Perhaps the greatest quality to develop on life's journey is the practice of compassion. This book is about cultivating compassion in the garden of the soul. Strengthening our inner resources for this sacred work, it calls us to follow Christ, to be "co-conspirators" in the sacred story of salvation.

Offers Christians practical, effective advice to help them bring more members into their church and share their spirituality with others.

The Conspiracy chronicles the monumental struggles of an innocent priest, Monsignor William McCarthy, falsely accused in 2003 of molesting two young sisters more than 23 years earlier. On the eve of his retirement from a stellar career as a priest and pastor, for the next five tortuous years, he was the victim of an anonymous complaint that was accepted as true by his bishop and friend of 40 years. Share his travails and see how ones faith can overcome the worst injustices that man can heap on a holy and totally innocent person." -- Jack Kraft, Esq. Monsignor William McCarthy paints a picture embracing a situation that is almost impossible to comprehend. Had I not stood by him throughout the years of pure hell he experienced, I would not have believed the outright calumny by a detective, and how the subsequent action of his bishop and diocesan staff could have occurred. Child abuse is a terrible thing, but equally horrible is when innocent priests are unjustly condemned and destroyed by the hierarchy of their church. -- Arthur N. Hoagland, M.D. This book is a must read for any Catholic who loves their Church but is concerned about its often self-destructive response to the tragedy of clerical pedophilia. It is story about tragedy and triumph. The tragedy of the Church that Monsignor McCarthy loves deeply, and into which he has selflessly devoted his entire life, but is sometimes governed by people who have lost all sense of justice. It is a Church that betrayed him. In its attempt to protect the victims of child abuse, it established a new category of victims: its faithful priests. The triumph of Monsignor McCarthy is his faith and love of Jesus, which saw him through his terrible ordeal in spite of the evil that was perpetrated against him. -- Deacon Joseph Keenan

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. “I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

Before there were worshippers of Jesus, there were followers of Jesus. Before there were organized churches with creeds and doctrines, there were small communities of love, equality, and sharing dedicated to the practice of Jesus' teachings and committed to a wholly new way of living. Today, the churches of the Global North are in decline and younger generations no longer seek meaning there. Traditional "church Christianity" is gradually giving way to some new way of faithful living. From a Nazi prison cell, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer imagined a future "religionless Christianity" consisting of contemplative prayer and righteous action in the secular world. A Conspiracy of Love presents the contours of such a faith based on the "way" of Jesus. It calls us to become troublemakers, revolutionaries, seekers of change, and agents of transformation engaged in conspiracies of love to establish justice and peace in a postmodern world. It offers many different people--those who remain in the church, those who have left, and those who have never ventured near--with a life of faith that is meaningful, intelligent, and passionate.

War sweeps the land as the sons and daughters of the late King Marcus battle over who will claim their father's throne and able-bodied men and women flock to one cause or the other in the hopes of a better tomorrow. At least, most of them. If life has taught the jaded sellsword, Aaron Envelar, anything, it's that hope is for fools and causes are a sure remedy for breathing. But when his latest job leads him to the corpse of a prince and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the entire realm, Aaron is forced to choose sides in a war he doesn't want, between forces he doesn't understand. Thrust into a world of mythical assassins, a madman with superhuman strength, and a nagging ball of light with a superiority complex who claims to be the embodiment of compassion, Aaron takes on his hardest job yet--staying alive.The debut novel from Jacob Peppers, A Sellsword's Compassion, is a new entry in the great Epic Fantasy tradition of Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, and Robert Jordan.

Read these stories in a series front to back or back to front or simply at random, read them piecemeal over time or all at once in a single sitting - in any case, one thing's clear: this is pure cinema on the printed page (though without the annoying white spaces of a conventional film script). Here we have a manic, propulsive stream of images, ideas, feelings and dreams, memories, and lots of excitable voices, too. Humor's the main thing. After that, philosophical inquiry. Thirdly, good old-fashioned mayhem with a sound resolution. And finally, making some money. Equal parts Moody & Palahniuk, Lish & Barthelme, Pynchon & Salinger, & Mahayana (that's lots of parts!), these stories offer the reader much to think about, laugh about, and puzzle over - and vivid dreams are clearly never out of the question.