This is a book about spirituality for the spiritual but not religious. Those who identify themselves as spiritual but not religious make up one quarter of the population in the United States. This book provides 189 monthly entries based on the national and international celebrations that occur every month. Each entry begins with the name of the occasion and the date when it is marked during the month. A text from the Bible, a US public law, a presidential proclamation, a United Nations dec...

The Folks in the Woods focuses on Mary Ann Ackerson, 1904-91, in an isolated French village located in southeast Missouri. When she was seven years old, her parents--Daly and Sarah Ackeson--died of typhoid fever on successive days in 1911. Because Missouri was not yet a state, there were no adoption procedures for Mary Ann and her two brothers and one sister. The author's maternal great-grandfather and great-grandmother, Zeno and Sarah Osia, took Mary Ann to live with them. She grew up wit...

The Roman Catholic Church issued its first, modern, one-volume Lectionary--a book of biblical texts assigned for every day of the year--in 1970 in response to the Second Vatican Council's call for a greater fare of Scripture during Mass. By the time the Lectionary was revised and published between 1998 and 2002, it had grown to four volumes. Because of the revision, many weekday celebrations of saints were assigned texts that had not been so in the 1970 Lectionary. Because of the Lectionar...

We are pilgrims on a journey; that means we will leave our home and move to another one at least once during our lifetime. This book is a resource for taking leave of a home, focusing primarily on the psychological and spiritual tasks of moving. Chapter 1 offers suggestions on how to take leave of one's home slowly. Chapter 2 presents occasions when one must quickly take leave of a home because of poor health, a health emergency, age, the death of a spouse, finances, a job transfer, etc. B...

This book, a primer, serves as an introduction to a devotional practice known as the Rosary: Rosary means garden of flowers or necklace of beads. The word bead comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning prayer. Thus, the rosary is a garden of prayer or a necklace of prayer. After explaining how one prays the Rosary, the author presents eighty reflections on what is known as the Mysteries of the Rosary: four sets of five mysteries, each with four options for each of the twenty mysteries. Each e...

There are multiple names given to Jesus in the Bible. Fifty of them are presented in this book, Names for Jesus. In the ancient world, a name had a meaning; in this book's entries one can discover the meaning of a name for Jesus, which often indicates one of his functions as understood by a biblical author. Often, both religious and spiritual people look for some reading material that will guide them through the Advent and Christmas seasons. Here is an ecumenical approach; this book is gen...

Almost every person has owned a pet at one time or another in life or known someone who has. In all world religions, animals serve as spirit guides; there is spirituality to animal and human dialogue. Animals have the ability to help us reach wholeness if we learn their wisdom and integrate it into our lives. This abecedarian--a book whose contents are in alphabetical order--explores the spiritual growth that is possible by reflecting on the wisdom of creatures, which serve as spirit guide...

The bishops attending the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) decreed that the treasures of the Bible were to be opened for Roman Catholics by presenting a larger part of the Bible over three years. The first one-volume Lectionary, a collection of biblical texts appointed for worship on given days--what ultimately became four volumes plus a supplement in English--was published in Latin on September 30, 1970. The result of people seeing four volumes consisting of more pages than most Bibles ...

The title of this book, Very Short Reflections--for Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Ordinary Time and Saints--through the Liturgical Year, accurately describes its contents. Chapter 1 presents a short reflection for every day of the Advent Season. Chapter 2 does the same for every day of the Christmas season. Lent is covered in chapter 3, the Sacred Paschal Triduum in chapter 4, and the fifty days of the Easter season in chapter 5. Chapter 6 covers Ordinary Time. And chapter 7 prese...

If there were only one Paul in the Christian Bible (New Testament), it would not be so difficult to understand him. However, there are three faces (and maybe more) of Paul found in the Bible. In biblical book order, there is the Acts-of-the-Apostles Paul; this Paul is generated by the same author--whoever he was--who wrote Luke's Gospel. Second, there is genuine Paul, the author of seven letters. Third, there are the multiple faces of second-generation Paul; these faces represent believers...

From Biblical Animals to Family Pets begins with ten general reflections on animals found in the Bible, explores their characteristics, and presents six exercises on biblical animal spirituality. In the second part, what is learned from exploring biblical animals is applied specifically to Shelbydog, the author’s deceased pet; he demonstrates how his dog was a theophany, a manifestation of God, how she and he connected spiritually, and how she nourished his spirituality. Family pe...

The adjective spiritual refers to aspects of one's spirit. The idea that each person possesses an immaterial and immortal soul, which is distinct from the body, did not appear in Jewish (biblical) literature before the Babylonian exile. After interacting with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies, the word nephesh entered Hebrew, meaning living being--not the dichotomous Hellenistic meaning. Thus, the biblical soul refers to a living, breathing, conscious body. According to biblical literat...