Books published by Gracewing

Georgina Alexander is a remarkable lady; she is a twenty-first century mystic, and Following the Silence is her spiritual autobiography...This book can offer considerable light for the way to those engaged on their own journey of prayer, and search for God. It is a book to be gone back to again and again, to be read slowly and savoured, a true companion for the Christian life. Dom Gervase Holdaway, OSBGeorgina discovers in herself a 'sense of an unsatisfied and empty space', a feeling that that space is filled only by 'something else', by wanting 'something more'. In Following the Silence we have the privilege of accompanying her on that search. As she finds the door she discovers contemplative prayer and, deep within her, the Name and Presence of Jesus. I warmly commend this book to everyone who is interested in this search. And who isn't interested in the search? + Andrew EbbsfleetWhile each person's journey into God is unique, the experience of each individual sheds light on the path for all who seek to pray. In this book Georgina Alexander shares her own particular journey of prayer and in so doing offers insights into the path of Christian prayer and living from which her readers can gain encouragement. Georgina's own experience and wisdom is supported by her wide reading of the classics of prayer and is the fruit of a lifetime of faithful prayer exercised in the midst of the challenges and commitments of a busy life. Sister Clare-Louise,Novice Guardian,SLGIf others could only encounter the love of God, as experienced and described by the author of Following the Silence, the lives of many in our country would be greatly changed...that journey in the Christian tradition both Eastern and Western requires faith and courage, but the treasures to be discovered are immense and enduring. Fr Seraphim Vänttinen-NewtonMeditators will find sound advice and guidance in the work of Georgina Alexander. She has read the mystics of the Byzantine school, but her work is primarily a description of her own experience and her own search ...This [account] confirms me in my conviction that contemplative prayer is the way of the future in the world and that Georgina's message is somehow prophetic. William Johnston,SJ

Questo libro tratta il rapporto fra la fede cristiana in Dio Creatore e la scienza moderna, in uno studio di frontiera. Lo scopo è quello di fornire un commentario filosofico-teologico sugli sviluppi recenti nel campo scientifico. Altro intento è quello di offrire una chiave ermeneutica per studiare la relazione fra la visione del cosmo derivata dalla fisica e dalla biologia in relazione alla visione filosofica e teologica del mondo. Secondo il metodo di questo studio, il testo è suddiviso in cinque parti. Prima, si elabora un'analisi della storia e della nascita della scienza. Poi, segue una introduzione ai documenti del Magistero Pontificio. In terzo luogo, è proposto uno studio del rapporto odierno fra scienza e fede che richiede come ponte il realismo filosofico. Quarto, si procede all'analisi di due punti di contatto importanti fra la scienza e fede e cioè la cosmologia del Big Bang, e le teorie dell'evoluzione.

Through the great men and women of the English Church we can see the continuous inspiration of the Catholic Faith in England as an unbroken tradition shaping life and work, history and culture, for more than fourteen centuries. In this book a group of distinguished authors with varying interests, champion the achievements of twenty-three seminal figures in the history of the English Church - from the seventh century to the present time - who through their Catholic witness have made a contribution to the spiritual, intellectual, ethical and physical welfare of the nation which can be fairly described as 'heroic'. Heroism takes many different forms. Self-evidently heroic are the martyrs of the penal years who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the Faith, others earn their place in this book because their achievements in many different fields of endeavour are truly heroic - as queens, wives and mothers, in education, nursing and social teaching, in journalism and literature, and in challenging the nation's conscience and our national consciousness. The continuity of the Catholic witness in England is often overlooked because of the dislocation caused by the English Reformation, the three subsequent centuries of suppression of the Church, and the rewriting of history to create a new national myth. However, in these lives we can see the impact of Catholicism across the centuries and find inspiration for our own times.Joanna Bogle, Leonie Caldecott , Simon Caldwell, Judith Champ, Mgr Antony Conlon, Mark Elvins OFMCap., Patti Fordyce, Andrea Fraile, Dominic Savio Hamer CP, Etheldreda Hession OSB, Emily Keyte, Mac McLernon, Dora Nash, Fiorella Nash, Josephine Robinson, Penny Roker RSM, Tracey Rowland, Gemma Simmonds CJ, Pauline J. Shaw MFIC, John Skinner and Lucy Underwood share with us their English Catholic Heroines.

