At the age of forty-six, the author, summoned by a compelling inner voice to leave everything, embarked on an intense spiritual quest to find God. This account of her journey inwards reflects her spiritual development over the period of her father’s illness and death, as well as her mother’s deteriorating mental condition. Rooted in scripture, this little volume offers an illuminating, even dazzling, portrayal of one woman’s capacity to deal, entirely alone, with the deepest grief and pain without losing perspective. Her great gift to us is her ability to see everything in the light of eternity and as the will of God. From this spiritual vantage point, she was given eyes to see far. This book reflects the intensity of her consciousness of God and the tension under which she lived and wrote. The more mystical passages, often lyrical in expression, reveal a depth and an immediacy, which makes the message compellingly direct. Anyone caring for an elderly parent, grieving the loss of a loved one, or struggling to make sense of pain and suffering, will find encouragement and hope in these pages.

Drinking to the very dregs the chalice given it, here is the remarkable and inspirational story of a soul that has found, unexpectedly, a heavenly sweetness in its bitterness. After reading this book, the reader is left to ponder the question: "Can I, too, 'drink the chalice offered me' and find in it, not bitterness, but the sweetness of God's Will? This account of a soul's ascent from the shadows of Gethsemane to the light of Tabor is, therefore, a shining beacon for our age pointing the way that we should go if we are to find that for which every human heart yearns: true peace and perfect joy. If you are a person in search of true peace and perfect joy, especially if the fragile ship of your soul is being tossed amidst the tempestuous seas of sorrow and suffering, you will find here an anchor to which to moor your soul in the radical reversal of the transforming union as described in this book.

The perennial questions surrounding human identity and meaning have never before been so acute. How we define ourselves is crucial since it determines our conception of society, ethics, sexuality--in short, our very notion of the "good." The traditional Christian teaching of "deification" powerfully addresses this theme by revealing the sacred dignity and purpose of all created life, and providing a comprehensive vision of reality that extends from the individual to the cosmos. Hans Urs von Balthasar is a valuable guide in elucidating the church's teaching on this vital subject. Following the patristic tradition, he focuses his attention on Jesus Christ, whose kenotic descent in his incarnation and passion reveals both the loving character of God and the perfection of humanity. Christ is the "concrete analogy of being" who in his two natures as God and man unites heaven and earth. It is the Trinity, however, that brings to fruition the fullness of the meaning of theosis in Balthasar's theology. The community of divine persons eternally deifies the cosmos by embracing and transforming it into the paradigm of all reality--the imago trinitatis--overcoming the distance between the created and uncreated while maintaining and honoring their difference.

Interweaving art history, patristics, theology, and aesthetics, this original phenomenological study develops a fresh new approach to the icon.

How should we attempt to understand the relationship between theology and science in the twenty-first century? In this book, I will attempt to answer this question by examining several previous attempts to classify this relationship. I also develop my personal view of the relation, thereafter discussing some Catholic contributions to this project, and then revisit some of my previously published material, highlighting the role of panentheism therein, and noting an emergent implication from the literature: the resultant possibilities for God—an implication that creates space for a broadly relational perspective of the process of emergence. These movements allow me to argue that kenosis and emergence can add to the discussion of understanding the theology and science relationship. Herein, I advocate a monistic process-based view of the overlapping relationship between theology and science.

Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.

The intent of this work is to introduce the reader to an enhanced relationship with our Lord, Jesus. Incarnational living is coming to terms with who one is in relationship with Christ and then living that newfound excited spirit out within the community, and even the world. By learning to experience more of God, one experiences a form of conversion all over again. The experience is nothing short of breathtaking, and becomes increasingly desirable over and over. So much so, that it must be shared. This book helps direct the focus of desire toward the relational being of the Christian both with Christ internally and with humanity externally.

This third volume of Ken Vaux's memoirs covers the calendar year of 2012 which focused on (1) teaching in the Evanston church as this body struggled to be both evangelical in theology and oriented to social justice in the community. We searched together for having what it takes to be a "University Church"--preaching and teaching a credible and relevant message and living out a vital witness; seeking honest responses to issues in church and state such as homosexuality, embodying concern for the poor and lively ministry in the neighborhoods of the parish. (2) That community was confronted with belief crisis and ethical challenge during the year with eight gun-killings of young people. The churches now had to move beyond the prevalent complacency, confront the racisim and disregard for the poor disband the apartheid of the village that existed even in black and white Ministeria and get real with what an interfaith community had to do to leaven and heal its own backyard. (3) For Such a Time as This also deals with global and national political issues such as an unwinding war in Iraq and Afghanistan and a new one arising in Syria--biblical theology being put to the test--and the provocative election of 2012 as the theological imagination was stirred by candidates Obama and Romney.