Pairing scriptural insights with narratives of the truth-tellers that came before us, Sister Joan offers a compelling vision for readers to combat complacency and to propel ourselves toward creating a world of justice, freedom, peace, and empowerment.

For the weary, the cranky, and the fearful, this energizing message invites us to participate in a vision for a world greater than the one we find ourselves in today. This is spirituality in action; this is practical and powerful activism for our times.

Praise for The Time Is Now

For decades Chittister has been a prolific author and advocate for women and social justice inside and outside the realm of the Catholic Church. Here she shares her perspective on the current state of equity, social justice, and the environment and calls on all Christians to explore the traits of prophets, many of which they can find within themselves . . . offering motivation as well as ways to accomplish change.--Booklist

A series of short essays to encourage and refresh the spirit of activists . . . applicable to both progressive and conservative Christians. Will appeal to spiritual readers seeking an encouraging book for social justice advocacy.--Library Journal (starred review)

Wise and enduring spiritual guidelines for everyday living -- as relevant today as when The Rule was originally conceived by St. Benedict in fifth century Rome.

Essential reading for anyone wishing to find the compass of their heart and the wellspring from which to live fully.--Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and New York Times bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart

In every beating heart is a silent undercurrent that calls each of us to a place unknown, to the vision of a wiser life, to become what I feel I must be--but cannot name. So begins Sister Joan Chittister's words on monasticism, offering a way of living and seeing life that brings deep human satisfaction. Amid the astounding disruptions of normalcy that have unfolded in our world, Sister Joan calls all of us to cultivate the spiritual seeker within, however that may look across our diverse journeys: We can depend only on the depth of the spiritual well in us. The well is the only thing that can save us from the fear of our own frailty.

This book carries the weight and wisdom of the monastic spiritual tradition into the twenty-first century. Sister Joan leans into Saint Benedict, who, as a young man in the sixth century, sought moral integrity in the face of an empire not by conquering or overpowering the empire but by simply living an ordinary life extraordinarily well. This same monastic mindset can help us grow in wisdom, equanimity, and strength of soul as we seek restoration and renewal both at home and in the world.

At a time when people around the world are bearing witness to human frailty--and, simultaneously, the endurance of the human spirit--The Monastic Heart invites readers of all walks to welcome this end of certainty and embrace a new beginning of our faith. Without stepping foot in a monastery, we can become, like those before us, a deeper, freer self, a richer soul--and, as a result, a true monastic, so that in all things God may be glorified.

A journey of the soul through the map of Christian time.

The liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November, is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ.

What may at first seem to be simply an arbitrary arrangement of ancient holy days, or liturgical seasons, this book explains their essential relationship to one another and their ongoing meaning to us today. It is an excursion into life from the Christian perspective, from the viewpoint of those who set out not only to follow Jesus but to live and think as Jesus did.

And it proposes to help us to year after year immerse ourselves into the sense and substance of the Christian life until, eventually, we become what we say we are--followers of Jesus all the way to the heart of God. It is an adventure in human growth; it is an exercise in spiritual ripening.

A volume in the eight book classic series, The Ancient Practices, with a foreword by Phyllis Tickle, General Editor.

Building on the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God and on the story of her own battle with life-changing disappointment, Sister Joan Chittister deftly explores the landscape of suffering and hope, considering along the way such wide-ranging topics as consumerism, technology, grief, the role of women in the Catholic Church, and the events of September 11, 2001. We struggle, she says, against change, isolation, darkness, fear, powerlessness, vulnerability, exhaustion, and scarring; and while these struggles sometimes seem insurmountable, we can emerge from them with the gifts of conversion, detachment, faith, courage, surrender, limitations, endurance, transformation, and (perhaps most important) hope. Each of these struggles and gifts is discussed in a chapter of its own.

Meant to help readers cope with their own suffering and disappointment, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope 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. It is an invitation to look again at the struggles of life in order that we might remember how to recognize new life in our souls the next time our hearts turn again to clay.

Neither a self-help manual nor a book offering pat answers, but supremely practical and relevant, Chittister's Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope will richly reward those readers seeking solace in the empathic, wise, and accessible meditations of a fellow struggler.

But for one seeker in sixth-century Italy, for Benedict of Nursia, the spiritual life lay in simply living this life, our daily life, well. All of it. Every simple, single action of it. Benedict turned the ordinary into an experience of the extraordinary, a union with the sacred in the here and now. Benedict's Rule--his guide for communal living--and Benedictine spirituality are his enduring legacy.

The Monastery of the Heart is Joan Chittister's beautiful, practical guide for those who are looking for the rhythm of a better life in this time of social upheavals and global transformations. Anchored in Benedict's ancient Rule, rooted in its values, The Monastery of the Heart offers a fresh approach to spiritual living in the very center of our own world--without ever withdrawing from it. Written for seekers of any faith or none--for individuals, couples, families, and small groups--it is a gentle invitation to embrace the sacred in the everyday.

Contemporary political venues have put religious belief at the forefront of our thinking. Yet, we live in a world where religion has become a tool people can use to their advantage rather than a means of growing closer to God. In this revised edition of In Search of Belief, Sister Joan Chittister challenges readers to reflect upon whether they truly live what they say they believe or whether they have created their own images of God to suit whatever is convenient for their personal and/or social situations.

With a new foreword by Tom Roberts (National Catholic Reporter) and a new Introduction by the author, this fresh edition examines the Apostles' Creed phrase-by-phrase, offering challenging interpretations of its familiar themes and a provocative way of understanding--and expressing--its tenets.

232-page paperback

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.

A lovely blend of art and text, The Story of Ruth offers inspiration for women seeking wholeness and presents compelling devotional images for eyes and mind alike.

Very little in this world stays fresh and life-giving for 1,500 years. But when that happens we should ask ourselves why and what that had to do with us.

In this book, The Radical Christian Life: A Year with Saint Benedict, Joan Chittister encourages us to look at that question. In an introductory essay she examines how the insights and values of the sixth-century Visionary Saint Benedict can illuminate today's search for a meaningful life. Then she leads us through the year, reflecting on twelve stories from Benedict's life, anecdotes that give us glimpses into his soul. More than that, she draws from these stories daily thoughts for the development of our own spiritual lives in this day and age.

Each entry illuminates a spiritual quality we can cultivate, from Awareness to Zeal, Community to Interiority, Enlightenment to Yearning--and many more. Each open with a story from the desert mystics, then seques into a practical application of that value for our tumultuous times.

Readers hungry for ancient wisdom that is ever new will find it in abundance in Illuminated Life

In this inviting book Joan Chittister presents the insights of others from different cultures throughout history who have grappled with the same kinds of life questions that plague us here and now. Through stories and wisdom literature from major religious traditions -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- Chittister highlights practical, universal truths and deftly shows how each spiritual tradition brings a special gift to the art of living a meaningful, spiritually aware life.

A rich exploration of spirituality, Welcome to the Wisdom of the World addresses some of our most challenging issues -- ambition, security, romance, abandonment, failure, and more -- acknowledging the truth we can find in the wisdom of our human past and the connections we can make through our differences. This is a book for anyone who wants to grow spiritually and to become more fully human.