The Christian State Of Life

This book, one of von Balthasar's masterworks, is a profound meditation on the Christian's choice of a state of life according to God's will. It discusses the lay, religious, and priestly states of life, and examines the ways in which we recognize and respond to the call of God. Written in a deeply Ignatian spirit, the book provides a comprehensive meditation on Saint Ignatius' ""Call of Christ"" and demonstrates that we must answer Christ's call if we want ""to give greater proof of our love"". The goal of this meditation is to understand why the act of choosing a state of life is possible and necessary-so that we can arrive at the perfection of Christian love in whatever state or way of life God may grant us to choose. It affirms that the act of choosing a Christian state of life is found in the Gospels and emanates from the personal meeting of the believer with Jesus Christ. Among the topics in this book are the following: The Great Commandment, Creation and Service, Grace and Mission, Image and Truth, The Nature of the Call, and The Historical Actuality of the Call. ""A milestone in the Catholic theology of vocation. This book could change your life."" - America

The more popular, practical counterpart to Hans Urs von Balthasar's own book of the same title, this book plumbs the depths of what it means to be a Christian.

We're all going to die. Yet in our medically advanced, technological age, many of us see death as a distant reality--something that happens only at the end of a long life or to other people. In The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings urges Christians to resist that view. Instead, he calls us to embrace our mortality in our daily life and faith. This is the journey of genuine discipleship, Billings says: following the crucified and resurrected Lord in a world of distraction and false hopes. Drawing on his experience as a professor and father living with incurable cancer, Billings offers a personal yet deeply theological account of the gospel's expansive hope for small, mortal creatures. Artfully weaving rich theology with powerful narrative, Billings writes for church leaders and laypeople alike. Whether we are young or old, reeling from loss or clinging to our own prosperity, this book challenges us to walk a strange but wondrous path: in the midst of joy and lament, to receive mortal limits as a gift, an opportunity to give ourselves over to the Lord of life.

"The sole purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive meditation on the foundations and background of St. Ignatius' contemplation on the 'call of Christ', on the answer we must give if we want 'to give great proof of our love' and on the choice explicitly demanded of us: either to follow Christ our Lord to the 'first state of life, which is that of observing the commandments', of which he has given us an example by his obedience to his parents; or to follow him to 'the second state, which is that of evangelical perfection', of which he has given us an example by leaving his family 'to devote himself exclusively to the service of his eternal Father'. And this so that we can 'arrive at perfection' -- which is, of course, the perfection of Christian love -- 'in whatever state or way of life God our Lord may grant us to choose...The goal of our meditation is to understand why this act of choosing a 'state or way of life' 'within our Holy Mother, the hierarchical Church' is possible and necessary in the first place, and why there should be any either-or since both ways are capable of leading us to the same 'perfection of love', just as the same act, viewed from different perspectives, can be either absolute or relative." [Preface].

The more popular, practical counterpart to Hans Urs von Balthasar's own book of the same title, this book plumbs the depths of what it means to be a Christian.

The Christian State of Life is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1886. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

Drawn from a rich heritage, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to become more like Christ and grow in character and maturity. Now updated and revised to equip a new generation of readers, this anniversary edition features in-depth discussions on each of the key disciplines.

Rev. B.F. Morris's magnum opus, the Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, published in 1864, is nearly impossible to find. The debate over America's Christian heritage ends with this book. Morris leaves no historical document unturned in discovering America's rich Christian heritage, and he accomplished all of his detailed research 140 years ago before there were computers! No other work compares to it. We've never seen an original copy of this massive work. A few years ago, a well-known conservative publishing company considered printing the imposing book. For undisclosed reasons, the publisher declined. Two factors probably contributed to the decision: the overtly Christian character of the material and the exorbitant cost that would go into its production. American Vision is the exclusive distributor of an expertly scanned copy all 831 pages and 26 chapters of Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States. The format is PDF. If you like, the book can be printed in its entirety or one page at a time. The choice is yours.