Gertrud the Great (1256–1302) entered the monastery of Helfta in eastern Germany as a child oblate. At the age of twenty-five she underwent a conversion that led to a series of visionary experiences. These centered on “the divine loving-kindness,” which she perceived as expressed through and symbolized by Christ’s divine Heart. Some of these experiences she recorded in Latin “with her own hand,” in what became Book 2 of The Herald of God’s Loving-Kindness. Books 1, 3, 4, and 5 were written down by another nun, a close confidant of the saint, now often known as “Sister N.” Book 4 records Gertrud’s many vivid spiritual experiences, which took place on various liturgical feasts when she was too sick to take part in the community’s worship. Foregrounding visions of the court of heaven and dialogues with Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other saints, they further develop devotional themes already present in the earlier books. Often profoundly indebted to the liturgy of Mass and office, they have been carefully arranged according to the ecclesiastical year by the medieval compiler.

Gertrud the Great (1256–1302) entered the monastery of Helfta in eastern Germany as a child oblate. At the age of twenty-five she underwent a conversion that led to a series of visionary experiences. These centered on “the divine loving-kindness,” which she perceived as expressed through and symbolized by Christ’s divine Heart. Some of these experiences she recorded in Latin “with her own hand,” in what became book 2 of The Herald of God’s Loving-Kindness. Books 1, 3, 4, and 5 were written down by another nun, a close confidant of the saint, now often known as "Sister N." Book 5 details the sickness, deaths, and afterlife fates of various Helfta nuns, novices, and lay brothers, as witnessed by Gertrud in her visions. It also describes Gertrud’s preparations for her own death and her predictive visions of her ultimate glorification in heaven. The Herald concludes with Sister N.’s personal account of her presentation of the whole book to the Lord at Mass, the welcome he gave it, and the privileges he attached to it. The Book of Special Grace, which mainly records the visions of Mechtild of Hackeborn, was probably compiled by Gertrud herself with the help of Sister N. Parts 6 and 7 recount the deaths of the abbess Gertrud and of Mechtild, her younger sister. As many passages overlap, sometimes verbatim, with corresponding chapters in book 5 of The Herald, a translation has been included for purposes of comparison.

Chapter 29: Renewal of Her Spiritual Marriage -- Chapter 30: Wednesday: Spiritual Fertility -- Chapter 31: How Useful It Is to Entrust All One's Works to God -- Chapter 32: On the Octave Day of Easter: How She Received the Holy Spirit -- Chapter 33: The Greater Litany on the Feast of Mark -- Chapter 34: Saint John before the Latin Gate -- Chapter 35: Preparation before the Feast of the Ascension -- Chapter 36: The Solemn Day of the Lord's Ascension -- Chapter 37: Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost -- Chapter 38: The Honey-Sweet Feast of Pentecost -- Chapter 39: Compensation for Her Spiritual Attitude -- Chapter 40: The Grace of the Holy Spirit -- Chapter 41: The Feast of the Glorious Trinity -- Chapter 42: Saint John the Baptist -- Chapter 43: Saint Leo the Pope -- Chapter 44: The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul -- Chapter 45: Saint Margaret the Virgin -- Chapter 46: Saint Mary Magdalene -- Chapter 47: Saint James the Apostle -- Chapter 48: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin -- Chapter 49: Saint Bernard the Abbot -- Chapter 50: The Worth of Saint Augustine, Saint Dominic, and Saint Francis -- Chapter 51: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary -- Chapter 52: The Dignity of the Holy Cross -- Chapter 53: On Angels: The Feast of Michael the Archangel -- Chapter 54: The Feast of the Eleven Thousand Virgins -- Chapter 55: The Feast of All Saints -- Chapter 56: Saint Elizabeth -- Chapter 57: Saint Catherine, Virgin and Martyr -- Chapter 58: The Feast of the Dedication of the Church -- Chapter 59: The Consecration of the Chapel

Gertrud the Great (1256–1302) entered the monastery of Helfta in eastern Germany as a child oblate. At the age of twenty-five she underwent a conversion that led to a series of visionary experiences, some of which she recorded in Latin “with her own hand,” in what became Book Two of The Herald of God’s Loving-Kindness, the standard version of her revelations. The other four books were written down by a close confidant of the saint, now often known as "Sister N." Recently a different version of Gertrud's revelations has been discovered, in an early fourteenth-century manuscript held at the University of Leipzig, Germany, much older than the known manuscripts of The Herald. The Memorial of the Abundance of the Divine Sweetness is shorter than The Herald, and while the two versions have some text in common (notably most of The Herald's Book Two), the new manuscript also contains some completely new material, which sometimes modifies and sometimes complements what readers already know of the saint.

Gestures of Grace is a celebration of the life and career of Robert Sweetman, H. Evan Runner Chair in the History of Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies (2001–present). These essays, written by students and colleagues, testify to the remarkable breadth and depth of Sweetman’s research and teaching, from his early scholarly career at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies to his time at ICS. Throughout the volume, there is extensive engagement with Sweetman’s influential historical scholarship on topics such as the emergence and development of the Dominican order in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, medieval women authors, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, and indeed on Sweetman’s own systematic contribution to the nature and promise of Christian scholarship today.

How do we find meaning in worship? How might we worship more meaningfully? These questions invite us into a field of study called liturgical semiotics. This book takes a deep dive into this arena, using the metaphor of breathing as a vehicle for the journey. It is about getting back to what is at the core of the Christian identity, namely worship, and exploring how to find and make meaning in it. In doing so, we will find out not only more about our worship, but about ourselves. Liturgical semiotics is not only about the liturgical event, but about the semiotician as well. Along the way, using BREATHE, GASP, and RASP as guides, we will read the signs of our worship, connect the dots of the stories it tells, and uncover new meanings. We will also find ways to make our worship more evocative and more resonant with the current culture. Take a deep breath, and dive in.

What does it mean for our daily realities to claim the Roman Catholic tradition? Bringing together theology and personal memoir, Matthew Levering offers this vulnerable, honest, and hopeful of why he identifies as Roman Catholic–without shying away from challenges the tradition presents.