In the best of times and in darker days, the strong family unit is one of the most valuable building blocks of our societies. The Cornish family, in its individuality, in its far-flung breadth and with its sense of worldwide community, is a vigorous example of this truth. In this magnificent book, Dr Bernard Deacon explores who we are, our forefathers and our descendants, where we come from and where we are headed and how these major themes are expressed in the meaning of our names.
As an ordained Deacon of 22 years, it truly amazes me how Deacon Bernard Swift can put into writing all the concepts and truths that he shares to help others live a healthy and intimate relationship and spirituality with our God. It compels me to delve deeper into the very depth of my inner self. —Deacon Fred Von Voight Deacon Bernie Swift’s recent spiritual book, Will Thinking It Is Make it So?, is a must read for the Christian soul. It is a brilliant and simplistic explanation of how thought plays a powerful role in one’s relationship, or lack there of, with our Creator. —Tom Keysor, a Lord’s daily Altar Server, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, International Pilgrimage Tour Host, and humble believer in the true faith - Catholicism
As children of God, and God wants us to be holy, we are given many opportunities and graces to become holy as the Good Lord wants us to be here on earth. Practically the entire scripture is guiding us in this direction. In essence, the New Testament is replete with scriptures telling us how to pray, act, helping self and others how to become better persons by following the God-given plans he has for our existence. There are steps recommended on how you can modify your current spiritual progress. Most Christians believe and pray in the natural world with very good success. Then, however, if we step up to the spiritual world we will be living and praying with the angels and saints in excess joy and happiness.
Saint Bernard's famous work, The Steps of Humility and Pride (in Latin, De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae), is a short book consisting of a mere fifty-seven paragraphs. In it, the Abbot of Clairvaux unpacks the doctrine of the very crucial chapter 7 of Saint Benedict's sixth-century Rule for Monks, which explores the dynamic "steps" or "degrees" of both humility and pride. This chapter by Benedict could well be considered the spiritual basis of all Benedictine existence. In Saint Bernard's Three-Course Banquet, Dom Bernard Bonowitz makes the teaching of both Bernard and Benedict accessible to modern readers in a set of conferences originally conceived for and delivered to a group of Cistercian "juniors," that is, monks and nuns who had completed their novitiate but had not yet made their solemn vows. With Dom Bernard as a guide, many more readers can be sure of drinking at the purest sources of the monastic tradition, which at that depth becomes one with the Gospel itself. A convert from Judaism with a degree in Classics from Columbia University, Bernard Bonowitz was a Jesuit for nine years before entering St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. Immediately upon professing vows, his abbot named him master of novices, a position he held for ten years and that gave him ample opportunity to share considerable gifts of mind and heart while initiating newcomers into monastic life, at the levels of both classroom teaching and spiritual direction. In 1996 he was elected superior of the monastery of Novo Mundo in Brazil, which he soon shepherded into a true monastic springtime. In 2008, he became abbot of Novo Mundo, now a community attracting an impressive number of young men anxious to follow the way of Cistercian discipleship.
Saint Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon, France. He joined the fifteen-year-old monastery of Cîteaux in 1113. In 1115 he became the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, whence his name, Bernard of Clairvaux. Saint Bernard was a gifted and prolific writer of theological treatises, Scriptural commentaries, letters, and many sermons. The sermons in the collection published here, styled Sermones de diversis (Sermons about Various Topics), lack the specific point of departure that characterizes his other sermons. That is, whereas the sermons on the Song of Songs are a verse-by-verse commentary on that biblical book and his Sermons for the Year follow the liturgical calendar, this collection of sermons deals with his various pastoral concerns. Since Scripture is always Bernard’s point of departure and inspiration, the sermons often read like a Scripture study, but what comes through equally is the voice of an understanding spiritual father who is a masterful student of Scripture, biblical language, and the needs of his monks.
We Are King Solomon is a historical narrative of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Nestled in the hills of historic Vicksburg, Mississippi, the King Solomon Baptist Church is the oldest Black Baptist Church in a city of historical churches. We Are King Solomon expounds on the people, places, and events instrumental in shaping the shared life of the Church from its inception in 1860, placing emphasis on the period from November 2003 through September 2017, a portion of the pastorate of Reverend R. D. Bernard. We Are King Solomon is much more than the mere recounting of events in the life of the Church, it is the providential interpretation of those events. The history of the King Solomon Baptist Church, like most long-lived churches in the South, particularly Mississippi, is tied to the great themes of its time-including the volatile mix of race and politics. We Are King Solomon is recounted from the perspective of the African American Church, a cultural icon in its own right. Its rich, oral tradition provides much of the narrative in the telling of its own story. Though first-person accounts of events end with each death, the memories of those events live on through their retelling. We Are King Solomon is the inspirational story of a Church that found favor with God and spiritual strength through that favor, while overcoming obstacle after untold obstacle in their long, storied history.
“We all prayed at the altar at about 2:00 p.m. We had to pray because we were bitter. I know my people, and several of us were hurt at the sheriff being called—on a church. A couple of members were even bitter with me for cancelling service this Sunday. It was a mess, and all we could do was pray” (pastoral journal entry, Thursday, April 2, 2020). Pastoring through a Pandemic captures, in detail, the first ninety days of the historic, once-in-a-generation, worldwide pandemic of 2020 as experienced by the pastor and people of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Pastor and people defied state and local ordinances to have in-person worship services at the height of the pandemic. Read of the harrowing tales of members, old and young, who sought answers for their own personal crises as they “sneaked to meet” while discovering a newfound strength and spirituality in the midst of their quiet defiance. See the four pillars of leadership in action from the pastor, who in the very midst of his personal battles with fatigue, fear, and nascent faith, kept a day-to-day journal of the church’s struggles and triumphs. Pastoring through a Pandemic will be studied for years as an example of how one faith community responded to the early days of the pandemic while also navigating its way through a historic time of political and social unrest.
Cornwall is quintessentially a maritime region. Almost an island, nowhere in it is further than 25 miles from the sea. Cornwall’s often distinctive history has been moulded by this omnipresent maritime environment, while its strategic position at the western approaches—jutting out into the Atlantic—has given this history a global impact. It is perhaps surprising then, that, despite the central place of the sea in Cornwall’s history, there has not yet been a full maritime history of Cornwall. The Maritime History of Cornwall sets out to fill this gap, exploring the rich and complex maritime inheritance of this unique peninsula. In a beautifully illustrated volume, individually commissioned contributions from distinguished historians elaborate on the importance of different periods, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. The Maritime History of Cornwall is a significant addition to the literature of international maritime history and is indispensable to those with an interest in Cornwall past and present. Winner of the Holyer an Gof Non-Fiction Award 2015.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.