EVER SINCE HIS DEATH IN 1890, Newman's name has inspired the thinkingand the devotion of many. The story of his conversion is legendary andyet, as the future Pope Benedict XVI observed, 'Throughout his entire life,Newman was a person converting, a person being transformed, and thus healways remained and became ever more himself.' Newman's genius and hisprolific output of so many types of writing have, in turn, given rise toinnumerable books and articles, these most frequently being academic studiesof some theme or other of this eminent Victorian's thought.Presenting aspects of the life of Cardinal Newman and letting him speak tous in his own words, Fr Skinner draws from the tens of thousands of pagesthat this great pastor penned and presents Newman as a priest, 'A Father ofSouls'. In a series of easily readable sketches we follow Newman's life fromthe time when he first realised that God was calling him to the ordainedministry until his last years as a priest and Cardinal in the BirminghamOratory that he had himself founded. Important themes such as his preachingare seen alongside the means by which he felt he was most sustained andstrengthened for his life's not insignificant trials. Seven of Newman'ssermons conclude this volume.In the words of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Newman's 'remarkable life,void of sham and ambition, but steeped in a prayerful communion with theUnseen, while it remained alive to the problems of his age in Church andsociety, continues to inspire, to uplift and to enlighten'.Much attention has rightly been given to Newman's scholarship and to hisextensive writings, but it is important to remember that he saw himself firstand foremost as a priest. In this Annus Sacerdotalis, I urge you to hold up toyour priests his example of dedication to prayer, pastoral sensitivity towardsthe needs of his flock, and passion for preaching the Gospel.Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Bishops of England and Wales,1 February 2010FR GERARD SKINNER is a priest of the Diocese of Westminster. He wasborn in Portsmouth and, after studying at the Royal Academy of Music,London, he trained for the priesthood at the Venerable English College inRome

Born in a small Irish town straddling the border of Tipperary and Waterford, the young John Joseph O'Connor was educated on the Continent by the Benedictines at Douai before being ordained a Catholic priest in March 1895. While his whole life was to be spent as a parish priest, he became known for possessing one of the finest intellects in early-twentieth-century Europe. Friend and confidant of statesmen, writers, and artists, his own literary output was prolific. His ability to distinguish between the genuine and false, in people as well as works of art, led to him assembling an art collection whose sale funded almost half the cost of building his first church. He built up a further valuable collection of art and antiques, but did not have to resort to its sale to build his second, and quite controversial, church. Controversy was something Mgr O'Connor never shied away from. He was loved and revered by his parishioners, most of whom were totally unaware of his close friendship with so many eminent figures beyond the confines of his parish. One of these, G. K. Chesterton, is now being proposed for beatification, and it was he who turned his friend into his fictional priest-detective, Father Brown, who knew more about the underworld than the criminals themselves. And it was Mgr O'Connor who was to guide Chesterton along the path to Catholicism and receive him into the Church. Mgr O'Connor commissioned the Stations of the Cross and other sculptures for his Bradford parish from Eric Gill, but he had a much deeper involvement with the Ditchling group of Arts and Crafts workshops. He not only translated the French philosophy of Jacques Maritain for them but also collaborated with Gill on the publication of Song of Songs and Song of the Soul with their highly controversial and sexually explicit engravings. This, his only, biography aims to introduce the shadowy figure who slipped in and out of so many different worlds to a larger public who never suspected he had so many fingers in so many pies.

Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special "Year of Faith," dedicated to rousing a "new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ." The Year of Faith will begin on October 11, 2012: a date that marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. Pope Benedict notes that the date is also the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which he describes as "a precious and indispensable tool" for the task of evangelization. The Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith that receives its systematic and organic synthesis in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith ...In this Year, then, the Catechism of the Catholic Church will serve as a tool providing real support for the faith, especially for those concerned with the formation of Christians, so crucial in our cultural context. Pope Benedict XVI Porta FideiThe Year of Faith offers a special opportunity for all believers to deepen their study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In this useful book Fr James Tolhurst provides a paragraph by paragraph exposition of this key text, supplemented by a wealth of information and an extensive prayer section which is intended to aid reflection on the teaching of the Catechism itself. Also included is a thematic preface which lays out the major concepts contained in the work, a full index, and extensive cross references to other Church documents.Drawing out its doctrinal richness, this is an ideal tool for catechists, groups of faithful, schools and families, for educators in centres of theological studies, seminaries and Catholic universities, for those concerned with the continuing education of the clergy and for priests studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a resource for the pastoral care of their parishes - catechesis, preaching, Sacramental preparation. Dr James Tolhurst studied at Fribourg and Salamanca Universities. He has served as Theology Tutor at the English College, Valladolid, and as Dean of Studies for the Permanent Diaconate of the Southern English Dioceses. He is Series Editor of the Newman Millennium Edition, and his many books include the bestselling A Concise Catechism for Catholics.

Ronald Knox was hailed as one of the brightest minds of the Edwardian era, and his decision to become a Catholic shocked many of his contemporaries. He was to be one of the most outstanding recruits to the Church of his generation, and for thirty years he was one of the best known personalities of English Catholicism. A gifted writer and broadcaster, Knox raised the self-confidence of the Catholic Church and showed how Catholicism was now once more at home in England. Knox's writing, broadcasting and preaching made a profound impact on his fellow Catholics and his lucid expositions of Christian teaching found a wide audience. Educated at Eton and Balliol, he demonstrated, as Newman had before him, that an Englishman of his background could be at ease in the Catholic Church. The Church was able to make full use of his talents, as teacher and priest, and as Catholic chaplain to Oxford University in the inter-war years. Renowned for his Bible translations, Knox also wrote detective stories and sparkling satire. His cultivated background and capacity for friendship made him a welcome figure in society, he was famous for his wit - yet sometimes he wrestled with his own melancholy. His close friendships included Harold Macmillan and Evelyn Waugh, who wrote a biography of Knox two years after his death. Waugh's biography is, of course, a literary tour de force, but fifty years on the life of this brilliant and complex priest can now be set in the context of his own times, and of ours.Terry Tastard is a priest of Westminster Diocese and a Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

In The School of Compassion, Deborah M. Jones engages with the Catholic Church's contemporary attitude towards animals. This is the fullest sustained study of the subject in that faith tradition.It begins by exploring the history of the Church's ideas about animals. These were drawn largely from significant readings of Old and New Testament passages and inherited elements of classical philosophies. Themes emerge, such as the renewal of creation in the apocryphal legends, in the Desert Fathers, and in Celtic monasticism. The spirituality of St Francis of Assisi, the legal status of animals, and liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches also shed light on the Church's thinking. The British Catholic tradition - which is relatively favourable to animals - is considered in some detail.The second part of the book provides a forensic examination of the four paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which relate particularly to animals. Finally, major contemporary issues are raised - stewardship, anthropocentrism, and gender - as well as key ethical theories. The revisits some teachings of Aquinas, and explores doctrinal teachings such as that of human beings created in the 'image of God', and, with a nod to the Orthodox Tradition, as the 'priests of creation'. These help form a consistent and authentically Catholic theology which can be viewed as a school of compassion towards animals. The joy of this book is that it helps Catholic Christians to re-engage with the issue of animals by utilising the riches from within their own tradition....And what Dr Deborah Jones has discovered is a remarkably more complex, infinitely richer, and considerably more animal-friendly Catholic tradition than might be supposed by the usual caricatures. This book is the fullest systematic treatment of the moral status of animals within the Roman Catholic tradition. It is the result of painstaking scholarship, wide reading, and, most of all, insightful theological exploration. It builds on the work of others, like myself, and provides a stream of fresh perspectives on our lives with God's other creatures. It is a deeply Catholic work, and I pray that it strikes a deep chord within the Catholic community here and overseas. Revd Professor Andrew LinzeyDeborah M Jones is general secretary of the international organisation Catholic Concern for Animals and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, with a doctorate in animal theology. She has also worked as editor of the Catholic Herald, deputy editor of Priests & People, as a writer and lecturer, and diocesan adviser for adult religious education.

