You may be interested in…
-
Glory: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthWords: Glory to God in the highest, And peace to his people on earth. Background: Mary tells us that this is ...'A Christmas image which expresses God’s desire for us to enjoy peace in this world and reminding us that offering to God our unconditional worship, restoring the wonder, majesty and glory of the Godhead, is part of achieving that goal of peace. The colours and lines of the background are reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis which we saw a few years ago over the Island, the colours were vivid reds & greens with golds, yellows and blues flickering against an inky black sky. We wondered if the record in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which says, “… immense flashes of lightening, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air...” referred to a rare but brilliant display of the Aurora in the North East of England. We were amazed at the drama of the fiery sky and could easily imagine a less informed society being attributing its source to dragons!' Printing and Sizing: This item is 105mmX148mm and is printed on 300gsm gloss card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.£1.95 -
Course in Desert Spirituality: Fifteen Sessions with the Famous Trappist Monk
Desert Monasticism, Influences & Suggested ReadingThomas Merton's sessions with the young monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani showcase Merton's brilliant ability to survey the key figures and synthesize their writings, inspiring his listeners and readers with what it means for the spiritual life. Like its companion volume, A Course in Christian Mysticism, this book is a collection of fifteen lectures that get to the heart of Merton's belief that monastic wisdom and spirituality are applicable for everyone. This compact volume allows anyone to learn from one of the twentieth century's greatest Catholic spiritual teachers. The study materials at the back of the book, including additional primary source readings and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, make this an essential text for any student of Christian desert spirituality.£13.50 -
Sale
Into the depths: A Journey of Loss and Vocation
Everyday Life, The Inner JourneyIn January 1984, Sr Mary Margaret Funk, a Benedictine nun from Indiana, paid a visit to Maryknoll missionary nuns working in Bolivia. On what should have been a routine trip to the local town for a convocation ceremony, a flash flood swept away the jeep in which she, three nuns, a priest, and a disabled boy they had adopted were travelling. Only she and the priest survived What happened that night catapulted Sr Meg into twenty-five years of prayer and self-examination. She relentlessly explored her relationship with the transcendent and immanent God, the profundities of her religious tradition, her commitment to spiritual practice, and her very human failings. It was a journey that left her spiritually naked before the terrible love of God; a journey to keep one's heart open to the transforming wounds of suffering. In the great tradition of spiritual confessions from Augustine to Thomas Merton's The Seven-Story Mountain, Into the Depths is a fearlessly honest and simply told account of one woman's struggle to engage at the deeper levels with the most profound questions of faith.Original price was: £12.99.£8.99Current price is: £8.99. -
The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyThe Inner Experience is the first complete, authorised edition of Thomas Merton's final work. It was a manuscript he always intended to revise, but did not until 1968 when he incorporated brief but important 'corrections and additions' to the text. Drawing on his own Christian experience, as well as the Eastern writings and traditions that so significantly influenced him in the last decade of his life, Merton shows the expansive nature of contemplation; that contemplation is not simply a part of life, but the entirety of it. This, his last major work to be published, is vintage and vital Merton.£12.99 -
The Awesome Journey: Life’s Pilgrimage
Scripture & PrayerDrawing on a lifetime of Christian pilgrimage, David Adam reflects on biblical encounters with the divine. God's question to Adam, 'Where are you?' is relevant to us all; Abraham's long journey of hearing and obeying (and learning the art of having no agenda) is ours too; Jacob's great discovery – that heaven is found on earth and earth is raise to heaven – helps us to become aware that we often already possess what we think we're searching for. Moses' desert experiences of grief and glory encourage us to press on to the Promised Land; Elijah's powerlessness reminds us that God often call us out of darkness and weakness, and that we may need stillness to hear him. The story of the prodigal son's return is a disarming reminder of the welcome that awaits each one of us; while Paul's call to rejoice inspires us to be present fully to each day. As we continue to move forward, these profound insights – on grief and glory, emptiness and fulfilment, repentance and forgiveness, loving and being loved will transform the way we live and the way we relate to God, here and now.£8.99 -
Contemplation in a World of Action
