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For a century, Opus Dei has transmitted to the world a message of encounter with God in ordinary life. A first of its kind, this book is an extensive investigation of this institution and its founder, Josemaría Escrivá. All documentation that exists and is preserved about Opus Dei and its founder, as well as numerous oral testimonies, have been accessed in order to leave no rock unturned in this historical reveal of one of the Church's most fascinating modern lay and clerical organization. PART IInternational Consolidation (1962-1975)Chapter 1. Governance of a Global EntitySection 1. An Ongoing Process of FoundingSection 2. Central and Regional Governing Bodies Chapter 2. FormationSection 1. St. Raphael's WorkSection 2. Philosophical and Theological Educationof NumerariesSection 3. Professional and Family Care of PersonsSection 4. Associates and SupernumerariesSection 5. The Diocesan ClergyChapter 3. Institutional ActivitiesSection 1. Higher EducationSection 2. Primary and Secondary SchoolsSection 3. Technical and Vocational Training CentersSection 4. Development and Demise of Common WorksSection 5. Financial Support of Apostolic ActivitiesChapter 4. Theological-Legal DevelopmentsSection 1. An Anomalous SituationSection 2. The Message of Opus Dei at Vatican Council IISection 3. The Special General CongressChapter 5. A Post-Conciliar Legacy Section 1. Doctrinal and Liturgical MeasuresSection 2. Activity of Members in Spanish Politicsand Other SettingsSection 3. The Founder's Final Projects, Writings, and TravelsPART IITHE YEARS OF ESCRIVÁ'SFIRST SUCCESSOR (1975-1994Chapter 6. A New Hand at the HelmSection 1. A New "Father" in Opus DeiSection 2. Governing Opus Dei Section 3. Activities of the PrelateSection 4. Relations with John Paul II Chapter 7. The Legal Solution Section 1. The ProcessSection 2. Advantages of the New Legal StatusSection 3. Protecting the Prelature Chapter 8. Growth Section 1. Numerical Growth Section 2. New CountriesChapter 9. Doctrinal Formation Section 1. Cooperators and Young People Section 2. Formation of Members of the WorkSection 3. Service to the ChurchChapter 10. Apostolic Activities Section 1 Educational ActivitiesSection 2. Social Works Chapter 11. Public Opinion Section 1. Spain: The Rumasa Affair Section 2. Great Britain: Cardinal Hume Speaks Section 3. Germany: Opus Dei Defends Itself in the Courts Section 4. Italy: A Parliamentary Inquiry Chapter 12. The Beatification of the Founder Section 1. Escrivá's Process of Beatification Section 2. Controversy over the Beatification PART IIITHE THIRD GENERATION (1994-2016) / 275

This study is focused on Thomas Conolly of Castletown House, Co. Kildare, and the social networking of the power elite. Structured as a biography of Conolly, it acts as a prism through which to view the power of the ascendancy class in the second half of the nineteenth century. In this period the cultural hegemony of Ireland was dominated by the ascendancy class, which remained reasonably intact but was beginning to break down. At the heart of this class was Conolly, who moved from space to space engaging in the social rituals that connected the elites within the wider social and political arenas. This study contextualises Conolly's activities and the lifestyles of other powerful landowners in Irish society in the mid-nineteenth century. At the core of this study is Castletown, the most important Palladian house in Ireland. Looking at Conolly, a connection to the wider ascendancy society, places Castletown within a world that, in the twenty-first century, has disappeared.

In the sixteenth century the Duhallow region of north-west Co. Cork was one of the most indisputably Irish parts of Ireland. Characterized geographically by the mountainous boggy lands of Sliabh Luachra, the region was dominated by the lordships of the MacDonogh-MacCarthys, the MacAuliffes, the O'Callaghans, and the O'Keeffes. By the mid-seventeenth century, however, these lordships had largely been dismantled and the region was increasingly dominated by New English settler families such as the Boyles, Percivals, and Aldworths residing around new towns at Newmarket and Kanturk. This study charts the transformation of early modern Duhallow by examining the crisis of Irish lordship in the region under the Tudors and the decline and fall of the lordships during the early Stuart period. In doing so, it examines a microcosm of how Irish lordship was often destroyed not by direct conquest and colonisation, but by a gradual process of economic, social, and political erosion.

