If the future is creative, is it any wonder that sometimes the church seems stuck in the past? Now is the time for the church to reclaim its role as a center of creativity. Among your members are artists, musicians and other creatives whose gifts can enhance your worship, inform your theology and impact your community. Christian arts advocate J. Scott McElroy gives a comprehensive vision and manual for unleashing creativity in your congregation so you can connect with the more visual, aural, participatory and expressive generation that is rising up within the church today. In this handbook you'll find clear direction for: Mobilizing and managing artists and other creatives in your congregation Establishing structures and parameters for arts ministry Leading and supporting staff and church members in creative changes Enhancing the worship service Adding creative elements to your sermons Engaging the broader community Activate your church in every avenue of worship with this practical guide for arts ministry.

Short novena prayers to Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Anne, St. Michael, St. Jude, St. Anthony, St. Gerard, St. Rita. St. Therese, Holy Angels, Poor Souls, etc; (5-1.00 ea.; 10-.80 ea.; 25-.70 ea.; 50-.60 ea.; 100-.50 ea.).

Spanish edition of the best-selling Pocket Book of Catholic Prayers, which contains the essential prayers for every Catholic in pocket book form.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a French abbot and theologian who was the main founder of the Cistercian order. Originally published in 1910, this book contains a selection from his letters, meditations, sermons, hymns and other writings, translated into English. Covering a variety of themes, it will be of value to anyone with an interest in Saint Bernard and his works.

First published in 1896, this book presents the complete surviving Latin text of the Sacramentarium Leonianum, which was discovered in the Chapter library at Verona by Joseph Bianchini during the first half of the eighteenth century. The text includes a detailed introduction, extensive editorial notes and three photographs from the manuscript. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in sacramentaries and the history of Christianity.

Why is prayer so hard? Many of us have asked that question. We want to pray. We intend to pray. But, as spiritual director and professor MaryKate Morse notes, "We don't pray as consistently or as meaningfully as we might like." And yet prayer offers us such spiritual riches. Prayer draws us to experience love and to be love increases our faith expands our vision of God helps us grow in self-understanding gives us perspective on life and death Morse continues: "Through prayer, we experience forgiveness, guidance and peace. We are healed physically and emotionally. We experience the mystery of God, see truth and receive spiritual gifts. We receive vision and courage for God's mission. Faith becomes more beautiful, more real." This guidebook is designed to move you from lamenting over prayerlessness to the joy of praying. Whether you are a beginner or a lifetime person of faith, you will find a treasure trove of riches here to guide you into a deeper experience of prayer. Each chapter explores a different angle of prayer with sections focusing on each of the persons of the Trinity--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And each chapter offers specific ways to pray both on your own, with a partner or in a group. Sprinkled throughout are reflections from the author's former students describing on their own experience with these practices. A treasure trove of both resources and encouragement, you will find this book to be an indispensable guide to your life of prayer.

An Anthology of Writings from 1483 to 1999 Firmly I Believe and Truly celebrates the depth and breadth of the spiritual, literary, and intellectual heritage of the Post-Reformation English Roman Catholic tradition in an anthology of writings that span a five hundred year period between William Caxton and Cardinal Hume. Intended as a rich resource for all with an interest in Roman Catholicism, the writings have been carefully selected and edited by a team of scholars with historical, theological, and literary expertise. Each author is introduced to provide context for the included extracts and the chronological arrangement of the anthology makes the volume easy to use whilst creating a fascinating overview of the modern era in English Catholic thought. The extracts comprise a wide variety writing genres; sermons, prayers, poetry, diaries, novels, theology, apologetics, works of controversy, devotional literature, biographies, drama, and essays. Includes writings by: John Colet, John Fisher, Thomas More, Robert Southwell, Philip Howard, Edmund Campion, John Gother, John Dryden, Mary Barker, Alexander Pope, Richard Challoner, Alban Butler, John Milner, Elizabeth Inchbald, Nicholas Wiseman, Margaret Mary Hallahan, A. W. N. Pugin, John Henry Newman, Henry Edward Manning, Frederick William Faber, Bertrand Wilberforce, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vincent McNabb, Hilaire Belloc, Maurice Baring, G. K. Chesterton, R. A. Knox, J. R. R. Tolkien, Caryll Houselander, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, John Bradburne, Cardinal Hume

The Order of Morning and Evening Prayer throughout the year taken from the Divine Office.

For anyone who wants to make a daily act of devotion, Morning and Evening Prayer offers the perfect combination of a consistent structure of prayer alongside daily options and choices to take you through the church s year.

Taken from the Catholic Divine Office, these daily prayers and readings offer inspiration for priests and lay people alike to give strength for each day.Now with a new look in the familiar hardwearing and practical format, and an updated table of moveable dates."

Includes hymnody from medieval plain chant to the early twentieth-century classics. This work includes hymns that are grouped according to theme and contains material suitable for any festival or occasion in the life of a church.

The traditional edition of the English Hymnal, this volume includes the very best hymnody from medieval plain chant to the early twentieth-century classics. The hymns are grouped according to theme and contain material suitable for any festival or occasion in the life of a church.

Based on her #1 New York Times bestseller, THE CONFIDENT WOMAN, Joyce Meyer taps into the concerns and issues that trouble women most. She provides encouragement and tools to help resolve problems in the areas of life women struggle with most-including confidence, self image, and relationships. It is easy to get caught up in what the coming weeks, months, or years might hold and forget to slow down and live in the present. This powerful daily devotional will help women on their journey towards a confident life filled with love, laughter, and God's acceptance, one day at time.

