Books by Fr. Gerald O’Mahony, SJ
Gerald O’Mahony is a Jesuit priest who is known for his books on catechetics and spirituality. After his priestly studies Fr O’Mahony studied catechetics at Lumen Vitae international centre in Brussels, and then worked for ten years in the Roman Catholic diocesan catechetical centres of Glasgow and Liverpool.
Since 1982, Fr O’Mahony has lived and worked at Loyola Hall where he is involved in retreat giving, spiritual direction, giving courses on Ignatian Spirituality, and writing.
His books are available from many good booksellers and the majority can be obtained from Loyola Hall.
- Abba Father
- Praying St Mark’s Gospel
- The Two Edged Gospel
- The Other Side of the Mountain
- The Way of the Cross
- Finding the Still Point: Making Use of Moods
- Simply Free: Christ Unchains the Heart
- Praying in the Ignatian Spirit
- 100 ways to hear Good News
- A Way in to the Trinity
- Seventy Times Seven: The Gift of Forgiveness
- The Mass from start to finish
- Do not be Afraid
- The Prayer of the Faithful
- The Wisdom of Jesus
Abba Father
ISBN 971-504-231-7
The great changes in the teaching of religion which has come about in the past thirty years is not simply a question of new methods of teaching. The content also has changed.
New ways of looking at old doctrines have come to most adult Catholics in a rather random fashion. Parents hear something new their children are being taught in school. Teachers absorb their own section of a new syllabus. Often the new thought is acceptable in itself, but does not seem to fit in with the rest of the pattern of doctrine as it was learnt in childhood.
This book attempts to give the whole pattern, or a personal version of it in simple language, with images taken from scripture.
Publisher: St Paul Publications (Out of print — try second-hand booksellers)
Praying St Mark’s Gospel
This book aims to help the reader pray the Gospel of Mark. The author has taken the Gospel, chapter by chapter, offering enough comment and clarification to prepare for the main part of the book, which is the prayer exercise and suggestions for prayer. He has written the text as if Peter were the speaker so that the reader can see the Gospel more clearly as Peter saw it.
The prayer suggestions follow the tradition of Ignatius Loyola’s favourite way of praying the Gospel: to imagine ourself as part of the Gospel scene, so that Jesus becomes alive and we can bring ourselves into contact with the real Jesus who has never changed.
Publisher: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, Post Box 70, Anand, Gujarat, 388 001, India. This revised, ‘international’ edition was first published in 1999. The original Edition was first published simultaneously in 1990 by Geoffrey Chapman, an imprint of Cassell Publishers Ltd, London and Christian Classics Inc, Maryland.
Available from Loyola Hall at £6 including UK postage (Recommended Retail Price UK: £7.95)
The Two-Edged Gospel
ISBN 0-85244-638-1
The sword of the Gospel has two sharp edges which provide a dilemma for many. How to reconcile the fact that on the one hand we freely receive our salvation from God through Christ’s saving grace displayed on the cross, whilst on the other we are called to walk a voluntary path of sometimes costly discipleship.
Through over twenty pairs of Gospel images Gerald O’Mahony traces the clear
difference between being saved and being a disciple.
- To be enlightened by God is necessary; to be a light for others is voluntary.
- To be based on the Rock is necessary; to be a rock for others is voluntary.
- To be saved by the cross of Jesus is necessary; to take up my own cross is voluntary.
The decision has to be taken freely or not at all; ultimately it does not affect our salvation. However, the challenge needs to be faced if we are to be freed to do great things for God.
Publisher: Gracewing Publishing, 2 Southern Avenue, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0QF, UK. Available from the publisher or in good bookshops. Recommended Retail Price UK £6.99.
The Other Side of the Mountain – 3rd Revised Edition
ISBN 1-899077-05-7
The Other Side of the Mountain is the fascinating first-person account of one man’s journey with God, using as a continuing metaphor the story of his climbing the Mediterranean Steps
in Gibraltar.
The author has suffered and survived no less than five nervous breakdowns and is still convinced of God’s love for him and for everyone. In the book he looks back on the ups and formidable downs of his life and discerns several different stages, each offering a new perspective, much as each stage of his Gibraltar climb offereda new perspective on the view below. Thus in the course of his faith-story he has come to discover God more deeply at each stage. He shares the story of that journey in the hope that his faith-story will help others to see God more clearly in their lives, both in good times and in bad.
