Jon M. Sweeney

An Introduction to His Life, Teachings, and Practices

Thomas Merton

Documents the story of Pope Celestine V, evaluating the views of his supporters and detractors while tracing his progression to the papacy and his decision to abdicate months later, discussing his choice's impact on the Catholic Church.

A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation

The Pope Who Quit

Thomas à Kempis

The Complete Original Edition

Imitation of Christ

And Other Lessons in the Spiritual Wisdom of Cats

Sit in the Sun

St. Teresa St. Teresa of Avila

Interior Castle

A Guide to Deepen Your Spiritual Life

The St. Francis Prayer Book

Listening for God's Leading

St. Clare Prayer Book

Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk (1863—1950) is popularly celebrated for his fascinating spiritual life. How could one man, one deeply spiritual man, serve as both a traditional Oglala Lakota medicine man and a Roman Catholic catechist and mystic? How did these two spiritual and cultural identities enrich his prayer life? How did his commitment to God, understood through his Lakota and Catholic communities, shape his understanding of how to be in the world? To fully understand the depth of Black Elk’s life-long spiritual quest requires a deep appreciation of his life story. He witnessed devastation on the battlefields of Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee, but also extravagance while performing for Queen Victoria as a member of “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show. Widowed by his first wife, he remarried and raised eight children. Black Elk’s spiritual visions granted him wisdom and healing insight beginning in his childhood, but he grew progressively physically blind in his adult years. These stories, and countless more, offer insight into this extraordinary man whose cause for canonization is now underway at the Vatican.

Medicine Man, Catechist, Saint

Nicholas Black Elk

The year is 1140. Inside an imposing cathedral in France's Champagne region, two of the most recognized men in the world are about to face each other in a contest of wills and a test of faith. On one side is Bernard of Clairvaux, a counselor and selector of popes who will be called "Saint" even before his death. The other is Peter Abelard, widely agreed to be the era's most brilliant thinker, a medieval "rock star" among students in the universities of Europe and on the Paris social scene. Bernard has accused Peter of heresy and "insolence before God," a charge for which Bernard has the power to order Peter executed. This intense, emotional and partisan clash between two men, the ways in which the Scholar provokes the Saint's outrage, and the final outcome of the battle, will change the course of history--and frame the conflict between reason and faith that continues to inflame passions to this day. Jon M. Sweeney, author of The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation and Inventing Hell, makes the case that Christians cannot understand who we are today, or how we balance what we believe with what we say, without shining a light on what might otherwise pass completely unnoticed: this small but significant episode in our history. And there is, in fact, hope to be gleaned from the study of these two giants of medieval thought. How much, it turns out, Bernard and Peter actually shared in common! Sweeney points out delicacies of their spiritualities that actually link them in ways they never would have appreciated during their lifetimes. It is these delicacies, as well as what prevented the two men from recognizing them, that provide insights into exactly how we modern Christians might still recover from this regrettable--and avoidable--conflict that has reverberated through the ages.

The Fight Between Faith and Reason

The Saint Vs. the Scholar

Mark S. Burrows

An elegant rendering of the great mystic's thoughts on the mysteries of the authentic life This is a little book about soul freedom. It is a book about discovering the secret to all the things we most desire: contentment, meaning, peace of mind, and true freedom. This skillfully edited translation of selections from the writings of Meister Eckhart provides a roadmap to the spiritual life for contemporary seekers. Eckhart takes us on a journey of discovery; a journey in which we learn to let go, relinquish our need to know everything, and lose those things that we think are important for a life of worth. And in the end he shows us that the true secret is this: to find yourself, you must lose yourself. Here is timeless wisdom from a medieval mystic who has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Arthur Schopenhauer, Dag Hammarskjöld, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th-century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition. Divided into five sections—Seeking the Light, Facing Darkness, Risking Love, Knowing Nothing, and Embracing Everything—the book leads readers on the path to an authentic spiritual life.

Meditations on Letting Go and Finding True Freedom

Meister Eckhart's Book of Secrets

Hell: The word means terror, darkness, and eternal separation from God. Some people think the Bible is clear about hell, but what if they're mistaken? With gripping narrative and solid scholarship, Sweeney charts hell's "evolution" from the Old Testament underworld Sheol, through history and literature, to the greatest influencer of all: Dante's Inferno. He reveals how the modern idea of hell is based mostly on Dante's imaginative genius-but in the process, he offers a more constructive understanding of the afterlife than ever before. Disturbing and enthralling, Sweeney will forever alter what we think happens to us after we die-and more importantly, he will make us reconsider how we live.

Dante, the Bible and Eternal Torment

Inventing Hell

Meister Eckhart (1260–1328) was a priest, a mystic, and nearly a heretic (he died before the Church court’s verdict). In the 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church rehabilitated him and the late Pope John Paul II spoke of his work with fondness. However, what makes him of particular interest is the fact that he has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, and Rudolf Steiner have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition. Eckhart wrote at a time—much like our own—when society appeared to be coming apart at the seams. In the midst of all that chaos and uncertainty, he captured the many forms and stages of the love of God, the mystic path, and the journey of transformation—in language so startling that he, too, was often accused of heresy. Now, seven centuries later, this fresh, stunning rendering of his work translates the essence of one of Christianity’s greatest poetic and spiritual voices. Here is a book that conveys the heart of Eckhart’s teaching on what it means to love God and embark on an authentic spiritual journey—a journey that is characterized by mystery, paradox, and an embrace of the unknown.