The Inner JourneyThe spiritual and psychological insights of these essays were nurtured in a monastic milieu, but their issues are universally human. Thomas Merton lays a foundation for personal growth and transformation through fidelity to "our own truth and inner being". Our desire and need to attain "a fully human and personal identity" is the focus of Merton's concern.£24.99 -
Help me to journey beyond the familiar: Greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual Growth£2.20Greetings card, supplied with envelope, featuring an original design by Lynda Owen-Hussey that reflects the story of St Brendan's journey of faith. Blank inside. The title is taken from Brendan - an exploration of a vision, a call to risky living from Celtic Daily Prayer Book 1: The Journey Begins. -
A Retreat with Thomas Merton
The Inner JourneyThe celebrated spiritual writer Thomas Merton remains one of the most influential voices of our day. His many books have become modern spiritual classics and he opened up the riches of the monastic tradition for many. Here, Esther de Waal devises a seven day personal or group retreat programme using extracts from Thomas Merton's writings and a selection of the photography for which he was also renowned. She creates a retreat that can be made at home, at a centre or on holiday, over a week or a period of weeks. The focus of each of the seven days is: The Call; Response; The Solitary Within; Encounter With Christ; The Demands of Love; Common and Natural and Ordinary; Integration.£14.00 -
May God Shield A4 poster
Celtic Daily Prayer & Liturgy, Music & Creativity, Northumbria Community Resources & TeachingThis prayer is part of the Patrick Compline (for Saturday each week) in Celtic Daily Prayer. This calligraphic design by Pam French is also available as an A5 poster, an A6 Greetings card and an A6 postcard.£2.00 -
Contemplative Prayer
Influences & Suggested Reading, Scripture & PrayerThomas Merton's classic study of monastic prayer and contemplation brings a tradition of spirituality alive for the present day. But, as A M Allchin points out in his Introduction to this new edition, Contemplative Prayer also shows us the present day in a new perspective, because we see it in the light of a long and living tradition. Merton stresses that in meditation we should not look for a 'method' or 'system' but cultivate an 'attitude' or 'outlook': faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, trust, joy. God is found in the desert of surrender, in giving up any expectation of a particular message and 'waiting on the Word of God in silence'. Merton insists on the humility of faith, which he argues 'will do far more to launch us into the full current of historical reality than the pompous rationalisation of politicians who think they are somehow the directors and manipulators of history'.£11.99 -
Ancient Paths CD
Celtic Prayer, Creativity, Music & Creativity, Spiritual GrowthAnna's first solo album includes some of her 'signature' pieces as well as some songs of her own. Some of you will recognise familiar words from the Complines in Celtic Daily Prayer drawn from Carmina Gadelica and other traditional sources. Here they are set to Anna's own music which has emerged over the years of saying and singing these night-time prayers with her children, Joel and Martha. Anna says, 'I hope you will want to play this album often and that it will capture something of the rhythm of the tides, the sounds of the island and also its stillness.'£12.00 -
Sold out
The Wisdom of the Desert
Desert Monasticism, Influences & Suggested ReadingThe Wisdom of the Desert was one of Thomas Merton's favourites among his own books - surely because he had hoped to spend his last years as a hermit. The personal tone of the translations, the blend of reverence and humour so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contempation in the deserts of the Near East. The hermits of Scete who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen Masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.£13.00 -
The Circle of Peace: an antidote to distress
Everyday Life, Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyA much-needed book which gives people - Christians in particular - permission to love themselves as they should. Written by a chartered psychologist and a priest with a distinguished teaching and pastoral ministry, this book offers an encouraging hand to those who want to experiment with making beneficial changes in their life, especially those bothered by anxiety, depression, low self-esteem or feelings of helplessness. Full of reassuring and engaging stories. Includes practical exercises throughout to enable people to understand where discomfort originates and to discover ways forward. The Church is very good at inviting or challenging people to love their neighbours - it is not so strong on encouraging us to love ourselves. This book illuminates the healing truth that encountering the love of God sets us free to live as we were intended to live - loving ourselves and those around us. Through Bible passages, stories and exercises, the authors encourage us to throw off the sense of apprehension that bothers so many, and to enjoy living to the full in God's exhilarating company.£10.99 -
Life Journey: A6 Greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthWords: Life journey winding, Patterns undulating, overlapping Weaving community Touch as you pass, smile, hold the moment As God holds you in His heart Background: Artist Mary Fleeson comments...'The weaving of lives in community are expressed in 'Life Journey', whether that is a religious community or not. It is about living each moment, making a positive difference in the lives of others and getting to know God better as we see Him in those we meet.' Printing and Sizing: This item is 105mm x 148mm and is printed on 300gsm gloss card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.£2.25 -
