-
Francis of Assisi
- The Life
- Narrated by: Tom O'Malley
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, his love of animals and nature, and his desire to follow perfectly the teachings and example of Christ. During his lifetime and after his death, followers collected, for their own purposes, numerous stories, anecdotes, and reports about Francis. As a result, the man himself and his own concerns became lost in legend.
In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint. Francis emerges from this account as very much a typical 13th century Italian layman, but one who, when faced with unexpected crises in his personal life, made decisions so radical that they challenge his own society - and ours. Unlike the saint of legend, this Francis never had a unique divine inspiration to provide him with rules for following the teachings of Jesus. Rather, he spent his life reacting to unexpected challenges, before which he often found himself unprepared and uncertain.
The Francis who emerges here is both more complex and more conflicted than that of older biographies. His famed devotion to poverty is found to be more nuanced than expected, perhaps not even his principal spiritual concern. Thompson revisits events small and large in Francis's life, including his troubled relations with his father, his contacts with Clare of Assisi, his encounter with the Muslim sultan, and his receiving the Stigmata, to uncover the man behind the legends and popular images.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Life of St. Francis of Assisi
- By: Saint Bonaventure
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Francis, go and build up my house, which thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual church in souls. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to conversion and a deeper faith.
-
-
Great
- By Paul Silva on 07-25-22
-
Light of Assisi
- The Story of Saint Clare
- By: Margaret Carney OSF
- Narrated by: Kathleen Li
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book will introduce St. Clare of Assisi to those who do not know her and those who wish to know her better. It leads the listener from Clare's birth to her death. While taking account of modern scholarship, Sr. Margaret Carney tells the story of this medieval woman in a way listeners today can understand.
-
-
Loved this book!
- By Lori G on 05-27-21
-
The Agony of Jesus
- By: St. Padre Pio
- Narrated by: Joe Hunninghake
- Length: 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A true treasure of spiritual insights, this little book contains the remarkable meditations on The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane by St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the stigmatist priest.
-
-
A Nescissary Meditation
- By James Stewart on 05-15-21
By: St. Padre Pio
-
Catherine of Siena
- By: Sigrid Undset
- Narrated by: Sydney Penny
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena is critically acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this well-known and amazing 14th-century saint. Known for her historical fiction, which won her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, Undset based this factual work on primary sources, her own experiences living in Italy, and her profound understanding of the human heart.
-
-
Must read for all Christians
- By James Gajewski on 07-17-21
By: Sigrid Undset
-
The Wisdom of John Paul II
- The Pope on Life's Most Vital Questions
- By: Pope John Paul II, Introduction by Father John White
- Narrated by: Kevin McCarthy
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Wisdom of John Paul II is a powerful, illuminating distillation of the Pope's most moving, wise, and penetrating statements on a range of important issues. In this compilation by Nick Bakalar and Richard Balkin, the Pope addresses spirituality in modern life, human rights and religious freedom, marriage and family, morality, peace, prayer, women's roles, poverty, and many other concerns vital to Christian life and thought.
-
-
Catholicism clarified for me
- By Sean on 07-14-04
By: Pope John Paul II, and others
-
Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry
- True Stories of Padre Pio, Book 1
- By: Diane Allen
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book I, written by Diane Allen and published by Padre Pio Press, features 55 chapters and is a glimpse into the life and spirituality of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, who has often been called "the greatest mystic of the 20th Century."
-
-
Very Uplifting
- By JoAnn on 07-11-23
By: Diane Allen
-
The Life of St. Francis of Assisi
- By: Saint Bonaventure
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Francis, go and build up my house, which thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual church in souls. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to conversion and a deeper faith.
-
-
Great
- By Paul Silva on 07-25-22
-
Light of Assisi
- The Story of Saint Clare
- By: Margaret Carney OSF
- Narrated by: Kathleen Li
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book will introduce St. Clare of Assisi to those who do not know her and those who wish to know her better. It leads the listener from Clare's birth to her death. While taking account of modern scholarship, Sr. Margaret Carney tells the story of this medieval woman in a way listeners today can understand.
-
-
Loved this book!
- By Lori G on 05-27-21
-
The Agony of Jesus
- By: St. Padre Pio
- Narrated by: Joe Hunninghake
- Length: 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A true treasure of spiritual insights, this little book contains the remarkable meditations on The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane by St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the stigmatist priest.