Among the most beautiful prayers ever composed, the 'O' Antiphons have for twelve centuries voiced the Church's longing for Christ's Coming at Christmas. In this remarkable book Oliver Treanor explores the rich biblical background to each Antiphon and, drawing on the spiritual tradition of the Fathers and the teachings of Vatican II as well, leads us to the deep sources of meditation that lie within the texts.Here is an ideal Advent companion for individuals or groups seeking to recharge their spirituality for Christmas - and indeed throughout the year. For the 'O' Antiphons guide us beyond Advent into the entire mystery of salvation, bringing us beyond the Christmas season to the Paschal Mystery itself. It is in fact a book for all seasons.Oliver Treanor is author of Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of the Redeemed; he has written for L'Osservatore Romano, Priests and People, Religious Life Review, Theology Digest and many other journals. He has worked for five years as a producer and broadcaster at Vatican Radio.

At a time when there is renewed interest in the Extraordinary Rite, Hugh Ross Williamson's classic exposition of the Roman Canon provides a superb commentary to provide priest and people alike with a deeper devotional understanding of the Mass.The very considerable learning, both historical and theological, which stands behind his writing is never obtrusive, but always serves the main purpose of the book which is devotional.Every paragraph of the Canon is given, both in Latin and in English translation.The prayers which compose the Canon of the Mass in the Extraordinary Rite are exactly those, without any alteration, which St Augustine said the first time he celebrated Mass in Canterbury when he came to England in the year 597.I commend this book to all who wish to discover afresh the riches of the Church's Liturgy and thus to renew her life. + Alan S Hopes Titular Bishop of Chester le Street Auxiliary Bishop of WestminsterHugh Ross Williamson (1901-1978) wrote nineteen plays and more than fifty books, entertaining and informing a wide public from 1933 until the time of his death.Journalist, historian, novelist, theologian and playwright, he had been an Anglican clergyman from 1940 - 1956 before converting to Catholicism. One of the first to explore the thesis that Shakespeare was a Catholic, much of his work was concerned with the rehabilitation of Catholicism in our understanding of England's history - a process that continues to this day. His popular introduction to St Bernadette and the Apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes, The Challenge of Bernadette, is also published by Gracewing.

Elizabeth Hayes (1823-94) is a woman whose personal life and achievements are of significance in both British and North American religious, social and literary history. Born on the Island of Guernsey, the youngest child of an Anglican schoolmaster-clergyman, she embraced the Oxford Movement, the Wantage Anglican sisterhood, Catholicism and the Franciscan movement when a neo-monastic revival found enthusiasts in both the Catholic Church and in Anglicanism. Strongly committed to living a Franciscan way of life, as foundress, teacher, religious sister and journalist, Elizabeth's desire for mission in foreign places fired her with a courageous determination. Concerned for the poor, she had a bold and broad vision yet her capacity to mingle comfortably with key religious and literary figures of the period in England, Paris, Rome and North America set her apart. In the 'age of journalism', she ventured confidently into an arena where most women writers struggled for acknowledgement and even took on male pseudonyms in order to succeed. Many journals proved ephemeral yet Elizabeth's monthly periodical, published first in Minnesota, then in Georgia, and finally, in Rome, was to endure. No minor player in Victorian Catholic journalism, she wrote, edited, published and distributed through her Sisters the first English Franciscan journal, initiated in 1874. She continued these roles for twenty-one years until her death and her periodical itself continued for a century.Elizabeth carved out a fresh Franciscan path that indicated how she grasped the purpose of her life and the importance of good journalistic literature for society. Annals' subscribers were more than readers with needs; they collaborated in a seven-hundred-year-old Franciscan way of life with its rich history, traditions, missions and Franciscan spirituality through her confraternity. This was the cornerstone of the ultimate success of Elizabeth's mission through journalism, a mission that responded exactly to the needs for Catholic evangelism following the great migrant influx (1825-50) in North America.

