Religion Catholicism

Il est presque devenu banal d'affirmer que l'Église catholique est en crise au Québec et en Occident. Lorsqu'on considère les abus sexuels sur mineurs, la baisse de la pratique, l'effondre­ment des vocations, la disparition des ordres religieux ou la place ambiguë des femmes, il peut sembler difficile d'espérer des jours meilleurs pour le corps du Christ. Serait-ce la fin de cette institution bimillénaire ? Et pourtant, des voix d'ici s'élèvent pour témoigner de leur espérance malgré les difficultés vécues par notre Église.

When he was elected pope in the fall of 1978, few people had ever heard of the charismatic Karol Wojty³a. But in a very short time he would ignite a revolution of conscience in his native Poland that would ultimately lead to the collapse of European communism and death of the Soviet Union. What even fewer people knew was that the KGB, the Polish Secret Police, and the East German Stasi had been waging a dangerous, decades-long war against Wojty³a and the Vatican itself.

In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: He would resign, making him the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one-time tango-club bouncer, a passionate soccer fan, a man with the common touch. Why did Benedict walk away at the height of power, knowing his successor might be someone whose views might undo his legacy?

The world hates the Church that Jesus founded, just as He said it would (John 15:18). It reviles her doctrines, mocks her moral teachings and invents lies about her history. In every age, but especially in our modern day, historians and political powers have distorted the facts about her past (or just made up novel falsehoods from scratch) to make the Church, and the civilization it fostered, seem corrupt, backward, or simply evil.

At every Sunday mass, Catholics confess that Jesus came down from heaven ''for us men and for our salvation". But what does ''salvation'' mean? In this robust and accessible book, Scripture scholar and theologian Michael Patrick Barber provides a thorough, deeply Catholic, and deeply biblical answer. He deftly tackles this complex topic, unpacking what the New Testament teaches about salvation in Christ, detailing what exactly salvation is and what it is not. In easy and listenable prose, he explains what the cross, the church, and the trinity have to do with salvation.

This work was originally composed by St. Teresa of Avila for her fellow sisters of the Carmelite Order. Although written for nuns it is very much accessible to modern readers. In this classic book she guides her fellow sisters on the way to union with God through prayer and meditation, offering helpful advise for readers to seek self-perfection. Her words are practical and heartfelt, coming from her personal experience. The book is less formal and gives a more clear form of St. Teresa's theological views than her autobiography or her famous book, The Interior Castle.

A growing chorus of economists and politicians is demanding a new paradigm to create a global economy for the common good. In Cathonomics, Anthony M. Annett unites insights in economics with those from theology, philosophy, climate science, and psychology, exposing the failures of neoliberalism while offering us a new model rooted in the wisdom of Catholic social teaching and classical ethical traditions.

Still as fresh and relevant as when it was first released, The Faith makes the Catechism of the Catholic Church accessible to a new generation of listeners. Fr. Hardon helps to form Catholics in the faith by focusing on the principle points of doctrine, moral teaching, and spirituality conveyed so richly in the Catechism.

Dr. James Papandrea introduces you to all the major theologians, philosophers, and martyrs of the early Christian church and explains the theological principles that guided the Church from the New Testament era through the apologists, and, ultimately, to the development of the major doctrines. He uniquely situates the teachings of the early Church Fathers against the social and cultural context of the Roman Empire and its relationship to the Church.

The Sunday collection in every Catholic church throughout the world is as familiar a part of the Mass as the homily and even Communion. There is no doubt that historically the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history. But once a dollar is dropped in that basket, where does it go? How are weekly cash contributions that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars accounted for? Where does the money go when a diocese sells a church property for tens of millions of dollars?

As parents, helping our children get to Heaven is of the utmost importance. As we look back through history and study the lives of the Saints, it is oftentimes easy to forget the role that the parents of these holy men and women played in their formation and ultimate salvation. In this book, discover the hidden heroes behind Saints Faustina, Giana Molla, Josemaría Escrivá, Pope John Paul II, Maximilian Kolbe, Padre Pio, Thérèse, and countless others. Learn how over 100 parents formed their children into great Saints by way of their virtuous lives.

For more than 25 years John Thavis held one of the most fascinating journalistic jobs in the world: reporting on the inner workings of the Vatican. His daily exposure to the power, politics, and personalities in the seat of Roman Catholicism gave him a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on an institution that is far less monolithic and unified than it first appears. Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place where Curia cardinals fight private wars, scandals threaten to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past is continually upended by the practical considerations of modern life.

The spiritual life is not a life then and there, but a life here and now. It is a life in which the spirit of God is revealed in the ordinary enccounters of every day. With a smile and a tear, Nouwen looks at the day-to-day events of our lives and discovers there places where God chooses to dwell and call us.

Voici l'histoire époustouflante d'un jeune séminariste plongé, à l'aube de la seconde guerre mondiale, dans la sinistre légion de Hitler.

Una maravillosa oportunidad para aumentar tu unión con el Señor. Este libro de espiritualidad católica te sumergirá, a lo largo de 14 días, en un camino de transformación interior que tendrá como culmen el Nacimiento del Señor. En cada capítulo de este libro, la Sagrada Escritura te guiará en un proceso de introspección para explorar su aplicación en tu vida diaria, conectando paso a paso con la esencia misma de la Navidad.

In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin, SJ, assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life’s absurdities—not to mention our own humanity. Father Martin invites believers to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in our daily lives and to embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy.

In this third installment of the Theology of Home series, Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering turn their attention to the role of the sea in our memories and imaginations. Drawing from literature, mythology, and scripture, At the Sea pulls out the rich connections between the sea and mystery, recreation, yearning, and joyful reunions. With reflections from other writers who join Gress and Mering, At the Sea serves as a love letter to the time we spend on the beach with our families, romping in the waves, toes in the sand, eyes lingering on the pink sunsets beyond the horizon.

What could be more familiar than the Christmas story - and yet what could be more extraordinary? The cast of characters is strange and exotic: shepherds and magicians, an emperor and a despot, angels, and a baby who is Almighty God. The strangeness calls for an explanation, and this book provides it by examining the characters and the story in light of the biblical and historical context.

Following the example of St. Ignatius, we believe that praying the Examen will lead to a better life. The 500-year-old daily practice of honest self-assessment and reflection is a founding principle of Ignatian spirituality. Reimagining the Ignatian Examen - the only book of its kind - will lead you through a fresh and stimulating reflection on your past day, your present state of being, and your spiritual desires and needs for tomorrow.

"Francis, go and build up my house, which thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual church in souls. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to conversion and a deeper faith.