Publisher: Fisher Miller Publishing, 11 Ramsholt Close, North Waltham, Basingstoke, Hants, RG25 2DG, UK, in 1998. Previous edition first published by Geoffrey Chapman, an imprint of Cassell Publishers London in 1989. Only Available from Loyola Hall at £6 including UK postage, £7 including international surface mail (Recommended Retail Price UK £7.95).
The Way of the Cross
Meditation on the way of the Cross. For each station there is a traditional prayer, a reflection and personal prayer
by Fr O’Mahony.
The Stations illustrating these meditations are in the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King, Liverpool, a gift of the late Archbishop Derek Worlock, and the work of sculptor, Sean Rice.
The booklet is printed on quality glossy art paper in colour.
Publisher : Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. First Published 1997. Available from Loyola Hall at £3.50 including UK postage, £4.50 including international surface mail (Recommended Retail Price UK £2.50).
Finding the Still Point
ISBN 0-06347-110-2
Writing from his own past experience of severe mood swings, the author provides a means to understand and govern the movements of moods and feelings so as to find the “still” point, the place of perfect balance.
“Finding the Still Point” writes Gerald O’Mahony, “aims to help the reader modify or alter behaviour patterns… It underpins common sense with the basic belief that we are God’s children, and therefore not rubbish; we are God’s children, and therefore not God.”
Publisher: Eagle Publishing Ltd, 3/4 The Drove, West Wilts Trading Estate, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 4JE. First Published 1992. Available from the publisher (Recommended Retail Price UK £6.99).
Simply Free: Christ Unchains the Heart
This book is unfortunately out of print.
Praying in the Ignatian Spirit
ISBN 1-84003-155-7
Ignatius of Loyola is renowned as a master of prayer in action, prayer in daily life – but which also implies taking some time off to pray to God.
This book contains a collected prayers and helps for prayer. The prayers and texts in this collection, whether by Ignatius himself or by people with a spirit like his own, follow the key movements in the process of learning to ‘pray at all times’. There are prayers, and there are also instructions on both how and why to pray them. These follow the movements of the Gospels themselves: from willingness to
be forgiven to gratitude; to following the story of Jesus, not just as a story but as the foundation for our lives.
To find the will of God for me, and then to do it: that is prayer in action!
Now available from Loyola Hall for £2.99.
100 Ways to Hear Good News
ISBN 1-84003-656-7
- ‘God loves us not because we are good children, but because we are God’s
children’ - ‘Your sins are forgiven’
- ‘We do not earn heaven’
In these
and 97 other ways this book insists that the Good News of Jesus is always good and ever new.
St Paul tells preachers to give the Good News all the time. Here is a resource to provide preachers and teachers with 100 ways of putting over the precious news for which Jesus gave his life. What is the point of teaching other lessons, and forgetting the one thing necessary? Any sermon or lesson that does not include the Good News is missing the whole point.This book can also be used as a teach-yourself resource for parents, and indeed anyone who is in need of hearing some good news.
Publisher: Kevin Mayhew Ltd, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 3DJ, UK. First Published 1998. Only available from Loyola Hall (Recommended Retail Price UK £9.00 including postage and packing).
A Way in to the Trinity
ISBN 0-85244-591-1
God is: unconditional love, gratefully received, safely returned.
The way in to the Trinity for anyone is a way in to the mystery of love, and the story turns out to have a happy ending.
In this book Gerald O’Mahony tells of his discovery, over the years, of how God’s love was working and inviting in his own life. But then, everyone on earth is invited to tune in to the movements of God’s love, and readers of the book may find encouragement and light for their own journey.
The rich store from scripture and tradition throws light on our own lives as it tells us about God. The mystery of the Trinity was revealed to us, not to stop us thinking, but to start us loving.
Publisher: Gracewing, 2 Southern Avenue, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0QF, UK and Inigo Enterprises, Links View, Traps Lane, New Malden, Surrey KT3 4RY, UK. First Published 2004. Available from any good bookshop in the UK (Recommended Retail Price UK £7.99).