Adult Christian learning is central to the life of the Christian church, and is essential for its health, outreach and very survival. Leading Christian educators here apply the principles of Christian education to adult learning in the churches, and present the results and methods of empirical research relevant to the church's ministry of adult Christian education. This book will be of interest to all who are concerned for the ways in which adults learn to be Christian.The editor, Jeff Astley, is Director of the North of England Institute for Christian Education and Honorary Professorial Fellow in Practical Theology and Christian Education in the University of Durham.

Tensions in the Church between New Rite and Old Rite, new church and old church, demand a fresh and healing insight. Dom David is convinced of the rightness of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II while still valuing the tried and true insights of the past. He calls for a constructive reassessment of Sacrosanctum Concilium inspired by a truly catholic understanding of the Faith - both Eastern and Western (including a selective Anglican input) - and underlines the complementarity of Eastern and Western Eucharistic theologies. Whatever way the Eucharist is celebrated, the emphasis should be on our outward communal participation precisely because it is the expression of our sharing together as one body in the death and resurrection of Christ in the presence of the Father. The great error which so many made in the wake of Vatican II was to confuse the fruit of good liturgy with the way it is performed, but Dom David points out the liturgical paradox: that if we make human warmth and understanding our goal in the way we celebrate the liturgy, we will lose the reverence and awe which properly lead us to that warmth and understanding. The liturgical texts have properly stressed the relationship between people and God: in practice, however, the emphasis has too often been on the horizontal relationship between priest and people. The complementarity of individual and communal devotion also appears both in the exercise of lectio divina and in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.This book, Dom David's third, is the fruit of fifty years' monastic life in Europe and Latin America . . . He shares his experiences with his readers, distilled, as it were, through the eyes and heart of a monk, a scholar and a contemplative, for Fr David is truly a man of God. Dom Paul Stonham, Abbot of Belmont.

Father Stanley Jaki (1924-2009) was one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century and his contribution to Catholic thought and culture has been profound, especially regarding the relationship between science and religion. This work focuses on the close link joining science and Christianity, despite the differences between them. Through his study of modern science, theology and history, Stanley¿Jaki showed that faith and reason are not mutually exclusive. The problems arise because of those ideologies which seek to eliminate God from the ultimate equation. Jaki highlighted the Christian origins of the modern natural sciences. He showed that the concept of the cosmos as both contingent and rational, together with the acceptance that God could work through secondary causes, provided the unique environment for the natural sciences to flourish, from the Middle Ages onwards. He explored the crucial role played by belief in creation out of nothing and in time, reinforced by faith in the Incarnation, in enabling this birth of science. This book contains the first systematic treatment of the ideas of the late Stanley Jaki, and is the only complete work, with an entire bibliography, approved by him during his lifetime. His ideas earned him the highest forms of recognition, including the Templeton Prize, awarded to Fr Jaki by Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in 1987, and his appointment by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, as an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1990.

Vita Communis - 'the common life' - is the term used for community life among priests and other clerics, as opposed to monks and friars. While monasticism is familiar, few are aware that pastoral ('secular') priests have lived in communities for most of the Church's history. Many people have suggested that they could do so again, and that this might help with some of the problems facing solitary priests in the modern world. By exploring what was done in the past, we can suggest what might work in the future, learning from the successes as well as the failures of previous priestly communities.The story of secular canons in the Western Church, as opposed to those who were canons in religious orders, has often been told in terms of their contribution to architecture, literature, and the apostolate. Here, however, the author, building on his earlier work devoted to the medieval rules governing the secular common life, has provided a narrative of the essential shape of the canonical life from its origins down to the present time, and this for a general readership. He thus demonstrates the persistent desire of many secular clergy to live in community. At a time when priests are fewer and more isolated, this work will provide useful models for developing structures of mutual support for the secular clergy of our time. Abbot Geoffrey Scott

