Women: Icons of Christ traces the history of ministry by women, especially those ordained as deacons. History teaches that women ministered in baptism, catechesis, altar service, spiritual direction, and confession, and anointed the sick, either as deacons or as lay persons. Women: Icons of Christ demonstrates how priestly clericalism effectively removed women’s leadership, voices, and official ministries from the life of the Church by eliminating women from sacramental ministry, altar service, and preaching. The question, “Who can be an icon of Christ?” underlies the discussion. There seems to be a simple answer. We know from the revelation of Scripture that all Christians are equally human, all Christians are part the Body of Christ. Yet, the Catholic Church both really and symbolically excludes half its members.

Women cannot be ordained to the renewed diaconate, even though the most complete Church histories demonstrate genuine precedent. Why? The reduction of all the arguments, supported by the manipulation of history, is that women cannot image Christ. Phyllis Zagano presents cogent arguments supported by history to refute arguments against restoring women to the ordained diaconate.

Paperback $14.95

eBook $10.02

Heartstorming provides a point of entry to the contemplative life for anyone who will become or remain open to the movements of God in their daily life. The author’s 45 field notes show what can result if the reader takes a journey of growth in being spiritually directed and then goes on to write field notes by using the simple process Wicks makes available.

Through his own experience of God’s nearness and drawing from his deep understanding of the human condition, Robert Wicks puts within reach of us all a healthy spiritual perspective as part of everyday living. Dr. Wicks writes convincingly and in practical terms, giving guidance to both the spiritually adventurous and weary souls among us. In all, he emphasizes the importance of listening to the inner life—mind, will, and emotions—on our way to an increasingly fresh engagement with God’s will and purposes in and around us.

Hardcover $21.95

eBook $14.71

At the beginning of human history, faith and astronomy belonged together. Only a few centuries ago, their paths diverged. People began to regard astronomy as pure science and used it often enough to refute faith. Figuratively speaking, however, humans succeed in seeing things only with both eyes: our picture of reality becomes one-dimensional and necessarily incomplete if we consider only faith or science.

And Yet It Moves! illuminates both perceptions of reality and urges the reader to have the courage to acknowledge the entire truth of our world.

Paperback $16.95

eBook $11.36

In 1979, in collaboration with Richard A. McCormick, SJ, Charles Curran began the series Readings in Moral Theology with Moral Norms and the Catholic Tradition. Since then, there have been eighteen additional volumes in the series through 2019's U.S. Moral Theology from the Margins, edited with Lisa A. Fullam of Santa Clara University.

McCormick's participation ended with his death in 2000. In the years since, Curran has collaborated with ethicists such as Leslie Griffin, Julie Hanlon Rubio, and Lisa Fullam.

After a run of over forty years, the series comes to a close with this retrospective volume by Curran, as he looks back on his own writing and influence on the field, from 1966 to the present.

Hardcover $34.95

eBook $27.96

Discover the major episodes in the life of Jesus as depicted with the native people and landscapes of the Mafa region of Northern Cameroon. Here is an invitation to contemplate Christ's message with a fresh eye and to appreciate the reality of a God who came to earth for all of us. Contains 65 striking illustrations, texts from Scripture, and commentary to help understand the art.

Ages 10 and up.

Paperback $19.95

Sister Thea Bowman (1939-1990), a native of a small town in central Mississippi, was a well-known educator, evangelist, gifted singer, scholar, and advocate for diversity and the inclusion of African Americans and African American culture in the Catholic Church. Sister Thea faced many obstacles as a young girl growing up in the segregated South. Her story is intertwined with the disparities and injustices experienced by African Americans in Mississippi.

Through the efforts of the missionary sisters, brothers, and priests who served in Canton, Mississippi, Sister Thea and other African American children in her community were able to obtain an education and experience the love, generosity, faith, and commitment to social justice of those who ministered in the African American church. During her time in school, she felt called to enter religious life. She chose to join the order of the sisters who staffed her school. Sister Thea was the only black sister in her order.

