Very rarely are books written that are really unique, this is one! I was preparing a series of studies on how our communion with God is enhanced through our membership in the body of Christ, and this is the only book that I could find that really addresses this issue in any substantive manner. It promotes the idea of church membership as a biblical mandate and describes how this can be proven scripturally, but this book is certainly not a list of to-dos. It promotes the church as an irreplaceable source of encouragement and growth for the Christian, it shows the great benefit of church membership instead of offering just a biblical requirement. This book is highly recommended.

David Lonsdale is a longtime veteran of Ignatian spirituality, having been involved for 40 years in the teaching and formation of adults in this consummate tradition. With the wisdom of years, Lonsdale captures in this introduction the essence of Ignatian spirituality, especially according to the more accurate understanding obtained in the light of 1960's scholarship. According to this renewed understanding, discernment of spirits occupies a central place in Ignatian spirituality--indeed, argues Lonsdale, in Christian spirituality itself. "It is not always recognized that discernment lies at the heart of Christian spirituality," he says (p. 89).

In order to define "discernment," there is no better authority to cite than Lonsdale himself. He writes:

...Discernment of spirits in everyday life involves us in a process of sifting our daily experiences by noting and reflecting regularly on our affective responses to God and to life and its events. It means noting, for example, situations and events in which we experience joy or sorrow, peace or turmoil, attractions or revulsions, an opening out to others or a narrowing in on ourselves, a sense of God's presence or absence, creativity or destructiveness. The purpose of observing and reflecting on these patterns of responses is that they deepen our sense of ourselves and they can show us where, for each of us, our Christian path lies, where the Spirit of God is leading (p. 95).

Discernment thus becomes the touchstone of sanctification and locates the basis for moral action in the intimate communication between the Holy Spirit and the soul. Hence, the allusion to Jesus' words in the book title, "Eyes to See, Ears to Hear."

The motif of discernment allows us to understand in terms of a unifying theme the various aspects of Ignatian spirituality discussed in the book. For example, when Lonsdale examines Ignatius' life in the opening chapter, "Images of Ignatius," we are made to understand that Ignatius travelled an atypical path in his spiritual life. Ignatius pursued his quest for holiness outside the structures of the traditional religious orders. Consequently, it was almost inevitable that he should develop a spirituality of discernment in order to map with some assurance his path to God.

In successive chapters, Lonsdale expounds Ignatian spirituality in a pattern of enlarging meaning. He begins by delineating the image of Jesus and of the Trinity in Ignatius' soul. He describes the characteristic features of Ignatian prayer--dispelling traditional misunderstandings--and then clarifies the genuine meaning of the Spiritual Exercises as well as the distinctive practice of Ignatian spiritual direction. He examines Ignatian spirituality embodied in the Jesuits and contextualized in the institutional Church. He underscores the special congruence between Ignatian spirituality and the condition of lay Christians, which is marked by autonomy. Finally, he delves into current issues in Ignatian spirituality, such as rigidity, adaptation, and inculturation, thereby casting new light on these issues in relation to Christian spirituality in general.

Some insights are especially helpful in the area of spirituality. He identifies the true purpose of spiritual direction as well as the potential for its abuse:

...The term 'spiritual direction' often has unhappy and off-putting associations in many people's minds. It can evoke images, for example, of an authoritarian priest-confessor clandestinely telling penitents what to do and demanding more or less unqualified obedience....These and other associations are, to say the least, distasteful to people who believe in personal freedom, open discussion, consensus, and democracy and who reject authoritarianism and exploitation in any form. In the recent revival of Ignatian spiritual direction it has had to be made clear that the director does not have an authoritarian or any kind of manipulative role; it is not the director's function to hold the directee in a relationship of dependency or to persuade the directee into a particular course of action, much less to impose his or her own convictions or 'way' on another person. The director is there to facilitate growth through discernment (p. 142).

He defines the reality of personal vocation in terms of discernment:

...It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that this process of finding and being faithful to one's own personal path of discipleship within the Christian community is simply a matter of once-for-all decision from which the rest flows as it were automatically....More commonly the process of following out a personal calling has a cyclic rather than a linear shape. It is a question of constantly rediscovering God's love in the different circumstances of life, and constantly re-expressing our responses to that in the concrete choices we make (p. 150).

