Teaching The Sacred Art

An exploration of the hopes, fears, joys, frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds every day. Includes stories of many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, reflection questions, practices and activities to help you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject.

Authentic teaching is messy, exciting, frustrating, joyful, challenging―and sacred. "Through stories, information and reflection, we [will look] inward, going more deeply into the discovery of who we are, not only as teachers but also as women and men for whom teaching is only a part of life. I believe the deepest calling ... is the call to be who we truly are." ―from Chapter Seven, “Teaching Who We Are” Beloved teacher Rev. Jane E. Vennard leads an inner exploration of the hopes and fears, joys and frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds―teachers like you―every day. Drawing on her own experience as well as stories from many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, she inspires you to reconnect to your original desire to open minds and hearts to learning. With reflection questions, practices and activities, she helps you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject, thus recognizing how teaching is a sacred art.

Authentic teaching is messy, exciting, frustrating, joyful, challenging - and sacred. ''Through stories, information and reflection, we [will look] inward, going more deeply into the discovery of who we are, not only as teachers but also as women and men for whom teaching is only a part of life. I believe the deepest calling ... is the call to be who we truly are.'' - from Chapter Seven, ''Teaching Who We Are'' Beloved teacher Jane E. Vennard leads an inner exploration of the hopes and fears, joys and frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds - teachers like you - every day. Drawing on her own experience as well as stories from many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, she inspires you to reconnect to your original desire to open minds and hearts to learning. With reflection questions, practices and activities, she helps you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject, thus recognizing how teaching is a sacred art.

Authentic teaching is messy, exciting, frustrating, joyful, challenging - and sacred. ''Through stories, information and reflection, we [will look] inward, going more deeply into the discovery of who we are, not only as teachers but also as women and men for whom teaching is only a part of life. I believe the deepest calling â ] is the call to be who we truly are.'' - from Chapter Seven, ''Teaching Who We Are'' Beloved teacher Jane E. Vennard leads an inner exploration of the hopes and fears, joys and frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds - teachers like you - every day. Drawing on her own experience as well as stories from many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, she inspires you to reconnect to your original desire to open minds and hearts to learning. With reflection questions, practices and activities, she helps you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject, thus recognizing how teaching is a sacred art.

Practical tips and inspiring thoughts for living a life of abundance and spirit-filled generosity. Giving of your resources is a profound act that can change your life and the lives of those around you. With gentleness and wisdom, this practical guide outlines the ways in which cultivating a lifestyle of generosity can be a source of personal transformation, spiritual renewal and deep joy. You will learn about: Giving as Worship—how the major faith traditions offer reverence through giving Giving as Stewardship—managing resources for maximum benefit Giving as Charity—providing for others out of a sense of compassion Giving as Justice—creating righteous equality in our world

Examines how each of the major religions looks at death by including stories, teachings, and rituals that present a comparative religious meaning of death and afterlife. Written in textbook style with journal exercises at the end of each chapter. +

In The Way of Beauty, David Clayton describes how a true Catholic education is both a program of liturgical catechesis and an inculturation that aims for the supernatural transformation of the person so that he can in turn transfigure the whole culture through the divine beauty of his daily action. There is no human activity, no matter how mundane, that cannot be enhanced by this formation in beauty. Such enhanced activity then resonates in harmony with the common good and, through its beauty, draws all people to the Church--and ultimately to the worship of God in the Sacred Liturgy. The Way of Beauty will be of profound interest not only to artists, architects, and composers, but also to educators, who can apply its principles in home and classroom for the formation and education of children and students of all ages and at all levels--family, homeschooling, high school, college, and university. "Since the good, the true, and the beautiful are a manifestation of the Trinity, it is always a grievous fault to leave beauty out of any discussion of the relationship between faith and reason. This being so, I am thrilled at the way David Clayton illustrates how beauty stands in eternal communion with the good and the true."--JOSEPH PEARCE, Aquinas College "In spite of the great proclamation that the sacred liturgy is the font and apex of all we are about as Catholics, fifty years after the Council we still seem far from seeing and living this truth in all its fullness. Drawing upon years of experience as artist and teacher, David Clayton thoroughly unpacks this truth and shows, with an impressive range of examples, how it can and should play out every day in our schools, academic curricula, cultural endeavors, and practice of the fine arts. His treatment of the ways in which architecture, liturgy, and music reflect the mathematical ordering of the cosmos and the hierarchy of created being is illuminating and exciting. The Way of Beauty is a manifesto for the re-integration of the truth laid hold of in intellectual disciplines, the beauty aspired to in art and worship, and the good embodied in morals and manners. Ambitiously integrative yet highly practical, this book ought to be in the hands of every Catholic educator, pastor, and artist."--PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College "In The Way of Beauty, David Clayton offers us a mini-liberal arts education. The book is a counter-offensive against a culture that so often seems to have capitulated to a 'will to ugliness.' He shows us the power in beauty not just where we might expect it--in the visual arts and music--but in domains as diverse as math, theology, morality, physics, astronomy, cosmology, and liturgy. But more than that, his study of beauty makes clear the connection between liturgy, culture, and evangelization, and offers a way to reinvigorate our commitment to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the twenty-first century. I am grateful for this book and hope many will take its lessons to heart."--JAY W. RICHARDS, Catholic University of America "Every pope who has promoted the new evangelization has spoken about how essential 'the way of beauty' is in engaging the modern world with the Gospel. What is it about the experience of beauty that can arrest the heart, crack it open, and stir its deepest longings, leading us on a pilgrimage to God? David Clayton's book provides compelling answers."--CHRISTOPHER WEST, Founder and President of The Cor Project DAVID CLAYTON is an internationally acclaimed Catholic artist, teacher, and published writer on sacred art, liturgy, and culture. He was Fellow and Artist in Residence at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire from 2009 until May 2015 and is the founder of the Way of Beauty program, which has been taught for college credit, featured on television, and is now presented in this book.

North Sea Water in My Veins is a quest for the reconstruction of an indigenous or native spirituality of the Low Countries and covers pre-Christian material from the Netherlands, Belgium and the region just across the German border. Seeking out and documenting ancient gods and goddesses, practices and traditions, this book asks the question: is there enough material for such a reconstruction? The conclusion is a resounding yes!