Mother Teresa of Kolkata, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was a tireless campaigner for the rights of the impoverished and is widely regarded as one of the most influential Christians of the twentieth century. I am Only an instrument of God: Walking a Day with Mother Teresa is a collection of her most rousing quotations and has been published to coincide with her canonisation in September 2016. Arranged thematically, these excerpts will provide consolation and encouragement for readers everywhere as they endeavour to follow Mother Teresa’s inspiring example throughout their own day.

The official directory of the Church's hierarchy, this publication is a necessity for all who are actively involved in the life of the Catholic Church in Ireland.Includes:- Complete address and telephone guide for all Catholic parishes, convents and religious houses in the thirty-two counties of Ireland- Full details of the Irish Episcopate and its various commissions- Details of Catholic societies- Information on retreat and pastoral centres- Details of chaplains in universities, hospitals and prisons- National Church statistics

Who of us has not wondered why a God with absolute attributes causes or allows evil in the world? This most puzzling issue, known as the problem of evil, received significant attention from Ibn Sina. In the present work, Dr. Inati argues that Ibn Sina provides seven theses to justify God's causing or allowing the presence of evil, and that only the thesis which relies on God’s omnipotence as defined by Ibn Sina eliminates the problem of evil in his philosophy. The book is an original piece of work and the first comprehensive study of Ibn Sina's Theodicy, which helped shape later Islamic and Christian treatments of the subject and left significant marks on the thought of major medieval philosophers, including Ibn Rushd, Aquinas and Suarez.

This important work is a source-critical study of a group of traditions (aḥādīth) found in Ibn Isḥāq's Biography (Sīra) of the prophet Muḥammad, widely considered one of the most important early historical texts on the Prophet's life. Through a meticulous isnād-cum-matn analysis, the author reveals that Ibn Isḥāq relied on Muḥammad b. Abī Muḥammad, a hitherto undocumented source of his. Important new light is also shed on problems with Ibn Hishām’s recension of Ibn Isḥāq’s Sīra.

‘Everything in Him speaks of mercy. Nothing in Him is devoid of compassion.’ - Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus In Graced Horizons: A Journey through Mercy, Bishop Brendan Leahy explores the many facets of mercy as illustrated not only in scripture, but in the writings and ‘concrete deeds’ of luminaries through the entire course of Christian history. This book offers an enlightening analysis of this core Christian value, as first evinced in the early Church – under the aegis of figures such as St John Chrysostom and Gregory the Great – then down through the centuries to the present day. Graced Horizons highlights the merciful example set by several Christian writers and visionaries, including the medieval mystics Julian of Norwich and Meister Eckhart; Sisters of Mercy founder, Catherine McAuley; Edith Stein and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose unwavering faith in the face of Nazism still inspires Christians today; and twentieth-century innovators such as Focolare leader Chiara Lubich and theologian Karl Rahner. By honing in on the experiences of Christians who have espoused mercy, often in the most testing of circumstances, Graced Horizons will galvanise readers into adopting qualities of forbearance, compassion and gratitude each and every day on their own journey with Christ.

The Energy Within, Parish Pastoral Councils Today grew out of the firsthand experience of its four contributors. At its core is the record of a process which has been used successfully in the establishment of many new parish pastoral councils. It is placed in the context of deep reflection on the unique contribution that parish pastoral councils can make to collaborative leadership in the Church. The book includes an overview of the story of parish pastoral councils in Ireland since 1971. This book is a valuable resource for the individual reader who wishes to explore the role and methodology of parish pastoral councils. It will be of special interest to parishes and dioceses who aim to establish pastoral councils as part of their pastoral planning, or who are looking at approaches to training and energising existing pastoral councils.

Why Not? is a selection of Turlough Baxter’s eponymous columns on the subject of liturgy which have appeared monthly in Intercom magazine for some twelve years. These short pieces, widely admired by clergy and non-clergy alike, offer refreshing insights into the celebration of the Eucharist, with a particular emphasis on seasons and sacraments.

Buddhism originated in north India and spread to other parts of the subcontinent in the third century BCE. The Andhra region, located along the south-east coast of India, welcomed Buddhism and a stūpa, probably built to house a relic of the Buddha from the north, was constructed at Amaravati. From 200 BCE, the stūpa was enlarged and substantially embellished over several centuries, making it one of the most important Buddhist monuments in India. However, the stūpa fell into decline from the 14th century and it was re-discovered and excavated only in the 19th century. In 1880 more than 120 of the Amaravati sculptures entered the collection of the British Museum, with other pieces eventually finding their way to museums in India, Europe and America.The papers in this book emerged from a conference at the British Museum held in September 2014 that brought together leading specialists from around the world to address aspects of Amaravati and its sculpture. Subjects covered in this volume include the rediscovery of the stūpa at the end of the 18th century as well as its recreation in the 21st century. The art of Amaravati is also placed in the context of other sites and remains from the Andhra region which, despite its importance, has been relatively neglected in the study of the religious and visual cultures of South Asia.

The book addresses the history of Syrian Orthodoxy during a critical juncture of its history that spans the late Ottoman period and treads well beyond to witness remarkable revival, indeed renaissance. The work uniquely utilizes over 6000 uncatalogued and unpublished archival documents that were made available for it.

Praying with Matthew is a set of prayerful commentaries according to the sequence of readings from the Gospel of Matthew arranged for Ordinary Time. The purpose of this book is to help the reader to pray the Gospel readings, to deepen their approach to scripture and, in doing so, to help them to make it their own. By exploring the link between the lectionary and the liturgy, the book will enable those who use it – clergy and layperson alike – to deepen the mutual relationship between prayer and sacrament.

This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars.

This volume explores themes at the intersection of the Bible and science fiction. In the genre of science fiction in film, books, comic books, or fan fiction, we find portrayals of possible futures, altered pasts, supernatural or beyond-human beings. Just as in biblical literature, science fiction can contain metaphysical speculation. Departing from this intersection, the authors engage with biblical texts 'as' science fiction, asking different questions of their sources: can science fiction theory and practice yield new approaches to the discussion of biblical texts? The authors reflect on methodology and offer case studies that include, among others, superhuman biblical kings and uncanny divine intermediaries.

The Decisive Treatise is perhaps the most controversial work of Averroes (Ibn Rushd, 1126-1198) and belongs to a trilogy which boldly represent the philosophical contribution to Islamic theology of this famous Andalusian commentator on Aristotle. The Decisive Treatise is a fatwa (a legal opinion) that the judge, Averroes, promulgated for his fellow Malikite jurists in order to demonstrate that the study of philosophy is not only licit from the point of view of religious law, but even mandatory for the skilled people. However, many subjects are dealt with in this comparatively short book: An epistemology aimed to show that philosophical truth and religious truth are not in contradiction; a sociology of knowledge pointing out that humans are classified in three classes (philosophers, theologians, common folk); a Qur’anic hermeneutics suggesting how to approach philosophically the Holy Book in agreement with religious requirements and linguistic rules.

This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in volume 13 (2013) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reevaluating its purpose and situating the story in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

What happens when we lose control of our destiny and fate, in the guise of ill health, intervenes? It is As it Is tells the touching true story of two women whose friendship is tested to its limit by serious illness. Malina Stahre-Godycka’s account of her relationship with the remarkable Prudentia, who finds herself confronting cancer, is comprised of a series of frank and heartfelt diary entries that are brave, insightful and thought-provoking. It is As it Is provides a candid, unexpectedly wry exploration of faith, friendship and mortality, which will inspire all who read it, particularly those who care for loved ones living with serious illness or medical professionals who specialise in palliative care.