Confessions of a Wayward Catholic

Confessions of a Wayward Catholic
Author: Frank Scoblete
Publisher: Author House
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2013-11
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1491824263

Confessions of a Wayward Catholic is a hilarious yet insightful account of Frank Scoblete's years from kindergarten through grandparenthood as a confused, wayward, seemingly ever-sinning Catholic. Join Frank for a possibly hell-bound ride as he attempts to understand what God and religion are all about. Will Frank reach the pearly gates or be banished to eternal damnation? "I love my husband but there is stuff in this book that is disgraceful and should never have been written!" - Alene Scoblete, wife "Francis Scoblete has been a major sinner ever since he came to elementary school. I watched him closely at the dances." - Sister Jerome Blake, in charge of making sure girls and boys slow danced a foot apart. "I don't know why Jewish kids went to a Catholic school but I'm proud they did well in religion." - Chief Rabbi Sol Bernstein "I believe that you should love your neighbor as yourself. Luckily, Frank lives in another town and is not my neighbor." - Jesus Christ "Scoblete says I have no sense of humor. I will afflict him with boils and sores over his whole body, just like I did Job." - God "Frank Scoblete has been wayward for over six decades. He's my main man!" - Satan

Confessions of a Wayward Catholic

Confessions of a Wayward Catholic
Author: Frank Scoblete
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 149182428X

Confessions of a Wayward Catholic is a hilarious yet insightful account of Frank Scoblete's years from kindergarten through grandparenthood as a confused, wayward, seemingly ever-sinning Catholic. Join Frank for a possibly hell-bound ride as he attempts to understand what God and religion are all about. Will Frank reach the pearly gates or be banished to eternal damnation? "I love my husband but there is stuff in this book that is disgraceful and should never have been written!" - Alene Scoblete, wife "Francis Scoblete has been a major sinner ever since he came to elementary school. I watched him closely at the dances." - Sister Jerome Blake, in charge of making sure girls and boys slow danced a foot apart. "I don't know why Jewish kids went to a Catholic school but I'm proud they did well in religion." - Chief Rabbi Sol Bernstein "I believe that you should love your neighbor as yourself. Luckily, Frank lives in another town and is not my neighbor." - Jesus Christ "Scoblete says I have no sense of humor. I will afflict him with boils and sores over his whole body, just like I did Job." - God "Frank Scoblete has been wayward for over six decades. He's my main man!" - Satan

Zen Confidential

Zen Confidential
Author: Shozan Jack Haubner
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2013-05-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834829053

A screenwriter and stand-up comic’s hilarious and profound account of his journey into Zen monkhood—featuring a foreword by Leonard Cohen Shozan Jack Haubner is the David Sedaris of Zen Buddhism: a brilliant humorist and analyst of human foibles, whose hilarity is informed by the profound insights that have dawned on him—as he's stumbled and fallen into spirituall practice. Raised in a truly strange family of Mel-Gibson-esque Catholic extremists, he went on to study philosophy (becoming very un-Catholic in the process) and to pursue a career as a screenwriter and stand-up comic in the clubs of L.A. How he went from life in the fast lane to life on the stationary meditation cushion is the subject of this laugh-out-loud funny account of his experiences. Whether he’s dealing with the pranks of a juvenile delinquent assistant in the monastery kitchen or experiencing profound compassion in the presence of his spiritual teacher, Haubner’s voice is one you'll be compelled to listen to. Not only because it’s highly entertaining, but because of its remarkable insight into the human condition.

Swimming with Scapulars

Swimming with Scapulars
Author: Matthew Lickona
Publisher: Loyola Press
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2010-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0829430814

