Religion Catholicism

In 1972, a young Franciscan friar named Murray Bodo wrote a unique book about the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis: The Journey and the Dream offered people a unique combination of lyrical prose and brief, absorbing vignettes that inspired hundreds of thousands of people all over the world to contemplate the life of the famous saint and see him in a new way. Fifty years and over 200,000 copies later, this book still captivates people everywhere, and Fr. Bodo is still writing about St. Francis and the Franciscan way of life.

Decades before Vatican II called for the sanctification of the laity, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity prophetically claimed that holiness is not exclusively the domain of priests and nuns but is truly for everyone. God created the human soul to be a special channel of His grace on earth and to serve as a unique image of His love. Few saints have spoken to hearts as acutely as St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, who has helped even the busiest, weariest, and most distracted of us create an inner chamber within our souls where we can rest in God’s peace and love.

They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale.

The Secret of the Rosary from Catholic Book Publishing is a new, enlightening translation of the classic book by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, the great Marian writer who nurtured Pope John Paul II's devotion to Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus. This inspiring book will enhance personal devotion or make a wonderful gift for anyone seeking to become closer to Our Lady.

In C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, Joseph Pearce delves into Lewis's life, writings, and spiritual influences to shed light on the matter. Although C. S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity was greatly influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien, a Catholic, and although Lewis embraced many distinctively Catholic teachings, such as purgatory and the sacrament of Confession, he never formally entered the Church.

Francesco Forgione might be a name lost to history, but over the course of his life, he became one of Catholicism's most well-known figures during the 20th century as Padre Pio. It was a remarkable path for a man who was legendarily afflicted by a series of illnesses and most famously bore the stigmata, very noticeably bearing what appeared to be the crucifixion wounds Jesus's hands suffered. Padre Pio was also known for his eccentricities, including unique forms of deep meditation and experiencing visions.

Sohrab Ahmari was a teenager living under the Iranian ayatollahs when he decided that there is no God. Nearly two decades later, he would be received into the Roman Catholic Church. In From Fire, by Water, he recounts this unlikely passage, from the strident Marxism and atheism of a youth misspent on both sides of the Atlantic to a moral and spiritual awakening prompted by the Mass.

L'humanité présente hésite et souffre, au comble de sa puissance, parce qu'elle n'a pas défini son pôle spirituel. Elle manque de Religion. En face du phénomène évident et inéluctable de la "totalisation humaine", la seule attitude possible est d'"accepter", de se fier, et de se lancer courageusement en avant, escomptant que la Vie, qui nous jette dans ce creuset, nous aidera à développer la chaleur spirituelle (les forces de sympathie et d'Amour) qui nous fera sortir de la transformation, non pas mécanisés, mais humanisés et personnalisés.

This book describes the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based style of catechesis that focuses on the child’s independent journey to God by working with materials in a specially prepared place called an atrium. Written by Sofia Cavaletti, the Italian scripture scholar who developed the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, this classic work demonstrates the profound spiritual capabilities of children as brought forth through their engagement in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

In Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society, experienced Vatican journalist Diane Montagna conducts a wide-ranging and trenchant interview with Fr. Gerald E. Murray that examines the root causes, and potential solutions, to the many challenges the church faces today.

One Old Testament passage seized the imagination of the early Church - and directed Christian hearts and minds toward the Eucharist. It was the oracle of Malachi 1:11, and it was cited (like Isaiah’s Suffering Servant oracles) to prove the identity of the Messiah through his church and his sacrament. In The Eucharist Foretold: The Lost Prophecy of Malachi, Mike Aquilina reveals that the Messiah’s true identity - and the identity of the Eucharist - helps us find our identity as “Catholic”, and will lead us to discover our roots in the religion of ancient Israel.

The Middle Ages remains one of the most defining eras of human civilization. It is an era characterized by illustrious monarchs, valiant knights in shining armor, and magnificent Gothic architecture. It is also an era characterized by fervent friction, brutish barbarism, frequent famines, pestilent plagues, and of course, death. Some say the mortality rate in medieval times was like no other; with about a third of all children dying before the age of five, it was nearly miraculous for one to live past their 40s.

Wake up and deepen your spiritual life with Mary, all the angels and saints as your aides. Call on these holy men and women to intercede for you with the Father, through his son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And rediscover the unique power of prayer, with Thirty Favorite Novenas.

The sexual revolution—and the breakdown of the family—has brought misery to millions. In The Sexual State, Jennifer Roback Morse shows that the sexual revolution did not just “happen” like a force of nature. Rather, it was deliberately created by “elites”, harnessing the power of the state, allowing them inflict three false and calamitous ideologies—contraception, divorce, and gender—that have led to widespread and profound unhappiness, and worse.

With the story of the painful and life-changing crisis he experienced in the Church that led him to love the Church more intensely, Fr. Berg Along intertwines the stories of other Catholics who have themselves experienced life-changing hurts but who, in Jesus, found healing. Ultimately, this audiobook is about hope for wounded believers: If you have been hurt in the Church, Jesus can take you on a journey through your wounds, a journey of healing that will make you an even better human being, a better Christian, and a better disciple.

What's the hardest question you've ever been asked? I've given thousands of lectures around the country to engaged, thoughtful, curious university and church audiences and have always made it a practice to allow for as many questions as possible. Here are the most interesting ones I've been asked, and the answers I gave. Some of the questions and answers are easy, some hard; some profound, some silly; some tragic, some funny; most of them thought-provoking and all of them, I hope, entertaining.

From the man who became Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio shares his thoughts on religion, reason, and the challenges the world faces in the 21st century with Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and biophysicist. This book brings together a series of these conversations, in which both men talked about various theological and worldly issues, including God, fundamentalism, atheism, abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and globalization.

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.

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.

Throughout much of the 19th century, both secular and Catholic leaders assumed that the Church and the modern world were locked in a battle to the death. The triumph of modernity would not only finish the Church as a consequential player in world history; it would also lead to the death of religious conviction. But today, the Catholic Church is far more vital and consequential than it was 150 years ago.