Casey invites us to embrace the challenge of gospel living, with thoughtful reflections on the values of asceticism, silence, leisure, reading, chastity, and poverty.

The desire to have some experience of God is widespread. Many persons of all ages have a genuine yearning for communion with the spiritual world. The trouble is that we are never quite certain how we should invest our energies to ensure that we are moving closer to the truth and not deeper into delusion. It seems prudent, therefore, to look for guidance from those who have actually made the journey and are skilled in initiating others. This is why we approach the great contemplative traditions: to find out something about prayer and the sort of life that facilitates its growth. We cannot always generate our own solutions because our horizons are limited. The first thing we need to learn is to look at life from a different perspective. Here the ancient spiritual masters can serve us well... The key idea that is common to these teachers is that contemplation is possible only for those who have puritas cordis: an undivided heart. The act of communion with God is one which engages the whole person and calls upon all the interior energies. It can occur only when these energies are working together, when inner disharmony has been overcome and unity reigns within. Such a state is not achieved quickly but only by the grace of God and the labor of decades. It involves a radical conversion of life and a persevering will to live in accordance with the Gospel. Spiritual growth is thus seen as a matter of progressively purifying the personal center of will and knowledge, eliminating inner division and becoming more intent on seeking the one thing necessary. Michael Casey is a monk of Tarrawarra Abbey in Australia. He is well-known as a retreat master and lecturer on monastic spirituality and holds a doctorate from Melbourne College of Divinity in the area of the life and writings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

As I was writing this book, I had the privilege of speaking to people from all over the world, and it helped me to realize just how common mental illness truly is. Mental illness is something that can affect anyone at any time. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from or what you've done, mental illness doesn't discriminate. Unfortunately, mental illness is something that has remained in the shadows until now, and people have been too afraid to speak up because of the reaction they might receive. Use this book as a guide whenever you're having doubts or feeling alone to remind yourself that you're not. Everyone has a voice, and everyone has a right to use that voice. Mental illness affects us all. Now is the time to come together and use our voices to show the world that mental illness is real. No one need feel ashamed about mental illness ever again. The human mind is capable of many great and amazing things. But it is also capable of enduring a lot of suffering and hardships. Fear, doubt and self-hatred, are all emotions people endure every single day. Pain is a part of life, and it is natural and necessary for personal growth. What is not natural is hiding this pain. It is not right to hide your pain and pretend to yourself that everything's okay when your mind is giving you a sign that you need help. Breaking Free addresses these issues in a sensitive compassionate way. It does this through the power of short stories on the following mental health issues and ways to handle them. Self-Harm, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, Anorexia, Phobias, Schizophrenia, Addiction, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bigorexia, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Bullying, Bulimia, Psychosis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Balaam's Donkey is a series of daily reflections based on the homilies preached by Cistercian monk Michael Casey over his fifty years of priesthood. What remained of the original homilies was a large box full of index cards with a few talking points on each. From there, Casey has re-created the homilies and recast them into short reflections, arranged randomly for every day of the year. The range of topics discussed is broad and the approach taken differs with each reflection, most of them colored with a touch of Casey's whimsy and good humor.

This book seeks to understand why almost all commentators on the Irish economy were unprepared for the scale of the recent economic crisis. It analyses the public contributions from a broad range of observers, including domestic and international agencies, academics, the newspapers and politicians. This approach gives new insights into the analytical and institutional shortfalls that inhibited observers from recognising the degree of the risk. The book demonstrates that most commentators were either impeded in what they could say, or else lacked the expertise to challenge the prevailing view. The findings have significant implications for a broad range of institutions, particularly the media and the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament).

Saint Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon, France. He joined the fifteen-year-old monastery of Citeaux in 1113. In 1115 he became the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, whence his name, Bernard of Clairvaux. Saint Bernard was a gifted and prolific writer of theological treatises, Scriptural commentaries, letters, and many sermons. The sermons in the collection published here, styled Sermones de diversis (Sermons about Various Topics), lack the specific point of departure that characterizes his other sermons. That is, whereas the sermons on the Song of Songs are a verse-by-verse commentary on that biblical book and his Sermons for the Year follow the liturgical calendar, this collection of sermons deals with his various pastoral concerns. Since Scripture is always Bernard's point of departure and inspiration, the sermons often read like a Scripture study, but what comes through equally is the voice of an understanding spiritual father who is a masterful student of Scripture, biblical language, and the needs of his monks.

"How should we live in this house of God? We know that the way a building is shaped also helps in determining the way those within it live and relate. We are indeed formed by what we form. Qualities such as integrity, hospitality, humanity and beauty in a place will enable its dwellers to live lives in which such qualities are evident. The way we understand who we are and how we live will be reflected in our places and vice versa. Our places become bearers of meaning and memory." --From Chapter 1In "Living in the House of God," Margaret Malone draws on her study of and research on the Rule of Saint Benedict to show the ways in which this ancient rule can illuminate modern life. The broad gamut of topics this book examines--from Benedictine life as sacrament to Augustine's influence on Benedict to obedience and the art of listening, among others--is itself a witness to the generous flexibility of the Rule, as Benedict proposes a way of life that truly corresponds to the deepest needs of the whole of human nature.

N3xt Practices is a ground-breaking advisory book for education decision makers. Its purpose is to challenge the top trends and initiatives of the previous decade in educational technology and bring light to their short-falls and misses. It also highlights successful endeavors and strategies and details a common-sense methodology to move your school/district forward in its technology initiatives while insuring sustainability, and longevity and ultimately, success through results. Next Practices identifies technology-based initiatives, such as Interactive White Boards, Data Centers, and 1-to-1 Computing, and reviews actual implementations and case studies - both successful and unsuccessful - to provide a structure to plan and implement educational technology initiatives practical for schools and districts of all sizes. Next Practices goes beyond the examination of current best practices and redefines for educational leaders NEXT Practices for successful technology initiatives in support of 21st century learning.