Religion Catholicism

Through beautiful prose and inspiring meditations, Caryll Houselander depicts the intimately human side of Mary, Mother of God, as an empty reed waiting for God's music to be played through her. Lovingly bringing Our Lady down off her time-honored, ancient pedestal, Houselander shares her insightful and beautiful vision of Mary on earth, Mary among us, Mary as a confused but trusting teenager whose holiness flowered with her eternal "Yes".

Over twenty years ago, in the tiny mountain village of Medjugorje, Bosnia, six young people began to report seeing visions of the Virgin Mary. Since then, the beauty of Heaven and the importance of prayer, conversion, and reconciliation have been revealed to them through Mary´s appearances. Queen of the Cosmos provides an opportunity to hear the messages of the mother of Christ through in-depth interviews with the six visionaries of Medjugorje.

The Wisdom of John Paul II is a powerful, illuminating distillation of the Pope's most moving, wise, and penetrating statements on a range of important issues. In this compilation by Nick Bakalar and Richard Balkin, the Pope addresses spirituality in modern life, human rights and religious freedom, marriage and family, morality, peace, prayer, women's roles, poverty, and many other concerns vital to Christian life and thought.

Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence - deeds that left millions of the faithful in the US and around the world shocked, angry, and confused.

With prophetic insight into our times, Benedict warns of a "radical manipulation of man" in the name of tolerance, insisting that the only "authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance" is Christ himself—and Christ crucified. A lifelong Catholic, the late pope pays tribute to some of the giant figures of Christianity who have served him through the years as guiding stars: his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the 20th-century German Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, and the silent carpenter Joseph, his patron saint.

"Here, then," says St. Alphonsus, "is our heaven on earth - the Most Blessed Sacrament". This book was conceived and written to help us grow in the knowledge and love of God and in appreciation for what he has done for us. For each of the 31 days of the month, St. Alphonsus provides for us a "Visit to Our Lord" - which is a brief meditation on and a fervent prayer of love toward Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Each Visit to Our Lord is followed by a "Visit to Our Lady".

Cardinal Ratzinger compellingly shows us the biblical, historical, and theological dimensions of the Eucharist. The cardinal draws far-reaching conclusions, focusing on the importance of one's personal devotion to and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for the personal reception of communion by the individual christian, as well as for the life of the church. For Ratzinger, any transformation of the world on the social plane grows out of the celebration of the Eucharist. He beautifully illustrates how the omnipotent God comes intimately close to us in the Holy Eucharist, the heart of 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.

Drawing from the deep tradition of the Catholic faith, Lisa Hendey coaches Catholic moms how to care for themselves - heart, mind, body, and soul - so that they can better love and care for their families, their neighbors, and their Church. With warmth and wisdom, Hendey creates an environment where Catholic moms can reflect peacefully upon often-competitive topics like parenting style, types of schooling, and working outside the home. By sharing her own story, Hendey inspires listeners to better balance their own needs with the demands of family life and faith commitment.

As Catholics, we believe in the resurrection of the body. We profess it in our creed. We're taught that to bury and pray for the dead are corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We honor the dead in our Liturgy through the rite of Christian burial. We do all of this, and more, because when Jesus Christ took on flesh for the salvation of our souls he also bestowed great dignity on our bodies. In Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body, Scott Hahn explores the significance of death and burial from a Catholic perspective.

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.

This work brings together three prayer practices for each day of the year to enhance contemplative living. First, a brief 'active prayer'; second, spiritual reading; and, third, Lectio Divina. The brief introductory prayer sentences are from various sources - the Bible and traditional prayers of the church or of well-known spiritual writers. The spiritual readings come from 11 of Father Keatings' books and one audiotape, with a month's worth of readings derived from each work. Each day's entry concludes with a brief selection from the Bible, or Lectio Divina.

Thinking with the mind of the Church, Mr. Hudson has mined the riches of faith and reason with which the Church has blessed civilization and with which she has shone forth the splendor of truth across two millennia. It was G.K. Chesterton who quipped that the Church is the one continual institution to have been thinking about thinking for 2,000 years, and it is for this reason, as Chesterton also quipped, that she saves us from the ignominy of ignorance which makes us children of our own time and slaves of the zeitgeist. It is she who enables us to think outside the temporal box.

No Greater Love is the essential wisdom of Mother Teresa - the most accessible and inspirational collection of her teachings ever published. This definitive volume features Mother Teresa on love, prayer, giving, service, poverty, forgiveness, Jesus, and more. No Greater Love is a passionate testament to Mother Teresa's deep hope and abiding faith in God and the world. It will bring readers into the heart of this remarkable woman, showing Mother Teresa's revolutionary vision of Christianity in its graceful, poetic simplicity.

Richard Rohr focuses on finding God in the depths of silence. Divine silence is more than the absence of noise; it has a life of its own. We are invited into its living presence to find the wholeness of being and peace it brings. This book will inspire you and show that the peace of contemplation is not something just for monks, mystics, and those divorced from the worries of the world, but rather for all people who can quiet their own mind to listen in the silence.

Daughter Zion avoids the extremes of ignoring the biblical foundation for Marian doctrine on the one hand and fundamentalistic proof-texting on the other. Instead, the author beautifully and lucidly develops key biblical themes to help listeners understand and appreciate the mother of God.

The What Every Catholic Should Know series is intended for the average faithful Catholic who wants to know more about Catholic faith and culture. The authors in this series take a panoramic approach to the topic of each book aimed at a non-specialist but enthusiastic listenership. Already published titles in this series include: literature, salvation, mercy, being Catholic, God, and philosophy.

The Imitation of Mary from Catholic Book Publishing is an excellent companion volume to the beloved and highly esteemed book Imitation of Christ. In this book, culled from the deeply spiritual works of Thomas à Kempis, the listener is treated to beautiful writings about Our Lady set forth in the style of the Imitation of Christ. He offers the listener a splendid way to grow in following Jesus through imitating His Blessed Mother. This book is a profoundly spiritual road map for listeners who wish to travel with Mary and Jesus.

Part life story, part philosophy text, and part spiritual guide, Sister Jean's wit, wisdom, and common sense has broad appeal and application that transcends religious creed, belief, and even feelings on Loyola's basketball team.

In a moving, dramatic conclusion to his four New York Times bestselling Mother Angelica books, Raymond Arroyo completes the saga of this singular nun with his most intimate book yet.