The Hungry Soul

Originally published: New York: Free Press; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, c1994. With new foreword.

After a week of hearing ghostly noises, a man is visited in his home by the spirit of his mother, dead for three decades. She reproaches him for his dissolute life and begs him to have Masses said in her name. Then she lays her hand on his sleeve, leaving an indelible burn mark, and departs... A Lutheran minister, no believer in Purgatory, is the puzzled recipient of repeated visitations from "demons" who come to him seeking prayer, consolation, and refuge in his little German church. But pity for the poor spirits overcomes the man's skepticism, and he marvels at what kind of departed souls could belong to Christ and yet suffer still... Hungry Souls recounts these stories and many others trustworthy, Church-verified accounts of earthly visitations from the dead in Purgatory. Accompanying these accounts are images from the "Museum of Purgatory" in Rome, which contains relics of encounters with the Holy Souls, including numerous evidences of hand prints burned into clothing and books; burn marks that cannot be explained by natural means or duplicated by artificial ones. Riveting!

Sara Hagerty masterfully draws from her own story of spiritual and physical barrenness to birth in readers a new longing for God. With exquisite storytelling and reflection, Hagerty guides readers to a tender place that God is holding just for them—a place where he shapes the bitterness of lost expectations into deep, new places of knowing Him. In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch. In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well Whatever lost expectations readers are facing—in family, career, singleness, or marriage—Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet will bring them closer to a God who longs for them to know him more. What does it look like to know God’s nearness when life breaks? What does it mean to receive his life when earthly life remains barren? How can God turn the bitterness of unmet desire into new flavors of joy? With exquisite storytelling and reflection, Hagerty brings readers back to hope, back to healing, back to a place that God is holding for them alone—a place where the unseen is more real than what the eye can perceive. A place where every bitter thing is sweet.

A smorgasbord of ideas, stories, and practical suggestions on how to be spiritual companions to young people, sharing the richness of our faith while riding along on the awesome—and often surprising—journeys of those in our spiritual care.

A handbook on how to overcome binge eating, emotional eating and food obsession

The basis for the PBS Special, What Are You Hungry For? is the breakthrough book that can bring weight under effortless control by linking it to personal fulfillment in every area of a reader's life. After promoting this message worldwide for thirty years, bestselling author Deepak Chopra focuses on the huge problem of weight control in America with exciting new concepts. What are you hungry for? Food? Love? Self-esteem? Peace? In this manual for "higher health," based on the latest findings in both mainstream and alternative medicine, Deepak Chopra creates a vision of weight loss based on a deeper awareness of why people overeat - because they are trying to find satisfaction and wind up using food as a substitute for real fulfillment. Repudiating the failed approaches of crash dieting and all forms of deprivation, Chopra's new book aims directly at the problem of finding fulfillment. When that problem is solved, he argues, normal eating falls into place automatically, and the entire system of mind and body achieves what it really desires. “Everyone’s life story is complicated, and the best intentions go astray because people find it hard to change,” writes Chopra. “Bad habits, like bad memories, stick around stubbornly when we wish they’d go away. But you have a great motivation working for you, which is your desire for happiness. I define happiness as the state of fulfillment, and everyone wants to be fulfilled. If you keep your eye on this, your most basic motivation, then the choices you make come down to a single question: “What am I hungry for?” Your true desire will lead you in the right direction. False desires lead in the wrong direction.” Wherever you are in life, this book will help point you in that right direction.

Every person-no matter how famous or obscure, no matter how rich or poor they might be-has (at some point) felt empty inside. Every person is hungry in a way that relationships, children, and friends cannot fill. Every person feels hopeless at some point. Are you prepared to help them? Maybe it is you who feels empty or hopeless yourself. The answer to every question can be found in God's Word. This book is written to help you explore that dark chasm between you and perfect contentment, and to help you tackle life's toughest questions. I am convinced that it is God's desire for every believer to be involved in the ministry of restoration. My prayer is that you will read this book and become a more effective soul-winner and life-changer-feasting on the fruit of the Holy Spirit and feeding hungry souls. Feeding the Hungry Soul will give you the foundation for understanding: - The voids that exist in our lives - What they are (and are not) - How they give place to the Devil - How to destroy these voids Scripturally

Winner of a first-place award in spirituality from the Catholic Media Association. Renowned scholar Susan Muto presents her spiritual legacy with a rich introduction to thirty Christian masters. These voices from the ancient, medieval, and modern Church have been the focus of Muto’s work for more than forty years and the trusted guides of her own spiritual life. Masters such as Benedict of Nursia, Clare of Assisi, Thomas Merton, and Teresa of Avila will help answer your most pressing spiritual questions and satisfy the deepest cravings of your heart. From the simplicity and solitude of the desert mystics and other ancient masters to the practicality and prayerfulness of medieval saints such as Julian of Norwich and Catherine of Siena to the relatable sensibilities of modern masters such as Evelyn Underhill and Thomas Merton, Susan Muto—executive director of the Epiphany Association and dean of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality—draws deeply from the well of the Christian spiritual tradition to address some of our most pressing spiritual hungers: The Desert Fathers teach us how to hear God above the noise of everyday life. Augustine of Hippo acknowledges the restlessness that precedes spiritual growth. Julian of Norwich reflects on the universality and purpose of suffering. Jean-Pierre de Caussade explores what it means to have a heart fully surrendered to God. Thérѐse of Lisieux shares her little way of spiritual childhood. In each chapter, Muto introduces a spiritual master who she finds helpful in meeting a particular condition or challenge commonly faced in the Christian life and places that master within the historical and spiritual contexts of their time. Muto then introduces a classic work associated with that master, identifying key themes or principles to apply to your own life. Each chapter concludes with reflection questions to ponder individually or discuss in a group setting. Rich yet accessible, this book will fortify your soul with time-tested spiritual insight and practical wisdom so you can enter more deeply into the mystery of spiritual union with God.