Blog_Banner.jpg

News

Filter by Archive
Clear Filters

The Latest

news_placeholder.svg

Rilke Poem Inspires Title of New Joyce Rupp Book

Notre Dame, IN—Titled after a poem by German mystic Rainer Maria Rilke, the newest book by Joyce Rupp draws on a rich variety of faith traditions to provide meditations on God’s names for every day of the year. Fragments of Your Ancient Name brings together reflections on God from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other sources as a guide for readers to explore multicultural and historical conceptions of God. Whether drawing from the Psalms, Sufi saints, Hindu poets, Native American rituals, contemporary writers, or the Christian gospels, each page of Rupp’s beautiful collection includes a ten-line poetic meditation, followed by a mantra for prayerful embodiment of each day’s name for God. A beloved spiritual writer with over one million books sold to date, Rupp explains how exploring names for God in different religions enriched her own understanding of God. Rupp writes in the introduction to Fragments, “I hope these reflections strengthen your faith by contributing to a vibrant relationship with the Divine and that they increase your respect for those who see ‘God’ differently than you do.” Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Recovery—The Sacred Art, writes in praise of Fragments, “This is a collection for people open enough to the Divine to no longer pretend that God speaks from only one text or tradition.” In this remarkable treasury overflowing with awe in the face of God’s greatness and mystery, Rupp stirs both the imagination and the heart and challenges readers to discover new dimensions of the God who is beyond all names. Fragments will nourish and inspire the hearts of the faithful of any religious tradition.

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Archbishop Collins Reveals Recipe for "Spiritual Lasagna"

Notre Dame, IN—In Pathway to Our Hearts, Archbishop Thomas Collins reinvigorates the ancient tradition of lectio divina, which he defines as “a prayerful encounter with the word of God,” with a fresh approach to praying the Sermon on the Mount. Drawn from the popular monthly talks given by Collins at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, Pathway invites readers to pray by listening, rather than only speaking, to God. Collins provides readers with detailed instructions on how to practice lectio divina, along with his own meditations on verses from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Readers will find Pathway to be a refreshing and unique way to engage the Bible for meditation. The Most Rev. Gerald F. Kicanas, bishop of Tucson, writes, “The recent Synod on the Word of God emphasized the importance of lectio divina in deepening our spiritual lives. Pathway to Our Hearts is exactly what is needed to make this important approach to praying the scriptures something that is accessible to all.” Collins speaks to his readers as both friend and spiritual mentor as he encourages them to love God with their minds, hearts, and hands. Collins describes his own approach to lectio divina as “spiritual lasagna: a layer of text, then a layer of my own reflections, ending with a question to consider regarding the personal application of the text.” He reveals his recipe in eight steps: 1. Find a time and place to be alone. 2. Begin with a period of quiet prayer, asking God to make a pathway to your heart. 3. Slowly read a Scripture passage of about ten to twenty verses, pausing to think about each verse. Reading aloud often helps. 4. Ask yourself how each verse tells you to use your mind, heart, and hands to serve the Lord. 5. After going through verse by verse, read the whole passage again. 6. Take another moment of silent meditation. 7. End with prayers such as the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and the Sign of the Cross. 8. Pray for God’s wisdom to illuminate the rest of your day. Collins urges Catholics to go beyond studying scripture to truly digest its meaning and implications for their lives. Pathway to Our Hearts is both practical and inspiring, the ideal tool for those seeking a deeper connection with God’s word.

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

L.A. Congress Director Releases Book to Inspire, Renew

Notre Dame, IN—Each March, 40,000 people gather in the Anaheim Convention Center for the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the largest annual gathering of Catholics in America. Sr. Edith Prendergast, R.S.C., has been the beloved director of this gathering for nearly a quarter century and her opening session keynotes are eagerly anticipated by attendees. Ave Maria Press is pleased to announce the release of Prendergast's first book—a compilation of her Congress keynotes titled Grace Abounds: A Call to Awaken and Renew Your Faith. Cardinal Roger Mahony praised the book saying, “It is a singular delight for me to know that these words of wisdom and discernment, first spoken in the faith-filled assembly of the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, will now reach the eyes, ears, and hearts of so many more of God’s holy people who are longing for an encouraging word.” In Grace Abounds, Prendergast issues a clarion call to both conversion and renewal, inviting readers to enter more deeply into the mind and heart of Christ and to live as his messengers in the Church and the world. In a world burdened by anxiety and fear, where human weakness and social sin tear at the fabric of every institution, Prendergast reminds her readers, “Filled to the brim with God’s love, we are called to let our lives overflow with love into one another. In a world haunted by terror, this call is more poignant an urgent than ever before.”

