Sacred Fire: Torah from the Years of Fury (1939-1942) consists of commentaries on each weekly Torah portion. It also includes a number of lengthy sermons delivered on the major Jewish Festivals as well as a few discourses alluding to people loved and lost. Because writing is not permitted on the Sabbath, these "words of Torah" were transcribed from memory, after the Sabbath or festival had ended. Although the pages of Sacred Fire are not stained with the names of its author's tormentors, there are numerous references to historical events through which parallels can be drawn. Rabbi Shapira often refers, for example, to the binding of Isaac and the martyrdom of Rabbi Akiba. Sacred Fire forms a religious, spiritual response to the Holocaust that speaks from the heart of the darkness. In doing so, it may well form the basis for what could one day become Judaism's formal liturgical response to the events that occurred during those years of fury.

The Sacred Fire thrusts the reader into a spiritual showdown that pits Christian Chris Belanger against a mysterious man simply calling himself Richard. But Richard is not as benign as he appears, as he begins to spin tales from the Holy Bible from a firsthand account, claiming to have witnessed them with his very own eyes. Chris is soon sent careening down a spiral of doubt, fear, and hopelessness that seems impossible to escape, even with his deeply held faith. Is there anything in the physical or spiritual world that will rescue him from an eternity of hopelessness?

When one reaches the highest degree of human maturity, one has only one question left: How can I be helpful?—TERESA OF ÁVILA Beloved author Ronald Rolheiser continues his search for an accessible and penetrating Christian spirituality in this highly anticipated follow-up to the contemporary classic, The Holy Longing. With his trademark acuity, wit, and thoughtfulness, Rolheiser shows how identifying and embracing discipleship will lead to new heights of spiritual awareness and maturity. In this new book, Rolheiser takes us on a journey through the dark night of the senses and of the spirit. Here, we experience the full gamut of human life, pleasure and fervor, disillusionment and boredom. But, as Rolheiser explains, when we embrace the struggle and yearning to know God we can experience too a profound re-understanding to our daily lives. “What lies beyond the essentials, the basics?” Rolheiser writes. “Where do we go once some of the basic questions in our lives have been answered, or at least brought to enough peace that our focus can shift away from ourselves to others? Where do we go once the basic questions in our lives are no longer the restless questions of youthful insecurity and loneliness? Who am I? Who loves me? How will my life turn out? Where do we go once the basic question in life becomes: How can I give my life away more purely, and more meaningfully? How do I live beyond my own heartaches, headaches, and obsessions so as to help make other peoples’ lives more meaningful? The intent of this book is to try to address exactly those questions: How can we live less self- centered, more mature lives? What constitutes deep maturity and how do we reach that place? And, not unimportantly, what constitutes a more adult, Christian discipleship? What constitutes a truly mature following of Jesus?” As the poet Rainer Maria Rilke suggests, “Live the questions now.” In Sacred Fire, Rolheiser’s deeply affecting prose urges us on in pursuit of the most holy of all passions—a deep and lasting intimacy with God.

Fanning the Sacred Flame: Mesoamerican Studies in Honor of H. B. Nicholson contains twenty-two original papers in tribute to H. B. "Nick" Nicholson, a pioneer of Mesoamerican research. His intellectual legacy is recognized by Mesoamerican archaeologists, art historians, ethnohistorians, and ethnographers--students, colleagues, and friends who derived inspiration and encouragement from him throughout their own careers. Each chapter, which presents original research inspired by Nicholson, pays tribute to the teacher, writer, lecturer, friend, and mentor who became a legend within his own lifetime. Covering all of Mesoamerica across all time periods, contributors include Patricia R. Anawalt, Alfredo López Austin, Anthony Aveni, Robert M. Carmack, David C. Grove, Richard D. Hansen, Leonardo López Luján, Kevin Terraciano, and more. Eloise Quiñones Keber provides a thorough biographical sketch, detailing Nicholson's academic and professional journey.