This study examines how the professionalization and development of nursing and midwifery in the nineteenth century was reflected in the poor-law unions of Borrisokane and Nenagh in Co. Tipperary between 1882 and 1922. It differentiates between trained and untrained nurses and midwives, examines how each type of 'nurse' was perceived and who they were. The employment opportunities for these nurses and midwives were primarily in the poor-law medical relief services as dispensary midwives or as nurses within the workhouse infirmary and fever hospital. Between 1882 and 1922 untrained nurses and midwives were slowly replaced by their trained counterparts. This was supported by campaigns for reform of the old systems, government bodies, and legislation. Home nursing by district nurses was introduced to the area in 1909 under the auspices of the Women's National Health Association. The district nurse provided education and home nursing to patients with tuberculosis and later to mothers and babies under the Mother and Child Welfare Scheme in 1919.

The town of Galway occupied a unique situation in medieval Ireland. Conspicuously English in its religious and political allegiances, it existed in an overwhelmingly Gaelic hinterland, far from the institutions of the colonial administration. Having cast off the overlordship of the de Burgh family by the fifteenth century, it functioned as a quasi-oligarchy dominated by a mercantile elite until well into the seventeenth century. Its position as a prosperous port town exposed it to influences from England and the Continent. This study examines how all these elements found expression in the town's civic and religious institutions as well as in its remarkable medieval art and architecture. It argues that the revival of the town in the late fifteenth century sprang from a programme of economic, political, and religious renewal that transformed it into a self-confident, self-regulating urban community, a veritable City of God.

"There is a blessing sent from God in every burden of sorrow. There is hope in that, hope even in a dying child." "A Grace Given is a decade long window into the metamorphosis of the soul. This is a modern day Pilgrim's Progress told with humor, deep love, and unflinching honesty. A book that every Christian should read." -Donald E. Wildmon, Founder of the American Family Association and American Family Radio. A Grace Given is the personal account of the impact that one life, however insignificant, can have on those around it. It explores how a child who never spoke, could not walk, and could not even smile, could still inspire and mobilize hundreds of people. Beyond that, A Grace Given explores the meaning of faith, the growth and deepening of spirituality that comes from suffering and sorrow, and the gift that a severely handicapped child represents. Most of all, it is the story of hope and a father's love. Kent Gilges was born in Zambia in 1965. He lives in upstate New York with his wife and five children and has written extensively for numerous magazines and newspapers. His freelance articles have appeared in Europe, The Independent, Industry Week, Chemical Engineering, Earthwatch, and featured on public radio. He is a graduate of Cornell and Oxford Universities. Suffering and Death Brings Life in new book A Grace Given by Kent Gilges"Nothing really bad ever happened to me or my family . . . I had led a charmed life," wrote Kent Gilges, author of A Grace Given: A Father's Love for His Dying Child, (Scepter Publishers). An adventurous life, time in Italy and Germany, and an idyllic honeymoon year in Oxford, culminated in the joyous birth of his daughter Elie.But soon, she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. "How long?" they asked the doctors who informed them that she might have six days or six months to live.Kent turned to God. "We both asked that God not take her away soon, that he let her have a while longer." She was given nine more years. Kent didn't grow up religious. He watched as other families attended church and his family stayed home. In college he was an "active disbeliever in organized religions."Elie's prognosis jolted his views. He prayed, "If Christ has some relevance to me, and if religion is something that I should embrace, give me some kind of sign." A Grace Given chronicles Kent's journey of hope and discovery of faith."Children are our symbol of hope in life. Hopelessness in a child is a painful anomaly." But Kent and his wife, finding their beautiful life together eclipsed by the unbearable pain of slowly losing their daughter to this world, felt no anger. Instead, they decided to do everything in their power to give Elie a life filled with love and family in the time that they had with her.The book shares stirring revelations of the sort that bloom from the heart made wise through enduring one of life's most painful tribulation. "We spend our lives dying, but the process of dying is what gives life its poignancy, its beauty, even its joy." Joy, beauty and faith are the gifts Elie bestowed. Her condition led them on pilgrimages to Lourdes and even to meeting Pope John Paul II in search of healing and the acceptance of God's will.Kent, who at the book's close is the father of six wrote, "My children are the greatest gifts I have known, but Elie is particularly special." It's through Elie, his first born, that he learned the lessons to impart to his readers. "Suffering," he wrote, "wakes us from the torpor that leads to desperation. Grief makes us aware enough to experience beauty and joy."A Grace Given is a decade-long window into the metamorphosis of the soul. This is a modern day Pilgrim's Progress told with humor, deep love, and unflinching honesty. A book every Christian should read.-Donald E. Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association and American Family Radio