Showing results by author "Jon Sweeney" in All Categories

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.

This 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 (c. 1260-1328) provides a road map 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: to find yourself, you must lose yourself.

Thomas Merton offers a unique view of the popular and sometimes controversial monk, braiding together his thoughts and practices with the reality of his life to create a full portrait of a pivotal figure. The Merton revealed in its pages is a source of inspiration and insight for those wrestling with questions of faith and spirituality.

Saint Francis understood soldiers and fools, mothers and fathers, businesspeople and rulers, poets and court entertainers, pastors and criminals. He was, at one time or another, in both subtle and obvious ways, all of these things. Each spiritual lesson from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi begins with an invitation to embrace the wolf - to consider another viewpoint, to befriend our fears, and to discover something new. The path Saint Francis discovered is the way of faith made tangible - and his way was always a way of peace.

Biographies will only take you so far. It's impossible to truly understand Francis of Assisi without reading or hearing 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.

There are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and many 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 edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier's groundbreaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894; 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.

Biographies will only take you so far. It's impossible to truly understand Francis of Assisi without hearing his own words. A scholar and lover of Francis, Sweeney has added six writings to his best-selling 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.

Former bookseller, longtime publisher, and author Jon M. Sweeney shows—with history and anecdotes centering around books such as Thoreau's Journal, Tagore's Gitanjali, Martin Buber's Hasidic Tales, and Tolstoy's Twenty-three Tales—what it means to be carried by a book. He explores the discovery that once accompanied finding books, and books finding us. He ponders the smell of an old volume, its heft, and why bibliophiles carry them around even without reading them. He demonstrates how and why there is magic and enchantment that takes place between people and books.

This book is an accessible, historical narrative about Peter Faber, one of the two original companions of St. Ignatius, and the origin of the Society of Jesus.

Fr. James Martin, SJ, is one of the most recognized Catholic priests in the United States. His book Building a Bridge called the Catholic Church to more respect and compassion for the LGBT community - and made Martin not only a friend to LGBT people but a lightning rod for some "traditionalist" Roman Catholics. His articulate and winsome personality has endeared him to millions inside and outside the Church. Now it is time to tell the story of his own life, to explore the experiences that made him the person he is today.

As historian Tony Lane once noted, without the King James Version of the Bible, it can be speculated that, there would be no Paradise Lost... no Pilgrim's Progress... no negro spirituals... no Gettysburg Address. And even though today there are more accurate and contemporary translations of the Bible, the KJV reigns supreme in the English-speaking world. It is printed and circulated more widely than any other version. But how did this remarkable work originate?

As a spiritual pilgrim for more than half a century, Jon Sweeney has practiced with teachers of many religious traditions. He's gone looking for wisdom, beauty, and truth wherever it can be found. But recently he's found himself learning closer to home—from the teacher-cats he lives with. What he discovered is that our greatest spiritual teachers are at our feet. Literally. They are the cats we love and treasure.