“A magnificent romance redolent of ancient wisdom and rich with melancholy, loss, and love” from the bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Le Monde). Rose has just turned forty when she gets a call from a lawyer asking her to come to Kyoto for the reading of her estranged father’s will. And so for the first time in her life she finds herself in Japan, where Paul, her father’s assistant, is waiting to greet her. As Paul guides Rose along a mysterious itinerary designed by her deceased father, her bitterness and anger are soothed by the stones and the trees in the Zen gardens they move through. During their walks, Rose encounters acquaintances of her father—including a potter and poet, an old lady friend, his housekeeper and chauffeur—whose interactions help her to slowly begin to accept a part of herself that she has never before acknowledged. As the reading of the will gets closer, Rose’s father finally, posthumously, opens his heart to his daughter, offering her a poignant understanding of his love and a way to accept all she has lost. “Interspersed with aphoristic Japanese tales from various periods, as melancholy is gradually transmuted into joy.” —The New Yorker “[A] luminous meditation on grief.” —Booklist “With elegant and careful prose, [Barbery] offers descriptions of Kyoto and Japanese culture that transcend the genre of a travelogue. This novel will appeal to readers who long for happy endings and escape.” —Library Journal “The novel balances lush, cultivated gardens and weighted symbolism with mischievous foxes, matcha, sliced eel, and sushi, all forming ‘one happy chaos’ and a fascinating maze of emotional release.” —Foreword Reviews

The most affordable complete edition of Vine's famous Old and New Testament dictionaries available, this super value edition of a classic study resource helps those with limited or no background in Hebrew or Greek to study the meaning of biblical words in the original languages. A great resource for students, pastors, and anyone who enjoys biblical word studies. Serves as a dictionary, commentary, and concordance.

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.

An inside look at the obsessive, secretive, and often bizarre world of high-profile stamp collecting, told through the journey of the world’s most sought-after stamp. When it was issued in 1856, it cost a penny. In 2014, this tiny square of faded red paper sold at Sotheby’s for nearly $9.5 million, the largest amount ever paid for a postage stamp at auction. Through the stories of the eccentric characters who have bought, owned, and sold the one-cent magenta in the years in between, James Barron delivers a fascinating tale of global history and immense wealth, and of the human desire to collect. One-cent magentas were provisional stamps, printed quickly in what was then British Guiana when a shipment of official stamps from London did not arrive. They were intended for periodicals, and most were thrown out with the newspapers. But one stamp survived. The singular one-cent magenta has had only nine owners since a twelve-year-old boy discovered it in 1873 as he sorted through papers in his uncle’s house. He soon sold it for what would be $17 today. (That’s been called the worst stamp deal in history.) Among later owners was a fabulously wealthy Frenchman who hid the stamp from almost everyone (even King George V of England couldn’t get a peek); a businessman who traveled with the stamp in a briefcase he handcuffed to his wrist; and John E. du Pont, an heir to the chemical fortune, who died while serving a thirty-year sentence for the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Recommended for fans of Nicholas A. Basbanes, Susan Orlean, and Simon Winchester, The One-Cent Magenta explores the intersection of obsessive pursuits and great affluence and asks why we want most what is most rare.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of this classic novel, an acclaimed translator and scholar has drawn from many sources for this new translation, more faithful to Grass's style and rhythm.

The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.

Lectio Divina of the Gospels for the Liturgical Year, 2021-2022 takes the reader through the traditional process of lectio divina, with reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, focused on the Sunday gospel reading. This guide includes reflections on the Gospels for Sundays and major feasts of the liturgical year, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent on November 28, 2021 and concluding with the last Sunday in Ordinary Time on November 20, 2022.