Orbis Books (USA) – förlag

From the death and funeral of Pope Francis, to the behind-the-scenes maneuvers as cardinals arrive in Rome, to the surprising election of Pope Leo XIV: Here is the story behind the headlines, as told by two of the Vatican’s most trusted correspondents.

Beverly Lanzetta, a leading contemplative scholar and theologian, has spent decades at the edges of spiritual tradition, charting the terrain where contemplative paths converge and the soul's evolution continues. Now, in ten contemplations, she offers language for what so many are sensing: we are not witnessing the decline of the sacred but its next emergence.

A book for seekers—within our traditions and beyond them—who long for a spirituality deep enough to hold the via feminina, the intercontemplative path, the soul's seasons of transformation, and the anguish of global suffering. Lanzetta companions and invites readers to participate as the quickening pulse of holy matter is beating toward a new mysticism.

The Years of Ripening focuses on personal transformation, the wonder and goodness of our hidden self, how the qualities of our personhood have been expressed, and in what ways we can claim ever more of the truest reality of our inner being.

As old age takes place, our physical being naturally weakens and wrinkles. At the same time, our non-physical being smooths out with a peaceful satisfaction. The tight ridges of past failures recede and dark illusions fade as we increasingly trust our life to be a harmonious song rooted in love. This encourages us to shed our self-willed, false control until we become freed from what binds our spirit. We let go of who we imagined ourself to be and grow in a transparency that reveals our seasoned-with-love self.

All is not ended with our final departure. We leave behind the beauty and bounty that resided within our aged selves. Like a ripened melon on the vine, so the matured fruit of our loving heart and weathered wisdom leaves a beneficial legacy to nurture a future generation.

God of the Oppressed, first published in 1975, remains a landmark in the development of Black Theology—the first effort to present a systematic theology drawing fully on the resources of African-American religion and culture. Responding to the criticism that his previous books drew too heavily on Euro-American definitions of theology, James Cone went back to his experience of the Black church in Bearden, Arkansas, the tradition of the Spirituals and Black folklore, and the Black history of struggle and survival, to construct a new approach to the gospel.

In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, Cone relates the gospel message to the exper8ience of the Black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God, as well as the mode of the answers provided. This fiftieth anniversary edition includes a foreword by Anthony Reddie, reflecting on the historical and global significance of this work and its message today.

Hugo Lassalle (he later took the name Enomiya-Lassalle) (1898-1990) was a German Jesuit stationed in mission to Japan. There he survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and became deeply engaged in exploration and practice of Zen, which he believed was compatible with Christian faith. He became the pioneer of this dialogue, giving rise to a whole school of Christian-Zen dialogue/practice and winning approval from the Vatican.

*Advance Praise & Reviews*“James Finley writes as compellingly as he speaks ‘in the cadences of the mystic’s voice,’ gently encouraging the reader along the way. In his inimitable storytelling style, Finley reminds us that we are not alone, gifting us with the ‘presence-ing’ of God in every breath, in all things, through the timeless wisdom of Thomas Merton.”—Christopher Pramuk, author, Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton

“I sit here on the veranda of my cell, watching the sun set behind the trees, and recall the day, nearly fifty years ago, when I watched the same suns setting over the playing-fields at school. My cell is a thatched hut surrounded by trees. I can listen to the birds singing as I did then, and watch the trees making dark patterns against the sky as the light fades, but I have travelled a long way both in space and time since then. . . .”

Bede Griffiths (1907-1993), a British-born Benedictine monk, moved to India in 1955, adopted the appearance of a Hindu sannyasi—one whose whole life is focused on the search for God—and became one of the great pioneers of East-West dialogue.

In Return to the Center Griffiths offers the fruits of a lifetime spent in prayer and meditation. He believes that modern humans have lost touch with the center of their own life, and therefore with life itself. This center is “the place of meeting where the different religious traditions of the world have their source, and the ultimate meaning of human existence is to be found. . . . For a Christian this is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.” Griffiths illuminates the way for us each to find our own way back to the center by looking at the truths of Hinduism and Buddhism through a Christian lens. In these short reflections he reflects “on what India has done to me, on how my mind has developed, on the changes which have taken place in my way of life and in the depths of my soul.”

This edition is augmented by an additional chapter that narrates his move from England to India, describing what he was seeking and what he found. In addition, a lengthy introduction by Cyprian Consiglio, former prior of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, offers a biographical profile of Griffiths and assesses his significance as a “Christocentric perrenialist.”

Cover photo © Fr. Douglas Conlan, used with permission

Cover design: Michael Calvente