What a delight to read "Radical Hospitality", written by a monk and a mom. Both worlds, that of the monastery and the family home, are primary places of hospitality. Lonni & Daniel weave their lives, stories and faith together into a durable and beautiful welcome rug, inviting all who dare step this way into a life of "radical hospitality". The title word "radical" may turn some away from this book due to connotations of rebellion and anarchy. Don't let it. "Radical" simply means "having to do with the root, the radix". Benedictine hospitality is truly radical, returning us to our roots, our true heart home in God the God who welcomes us as we are, where we are, who we are. Hospitality begins at home with God, and at home where we live, eat, sleep and love on a daily basis with others. Radical hospitality is the true balm to heal the wounds of nations, and bring peace. But will we live this way? For two other books that explore Benedictine hospitality in the home, look into THE FAMILY CLOISTER: BENEDICTINE WISDOM FOR THE HOME (Crossroad, 2000) and THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY TOOLBOX: 52 BENEDICTINE ACTIVITIES FOR THE HOME (Crossroad, 2001).

Just like Benedict himself, always challenging the individual to come to the heart of Christ, in the stranger. I used this book for lectio and the encounter with God and myself was an unbelievable experience. It challenged and reaffirmed my own identity as a lay person, who seeks to live the Benedictine way, to be more hospitable. In many cases this book will either root you more deeply in the heart of Jesus and open your life or uproot one from the rocky soil and plant them in the fertile soil. Either way this book causes the individual to seriously challenge and examine they way we all live our lives as hospitable people. It's not a flighty warm fuzzy book, but you don't get lost in monstastic terminology either. It is really practical in dealing with the lay person and reflecting on how we can live radical hospitality reflected by a monastic. Lonni and Fr. Dan does a great job!! Dominus vobiscum!

Several years ago Lonni was my instructor at a writer's conference. She was in the process of working on Benedict's Way with Father Homan. We asked her to read some of what they had written to us and she graciously agreed. You could have heard a pin drop in the room when she finished. This is the same sense I have from reading Radical Hospitality. The message is a simple one, make room for another person in your life and try to believe that doing it will make a cosmic difference. As I get older I'm learning that simple concepts are usually the most profound. The word is overused but this is a profound book. I have long enjoyed Mrs. Pratt's writing. Teamed with Father Homan she had gone from excellent to superb. It will be a shame if this book does not get the attention it merits from both readers and those who make books happen. My singular gripe is that the authors do little to focus on the basics of Christian hospitality as opposed to monastic hospitality. Considering their backgrounds though it is not surprising, nor, does it take away from the book.

I'm a medical student whose school uses Bates' guide... I must say that this book FAR surpasses Bates. Not only is the information complete, but the pictures and "jewels" it presents are wonderful. This is also better than the Schwartz (which I own also). If I could choose all over which book to buy of the three, I would DEFINITELY buy this one.

Excellent book, superior picture and graphic, good explanations, If you want to buy an excellent book of semiology...here it is. The CD bring usefull information, and friendly interface for students. A recomendation for the Authors could be insert video of each maneuver and sign, as well as clinical interviews of each capital syndrome.

More explanations, more detail, even more color than its rival (Bates). However, lacking in the area of psychiatric diagnosis, which would have been immensely useful in the evaluation of "Robin of Lockslay"...

This book is one of the funniest ever! Years ago, when I drove my latency-aged children across country, we had the book in the car, and to avoid sibling conflict on the long road trip, I had my daughter read it aloud. It's one of my most treasured memories. It has everything: Treasure, bad guys, good guys (Indians), clever kids who win the day. The publisher needs to get its head examined for not keeping it in print.

Arizona Slim tells the story as if he's chatting to you, and the misspellings help a lot. While reading you feel like you're in the book, with him. All the characters make you seem very close to them, and they are hilarios in their ways, language and actions. Their names are enough! For people who dont like long, slow moving book this is the one. Fast moving, interesting, original and above all funny. The book has a quality that you can't describe, it's so good. Really, whoever you are, you MUST read it.

As with the other two people who have reviewed this book, I was introduced to it by my father. I very much enjoyed listening to this story. In the 20 years since, I have read this book several times - my copy is now ragged! I have also enjoyed reading this book to young people while working as a day care provider. There is enough mischief and mayhem, enough sneaky twists, and enough action to keep your attention. The language is, at times, poetic, at other times just plain funny. It is truly a crime that this book is not in print. I want to send a copy to my eleven year old half-sister, but don't want to give mine up!

A Good Read...Even for a Southern-California WASP

Even for a young woman who's attended only a handful of Catholic masses, had never heard of St. Benedict, knows she should keep a diary, but doesn't, and grew up where "the desert meets the ocean" (a place that the author initially hated), The Abbey Up the Hill was a pleasure.

Bonomo is open enough to talk about her own demons and the painful and boring parts of worship and devotion, while at the same time underscoring the fact that she takes all of this stuff seriously. She is on a path, though it isn't her first, and it may not be her last.

