Guilt-ridden after the massacre of his family, Isaac Salvatore turned to binge drinking to escape the pain. Now twenty-four years old, Isaac is a recovering alcoholic woefully out of practice in the magical arts, leaving his fire affinity hanging on the edge of disaster. After a month of rehab, he returns to Beacon Hill and his family, determined to remain sober, learn to control his magic, and figure out a plan for his life that doesn't involve drinking.Constantine Batiste is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the city. Born in ancient Gaul, the bastard son of a Celtic king, his long life has been shrouded in tragedy and horrors. Recent mistakes have left him wary and determined to guard his clan from all foes. When two of his clan members fall victim to an ancient evil, he summons the Necromancer of Boston for aid. Accompanying his older brother to the Tower is the handsome young fire mage once wounded by Constantine's arrogance, and their encounter reignites an attraction that burns within both Constantine and Isaac.The answer to who is targeting the vampires of Boston is buried in the dark, early days of Constantine's transition to an immortal life. Isaac finds himself saddled with a painful insight into the evil cutting a swath through the supernatural population of Boston. While his brother, Angel, takes over the hunt to find and stop the threat to the city, Isaac struggles to find a balance between helping his brother and finding his own purpose and place in the world, free from his brother's shadow.Falling in love wasn't part of his plan, but mastering the flames that burn between him and Constantine soon becomes the most important thing in his life, even as an ancient evil seeks to destroy them.Mastering the Flames is the fourth book in The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series and is not a standalone. The series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the plot and characters.
In a world where magic is real and evil walks amongst humanity, a young sorcerer is beset upon by enemies, both old and new. Angelus Salvatore is the only necromancer in all of Boston, and his name is whispered warily by the undead and fellow sorcerers alike. He and his brother Isaac are the lone survivors of an attack by an army of the undead, in which Angel used a spell so powerful it forever marked his place in history. Now, years later, Angel struggles to balance his career as a teacher of the higher magical arts, his role as big brother, and a tenuous relationship with an Elder vampire from the local clan. When his brother's boyfriend is used as a pawn in a mysterious plot to draw Angel out, Angel is once again drawn back into the old hostilities that fueled the Blood Wars and led to his family's death. Leaning on others for help is something Angel cannot do, and while he searches for clues into who may be targeting him and his brother, Angel finds his heart steadily growing occupied with Simeon, Elder and vampire. Dealing with death magic and vampires on a daily basis may leave Angel jaded when it comes to life and staying that way, but the more time he spends fending off the ancient vampire's attention and affections, the more he realizes he wants to give in. Can Angel find out who wants him dead, and keep his heart safe in the process? How can he fall for a vampire, when his whole family was torn apart by an army of the undead? Death stalks the streets of Boston's historic Beacon Hill....and there is no one more suited to battle against death than a necromancer.
A HISTORY OF TROUBLEA Beacon Hill Sorcerer CollectionRed Wine and BloodThe Blood Wars raged for centuries across Boston. Witness a brief glimpse into the brutal history of the Wars with Ignacio Salvatore and the vampire he loves, Ashwin Metcalfe, in 1897.A History of TroubleAngel was joking when he asked O'Malley if someone resurrected a mammoth. Little did he know that was exactly what someone did. Experience the untold story of what happened that unfortunate night at the Boston Public Museum.A Dragon in the CityWhat happens when Eroch goes adventuring in Beacon Hill without Angel? Chaos, pure chaos.Fae's Gold Daniel is helping the newly-resurrected fae Ruairi Brennan become accustomed to modern-day living. A boring trip to the bank quickly escalates, and Daniel calls Angel for help. The day goes downhill from there but ends in a comfy meal in a pub for an ancient fae warrior and a necromancer's apprentice.This is a collection, featuring vignettes and short stories from the universe of The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series. For full enjoyment, the Beacon Hill Sorcerer Series Books 1 through 3 should be read before reading this collection.