The Way of the Heart
Desert Monasticism, Influences & Suggested ReadingThe words flee, be silent and pray summarise the spirituality of the desert. They indicate the three ways of preventing the world from shaping us in its image and are thus the three ways to life in the Spirit.' How can Christians live as God wants in today's world? Henri Nouwen seeks his answer from an unlikely source - the example of the fifth-century Egyptian Desert Fathers and Mothers. Their experience in the desert taught them that true Christian living in possible only if we find a place in our lives for solitude, silence and prayer. The Way of the Heart in a perfect book for prayerful meditation. Compassionate yet challenging, it will enable us not only to appreciate the teaching of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, but to apply it to our daily lives.£15.99 -
Watchman: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthWords: My soul waits for the Lord, More than those who watch for the morning, More than those who watch for the morning. Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord hear my voice. With my whole heart I want to praise you, O Lord hear my voice. If You Lord should mark iniquities Who could stand? Who could stand? I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits And in His word do I hope. Background: Based on Psalm 130 these words were written by Larry & Pearl Brick for a song called ‘I Will Wait’ on their 1989 album ‘See-through Servant’. Northumbria Community use the song in their Evening Prayer liturgy. Printing and Sizing: This item is 105mmX148mm and is printed on 300gsm gloss card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.£2.25 -
As the Touch: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthWords: Embrace me Lord As the loving parent to a new born babe; As the gentle wave on a windswept shore; As the summer breeze lifts the soaring bird; As the fall of rain on the parched garden soil; As the pure note of song caresses an ear; As the touch on the face from a lover; As the clear starlight falling on a deep, still lake; As the warming sunlight on a butterfly wing; As the brushstroke on a painters canvas; As the soft hug of a much loved toy; As the familiar words of a memorised poem Embrace me O Lord Background: An encouragement to invite God to be intimate with every aspect of our life.£2.25 -
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with Thomas Merton
Advent & Christmas, Resources for the Christian YearAdvent and Christmas are special times for all Christians. The spiritual longing of the Advent season can only be satisfied by the joy and celebration of a Christmas focused on Jesus' birth in our hearts. Advent and Christmas Wisdom with Thomas Merton give readers the opportunity to experience Advent and Christmas in a way that unwraps the spiritual joy, allowing it to shine brighter that all the tinsel and trappings that can blind our eyes to the deeper meaning of the season. This book is arranged for use on every day of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Each day's reflection begins with a scriptural quotation, continues with a thought from the writings of Thomas Merton, and concludes with a prayer for the day. Merton's writing capture the familiar themes of the season: the Incarnation, anticipation, angels, giving, and many others - each drawing us closer to the joy of welcoming the Saviour into our lives. An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each day's meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer.£11.99 -
Merton’s Palace of Nowhere
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneySpiritual identity is the quest to know who we are, to find meaning in life and to overcome that sense of "is that all there is?" At the heart of this quest are found Thomas Meron's illuminating insights leading from an awareness of the false and illusory self as the way to a realization of the true self. For twenty-five years, Merton's Palace of Nowhere has been the standard for exploring, reflecting on, and understanding this rich vein of Merton's thought.£14.00 -
With Love: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual Growth£2.50A simple design containing the words With Love.
This item is 105mm x 148mm and is printed on 300gsm gloss card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.
-
Sold out
Love The Lord: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual Growth£2.25Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 New International Version (NIV)
To love God with all that we are, with our whole self, is an enormous challenge. Our hearts and minds are easily distracted and persuaded; our souls are unfathomable, perhaps our greatest and most faithful lover of God. But to give all, consciously and subconsciously takes a continual recommitment to God's will, a constant re-examining of our relationship with our Creator and, scariest of all, a constant vulnerability to allow God to work in us.
Printing and Sizing:
This item is 105mm x 148mm and is printed on 300gsm gloss card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.