With this book, I saw, smelled, and tasted the monastery. I felt the sharp winter winds coming off the Pacific as Bonomo journeyed along the prayer path, and my own fingers started tapping in agitation as she struggled through yet another trying service. I also experienced her pleasure as she curled up in the oversized chair in the oblate library for her private study, and was touched by the true reverence she feels for her abbott.

Although the ritual and Catholic "baggage" is foreign to me, the basic search for meaningful connections, affirmation, and a sense of home that Bonomo describes speaks directly to me, and to anyone who ever felt they still had something to find.

The Abbey Up The Hill: A Year In The Life Of A Monastic Day-Tripper by lobbyist and speech writer Carol Bonomo is her personal memoir and testimony as a recovering alcoholic and depicts her compelling quest for spiritual enlightenment. It was her restless search for a spiritual home which brought her into contact with the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as an attempt to become a lay associate of the Franciscans, and then, at last, to a Benedictine abbey where she found her spiritual home, a state of acceptance, and a hard won wealth of personal insight. The Abbey Up The Hill is recommended as an emotionally moving, sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant saga presented with a reverent love and a spirit of appreciation.

I wasn't sure I'd like this book. Raised Catholic but no longer practicing, and not much of a seeker after things spiritual, I had little in common with the author but being a speechwriter and having a couple of friends who were helped by Alcoholics Anonymous. So, why read it? I'm curious about how people go about finding meaning and purpose in life -- whether in real life or in fiction, whether in religion or therapy, whatever it takes. In this quest to follow someone's personal journey to find meaning, I was not disappointed. As the author "chases the choices laid out for her" by her spiritual guide, Abbott Antony, I was drawn in by her disarming honesty about herself. The confessional nature of the book, however, is not expressed in a self-indulgent way. Far from it! The disarmingly honest moments are humorously self-deprecating in a way that I found more refreshing and engaging than Kathleen Norris's account of her sojourn with the Benedictines in Cloister Walk. With Abbey up the Hill, even if you know next to nothing about the Rule of St. Benedict, the Twelve Steps in AA, Episcopalians, or any of the other touchstones the author uses to fulfill her self-described "need to put things into her own words in order to trust them," you will not be lost in allusions, or illusions (for that matter), for long. While a chapter may begin with a reflection on a passage in the Rule that does not seem very clear at first, her journey through memory to find meaning or relevance to her own life never fails to draw you in and take you along. Even obscure allusions or difficult-to-comprehend Biblical passages, which may be off-putting at first, gradually become illumined as the author searches for, or sometimes seemingly stumbles upon, just the right metaphor or anecdote to make the meaning clear. It is her grasp of metaphor and analogy that I admired most. Her metaphors are not designed to impress us with their cleverness but seem to appear to her mind's eye as though a lamp comes on unbidden to elucidate self-discovery. Through her self-disclosures, you feel you're experiencing the journey to understanding along with her as you follow her thought processes. The symbolism she chooses seems ever so precise in characterizing the new insight gained. As she searches for understanding in her own "remembered-in-tranquillity" mistakes, misjudgments, and missteps, your understanding takes shape in step with hers. Advice: Don't be stalled by allusions that aren't clear at first. Persevere. By the end of the chapter, the point will be clear. She gets you there every time. In short, I recommend this book very highly.

Great Catholic-oriented book dealing with struggles of all sorts. The writer (from St. Crispin Friary in Bronx, NY) has a fresh and realistic approach to loss, lifes shortcomings and suffering. However, I purchased this book for a friend who had recently lost his young wife, and was left with two young children. The chapter on death was a little too tongue and cheek (i.e. "They better not be any Hallulujahs at my funeral") and short on the empathy for the survivors. The author also talks a little too much about Purgatory, without explanation. What is nice about this book is that the author ends each chapter with an approriate prayer for the struggle. If bought for the purpose of working through grief, I would recommend it in conjunction with other meatier books on grief.

Next to Pope John Paul's SALVIFICI DOLORIS, Fr. Benedict Groeschel's ARISE FROM DARKNESS is another masterpiece. The mystery of human suffering only makes sense through FAITH. This book helped me tremendously when I had to bury two brothers (one killed by a drunk driver) and then my Dad six months later. I could not have preached their funerals had it not been for this book. My faith as a Christian and as a Catholic Priest was enhanced by Fr. Groeschel.

This is the first book Ive read of Fr. Groeschel's. I am deeply impressed. In everyday, easy to understand language, he hits right into the heart of reality. Life is not peaches and cream, and this is not a negative confession, it is reality that comes with maturity. Though it is easy to read, it is deeply spiritual. And I like that he hits in several diverse situations in life: death of loved ones, loss of a job, financial insecurities, problems in relationship to the church, etc. there are constant reminders through out that as christians, we look first at the cross, and at our Lord who is always with us in everything we go through, just as He promised. This book makes me want to read his others!

I received this book as a gift recently. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. The title of the book implies that it is a novel about St. Benedict, but he is actually just one of many characters in this historical novel. DeWohl does a wonderful job describing the Roman world at the time of St. Benedict, making it come to life.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, read this book. If you are a fan of Louis DeWohl, read this book.

