his struggles and shortcomings--something we don't often think of when we think of well-known contemplatives and spiritual giants here on earth!

The Dance of Life contains numerous nuggets of spiritual wisdom from books I've yet to read. I'm reading it a bit each night, taking one or two selections as something of a devotional. Don't let the title fool you: there isn't much sorrow, or darkness, only real-life spirituality.

The Cloister Walk

Kathleen Norris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"My little story...has turned into prayer."--Emily Dickinson 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the elements of Kathleen Norris which makes reading her so fundamentally satisfying is her ability to weave the words and thoughts of others so seamlessly into her own observations of endeavoring to live a life of faith. "The Cloister Walk" seems to do this with greater facility and to greater effect than "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography."

In "The Cloister Walk," Norris, an apathetic Christian turned agnostic turned yearning Protestant, relates her experiences (physical and spiritual) as an oblate with the Benedictines. This is an accessible memoir of one woman's account of opening the eyes of her heart in her search for God and one that can be enjoyed by anyone striving to hear a still small voice within.

Editorial Review:

In the tradition of Thomas Merton, Kathleen Norris gives us an intimate look at how religious life fills a gap in the soul. Her poetic sensibilities internalize the monastery as a symbol of spirituality, with its sanctity and humor, questioning and uncertainty, rhythm and vigor. Beyond moral precepts and Bible stories, Cloister Walk is a very personal account of religion lived fully. It depicts a depth and beauty of spirituality in monastic life that has survived the vicissitudes of Roman Catholic politics and pomp.

Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Spiritual Direction gives us the unique and unrivaled experience of having Henri Nouwen as our personal spiritual director, answering our questions about the spiritual life in his wise, comfortable, and engaging style. With Nouwen's guidance, we can reorient our lives and open the door to true spiritual transformation.

Henri Nouwen, the world-renowned spiritual guide and counselor, understood the spiritual life as a journey of faith and transformation that is deepened by accountability, community, and relationships. Though he counseled many people during his lifetime, his principles of spiritual direction were never written down. Now two of his longtime students, Michael Christensen and Rebecca Laird, have taken his famous course in spiritual direction and supplemented it with his unpublished writings to create the definitive work on Nouwen's thoughts on the Christian life. Stories, readings, and thematically organized questions for reflection and guided journal writing provide an unparalleled resource for spiritual direction, both for individuals and for small groups.