For as long as Maureen Mary Mulldoon could remember, her destiny was to become a Catholic nun. With rosaries recited, novenas said, and candles lit in her honor, her Irish family prayed for her dedication to the church. Maureens aspirations became not of marriage and children, but of life in the convent. But within a few short years at St. Timothys Catholic School, the shy, freckle faced girl with unruly red curls soon begins to recognize the shortcomings of religious life. She finds the nuns black dresses hideous, the giant swinging rosary beads cumbersome, and the nuns somber personalities downright scary. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament could scare any adult, and when they belittle Maureen, critique her hair, and question her quiet disposition she begins to fill with guilt and shame. Maureen dreads parochial school, until she befriends Steven OHara. OHara the Scara brings an element of unpredictability, energy, and outspokenness that can only hail from a long bloodline of troublemakers. His courageous pranks cause Maureen to be both repelled and attracted to this devious boy. Over the years, Steven and Maureen develop a love/hate relationship and by the time they graduate the eighth grade, they realize their true affection for one another. At its heart, Habits, Hosts and the Holy Ghost captures long forgotten memories of attending a Catholic school in the 1960s. The stories are based on actual events experienced by the author and her fellow classmates. It is true confirmation of the humorous yet life changing experiences of anyone who might have heard about or survived the teachings of Catholic nuns.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON, EXACTLY LIKE GOD THE FATHER AND THE SON. SADLY, HE IS THE LEAST KNOWN OF THE TRINITY. YET, JESUS PUTS SUCH EMPHASIS ON HIM THAT MUST NOT ESCAPE HUMAN ATTENTION. FOR, TO KNOW GOD WITHOUT KNOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS TO KNOW GOD, ONLY IN PART.

AQUINAS AMONG THE PROTESTANTS This major new book provides an introduction to Thomas Aquinas’s influence on Protestantism. The editors, both noted commentators on Aquinas, bring together a group of influential scholars to demonstrate the ways that Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed thinkers have analyzed and used Thomas through the centuries. Later chapters also explore how today’s Protestants might appropriate the work of Aquinas to address a number of contemporary theological and philosophical issues. The authors set the record straight and disavow the widespread impression that Aquinas is an irrelevant figure for the history of Protestant thought. This assumption has dominated not only Protestant historiography but also Roman Catholic accounts of the Reformation and Protestant intellectual life. The book opens the possibility for contemporary reception, engagement, and critique and even intra-Protestant relations and includes: Information on the fruitful appropriation of Aquinas in Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed theologians over the centuries Important essays from leading scholars on the teachings of Aquinas New perspectives on Thomas Aquinas’s position as a towering figure in the history of Christian thought Aquinas Among the Protestants is a ground-breaking and interdenominational work for students and scholars of Thomas Aquinas and theology more generally.

A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that reframes everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog). A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with people with addiction on Vancouver’s skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions a much misunderstood condition by taking a compassionate approach to substance abuse and addiction recovery. In the same vein as Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts traces the root causes of addiction to childhood trauma and examines the pervasiveness of addiction in society. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout—and perhaps underpins—our society. It is not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects but rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs and behaviors of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. Dr. Maté argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and how they perpetuate the War on Drugs. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.

If the Bible says that the believer is more than a conqueror, why are many believers that say they love the Lord struggling with rejection, emotional disorder, the lust for power, possessions, prestige and sex? This book explores the seven habits of Holy Ghost-filled believers that empowers them to become victorious Christians.