Advent Books

This book is amazing because it allows us to understand the roots of our frustrations. We live in times of despair: our planet, our families, our loves, everything seems to be melting away on one side - on the other, our quest for a real progress is wider, we want peace and harmony, more than ever in the previous ages of wars and revolutions. The author brings to us a profound, maybe definitive, light on this point, "where our civilization went wrong", be it outwardly, or inside ourselves, with our desires and our values.
Please, don't read it only, but make it be read; don't discuss them, but try those solutions, and, if they do work, let's start it all over again with our lives.

Gregoire De Kalbermatten lays out the spiritual and history perspective of mankind's evolution.

The book is well written and easy to read, provides a truly deep insight into the human condition, and offers practical solutions for the direction of humanity.

The book is for everyone who has ever asked the question "what is this life all about / why am I here"

I've read this book sevaral times and always found new things to chew on ;-). The author clearly describes not only the decadence of the western society but clearly states the zeitgeist of our whole modern world. Everybody who just looks a little bit deeper under the surface, sees that the status and mind of the world isn't in good shape, facing destruction on every level, from global down to personal, effecting every human being in one way or an other.

A possible solution to all this is the way the author explains. It's nothing new of course, basically stating - change the world by changing yourself - but why should truth be something new, it always has been the same and will be. Circumstances are changing, as clearly described in "The Third Advent", relating the "story" back in history as far as 6000 years.

An amazing book altogether

It does not take much intelligence to realize that the current state of affairs are unsustainable. Corporate Scandals, wars, corruption, pornography , economic recessions, environmental damage, genocide- we have all witnessed some impact of atleast one of these in our lives. And things appear to go worse as we go along.

Undoubtedly there are good things to cheer about which make life worth living. But they are declining.

This book takes stock of the current situation in this world and suggests a way to improve. This is not some super philiosphy meant for a few selected ones. Neither its difficult to tread. It can be implemented upon by everyone.

Mahatma Gandhi once said "you must be the change you wish to see in the world" . This book precisely advocates this. Its a book about you a change in human conscisouness can bring about profound changes in humanity. This book recommends the way of Sahaja Yoga - the path suggested by H.H Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. (for more details go to www.sahajayoga.org).Mataji has written Meta Modern Era which is an excellent guide to know ourselves.

"A great storm is gathering, and hatred is on the rise." This is the entrance of Mr. de Kalbermatten's book The Third Advent. Apparently a man aware of the world's woes, he outlines the sufferings and injustices from time past to current world events. This exposé is intertwined with messages that mankind's hope lies in a shield made of wisdom, love and compassion. He brings to light famous saints and philosophers along with obscure (to the layman) visionaries that have graced this human experience with their divine message. These messages seem to be somehow encoded and he shows us throughout the book the key to understanding them, "Man must wrestle with the letter of the scriptures to pierce through to the inner core of real spiritual understanding of the Spirit".

Mr. de Kalbermatten through many examples enfolds the fruitless search of mankind for outside stimulants that trigger only frustration and disappointment. Instead of looking for reality in our seeking, we delve in escapism created by a suspension of disbelief. This is where alternative realities of perception are created so that we can escape our existence. There is a need to realize that the stimulus of our seeking is spurred by an inner urge that can only be satisfied through introspection. "It would seem a great waste that we could all be walking along a corridor of dreams that leads nowhere." Although with an enlightened perception, the writer tells us, we could see dreams as a gate to a new reality. He states that this urge that drives our seeking, this "gate" to reality, really exists and he proposes that there is a crossing between the worlds. This crossing seems to be an effort that requires synchronicity of a collective action. The key to open this gate appears to be the quest, and this key although very ancient, can be found in our present reality. Curiosity fuels this quest. This quest, he intimates, may be the result of many incarnations. Each life we pick up the trail from the last one. The gate equates to the One, the One who is the gatekeeper that lets us into the true Reality.

The author relates adulthood with the loss of innocence, the innocence of a child's belief in the magic of life. He speaks of his own seeking throughout the world, of life's true meaning. He found disappointment, betrayal, danger and the deadening effects of cynicism, "Looking for reality, we have run further away from it and into magnified delusions." At this low point of his life, in essence representing the disillusioned state of most of his peers, is when he discovered the Key, in the form of a woman. It starts with twilight, where we cannot perceive anymore what is reality. Where certainties evaporate and different options appear. As Meister Eckehart expressed, "It is in darkness that one finds the light."

The author relates that through the feminine power man has been spurred to evolve spiritually. It was the suppression or neglect of this feminine power that mankind focused on the masculine powers. This brought advancement in conquests, discoveries, industrial technology and industrial growth. Although, as Goethe tells us, "Womanhood leads us above". For mankind to realign their path to ascension, to achieve equilibrium and balance, they must raise their awareness of the feminine power.