POPE BENEDICT said at the beginning of his Pontificate that external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth's treasures no longer serve to build God's garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction.This book is a theological investigation of the environment, and takes in scientific, biblical, moral and spiritual themes, all addressed by recent Church teaching on the subject. The starting point is a detailed analysis of the various problems assailing the environment at present. Then a distinction is made between the science of ecology and the ideological overtones which are often associated with this area. Next, an overview of Christian teaching on ecology is present as an antidote to both New Age pseudo-mysticism and political ideology. A Christian theology of the environment is then formulated which has consequences for our moral life and our prayer.PAUL HAFFNER is a priest and professor of theology at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome, visiting professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and adjunct lecturer at Duquesne University Roman Campus. Author of over 20 books and 100 articles on philosophical and theological themes, many of his works have been translated into several languages, including Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Other published volumes by this author include Mystery of Creation, Mystery of the Church, The Mystery of Mary, The Mystery of Reason and The Sacramental Mystery, all from Gracewing.

La Beata Vergine Maria, Cuore pulsante della tradizione cristiana, occupa un ruolo centrale nella teologia della Chiesa. La devozione e la teologia che la storia umana le ha attribuito, la riconoscono come Madre di Dio. Per diversi secoli, molto è stato scritto su ogni aspetto della vita e dell¿opera di Maria Santissima. Così tanto, che uno studio sistematico della Beata Vergine sembra un impegno piuttosto difficile. Abbiamo bisogno di aiuto per condividere la gioia dello studio e della riflessione sull¿essere e sull¿agire della Madonna nell¿economia della salvezza. In questo libro, il Professor Paul Haffner ci propone una panoramica chiara e strutturata della dottrina e teologia circa Maria, in una prospettiva storica. L¿opera propone uno schema di Mariologia, nel contesto di altri campi teologici, per poi passare al discorso biblico, articolato nell¿Antico e nel Nuovo Testamento. L¿autore, successivamente, procede ad illustrare le dottrine mariologiche fondamentali,dall¿Immacolata Concezione fino alla Maternità di Maria nella Chiesa come Mediatrice di tutte le grazie. Qui il lettore troverà una guida sicura, fedele alla tradizione che, offrendo un approccio realista, non riduce gli aspetti concreti dei doni e privilegi della Madonna ai simboli e non confonde dottrina e devozionalismo. Il mistero di Maria è pubblicato anche per celebrare il Centocinquantesimo anniversario delle Apparizioni della Madre di Dio a Santa Bernadette a Lourdes.

The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' is one of the most revolutionary books ever published on the literatures of Britain. Its subject is four stories in the collection of Welsh prose tales known as The Mabinogion. These Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the legends of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed ; Branwen, Daughter of Ll¿r; Manawydan, Son of Ll¿r; and Math, Son of Mathonwy, which have long enjoyed popularity as Wales's most significant contribution to world literature. The Four Branches are tales of love, adventure and magic, but also of rape, adultery, betrayal and attempted murder. Although most scholars agree that the four stories are the work of a single author, there has been no agreement on where and when they were composed. To these questions The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' offers a startling answer. It has always been assumed that the tales are the work of a male author. However, Andrew Breeze convincingly shows not only that the Four Branches were composed by a female writer, but that she can be identified as Gwenllian, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan (d. 1137), king of Gwynedd, and wife of Gruffydd ap Rhys (d. 1137), prince of Dyfed. Gwenllian was born at the close of the eleventh century, married Gruffydd when she was in her teens, and for most of her life lived quietly with him near Caio in the hills of Carmarthenshire. Her end was dramatic. In early 1136 she led an attack on the Normans of Kidwelly, was defeated in battle and executed outside the town. Despite this catastrophe, her son Rhys (d.1197) survived to lead resistance to English rule and to maintain Dyfed's independence. Amongst his descendants were Henry VII of England and James VI and I of Scotland and England, so that the line of Princess Gwenllian can be traced down to the modern British royal family. Gwenllian's position within the dynasties of Gwynedd and Dyfed explains why the political and territorial aggrandizement of both territories is, uniquely, a theme of these tales. It also explains the uncommon tact with which conflict between them is described. It means too that the stories give a representation of royal government and decision-making in twelfth-century Wales by one who knew them from inside. Andrew Breeze's sensational analysis of this classic text is published in full in this volume for the first time.