-
-
A Nescissary Meditation
- By James Stewart on 05-15-21
By: St. Padre Pio
-
Catherine of Siena
- By: Sigrid Undset
- Narrated by: Sydney Penny
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena is critically acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this well-known and amazing 14th-century saint. Known for her historical fiction, which won her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, Undset based this factual work on primary sources, her own experiences living in Italy, and her profound understanding of the human heart.
-
-
Must read for all Christians
- By James Gajewski on 07-17-21
By: Sigrid Undset
-
The Wisdom of John Paul II
- The Pope on Life's Most Vital Questions
- By: Pope John Paul II, Introduction by Father John White
- Narrated by: Kevin McCarthy
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Wisdom of John Paul II is a powerful, illuminating distillation of the Pope's most moving, wise, and penetrating statements on a range of important issues. In this compilation by Nick Bakalar and Richard Balkin, the Pope addresses spirituality in modern life, human rights and religious freedom, marriage and family, morality, peace, prayer, women's roles, poverty, and many other concerns vital to Christian life and thought.
-
-
Catholicism clarified for me
- By Sean on 07-14-04
By: Pope John Paul II, and others
-
Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry
- True Stories of Padre Pio, Book 1
- By: Diane Allen
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book I, written by Diane Allen and published by Padre Pio Press, features 55 chapters and is a glimpse into the life and spirituality of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, who has often been called "the greatest mystic of the 20th Century."
-
-
Very Uplifting
- By JoAnn on 07-11-23
By: Diane Allen
-
Francis and Jesus
- By: Murray Bodo
- Narrated by: Murray Bodo, Richard Rohr
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francis and Jesus is the story of how the poor and humble St. Francis of Assisi gave away all to gain all, sharing in God's kingdom on Earth. Francis' life exemplifies what it means to be a genuine disciple of Jesus, walking in Christ's footsteps to show how ultimate truth is lived in small, unique ways. Franciscan Father Murray Bodo takes us on the journey with Francis, as we see his pain, his suffering, his dying to self. On that difficult road we are reminded that death to self creates new life....
-
-
A tender, loving, and remarkably detailed telling
- By Gary Wayne Miller on 07-10-19
By: Murray Bodo
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
-
Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
St. Francis of Assisi: A New Way of Being Christian
- By: William Short
- Narrated by: William Short
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to be an imitator of Christ? Find out by exploring the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi and the movements he inspired with one of the world's leading Franciscan experts as your guide.
-
-
Life changing
- By Jarrod Dillon on 01-12-20
By: William Short
-
Clare of Assisi
- Gentle Warrior, San Damiano Books, Volume 1
- By: Wendy Murray
- Narrated by: Wendy Murray
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clare of Assisi is generally known as “the female friend” of Saint Francis of Assisi and for centuries her legacy has remained obscured by his shadow. Yet Clare’s life and story ought to shine in its own light and on its own terms (her name, after all, means “light”). She is a figure of true heroism, tenacity, beatitude and grit who plotted her improbable course in the context of the raucous and explosive period of the Middle Ages.
-
-
A sympathetic and imaginative portrayal of a great Saint
- By Grace M-T on 10-24-20
By: Wendy Murray
-
King: A Life
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself.
-
-
My Time
- By Susan on 06-18-23
By: Jonathan Eig
-
Eager to Love
- The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
- By: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: John Quigley O.F.M.
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of all saints. Both traditional and entirely revolutionary, he was a paradox. He was at once down-to-earth and reaching toward heaven, grounded in the rich history of the Church while moving toward a new understanding of the world beyond. Franciscan Father Richard Rohr helps us look beyond the birdbath image of the saint to remind us of the long tradition founded on Francis' revolutionary, radical, and life-changing embrace of the teachings of Jesus.
-
-
Richard Rohr Should Read Richard Rohr
- By Cloud Captain on 10-18-14
By: Richard Rohr
-
The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition)
- By: Thomas Merton
- Narrated by: Greg Chun
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Working from existing translations, Thomas Merton composed a series of his own versions of the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries BC, is the chief authentic historical spokesperson for Taoism and its founder, Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu’s writings).
