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Without doubt, the gravest symptom in the crisis the Western Church is currently undergoing-the effects of which on art have already denounced in the author's book The Symbolism of the Christian Temple-is the calling into question of the very meaning and content of the Mass, given that it is the heart and vital center of the Church. The intention of this book, however, is not to engage in theological disputes directly, but rather to survey the field from the vantage-point of the history of religion, and to unravel the characteristics of the Christian liturgy that link it to the universality of the sacred. "Through his research into hidden or lost meanings, Jean Hani has revealed and restored to our attention the most 'initiatic' dimensions of the Christian religion." Jean Borella, author of The Secret of the Christian Way, and The Crisis of Religious Symbolism (forthcoming from Angelico Press) Jean Hani (1917-2012), former professor emeritus at the University of Amiens, was the founder of the Centre de Recherche sur l'Antiquité Classique and a frequent contributor to the journal Connaissance des Religions. After writing his PhD thesis on the influence of Egyptian thought upon Plutarch, he produced annotated translations of the latter's writings for the well-known Collection Budé. Later he became known for his mastery of traditional hermeneutics and exegesis, and his broad knowledge in the field of comparative religion. Hani's writing is sensitive to the predicament of those moderns who seek a firm foundation in traditional Christian values, while striving also to integrate into that foundation whatever of value can be salvaged from the contemporary world. His findings were presented in four important works now available from Angelico Press in translation: the present volume, along with Divine Craftsmanship (Preliminaries to a Spirituality of Work), The Symbolism of the Christian Temple, and The Black Virgin (A Marian Mystery).

In what way can human beings attain that Harmony whereby they become mediators between Heaven and Earth? In the mysterious language of symbols we can rediscover the sense of vocation that reflects Divine Activity. For God is, in reality, the sole Artisan. All the traditional crafts strive to imitate within their limitations the work of God, Who unceasingly creates and maintains the world. And in the end it is this that constitutes the sole foundation of the dignity of work. That is why this book seeks to bring us to an interior knowledge of God as Divine Artisan. Chapters include: The Divine Scribe--Christ the Physician--The Warrior God-- The Divine Potter--God the Weaver--God the Architect and Mason--The 'Son of the Carpenter'--Pastor et Nauta-- God the Fisherman and God the Hunter--The Celestial Gardener--The Master of the Harvest--The Master of the Vineyard--The Spirituality of Work and the Body Social. "Through his research into hidden or lost meanings, Jean Hani has revealed and restored to our attention the most 'initiatic' dimensions of the Christian religion." Jean Borella, author of The Secret of the Christian Way, and The Crisis of Religious Symbolism (forthcoming from Angelico Press) Jean Hani (1917-2012), former professor emeritus at the University of Amiens, was the founder of the Centre de Recherche sur l'Antiquité Classique and a frequent contributor to the journal Connaissance des Religions. After writing his PhD thesis on the influence of Egyptian thought upon Plutarch, he produced annotated translations of the latter's writings for the well-known Collection Budé. Later he became known for his mastery of traditional hermeneutics and exegesis, and his broad knowledge in the field of comparative religion. Hani's writing is sensitive to the predicament of those moderns who seek a firm foundation in traditional Christian values, while striving also to integrate into that foundation whatever of value can be salvaged from the contemporary world. His findings were presented in four important works now available from Angelico Press in translation: the present volume, along with The Symbolism of the Christian Temple, The Divine Liturgy (Insights into its Mystery), and The Black Virgin (A Marian Mystery).

These inspiring poems address the crucial spiritual quest, with a passionate longing for the Infinite. Facing the pain of existence, bewildering suffering leads to deeper searching and unveiled awareness. From the celebration of beauty to the insight of seers and sages, various tales discuss humanity's condition and the pivotal journey towards new shores of awakening. Enduring much struggle, the arduous path leads to resounding hope and joy, with blissful Eternity triumphant over despair. Aligning with the venerable tradition of verse, these meditations ultimately return to the Absolute, providing profound and radiant vision.

The spiritual life must obviously take psychology into account; if we want to do good and know truth, we will have to understand what in us supports this intent, and what stands in the way of it. But after Jungian Psychology, Humanistic Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology, and Ken Wilber's Integral Psychology, the reader may wonder what remains to be said vis-à-vis psychology and the Spiritual Path. In the author's opinion, what remains is to present a psychology rooted in traditional metaphysics, one that he has termed "Principial Psychology". This psychology is not essentially new; elements of it are to be found in every traditional path; but it has rarely been so explicitly defined. Principial Psychology does have certain affinities with Transpersonal Psychology, and with Integral Psychology as well; all three emphasize the attainment of self-transcendence. The difference is that Transpersonal and Integral Psychology draw various elements from the faith traditions, while Principial Psychology requires that we actually follow one of them. Principial Psychology is based on the premise that the different "faculties" of the psyche that the Scholastic psychologists studied-thought, feeling, will, memory, imagination-as well as the various "archetypes" that Jung discovered but didn't entirely understand, identifiable in some ways with the levels of the human psychospiritual makeup in Sufi doctrine-are psychic reflections of timeless spiritual or metaphysical principles that exist in a world beyond the psychic dimension entirely. In terms of the human microcosm, these principles are the loom upon which the psyche is woven, and the body as well; in terms of the macrocosm, they are the eternal designs that underlie, and guide, the greater universe of which we are a part. From the point-of-view of this science, the whole spectrum of mental illnesses and psychological "complexes" can be seen as based on various wrong or inverted relationships between the faculties of the psyche-imbalances that are produced by, and further reinforce, the misperception and veiling of the archetypal Principles by the tyrannical and deluded ego. Principial Psychology recognizes the goal of human development not simply as the healing of mental illness or a balanced adjustment to social norms, but as the attainment of a state of "ideal normalcy" based on a complete conformation of the psyche to the principles from which it springs-in other words, on the "salvation of the soul". Just as mental health is inseparable from moral development, so self-knowledge is impossible without self-transcendence.

These poems are meditations on metaphysical Truth and the Remembrance of God. Traditional in form, they address themes of the Sophia Perennis, the timeless and universal wisdom underlying the diverse religions. Lyrical and simple in style, they travel through spiritual landscapes, expressing the joy of knowing ¿The Infinite sings through each finite part¿ and ¿The heart¿s eye like a star at midnight sees.¿ The fundamental motif of this book is the journey from conceptual understanding of the Unity of God, seen as the Absolute, the Truth or the Real, to the realization of this knowledge in the spiritual heart; ¿From head to heart he travels on the way.¿ A central metaphor for this journey is ¿the eagle¿s flight.¿M. Ali Lakhani, editor of Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity,writes ¿Barry McDonald¿s poems are distillations of spiritual wisdom,conveyed through images that are spare and resonant, in language thatis lucent and lyrical.¿ And noted Perennialist author William Stoddartwrites ¿¿ excellent in every way: concise poetic lines which capture theessence of metaphysics and spirituality. They express the most beautifulof all messages: Truth and Prayer.¿