Jon M. Sweeney

Jon Sweeney, a self-described "evolved Protestant" and noted religious writer, has long been fascinated by the Catholic Church. However, it wasn't until he was a young missionary in the Philippines that he truly began to understand the Church's traditions, mysteries, and religious beliefs and its hold on those who follow the tradition. As he explains, Catholic spirituality is all about responding to the fundamental mystery of Jesus, the incarnation, and what it all meant in the beginning as well as what it means today. In Almost Catholic, Sweeney offers an appreciation of Catholicism, weaving in the story of his own explorations with those of others who have also been attracted to this tradition. He finds himself drawn to the Church's ancient and medieval traditions out of a desire to connect with the deepest and widest paths on the way. Two millennia of saints and practices and teachings and mystery form a connection for him to the very beginnings of ...

Sweeney, who has written several popular histories of religious movements and figures, presents a dual biography conveying the intense religious spirit of the medieval world while describing a platonic friendship of two kindred souls. Francis, of course, had an immense and enduring impact on Christianity with his devotion to compassion, simplicity, and the preaching of the Gospels. Clare, also from Assisi, was 12 years younger than Francis and deeply moved by his preaching. She consciously rejected the affectations of her upper-class friends and family, disdaining fine clothes and other ostentatious displays of wealth. Like Francis, she strove to imitate the life of Jesus by living a life of poverty combined with service to humanity. Sweeney's story is reverent and inspiring, and it also sheds light on many aspects of medieval society that are often ignored in religious tracts, including the corruption of the clergy, schisms within the early Franciscan movement, and the role of women in religious reform movements. This work will be particularly appealing to religious laypeople, but general readers can also find much of value here.

Written over five centuries ago by Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ has been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible. It has been acclaimed by countless readers as one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces ever written. No book except the Bible points the way so clearly to inward peace and increased faith in God: "Many words do not satisfy the soul, but a good life comforts the mind, and a pure conscience inspires confidence in God." John Wesley considered it to be of such value to spiritual growth, and the best summary of the Christian life, that he personally translated it for the use of his followers.

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"The poems found here are not a translation , narrowly construed, but rather our attempts at voicing -- or re-voicing -- his thought. They take the first-person confessional form, with the occasional self-reflective poem written as if by Eckhart to himself."--Page 2.

Popular historian and award-winning author Jon M. Sweeney relates the untold story of St. Francis's friendship with Elias of Cortona, the man who helped him build the Franciscan movement. Sweeney uses the complexities of their relationship in a narrative of how their efforts changed the world and how Elias's enthusiasm almost betrayed the ideals of his friend. Blending history and biography, Sweeney reveals how Francis and Elias rebuilt churches, aided lepers, and entertained as "God's troubadours" to the delight of everyday people who had grown tired of a remote and tumultuous Church. At the height of their spiritual renaissance, however, Elias became "the devil" to many of the other friars; they believed him to be a traitor to their ideals. After Francis's premature death, the movement fractured. Scorned by most of the Franciscan leadership, Elias followed a path that would leave him a lonely, broken man. Sweeney shows how Elias's undoing was rooted in his attempts to honor his old friend.

A Catholic writer and a Reconstructionist rabbi discuss their interfaith family and provides guidance and advice on how interfaith relationships affect dating, weddings, holidays, family functions, and raising children.

Twenty-one simple ways of using hands to speak to God to enrich devotion and ritual are presented here in word and image. Spiritual traditions represented include Anglican, Sufi, Zen, Roman Catholic, Yoga, Shaker, Hindu, Jewish, Pentecostal, and Eastern Orthodox. 21 photos.

First published in France in 1894 and out of print for several decades, Paul Sabatier's biography of Francis of Assisi was considered the first modern account of the saint, sifting through layers of myth and legend to discover the flawed but extraordinary man who inspired so many people. Now, Sabatier's text is dusted off for a contemporary audience. Jon Sweeney's The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of Saint Francis, by Paul Sabatier, offers an excellent introduction to the text, helpful sidebars and notes and fascinating illustrations, not only to introduce readers to the saint but to aid them in engaging "personally with Francis, the human being."