Throughout the book we find references about the gate. The gate to spiritualism, the gate to the garden of knowledge of good and evil, the gate of man's relationship with his intelligence and spiritual potential and man's search for the key to this gate through signs and symbols. The path to this gate begins with pure desire. Poverty removes temptation of the unattainable, affluence affords the leisure to seek the deeper meanings of life but the temptations cover the scent of the search. Where is the middle way?

The Key, the Gatekeeper that Mr. de Kalbermatten found offers the solution to enter into Reality. He speaks of an inner energy that once awakened raises the consciousness of mankind. Raises from what into what? This is an amazing world that is unfolded. He speaks to the businessman, to the layman from every level of our society, to the most resolute seeker and shows how this is possible at every level. "As we change so does the world." He reveals the importance of the connection of God - man - and the whole collective. The next step of our evolution is from homo sapiens to homo spiritualis. This all begins with self knowledge or knowledge of our spirit.

There are many snippets of truth in literature. There exits exposure of excess unveiled by many people well connected and in the know. But Mr. de Kalbermatten gives us the whole pie. Somehow through reading his book I can envision his description of the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the ultimate wisdom, exists. It seems our life is this garden, and the tree the choices that unfold within it. The author describes wisdom as follows, "It's main purpose, at the gate of our brain was to feed the intellect with real knowledge... Wisdom empowers us with inner sight to witness the plays of light and shadow, to absorb the first and reject the latter." It appears that it is in the recognition and acceptance of wisdom that we can progress.

Further, to quote Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, "True and lasting solution to present ills can be found only by inner collective transformation of human beings." The author's allusion to the magic in life can be found in the process of Self Realization. This is the master key to the Gate of Knowledge.

I highly recommend this amazing and truly inspiring book to all seekers of truth - even those amongst us who are not (yet) aware they are seekers.

Herbert Reininger,
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna/Austria

Little Cub wants to know who invented Christmas. Mama takes Little Cub on a polar expedition to find God & see how He gave us Christmas.
A beautiful story showing God in creation (enhanced by wonderful illustrations), discovering the true meaning of Christmas & how very much God loves us all.

This amazing book provides an insight to the true meaning of Christmas and allows for my children to ask questions relevant to their age. Wonderfully written!

This book is perfect! We have an annual tradition of getting our kids a new book each Christmas Eve. This year's choice was "God Gave Us Christmas." The message is perfect! Recognizes Santa...but honors God. Very nice story...cute illustrations! Highly recommended for little children!

This book continues in the wonderful style of Lisa Tawn Bergens other books. What a blessing to share with my children. The real and complete meaning of Christmas, Jesus. Excellent book. It brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it!

A great book to teach kids (mine are 8 & 11) about the wonderful things God gave us especially his son at Christmas. Love it!

It's classic Engelbreit at her best. Exquisite detail in the drawings. It's a book to savor alone, read aloud to children and share the pages, or just keep it enticingly on your coffee table.

This is a classic. The art work is very nice and it will be a great read every Christmas with the kids.

This version of "The Night Before Christmas" is by far the best illustrated edition I have ever seen. The artwork is incredible. My children love looking at all the vibrant, detailed pictures, and I even pause while reading the story so I can look at the pictures too. It seems like I find something new in the artwork everytime we read the story. Make sure to get a copy of the book for each of your children. You will want to pass this down to them so they can read it to their own children some day, and I would hate to have to choose who would get this beautiful book, and deal with the ramifications of the one who did not!

Book is so beautifully illustrated, it does the classic poem justice. It made a great "first christmas" gift.

This is a beautifully done book. It is the same classic story we all know and love, and the illustrations are brilliant. Mary Engelbreit's drawings fill the page, are colorful and detailed. Everytime you look at the pictures you will notice a small detail that you've previously missed. My daughter is 3 months old, but when I read this to her, she actually stared at the page with wide eyes as if she was amazed at all the colors. This is certainly one book I will buy for my friends' children, and I highly recommend it.

The story of Olive shows us how we all have strengths and those strengths are important even if they are different from others. It can teach us to be creative on how we can best use our strengths. Most of all it is a sweet story about a very sweet dog named Olive. I loved reading it as an adult and gave it to someone who also enjoyed it very much.

this is a great edition of Olive. the illustration is as wonderful as the story. it's one of my husband's favorites and he wasn't disappointed. the look of this book corresponds with the latest movie edition.

No other Christmas carol has such a hold on children's imaginations as "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (*see note) Even the youngest child understands the joke of this book's title.