-
-
Way of Merton -- Chuang Tzu, not so much
- By Philo on 01-11-20
By: Thomas Merton
-
Clare of Assisi: Her Life and Theology
- By: Joan Mueller
- Narrated by: Joan Mueller
- Length: 5 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an influential religious founder and model of poverty, St. Clare of Assisi left us with a legacy that is at once humble and immense. In this audio course, you will join an internationally acclaimed expert on the life and literature of St. Clare. Drawing on decades as a scholar and translator of St. Clare, Sr. Joan Mueller, OSC, PhD invites you to explore Clare's rich literary heritage. Through her remarkable writings, you will discover a window into the timeless wisdom of 13th-century medieval women.
By: Joan Mueller
-
Martin Luther
- The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World
- By: Eric Metaxas
- Narrated by: Eric Metaxas
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five hundred years after Luther's now famous 95 Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas, acclaimed biographer of the best-selling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future.
-
-
A Metaxas Hat Trick
- By Tommy on 11-04-17
By: Eric Metaxas
-
When the Church Was Young
- Voices of the Early Fathers
- By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.
-
-
Masterful summary of the early Church Fathers
- By Mike C on 08-22-14
-
Saint Padre Pio
- Man of Hope
- By: Renzo Allegri
- Narrated by: Douglas James
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Canonized on June 16, 2002, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) was a Capuchin monk and mystic whose life was marked with miracles and wonders, but who said that his only desire was “to be a poor friar who prays.” In this intimate biography, you will see the results of this humble Capuchin's prayers and discover for yourself the source of his great hope. This updated edition contains five new chapters covering the years between beatification and canonization, St. Pio’s continued work in people’s lives, and the devotion of St. John Paul II to this extraordinary saint.
-
-
Occasional mispronunciations; otherwise awesome
- By Paul Grady on 12-22-20
By: Renzo Allegri
-
St. Bridget of Sweden
- By: Francesca Maria Steele
- Narrated by: Tricia O'Donnell
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St. Bridget of Sweden (1303 - 1373) was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband Ulf. She is famous for her saintly life, the many miracles she worked, and her influence on various popes and European leaders. She is also well-known for the revelations she received, which are composed in eight books. St. Bridget is one of the six patron saints of Europe.
-
-
Reassuring
- By SMB1010 on 10-12-20
Related to this topic
-
When the Church Was Young
- Voices of the Early Fathers
- By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.
-
-
Masterful summary of the early Church Fathers
- By Mike C on 08-22-14
-
The Early Church from Ignatius to Augustine
- By: George Hodges
- Narrated by: James Walmsley
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This classic text gives a broad overview of the early Christian church, how it was formed, and how it dealt with the Roman empire, which was at first hostile to Christianity, and then under Constantine the Great how it came to embrace the new faith. The author, George Hodges, also examines the many heresies that beset the church from within, and the various figures that would defend the correct definition of the faith.
-
-
Horrible Mispronunciations
- By Jeffrey on 12-11-22
By: George Hodges
-
Popes and Feminists
- How the Reformation Frees Women from Feminism
- By: Elise Crapuchettes
- Narrated by: Elise Crapuchettes
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, being a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only “spiritual” calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which led to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free Christians to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else....
-
-
EXCELLENT BOOK.
- By Diana Jenkins on 01-09-21
-
Dangerous Mystic
- Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within
- By: Joel F. Harrington
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meister Eckhart was a medieval Christian mystic whose wisdom powerfully appeals to seekers seven centuries after his death. In the modern era, Eckhart's writings have struck a chord with thinkers as diverse as Heidegger, Merton, Sartre, John Paul II, and the current Dalai Lama. He is the inspiration for the best-selling New Age author Eckhart Tolle's pen name, and his 14th-century quotes have become an online sensation. Today, a variety of Christians, as well as many Zen Buddhists, Sufi Muslims, Jewish Cabbalists, and various spiritual seekers, all claim Eckhart as their own.
-
-
Meister Ekhart foisting his sexuality....
- By Kindle Customer on 08-08-19
-
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People
- By: The Venerable Bede
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People was written in Latin by the Venerable Bede (673-735), a Benedictine monk living in Northumbria, an important Christian centre in the eighth century. It is a remarkable document, tracing, in general, early Anglo-Saxon history, and in particular, as the title proclaims, the growth and establishment of Christianity against the backdrop of the political life.
