At what point are believing, repentant sinners saved? Marion Owens reports: In e-mail communications with Al Maxey he has elaborated to me somewhat on his views. If one does not receive salvation at baptism, when does he receive it? Al expressed the belief that one cannot say exactly when one has been saved. God knows, but Al suggests the person cannot be sure. As he put it, "I think we too often get bogged down over 'timing, ' especially when our God is not bound by such restraints. . . . God regards us as saved when one's heart is genuinely given over to him in loving faith. I imagine HE is aware of that happening before we are."

"The first theologian in modern times to discover to our wonder and joy the fully sacramental character of the Mass was, doubtless, that profound and personal thinker, Abbot Vonier." - Fr. W. Barden, O.P.

In his greatest, and most influential masterpiece, Abbot Vonier gives a spiritually and intellectually enriching explanation of the Eucharist based on a careful study of "the great sacramental doctrine of the Church" found in the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Council of Trent. Vonier writes, "To conceive the sacrifice of Mass as a sacrament is a simple visualization of a great truth which, if it be once grasped by the mind ... makes all the difference between light and fantasy." The great beauty and intellectual clarity of the Church's theology as explained by Vonier reminds the reader over and over that "In theological matters the spark that illumines always comes from under the hoof of strict reasoning."

'Most illustrious Prince, I have considered that the Supper of the Lord (which has been violated by many and great superstitions, and turned into gain) should be renovated and restored according to the institutions of our Saviour Christ; and I have considered that all should be performed according to the Divine Word and of the Ancient and Holy Church, the care and instruction of which belong in some part to my office'. (Thomas Cranmer, Dedication to King Edward VI, A Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament.) In this fascinating and practical study, Nigel Scotland looks closely at the Service of Holy Communion in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and with further illumination from earlier versions of the Prayer Book and Cranmer's other writings, draws conclusions which may refresh and challenge our contemporary practices. The aim of this 'Anglican Foundations' series which focuses on the Formularies of the Church of England and the elements of the different services within the Prayer Book is to highlight what those services teach about the Christian faith and to demonstrate how they are also designed to shape the practice of that faith. As well as providing an account of the origins of the Prayer Book services, they offer practical guidance on how such services may be used in Christian ministry. Nigel Scotland has spent the greater part of his life lecturing in Church History at what became the University of Gloucestershire. He has served as rector of four country parishes and led a Fresh Expressions church plant for 13 years. Since 2006 he has taught theology students at Trinity College Bristol. He is married to Anne and in their leisure time they enjoy music, walking in the Cotswolds, gardening, visits to the gym and enjoying times with their grand-children. He studied at McGill and Bristol Universities and earned a doctorate at Aberdeen University. He is the author of eighteen books mostly in the area of Christian history.

This is the last volume in the set for Ordinary Time in the Christian Year and it completes a series of meditations for the whole year. For the weekday readings at Mass there is a two-year cycle. Over the two years there is a different first reading from the Scriptures whilst both years share the same Gospel readings. On Sundays there is a three-year cycle with the Gospel readings taken from Matthew, Mark, and Luke respectively.

One of the ways we grow in our faith is by knowing the Scriptures well. Even if we do not attend Mass daily we can always meditate on the set readings. When we do this it will lead us into parts of our Bible that hitherto we may not have ventured. If digested properly they will undoubtedly prompt questions and raise topics for prayer and further research. This book is designed to help you to understand your Bible better and how it unveils the work of salvation by our loving God, beginning with the call of Abraham and His relationship with His chosen people. When the time was right God sent His Son into the world to continue God's redeeming love for all creation.

So the Old Testament prepared the way for the coming of the Christ that is recorded in the New Testament. It is this part of the Bible that is particularly interesting for Christians today as it gives insight as to how those first Christians came to believe in Jesus as their Saviour and were baptised into His death. It also reveals many of the problems that beset the first Christians over morality, worship, and obligations. These are still relevant today. Thus we need to heed the advice of Paul and other Christian writers of the first century in how we live out the teachings of Christ.

The services of Holy Week of the Orthodox Church in Greek and English in full color. This edition contains: Holy Sunday evening (Nymphios), Holy Monday evening, Holy Tuesday evening, Holy Wednesday morning (Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts), Holy Wednesday afternoon (Holy Oil), Holy Wednesday evening (Orthros of Holy Thursday), Holy Thursday morning (Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great) and evening (The Passion), Holy Friday morning (Great Hours), Holy Friday afternoon (Unnailing), Holy Friday evening (Lamentations w/ Greek phonetics), Holy Saturday morning (Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great), Holy Saturday evening (The Vigil of Pascha) and Holy Saturday afternoon (Vespers of Love). The texts of the services are uncut, and include the priestly prayers missing from other texts currently available. Translation by Arch. Ephrem Lash. English text metered and set to traditional Byzantine melodies by David Melling. Paschal Canon adapted to traditional melodies by EIKONA. Third softcover printing, Decemeber 2012. Replaces ISBN 978-0981731759.

First Communion is an important experience for a Roman Catholic child. "A Little Guide to First Communion" is a delightfully illustrated story written to give children a preview of what's involved and provide adult readers with helpful tips for the occasion.

In "The Lord's Supper" Bishop Hayes presents a comprehensive study of the holy Sacrament. Both the Catholic and Reformed positions are examined and biblical solutions are given for the problems that exist in the mentioned theologies. The book answers important questions, like: "What is the Lord's supper?" Who may partake of the Lord's supper?" "Is the body and blood of Christ really present in the elements or do the elements actually change into the body and blood of Christ?" "How often should the Lord's Supper be observed?" These are but a few of the questions addressed in the book. Having shopped in several Bible bookstores and discovering how little is written on the subject it is safe to predict that this work will be in great demand and a standard volume in the libraries of those who love the Sacrament.

The four volumes of the Christian Living Series are the fruit of a catechism class that the late bishop Youanis used to teach to university students who came to Cairo from other states to study. The Chapters of these volumes have been a hand book for many Christians who are pursuing their spiritual path and a source of direction to many over the last fifty years, now we present it to you in the English language. This volume starts from the beginning of our spiritual journey, the life of Repentance; it also deals with two of the church sacraments, Confession and Communion, Their meaning, practical applications, fruits, and other related questions are discussed in this volume.

The Children's Charter was Mother Mary Loyola's response to Pope Pius X's 1910 decree Quam Singulari, which lowered the age for reception of First Communion to seven. Addressed directly to the parents and teachers of children, this is a rare peek into the classroom as Mother Loyola would have it. Here the author of The King of the Golden City gives sage advice for how best to capture and maintain the interest of little ones in preparing them for Confession and Communion. Despite the century that has passed since this book was first published, Mother Loyola's advice remains just as relevant, a testament to how well she knew how to reach the hearts and minds of children.

The long-standing tradition of baptizing infants suggests that the sacraments plunge our bodies into salvation, so the revelation of God's love in the sacraments addresses the whole person, not the mind alone. In this work, the contemporary Roman Catholic rite of baptism for infants becomes a case study, manifesting the connections between the human body, the ecclesial body, and the Body of Christ. The sacramental life, for children as for adults, is an ongoing journey deeper into the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

By examining the church's practice of infant baptism, Kimberly Hope Belcher asks how human beings participate in God's life through the sacraments. Christian sacraments are embodied, cultural rituals performed by and for human beings. At the same time, the sacraments are God's gifts of grace, by which human beings enter into God's own life. In this study, contemporary ritual studies, sacramental theology, and trinitarian theology are used to explore how participation in the sacraments can be an efficacious engagement in God's life of love.

Kimberly Hope Belcher is an assistant professor of theology at Saint John's University, where she teaches sacramental theology and ritual studies. She is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and writes for the liturgical blog Pray Tell.

As the global climate crisis worsens, many churches have sought to respond by instituting a movement to observe a liturgical season of creation. Scholars who have pioneered the connections between biblical scholarship, ecological theology, liturgy, and homiletics provide here a comprehensive resource for preaching and leading worship in this new season. Included are theological and practical introductions to observance of the season, biblical texts for its twelve Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, and astute commentary to help preachers and worship leaders guide their congregations into deeper connection with our imperiled planet

As an element in the Churchs mission to proclaim the unchanging gospel, and on the eve of the new millennium, the House of Bishops considers it right to reaffirm the Church of Englands teaching on marriage by restating that lifelong marriage should be one of the bedrocks of a rapidly changing society. This document seeks to relate this teaching to the pastoral needs of people in our communities today, so that they might approach marriage with confidence. It is intended that this document be used as a stimulus to commend marriage to all people in society, and as a basis for teaching in churches. It carries the full authority of the House of Bishops, one of the most senior bodies of the Church of England. Please note this is the 1999 edition.

Chapel-size edition with a black-and-white interior for the celebrant saying Mass. Contains the Traditional Catholic Mass in Latin (1928, typical), the Traditional Catholic Mass in English (1912, Knott), the Mystical Mass in English (1916, Wedgwood/Leadbeater), the Propers for the Moveable Cycle, and the Propers for the Fixed Cycle of days.

Since the time of the Reformation, most of Protestantism has celebrated two sacraments - "baptism and supper." And while the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church celebrate five more, almost all Christians celebrate baptism and communion. This book will provide a brief history into the practice of those two sacraments, and show how those practices diverged over time between denominations. Part One discusses the celebration of the Lord's Supper (also known as the Eucharist, communion, etc.) Part Two will discuss baptism, and provides a chapter on the question of "Infant verses Believers' Baptism." Both sections discuss references in the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Early Church Fathers, the Reformation, and the practice of the sacraments today. An appendix discusses the question of whether the baptism practiced by John the Baptist might have had Essene roots. A Brief History of the Sacraments: Baptism and Communion

This journal has been constructed in imitation of the copybook made for Therese Martin by her older sister Pauline (Sr. Agnes of Jesus) in 1884 to help Therese prepare for her First Holy Communion. Each day of her sixty-nine day preparation period Therese recorded the number of times she recited the included prayers and aspirations. By using her "sacrifice beads," she counted each time she overcame her own desires in order to please Jesus. Inspired by that copybook, this journal uses the same method of encouraging-and recording-daily prayers and mortifications. However, instead of using flowers to illustrate virtues, this resource uses the battle model St. Paul describes in Ephesians 6:10-17. First communicants are encouraged to arm themselves with virtues and spiritual weapons in order to fight as soldiers of Christ. The scriptural words of Jesus and St. Paul are reflected on frequently to encourage the imitation of the actions and love of Jesus and to inspire a love and knowledge of Holy Scripture.
Use this journal on its own or in conjunction with the "Communion with the Saints "family preparation program for First Communion. Create a lasting First Communion keepsake by daily recording your thoughts, prayers, and drawings. May you-like St. Therese-learn to love Jesus more deeply, thereby joining St. Paul's "holy ones" (Ephesians 6:18) in heaven.

On the surface it appears that Nate has everything. However, unbeknownst to those closest to him, Nate is in turmoil as his true closeted sexual identity threatens to surface and destroy the facade that he has worked so hard to build and maintain. With the encouragement and support of his only friend, Mike has worked hard to achieve a level of success that previously seemed unattainable. But old habits die hard and a terribly troubled past that he's been unable or unwilling to let go of threatens to destroy everything he has worked so hard to accomplish. Without Nate's support Sierra would be lost. Despite her very strong belief and faith in God, she cannot manage to turn the tainted memories of her damaged childhood over to Him. Only Nate knows her secret, a secret that could ultimately ruin her marriage. United by pain, loss, fear, and more importantly hope, these three friends are forced to confront the issues of their youth in a most devastatingly unimaginable way.

The greatest challenge in preparing young children for the sacrament of Penance is in making confession a habit to which they will be voluntarily attracted. We can require their presence at catechism class, and compel them to go to confession, but without this crucial ingredient, we cannot hope to dispel the all-too-common view that it is an onerous task to be studiously avoided.
It is precisely this difficulty that Mother Mary Loyola addresses with this book. She knew children's minds so well-that they crave being treated like adults-and thus she avoids all that is oversimplified or saccharine, a quality which gives all of her work such broad appeal, even to adults. Her vivid storytelling brings to life an irresistible feeling of the comfort and joy the child will find in the forgiveness of their loving father. Who, then, would dream of ever avoiding such sweet medicine?

"The Problem with the Other Sacraments is a must read for anyone who is concerned about saving their immortal soul and understanding deceptions and errors of the Second Vatican Council. In this book, Dr. Coomaraswamy exposes the defects of the sacraments of the Conciliar Church. He exposes the planned self-destruction of the Church as designed and executed by the Conciliar and Post-Conciliar progressive clergy, and their subtle plan to crucify the Church by destroying the sacraments." Bishop Joseph S. Macek]"Today, we are witnessing the auto-destruction of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. For the past 2,000 years, Satan has sought to destroy the Faith by perverting the truths that Christ taught the Apostles. Beginning in Jesus's own time with the betrayal of the arch-heretic Judas Iscariot, and continuing through the centuries, waves of error have threatened to destroy the Church, only to break and be dashed upon the Rock of Peter. With the inception of the Second Vatican Council, however, this spirit of arch-heresy has been welcomed into the Church of Rome by progressivists. Today, we are witnessing the sin of malfeasance. Priests, Bishops, Cardinals, and Popes have embraced the spirit of Judas Iscariot and have betrayed Christ by allowing the Church to be destroyed from within. Satan is having His hour."Traditions are not 'changed', they are either kept or discarded. Destroy Christian (Catholic) Tradition-immemorial, if not Apostolic, ceremonies, laws and practices of the Church-and you undermine the Church itself. Such was the strategy of the modernists who, under the aegis of John XXIII's aggiornamento ('updating'), quickly seized control of the Second Vatican Council, which laid the groundwork for the overthrowing of Tradition. The revision of the Mass and the sacraments came in the wake of the Council; the specific changes made to the sacraments other than the Mass are well documented here by Dr. Coomaraswamy." Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P]