When a little dog named Olive hears the lyrics "All of the other reindeer..." she thinks the line is, "Olive, the other reindeer" and concludes that she is in fact, a reindeer, not a dog. Hi-jinks ensue.

This tenth anniversary edition has scratch and sniff gumdrops, flaps to open, levers to pull and a pop-up scene at the end. Reading the "otto-biography" of Seibold on the Chronicle Books site, I learned that the names of his children (and their images) are tucked into the illustrations, shades of Marc Brown and his Arthur books.

Skip the video and enjoy this book. It is a charmer.

I got this for my 3 granddaughters, ages 6 and under. They loved it!

What a great book! My family and I loved the dog, Olive, that came with the book, too. I plan to read this book, and share the stuffed toy with the area school.

A box that will make you cry, make you want to be a better person BUT if you have ever read a book written by Richard Paul Evans, you already know that..

Betty Graham

I SEEM TO LOVE EVERYTHING RICHARD PAUL EVANS WRITES .VERY WELL RESEARCHED ,I ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP READING TILL I FINISH ,NO BREAKS .

this book is really eye opening as to faith and where it can lead you if you let it.

I am a big fan of the Christmas Box books, but when I saw this book I thought UHHHHHH I guess he needs even more money. RPE must have realized that he was a flash in the pan, and was desprate to hang on to his falling fame. This book does have its moments though, but it sounds like a broken record. They were giving this book away.. a free copy with every $10 purchase. I wish RPE would get over himself he's no Charles Dickens!!!

Unfortunately I read this after reading "The Light of Christmas" so I knew most of the story line but it was still worth the read. It is a simple story with a powerful message about the importance of our individual lives and the lives of those who love us. The Christian message of hope in life is prevalent but subtle and doesn't come across as 'preaching' while still delivering its impact.

This product is preciecly what I needed. In addition to the four volumes of the Liturgy of the Hours (Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter, Ordinary Time I & II) it included the St. Joseph Guide, the Supplement and inserts. This was just what I was looking for as I was heading off to seminary school.

The set was very well priced and the shipping being included definitely helped the sale. Being a new item, it is in excellent shape. I have told others about this and recommended they look to Amazon first if they are interested in purchasing this set.

Excellent edition. Easier to use than the one-volume Liturgy that the Daughters of St Paul put out. Comes with helpful accessories. If you can't afford to buy all four volumes at once, buying them one at a time is a great alternative.

Is this the english translation of the 1985 revised latin or not?
I think this is still the 1975 translation....
Would someone please reply? thank you.

These volumes are excellent quality. The paper is thin and buff color, the printing is two color, and the font is readable. They were much better quality than I was expecting. Thank you.

We've been reading all the 'Bear' books lately and this one too as sort of our Christmas in July. In this story Bear's friends try to keep him up so he can celebrate Christmas. But Bear is sleepy, very, very sleepy.

Wow, just adorable. Great gift idea. Great size book. I pull it out for Christmas and the kids LOVE it. It's such a sweet story of friendship. I love these sweet, wholesome stories. The illustrations are BEAUTIFUL as always with Karma's books. Even after we read it, the kids love to just look through it at the pictures and can read it to themselves that way. Really, I think each little home needs ALL the Bear books.

We have several Christmas books, and this is the favorite in our house. All of Bear's little woodland friends wake him up to join in all the Christmas Eve festivities. The story and illustrations are very simple, yet enchanting. I would love to climb in the pages and stay up for Christmas with Bear!

I purchased this book for my son after receiving the Bear Snores On as a gift. They are his absolute favorites. The pictures are beautiful and the words are lyrical and rhyming. I also like the way it subtly includes both the religious and secular sides of Christmas beneath the overall message of friendship and giving. He has MANY books, but wants me to read this one every night. It's so nice I din't mind.

This book has wonderful illustrations, and is written in a flowing manner that makes it great fun reading to my first grandson. I plan on getting the entire series for him! I want to make sure he knows there is more to life than sports!

This is a real treat: the classic story and a very talented man reading/performing in all its characters as if there were a whole host of different voices. A favorite to hear every year.

I bought this on audio cassette tape 15 years ago. I have also seen Mr. Stewart's one-man show in LA. I have listened to this 100's of times (literally) and it never fails to move me. I could listen to Patrick Stewart read the phone directory, and probably find it enjoyable, but his performance of this classic work is nothing short of amazing. I feel like I am in the story myself and it is so entertaining. My cassettes died the other day so I am happy to see that this brilliant work is still available in some form. Thank you, Patrick, for this wonderful gift, and thank you Amazon, for carrying it. I would have been heartbroken not to be able to replace it.