This book examines Willa Cather's conceptions through her numerous works. Hively's study combines Cather's interest in the historians, the philosophers, and the mythographers, to examine nine of her novels on three levels. First, it postulates a cyclical design, beginning with O Pioneers! and ending with Shadows on the Rock, which traces a rise, maturity, and fall of the civilization of the American West, and presents a new beginning in the final books. The second level relates to Vico's theory that language follows and adapts to succeeding periods of civilization's cycle and that genre, a convention of language, has a connection with a particular age, expressing a relationship to the world view of the time. The third level is religion, specifically the mystery religions that pervaded that Roman world and marked the early stages of civilization. Documentation here relies much on earlier critics, many of them contemporaries of Cather who, more often than do the modern critics, comment on the nationalist and religious themes of the novels. Contents: Acknowledgments; Introduction; THE LAW BEHIND THE VEIL; Cather's Novel Cycle; Vichian Philosophy; The Mystery Religions; PRAIRIE DAWN: THE AGE OF GODS; O Pioneers!; The Song of the Lark; My Antonia; THE MEMORY OF OUR VANISHED KINGDOM: THE AGE OF HEROES; One of Ours; A Lost Lady; IN MEDIA VITA: THE AGE OF MEN; The Professor's House; My Mortal Enemy; WITH ATTRIBUTES OF GODS: RICORSO; Death Comes for the Archbishop; Shadows on the Rock; SOMETHING COMPLETE AND GREAT; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Sigh! Who asked me to have no diploma and no work experience, I will just be a male servant! Chen Thirteen helplessly made his decision. He didn't expect that the male servants would be such a noble and promising profession. There were many employers, and his life suddenly became colorful ...

Cyclonic hordes of insects, a telepathic despot, body-swapping sex—just a few of the surprises Salvador Samuels encounters when he finds himself swept back to pre-colonial times walking in the moccasins of a blind Indian who in turn, has been transported into Salvador's body in present day America. Four hundred years apart, they're bound by a common mission to rescue our world, aided by two remarkable women and the mysterious presence of the mounds. Thousands of these ancient earthworks once dotted the landscape of North America. We still don't know why they were created. Sacred Mounds suggests they are as important today as when they were made over a thousand years ago. FINALIST: 2022 2022 SCREENCRAFT CINEMATIC BOOK COMPETITION

Plants personify the divine— The Rig Veda (X.97) Trees and plants have long been held sacred to communities the world over. In India, we have a whole variety of flora that feature in our myths, our epics, our rituals, our worship and our daily life. There is the pipal, under which the Buddha meditated on the path to enlightenment; the banyan, in whose branches hide spirits; the ashoka, in a grove of which Sita sheltered when she was Ravana’s prisoner; the tulsi, without which no Hindu house is considered complete; the bilva, with whose leaves it is possible to inadvertently worship Shiva. Before temples were constructed, trees were open-air shrines sheltering the deity, and many were symbolic of the Buddha himself. Sacred Plants of India systematically lays out the sociocultural roots of the various plants found in the Indian subcontinent, while also asserting their ecological importance to our survival. Informative, thought-provoking and meticulously researched, this book draws on mythology and botany and the ancient religious traditions of India to assemble a detailed and fascinating account of India’s flora.

Language of the Sacred is a memoir of Loralee Dubeau's personal journey of learning to trust her inner voice and her clear connection to the mysterious divine power that gives life to all. Dubeau lays bare all her vulnerabilities for all to see, interact with, and learn from. After a lifetime of hiding her true purpose, Dubeau is guided to share her very raw and personal self with the world and help others. Documented from personal journals for over forty years, the lessons, healings, and ceremonies have guided her to a sacred path of purpose and meaning. Her commitment to her inner self and Spirit never falters, even as she struggles with the unknown and traditions that seem beyond her. The sometimes-tangible connection between Dubeau and Spirit is shown through countless interactions, visions, instincts, and unusual relationships. The powerful stories she shares encourage others to trust their own inner voice, their connection to something greater and more powerful than themselves while finding a true path of purpose and inner peace.