The sacrament of Confession is probably the most talked about sacraments in the Catholic Church, as well as a spiritual practice being revived in many Protestant churches. This book explores the sacrament focusing on the two people who confess – God and the penitent. God is the primary confessor when he confesses his forgiveness for and trust in the one who is celebrating the sacrament. The gift of freedom, the existence of hell, and the role of conscience are discussed at length. Jean Vanier...
St. Teresa of Avila’s 16th century work “The Way of Perfection” is a classic of Christian literature which was written for the nuns of the order she founded. Encouraged by her religious counselors, she sought to give advice and guidance to other nuns in her ways of prayer and Christian meditation during the upheaval and change of the Reformation in Europe. In this influential work, St. Teresa of Avila gives practical advice for incorporating prayer in one’s everyday life and in using meditation...
One of the most important works of Christian theology, the treatise “On the Incarnation” was written by the fourth century Egyptian religious leader St. Athanasius of Alexandria. An influential Christian theologian and church elder, St. Athanasius, also known as Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, and Athanasius the Apostolic, was the twentieth bishop of Alexandria from 328 AD to 373 AD. St. Athanasius played an important role in the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD where Roman...
Philo, known also as Philo of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus, and Philo the Jew, among other names, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria from 20 BC to 50 CE. Philo's works are most known for being allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures, fusing Jewish thought to Stoic philosophy. Although not widely accepted in his time, his vast collection of works had a powerful influence on early Christian theology and especially on later Christian writers like Clement of...
15th-century Dutch priest Thomas a Kempis is best known for his famous Christian devotional book, “The Imitation of Christ.” Influenced by the era of Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, a movement of religious reform which called for a return to the Christian principles of humility, obedience, and simplicity of life, Kempis intended his work to help further this reform. Arguably the most famous of all Christian devotional works next to the Bible, “The Imitation of Christ” is divided into four...
John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was a significant figure in the religious history of nineteenth century England. Cardinal Newman was a leader of the Oxford Movement which eventually lead to the development of Anglo-Catholicism. No small presence within religious literature, John Henry Newman also wrote a great deal of tracts, hymns, and apologias. Here are collected thirty-two sermons, in Volume II of his «Parochial and Plain Sermons». These sermons are essential to an understanding of...
St. Paul’s “Epistle to the Galatians” is one of the most important of all Christian writings. The work was treasured by Martin Luther, the 15th century German priest, scholar, and father of the Protestant Reformation. For this reason, Luther delivered lectures on the “Epistle to the Galatians” in 1531 and published those lectures in 1535. The resulting “Commentary on Galatians” by Luther is widely regarded as one of the most important commentaries ever written on Christian faith and love. Deeply...
Confucius was a Chinese teacher, statesman, and philosopher who lived in the 5th and 6th century BC. One of the most influential philosophers of all time, and still deeply regarded amongst the Chinese people, his ideology is one which emphasizes the importance of the family, as well as justice, sincerity, and morality in both personal and political matters. Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth and ceremonial propriety. He dealt with neither...
South African pastor Andrew Murray and his elder brother, John, studied theology at the University of Utrecht. Both were members of the Het Réveil, a religious revival movement that arose in opposition to theistic rationalism. Murray believed that missionary work was “the chief end of the church”. Important to this end is the concept of humility, which he discusses in this work. In his preface he writes “In these meditations I have, for more than one reason, almost exclusively directed attention...
“The Book of Enoch” is one of the most notable extant apocryphal works of the Bible. Estimated to have been written around 300 BC, this ancient Jewish religious work is ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Consisting of five distinct sections, the book begins with the fall of the Watchers, angels who fathered the Nephilim, the offspring of “sons of god” and the “daughters of men.” The book follows Enoch as he travels through Heaven and expands more thoroughly, than the...
First published in 1885 by South African religious leader and writer Andrew Murray, “With Christ in the School of Prayer” contains 31 powerful and inspiring lessons on prayer in daily life. While born in South Africa in 1828, as Murray’s father was a Dutch Reformed Church missionary sent from Scotland, Murray grew up educated in Scotland and later the Netherlands. He returned to South Africa in 1848 after his ordination, pastored several churches all over South Africa, and was an important...
First published in 1609 “An Introduction to the Devout Life” is Saint Francis de Sales work which belongs to the Christian tradition of “Lectio Divina” or “Divine Reading”. Like Thomas à Kempis’ “The Imitation of Christ” it is a work intended to provide guidance to the individual desiring spiritual direction in order to lead a more devout life. Based on a series of letters between Francis and his cousin, Madame Marie de Charmoisy, who as the wife of an ambassador of the Duke of Savoy was...