With the myriad excellent film and stage versions of "A Christmas Carol" out there, the enduring power of Dickens' prose is often overlooked. Mr. Stewart's reading puts they focus right back on the text itself (in his stage performance, he opens the prop-less, set-less show simply by holding aloft his script like a trophy). The pointed social criticism--still relevant after 150 years--and wry wit of Dickens' work comes through loud and clear in Mr. Stewart's commanding voice.

Sitting down and listening to this version is like hearing a beloved uncle tell your favorite story. A fine way to spend a quiet holiday evening.

As a huge fan of Patrick Stewart in his various movies, I was curious of this audio-performance. And I wasn't disappointed. His rich voice and his stage-trained intonation give his performance such a superb quality that I can actually SEE the small fire, SMELL the food in the kitchen and SHIVER in the cold, while the ghost takes Scrooge to the various stations of his life. All is so very authentic that it gives me shivers and gooseflesh is crawling up my arms while listening...Get your copy if you like Dickens. To me it is the best performance ever.

Stewart does an amazing job reading the story. It must be an incredible one-man show. He does all the voices and the sound effects. For example, he just says "ding" for the ringing of the clock as it strikes the top of the hour, but in the way Patrick Stewart does it he pulls you into Scrooge's nervous anticipation of the striking of the final bell. Using different intonations and voices, Stewart draws you into the story. His enthusiam for the story is infectious. His voice is mesmerizing. I can not recommend this audio book enough.

I absolutely love this book! I bought it for my 5 year old son a month or so before Christmas. He is at the perfect age for it! He LOVES looking at Santa's map of his route on Christmas Eve, reading about the reindeer and their different personalities and much more. It is a beautiful and treasured book.

I loved this book, along with it's counterpart about the Reindeer. It's a magical book that every child will love year after year!

My son was always asking questions about Santa, the reindeers, his house, etc. Well, this book has all the answers. It's packed full of information on everything you can think of relating to Santa. The illustrations are beautiful and it has sturdy, cardboard-like pages. It has a lot of special features, like fold-out pages and little, separate books on some of the pages. It's one-of-a-kind and I can't imagine any kid not being thrilled with this book.

This book is delightful!! My children ages 4 and 6 loved it and we read it countless times throughout the holidays. It was also very enjoyable for ME!! There are maps of santa's route, details of the elves duties and lives, secrets about every room in Santa's workshop. The illustrations are brilliant. I intend to give this book to every child (and a couple of grown-ups)that I know for Christmas this year.

great book for all ages ,very interesting and interactive with hand written letters, messages and flip outs. My daughter and I Loved it!

This book was ordered as a gift for a friend who had read my copy earlier. She wanted it for her daughter. They are both pleased. I like Max Lucado's writings. They are clear and simple and easy to assimilate. I have several of his books, which I re-read often. All of them are excellent.

I love Max Lucado. His writings inspire me to be a better person. You can't go wrong with anything he writes be it children's books or adult books.

Lucado does it again. He takes a topic that is often deeply unsettling for many- the end. When Christ comes. And he takes all our worries and uncertanties gently, understandingly and reassures each one. Things that I've been afraid to admit as a Christian such as being worried about being disappointed when Christ comes (hard to explain until you read the book, but an example would be an expectant mother being disappointed because she wants to raise her baby) ...these things we don't want to admit, Lucado understands. He affirms our feelings. However, he also has a way of turning them around and reminding us of Christ's love. Trust Him.

A fantastic read.

Max helps prepare the soul for the coming of Jesus Christ. Not deep theologically, but it is still worth the reading. Very encouraging!

I fight monstrous spiritual battles with fear in my daily life with perpetually unanswered questions and unsatisfying answers to them. It is fear of death and the end of the world that puts my heart, mind and spirit into this tailspin. I have searched high and low in all places I dared to approach for musings and discussion about the end of the world, including the Mayan (read: pagan) calendar, controversial prophecies involving the papacy, the fictitious Bible code...you name it, I explored it, and came up with few answers to many of my worries.

Whether I stumbled upon Lucado's book or God led me to the one copy of it in my local bookstore, I don't know. All I know is that, through all that apocalyptic hype and static noise, Lucado drew me to the POINT, that Christ is returning to reclaim His church, to rescue us from the increasing entropy and chaos in this world around us. The POINT is not the pain and suffering we may go through to get there - that's not for us, His chosen ones. It's revenge. It's justice. Whether we live through it (the Tribulation) or not, is not the point. The point is what we do with the time we are given NOW, and searching through non-believers' theories and could-be, half-true prophecies is a huge WASTE of that time. We must keep our eyes on Him through the storms that are to come, and wait patiently for the calm, sweeping as many souls along with us as possible, so they can know His glory and rewards as well.

The only helpful and comforting piece of the truth (aside from the Bible itself) I've come across, and I've looked almost everywhere.