Apprenticed to the infamous Necromancer of Boston while on the brink of death, Daniel Macavoy has seen a lot of upheaval in his life since that fateful day. Rescued from an abusive father and the monster he was once enslaved by, Daniel has struggled with the traumas that scarred his heart and mind. Yet with the love and support of his found family, Daniel has become stronger than he ever imagined. A capable sorcerer, he's been entrusted with the ancestral home of the Salvatores, the legendary site of the Massacre that brought an end to the centuries-long Blood Wars between the Salvatores and the Macavoys. The huge Mansion is a testament to old-school magic, high sorcery, and comes with a history almost as impressive as the enigmatic fae warrior who calls the gardens home. A member of the nearly extinct High Court Sidhe, Rory remembers when humans climbed down from trees and learned to stand upright. After eons spent hand in hand with his twin, Cian, Rory was struck down by a near-fatal sword blow; he slept for centuries only to be resurrected by the Necromancer of Boston. Once awakened, Rory lost his twin to a mortal prison, sentenced for heinous crimes committed in an effort to save Rory while he slept. Once worshipped as a god, Rory Brennan is learning what it means to exist in a modern mortal world. Rory finds that for the very first time, true love has found its way into his immortal heart. Daniel and Rory grow closer, love springing to life in the narrowing space between them. But their nascent bond is threatened by strangers attempting to break into the Mansion, and by the ever-growing danger to Rory's twin Cian, locked in the depths of Blackguard Prison. With the danger increasing from all sides, Daniel and Rory struggle to balance surviving with falling in love. A dragon with a growth spurt isn't helping matters, and his mentor's watchful eye makes things both more awkward and potentially lethal. LOVE SPRINGS ETERNAL is the fifth book in the bestselling Beacon Hill Sorcerer series and should not be read as a standalone.
Every action has consequences. For a decade, Angel Salvatore has been the most powerful sorcerer and only necromancer in all the Northeast. Never one to ask permission nor apologies, he has acted with near impunity for years. Until now. The High Council of Sorcery has come to Boston, and Angel is their target. Charged with numerous violations of practitioner laws, his freedom and family are placed in jeopardy. If found guilty, Angel's apprentice Daniel will be imprisoned to serve out the remaining years of his apprenticeship. Isaac, his brother, is too vulnerable to be left unguarded, and Angel fears for his sanity and health. And Simeon, Elder vampire and Angel's mate refuses to see Angel convicted under the laws of the Council and his actions to keep Angel free threaten to start a war that could destroy their world. And Angel faces the severest of punishments-the castration of his gifts. The Council has never cared for the people of Boston, and Angel doubts their motives. They have come for some insidious reason, and it has nothing to do with upholding the law and everything to do with Angel. Dealing with an impending trial, a wayward ghost, and a graverobbing ring of thieves leaves Angel on the edge. He thinks he may have a handle on things until violence erupts across the city, and a stranger comes to town...a stranger with his own dark powers of necromancy.
The twentieth-century patristics movement that contributed theologically to the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council is generally well known. Less well known, but no less important, is the similarly dynamic return to the ancient ecclesial sources that took place in nineteenth-century theology, which profoundly shaped the Catholic articulation of the relation of faith and reason, the development of doctrine, the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, and the nature of the Church. In Engaging the Church Fathers in Nineteenth-Century Catholicism, Joseph Carola, S.J., tracks the theological movement of the Scuola Romana, a contemporaneous, interconnected return to patristic sources pursued by Jesuit theologians at the Roman College—Giovanni Perrone, Carlo Passaglia, Clemens Schrader, and Johann Baptist Franzelin—and their precursors, interlocutors, and intellectual progeny, including the Tübingen theologian Johann Adam Möhler, the Oxonian John Henry Newman, and the Cologne theologian Matthias Joseph Scheeben. Situating these seven theologians’ lives and labors within the broader historical context of nineteenth-century Catholicism, Carola introduces readers to a rich theological world rarely explored, providing both biographical depth and attentive distillation of their writings, methodologies, and impacts. As Carola shows, these extraordinary theologians engaged the Church Fathers and the Church’s entire tradition with intellectual rigor, revitalizing the nineteenth-century Catholic Church at her very heart and providing, in turn, a refined patristic methodology and faithful theological vision that are just as vital for the Church in the twenty-first century as they were in the nineteenth.
Stories about ethical issues at universities make headlines every day. From sexual violence to racial conflict, from the treatment of adjuncts to cheating, students, professors, and administrators face countless ethical trials. And yet, very few resources exist to assist universities in developing an ethical culture. University Ethics addresses this challenge. Each chapter studies a facet of university life—including athletics, gender, faculty accountability, and more—highlights the ethical hotspots, explains why they occur, and proposes best practices. Professional ethics are a key component of training for numerous other fields, such as business management, medicine, law, and journalism, but there is no prescribed course of study for the academy. Professors and administrators are not trained in standards for evaluating papers, colleagues, boundaries, or contracts. University Ethics not only examines the ethical problems that colleges face one by one but proposes creating an integrated culture of ethics university-wide that fosters the institution’s mission and community. In an environment plagued by university scandals, University Ethics is essential reading for anyone connected to higher education today.
