Jon Sweeney
Showing all 11 results
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Auschwitz And Absolution
$29.00Add to cartFew people know that in the face of his execution, the notorious Rudolf Hoss, the Commandant for Auschwitz, met with a Polish Jesuit priest, Fr. Wladyslaw Lohn. Hoss made a confession to Fr. Lohn for approximately four hours, and from Fr. Lohn he received communion. This compelling account of a secret and sacramental meeting not only tells what happened but seventeen Christian and Jewish scholars offer a critical challenge to, or celebration of Christian notions of forgiveness.
We have access to Hoss’s confession by way of selections from his published memoirs. Fr. Lohn said almost nothing about his encounter and certainly nothing about the confession itself. In addition to writing a thorough introduction to this encounter, in order to contemplate the priest’s thoughts, James Bernauer has composed a work of imagination, a diary of how this Jesuit might have scrutinized this meeting. Bernauer’s hope is that, in addition to giving a sense of a historical encounter, the reader will perform their own imaginative reflection on the issues. Throughout the work, the limitations on religious absolution of sin are heightened by recall of alternative Christian practices (historical and contemporary), as well as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warnings about “cheap grace.”
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Saint Francis And The Way Of Lent
$19.95Add to cartThe Francis of Assisi Spiritual Practices series utilizes New City’s groundbreaking and now complete Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volumes 1-4 to offer readers of all backgrounds inspiring, encouraging, and challenging entry-points to the essential issues of a Christian life. Each book in the series should appeal to readers who desire to walk the Way of Saint Francis with relevance to his life, writings, and legacy.
Saint Francis and the Way of Lent offers a four-week format designed for both individual and group use. Each week, or chapter, focuses on a Lenten theme:
Week 1: Lent as a Balanced Way of Life
Week 2: The Lost Art of Compunction
Week 3: Spending Time Alone
Week 4: Imitating Christ
Short introductions are written by the editor and designed to preface selections from the primary texts, and these are followed by questions for discussion or reflection. There are six readings for each week, followed by prayers of intention and spiritual practice suggestions practice suggestions to deepen your Lenten journey as you follow Christ in the Way of Saint Francis.
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Thomas Merton : An Introduction To His Life, Teachings, And Practices
$14.99Add to cartAn introduction to the spiritual legacy of Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk and one of the most influential spiritual figures of the 20th century. His writing on contemplation, monastic life, mysticism, poetry, and social issues have influenced generations and his legacy of interfaith understanding and social justice endures to this day. Thomas Merton: An Introduction to His Life, Teachings, and Practices offers an exploration of Merton as a monk, as a writer, and as a human being. Author Jon M. Sweeney delves into Merton’s life and ideas with an appreciation for his work and a deep understanding of the spiritual depth that it contains.
Thomas Merton offers a unique view of the popular and sometimes controversial monk, braiding together his thoughts and practices with the reality of his life to create a full portrait of a pivotal figure. The Merton revealed in its pages is a source of inspiration and insight for those wrestling with questions of faith and spirituality.
At its core, the book is about the search for wholeness–a search Merton undertook himself throughout his lifetime and one readers can also embark on as they draw inspiration and guidance from his life.
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Jesus Wasnt Killed By The Jews
$19.00Add to cartThe Passion narratives contain painful anti-Semitic tropes–particularly the Gospel of John, which is read world-wide every Holy Week. These readings have been used over the centuries to brand the Jewish people as Christ-killers and to justify discrimination and violence. Here, religious scholars and writers address the historical, theological, and exegetical considerations to be addressed by every Christian in order to move beyond this toxic history. Contributors include Walter Brueggemann, Mary Boys, Richard Lux, Wes Howard-Brook, Massimo Faggioli, Bishop Richard J. Sklba, Gregg Garret, and Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.
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Course In Desert Spirituality
$19.95Add to cartThomas Merton’s sessions with the young monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani showcase Merton’s brilliant ability to survey the key figures, and synthesize their writings, inspiring his listeners and readers with what it means for the spiritual life. Like its companion volume A Course in Christian Mysticism, this book is a collection of fifteen lectures that get to the heart of Merton’s belief that monastic wisdom and spirituality are applicable for everyone. This compact volume allows anyone to learn from one of the twentieth century’s greatest Catholic spiritual teachers. The study materials at the back of the book, including additional primary source readings and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, make this an essential text for any student of Christian desert spirituality.
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Phyllis Tickle : A Life
$29.95Add to cartAuthorized text, initiated with Phyllis Tickle’s active involvement – Covers the full range of her life and work By the time of her death in 2015, Phyllis Tickle was one of the most beloved and respected figures in American religious life, and her writing offers a unique combination of the down-to-earth, deep spirituality, and scholarship. In this comprehensive new volume, Jon Sweeney, official biographer of Tickle’s literary estate, explores every aspect of her life, a more than 50-year legacy of poetry; plays; literary, spiritual, and historical/theological work; and advocacy. Himself an author and editor in the religion field, Sweeney examines Tickle’s personal and professional roots, from her family, long marriage, and life on The Farm in Lucy, Tennessee, to early academic career and move into book publishing, where her role as founding editor of the Religion Department at Publishers Weekly influenced the growth of spiritual writing and interfaith understanding during the 1990s. Sweeney also looks at pivotal relationships with John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, and Brian McLaren, as well as her great influence on the increasing number who adopted fixed-hour prayer, the Episcopal Church as a whole, and the Emerging Church, for which she served as historian, forecaster, and champion. A look at her early, passionate advocacy for the LGBT community, lecture circuit controversies, and projects left unfinished completes the picture.
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Complete Francis Of Assis
$29.99Add to cartThere are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work, The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work. This “Paraclete Giants” edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier’s ground-breaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894 and re-issued and expanded in 2002; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers. Other Paraclete Giants include The Complete Julian of Norwich and The Complete Introduction to the Devout Life, both translated and introduced by Fr. John-Julian, OJN.
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Almost Catholic : An Appreciation Of The History Practice And Mystery Of An
$19.95Add to cartIn Almost Catholic, Sweeney offers an appreciation of Catholicism, weaving in the story of his own explorations with those of others who have also been attracted to this tradition. He finds himself drawn to the Church’s ancient and medieval traditions out of a desire to connect with the deepest and widest paths on the way. Two millennia of saints and practices and teachings and mystery form a connection for him to the very beginnings of Christianity.
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Saint Clare Prayer Book
$17.99Add to cartFor all who love St. Francis and his spirit of passionate creativity and devotion to God, this prayer book is an invitation to experience the spiritual gifts of one of his closest companions. Clare was a deep, ready source of wisdom-a well to Francis’s river.
Discover the spirituality of St. Clare and how it complements that of St. Francis. Enter into a week of morning and evening prayer centered on themes from Clare’s life. Pray with Clare’s own words in a variety of occasions. And enjoy a special appendix that dramatizes what it might have been like to be there on that first night when Clare fled to the little chapel called Portiuncula to become a brother, and much more.
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Saint Francis Prayer Book (Deluxe)
$17.99Add to cartWith this guide you will pray the words that Francis taught his spiritual brothers and sisters to pray, explore Francis’s time and place and feel the joy and earnestness of the first Franciscans, and experience how it is possible to live a contemplative and active life, at the same time.
