Robert Ellsberg

From its original publication in 1997 Praying with Icons has been hailed as a modern spiritual classic, both for readers familiar with the tradition of icons as well as those who are newcomers to this sacred art. Jim Forest, a convert to the Russian Orthodox Church, describes the history and theology behind icons, how they are made, and how they are used as a guide to prayer. As Forest shows, icons are not simply illustrations or "art" in the usual sense, but aids to prayer and contemplation, windows on the divine. Drawing on a rich selection of classic and contemporary icons, he offers a series of meditative reflections on some of the most typical subjects of icons, including Christ, Mary, and the saints. This new edition includes a previously unpublished chapter by Jim Forest, and a personal memoir by his widow, Nancy Forest, about the role that icons played in his life, their marriage, and his final illness.

Community was one of Nouwen's constant and central themes, a subject on which his thinking evolved and matured, especially after his experience as part of the L'Arche community in the last years of his life. This book, drawing on previously unpublished material as well as articles written over many years, provides a complete picture of his understanding of community, and why he felt it to be such a necessary and integral part of the spiritual life.

This book is based on several hundred letters, exchanged on an almost daily basis, during the last three years of Sister Wendy's life. Initially they dealt with lives of saints, the meaning of holiness, and the spiritual life, but they soon expanded into a deep and intimate exchange that encompassed our whole lives, the subject of love, suffering, joy, and the presence of grace in everyday life. For Sister Wendy--by calling and temperament, a hermit--this involved an expansion of her spiritual and emotional horizons that prepared her for her final days.

Drawing on the celebrated spiritual writer's uncollected essays and transcripts of talks previously unavailable, Communityoffers readers the book Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) never wrote: his priceless insights on what Christian community means, and how to achieve it.

No person has worked more effectively toward the abolition of the death penalty in the United States than Helen Prejean, CSJ. Her best-selling book Dead Man Walking, and the hit Hollywood film adaptation in which she was played by Susan Sarandon, was a catalyst for drawing national attention to the issue. In the years since then, her continuing and often controversial work with death-row inmates has kept the issue near the forefront of national debate. She has confronted lawyers and judges, politicians and the media, to expose the indignity and injustice of the death penalty and inhumane prison conditions. In Helen Prejean: Death Row’s Nun, Joyce Duriga explores Sister Helen’s life growing up in upper-middle-class Louisiana, her growing awareness of the injustice of the death penalty, and its disproportionate targeting of the poor and minorities, and her introduction to death-row inmates Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. Through this book, readers will witness her life’s work with victims and their families, and see how she came to understand her role in prison ministry, not only as an activist but as a champion fighting for hope and restorative justice for those facing the death penalty.

Dorothy Day's unpretentious account of the life of St. Th r se of Lisieux sheds light on the depth of Day's Catholic spirituality and illustrates why Th r se's simplicity and humility are so vital for today. Whether you are called to the active life like Day or a more hidden existence like Th r se, you will discover that these paths have much in common and can lead you to a love that has the power to transform you in ways that are unexpected and consequential. Now back in print, this short biography of St. Th r se of Lisieux by Dorothy Day expresses the surprising yet profound connection between Day--the founder of the Catholic Worker movement who was praised by Pope Francis for her passion for justice and dedication to her faith--and the beloved saint best known for her Little Way. When Day first read St. Th r se's autobiography, The Story of a Soul in 1928, she called it "pious pap." At the time, Day--a social activist who had been living a bohemian lifestyle--had only recently been baptized a Catholic. Some twenty-five years later, Day's perspective on Th r se had so completely changed that she was inspired to write this biography. She did not find it an easy task: "Every time I sit down to write that book on the Little Flower I am blocked. . . . I am faced with the humiliating fact that I can write only about myself, a damning fact." But she persisted, and despite numerous rejections eventually found a publisher for it in 1960. She wrote in the Preface: "In these days of fear and trembling of what man has wrought on earth in destructiveness and hate, Th r se is the saint we need." Written originally for nonbelievers or those unaware of Th r se, the book reflects how Day came to appreciate Th r se's Little Way, not as an abstract concept, but as a spirituality that she had already been living. The Catholic Worker, which she cofounded with Peter Maurin, was dedicated to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. Day's life, like Th r se's, was filled with all the humble, self-effacing jobs that were a part of this work. She found in Th r se a kindred spirit, one who saw these simple hidden tasks as the way to heaven. "We want to grow in love but do not know how. Love is a science, a knowledge, and we lack it," Day wrote. Just as Day had a conversion of heart about the Little Way, you, too, can be changed by Th r se's simple, yet profound spirituality.

Since the early centuries, Christians have held up the saints as models of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the church officially recognizes a relatively small number of saints, the actual roster is infinitely wider. Blessed Among Us explores this eclectic “cloud of witnesses”—lay and religious, single and married, canonized and not, and even non-Christians whose faith and wisdom may illuminate our path. Brought to life in the evocative storytelling of Robert Ellsberg, they inspire the moral imagination and give witness to the myriad ways of holiness. In two stories per day for a full calendar year, Ellsberg sketches figures from biblical times to the present age and from all corners of this world—ordinary figures whose extraordinary lives point to the new age in the world to come. Blessed Among Us is drawn from Ellsberg’s acclaimed column of the same name in Give Us This Day, a monthly resource for daily prayer published by Liturgical Press.

Winner of three Catholic Press Awards. The best-selling author of All Saints presents this new collection of devotional sketches on history's greatest women. From Joan of Arc to Anne Frank to Mary Magdalene, Ellsberg offers insights into the lives of women that inspire us.

Drawn from writings, sermons, and letters and including a brief biography, this collection offers a full introduction to Charles de Foucauld, French aristocrat and soldier in North Africa at the turn of the century, who experienced a radical conversion. de Foucauld, who died a martyr in the desert of Algiers, was, as Richard Rohr says, "one of those rare souls who leaves no one untouched and many transformed." Charles was beautified on November 13th, 2005.

"What is happiness and how can I find it?" may be one of the most frequently asked questions there is. Perhaps that's because it is so hard to experience lasting happiness. In The Saints' Guide to Happiness, Robert Ellsberg suggests that some of the best people to show us are holy men and women throughout history--from St. Augustine to Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa. These people weren't saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which--in the end--makes us happy.

Deep in the heart of every person there is a longing for happiness. But what is happiness, and how might we find it? Countless books send us searching for the answer in a wide variety of different places: through personal relationships, career success, physical fitness, beauty, weight, diet and the like. Robert Ellsberg suggests that we begin somewhere else: with our selves, exactly as we are and where we are, in the midst of our everyday life. He shows how happiness is found not through the struggle to escape from this life into another one but in the way we deal with the basic things - work, love, suffering, and death. Ellsberg draws inspiration from the great figures in the Christian tradition, from famous saints such as Francis of Assisi and Teresa of Avila, to remarkable men and women that he has known and worked with, such as Henri Nouwen and Dorothy Day.

This praised and best-selling daily reader presentsshort, comprehensive biographies of 365 saintsand spiritual masters from Christianity and otherfaith traditions, including Mary Magdalene, Therese of Lisieux, Thomas Aquinas, MotherTeresa, Moses, Martin Luther, and Gandhi.