He expresses the newfound understanding of obedience in the Ignatian tradition:

...For Ignatius, in order to be effective, the collaborative relationship of authority on the one hand and obedience on the other presupposes on both sides a willingness to work together in discernment. It is not a matter of one person in authority telling another what to do without reference to that person's gifts and inclinations, and demanding unquestioning 'blind obedience' (p. 167).

He acknowledges the inherent limitations of foundational charism and fingers the dangers arising from an uncritical approach:

...One of the reviewers of the first edition of this book pointed out that it was not critical of Ignatius nor of the spirituality that derives from him. It is a point well made. I wrote the book with some enthusiasm for Ignatian spirituality and with an attitude of generosity towards Ignatius and his life and writings. I was disposed to place a good construction on his words and actions and on the founding events and texts and to interpret them in a favourable and helpful light. The reviewer's remark, however, does highlight a very important issue: there are dangers for devotees of a particular tradition of spirituality in endorsing it, if their enthusiasm is unreflective or insufficiently critical (pp. 206-207).

Thus Lonsdale describes a path to God in which truth--the truth of a life lived in discernment--is consistent with Christian spirituality.

Our Restless Heart: The Augustinian Tradition by Thomas F. Martin (Associate Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University) is a informative presentation introducing the reader to Augustine of Hippo, the theologian, convert, bishop, and polemicist whose spiritual vision holds abiding insights for the faithful across the span of centuries. A thoughtful and philosophical treatise covering the legacy of a great Christian historical figure, Our Restless Heart is a welcome and valued contribution to Roman Catholic Theology in general, and Augustinian Studies in particular.

Saint Ignatius was a Basque military officer from Loyola, a great saint, and the founder of one of the most influential religious orders in world history: the Society of Jesus(the Jesuits). His personal writings reveal a truly gentle, emotional man who gave up all the pleasures of nobility to become a poor, wretched pilgrim for the sake of Christ. His Reminisces recounts all the main events of his life, from his bravery in the battle that left him crippled for life, to his conversion in his recovery bed, and finally to his founding of the Jesuit order. His journal reveals his spirituality and describes his mystical experiences, his letters reveal his patience, wisdom, and kindness, and his tremendously popular Spiritual Exercises gives advice on how to dedicate your life to God and see His action all around you. Ignatius's writings resonate with the tender devotion and the firmness of purpose found only in the writings of the Saints. Reading this book, one can see the guiding hand of Providence in the life of Ignatius and in the history of the Church, a hand that can use even the worst sinner to bring a shattered world back to His Son.

This excellent biography of St. Philip Neri presents a complete portrait of the great 16th century "Apostle of Rome", St. Philip Neri. Rather than stressing the excessive asceticism of the time, St. Philip emphasised the great love and mercy of God, thus bringing back many people to the practise of the faith and and inspiring many to lead holy lives.

It presents the reader with a picture of St. Philip, a man both on fire for the Lord and a saint with an immense sense of humour. This is one of the best biographies of St. Philip that I've found and I reccommend it highly.

This is an excellent book. Period. Philip Barlow uses the life and teachings of several prominent Church leaders to demonstrate the evolution of biblical thinking in the Mormon Church, and raises some important spectres along the way. Most significant to me was the powerful influence that the ultra-conservative Bruce R. McConkie has had on the contemporary LDS understanding of the bible. His personal bias toward the "literal bible" has been incorporated in both his "Mormon Doctrine" (considered by most faithful members to be THE LAST WORD on all doctrinal points), as well as his subtle influence in the brief synopsis at the first of each chapter in the most recent correlated Old and New Testaments used by the LDS church. Contrast that with the "open canon" of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and you have a case for bonafide doctrinal evolution in the Mormon Church. Barlow points out that it is was the very ability of Joseph Smith to question the bible in the first place that led him to found a new religion.

This books gets the highest recommendation I could possibly give to anyone genuinely interested in understanding the genesis and growth of Mormon thought. Barlow writes about complex things in a manner that is easily consumed by the lay reader, without sacrificing scholarship. This is an excellent book.

This is one of the best books about Mormonism to appear in the last 20 or so years. Its real subject is not just the way LDS people regard the Bible, but the way the Mormons look at truth and the world. Non-Mormons should be fascinated by the LDS concept of an "open (scriptural) canon." The quiet arguments within the LDS church about how doctrine is revealed can shed illuminating light on the "culture wars" of the larger American ethos.

This is an excellently written and objective work. I loved it and found it to be very scholary.

