Life Is Simpler Toward Evening is an inspirational, thought-provoking poetry book with poems featuring such topics as the majesty of clouds, the loneliness of being apart from a loved one, and always, the glory of God. Fr. Ralph Wright, who is a poet of great distinction, pens works that reflect his knowledge of and respect for the masters. His images are both beautiful and startling; his metaphors perceptive, his use of rhyme natural. His expertise lies in the unity of word and idea that is the essence of poetry. Life is Simpler Toward Evening is one of Fr. Ralph's eight books of verse. The poetry of Life is Simpler Toward Evening is never obscure but nevertheless demands that we return, again and again, to delight in and savor both words and subtle meanings. Life Is Simpler Toward Evening offers a soothing escape from the pressures and turmoil of every day life.

A choice lies before you: Either waste your life or live with risk. Either sit on the sidelines or get in the game. After all, life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn't promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn't be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that really? It's a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and really full, and it's certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to. Discover in these pages a foundation for fearlessness. Hear God's promise to go with you into the unknown. And let Risk Is Right help you see the joys of a faith-filled and seriously rewarding life of Jesus-dependent abandon! Risk Is Right is a significantly expanded version of a chapter previously published in the book Don't Waste Your Life (chapter 5).

Balaam’s Donkey is a series of daily reflections based on the homilies preached by Cistercian monk Michael Casey over his fifty years of priesthood. What remained of the original homilies was a large box full of index cards with a few talking points on each. From there, Casey has re-created the homilies and recast them into short reflections, arranged randomly for every day of the year. The range of topics discussed is broad and the approach taken differs with each reflection, most of them colored with a touch of Casey’s whimsy and good humor.

Father Ralph Wright, a Benedictine monk, has contributed hymns of his own making to the one- and four-volume Liturgy of the Hours. In this book he includes his own prayers and poems and hymns-along with the Grail translation of the Psalter, forming a prayer book geared toward every liturgical season in the year-and each "season" of our lives (based on the sacraments). All the major feast days are featured with poems, hymns and psalms apposite to the occasion. This book also functions as a Poetry Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours, whose all-too-brief poetry appendix has not been updated since 1975.

Leaves of Water is an inspirational, thought-provoking poetry book with poems featuring such topics as the calming symphony of rain on the leaves, the silence of the wind and the glory of God. Fr. Ralph Wright, who is a poet of great distinction, pens works that reflect his knowledge of and respect for the masters. His images are both beautiful and startling; his metaphors perceptive, his use of rhyme natural. His expertise lies in the unity of word and idea that is the essence of poetry. Leaves of Water is his sixth book of verse. The poetry of leaves of water is never obscure but nevertheless demands that we return, again and again, to delight in and savor both words and subtle meanings. Leaves of Water offers a soothing escape from the pressures and turmoil of every day life.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II expressed the hope that both priests and faithful should grow in their astonishment, their "stunned wonder," at this amazing way God has given us to experience, already on earth, our union with him--the eucharist. As a person leafs through the pages of this book, passing from century to century, he may sample the writing of one of his favorite saints. From St. Paul to the Corinthians, the earliest account in writing that survives of the eucharist, through Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, up to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Pope Benedict XVI, each century, from the first through the 21st, is represented. Readers will discover a whole new attitude to Jesus' real presence, or perhaps see their very own devotional attitude reflected in the words of someone writing over fifteen hundred years ago. It is hoped that these poems, hymns and readings will provide a deepening of faith and a stimulus to prayer. +