This account of the life of St. Ignatius, dictated by himself to Father Gonzalez, is a most valuable record of the great Founder of the Society of Jesus. It, more than any other work, gives an insight into the spiritual life of St. Ignatius. Few works in ascetical literature, except the writings of St. Teresa and St. Augustine, impart such a knowledge of the soul.The saint in his narrative always refers to himself in the third person, and this mode of speech has here been retained. Many persons who have neither the time, nor, perhaps, the inclination, to read larger works, will read, we trust, with pleasure and profit this autobiography. Ignatius, as he lay wounded in his brother's house, read the lives of the saints to while away the time. Touched by grace, he cried, "What St. Francis and St. Dominic have done, that, by God's grace, I will do." May this little book, in like manner, inspire its readers with the desire of imitating St. Ignatius. This autobiography is a valuable key for the understanding of his Spiritual Exercises. It was kept in the archives for about 150 years
Text of famous inspirational lecture and biography of Russell Conwell, a Baptist minister and Temple University Founder .
Join James Hudson Taylor on the God-led journey through his calling, time of preparation, and life work in China. This British Christian missionary founded China Inland Mission (CIM), now known as OMF International.
Amy Carmichael tells the story of work among the girls of India, who she calls "Lotus Buds".
Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (commonly known as Madame Guyon) (April 13, 1648 - June 9, 1717) was a French mystic and one of the key advocates of Quietism. Quietism was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church, and she was imprisoned from 1695 to 1703 after publishing a book on the topic, A Short and Easy Method of Prayer. This translation is by Thomas Taylor Allen was first published in 1897. Allen's dates are unknown.
In a very real and interesting way, The King Nobody Wanted tells the story of Jesus. Where the actual words of the Bible are used, they are from the King James Version. But the greater part of the story is told in the words of every day.
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, T.O.S.F., (8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859), commonly known in English as St John Vianney, was a French parish priest who is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as the patron saint of all priests. He is often referred to as the "Curé d'Ars". He became internationally notable for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish because of the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings. Catholics attribute this to his saintly life, mortification, his persevering ministry in the sacrament of confession, and his ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to Saint Philomena.
This short biography of this beloved saint was written before he was canonized in 1925. (Summary Adapted from Wikipedia)
Or, Less than the Least
The following pages have been written by my request with a view to making the Soldiers of The Salvation Army somewhat familiar with the life-story of one of the most remarkable men this world has ever seen. While many and varied will be the opinions respecting the methods employed by Francis of Assisi, and while some will doubtless strongly dissent from these methods, yet I think no serious follower of Jesus Christ can do otherwise than admire the sincerity, devotion and sacrifice of the man; and further, there can be, I think, no two opinions as to his having taught and manifested to the world what it means to be possessed entirely by the Savior's spirit.
Pope Saint Pius X (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was Pope from 4 August 1903 to his death in 1914. He was the first pope since Pius V (1566 to 1572) to be canonized. St. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox theology. His most important reform was to publish the first Code of Canon Law, which collected the laws of the Church into one volume for the first time. He was also considered a pastoral pope, in the sense of encouraging personal holiness, piety and a daily lifestyle reflecting deep Christian values.
Saint Columba (521 – 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the Patron Saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Christian saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
Columba reportedly studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Irish kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Christianity among the northern Pictish kingdoms who were pagan. He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns may be attributed to him.
Saint Stanislaus Kostka was a 16th century Polish novice in the Society of Jesus. Polish nobleman John Kostka was not pleased with the spiritual inclinations of his second son. He did all he could to discourage Stanislaus’s desire for Christian service. Paul, a brother two years older than Stanslaus, bullied him and tried to lure him into more worldly pursuits. Stanislaus was determined to join the Society of Jesus. To demonstrate his determination, Stanislaus walked the long and dangerous 350 miles from Vienna to Rome. He made the trip alone depending on the charity of others and there was accepted into the Society of Jesus as a novice on his 17th birthday. During his short time as a novice his religious fervor and piety were amazing. He was beatification in 1605; and he canonized on 31 December 1726.
A collection of a series of lectures delivered while Glover was in India setting the life of Jesus into its historical context and seeing what lessons might be drawn from it.
This book is above all things the story of a mother. But it is also the story of a noble woman—a woman who was truly great, for the reason that she never sought to be so. Because she understood the sphere in which a woman's work in the world must usually lie, and led her life truly along the lines that God had laid down for her; because she suffered bravely, forgot herself for others, and remained faithful to her noble ideals, she ruled as a queen amongst those with whom her life was cast. Her influence was great and far-reaching, but she herself was the last to suspect it, the last to desire it, and that was perhaps the secret of its greatness. The type is rare at the present day, but, thank God! there are Monicas still in the world. If there were more, the world would be a better place.