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Area Teacher/Farmer Gets Off the Grid, Discovers Community

Notre Dame, IN—In his moving debut book, Kyle Kramer—America columnist, teacher at St. Meinrad Archabbey, and organic farmer—recounts his candid, humorous, and hope-infused tale of coming to know God and himself. In A Time to Plant, Kramer tells how he came to experience the joys of real community through a journey of honest reckoning with his own ambitions. For Kramer, the story involved lots of dirt. In the summer of 1999, this earnest and high-achieving private school teacher in Atlanta decided to forego a promising academic career. A growing uneasiness with the excesses of American consumerist culture had taken root in his mind and heart and had grown into personal convictions about what it means to be stewards of God’s creation. Those who share a growing skepticism toward consumerism might simply have started bringing canvas totes to the grocery store or patronizing the local farmer’s market. But Kramer experienced a radical call to downward mobility; he heeded the voices of the unlikely prophets in his life and purchased a block of hardscrabble land in southern Indiana in order to start a small farm. Tending it back to health—one difficult lesson at a time—Kramer founded Genesis Organic Farm, built a self-sustaining and environmentally friendly home, and began to fully embrace the Benedictine traditions of physical labor, prayer, and hospitality. A Time to Plant tells the deeply human story of one man’s attempt to make simple living a reality as a spiritual discipline for himself, as a model for his children, and for the good of creation. As Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, writes in the foreword to A Time to Plant,"This book and the story it tells may seem in some sense quiet, mostly confined to a small parcel of land. But it strikes me as a fine and hopeful adventure, one that should give heart to all kinds of people as they try to figure out where they’re called to be."

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti to Publish Study of Psychological and Spiritual Health of American Priests

[photo courtesy of Msgr. Stephen Rossetti. Rossetti (left) pictured with the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J.] Ave Maria Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Why Priests Are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests by renowned psychologist Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti. Now slated to release in October of 2011, this groundbreaking, peer-reviewed study undermines popular notions that Catholic priests are depressed and unhappy in their vocations. Rossetti examines many issues, comparing priests to the general male population with respect to human intimacy, sexual difficulties, burnout, psychological problems, physical health and self-care. He identifies the factors that contribute to happiness among priests as well as those that lead a priest to consider leaving the priesthood. He also looks closely at the contribution of spirituality to psychological health, examining thirteen elements of priestly spirituality. What surfaces is a very human portrait of some very human men who are imbued with a spirituality that has a direct and profound effect on their lives. Priests are clearly, and really not surprisingly, normal men. And contrary to the image portrayed in the media, 92% say they are happy in the ministry. Rossetti is a sought-after expert on Catholic clergy and religious and is frequently interviewed by the New York Times and NPR, particularly in connection with the sexual abuse crisis in America. He served as president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland from 1997 until October of 2009, and for three years prior to that as a staff member. A priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, he also served in two diocesan parishes. Rossetti currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies at the Catholic University of America.

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Foot Care Program at Downtown Chapel Brings Dignity and Relief for People Sleeping Outside

Ave Maria Press author Fr. Ronald Raab, C.S.C., is the pastor of the Downtown Chapel in Portland, Oregon. The parish's foot care clinic is featured in an article posted by Street Roots. Kasandra Coslen writes: "The custom of washing another’s feet was embedded in the cultures of ancient civilizations as an act of hospitality and necessary cleanliness. For obvious reasons, the health of one’s feet can judge the well-being of the body. For those who live outside, disease and fungus are a constant threat in the Northwest winter. Calluses erupt from always walking and wearing shoes. Sores develop and nails may become ingrown. In the Gospel of John, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples before the Last Supper, as an act of humility and gesture of service. Every Wednesday morning from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., volunteers emulate this act by caring for the feet of those in need in the basement of Portland’s Downtown Chapel." Fr. Raab, author of The Unsheltered Heart: An At-Home Advent Retreat commented, "In the midst of dirty water and bleached-white towels, the nurses and volunteers listen to the stories of strangers and friends and view their faces with care and understanding."

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Notre Dame Professor and Theologian Lawrence S. Cunningham to Appear as Guest on Sirius XM's Book Radio

Tune in Sunday, December 12th at 8 p.m. EST to Sirius XM's Pia Lindstrom Presents to hear theologian and beloved University of Notre Dame professor Lawrence S. Cunningham reflect on two decades of teaching theology and spirituality to students. For most of his professional life, University of Notre Dame professor Lawrence Cunningham has kept notebooks filled with memories, ideas, and reflections on the things that captured his attention in a given day. Now, for the first time, Cunningham has selected and compiled notes from his many volumes to create a book that Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine, calls " as entertaining, and piercing, a spiritual book as I have read in years." Things Seen and Unseen is a window into the mind and heart of an exceptional theologian reveals insightful, spirited, and often wickedly funny commentary on the messy, comic, tragic, and ultimately beautiful realities of the diverse landscape of contemporary Catholicism.

Read More
news_placeholder.svg

Karey Circosta Promoted to Sales and Marketing Director for Ave Maria Press

Ave Maria Press is pleased to announce that Karey Circosta has been named Sales and Marketing Director, a promotion that involves responsibility for developing and implementing the sales and marketing strategies for all Ave Maria Press publications and for meeting the organization’s annual revenue goals. Karey joined AMP in August 2003 after spending five years as a marketing manager at the Elkhart Truth, a job she took after graduating from Saint Mary’s College with a degree in marketing. In her seven years at Ave, Karey has been instrumental in helping AMP become one of the leading Catholic high school religion textbook publishers in the country, with sales that have grown exponentially over the past six years. She has also helped guide our recent growth as a well-regarded publisher of pastoral ministry resources. Named Marketing Manager in 2006 (the same year she earned her MBA), Karey was promoted to Institutional Marketing Director two years ago. Her new promotion gives her responsibility for Ave Maria Press's trade publishing program as well. AMP Publisher Tom Grady stated, "This is a big job, and I know that Karey will bring the same skill, energy, and enthusiasm to it that she has brought to every position she has held at Ave. Please join me in congratulating her and wishing her every success."

Read More
Filter by Archive
Clear Filters
Follow Us
Categories
general