The inspirational words of Ehrmann's timeless poem, written in 1927, are paired with Tauss's lyrical, full-color photos that illustrate the poem's wisdom and affirmation of life.

Aimed at teenagers and young adults, this book uses the 15 mysteries of the Rosary as a means of understanding all the important Christian virtues and how to live them in our daily lives. Along with the inspiring and practical meditations of the Rosary mysteries, this book is filled with stories of saints and contemporary heroes that show how the lessons and virtues of the Rosary have been put into practice. Saints like Francis of Assisi, Joan of Arc, Kateri Tekakwitha, Maximilian Kolbe, and Bernadette Soubirous teach us through this book what it means to choose Christ everyday and follow him on our journey to God. Illustrated.

In 1992 Daisy Hayes had inherited Bottomleigh House and was struggling to keep it afloat financially. Then she got a letter from an archaeologist, asking her to help make sense of a mysterious message that had just been dug up in Rome. Time to hook up again with Morag, her deaf friend from the ‘project’ in 1964, and to go back to the Eternal City. In AD 64, after Feli’s death, Desiderata had scores to settle and a ‘twin sister’ to bury. Her new friends the Christians gave her sanctuary, but her relationship with them was a bit strained. Soon the ‘Community’ and their blind protégée had to part company. Eventually, assisted by her uncle Balbus, ex-centurion of the X Fretensis legion, she found a path out of her troubles, and helped him search for a stolen treasure. So, 1928 years later, Daisy went looking for a gold cache from antiquity, hoping to solve a new mystery, and even more to reconnect with Desi, her soulmate from ancient Rome.

In AD 76, at a time when the Church counted only a few thousand believers rather than untold millions, the first elected Pope was brutally murdered, and the very survival of the faith was at stake. But killing a man was not even a crime according to Roman law! Desiderata, professional ‘seeker of justice’, was entrusted with this daunting challenge: how to solve a murder case in a world where homicide is seen as a purely private matter.

The last days that Daisy Hayes spent in Rome in 1964 were quite exciting. She and Father Contini went back to the crypt and made some disturbing discoveries. Not about Desiderata herself, but about the archaeologist who had investigated the place in the thirties. The quest now led them to the German town of Trier, where they teamed up again in the fall of that same year to continue their research. In AD 67 things were looking good for Desi and the Pomponius family in their beautiful domus: they lived like princes. But as her friends the Christians went through yet another period of persecution, the blind young woman found it hard to decide on who’s side she wanted to be and what she intended to do with her life. Would she ever find love? So both she and Daisy ended up trying to grapple with the greatest riddle of all: “Who are you really, Desiderata?” And what’s more, did she become a Christian in the end?

When all the Christians were thrown to the lions Daisy Hayes was a sculptress, and blind since birth. In 1964 a French priest came to visit her at the collective studio in north London where she worked. He was fascinated by the impaired artist and told her, “There’s this program at the Vatican Museums, where people like you get an opportunity to study archaeological artifacts by touch. Are you interested?” — “Of course, mon Père!” In AD 64 a blind masseuse working at the baths in Rome overheard some important men preparing to set fire to the city and seize power. When they found out that she knew too much, they had her arrested and tried to eliminate her. She decided she had to leave a message revealing the plot, and did everything she could to save her hide. So, as a Vatican intern 1900 years later, Daisy uncovered a mysterious message from antiquity: the Desiderata stone.

Desiderata, that world-famous poem that begins, 'Go placidly amid the noise and haste', must be one of the best-loved poems in the English language, revered by many as the ideal philosophy of life. Few people realise that it was written in 1927 by the Indiana poet Max Ehrmann who died in 1945 and whose work, until the 1960s, was largely forgotten. This beautiful little book brings together more of the writings of this remarkable man, revealing a love of the world and a concern for its social problems that mark him as one of the greatest spokesmen of the twentieth century. Ehrmann was not afraid to express his thoughts about the evils and scandals he saw around him, and in his quest for contentment he turned to nature and the eternal passage of the seasons: his philosophical thoughts are a search for social truth and peace. Readers will find in his poems much that has relevance today. Through Ehrmann we are led to look again at our twenty-first century values and to turn for truth and reality to the essence of beauty and goodness that lies all around us, if we can but open our eyes to see.

A pocket-size edition of the beloved inspirational poem Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, Desiderata is one of the most loved poetic works of the 20th century, inspiring readers to nurture peace and contentment in their lives and walk through times of chaos with wisdom. In Latin the title means “things to be desired” and the prose poem offers us a simple, profound vision of what a good life might be. The ideas of at the heart of Desiderata—to listen to the words of others, to resist cynicism, to keep peace in the depths of your soul—are universal and powerful. These timeless lines of poetry offer a balm to the maelstrom of modern life and a voice of calm in restless days. In addition to Desiderata, the book includes a thoughtful selection of Ehrmann's other poetry. This edition of Desiderata is part of the Essential Pocket Classics series, which publishes beautiful, small editions of beloved classics.