Really enjoyed this book. It's rare to find a book that combines the fast read enjoyment of a Stephen King novel with some depth of thought. Imagine, an intelligent fantasy?! Jack Cassidy (Saint Jack) is a NYC firefighter who loses his own family in a tragic fire. He's so distraught he wants to kill himself but is kept from doing it by the sudden appearance of a vision that tells him he must live in order to save the world from a growing threatening evil. This he agrees to do and so his adventures begin. Along the way he's helped by a pair of angels (who appear to him in the form of rats in his basement) and by a talisman that grants him great powers (invisibility, etc.) All of this is wonderfully written with a good deal of imagery. In each scene the reader feels like he/she is right there. And the book gives you plenty to think about after you put it down. Apocalypse soon? Maybe, and it might be us humans who bring it down upon ourselves. Scary.

From "Curled Up With A Good Book (curled up.com)":

Five Stars (Highest Rating)
The wonderfully realized Saint Jack and Toad...doesn't fit easily into any standard genre of fiction. Set in modern-day New York City, it reads like a suspense tale but contains touches of fantasy, and is as realistically gritty at times as the backstreets and alleyways of New York's rougher neighborhoods...(A) stirring tale but...also storytelling with intelligence and social consciousness (increasingly rare) that allows the book to transcend the limits of a "genre" novel.

Jack Cassidy (the "Saint Jack" of the title) is a New York City firefighter. The book opens with a vivid scene in which Jack is attempting to rescue a young child from a raging fire:

"And he'd better find her fast! Heat! He could feel the beast nearby,its vast appetite for destruction coming closer. The fire scared him but it was the heavy smoke that made him fear for the child's life at the moment. Nine times out of ten it was the fire's breath and not the fire that killed. Is the girl still alive? Maybe not. Not in this...Smoke concealed everything. The fire began to perform for him, presenting him with spirals of flame curling along the ceiling. Chilling grins of flame which his sight could discern despite the billowing fog."

Jack does save the young girl and then, in perverse irony, that same night, driving home, he is shocked to discover that his own house is ablaze, and that within that blaze are the cremated bodies of his own wife and child.

(The novel) is a love story as well, for Jack never fully recovers from the loss of his wife and daughter. His love is too great. A short while after their deaths, he walks to their graves with the intent of killing himself. He is stopped...by the sudden appearance of a holy vision, a Lady, who tells him he must live in order to save humankind from a growing evil that would summon the "Third Angel of the Apocalypse" and destroy the world.

...Most of the action takes place on the streets of New York City's coarse Lower East Side...The novel is filled with characters from those hostile streets, prostitutes, pimps, youth gangs, professional gangsters and runaway teens. This is a novel as gritty and New York City streetwise as it is philosophical and thought provoking...

...The "Toad" of the title is a runaway boy who lives by his wits and by street-performing his magic tricks for donations on the sidewalks of New York City. He and another recent runaway, Susan, are thrown inadvertantly into the path of the evil that Jack is seeking to find and destroy. Susan, who ran away from the threat of molestation by her stepfather, now has her life threatened by circumstance and Toad and Jack must risk their own lives to try to save her.

...fast paced action, a novel of faith and redemption, of good versus evil,an adventure-filled tale that stretches out to explore the nature of things, of greed and even of God...There is much magic in this book, not the least of which is Carraher's superior prose...

... [website]

I loved this book. It's adventure/fantasy that is literary, and a love story too. Best I've read in years.

As a big fan of Augustine's writing I give this book five stars. The way that he has interwoven his thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences with the humble eloquence of repentance will have you as the reader very exuberant. In reading this work you will learn more of Augustine's life, the spiritual turmoil he faced, and how he came to knowledge of the truth in a most triumphant manner. Although, that's not all that you will find interesting in the Confessions. In fact once Augustine converts to Catholicism and discovers the mystery of the faith, he then proceeds to fill in the blanks philisophically were he had once been left in error. Finally Augustine ponders on the book of Genesis and discourses a respectable point of view on the creation of heaven and earth. Oh Yeah! I forgot to explain how Augustine corresponds the subject matter of this book with a profound emphasis on the Holy Scriptures. So I recommend this masterpiece to anyo ne who has a love for great Latin literature, or to all that wish to read the prestige of Christian writings.