She is also known as St. Thérèse of Child Jesus. She was born at Alençon, France, 2 January 1873; died at Lisieux 30 September 1897. When she was fifteen she applied for permission to enter the Carmelite Convent, and being refused by the superior, went to Rome with her father, as eager to give her to God as she was to give herself, to seek the consent of Pope Leo XIII, then celebrating his jubilee. He preferred to leave the decision in the hands of the superior, who finally consented and on 9 April 1888, at the unusual age of fifteen, Thérèse Martin entered the convent of Lisieux where two of her sisters had preceded her. The account of the eleven years of her religious life, marked by signal graces and constant growth in holiness, is given by Soeur Thérèse in her autobiography, written in obedience to her superior and published two years after her death. In 1901 it was translated into English, and in 1912 another translation, the first complete edition of the life of the Servant of God, containing the autobiography, "Letters and Spiritual Counsels", was published. Its success was immediate and it has passed into many editions, spreading far and wide the devotion to this "little" saint of simplicity, and abandonment in God's service, of the perfect accomplishment of small duties. The fame of her sanctity and the many miracles performed through her intercession caused the introduction of her cause of canonization only seventeen years after her death, 10 June 1914. Thérèse was beatified on 29 April 1923 and canonized on 17 May 1925, by Pope Pius XI, only 28 years after her death.
A short and rather old fashioned biography a great saint. Don't expect subtlety; it's unapologetic hagiography. The saint is presented as a figure of pristine brilliance, courage and integrity and his persecutors as conniving villains. But to those who appreciate what was at stake in the controversy, Athanasius is indeed a God-sent hero. This is an informative, if quaint, introduction to a fascinating figure in history.
This short, engaging volume summarizes the life of a priest who, intending to spark a lively academic debate by nailing 95 theses on a church door, unwittingly sets the continent aflame with the 1517 Reformation of the Catholic Church.
St. Bonaventure (1221 -1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian medieval Franciscan, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was canonised on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" (Adapted from Wikipedia)
Through the centuries, the world has been witness to an unbroken trail of heroes--men and women who braved privation, danger, and death to bring the light of Jesus Christ to the darkest corners of the earth. Some are well known, others long forgotten, but all belong to the same indomitable band of torch-bearers. Join a few of these heroes as they face cannibals, battle slave traders, and care for sick enemies, always with one mission at the forefront--to serve their Lord and bring others into His light.
The memoirs of Frances Ridley Havergal, a great missionary and hymn writer.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha's lifespan of only about 24 years was spent in utter humility and penitence. In spite of her natural diffidence, she summoned the strength to assert her desire to become a Christian and to consecrate herself as a virgin, and even had the courage to take part in a dangerous escape from her tyrannical uncle. This biography of her life fills in many details of the history, geography, and important persons and events of Kateri's time and setting in New York and Canada from 1656 to 1680. Interestingly, these same years were a turning point for the Jesuit missionaries in New France, as their relations with the Indians underwent a change from suffering fearful persecution to achieving widespread conversion, thanks in at least a small part to the influence of the humble Kateri. The book's many first hand accounts by eye witnesses are a highlight. Readers may also appreciate the author's personal research and descriptions of the locations where all the events of Kateri's life took place. The author's greatest achievement in this book is that she helps the reader to understand and love Saint Kateri. ( Carol Pelster)
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J., (1540 – 1581) was an English Catholic Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry to the persecuted Catholics of Elizabethan England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. Campion was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. (Adapted from wikipedia)
This book follows the three amazing stories of Adoniram Judson's wives, Ann, Sarah, and Emily. Each wife went through incredible hardships, but each hardship only proved to make them strong women of faith, who despite all difficulties and illnesses, selflessly gave their strength to the sick and needy. Ann Judson followed Her husband from prison to prison, bribing guards so that she could see him and make his condition a little better. They sacrificed lives of ease, with loving families and friends for lives of hardship, sickness and sorrow, but what a joy and peace came with it only God can provide, but anyone can know! None of them regretted going to Burma as a missionaries wife, they would not have turned back if they could and their letters and writing are enough to encourage those in the very worst of circumstances. This book will leave you refreshed, convicted, encouraged and I pray, closer to the Lord, these three women were mightily used of God!
Vincent De Paul [c. 1581 - 1660] was a man renowned during his own century for his compassion, humility and generosity. During the days when galleys were part of any countries' war machine and these galleys were rowed by convicts who were in reality slaves, Vincent's special call was to provide what spiritual comfort he could to these wretched men. When a young man he himself had been captured by Turkish pirates, who brought him to Tunis and sold him into slavery, so he had a special understanding of their lot. He escaped in 1607 and went on to become a priest with a ministry to the poor. In 1625 de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission, a society of missionary priests commonly known as the Vincentians or Lazarists and with the assistance of Louise de Marillac he later founded the Daughters of Charity whose selfless nursing work in hospitals throughout the world and during many plagues is well known. (They were the nuns with the large and easily recognized 'flying nun' wimples.)
William S. Nelson, D.D., was appointed as a missionary to Syria by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, USA in 1888. In this short works, as the title suggests, he gives glimpses into his life as a missionary against the background of Syrian culture.
Pope Adrian IV (c. 1100-1159, pope 1154-1159) was the only English pope. Written by a Catholic in 1849, this biography of the pope appeared twenty years after the English Parliament passed “The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829.” “The following sketch was written to supply what its author felt persuaded could not fail to interest his fellow Catholics in England; namely, some account of the only English Pope who ever reigned. In it he does not pretend to any novelty of research; but simply to present a connected narrative of such events in the history of Pope Adrian IV. as have hitherto lain broken and concealed in old chronicles, or been slightly touched for the most part in an incidental way by modern writers.”
This is a brief biography of Samuel J. Mills who was instrumental in establishing the first missionary society in the United States, and also the first Bible Society that began distribution of millions of Bibles around the world. His final mission was to Africa where he helped found what become the country of Liberia. He died on the return voyage at the age of thirty-five.