St Thérèse of Lisieux is one of our best loved saints. Discalced Carmelite mystic, Doctor of the Church, popularly acclaimed as 'the Little Flower', her spirituality is at once simple and sublime - it appeals to Christians at all stages of the spiritual journey.In this classic account of St Thérèse's spiritual teaching - "the little way of spiritual childhood" - Sister Teresa Margaret, D.C. explores with us her life, her devotions, her teaching and her posthumous mission. She demonstrates how readily adaptable is this simple yet far from easy "ever-ancient, ever-new' method of going to God, by 'doing the tiniest things right and doing it for love"Sister Teresa shows us how a modern saint achieved so perfect a likeness to Christ in her own life, how the unchanging standards of our Saviour can be adapted in every way to the needs and problems of this present age - a consolation and encouragement for us all. She presents to us St Thérèse as a sure spiritual companion and guide.Here we meet St Thérèse in the light of the Gospels, in the light of the Church's teaching concerning her virtues and her universal mission, and against a background of genuine Carmelite tradition and the teaching of St John of the Cross.St Thérèse of Lisieux was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, was declared patroness of foreign missions with St Francis Xavier in 1927, and in 1944 was declared protectoress of France with St Joan of Arc by Pope Pius XII. St Thérèse was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

The Benedictine abbey of Solesmes in France is famous for the quality of its Gregorian chant, recordings of which are appreciated throughout the world. Nevertheless, the life of its founder, Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875) is still relatively unknown. This is partly due to Guéranger himself, who never sought to promote his life story. While he published many liturgical and spiritual works, this highly personal account of his early life and events surrounding the foundation of Solesmes in 1833 was never intended for publication, and indeed was never completed. For this reason, the manuscript remained in the archives of the abbey of Solesmes for well over a hundred years. Growing recognition of its wider importance and interest led to its eventual publication in 2005, the bicentenary of Guéranger's birth.The book is far more than a personal portrait of an interesting and innovative individual. Through the prism of events surrounding his early life as a seminarian, secular priest and then Benedictine monk, Guéranger's account illustrates many of the wider issues at play in early nineteenth-century France and French Catholicism. Guéranger's first-hand account of various political events under the regimes of Napoleon I, the Bourbon Restoration and Louis-Philippe has its own historical value. Above all, however, the book shows how Guéranger's project to re-found Benedictine life in France, after its disappearance in the wake of the French Revolution, stood in relation to other currents of religious thought and monastic tradition, notably Gallicanism, Ultramontanism, the Maurists and the Cistercians. Those interested in monastic life and liturgical spirituality will further draw inspiration from Guéranger's narration of the human relationships and mystical experiences that inspired his Benedictine vocation and subsequent life's work. Guéranger's lively text is also enjoyable in its own right. His optimism, determination, creativity, unwavering trust in divine providence, capacity for friendship and often humorous (and occasionally devastating) portraits of the many people whom he encountered give a particular charm and colour to his writing. Ultimately, however, this account of Guéranger's spiritual and intellectual awakening provides impetus for a renewed contemporary appreciation of his convictions, which are of perennial value for all who are seeking God. The monastic community founded by Guéranger bears witness to the transforming power of contemplative liturgical spirituality lived in and for the Church and the world. As such, monastic life serves as an exemplar of spiritual and human values whose relevance extends far beyond the cloister. Extensive footnotes, and an introduction by Dr Judith Bowen, whose recent doctoral thesis is one of the most important studies on the unity and significance of Guéranger's liturgical and theological work, further enhance this translation.

