New Releases by Kathleen Hughes

Originally published in 1966, The Church in Early Irish Society traces the history of the church right up until the twelfth century. It gives an account of the problems which arose when the organization of the Christian church, imported from the urban bureaucracy of the Roman Empire, had to be adapted to the society of early Ireland. The book also looks at the legal texts of the sixth seventh and eighth centuries and attempts through them, to trace the gradual process of modification which culminated in the eighth century, when the church now fully adjusted to Irish society, reached a so-far unprecedented height of power and influence. The book also examines the issues faced in the ninth century by the Viking raids and settlements.

Sacramental ministry does not belong only to those who receive holy orders. Each one of us has a sacramental ministry, for we are all priests in virtue of our baptism. Thus we have a responsibility to foster, in our everyday lives, the reverence and hospitality that are marks of sacramental living, as we foster the dignity of each member in the one body. In Becoming the Sign, Kathleen Hughes contends that the "full, conscious and active participation" envisioned by Vatican II does not simply apply to our involvement in the liturgy. Rather, it is a commitment we make to personal involvement in the life of the church and its continuous coming to be in this present age. +

An etiquette handbook for the not-so-traditional bride offers advice on how to navigate such potential problems as seating arrangements, invitations, family feuds, money matters, and outmoded wedding traditions.

"A compassionate exploration of a woman''s life—between motherhood and dreaming, living the everyday and taking flight."—Jane Mendelsohn, author of I Was Amelia Earhart When two elderly Iowans, Ruth and Henry Gutterson, disappear mysteriously on their way home from Thanksgiving, their adult children find a crate of Ruth''s letters written to Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In the letters the children read of the origins of their parents'' passion: how they first met in 1924 when Henry crashed his Air Mail plane into Ruth''s family''s cornfield; how Ruth flew alongside Henry as his navigator; about Ruth''s passion for flying; and how the birth of her children kept her on the ground.

In liturgy, as in life, one thing regularly leads to another: understanding leads to loving, loving to participation, participation to commitment, and commitment to a reformed way of living. It seems so elementary. Believers simply need to understand what they are doing when they gather for prayer, and the rest will follow. This book explores a new way of contemplating the liturgy, a mystagogical way based on the actual experiences of women and men at prayer. Kathleen Hughes interviewed hundreds of ordinary believers about worship, how they had prepared for it, what it touched in their lives, how it helped them name God, and what it asked them to say Amen to. Using the language of the people she interviewed--including images, stories, and metaphors--Hughes explores the meaning of sacraments, including the Christian Initiation of Adults, Infant Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage and Vocation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Funerals, and Eucharist.In these pages you are invited to share the experiences of many different types of people: young and old, lifelong Catholics, and those recently welcomed (or welcomed back) into the Church, newly confirmed teenagers, first communicants, newlyweds, those who have recently experienced the death of a loved one, a community of religious women.This book will help you and those you work with to understand and love the liturgy more, to participate more thoughtfully in its celebration, and to embrace a sacramental way of living.

In this collection of essays, outstanding scholars and pastors reflect on the many "languages" of the Catholic liturgy--the aural, spatial, temporal, kinetic, and iconic--which blend together into a single voice, a single act of praise.

The Monk''s Tale is the story of a Benedictine monk of St. John''s Abbey by the name of Godfrey Diekmann, editor of Orate Fratres/Worship; organizer of and participant in national and international Liturgical Weeks; outstanding teacher; popular and gifted speaker; sought-after retreat preacher; consulter to the Pontifical Preparatory Commission on the Liturgy, which prepared for the Second Vatican Council; Council peritus fro 1963-1965; a member, from its founding, of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL); and a consultor to the Consilium for th Implementation of the Constitution on the Liturgy. A man of contagious, childlike effervescence and rock-solid faith, Farther Godfrey''s life intersects and illumines some of the most fascinating events of contemporary Church history. - Provided by the publisher.

COLORS FOR BRIDES guides you step-by-step through planning a picture-perfect wedding, shopping for your trousseau and decorating your first home.

This 1982 collection of essays examines Ireland''s relations with the rest of western Europe between AD 400 and 1200. They show the idiosyncratic ways in which Ireland responded to external stimuli and illustrate the view that early Irish history, religion, politics and art should be seen not in isolation but as vital contributors to the development of European culture. This was the firmly held opinion of Kathleen Hughes, to whose memory these essays, specially commissioned from leading scholars in the field, are dedicated. The range of essays reflects the diversity of early Ireland''s history and the extent of her influence upon other cultures. The ecclesiastical tradition and hagiography form one area of study; political expansion and diplomatic history, as well as literary and artistic influences, are also discussed. The subjects are variously introduced as they affect Ireland''s relations with Scotland, Anglo-Saxon England, Merovingian Gaul, the Scandinavians and the Welsh.

The monastic sites of early Christian Ireland have always been an attraction to visitors. Now issued in a new edition, this book is intended for use by those who wish to understand the religious and secular life of early Ireland. The authors have used the site remains and historical source material to reconstruct the life of Irish monks and laymen from the fifth to the twelfth centuries. Here the reader will find treatments of the function of monasteries in early Ireland, the daily life of their inhabitants, and the significance of their art and sculpture. The appendices include a county-by-county guide to the most interesting early Christian sites.