-
-
good story
- By Henry Harrity on 04-21-20
-
Fatal Discord
- Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind
- By: Michael Massing
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 34 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This deeply textured dual biography and fascinating intellectual history examines two of the greatest minds of European history - Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther - whose heated rivalry gave rise to two enduring, fundamental, and often colliding traditions of philosophical and religious thought.
-
-
Excellent work - up until the discussion of America
- By Michele Esposito on 08-24-19
By: Michael Massing
-
When the Church Was Young
- Voices of the Early Fathers
- By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.
-
-
Masterful summary of the early Church Fathers
- By Mike C on 08-22-14
-
The Early Church from Ignatius to Augustine
- By: George Hodges
- Narrated by: James Walmsley
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This classic text gives a broad overview of the early Christian church, how it was formed, and how it dealt with the Roman empire, which was at first hostile to Christianity, and then under Constantine the Great how it came to embrace the new faith. The author, George Hodges, also examines the many heresies that beset the church from within, and the various figures that would defend the correct definition of the faith.
-
-
Horrible Mispronunciations
- By Jeffrey on 12-11-22
By: George Hodges
-
Popes and Feminists
- How the Reformation Frees Women from Feminism
- By: Elise Crapuchettes
- Narrated by: Elise Crapuchettes
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, being a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only “spiritual” calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which led to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free Christians to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else....
-
-
EXCELLENT BOOK.
- By Diana Jenkins on 01-09-21
-
Dangerous Mystic
- Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within
- By: Joel F. Harrington
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meister Eckhart was a medieval Christian mystic whose wisdom powerfully appeals to seekers seven centuries after his death. In the modern era, Eckhart's writings have struck a chord with thinkers as diverse as Heidegger, Merton, Sartre, John Paul II, and the current Dalai Lama. He is the inspiration for the best-selling New Age author Eckhart Tolle's pen name, and his 14th-century quotes have become an online sensation. Today, a variety of Christians, as well as many Zen Buddhists, Sufi Muslims, Jewish Cabbalists, and various spiritual seekers, all claim Eckhart as their own.
-
-
Meister Ekhart foisting his sexuality....
- By Kindle Customer on 08-08-19
-
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People
- By: The Venerable Bede
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People was written in Latin by the Venerable Bede (673-735), a Benedictine monk living in Northumbria, an important Christian centre in the eighth century. It is a remarkable document, tracing, in general, early Anglo-Saxon history, and in particular, as the title proclaims, the growth and establishment of Christianity against the backdrop of the political life.
-
-
good story
- By Henry Harrity on 04-21-20
-
Fatal Discord
- Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind
- By: Michael Massing
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 34 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This deeply textured dual biography and fascinating intellectual history examines two of the greatest minds of European history - Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther - whose heated rivalry gave rise to two enduring, fundamental, and often colliding traditions of philosophical and religious thought.
-
-
Excellent work - up until the discussion of America
- By Michele Esposito on 08-24-19
By: Michael Massing
-
Martin Luther
- Renegade and Prophet
- By: Lyndal Roper
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 31, 1517, an unknown monk nailed a theological pamphlet to a church door in a small university town and set in motion a process that helped usher in the modern world. Within a few years, Luther's ideas had spread like wildfire. His attempts to reform Christianity by returning it to its biblical roots split the Western Church, divided Europe, and polarized people's beliefs.
-
-
The purpose of this book is not to be a biography
- By LionsCalling09 on 01-25-18
By: Lyndal Roper
-
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
- Why the Greeks Matter
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best selling history writer Thomas Cahill continues his series on the roots of Western civilization with this volume about the contributions of ancient Greece to the development of contemporary culture. Tracing the origin of Greek culture in the migrations of armed Indo-European horsemen into Attica and the Peloponnesian peninsula, he follows their progress into the creation of the Greek city-states, the refinement of their machinery of war, and the flowering of intellectual and artistic culture.
-
-
Super super
- By Richard on 12-28-03
By: Thomas Cahill
-
Tried by Fire
- The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years
- By: William J. Bennett
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full of larger-than-life characters, stunning acts of bravery, and heart-rending sacrifice, Tried by Fire narrates the rise and expansion of Christianity from an obscure regional sect to the established faith of the world's greatest empire with influence extending from India to Ireland, Scandinavia to Ethiopia, and all points in between.