Meditations for the Restless Soul

Meister Eckhart's Book of the Heart

Reading Francis's writings is like being "on the road" with him 800 years ago. Biographies will only take you so far. It's impossible to truly understand Francis of Assisi without reading his own words. A scholar and lover of Francis, Sweeney has added six writings to his bestselling compilation, additional texts that we're most certain came from Francis himself. Now, short writings such as "The Form of Life He Wished for Clare," "The Sermon to the Birds," and "The Source of True Joy," combine with Francis's Rules, letters, messages, songs, praises, canticles, and final spiritual Testament in a most ideal introduction to the saint. An expanded introduction and notes add historical and theological context.

The Essential Writings

Francis of Assisi in His Own Words

Biographies of St. Francis will only take you so far. It’s impossible to truly understand him without reading his writings. Sweeney has compiled all of the ones that we are most certain come from Francis himself, including his first Rule of life, the Rule he wrote for the Third Order, letters to friends, letters to people in power, messages to all Franciscans, songs, praises, canticles, and his final spiritual Testament. An introduction and explanatory notes throughout the book help to put the writings into historical and theological context.

In this fourth installment of “The Pope's Cat” series, Margaret and the Pope travel for the first time together away from the Vatican and out of Rome. They go by train to the Umbrian hill town of Assisi, a place of pilgrimage for Christians all over the world who want to remember the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Together they visit the great Basilica named for St. Francis, greet Franciscan friars at the monastery, attend a World Day of Prayer for Peace, meet religious leaders (each, it seems, with a very different hat!) from around the world, and see evidence of the spirit of St. Francis all over town. Most of all, the Pope shows his love and care for his vulnerable creature friend, as at the beginning of the book when someone from the Curia has frightened Margaret and she's hiding in a closet in the Pope's apartment. “Don’t worry, il mio amore.” (Il mio amore means “My love.”) “People can be so fussy, can’t they?” the Pope says, picking her up in his arms.

Margaret and the Pope Go to Assisi

There are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work, The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work. This "Paraclete Giants" edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier's ground-breaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894 and re-issued and expanded in 2002; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers. Other Paraclete Giants include The Complete Julian of Norwich and The Complete Introduction to the Devout Life, both translated and introduced by Fr. John-Julian, OJN.

His Life, the Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers

The Complete Francis of Assisi

For all who love St. Francis and his spirit of passionate creativity and devotion to God, this prayer book is an invitation to experience the spiritual gifts of one of his closest companions. Clare was a deep, ready source of wisdom—a well to Francis's river. Discover the spirituality of St. Clare and how it complements that of St. Francis. Enter into a week of morning and evening prayer centered on themes from Clare's life. Pray with Clare's own words in a variety of occasions. And enjoy a special appendix that dramatizes what it might have been like to be there on that first night when Clare fled to the little chapel called Portiuncula to become a brother, and much more.

The St. Clare Prayer Book

Meister Eckhart

“Within each of us is a divine treasure, and if we hope to discover it we need to go deep into the heart of who we are.”—Meister Eckhart Meister Eckhart has been a huge influence on spirituality for more than 800 years, including to philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox—all crediting Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. This book of Meister Eckhart meditations is for people seeking the “wayless way.” It is not for those looking for a simple path. Many people in our time still go looking for a straight path toward a defined goal, without detours, led by a guide who tells them what to do and what not to do. They would be uncomfortable with Meister Eckhart—a Christian mystic from the century of Rumi and Francis of Assisi—who said to “take leave of God for the sake of God.” And, “Learn not to love in order that you may learn to love.” And, “All things are equal and alike in God and are God.” These fresh, stunning renderings of his writings in poetic form bring life to one of the great spiritual voices of any age. They reveal what it means to love God and find meaning in darkness. In a culture that craved light—and what culture does not?—Eckhart dared to imagine that the darkness is what matters most. Not darkness in general, but your darkness, because it is the one thing you know something about, and without facing your darkness, you’ll never know what it means to desire the light. You’ll never even imagine what light is about. Only when you are in the darkness, Meister says, do you have even the possibility of seeing the light.

Meditations on the Path of the Wayless Way

Meister Eckhart's Book of Darkness & Light

This guide includes profiles of ancient, medieval, and modern figures--East and West, the sublime and the unusual--with special chapters exploring the differences between Catholic and Protestant imaginations, ancient spiritual practices of relating to saints, miracles, apparitions, stigmatas, and more.

A Protestant Experience of Catholic Tradition

The Lure of Saints

In the tradition of The St. Francis Prayer Book, Jon Sweeney offers an ancient-medieval way of understanding and experiencing the Gospel: the Holy Fool. This countercultural approach is exemplified in the life and teachings of Francis of Assisi, the most popular Saint in history, and his good friend, Brother Juniper. What does it mean to be a fool for Christ? It meant to St. Francis: being small not strong, valuing joy over pleasure, avoiding positions of power, and enjoying rather than avoiding moments of insecurity, fear, and awkwardness. These practices revealed to the first Franciscans how being foolish in the eyes of the world is a sure way to discover a renewed sense of the presence of God. Includes a week of daily offices focused on the concept of the Holy Fool and spiritual practices for countercultural living.

Jon M. Sweeney

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