-
New Seeds of Contemplation
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyNew Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton’s most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, and some have compared Merton’s reflections to those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, ‘Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.’£16.99 -
Remember Me: A6 greetings card
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthBackground: Artist Mary Fleeson tells us that... " ‘Remember’ is a celebration of Christ’s words to His disciples, 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NIV The image includes the empty tomb and the angel standing outside with Jesus and Mary in the garden, the road to Emmaus, a bright star – to remind us of His birth and the light He brought to a fallen world and Jesus carrying the cross as a symbol of carrying the sin of the world. The rich knotwork pattern behind is the backdrop to the royal story of The King of the Universe. The large knot reminds us of our life journey and how God wants us to be immersed, surrounded and sharing in His journey." This item is 105 x 148mm and is printed on 300gsm card stock. Each card is blank inside, has its title and copyright details on the back and is individually wrapped in cellophane with an envelope.£2.25 -
The Book of Forgiving: The fourfold path for healing ourselves and our world
Culture & Mission, The Inner JourneyEach of us has a deep need to forgive, but it sometimes feels like an impossible task. In The Book of Forgiving, Archbishop Desmond and Reverend Mpho Tutu offer to guide you on a path towards forgiveness, leading you away from past pain. Desmond Tutu's role as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post apartheid South Africa taught him much about forgiveness, as he led the country along a difficult path of healing. After much reflection, the Tutus have seen that there are four important aspects to this path: Telling the Story; Naming the Hurt; Granting Forgiveness; Renewing or Releasing the Relationship. As you travel along the fourfold path yourself, there will be meditations, exercises and rituals to guide and help you as you walk. This will not be an easy journey, but in the end, it is the only path worth taking.£8.99 -
Poustinia
Influences & Suggested Reading, Orthodox TraditionThis book (fundamental to the Community) by Catherine de Hueck Doherty explores the heart of drawing apart to a meeting place with God. Poustinia, a Russian word, means 'desert'. Men and women who desire communion with God can discover how the poustinia powerfully fulfils their yearning. Readers are invited to leave the noise and harried pace of daily life to enter a place of silence and solitude. The author writes from her own experience with refreshing and startling Christian authenticity and a strong personal sense of spiritual authority.£24.99 -
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
Seasons of Life, The Inner JourneyA compassionate and compelling meditation on discovering your path in life. With wisdom, compassion and gentle humour, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference , he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfilment and joy, illuminating a pathway towards vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives. Hardback 25th Anniversary Edition with new introduction£18.99 -
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Desert MonasticismThe Sayings of the Desert Fathers – The Alphabetical Collection Translated by Benedicta Ward, SLG The fourth-century ascetic flight to the desert indelibly marked Christianity. The faithful who did not embrace the austerity of the desert admired those who did and sought them out for counsel and consolation. The ‘words’ the monks gave were collected and passed around among those too far away or too feeble to make the trek themselves – or lived generations later. Previously available only in fragments, these Sayings of the Desert Fathers are now accessible in its entirety in English for the first time. ‘We have a great deal to learn from their integrity and their unrelenting courage, from their vision of God – so holy, so great, possessed of such a love, that nothing less than one’s whole being could respond to it,’ wrote Archbishop Anthony of Sourzah in the preface. ‘If we wish to understand the sayings of the Fathers, let us approach them with veneration, silencing our judgments and our own thoughts in order to meet them on their own ground and perhaps to partake ultimately – if we prove to emulate their earnestness in the search, their ruthless determination, their infinite compassion – in their own silent communion with God.’£15.99 -
Places of Enchantment: Meeting God in Landscapes
Everyday Life, The Inner JourneyThere is a great and honourable tradition of finding God in landscapes. Many who have given up on church appreciate the spiritual benefits they gain from climbing a mountain or walking in nature. But how and why do we encounter God in land, forest, river, mountain, desert, garden, sea and sky? That is what Graham Usher explores in this captivating volume which takes us from the giant Redwoods of the Californian Sierra Nevada to the jagged New York skyline; from the wilds of the ancient Scottish Highlands to the rolling pastures of English Shropshire. Drawing on material from biblical and church history traditions, as well as scientific research and contemporary art, he seeks to ascertain how such encounters support our Christian pilgrimage and challenge our assumptions. More than anything, the author's desire is to encourage readers to look at the world with fresh eyes - and so be enchanted by the world all around us.£11.99 -
A Silent Action: engagements with Thomas Merton
Spiritual GrowthThomas Merton's life, especially once he had become a writer, was to a great extent one of dialogue with people who were distant, both geographically and historically. In these probing and perceptive studies, Rowan Williams looks closely at the key intellectual and spiritual relationships that emerge in Merton's writings, exploring the impact on him of thinkers as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth, William Blake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Olivier Clement, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Paul Evdokimov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vladimir Lossky, John Henry Newman, Boris Pasternak and St John of the Cross.£11.99 -
The Forgotten Desert Mothers
Desert Monasticism, Monasticism & New MonasticismAn introduction to the sayings, lives and stories of early Christian women. "Written in clear, heartfelt language, this book does two things beautifully. It revives lost memories of women leaders in the early evolution of Christian spirituality, thus filling in one more missing piece of women's history. And it calls the reader to a path of spirituality sorely needed in today's clamorous world: slow down, be quiet, listen for the voice of God deep within your heart. The book's attractiveness is enhanced by a time line, ordination rite, glossary and calendar of feasts in addition to notes and bibliography. Altogether an appealing contribution."£15.99- Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J. Fordham University