-
-
Best history of Christianity I've read
- By JOHN F KANARY on 05-05-16
-
A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards
- By: George M. Marsden
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jonathan Edwards is one of the most extraordinary figures in American history. Arguably the most brilliant theologian ever born on American soil, Edwards (1703 - 1758) was also a pastor, a renowned preacher, a missionary to the Native Americans, a biographer, a college president, a philosopher, a loving husband, and the father of 11 children.
-
-
Terrific book and well narrated
- By SBT on 01-22-11
-
Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Mother of the Civilization of Love
- By: Carl Anderson, Eduardo Chavez
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly a decade after Spain's conquest of Mexico, the future of Christianity on the American continent was very much in doubt. Confronted with a hostile colonial government and Native Americans wary of conversion, the newly-appointed bishop-elect of Mexico wrote to tell the King of Spain that, unless there was a miracle, the continent would be lost.
-
-
Good book but difficult to get through
- By Becky on 01-26-18
By: Carl Anderson, and others
-
Medieval Christianity
- A New History
- By: Kevin Madigan
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.
-
-
New Standard Text for This Period
- By Bill Martin on 10-22-16
By: Kevin Madigan
-
Augustine
- Conversions to Confessions
- By: Robin Lane Fox
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 25 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saint Augustine is one of the most influential figures in all of Christianity, yet his path to sainthood was by no means assured. Born in AD 354 to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine spent the first 30 years of his life struggling to understand the nature of God and his world. He learned about Christianity as a child but was never baptized, choosing instead to immerse himself in the study of rhetoric, Manicheanism, and then Neoplatonism - all the while indulging in a life of lust and greed.
-
-
Excellent
- By Chelsie P. on 12-06-16
By: Robin Lane Fox
-
Heretics and Believers
- A History of the English Reformation
- By: Peter Marshall
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Centuries on, what the Reformation was and what it accomplished remain deeply contentious. Peter Marshall's sweeping new history argues that 16th-century England was a society neither desperate for nor allergic to change, but one open to ideas of "reform" in various competing guises. This engaging history reveals what was really at stake in the overthrow of Catholic culture and the reshaping of the English Church.
-
-
A heavy read but well worth it.
- By chemtrooper on 12-02-18
By: Peter Marshall
-
The First Thousand Years
- A Global History of Christianity
- By: Robert Louis Wilken
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
-
-
Excellent Summary!
- By Gary Vandenbos on 09-13-21
-
My Life With the Saints
- By: James Martin SJ
- Narrated by: James Martin SJ
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Be inspired by saints like never before in My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. This best-selling memoir of spiritual self-discovery is an homage to the saints who have accompanied Fr. Martin throughout his life. From a lukewarm childhood Catholicism, to the Wharton School of Business, to the executive fast track at General Electric, to the Jesuits, to a media career in Manhattan, Martin has relied on the saints to intervene in and guide his life.
-
-
The title describes the book
- By Richard K. on 12-09-10
By: James Martin SJ
-
Sermon on the Mount
- A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven
- By: Amy-Jill Levine
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How is the follower of Jesus to understand the words of the Old Testament? How are those words relevant to the New Covenant he is establishing? What might the words of the Lord’s Prayer have conveyed to his initial followers, and why is that historical information essential to the prayer two millennia later? In Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes a detailed and colorful overview of Matthew 5-7, collectively known as Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
-
-
Ye Resist Not Evil
- By Jaden Kellogg on 08-19-20
By: Amy-Jill Levine
-
Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
- By: Peter Brown
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity.
-
-
A learned, well-balanced postmodern history
- By Jacobus on 11-21-12
By: Peter Brown
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Complete Francis of Assisi
- His Life, the Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers (Paraclete Giants)
- By: Jon M. Sweeney
- Narrated by: Alan Crookham
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and many biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work. This edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier's groundbreaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers.
By: Jon M. Sweeney
-
St. Francis of Assisi
- By: G. K. Chesterton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. This acclaimed biography of Saint Francis examines the life of a pure artist, a man "whose whole life was a poem". Here is the Saint Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, and who invented the crèche. Yet Francis also acknowledged the mystic responsibility to communicate his divine experience.
-
-
About Time
- By Cristina on 01-01-16
By: G. K. Chesterton
-
Eager to Love
- The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
- By: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: John Quigley O.F.M.