Until I read this gem by de Wohl, all I knew about St Benedict was that he founded a Catholic order of priests now known at the Benedictines. He certainly was close to God, and God must have inspired him to write his rules for living together. After 1,500 years, the Order of St Benedict is still operating.

The book got me interested in Theodoric, the Ostrogoths, and Boethius, and it's been fun reading about them on the Internet and seeing how well de Wohl knew his history.

The novel Citadel of God is one of the finest works I have read about St.Benedict. While keeping St.Benedict as the main subject of the book, de Wohl also includes the chaotic war between the Goths and Byzantium. In doing this de Wohl unites the almost opposite "plots" through wicked Peter's visit to Monte Cassino and conversation with St.Benedict at Cassino while also remaining historically accurate.

In all this book is a must read for those who are interested in history and most importantly for a look at one man's journey to God.

This is a good collection of recipes using spirits in unusual ways. Some of the directions may be a little sketchy, but the ideas are "stimulating" and can be extrapolated to creations not suggested here. I would like to see a book with recipes for other baked goods using liquors and liqueurs.

I make between 100 and 150 cookies each week for the S.C. House of Representatives of which my husband is a member. This is my fifth year of making the cookies and I never repeat a recipe, so I'm always on the lookout for good cookie recipes. I made the Wild Walnut Wheels this week and they were a huge hit. I was amazed at how good the Kamikaze cookies were - who ever heard of a lime cookie? This is the first cookie cookbook I have owned that truly has some new and different recipes. Highly recommended!!!!!!!!

I have made thousands of cookies in my life. I find this book a fresh new idea to Christmas baking as well as all times of the year. The techniques are easy to follow and are beneficial to everyone from begininner baker to the expert. I have sampled many of the recipes and found them delicious and have gotten rave reviews from the tasters. Ms. Benedict has a great idea and I can't wait for the next volume of sophisticated cookies. Thanks for the book and keep baking!!

My son loves this book, all the different kinds of cars and trucks are fun to look at, and the rythm of the story is great for reading aloud. I hope the paperback edition maintains the foldout "centerfold" of the original.

This can't be out of stock! As a children's librarian, I found this to be a wonderful book. Lots of repetition and vehicles, with big clear pictures. What more could you want? Even parents get into the spirit of the book, yelling 'Stop,' and 'Help' in the appropriate places. Hope that this is not a prelude to out-of-print

I work as a Toddler teacher in a daycare with children whose age range from 14mos to 2yrs and this is thier favorite book. I was so glad to see that it was here because I have looked everywhere for since our copy was recently ripped by one of the childern. I can not tell you just how much the children love this book. If I could give more stars I would.

This book will change your thinking on suffering and will wake you up to the cold reality of the world we live in. Groeschel doesn't mince words but offers help for those who suffer and to those that want to understand suffering. Groeshel is a treasure and I wish I had discovered him earlier. The only fault is the book is too short.

In the shock of September 11th, Fr. Benedict Groeschel has written a book to give us the Christian perspective on this horrible event. He calls us to gaze on the cross of Christ and to focus on our spiritual priorities so that we can be ready for any eventuality. He also issues a strong call for America to remedy the scandals of abortion and pornography so that we take our place in the world as a force for the culture of life. The small size of the book makes it a handy gift to help those we know deal with this event and its long term consequences.

Wonderful book - especially needed in our society. Nothing
sappy about this - it tells you the facts and then
gives you the courage needed to face the problems
of todays world.
Timely and topical for todays society. I am giving it as gifts now to friends and family.

There's a cute story about Saint Theresa of Lisieux who complained to God about falling asleep during daily devotions at her French Carmelite convent because she apparently had trouble staying focused. "Mention Your Request Here: The Church's Most Powerful Novenas" may be the answer to Saint Theresa's plea for more spirit in daily meditations. Michael Dubruiel presents a varied bouquet of daily devotions ranging from traditional to modern petitions. Most interesting are the addresses provided for the North American shrines where the particular saints or religious orders supporting the special novenas are located. For example, I'm delighted to learn the meditations in honor of Saint Maximillan Kolbe and to learn where his shrine is located in Libertyville, Il. Traditional meditations to the Miraculous Medal are nostalgic for those who remember those continuous novenas during pre-Vatican II. Updated novenas to the French North American Martyrs and Native American Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha bring some interesting diversity to the collection as well. "Mention Your Request Here" is a delightful instructional about how to improve daily communications with God rather than a "novena book", or a ritualistic series of petitions asking for saintly favors. Indeed, Saint Theresa, the "little flower" is, quite likely, very well pleased with Dubruiel's impressive prayer collection, which, of course, includes her special devotion.

I found the prayers in this book to be truly powerful! The information on each devotion was very helpful to me and I have personally visited several of the shrines mentioned in the book that I had not realized were so close to my home. I have one question, when will the author's next book be out?

This is the kind of book that comes in handy when your prayer life is on the dry side. The novenas are there for you, but you also get the benefit of the history of the devotion and the shrines connected to it. It brings a deeper dimension and fuller understanding to praying a novena. I'm glad it's on my bookshelf! I use it often. It also makes a great gift.