Product Description: In this beautiful book best-selling author Joan Chittister and celebrated artist John August Swanson together reclaim the ancient story of Ruth as a model for contemporary women seeking a fully spiritual life.In concert with Swanson's rich and evocative art, Chittister's graceful prose explores, through this powerful biblical story, a series of twelve defining moments in every woman's life ― moments of loss, change, transformation, aging, independence, respect, recognition, insight, empowerment, selfdefinition, invisibility, and fulfillment...read more

Product Description: Building on the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God and on the story of her own battle with life-changing disappointment, Sister Joan explores the landscape of suffering and hope. Meant to help readers cope with their own suffering and disappointment, this book is, in Chittister's words, "an anatomy of struggle and an account of the way hope grows in us, despite our moments of darkness, regardless of our regular bouts of depression...read more

Product Description: With rare skill, Sr. Joan explores the sacred dimension of friendship through the lens of faith, tradition, Scripture, and the often-overlooked experience of women. Interwoven with the stunning icons of Benedictine oblate Marcie Bircher, she recovers are reclaims the witness and wisdom of such women as Lydia, Prisca, Phoebe, Martha, Veronica, Elizabeth, Anne, Mary Magdalene, and those gathered at the foot of Christ...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

What makes a saint? Why do we need them? For Joan Chittister, saints are "people like ourselves, reachable figures, who have lived well through situations similar to our own as proof that we too, in all of our smallness, can stretch ourselves to the limits of the best in us. We call them saints, but maybe we should call them "heroes" or stars or icons." In them are reflected the many facets of the face of God.In A Passion for Life the icons are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, married and single, religious and lay, from different times and diverse cultures. They are activists and mystics, their holiness recognized by due process, or acclaimed by those who lived in the shadow of their lives. Like us, they are not without flaws, but so luminous in their virtues as to be a light for the ages.Joan Chittister presents some of these men and women to us, reveals their special gifts, encourages us to identify with them, and to follow their example. Robert Lentz's many stunning icons provide a third dimension for the reader, to feast the eye as well as the soul. A Passion for Life is a book of saints for our own time, and for all time.

Product Description: Benedictine Sister and prominent author and speaker Joan Chittister contends that Benedictine spirituality is the most effective way to address the core issues of the 21st century: stewardship, relationships, authority, community, balance, work, simplicity, prayer, and spiritual and psychological development...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)