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of all saints. Both traditional and entirely revolutionary, he was a paradox. He was at once down-to-earth and reaching toward heaven, grounded in the rich history of the Church while moving toward a new understanding of the world beyond. Franciscan Father Richard Rohr helps us look beyond the birdbath image of the saint to remind us of the long tradition founded on Francis' revolutionary, radical, and life-changing embrace of the teachings of Jesus.
-
-
Richard Rohr Should Read Richard Rohr
- By Cloud Captain on 10-18-14
By: Richard Rohr
-
St. Francis of Assisi: His Life, Teachings, and Practice
- Essential Wisdom Library Series
- By: Jon M. Sweeney
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most venerated Christian figures, and his profound teachings, deep love of nature, and commitment to simplicity have resonated with generations of followers. St. Francis of Assisi, a title in the Essential Wisdom Library, offers a simple and universal introduction to Francis' life, his key teachings, and the spiritual practices that enriched his faith and the lives of those who follow his legacy.
-
-
Learned More about St. Francis, but Have Concerns
- By A.H. on 07-29-22
By: Jon M. Sweeney
-
The Life of St. Francis of Assisi
- By: Saint Bonaventure
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Francis, go and build up my house, which thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual church in souls. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to conversion and a deeper faith.
-
-
Great
- By Paul Silva on 07-25-22
-
St. Francis of Assisi: A New Way of Being Christian
- By: William Short
- Narrated by: William Short
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to be an imitator of Christ? Find out by exploring the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi and the movements he inspired with one of the world's leading Franciscan experts as your guide.
-
-
Life changing
- By Jarrod Dillon on 01-12-20
By: William Short
-
The Complete Francis of Assisi
- His Life, the Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers (Paraclete Giants)
- By: Jon M. Sweeney
- Narrated by: Alan Crookham
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and many biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work. This edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier's groundbreaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers.
By: Jon M. Sweeney
-
St. Francis of Assisi
- By: G. K. Chesterton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. This acclaimed biography of Saint Francis examines the life of a pure artist, a man "whose whole life was a poem". Here is the Saint Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, and who invented the crèche. Yet Francis also acknowledged the mystic responsibility to communicate his divine experience.
-
-
About Time
- By Cristina on 01-01-16
By: G. K. Chesterton
-
Eager to Love
- The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
- By: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: John Quigley O.F.M.
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of all saints. Both traditional and entirely revolutionary, he was a paradox. He was at once down-to-earth and reaching toward heaven, grounded in the rich history of the Church while moving toward a new understanding of the world beyond. Franciscan Father Richard Rohr helps us look beyond the birdbath image of the saint to remind us of the long tradition founded on Francis' revolutionary, radical, and life-changing embrace of the teachings of Jesus.
-
-
Richard Rohr Should Read Richard Rohr
- By Cloud Captain on 10-18-14
By: Richard Rohr
-
St. Francis of Assisi: His Life, Teachings, and Practice
- Essential Wisdom Library Series
- By: Jon M. Sweeney
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most venerated Christian figures, and his profound teachings, deep love of nature, and commitment to simplicity have resonated with generations of followers. St. Francis of Assisi, a title in the Essential Wisdom Library, offers a simple and universal introduction to Francis' life, his key teachings, and the spiritual practices that enriched his faith and the lives of those who follow his legacy.
-
-
Learned More about St. Francis, but Have Concerns
- By A.H. on 07-29-22
By: Jon M. Sweeney
-
The Life of St. Francis of Assisi
- By: Saint Bonaventure
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Francis, go and build up my house, which thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual church in souls. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to conversion and a deeper faith.
-
-
Great
- By Paul Silva on 07-25-22
-
St. Francis of Assisi: A New Way of Being Christian
- By: William Short
- Narrated by: William Short
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to be an imitator of Christ? Find out by exploring the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi and the movements he inspired with one of the world's leading Franciscan experts as your guide.
-
-
Life changing
- By Jarrod Dillon on 01-12-20
By: William Short
What listeners say about Francis of Assisi
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan
- 12-23-21
Wow
This is truly an amazing chronicle of the historical Saint Francis of Assisi. Highly recommended!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- erizo1
- 10-16-19
A wonderful portrait
This is a wonderful portrait of the real Francis who became Saint Francis of Assisi that digs beneath the legends to reveal all the complexity of a real human personality. It explains the twists and turns of his personal life and his experience of navigating the unexpected responsibility and leading and caring for his brothers. If you want to get to know St. Francis, buy this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Justin Graves
- 02-16-19
Excellent Work
Book Review:
I just finished "Francis of Assisi: The Life" by Augustine Thompson. This was a short book, just at 200 pages, and although it occasionally delved into nuanced theological and historical questions, it is quite accessible for everyone.
