In the Middle Ages, it was thought that praying at the right shrine could save you from just about anything, from madness and famine to false imprisonment and even shipwreck. Kingdoms, cities, and even individual trades had patron saints that would protect them from misfortune and bring them wealth and prosperity, and their feast days were celebrated with public holidays and pageants. With saints believed to have the ear of God, veneration of figures such as St Thomas Becket, St Cuthbert, and St Margaret brought tens of thousands of pilgrims from all walks of life to sites across the country. Saints, Shrines and Pilgrims takes the reader across Britain, providing a map of the most important religious shrines that pilgrims would travel vast distances to reach, as well as descriptions and images of the shrines themselves. Featuring over 100 stunning photographs and a gazetteer of places to visit, it explains the history of pilgrimage in Britain and the importance that it played in medieval life, and describes the impact of the unbridled assault made on pilgrimage by the Reformation.

English history has usually been written from the perspective of the south, from the viewpoint of London or Canterbury, Oxford or Cambridge. Yet throughout the middle ages life in the north of England differed in many ways from that south of the Humber. In ecclesiastical terms, the province of York, comprising the dioceses of Carlisle, Durham and York, maintained its own identity, jealously guarding its prerogatives from southern encroachment. In their turn, the bishops and cathedral chapters of Carlisle and Durham did much to prevent any increase in the powers of York itself. Barrie Dobson is the leading authority on the history of religion in the north of England during the later middle ages. In this collection of essays he discusses aspects of church life in each of the three dioceses, identifying the main features of religion in the north and placing contemporary religious attitudes in both a social and a local context. He also examines, among other issues, the careers of individual prelates, including Alexander Neville, archbishop of York (137X88) and Richard Bell, bishop of Carlisle (1478-95); the foundation of chantries in York; and the writing of history at York and Durham in the later middle ages.

Raise your spirits and toast Saint Nick! Hot gin toddies. Smoking rosemary old fashioneds. A "wet" Advent calendar. Now you can experience Christmas the way it was meant to be celebrated: with festive cocktails and a lively history of Saint Nicholas and other saints! Michael Foley, author of Drinking with the Saints, presents holiday drink recipes; beer, wine, and cider recommendations; and witty instruction on how to honor the saints in this exquisite gift book that will make your Christmas more spirited than ever before. "With lively stories and delicious drink recipes, this book takes us on a rollicking journey through the lives of the saints. What a fun and fabulous way to engage with your faith during the holidays." - Jennifer Fulwiler, author of One Beautiful Dream and host of the Jennifer Fulwiler Show on the Catholic Channel

A God inspired book based on over 40 years of experience in working with teens. Filled with training modules and puzzles designed to capture their interest and teach important topics that help them to mature in Christ. Youth will learn about:

1- Assurance of Salvation

2- Baptism

3- Church and Membership

4-The Word of God (The Bible)

5-Prayer

6- Stewardship

7- Facing Dangers And Problems

8- Knowing What We Believe

9- Church Ordinances: Baptism And The Lord's Supper

'Because the Sacred Liturgy is truly the font from which all the Church's power flows...we must do everything we can to put the Sacred Liturgy back at the very heart of the relationship between God and man... I ask you to continue to work towards achieving the liturgical aims of the Second Vatican Council...and to work to continue the liturgical renewal promoted by Pope Benedict XVI, especially through the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis...and the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum... I ask you to be wise, like the householder...who knows when to bring out of his treasure things both new and old (see: Mtt 13:52), so that the Sacred Liturgy as it is celebrated and lived today may lose nothing of the estimable riches of the Church's liturgical tradition, whilst always being open to legitimate development.' These words of Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, underline the liturgy's fundamental role in every aspect of the life and mission of the Church. Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century makes available the different perspectives on this from leading figures such as Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Abbot Philip Anderson, Father Thomas Kocik, Dom Alcuin Reid, and Dr Lauren Pristas. Considering questions of liturgical catechetics, music, preaching, how young people relate to the liturgy, matters of formation and reform, etc., Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century is an essential resource for all clergy and religious and laity involved in liturgical ministry and formation. Bringing forth 'new treasures as well as old,' its contributors identify and address contemporary challenges and issues facing the task of realising the vision of Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council.

