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In Praise of the Useless Life

Author: Paul Quenon

Publisher: Ave Maria Press

Published: 2018-04-13

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1594717605

Monastic life and its counter-cultural wisdom come alive in the stories and lessons of Br. Paul Quenon, O.C.S.O., during his more than five decades as a Trappist at the Abbey of Gethsemani. He served as a novice under Thomas Merton and he also welcomed some of the monastery's more well-known visitors, including Sr. Helen Prejean and Seamus Heaney, to Merton's hermitage. In Praise of the Useless Life includes Quenon's quiet reflections on what it means to live each day with careful attentiveness. The humble peace and simplicity of the monastery and of Quenon's daily life are beautifully portrayed in this memoir. Whether it be through the daily routine of the monastery, his love of the outdoors no matter the season, or his lively and interesting conversations with visitors (reciting Emily Dickinson with Pico Iyer, discussing Merton and poetry with Czeslaw Milosz), Quenon's gentle musings display his love for the beauty in his vocation and the people he’s encountered along the way. Inspired by his novice master Merton, the poet and photographer’s stories remind us that the beauty of life can best be seen in the "uselessness" of daily life—having a quiet chat with a friend, spending time in contemplation—in our vocations, and in the memories we make along the way.

Wrap Your Heart Around It

Author: LynnMarie Rink

Publisher: Post Hill Press

Published: 2016-03-15

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1618688499

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When Grammy-nominated artist and TV production professional LynnMarie Rink and her husband decided to start a family, her worst fears were realized—the doctor told the couple their baby would be born with Down syndrome. With humor and honesty, Wrap Your Heart Around It reveals LynnMarie’s unique take on some heavy topics like depression, Down syndrome and co-dependency. LynnMarie’s strength and conviction shows how we can let go of fear and hurt to move forward and live in the now. “LynnMarie's transparency and testimony in this book will captivate and touch you." - Brenda Epperson, actress and co-chair of Ascend Women’s Conference "This is a beautiful account of her journey of faith and unconditional love that will keep you laughing and crying." - Kathleen Cooke, co-founder of Cooke Pictures and The Influence Lab

How to Be

Author: Judith Valente

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1642970344

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The spiritual seeker's guide to living with authenticity and integrity in troubled times. This book is a dialogue between two spiritual seekers--one a Trappist monk and the other a married professional woman. It is two people "stuttering to articulate life's universal questions from diverse contexts and perspectives." Brother Paul writes as one steeped in silence and the daily rhythms of the ancient prayer practices of monasticism. Judith Valente writes as a professional woman attempting to bring a sense of prayer and contemplation to a scattered life in the secular world. Valente uses the story of Brother Paul's interview for a PBS documentary as a jumping-off point: When asked the purpose of the Trappist life in the modern world, he said that it is "to show you don't need a purpose." The purpose of life, he said, is life. "You're to live your life." How to Be offers a window into two people living their lives on purpose (or not) and struggling to come to terms with the big issues everyone faces: faith, mortality, mystery, prayer, work. It is a book that provides insight and inspiration for those walking the spiritual path--particularly for those interested in the contemplative path.

The Divine Circle Of Ladies Making Mischief

Author: Dolores Stewart Riccio

Publisher: Kensington Books

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780758209863

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Transporting readers once again into the enchanting world of Cass Shipton and her circle of friends in idyllic Plymouth, Massachusetts, this is Dolores Stewart Riccio's richest, most satisfying novel yet.

Amounting to Nothing

Author: Paul Quenon

Publisher: Paraclete Poetry

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781640602014

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After 60 years at Gethsemani Abbey, Br. Paul follows up his recent memoir, In Praise of the Useless Life, with a poetic collection that shows how to do just that - by writing poetry. Amounting to Nothing is both practical and metaphysical, a puzzling over the ultimate things of life, and a descending on the Benedictine ladder of humility to the earthly creatures surrounding a Kentucky monastery. This is less an exploration in self-knowledge than a forgetting of self in the wonders of everything. Quenon treads bare footed on the margins of mortality and immortality, with wit, thought, and hope.

Atchison Blue

Author: Judith Valente

Publisher: Ave Maria Press

Published: 2013-09-09

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1933495596

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In this meditative spiritual memoir, Judith Valente, celebrated PBS religion journalist and celebrated poet, invites readers along on her transformative pilgrimages to Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison, Kansas. The Benedictine sisters who invited Valente presented her with a view of monastic life and wisdom that brought spiritual healing to her fast-paced life--and promises to do the same for her readers. The first time Judith Valente arrived at Mount St. Scholastica monastery, she came prepared to teach a course on poetry and the soul. Instead, she found herself the student, taking lessons from the Benedictine sisters in the healing nature of silence, how to cultivate habits of mindful living, and the freeing reality that conversion is a lifelong process. With the heart of a poet and the eye of a journalist, she tells how her many visits and interviews with the Benedictine sisters forced her to confront aspects of her own life that needed healing--a journey that will invite readers to healing of their own. A beautiful and heartfelt work that crosses The Cloister Walk with Tuesdays with Morrie, Atchison Blue will resonate with readers of Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Mary Gordon, and Anne Lamott.

Man of Dialogue

Author: Gregory K. Hillis

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2021-11-15

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0814684602

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How Catholic was Thomas Merton? Since his death in 1968, Merton’s Catholic identity has been regularly questioned, both by those who doubt the authenticity of his Catholicism given his commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and by those who admire Merton as a thinker but see him as an aberration who rebelled against his Catholicism to articulate ideas that went against the church. In this book, Gregory K. Hillis illustrates that Merton’s thought was intertwined with his identity as a Catholic priest and emerged out of a thorough immersion in the church’s liturgical, theological, and spiritual tradition. In addition to providing a substantive introduction to Merton’s life and thought, this book illustrates that Merton was fundamentally shaped by his identity as a Roman Catholic.

Celebrating Good Liturgy

Author: James Martin

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780829421194

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These artilces, derived from a popular series in "America" magazine, show how the Church's central act of worship can be a richer experience for everyone. They offer a wealth of practical advice to deepen Catholics' appreciation of the Mass. (Catholic)