It's time to retire, time to downsize, time to slow down and exit stage left. Does this mean becoming invisible, putting on the slippers and settling down in the rocking chair? Or is it perhaps the time to embrace the most fulfilling challenge of all—to mature inwardly into our wisdom years?
In The Wisdom Years, bestselling spirituality writer Margaret Silf invites readers to see retirement not as an ending, but as a new beginning—an opportunity to slow down, let go, and embrace the profound gifts that come with a longer view of life.
Higgins plans an introductory chapter that will contextualize the Synod and explain why it's special and potentially transformative. The book will also contain a day-by-day record of personalities, crises, behind-the-scenes politics, lapses, triumphs.
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"Like an ecclesiastical Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Higgins searched the aulas of the Vatican and walked the cobbled streets of Rome in search of clues and sources who would piece together what was really going on behind locked doors in the Vatican. This book is a remarkable achievement in doing that, but also a wonderful record written in colorful prose of an event that to the outsider was presented by the Vatican in awkward and uninviting language, or 'ecclesiastical bafflegab' as Higgins describes it. It's 'unputdownable'"
—Garry O'Sullivan, publisher and editor, The Irish Catholic and The Synodal Times, Dublin, Ireland
"In this erudite yet accessible work, Dr. Higgins provides us with a most helpful prelude outlining the background to the 2021–2024 Synod of Bishops on the themes of communion, participation, and mission. His diary entries, from his vantage point as an 'external observer' to the discussions going on in the synod hall, provide helpful insights into the deeper implications of the Synod for the Catholic Church, especially moving forward from the legacy of Pope Francis into the Petrine ministry of Leo XIV. All in all, delightful and insightful in equal parts!"
—Raymond Lafontaine, episcopal vicar, Archdiocese of Montreal, table facilitator at the 2024 Synodal Assembly
Michael W. Higgins has been an administrator and teacher at several Canadian and U.S. Catholic colleges and universities. Currently he is Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought, St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, and Distinguished Professor of Catholic Thought Emeritus at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT. He has authored or coauthored numerous books, including The Church Needs the Laity: The Wisdom of John Henry Newman, and, with Kevin Burns, Impressively Free: Henri Nouwen as a Model for a Reformed Priesthood and Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen.
In Revisioning Spirituality, John Markey and Michael Ceragioli explore the power of a communal imagination to renew the understanding and practice of Christian spirituality. The book traces a lineage that evolved against the grain of mainstream radical individualism in the United States, with roots in the thought of philosophers William James, Josiah Royce, and Charles Sanders Peirce, and echoes in the likes of Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barbara Holmes.
By engaging with American philosophers, spiritual exemplars, and the recent pioneers of the discipline of Christian spirituality, a new picture of the promise of spirituality emerges, relevant for all those interested in the dynamics of the human encounter with God in an age of fragmentation.
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"We live in an intensely individualistic and deeply divided society. We frequently hear phrases like: 'I'm spiritual but not religious' and 'I've done my own research on this! I don't trust the official story!' How does one articulate a Christian spirituality in this context? John Markey and Michael Ceragioli do precisely that, offering a perspective that challenges as it unites and converts as it heals. A much-needed book."
—Ronald Rolheiser, author of The Holy Longing; professor of spirituality, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX
"John Markey and Michael Ceragioli have written a revolutionary book, one that effectively reimagines the primary assumptions undergirding the discipline of spirituality. In these pages, religious experience is invariably communal and social as well as personal, which means that the transformation of the human person is always at the same time a communal transformation. Beautifully written, spiritually deepening."
—Nancy Pineda-Madrid, past president, Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA); Professor and T. Marie Chilton Chair of Catholic Theology, Loyola Marymount University
John J. Markey, OP, is a professor of theology and the director of the PhD program in spirituality at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.
Michael Ceragioli is a doctoral candidate in spirituality and lecturer at Oblate School of Theology.
As a soldier of the Roman Empire, Martin gave away his cloak to a beggar, only to discover the beggar was Christ. As bishop of Tours, France, Martin lived in a hut and cared for the poor. Through this charming story, follow St. Martin from his childhood through his army career to becoming a bishop famous for his wisdom and humility.
"Who gives away their cloak in the dead of winter? Who marches into battle without sword or shield? Discover the simplicity and daring of Martin of Tours, who gave away his coat and his sword to follow Christ. A tale vibrantly illustrated and clearly told."
—Joshua C. Benson, Catholic University; coauthor, with Margaret Carney, OSF, of Francis of Assisi: A Meditation on His Life and Writings
Michaela Hanauer is a Munich native. She studied law and has been a children's and young adult writer for more than fifteen years.
Angela Glökler was born in Rastatt in southern Germany. She studied illustration at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg.