Is fasting 1000 consecutive days possible? Not fasting day and night without any food and water, no, that's not possible; but fasting for over a thousand consecutive days from 15 to 17 hours a day is possible. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be the person to do this. But why fast 1000 days? What was the reason behind it all? I wish the answer to why a person would fast 1000 days was simple, but it's not. The absolute truth is that I never intended to fast 1000 days. It never even entered into my mind. Had it, I know I would have rejected the idea. I never thought it was possible. I didn't even think 100 days was possible until GOD blessed me to do it. It was not until I had fasted around 700 days that I began to believe 1000 days of fasting was possible. That's when I prayed and said to God, "Lord, since you have blessed me to fast 700 days, I have only one request now. Lord, bless me to go 1000 days." The Lord heard my request and granted it. During my fast I kept wondering and saying, "Lord, why? Why won't you give me a release from this fast?" It was not until I had fasted 1000 days that God revealed the reason why He had me fasting all those days. God spoke to my mind and said, "Vernard, I didn't have you fasting for you', I had you fasting for people who need Me all over the world." So I was not fasting for me, I was fasting for you --people who are broken, people who have been wounded and bruised, and people who need God to move in their behalf.

This short board book, with bright, vibrant, and playful illustrations,

introduces young children to important parts of our

Faith the Mass and prayer. The tabs help children pick out

elements in each of the spreads, making this book an interactive

experience as well. 12 pages.

For all Sundays, Solemnities, Major Feasts, and Other Occasions Edited by Bishop Peter J. Elliott. This new edition reflects the themes of both Pope John Paul II and the vision of Pope Benedict XVI. The style of the prayers anticipates the dignity, accuracy, and quality of the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal.

* Reflections follow the practices of The Way of Love-Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest * Each devotion includes a passage of scripture, a story, and reflection questions * Perfect during Lent or any time of year "Living the Way of Love" offers forty brief reflections about the seven Jesus-centered practices identified by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in "The Way of Love" initiative. Sullivan tells stories from her own and others' experiences as a starting point for discussion about how to seek and find a deeper connection to God. Rotating through each practice so that each is covered once a week, going deeper into the practice throughout the forty days, each reflection ends with questions designed to spur further discussion and assist readers in making the practices their own. Perfect for using as a Lenten devotional or at any time of the year, the book includes a guide for creating a personal rule of life, and a downloadable Facilitator's Guide.

Although often controversial, worship is an essential and enduring element of the Christian faith. This three-part study examines the issues surrounding the corporate worship of God, including biblical models and the current revolution in evangelical worship. At a time of radical change in the church, Allen's logical-yet-passionate approach is timely and brings much-needed harmony to the many facets of worship.

The rise of early Christianity has been examined from a myriad of perspectives, but until recently ritual has been a neglected topic. Ritual and Christian Beginnings: A Socio-Cognitive Analysis argues that ritual theory is indispensable for the study of Christian beginnings. It also makes a strong case for the application of theories and insights from the Cognitive Science of Religion, a field that has established itself as a vigorous movement in Religious Studies over the past two decades. Risto Uro develops a 'socio-cognitive' approach to the study of early Christian rituals, seeking to integrate a social-level analysis with findings from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. Ritual and Christian Beginnings provides an overview of how ritual has been approached in previous scholarship, including reasons for its neglect, and introduces the reader to the emerging fields of Ritual Studies and the Cognitive Science of Religion. In particular, it explores the ways in which cognitive theories of ritual can shed new light on issues discussed by early Christian scholars, and opens up new questions and avenues for further research. The socio-cognitive approach to ritual is applied to a number of test cases, including John the Baptist, the ritual healing practiced by Jesus and the early Christians, the social life of Pauline Christianity, and the development of early Christian baptismal practices. The analysis creates building blocks for a new account of Christian beginnings, highlighting the role of ritual innovation, cooperative signalling, and the importance of bodily actions for the generation and transmission of religious knowledge.