Meet Matthew Lickona, a thirty-something wine columnist, sometime cartoonist, avid moviegoer, fan of alternative rock, and wonderfully talented writer. He is also a devoutly religious young man ("I am a Roman Catholic, baptized as an infant and raised in the faith, a faith which holds the exemplary and redemptive suffering of Jesus Christ at its core." ) who fasts during Lent, leads his family in prayer every day, and wears a scapular--a medieval amulet said to protect the wearer from harm. In Lickona's "true confessions," we are introduced to a unique and singular voice, but one that is emblematic of a new generation of believers who combine a premodern faith with a postmodern sensibility. "Swimming with Scapulars "is a modern-day, Catholic, coming-of-age story that takes its author from the austere Catholicism of his Irish-French family in upstate New York to the exotic spiritual tapestry of Southern California. It is the story of the formation of an ardent young believer who is painfully honest about his spiritual shortcomings ("In times of suffering, I look first to myself. God is the backup, to be called upon when I find myself insufficient."), yet who finds consuming joy in receiving the Eucharist and embracing "the ancient treasures of the faith." Lickona doesn't mind that many of his secular friends and acquaintances regard him as a religious fanatic. As he writes, "Perhaps, coming from a fanatic, the message of God's love will regain some of its wonderful outrageousness. 'Listen. I have a secret. I eat God, and I have his life in me. It's the best thing in the world.'"

I Am A Card Counter

I Am A Card Counter
Author: Frank Scoblete
Publisher: Triumph Books
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2014-05-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1623688191

With the help of the easy-to-master steps in this book, even a novice gambler can go from being a traditional blackjack player to a card counter--an advantage player with a true edge over the house. For a dozen years, Frank Scoblete was a devastating card-counter, consistently beating casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Tunica, Mississippi and angering the casino bosses by knowing more about how to win money than almost anyone who ever challenged a casino. He employed sophisticated methods, including card-counting and little-known advantage-play techniques to turn the tables on the house. Now Frank, known as an icon of the gambling industry, shares with readers everything he knows about beating casinos at blackjack, including techniques for one, two, four, six, and eight deck games such as "end play," "the fat finger method," "card groupings," and several card counting systems that are easy to learn, but powerful and effective to play. "I Am a Card Counter" is an essential resource for any gambler looking to succeed at the blackjack table.

Celibrate Lovers

Celibrate Lovers
Author: Jean Conley
Publisher: Llumina Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2009-11
Genre:
ISBN: 9781605943213

Mike and Jean found one another in the most unorthodox way. Mike was a Roman Catholic priest, who struggled with his vow of chastity but wanted to remain in the priesthood. Jean was a widow, who was a Catholic intent on obeying the laws of the Church. After much soul searching between each other and discussion within their spiritual support group, they entered into a celibate love relationship publicly. Mike had his first sexual experience not very long after his ordination, when he got involved with a married woman, ten years older than himself. Once he experienced the ecstasy of being with a woman, there was no turning back, nor could he bring himself to give up his vocation. He continued to be sexually involved throughout his priesthood, that is, until he met Jean. He was looking for a way to be true to his vows, but also have his needs met to love and be loved. Jean was a strong, virtuous woman, who had always lived on the straight and narrow and seemed to be just the right companion for this intention. Mike Conley received a Master of Science in chemistry and a Master of Science in Administration from the University of Notre Dame. He was a Roman Catholic priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross for twenty-one years and has taught high school science in parochial and public schools. Jean Conley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in human behavior and a Master of Theology in contemporary Christianity. She has had life coach training and authored a book on the subject of self-image, entitled Coach Your Way to a Great Self-Image. Mike and Jean reside in La Quinta, California, where they are administrators of an online university that offers ministerial and theological degrees. They have been married for over twenty years and continue to have a passionate love relationship.

Confessions of an Ex-Feminist

Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
Author: Lorraine V. Murray
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2011-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1681491095