Now in its third edition, Living Justice is an ideal introduction to Catholic social teaching. Thomas Massaro introduces readers to the history and basics of Catholic social teaching while highlighting new developments and helping readers understand how to apply this teaching to life today. Living Justice leads readers step-by-step through the building blocks of Catholic social thought, including its central themes, sources, and methods. Along the way readers encounter great heroes of social change and prophets of peace and justice. The third edition features significant updates throughout, including extensive coverage of Pope Francis and his two major social teaching documents: Evangelii Gaudium on gospel-grounded justice and Laudato Si’ on the environment. It also looks at the Pope’s contributions to peace and justice efforts around the world, including his advocacy for diplomacy, simplicity of lifestyle, and healthy family life. The third edition includes two new case studies in the dynamics of globalization—the global migration crisis and the scourge of human trafficking. It also contains expanded sections on globalization, the environment, and issues of peace and war. With its accessible and reader-friendly style, the third edition of Living Justice includes new discussion questions, revised topics for further study, and an updated list of resources that make the book an excellent resource for students or parishes.
Combining Catholic social teaching, feminist and African liberation theology, and the social sciences, Joseph Loïc Mben, SJ, develops a contextual gendered African Christian social ethic that addresses the oppression and marginalization of working women in Sub-Saharan Africa. He focuses primarily on African women from working and poor classes living in either urban or rural settings, particularly in Cameroon, and thus shows the necessity of inflecting Catholic social teaching along the differential of gender.
Jesuits Daniel Harrington and James Keenan have successfully team-taught the content of this landmark study to the delight of students for years. In this book they take the fruits of their own experiences as theologians, writers, teachers, mentors, and friends to propose virtue ethics as a bridge between the fields of New Testament Studies and Moral Theology. Answering the call of the Second Vatican Council for moral theology to "draw more fully on the teaching of Holy Scripture," the authors examine the virtues that both flow from Scripture and provide a lens by which to interpret Scripture. By remaining true to both the New Testament's emphasis on the human response to God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ and to the ethical needs and desires of Christians in the twenty-first century, the authors address key topics such as discipleship, the Sermon on the Mount, love, sin, politics, justice, sexuality, marriage, divorce, bioethics, and ecology. Covering the entire sweep of ethical teaching from its foundations in Scripture and especially in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection to its goal or "end" with the full coming of God's kingdom, the authors invite readers more deeply into an appreciation of the central biblical themes and how, based on the themes, Catholic Christian moral theology bears on general ethical issues in culture. Complete with reflection questions and suggestions for further reading, this book is essential reading for professors, students, pastors, preachers, and interested Catholics.
Reviews and critiques the major attempts at biblical ethics over the past twenty years by both biblical theologians and theological ethicists, focusing on New Testament ethics as an illustration.
A guide to key themes of the Catholic social teaching tradition and its implications for ethical issues such as war, peacemaking, and the global refugee crisis"--
This book gathers fourteen Catholic scholars to present, examine, and explain the often misunderstood process of "deification". The fifteen chapters show what "becoming God" meant for the early Church, for St. Thomas Aquinas and the greatest Dominicans, and for St. Francis and the early Franciscans. This book explains how this understanding of salvation played out during the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It explores the thought of the French School of Spirituality, various Thomists, John Henry Newman, John Paul II, and the Vatican Councils, and it shows where such thinking can be found today in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. No other book has gathered such an array of scholars or provided such a deep study into how humanity's divinized life in Christ has received many rich and various perspectives over the past two thousand years. This book seeks to bring readers into the central mystery of Christianity by allowing the Church's greatest thinkers and texts to speak for themselves, demonstrating how becoming Christ-like and the Body of Christ on earth, is the only ultimate purpose of the Christian faith.
Explores the theological dimension of Catholic social teaching by showing how magisterial documents dealing with social issues are a path to enter into the mystery of the Christian God and to produce “theo-logy”: a reasoned discourse about the divine.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount ends with the parable of the builders on rock or sand. Doing what Jesus asks results in building a life that endures; not doing it results in disaster. The choice is ours, and it’s a scary one. How can we read these words so that we can know what Jesus meant and do it? In this book, Scripture scholar Dennis Hamm takes an in-depth look at the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, paying special attention to the distinctive ways these two evangelists present and interpret Jesus’ teachings. Hamm helps us to hear Jesus’ words in their original cultural setting as well as in the context of the Old Testament and the Gospels. In doing so, he throws new light on these teachings and suggests what they mean for us today. This book is both informative and pastoral, helping us to realize that the “you” addressed by Jesus in the Sermon is not a lonely individual but a healed and praying community, and that the one we pray to is not a long-ago and faraway Jesus of Nazareth but our living Lord and Friend.