Sister Thea made unique contributions to the Catholic Church. In November, 2018, her cause for sainthood was approved by the U.S. bishops. Her story is unique and one that needs to be told. Many institutions bear her name.

This biography of Thea Bowman is set against the backdrop of racial discrimination in the Deep South from the 1940s and onward and brings to life the contributions of a trailblazing African American Catholic. Thoroughly researched and poignantly presented, this is an informative read for teenagers and young adults, with appeal also for any-age adult readers.

Paperback $14.95

eBook $10.02

Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton together made history with their radical witness to love of God and neighbor. Even so, this evocative saga has not come center stage—until now. The first-ever pairing of their personal journals reveals that Merton drew great inspiration from Dorothy Day's devotion to prayer, peace, and privileging "the least," while she wrote, "I must pray to him," after the death of this famous monk whose meditations on injustice often appeared in her Catholic Worker newspaper.

Their moving correspondence with each other, as well as their voluminous personal papers—many mined for the first time—also yield revelations both timely and timeless. Deeply researched and vividly written, this compelling account of the two spiritual figures that Pope Francis showcased to Congress offers valuable insights on living with integrity despite the odds.

Paperback $29.95

eBook $20.67

Nearly 850 years after his death, Thomas Becket remains one of the most controversial and enigmatic figures in English history. As chancellor to King Henry II, as Archbishop of Canterbury, and ultimately as a martyr and saint, Becket (and his unconventional career) has taken hold of the historical imagination, both academic and popular. An apparently dedicated servant of Archbishop Theobald, Becket's transfer to King Henry's court shifted his loyalties to secular causes, only for them to swing back to the Church following his appointment to the archbishopric.

Thomas Becket: An Intimate Portrait offers a new approach to understanding the man: the writings of John of Salisbury, a fellow English churchman who was an associate of and advisor to Becket throughout his life. Becket and John attended school together in Paris, served Theobald at Canterbury, sparred while Becket was King Henry's chancellor, and cooperated closely once Becket became archbishop and especially during his exile from England. John was present at the scene of Becket's murder, after which he became a key figure in advancing the archbishop's canonization and cult. From the time that John commenced his education until his own death in 1180, Becket was almost constantly in John's sight. In consequence, the large body of writing that John produced—letters, philosophical tomes, hagiographies, histories, poetry—constitutes a virtual running commentary on the future saint's life. Thomas Becket: An Intimate Portrait draws upon this vast source in pursuit of a singular opportunity to share one man's up-close perceptions of and experiences with Becket over more than three decades.

Paperback $34.95

eBook $23.96

Beholding Paradise: The Photographs of Thomas Merton provides the reader with the only available overview of Thomas Merton's photographs while also providing a highly accessible introduction to Merton as a photographer. For Merton, his photography, as his writing, became a way for him to explore and express his relationship with the world. As he discovered contemplative photography, and how to use a camera as a contemplative instrument, he produced images that had the same effect as much of prose and poetry writings in the last decade of his life. Media and advertisers use images manipulatively to sell a story or an object. By contrast, Merton's images have nothing to sell, they cause us to pause, to stop, to see, to see what is right in front of us every day.

This volume allows the reader to explore, meditatively, the way that Thomas Merton came to see the world in the final decade of his life.

Highlights:
• There is no other collection of Merton's photographs currently in print.
• The photographs are placed within the larger context of Merton's life and thought so that the reader can understand the place of photography in Merton's phenomenal literary output.
• In this beautifully produced volume Merton's photographs are presented in such a way that the reader can take time out of their busy life and learn to see, once more, the world around them.
• Thomas Merton was one of the first, if not the very first, to use the phrase "Zen photography" and this book explores his vision of photography.
• The incorporation of short quotations from Merton's spiritual writings enables the reader to pause and to enter into the silence demanded by these photographs.

Hardcover $39.95