When it appears to the Almighty that His Heavenly World is going to "hell in a hand basket" because newly-departed souls are finding their way to Lucifers domain rather than His Kingdom, He believes it is time for a change. Realizing He and the Devil are both vying for the same pool of dearly departed souls, He decides to reengineer His Heavenly "business processes" using, of all things, a county government infrastructure as His new model! As Heaven continues to chart its new direction into the 21st Century and angels and others unite in the cause, the devilish antics of The Prince of Darkness soon threaten His new plan and the inner sanctum of His spiritual world. Understanding full well that His continued path might ignite a war of the worlds between Him and the devil, He still proceeds with His Vision while bracing Himself for the test of wills and the exhibition of good-versus-evil events that inevitably will follow. Superbly funny, delightfully quirky, identifiably realistic, and often humanly poignant, Heavenly Business is a light-hearted and entertaining work of general fiction with magical realism that also brings together a young woman and a young man. But while the love story's premise might seem to be ordinary, the tale takes the reader on an extraordinary journey through a series of events that unites the celestial and earthly spheres to make this match-made-in-heaven love affair happen according to destiny. The story's endearing characters engage in bountiful banter and cut-above-the-rest dialogue about life, love, death, and the afterworlds of heaven and hell as they work as a team to bring the story to its heavenly conclusion.

An intriguing visual history of the veneration in European churches and monasteries of bejeweled and decorated skeletons Death has never looked so beautiful. The fully articulated skeleton of a female saint, dressed in an intricate costume of silk brocade and gold lace, withered fingers glittering with colorful rubies, emeralds, and pearls—this is only one of the specially photographed relics featured in Heavenly Bodies. In 1578 news came of the discovery in Rome of a labyrinth of underground tombs, which were thought to hold the remains of thousands of early Christian martyrs. Skeletons of these supposed saints were subsequently sent to Catholic churches and religious houses in German-speaking Europe to replace holy relics that had been destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The skeletons, known as “the catacomb saints,” were carefully reassembled, richly dressed in fantastic costumes, wigs, crowns, jewels, and armor, and posed in elaborate displays inside churches and shrines as reminders to the faithful of the heavenly treasures that awaited them after death. Paul Koudounaris gained unprecedented access to religious institutions to reveal these fascinating historical artifacts. Hidden for over a century as Western attitudes toward both the worship of holy relics and death itself changed, some of these ornamented skeletons appear in publication here for the first time.

St. Birgitta of Sweden was one of the most charismatic and influential female visionaries of the later Middle Ages. Her revelations influenced the spiritual lives of many individuals including Martin Luther. Interest in Birgitta has grown recently and she is now admired as a powerful voice and prophet of reform.