Howard Thurman was an influential American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. Strongly influenced by his grandmother, a former slave, who raised him and a Quaker mystic under whom he studied, Thurman adopted a philosophy of activism rooted in faith, guided by spirit, and maintained in peace. Editor Donna Schaper selects forty inspiring passages from the works of this spiritual advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to accompany readers on their own spiritual journeys. Ideal for traveling through the seasons of Advent and Lent.

A 40-Day Journey with Gerard Manley Hopkins introduces the poetry of the 19th century English Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889). His poetry speaks to contemporary Christians about spiritual conversion, consolation, and desolation. Through his poetry, Hopkins (1) rejoices in a personal experience of the God we know, love, and serve through faith in Jesus Christ, (2) celebrates the divine life manifest in creation, and (3) laments the existential and spiritual despair of the faithful disciple feeling abandoned by God.

This volume invites readers to take a spiritual journey with Madeleine LEngle, Newbury Award-winning author who wrote dozens of books for children and adults. In addition to novels and poetry, LEngle wrote many non-fiction works, including the autobiographical Crosswicks Journals and other explorations of the subjects of faith and art. Drawing from his published works, series editor Henry French here selects 40 inspiring passages from LEngles writings that reflect her spiritual journey and invites readers to explore their own spirituality under the guidance of this noted author, educator, and activist.

Perfect for use during Advent or Lent, these volumes includes passages from Scripture and opportunities for reflection and prayer.

In this slim volume, the legendary wisdom of this American poet, educator, historian, actress, director, and civil-rights activist is clearly evident in her own words. Editor Schaper has selected 40 inspiring passages for readers to ponder while taking a spiritual journey with Angelou.

* Includes passages from Scripture and opportunities to reflect and pray * Ideal for use during Advent or Lent

With Exiles, Ron Hansen tells the story of a notorious shipwreck that prompted Gerard Manley Hopkins to break years of "elected silence" with an outpouring of dazzling poetry. In December 1875 the steamship Deutschland left Bremen, bound for England and then America. On board were five young nuns who, exiled by Bismarck's laws against Catholic religious orders, were going to begin their lives anew in Missouri. Early one morning, the ship ran aground in the Thames and more than sixty lives were lost—including those of the five nuns. Hopkins was a Jesuit seminarian in Wales, and he was so moved by the news of the shipwreck that he wrote a grand poem about it, his first serious work since abandoning a literary career at Oxford to become a priest. He too would die young, an exile from the literary world. But as Hansen's gorgeously written account of Hopkins's life makes clear, he fulfilled his calling. Combining a thrilling tragedy at sea with the seeming shipwreck of Hopkins's own life, Exiles joins Hansen's Mariette in Ecstasy (called "an astonishingly deft and provocative novel" by The New York Times) as a novel that dramatizes the passionate inner search of religious life and makes it accessible to us in the way that only great art can.