Teresa Higginson (1844-1905) was a saintly Catholic schoolteacher. She was born in Holywell, North Wales and grew up in Gainsborough and Neston. As an adult she lived in Bootle, Clitheroe, Edinburgh and Chudleigh in Devon where she died. She received many supernatural gifts including the Mystical Marriage and the Stigmata. Teresa was chosen by Christ to make known His great desire that His Sacred Head be worshipped as the Seat of Divine Wisdom. This would be a remedy for a time of foolish intellectual pride and lapsing from the faith. It would be not only the completion of devotion to the Sacred Heart, but the crowning of all devotions. In fact it was prophesied to be the one great means for the conversion of England. Lady Cecil Kerr's account of the Venerable Teresa Higginson remains the standard biography and is based on many of Teresa's letters and other direct evidence of her remarkable life. This new edition features an introduction by the Roman theology professor, Rev Dr Paul Haffner.Mary Catherine Cecil Kerr was born on 15 November 1878. She was the daughter of Admiral Lord Walter Talbot Kerr and Lady Amabell Frederica Henrietta Cowper. She died on 19 July 1957 at age 78. Lady Cecil Kerr was a religious sister who wrote several other historical and devotional works, including The life of the Venerable Philip Howard, earl of Arundel and Surrey, The Miraculous Medal, and Bishop Hay, a Sketch of His Life and Times

Try a Little Tenderness might have been a nicer title for this book had the songwriter not claimed it first. Benedictine spirituality is known for the gentleness with which it patiently massages away at the monk's hardness of heart. The flowing robes they wear, the flowing chant they sing, the endless repetition of the day's structure based on prayer, manual labour and spiritual reading; all bear witness to a seamless process of conversion, the lowly contemplatives ever waiting on God's quiet voice within their hearts. However, it's not as easy as it sounds, so when Brother Daniel fled the world, back in the sixties, he was in no way prepared for a conflict of such dimensions with the worldly self he had forgotten to leave behind. Try a Little Lowliness traces his journey, strewn with stumbling blocks and banana skins, with a mischievous humour, but also with great insights into monastic spirituality. It lovingly paints the diversity of characters peopling the abbey, especially the irrepressible Father Lawrence, Daniel's novice-master and mentor, the wise old Prior, the inscrutable Abbot, the incorrigible cook, the lovable Sam. Both the author and Father Robert O'Brien, fellow novice and friend from Caldey Abbey, hope that Try a Little Lowliness will appeal to men and women, both young and not so young, providing a signpost to the contemplative life on their spiritual journey. Brother Daniel's humanity exudes a love of life, however strange the circumstances, and the warmth of his portrayal leaves the reader never far from laughter or tears.Paddy Lyons lives in north London with his wife, Elsie, their five grown-up children and four grandchildren all settled nearby. It wasn't always like that. In the early sixties, after a Jesuit schooling, military service and management training with Unilever, he renounced the world, survived an early brush with the Carthusians, and eventually landed on Caldey Island in the Bristol Channel to spend several generally happy and profitable years in the Cistercian Order. Later, having trained as a social worker and marrying Elsie (on the rebound from monastic life, she maintains), he turned to journalism and worked for the Financial Times. Renouncing the world a second time he used his writing skills to manage the communications of a national children's charity. After retiring he spent a decade caring for the deaf blind. Now with nothing else to do . . .

The best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, has brought under scrutiny a powerful and influential movement within the Catholic Church - Opus Dei.This institution, often charged with excessive secrecy, has had many critics.What is Opus Dei? offers a comprehensive profile of Opus Dei, and of its founder, St Josemaria Escriva. In this rigorous and well-documented book, its inspiration, history, sprituality, organisation and activities are all clearly detailed.Here are the answers to so many questions, authoritatively presented.Opus Dei, founded in 1928 by St Josemaria Escriva, proclaims that lay people can and ought to seek holiness in the context of their ordinary life. Through daily work, at home and in the family, men and women can spread the Gospel in the world in which they live. Flourishing both before and since the Second Vatican Council, Opus Dei anticipated what were to be the great pastoral themes of the Church at the beginning of the third millennium.