Nevertheless, if you read this short book and understand what it lays out, you will be in the top 0.001% of people in the world who have a working knowledge of the philosophy and theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas. You will have the knowledge to pass a class called “Thomas Aquinas 101,” and you will be ready to study Thomas Aquinas at the collegiate level. You will have the building blocks to move forward. At the end of this book, I make practical recommendations to take it to the next level and recommend the next books to read.

Augustine of Hippo, who, scarcely one year after his death, was called "one of the best teachers" of the Church by Pope Saint Celestine I, has been present ever since in the life of the Church and in the mind and culture of the whole western world. In a similar fashion, other Roman Pontiffs have proposed the example of his way of life and the writings that embody his teachings as an object of contemplation and imitation, and very many Councils have often drawn copiously from his writings. - Saint John Paul II

"As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo."--Publisher's website.

From Pulitzer Prize–winner Garry Wills, the story of Augustine’s Confessions In this brief and incisive book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills tells the story of the Confessions--what motivated Augustine to dictate it, how it asks to be read, and the many ways it has been misread in the one-and-a-half millennia since it was composed. Following Wills's biography of Augustine and his translation of the Confessions, this is an unparalleled introduction to one of the most important books in the Christian and Western traditions. Understandably fascinated by the story of Augustine's life, modern readers have largely succumbed to the temptation to read the Confessions as autobiography. But, Wills argues, this is a mistake. The book is not autobiography but rather a long prayer, suffused with the language of Scripture and addressed to God, not man. Augustine tells the story of his life not for its own significance but in order to discern how, as a drama of sin and salvation leading to God, it fits into sacred history. "We have to read Augustine as we do Dante," Wills writes, "alert to rich layer upon layer of Scriptural and theological symbolism." Wills also addresses the long afterlife of the book, from controversy in its own time and relative neglect during the Middle Ages to a renewed prominence beginning in the fourteenth century and persisting to today, when the Confessions has become an object of interest not just for Christians but also historians, philosophers, psychiatrists, and literary critics. With unmatched clarity and skill, Wills strips away the centuries of misunderstanding that have accumulated around Augustine's spiritual classic.

Saint Augustine's Prayer Book is a book of prayer and practice―with disciplines, habits, and patterns for building a Christian spiritual life. It will help readers to develop strong habits of prayer, to thoughtfully prepare for and participate in public liturgy, and to nurture a mind and soul ready to work and give and pray for the spread of the kingdom. Saint Augustine's Prayer Book features Holy Habits of Prayer, devotions to accompany Holy Eucharist, Stations of the Cross, and Stations of the Resurrection, and a wide range of litanies, collects, and prayers for all occasions. The newly revised edition (2012) includes the treasured liturgies and prayers of the original while offering some important updates in language and content. Revised and edited by well-regarded scholars David Cobb and Derek Olsen, Saint Augustine's Prayer Book is a wonderful gift as well as a handsome addition to a prayer book collection. Comes leather bound with two ribbons in a gift box.

★ Publishers Weekly starred review One of the Top 100 Books and One of the 5 Best Books in Religion for 2019, Publishers Weekly Christianity Today 2020 Book Award Winner (Spiritual Formation) Outreach 2020 Resource of the Year (Spiritual Growth) Foreword INDIES 2019 Honorable Mention for Religion This is not a book about Saint Augustine. In a way, it's a book Augustine has written about each of us. Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith has spent time on the road with Augustine, and he invites us to take this journey too, for this ancient African thinker knows far more about us than we might expect. Following Smith's successful You Are What You Love, this book shows how Augustine can be a pilgrim guide to a spirituality that meets the complicated world we live in. Augustine, says Smith, is the patron saint of restless hearts--a guide who has been there, asked our questions, and knows our frustrations and failed pursuits. Augustine spent a lifetime searching for his heart's true home and he can help us find our way. "What makes Augustine a guide worth considering," says Smith, "is that he knows where home is, where rest can be found, what peace feels like, even if it is sometimes ephemeral and elusive along the way." Addressing believers and skeptics alike, this book shows how Augustine's timeless wisdom speaks to the worries and struggles of contemporary life, covering topics such as ambition, sex, friendship, freedom, parenthood, and death. As Smith vividly and colorfully brings Augustine to life for 21st-century readers, he also offers a fresh articulation of Christianity that speaks to our deepest hungers, fears, and hopes.

Historic St. Augustine Research Institute William L. Proctor Award "Gaze at the buildings and read the accounts of the people who walked the same streets more than 450 years ago; you will be transformed into a time traveler."--Thomas Graham, author of Mr. Flagler's St. Augustine "Grab this book--you will never find this information on a travel website."--Kathleen Deagan, coauthor of Fort Mose: Colonial America's Black Fortress of Freedom In 2013, National Geographic Traveler chose St. Augustine as one of "20 must-see places and best trips in the world." But while tourists take in the fort and stroll the cobblestone streets, few visitors are aware of the remarkable history of this oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States. Walking St. Augustine fuses illustrated history and intimate handbook. The author, Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon, one of the city's most highly regarded historians, is also a resident and offers insider tips for exciting adventures. Gordon divides the colonial village into sections, all easily walked in a single day. She guides visitors through Plaza de la Constitucion, the oldest public park in America, and down the same avenues walked by the first Spanish settlers. She vividly retells landmark events, highlights areas of architectural or historic interest, delves into the genealogy of the multicultural families that have made St. Augustine home, and offers human stories and heritage recipes passed down through the centuries. With this vibrantly rendered, easy-to-use, and color-coded guide, visitors can walk the seldom-visited south end of the city, which includes the earliest residential area with streets dating back to 1572, and stop in at the Flagler College complex, its more recent history illuminated by its architectural perfection. Gordon suggests visiting the Colonial Quarter Living History Museum, and for those looking to venture beyond walking distance, the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, Anastasia Island, and Fort Mose, the nation's first legally free black settlement. Walking St. Augustine opens the doors to a spellbinding city, allowing visitors to discover five centuries of gripping history.