There were three major takeaways for me with this book.
First, trauma builds prophets. Francis lived his early life comfortably among the aristocracy of Assisi as a wealthy merchant's son. Although he was known for generosity to the poor and some level of piety, it wasn't terribly notable. It was not until 1202, when Francis participated as a soldier in a military campaign, that his life changed. This campaign was a horrendous failure, and Francis watched good friends die on the battlefield before he suffered a year imprisoned under poor health. This trauma, similar to PTSD pushed him towards the radical, and it seems he continued to struggle with this trauma throughout his life.
Two, it is ok to be uncertain. Francis shows us that the fragmentation of identity and belief is not just a post-modern event. Francis was constantly torn between different realities. He wished for simple humility, but instead was thrust into a leadership position. He wanted submissive lay piety, but Pope Innocent III made him a preacher. He desired personal poverty, but compassion for the poor and sickly required resources to care for them. Nature held beauty, but it also tormented him with ailments and vermin. These conflicts led to contrary and ever-changing rules and beliefs throughout his entire life. And yet, through this conflict and uncertainty, he was still an effective man.
Three, believers craft saints, not human beings. As Thompson artfully points out over and over, Francis was being remade into a saint, miracle-worker, and typology of John the Baptist and Jesus before he died and against his will! Did Francis really have stigmata? Did he perform miracles? Could he command wolves to obey him? We do know from eye-witness material that Francis had wounds imitating the Passion, was given credit for healings, and he seemed to have a unique ability to gain the trust of animals. But this does not make a saint. Instead, Francis was integrated into the historical milieu of his day, creating a Francis of myth which took the place of the human being who actually existed. Today, we do the same thing, creating "Francis the Environmentalist," "Francis the Communist," or "Francis the Mystic," figures who are not at all like the Francis of Assisi.
-------
Conclusion
This was an absolutely wonderful book. My only serious critique would be that Thompson seems to, ironically, introduce a dichotomy similar to the "Jesus of History and Jesus of Faith" into the discussion, framing Francis as a modernist typology for Christ! But, despite this primarily literary flaw, this is a masterfully researched and accessible book which I would recommend to anyone interested in St. Francis, church history, or practical Christian faith.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Human, Radical, Founder, Cleric, Eucharistic
Excellent. Makes St. Francis human. Although skeptical of the hagiography of the past and I don't agree with all of the author's interpretations of facts presented (but he does present the facts which gives the reader space to interpret the events), it is a work that inspires faith, hope, and charity. It reveals with Francis' own words and instructions great insight into Francis as a true son of the Church with supreme Eucharistic devotion and respect for the sacred offices of the clerics and priesthood.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert Mooneyhan
- 08-03-21
Factual and Fascinating
This is a wonderful and interesting biography of St Francis that isn’t afraid to address some of the myths that have grown up about him. The performance is excellent. Very inspiring, too!
Highly recommended!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Horkstow Grange
- 03-18-21
Good book; performance is just OK
The reader was so-so - not bad, but also sort of droning and not particularly good. His pronunciations of out-of-the-way words tended to be free-form and were often wide of the mark. Couldn't he have at least taken the trouble to look them up on the internet? (Examples: words like "Aristotelian", or anything in Latin.)
My biggest complaint, something that will bother some people more than others, is that background music started playing while he was reading the last 30 seconds or so of each chapter. I'm baffled why production companies do this. It dramatically changes the listening experience, and makes it difficult to comprehend what the reader is saying. It's like having your restaurant waiter stop by the table towards the end of your meal; he reaches over you and pours perfume on your last three bites of the (previously) delicious entrée. Yum! Or turning on the overhead lights at the movie theater during the last 30 seconds of the movie, before the credits start to roll - just to make sure you were aware it was about to end. Weird!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vincent M. Maysee
- 09-01-21
excellent biography
No greater man ever lived than Francis Bernadone who eventually became Saint Francis of Assisi. The world of today needs Francis and his example more than ever!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful