Religion Catholicism

What does the Bible really say about the birth of Jesus? How did the celebration of Christmas become associated with things like Santa Claus and decorated trees? In The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season, biblical scholar Michael Patrick Barber offers an inspiring look at the Bible's accounts of Jesus' birth and the development of the Christmas season. As Dr. Barber will show, to find our way "home" at Christmas, we need to first return to Christmas' home in the story of the Bible.

In this book, Justin Martyr boldly defends the Christian faith before the Roman government. He addresses the core beliefs of the early church and refutes the lies spread abroad about them. A truly inspirational piece of literature that should not disappoint the hungry soul looking for pure doctrine and teaching. He truly was a man of God that held great understanding of godly virtue and wisdom. May you be abundantly blessed as you partake in this book!

What mountain is threatening you? It's time to talk to your mountains. We talk to ourselves and each other about our problems all day long when we should be talking to our problems. Jesus said, "Say to this mountain." He has given us authority and power over fear, worry, and every negative stronghold oppressing us.

Angels and saints. Catholics tend to think of them as different from the rest of us. They're cast in plaster or simpering on a holy card, performing miracles with superhero strength, or playing a harp in highest heaven.

Yet they are very near to us in every way. In this lively audiobook, Scott Hahn dispels the false notions and urban legends people use to keep the saints at a safe distance. The truth is that Jesus Christ has united heaven and earth in a close communion. Drawing deeply from Scripture, Dr. Hahn shows that the hosts of heaven surround the earthly Church as a "great cloud of witnesses".

A true treasure of spiritual insights, this little book contains the remarkable meditations on The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane by St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the stigmatist priest.

Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo’s Surrender Prayer brought understanding and peace to countless souls amid the turbulence of the last century. Now, in our age of incomparable uncertainty, this miracle worker and visionary writer offers the assurance you need to resolutely face the final things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Don Dolindo provides proof for the existence of Purgatory and explains what it’s like for the souls suffering there. Moreover, he describes the consequences of sin and how the souls in Purgatory are awaiting our sacrificial suffering to be released into Paradise.

Incredibly revealing and edifying background of Our Lady, her parents and ancestors, St. Joseph, plus other people who figured into the coming of Christ. Many facts described about the Nativity and early life of Our Lord, as well as the final days of the Blessed Mother–all from the visions of this great mystic.

Every one of us is made in the image of God. We are unique, we are worthy of love, and we are called to greatness. In this world, though, it can be easy to be distracted from that truth and begin to doubt God's love is real. We live in a world that tells us we are not smart enough, not pretty enough, not sexy enough, not rich enough, not thin enough, and don't have enough friends.

Do you want to be a better wife and mother? To have more order in your life? To grow in union with God? Are you desperate yet? With your own Mother's Rule of Life, you'll transform motherhood and its burdens into the joyful vocation it's meant to be. Learn from Holly Pierlot how to craft a Rule that's right for you and your family. Then use that Rule to help God draw you, your husband, and each of your children into Heaven!

Listeners will be fully engaged in a unique and altogether fascinating discussion of Christian spirituality. Rolheiser seeks to reconcile the rift between a smorgasbord of spiritual voices and an authentic Christian discipleship by the use of anecdotes, personal examples and a wide range of literary and cultural references. His starting point is the desire within us that longs irresistibly for fulfillment.

As human beings we are constantly engaging and disengaging in everything we do. We engage and disengage at work, in marriage, as parents, in our quest for health and well-being, in personal finances, environmentally, politically, and, of course, we engage or disengage spiritually.

In this new book by New York Times best-selling author Immaculee Ilibagiza, listeners will rediscover this important message from Mary. Mary wanted the whole world to know the seven sorrows rosary, and Immaculee not only shares it, but explains Mary's specific teachings for how to pray it, as well as offers the promises attached to the prayers.

Noted author Mike Aquilina conducts an intriguing and insightful tour of the symbols that expressed the life and devotion of the Church through the first four centuries of its existence. He explains how Christians freely borrowed pagan and Jewish symbols, giving them new, distinctly Christian meanings. Recover the zeal of our spiritual ancestors as you learn to read their symbolic language—and discover the impact the symbols still have on your life today.

In the Closet of the Vatican is a fascinating description and evaluation of financial, sexual and political misconduct throughout the Catholic Church at a time when new revelations are being uncovered each and every week. This audiobook explores the underlying causes and includes interviews with numerous Cardinals and other individuals, some of whom cannot be named. Martel reveals financial scandals in the Vatican bank; political collusion with unsavoury regimes, including Castro’s Cuba and Pinochet’s Chile; sexual abuse and hypocrisy over homosexuality.

Whether you are a cradle Catholic learning the Holy Bible or a Protestant convert divesting yourself of your Protestantism, this book on the scriptures is for you. The only book of its kind from a traditional Catholic perspective, it cuts through the fluff and gets to the heart of the spiritual realities, which are fundamental to all discussion on the Holy Bible. It also tells the story of how the rejection of these spiritual realities has led directly to the current crisis in the Church.

To trust in God’s will is the “secret of happiness and content”, the one sure-fire way to attain serenity in this world and salvation in the next. Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence simply and clearly answers questions that many Christians have regarding God’s will, the existence of evil, and the practice of trustful surrender.

In this short book, Forbes beautifully recounts the life and accomplishments of the famous St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism. Forbes tells of St. Benedict upbringing and early life in Rome, where he became disillusioned with their pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Taking up the life of a solitary in a cave in the mountains of Italy, he grew in holiness through prayer and fasting.

Salvation and spiritual perfection should not be sought haphazardly; a strategy is needed to win the battle for our souls. The Spiritual Combat, first published in 1589, provides timeless guidance in spiritual discipline. St. Francis de Sales (1576-1622) read from it himself every day and recommended it to everyone under his direction.

Fr. Vincent Miceli breaks ground in this analysis of seventeen Enlightenment theologians and philosophers who contributed to the rise of atheism. He explores their efforts and successes in convincing mankind to deny the existence of God, and he demonstrates how atheism has succeeded by creating mythical gods to stand in the place of God. What Fr. Miceli shows is that each tenet of atheism doesn't deny the existence of a Higher Power; it simply replaces the true Power with a false power.

Though often thought of as a towering intellect and theologian, Cardinal Newman’s writings reveal a man who possessed a simple devotion to Jesus and Mary. These powerful meditations on the Stations of the Cross, originally written for his parishioners in the Birmingham Oratory Church, can aid us with the simple and singular focus on Christ’s passion and our own failings that contributed to it.