I was asked to read this book as a freshmen in college and I loved it. It is not an easy read, but once you read over a part once more, Augustine's logic makes perfect sense. If you've read any other Augustine, such as "Freedom of the will", this book fits right in there and explains it perfectly. In fact, this book explains most of Augustine's tenants perfectly. If anyone wants to know why Christianity took such a harsh stand against sexual sins...it's Augustine lashing out at his past. He was really tormented. Worship God or worship sex. He chose God and I'm sure he thought about going back. Augustine also developed the full Christian idea of free will, which is manifested in this book as well. Augustine is an incredible figure and a role model for modern Christians. His trials are not much different from ours, seeing as we live in a society so obsessed with sex. Augustine's Confessions is one of my favorite books. A must-read for any theologian and philosopher.

St. Augustine's Confessions is a treasure of Western literature, and, much like the book of Job and the Psalms, really belongs to the heritage of the entire culture and has transcended sectarian importance. That is not to say that these books are not religiously important--of course they are, and the Confessions perhaps even more so to a confessing Christian. Much of what the entire Western church still believes comes straight from the mind and pen of St. Augustine, and to understand his mind one really needs to read the Confessions. Nearly the entire orthodox Catholic tradition of fall-redemption theology sprung full-formed from Augustine's mind, which can be seen in his allegorical interpretaiton of Genesis 1, the section that ends the Confessions and gives them an "unfinished" quality. Augustine was a well-known and revered man when he wrote this book, and rather goes out of his way to depict himself as a youthful deviant to his followers. This is both a heuristic device and what Ausgustine really believes about himself; he is interested in his flock realizing his own fallenness and finitude, and seeing it in themselves as well. A brilliantly modern book for fourth-century fare, it is amenable (at the risk of anachronism)to a multitude of interpretations. Here one can find existential angst, control-dramas, the quest for and the overturning of the ego-self, and an almost pathological study of human guilt (it has been quipped that if the Saint from Hippo had had a good psychotherapist, the Church might have been spared nearly two millennia of sexual dysfunction). Augustine's conversion in the garden reads almost like a kensho experience in Zen. Read the book and draw your own conclusions, but never forget that, as you read, you are sitting at the feet of (and in judgement of) one of the sharpest minds ever produced in Latin Christianity. He writes, "For although I cannot prove to mankind that these my confessions are true, at least I shall be believed by those whose ears are opened to me by love" Book 10.3, and whether or not your ears are open to him in love, they should at least be open. Augustine always has something to say to the careful reader, and no less a careful reader than Derrida lui-même is an inveterate reader and student of Augustine's. Quite a compliment from a reader who certainly does not share Augustine's faith concerns....

The title is somewhat misleading. Amidon has included some material from all the heresies that Epiphanius deals with. This consists of the description of the heresy given, and some of the narrative. The omitted portions consist of the refutation by Epiphanius himself, which in many cases is much lengthier.

The work will inevitably be judged against the complete two-volume translation done during the same period by Frank Williams. Had this not appeared, Amidon's work would have been invaluable. As it is, we are fortunate that two specialists should have attempted this work, which previously had attracted no translator into a modern language.

The work may well be useful to those less interested in Epiphanius than in those he detested.

This edition of the 'Panarion' of Ephiphanius of Salamis is a well-done abridgement of his comprehensive refutation of all heresies up to his time in the 4th Century. Philip Amidon has wisely chosen to focus on the presentation of the many, many heresies Epiphanius took on, while leaving out the refutations. The result is a highly readable history of the diverse movements that made up early Christianity, and Epiphanius himself in these pages is something of a Herodotus of heresy, chatty and digressive, yet always interesting. Perhaps the most surprizing aspect of this volume is that it essentially, though perhaps unintentionally, refutes the standard version of church history which presumes an unbroken, unified, apostolic orthodoxy deriving straight from Jesus, which scattered heretical groups diverged from. The picture I got from reading these pages, so much more complex but at the same time reasonable, was that 'heresy' was so widespread as to constitute the normal matrix of Christian belief and practice, while orthodoxy had to fight for survival using every intellectual and political tool available. If this volume were more available and more popularly priced, it might raise more than a few Christian eyebrows!

Backus is a distant relative of Phillip Klingensmith a participant in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The author seeks to tell Klingensmith's life story by weaving her narrative with the testimony he gave in the first trial of John D. Lee. It is a unique way to carry her story and her writing is engaging, and favorable towards Klingensmith. She does tend to take Klingensmith at his word, and doesn't deal with the few times he was misleading or lied during his testimony, especially when he was talking about the massacre. On the whole a good book, and well worth the reading.