1. Francis, the Ethicist—This chapter provides an overview of the moral theology positions and commitments of Pope Francis. In non-technical language, it explains the methods by which Pope Francis moves from premises to conclusions as he appeals to ethical values and proposes teachings and practices embodying mercy and justice for the church and world. 2. Francis, the Discerner—On display in all his moral teachings and ethical leadership is the rootedness of Francis in the Ignatian practice of discernment. This chapter explains several key dimensions of discernment as practiced in the Jesuit tradition of the Spiritual Exercises and through the motifs of dialogue and synodality. Case studies include the teachings of Francis on the themes of healthy family life and the environment, where the actions he took and the documents he produced (Amoris Laetitia and Laudato Si’) display his Ignatian heritage in profound and illuminating ways. 3. Francis, the Communicator—This chapter documents several public relations strategies by which Francis connects with his global audience to communicate the urgency of enhanced social concern for the marginalized and the moral duties we owe to others in need. Francis displays remarkable communicative skill in conveying his core messages though such techniques as well-chosen papal visits and convening themed gatherings (such as the novel World Meetings of Popular Movements). Examining his choice of symbolic gestures and rhetorical flourishes sheds much light upon the social priorities of Francis. 4. Francis, the Advocate for Social Justice—While the previous chapters address the style and methodology by which Francis proceeds, this final chapter focuses on the substance of his ethical commitments to justice. These include an insistence on workers’ rights, championing the well being of refugees and trafficked persons, promoting peace building and challenging escalating economic inequality.
In Ethics of the Word beloved priest and author James F. Keenan, S.J., discusses the power of the Word in the Catholic Church. In the ongoing wake of the priest abuse scandals, Father Keenan argues that we need new ways to build trust and open communication in the Church on all levels_from bishops to parishioners. Keenan's engaging style blends stories, Scripture, and theology to show readers the importance of both speaking and listening. The book covers topics ranging from difficult confrontations to apologies to the language of faith, hope, and love.
With the recent publication of Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si', many people of faith have found themselves challenged to seek new ways of responding to serious ecological questions essential to the flourishing of all creatures. On Earth as It Is in Heaven brings together fifteen top scholars to consider pressing contemporary environmental concerns through the lens of Catholic theology.Drawing from ancient Christian sources, the contributors delve into such diverse topics as equitable food distribution, responsible procreation, land stewardship, evolutionary theodicy, and poverty and providence. A concluding essay addresses the liturgy as the space in which all creation is consecrated before the cross of Christ. Allowing the earliest Church Fathers and voices from the Christian tradition to speak to our unique circumstances today, this engaging volume shows that ancient, creedal Christianity contains important insights into caring for God's creation.
This book is a thorough analysis and interpretation of chapters 5 and 6 of Lumen gentium. It begins with ‘The Long Background,’ the story of the religious life from the beginning, focussing on the tension between the Religious and the Secular clergy that became the dominant source of tension in the debate over these two chapters at the Council. There were irresolvable differences between the two groups at the Council and the documents had to leave them unsettled. The book sets out to solve the problems on the universal call to holiness, the theology of the religious life, and the charismatic structure of the Church, which refers to the role of the Bishops and the Secular Clergy in the pursuit of holiness in the Church. The answers came as complete surprise to the author and propose novel approaches to all three issues.
Written in preparation for the 2010 centennial of the national organization Catholic Charities USA, Faith. Works. Wonders. introduces the mission, scope, and impact of Catholic Charities agencies in communities across the nation. This book also describes the work, motivation, and spirituality of the three hundred thousand staff, board members, and volunteers in local Charities agencies; this network composes the largest voluntary social service network in the country. In addition, the author draws on the broad experience of Catholic Charities and his long association with Charities to explain the sometimes-surprising positions of the organization and its leaders in our continuing national discussions on social welfare, faith-inspired organizations, and the appropriate roles of the private and public sectors in promoting the common good and caring for the least fortunate. Within the framework of the registered slogan of Catholic Charities of the archdiocese of Washington DC, the nine chapters in turn lay out Faith-the mission, identity, and power of Catholic Charities rooted in the Scriptures, experience, history, and Catholic thought. Works-the focus of agencies and people on service to people in need, advocacy and empowerment for justice and compassion, and "convening" religious and civic partners to create a better society. Wonders-the who, what, and why of volunteers; the quest for quality and innovation; the stance of determined pluralism in the Church community and public square; and the miracle of virtue and spirituality born in the service of others. Appendices provide 1) an outline of the history of Catholic Charities in the USA dating back to 1727 in the author's hometown of New Orleans, and 2) the principles developed by Catholic Charities and other voluntary-sector leaders for the protection of the sector in this country.