Seventy Times Seven: The Gift of Forgiveness
Seventy Times Seven was first published by Mayhew McCrimmon of Great Wakering in 1997. It was republished in a version slightly abridged by The Catholic Truth Society, London, in 1981, and reprinted in 1983, and given the title The Gift of Forgiveness. This present version, 2004, has returned to the original text. I have not updated the references but left it as a child of its time … but with I hope an everlasting message. I have combined the two titles of former years.
The title Seventy Times Seven comes from Matthew’s Gospel (18:21-22). Peter asks Jesus how may times must we forgive another who offends us? Will seven times be enough? Jesus answers, No, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.
Published privately. Available from Loyola Hall for UK £2 plus 50p postage.
The Mass from Start to Finish
ISBN 1-84417-502-2
This book on the Mass has three special features: it concentrates on the original meaning of the sign language implicit in Jesus’ use of bread, water and wine; it gives a short history of the Mass up to the time when the celebration of the Eucharist took on more or less its present shape; and it goes through the Mass in slow motion, showing the many changes that have taken place in the ceremony over the centuries.
The aim has been to concentrate simply on the meaning of the whole and the meaning of the parts, in such a way that the meaning may be found in a celebration in a massive basilica, or in a celebration between two prisoners of conscience cooped up in a tiny dungeon. The main text flows freely, but there is a wealth of references to Scripture and other early Christian sources for those readers who wish to go deeper into the mystery.
Publisher: Kevin Mayhew Ltd., Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW. Available from any Christian bookshop, price £7.99, or from Loyola Hall for UK £9.00 including UK postage.
Do not be Afraid
ISBN 978-1-84003-364-9
Everyone has fears. The Bible tells us hundreds of times not to be afraid, which must mean that God knows we have fears and would wish to free us from them. Here, for each day of the year, will be found a different quotation from the Bible, helping the reader to cope with daily fears. With each quotation comes a few lines putting the scriptural words into their context, and then applying them to ourselves for today.
The underlying message throughout is that of the Good News brought by Jesus, that God loves us even though we are sinners, and that God loves us even though we may be suffering. All will be well in the end, so things cannot be as bad as they may look at present.
Published 1999 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd.,Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW;
Reprinted privately for Loyola Hall 2007. Price from Loyola Hall £8.99 or £10 including UK postage, £12 international postage.
The Prayer of the Faithful
ISBN 978-1-84417-826-1
Fr. Gerry brings a life-time of prayer and study to his task of writing these outstanding intercessions. They are profoundly scriptural, drawn from the readings of each Sunday or Feast day, and the prayers link the readings to the needs and aspirations of ordinary people in any parish. The sureness of touch, the freshness of language and the natural rhythm of his writing will ensure that they are used for many years to come.
In addition to a set of intercessions for every Sunday of the Lectionary, Fr Gerry offers sets for the major Feasts which can replace the readings of a Sunday, and suggestions for the other sacraments and for funerals.
Available as a beautiful hardback lectern book. It comes as both a Reader’s edition and a Priest’s edition which contains the opening and closing prayers and the response.
Publisher: Kevin Mayhew Ltd., Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW. Available from the Publisher, price £49.99 plus packing and postage.
The Wisdom of Jesus
ISBN 978-1-84867-234-5
Many people who are brought up in Christian families give up on organised religion, but need they give up on Jesus?
In this book, the wisdom of Jesus is isolated from Church structures, concentrating on the instructions he is reported to have given his hearers as regards the way to live in real peace. It is for anyone with the desire to be good, who is searching for meaning in life and for peace of heart.
Beautifully written, The Wisdom of Jesus opens up the limits of ordinary, everyday life, taking us to a fresh understanding of what Jesus was, and is, about.
Publisher: Kevin Mayhew Ltd., Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW. Available from any Christian bookshop, price £10.99, or from Loyola Hall for UK £12.00 including UK postage.
Placing an Order
To order Fr. O’Mahony’s books from Loyola Hall please send a Postal Order or cheque drawn on a British bank in pounds sterling, made out to “Loyola Hall”. Please state clearly which book you require and the address to which is to be despatched. We are sorry that at this time we cannot accept credit card payments or checks not in sterling.
Send your order to:
Gerald O'Mahony, SJ Loyola Hall Warrington Road Rainhill Prescot Merseyside, L35 6NZ United Kingdom