"There are some people whom God takes and sets apart," observes Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl (1904–1964), but "there are others whom he leaves in the masses and whom he does not withdraw from the world. These are people who do ordinary jobs, who have an ordinary household or an ordinary single life. . . . We, the ordinary people of the streets, believe with all our might that this street, that this world where God has placed us, is, for us, the site of our holiness." French poet, social worker, and lay missionary Madeleine Delbrêl knew that Christ's unspeakable goodness touches the smallest, most forgotten corners of our everyday world—the laundry, the checkout counter, the commute. His word shines before us "while we walk in the street, while we do our work, while we peel our vegetables, while we wait for a phone call, while we sweep our floors. We see it glow between two of our neighbor's sentences and between two letters to write, when we wake up and when we go to sleep." Yet prayer alone gives us the eyes to see it. This book gathers together essays and notes written by Delbrêl during her most active years, giving peerless insights into the distinctive lay vocation in the Church. All men and women—married and unmarried—must follow the Holy Spirit into all that is true in this world, from the small talk around the coffeepot to the great silence of the Holy Eucharist. "The holy Church expects saints," she tells us, "and saints are those who love."

You can be Christ-like, with God's help. In simple, realistic terms, master teacher Keith Drury explains how every Christian can live a Christ-like life. He presents clear biblical insights and deals candidly with the obstacles that confront Christians in their everyday lives.

Holiness is not a special category, reserved only for a few select Christians. God intends for every Christian to live a holy life! In simple, practical terms Keith Drury explains how every Christian can live a Christ-like life. He presents clear biblical insight on the subject of holiness and deals candidly with obstacles such as deadlines, appointments, and obligations that confront Christians in their everyday lives. Holiness for Ordinary People is a message of hope, encouragement, and possibility. This revised anniversary edition includes new and expanded chapters!

Drury offers practical help for mastering the everyday issues in your spiritual life that add up to real life change. Let this book explain how to make things right with others, to forgive those who have hurt you, to conquer impure thoughts, to overcome pride and selfish ambition, to learn to be totally honest and transparent, and to live up to all you know to be right. Grow spiritually one day at a time.

We, the Ordinary People of the Streets comprises the powerful reflections by Madeleine Delbrêl (1904-1964), an award-winning poet, writer, and Catholic layperson whose conviction and insight led her to a life of social work in the atheistic, Communist-dominated city of Ivry-sur-Seine, France. Delbrêl draws from her own experiences living in Ivry, witnessing to the possibility of a life at once rooted radically in the church and fully engaged in the world. This posthumously published collection spans Delbrêl's life, from a piece she wrote as a seventeen-year-old atheist to her later Christian works. Her passionate essays explore the Christian's role in a secular society, the difficulty of faith in an atheistic environment, the need for prayer, the centrality of the church, and the fundamental importance of loving both God and our neighbors.

In today's world we need Christians and churches willing to break out of the normal patterns of religion and tradition to impact and reach the world. This work provides a strong case for the apostolic culture as a criterion for change in the church today.