The Reformation changed forever how the sacrament of the Eucharist was understood. This study of six canonical early modern lyric poets traces the literary afterlife of what was one of the greatest doctrinal shifts in English history. Sophie Read argues that the move from a literal to a figurative understanding of the phrase 'this is my body' exerted a powerful imaginative pull on successive generations. To illustrate this, she examines in detail the work of Southwell, Donne, Herbert, Crashaw, Vaughan and Milton, who between them represent a broad range of doctrinal and confessional positions, from the Jesuit Southwell to Milton's heterodox Puritanism. Individually, each chapter examines how Eucharistic ideas are expressed through a particular rhetorical trope; together, they illuminate the continued importance of the Eucharist's transformation well into the seventeenth century - not simply as a matter of doctrine, but as a rhetorical and poetic mode.

This 2009 book provides a comprehensive historical treatment of the Latin liturgy in medieval England. Richard Pfaff constructs a history of the worship carried out in churches - cathedral, monastic, or parish - primarily through the surviving manuscripts of service books, and sets this within the context of the wider political, ecclesiastical, and cultural history of the period. The main focus is on the mass and daily office, treated both chronologically and by type, the liturgies of each religious order and each secular 'use' being studied individually. Furthermore, hagiographical and historiographical themes - respectively, which saints are prominent in a given witness and how the labors of scholars over the last century and a half have both furthered and, in some cases, impeded our understandings - are explored throughout. The book thus provides both a narrative account and a reference tool of permanent value.

Daily life for those in the military and their loved ones at home can be filled with rapid change, fear, and uncertainty. For those bravely sacrificing for our country, bestselling author, Max Lucado, offers words of hope, pointing them to the Source of faith and courage. Pocket Prayers for the Military contains forty scriptures and guided prayers that will help readers face the unique challenges of military life with courage and faith.

First published in 1913, this book provides an index of early Latin hymns, found in hymnaries from before 1100. Entries contain the following information, where applicable: the incipit, followed by the subject of the hymn, followed by the author, then references to where the text of the hymn can be found in print and manuscript form. The text was originally intended to be the chief feature of a book on Hymns and Canticles in the series of Handbooks of Liturgical Study edited by Professor H. B. Swete and Dr J. H. Srawley, but when completed it proved to be so large that it was necessary to publish it as a separate volume. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in religious music and the history of Christianity.

First published in 1914, this book provides information on the Canticles of the Eastern and Western Church in early and medieval times. The text is divided into two broad sections: the first covers Greek and Eastern Canticles; the second covers Latin and Western Canticles. Additional material includes illustrative plates and an index of manuscripts. This is a highly informative book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in religious music and the history of Christianity.

2013 Christian Resources Together Devotional Book of the Year Do you sometimes find yourself searching for a way to approach God or wondering how to get out of a devotional slump? Do you long for spiritual guides you can trust? This guide to prayer is rooted in centuries of Christian tradition. In each chapter you'll meet a figure from church history, such as St. Benedict, Martin Luther, John Calvin, St. Ignatius, Teresa of ?vila and Andrew Murray. You'll learn how each of these spiritual giants uniquely connected to God through prayer. Each chapter provides an opportunity to practice a different method for prayer, including the divine office, the Lord's Prayer, the Jesus Prayer, healing prayer and meditation on the Psalms. In the process your own prayer practice will be refreshed and renewed. Journey into church history and enliven each day of your prayer life. A complimentary companion volume is included in the e-book edition of Kneeling with Giants. The Reader has a full chapter of primary source material corresponding to each of the ten chapters of Kneeling with Giants, with selections chosen to clearly introduce each approach to prayer in its original context. It includes the best modern translations of non-English works, hard to find works, including three Puritan texts and four complete "hours" of the pre-Vatican II Benedictine daily office so that readers can experience the cycle of Benedictine prayer with ease.

This is the edition of Supplemental Liturgical Materials prepared by The Standing Liturgical Commission 1997. Materials include seventeen additional canticles taken from the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, the New Testament, Anselm of Canterbury, and Julian of Norwich. There are also additions and changes to the previously published supplemental materials including a third Eucharistic Prayer.

In the Anglican churches of North America, and sometimes elsewhere, there are two complaints about deacons in the liturgy: Bishops and priests complain that deacons don t know how to do liturgy. Deacons complain that bishops and priests won t let them do liturgy. The solution lies in liturgical formation, both theological and practical. This book is designed to help provide that formation for bishops, priests, deacons, and indeed for all the people of God.

The introduction provides a brief history of the use of deacons in Anglican liturgies, from 1549 to the present, including characteristics and statement of purposes. "

The Roman Catholic Church has always been concerned with the quality of the music used in the liturgy, and the essays in this volume trace the church's efforts, during the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, to cultivate a more appropriate liturgical music for its Latin Rite. The task of restoration - expressed, for example, in the chant revival associated with the monks of Solesmes, the efforts of the Cecilian movement, and Pius X's determination to reform sacred music in the universal church - is a recurring theme in the book. Meanwhile resistance, particularly to the reforms decreed by the pope's 1903 motu proprio, also finds a voice in the volume. The essays collected here describe selected scenes and episodes from the unending story of imperfect human beings trying to express in their music the perfection of God.