This book applies a novel method of critical reading of Lumen Gentium and Mystici Corporis in combination with redaction-historical analysis to channel the Second Vatican Council’s modest attempts at pneumatological renewal into a more open and receptive faith practice and theology.
To many modern people, apatheia (being "without suffering"/"without passion") sounds like cold-heartedness and indifference to others, a condition to be avoided. However, in the classical world and for many in the historic Christian church it was a spiritual state to aspire to. What exactly is apatheia? What is its origin? How has it been used in spiritual writings throughout the centuries of Christian practice? And how may it help us today to articulate a Christian understanding of the soul's spiritual well-being? The central aim of the book is twofold: to rediscover the meaning and function of the Greek term apatheia as it was understood and employed by the Stoics in their philosophical and religious writings, and to explore how the theologians of the church--Origen, Evagrius, John Cassian, Maximus, and Ignatius of Loyola--interpreted apatheia for their spiritual practice. Nguyen argues that the concept of apatheia in the Christian spiritual tradition connotes the state of "spiritual peace" or "well-being" of the human soul wherein excessive and negative emotions--such as lust, excessive desire for food and drink, anger, envy, resentment, self-love, and pride--are replaced by reasonable desires, love, and humility.
Flannery O'Connor is considered one of America's greatest fiction writers. The immensely talented Robert Giroux, editor-in-chief of Harcourt, Brace & Company and later of Farrar, Straus; Giroux, was her devoted friend and admirer. He edited her three books published during her lifetime, plus Everything that Rises Must Converge, which she completed just before she died in 1964 at the age of thirty-nine, the posthumous The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor, and the subsequent award-winning collection of her letters titled The Habit of Being. When poet Robert Lowell first introduced O'Connor to Giroux in March 1949, she could not have imagined the impact that meeting would have on her life or on the landscape of postwar American literature. Flannery O'Connor and Robert Giroux: A Publishing Partnership sheds new light on an area of Flannery O’Connor’s life—her relationship with her editors—that has not been well documented or narrated by critics and biographers. Impressively researched and rich in biographical details, this book chronicles Giroux’s and O’Connor’s personal and professional relationship, not omitting their circle of friends and fellow writers, including Robert Lowell, Caroline Gordon, Sally and Robert Fitzgerald, Allen Tate, Thomas Merton, and Robert Penn Warren. As Patrick Samway explains, Giroux guided O'Connor to become an internationally acclaimed writer of fiction and nonfiction, especially during the years when she suffered from lupus at her home in Milledgeville, Georgia, a disease that eventually proved fatal. Excerpts from their correspondence, some of which are published here for the first time, reveal how much of Giroux's work as editor was accomplished through his letters to Milledgeville. They are gracious, discerning, and appreciative, just when they needed to be. In Father Samway's portrait of O'Connor as an extraordinarily dedicated writer and businesswoman, she emerges as savvy, pragmatic, focused, and determined. This engrossing account of O'Connor's publishing history will interest, in addition to O'Connor's fans, all readers and students of American literature.
This book proposes to offer a solution to the tension in the Church around the teaching of Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae that continues to this day. The book covers the dissent that began immediately and develops a theology of magisterium that justifies dissent from non-infallible teaching in the Church. The book then goes on to examine the encyclical and reaches the conclusion that Pope Paul was correct in his judgment on the substantive issue but that there is a flaw in the reasoning of the encyclical that explains, at least in part, the on-going dissent.
The author defines faithjustice as “a passionate virtue which disposes citizens to become involved in the greater and lesser societies around themselves in order to create communities where human dignity is protected and enhanced, the gifts of creation are shared for the common good, and the poor are treated with respect and a special love.” He says it is in the end “a habit of the believing heart.” Against the backdrop of the author’s explicit experiences as a southerner, lawyer, priest, and Jesuit, this book expounds on the meaning of faithjustice, starting with the biblical grounding. It then traverses the full breadth of historical developments in the Catholic Christian community for more than 200 years and elucidates the meaning of faithjustice in our contemporary context. Underlining all this is the author’s conviction that only people who are living out faithjustice commitments can promote the truth about the necessity of solidarity and counter the pernicious mistrust that creates division in society. This updated edition includes new materials on creation and the jubilee tradition and on the parables of Jesus; the writings of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis and other social teaching documents from the past twenty years; and updated economic, racial, and social data and analysis in light of the justice tradition.
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