Confessions is the ; honest and heart-rending ; account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, ; attended parochial schools and fully embraced the beliefs ; of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. ; Amidst the radical feminist college environment of the ; 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping ; aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged ; in a series of love relationships in college, all of which ; crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction ; between feminist teachings and her own experience, Murray ; still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of ; tradition. Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with ; an emphasis on the feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, ; Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she ; launched a personal vendetta against God and the Catholic ; Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that ; God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear, and ; touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she ; discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that ; feminists offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to ; her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional ; experience, which she grieved over for years. It was the ; first tragic chink in her feminist armor. After her ; marriage in 1982, she anguished over the decision to have ; children, but became an advocate of the ; "child-free" movement, believing children were ; burdens and life could be happy life without them. Later in ; her forties, Murray experienced a mysterious series of ; events in which it seemed that "someone" was ; inviting her back to God. The mysterious calls came from ; different ports, including nature, books and other people. ; Gradually, she realized that the One seeking her was ; Christ, and the place He was calling her to was the ; Catholic Church. Eventually realizing it was only in the ; Church that she would find what she was seeking - the ; person of Christ and his love and mercy - Murray returned ; to the Church, and finally found healing and forgiveness ; for the abortion. Lorraine Murray's Confessions are ; a revelation. They reveal the nasty truth behind women's ; "liberation". Her experiences, and the lessons she ; learns from them, serve as a timely warning of the folly of ; feminism and the destructive impact that feminism has on ; those who fall under its malignant spell. - ; Joseph Pearce, author The Quest for ; Shakespeare "Confessions of an ; Ex-Feminist is the gripping story of millions of women ; who lost their religious and intellectual anchors during ; the tsunami of the fatal sixties and seventies. It is a ; movingly honest confession of how pride, arrogance, ; immaturity, ambition, craving to be "liberated", ; blinds the female soul. Abortion kills babies and wounds a ; woman's soul to its very core. But a prodigal daughter ; found her way back home, crushed by guilt, driven by ; repentance, and discovers that God's mercy is boundless. ; She is now given the crucial mission of shouting on roof's ; tops: feminism is the arch enemy of women. This book should ; become a vade mecum of young girls". - ; Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, author The Privilege ; of Being a Woman "Lorraine Murray's ; absorbing and poignant book traces her passage from the ; heart of the Catholic Church to the epicenter of the sexual ; revolution and back again. With candor, humor and a knack ; for storytelling, Murray reveals the mysterious ways God ; worked in her soul and leaves readers richer for having ; shared her journey." “/DIV>

Inquisition and Society in the Kingdom of Valencia, 1478-1834

Inquisition and Society in the Kingdom of Valencia, 1478-1834
Author: Stephen Haliczer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2024-07-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520377893

Stephen Haliczer has mined rich documentary sources to produce the most comprehensive and enlightening picture yet of the Inquisition in Spain. The kingdom of Valencia occupies a uniquely important place in the history of the Spanish Inquisition because of its large Muslim and Jewish populations and because it was a Catalan kingdom, more or less "occupied" by the despised Castilians who introduced the Inquisition. Haliczer underscores the intensely regional nature of the Valencian tribunal. He shows how the prosecution of religious deviants, the recruitment and professional activity of Inquisitors and officials, and the relations between the Inquisition and the majority Old Christian population all clearly reflect the place and the society. A great series of pogroms swept over Spain during the summer of 1391. Jewish communities were attacked and the Jews either massacred or forced to convert. More than ninety percent of the victims of the Valencian Inquisition a century later were descendants of those who chose conversion, the conversos. Haliczer argues convincingly against those who see all the conversos as "secret Jews." He finds, on the contrary, that a wide range of religious beliefs and practices existed among them and that some were even able to assimilate into Old Christian society by becoming familiares of the Inquisition itself. Nevertheless, it was controversy over the sincerity of the converted which spawned the first proposals for the establishment of a Spanish national Inquisition. That very same controversy, persisting in the writings of history, may be resolved by Haliczer's stimulating discoveries. Inquisition and Society in the Kingdom of Valencia is a major contribution to the lively field of Inquisition studies, combining institutional history of the tribunal with socioreligious history of the kingdom. The many case histories included in the narrative give both Valencian society and the Inquisition very human faces. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

Expositions of the Psalms 1-32 (Vol. 1)

Expositions of the Psalms 1-32 (Vol. 1)
Author: Saint Augustine (of Hippo)
Publisher: New City Press
Total Pages: 462
Release: 1990
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 1565481402

"As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo."--Publisher's website.

The Confessions of a Physician Operative

The Confessions of a Physician Operative
Author: Dr. John W. Ford
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2021-12-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1638670137

The Confessions of a Physician Operative By: Dr. John W. Ford When the sudden death of his mother and abandonment by his father leaves young Sean Devlin without a home, he leaves the life he knows to move in with his aunt Jill. Though his childhood is tumultuous and often lonely, he finds love and acceptance in his new home and Sean grows up to become a very successful physician. But Sean lives a secret life. Ever the contradictory figure, Sean, when not saving his patients' lives, is a physician/killer for the CIA, and later in life, a crack operative for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency - a life he keeps closely guarded. The Confessions of a Physician Operative tells the story of a willful, complicated, and enigmatic figure and the unprecedented life he lived.