A comprehensive guide to symbols used in Christian liturgical art, architecture, manuscripts, stained glass, etc. The book includes over 500 new illustrations. First published in 1964, now completely updated.

How our temperament and personality affect our prayer life

Why do so many struggle to pray? Dr. Pablo Martinez, a medical doctor and psychotherapist, suggests that our basic personality type strongly affects both how we pray and what we pray about. Extroverts may struggle to develop a regular prayer life; introverts will be more likely to set time apart. Thinking types find prayer more satisfactory if accompanied by pen and paper; feeling types may long for intimacy with God; intuitive types tend to be innovators andvisionaries, and may have a more mystical bent; sensation types often have a particular capacity for spontaneous prayer; and so on. The purpose of this book is to help us understand, and work with, our own spiritual path.

"A profound, practical and personal book in which the skill of the psychiatrist and the gentleness of the pastor are combined. . . . I cannot imagine any reader failing to be helped by it, as I have been myself."
--John Stott

"A unique blend of biblical teaching, spiritual wisdom, psychiatric expertise and insight into human nature."
--Bob Horn, former General Secretary, Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship

From the authors of the popular and bestselling Godwink series comes a new and inspiring collection of true stories about people whose lives were changed by specific and extraordinary answers to their prayers. Prayer is a universal act that anyone can participate in. Simply stated: prayer is a conversation between you and God, and oftentimes brings incredible and astonishing results. The outcomes are called "answered prayers." Yet, with no alternative word in the English language for answered prayer, readers have begun to fill the void with Godwink, which is now making its way into dictionaries. In The Godwink Effect, SQuire and Louise, husband and wife, make the case that Godwinks and prayer are inextricably intertwined. The first of seven secrets for more Godwinks is to pray. Moreover, when a Godwink occurs, like a pebble tossed into a pond, there are subsequent ripples that touch the lives of others. Typical of all Godwink books, this volume will be packed with amazing real-life stories about ordinary people, as well as some well-known figures, that reinforce the power of prayer in their lives and the Godwinks that followed.

Christianity Today Book of the Year In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God's presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one typical day, this book explores life through the lens of liturgy-small practices and habits that form us. In each chapter, Tish Harrison Warren considers a common daily experience-making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Liturgy of the Ordinary is now part of the IVP Signature Collection, which features special editions of iconic books in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of InterVarsity Press.

Morning Prayer Rite I, Daily Devotions, Baptism, Holy Eucharist Rites I and II, Selected Pastoral Offices, Psalter, Prayers. It is spiral bound for easy use. Designed in collaboration with the Episcopal Society for Ministry on Aging, Inc., this volume is a companion to The Hymnal 1982 Selections in Large Print.

As you read this powerful booklet during the Lenten season, you will experience spiritual growth through interaction with Scripture from both the Old and New Testaments. The readings culminate in the Passion Week and Easter Sunday, and you will gain a greater understanding of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as you examine critical passion narratives in the Gospels. Through your interaction with these Lenten readings, you will be a joyful witness of God s carefully orchestrated plan to redeem the world through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. These 40 devotions will allow you to gain a more complete perspective on your personal relationship with Jesus and the power of his work in your life today. Written by Dr. Kenneth Boa, president of Reflections Ministries, each devotion provides thoughts for meditation along with a prayer for each day, making this the perfect devotional for personal, family or small-group use. Features: * 40 daily devotions with multiple Scripture readings * A meditation that amplifies the Scripture passages* Each daily reading ends with a prayer* Scripture text from the clear, accessible New International Version (NIV) Bible"

Imagine who you might become if you could make peace with the whole of who you are, rather than over-identifying with the "best" of your type or rejecting the "worst" of its expressions. If self-awareness is the first step of the journey, self-acceptance is the next, and practicing compassion toward oneself becomes essential. In this interactive companion to The Enneagram of Belonging, Enneagram teacher and bestselling author Chris Heuertz offers a fresh take on the Enneagram of Personality toward true transformation. Through guided space for self-reflection, practical prompts, and illuminating insights, The Enneagram of Belonging Workbook will help you: Break free from the stereotypes and surface treatment of your type toward a deeper understanding of identity Understand how your "Kidlife Crisis" has shaped your personality structure Make peace with the whole of who you are through radical self-acceptance Confront your "inner dragons" gently, with compassion, toward lasting change Chart your personalized path back to belonging, as you come home to your true self

Offering Christians encouragement and advice for reinvigorating their prayer lives, this practical resource outlines a foolproof plan for praying through the Bible-turning the duty of prayer into delight.

Paul Bradshaw, one of the world's foremost scholars on the history of Christian liturgy, has shared this expertise in several works that have become standard texts for students of liturgy. In Rites of Ordination, Bradshaw turns his attention to the ways that Christians through the ages have understood what it means to ordain someone as a minister and how that has been expressed in liturgical practice. Bradshaw considers the typological background to ordained ministry some have drawn from the Old Testament and what ministry meant to the earliest Christian communities. He explores the ordination rites and theology of the early church, the Christian East, the medieval West, the churches of the Reformation, and the post-Tridentine Roman Catholic Church.

Fr. Thomas Dubay, one of the most popular and respected retreat masters and spirtual directors in the USA, is the author of the perennial best-selling book on prayer and contemplation, Fire Within. In this book, he responds to the call of both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI to priests to help believers and all spiritual seekers develop a deeper prayer life and union with God. As in his other popular writings, Dubay speaks in terms clear and readable, though profound and meditative. He gives an overview of the spiritual life and jounrey for anyone seeking to grow in the love of God and neighbor. An expert on the teachings and writings of the two great mystical doctors of prayer and the spiritual life, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Dubay gives solid practical advice for a deepening moral and spiritual conversion, and a radical growth in holiness.

Prayer That Gets ResultsPrayer is the Christian's lifeline to God, and with it lives are changed for eternity! E. M. Bounds knew the secrets of prayer and that God has established divine principles and promises for our every need. He reveals these principles and illustrates how God has answered the prayers of men and women since the beginning of Bible times. He also uncovers how you can...* Have direct communication with God* Maintain a prayer life that produces results* Overcome Satan and his hold on prayer* Obtain all that God has for you* Discover all the possibilities of prayerSince the time of the apostles, no man besides E. M. Bounds has left such a rich inheritance of biblical research into the life of prayer. Here are teachings that form the only effective barrier against the powers of evil that prevail throughout the present world. Through his writings, you will discover how you can have a totally effective prayer life and how you can know the fullness of divine power."Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."--John 16:24

Drawing on the riches of the Celtic tradition, a look at seven traditional sacred spaces and their meaning in our own lives There are many books that explore actual, physical, sacred space and pilgrimage sites. This is a different kind of book. It introduces seven traditional "sacred spaces" but then leads readers into a deeper reflection on what such "sacred space" means in our own lives and experience. The various sacred spaces explored are: the Celtic Cross; the infinite knot; hilltops; wells and springs; causeways and bridges; thresholds and burial grounds; and boundaries. In each chapter, the author introduces a "sacred space" as the main theme and then illustrates this by associating it with a particular stage of life and a particular sacramental experience. The ideas are then brought together by means of a scripture story.

We are at our human best when we give and forgive. But we live in a world in which it makes little sense to do either one. In our increasingly graceless culture, where can we find the motivation to give? And how do we learn to forgive when forgiving seems counterintuitive or even futile? A deeply personal yet profoundly thoughtful book, Free of Charge explores these questions--and the further questions to which they give rise--in light of God's generosity and Christ's sacrifice for us. Miroslav Volf draws from popular culture as well as from a wealth of literary and theological sources, weaving his rich reflections around the sturdy frame of Paul's vision of God's grace and Martin Luther's interpretation of that vision. Blending the best of theology and spirituality, he encourages us to echo in our own lives God's generous giving and forgiving. A fresh examination of two practices at the heart of the Christian faith--giving and forgiving--the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lenten study book for 2006 is at the same time an introduction to Christianity. Even more, it is a compelling invitation to Christian faith as a way of life. "Miroslav Volf, one of the most celebrated theologians of our day, offers us a unique interweaving of intense reflection, vivid and painfully personal stories and sheer celebration of the giving God . . . I cannot remember having read a better account of what it means to say that Jesus suffered for us in our place." -- Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Life has a tendency to knock our confidence in prayer. In the face of persistent difficulties, our prayer-fuelled hopes can be overwhelmed by such despair that we end up "on our knees" not so much in prayer, as in defeat. In this honest and engaging book, Chris Band discusses the issues that we may have about prayer but were perhaps afraid to ask: Is prayer wasted effort? Is God less involved in the world than we might wish? Is his will going to be done anyway, whether or not we pray? We discover that our prayers, far from being squandered by God, are powerfully and consistently used by him - both to build his relationship with us and to build his Kingdom through us. On My Knees examines our understanding of who God is and how he works in the world, taking us beyond proof-texts and wishful thinking, to the heart of what the Bible actually teaches about prayer. This encouraging and practical book will inspire and lead each of us afresh, to be on our knees, in prayer.

Many philosophical approaches today seek to overcome the division between mind and body. If such projects succeed, then thinking is not restricted to the disembodied mind, but is in some sense done through the body. From a post-Cartesian perspective, then, ritual activities that discipline the body are not just thoughtless motions, but crucial parts of the way people think. Thinking Through Rituals explores religious ritual acts and their connection to meaning and truth, belief, memory, inquiry, worldview and ethics. Drawing on philosophers such as Foucault, Merleau-Ponty and Wittgenstein, and sources from cognitive science, pragmatism and feminist theory, it provides philosophical resources for understanding religious ritual practices like the Christian Eucharistic ceremony, Hatha Yoga, sacred meditation or liturgical speech. Its essays consider a wide variety of rituals in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism - including political protest rituals and gay commitment ceremonies, traditional Vedic and Yogic rites, Christian and Buddhist meditation and the Jewish Shabbat. They challenge the traditional disjunction between thought and action, showing how philosophy can help to illuminate the relationship between doing and meaning which ritual practices imply.

Since 1917, when three Portuguese shepherd children received apparitions of the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, and Saint Joseph, Fatima has been the destination of many millions of pilgrim visitors. The apparitions occurred at a time of great turmoil in the history of mankind: The Great War was in its third year, and Russia was in the throes of revolution that would lead to Communism taking hold. The so-called "Third Secret" of Fatima foretold the assassination attempt on the Pope, Saint John Paul II in 1981. These events may have passed, but the message of Fatima is eternal: prayer and penance form the path to salvation. This book tells the Fatima story and provides insights into the lives of the seers. It gives the locations of the places of worship and interest in the Sanctuary and nearby villages, and provides information on the Programmes, Mass times, and practical essentials when visiting Portugal. There is a small book of Devotions featuring the Rosary, the Mass, and prayers and songs associated with Fatima. Several trips to the surrounding area include abbeys, castles, The Eucharistc Miracle at Santarem, and the shrine in the fishing town of Nazare. The Convent of Carmel in the historic city of Coimbra, home to Sister Lucia for many years, is visited. Lisbon, the Estoril coast and the palaces of Sintra and Mafra are also included. The book is illustrated in full colour with maps and plans. This is an essential tool to enable you to make the most of what will be a deeply spiritual, personal experience.