Religion Catholicism

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 Story of a Soul is the autobiography of Thérèse of Lisieux. It was first published on September 30, 1898, a year to the day after her death from tuberculosis at the age of 24, on September 30, 1897. The book was a single volume formed from three distinct manuscripts - manuscripts of different length, written at different times, addressed to different people, and differing from one another in character. The work of unifying these disparate manuscripts was carried out by Pauline, the sister of Thérèse.

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Vatican Diaries comes a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the Vatican investigates claims of miraculous events. Apocalyptic prophecies and miraculous apparitions are headline-grabbing events that often put the Catholic Church's doctrine of "rational faith" at odds with the passion of its more zealous followers. To some, these claims teeter on the edge of absurdity. Others see them as evidence of a private connection with God.

How can Christianity touch the imagination of our contemporaries when ever fewer people in the West identify as religious? Timothy Radcliffe argues we must show how everything we believe is an invitation to live fully. God says, ‘I put before you life and death: choose life’. Anyone who understands the beauty and messiness of human life - novelists, poets, filmmakers and so on - can be our allies, whether they believe or not. The challenge is not today’s secularism but its banality.

In What Pope Francis Really Said, nationally respected Catholic journalist Tom Hoopes explores how Pope Francis is bringing the Catholic Church to bear on a dramatically changing world, not by altering its teachings but by applying enduring truths to new realities in fresh ways. This book takes up the primary themes of the first three years of the pontificate and challenges American Catholics to see the pope and his teachings as a pathway to personal renewal.

Decisions, decisions . . . life presents us with so many, big and small. How can we confidently make choices that bring us true happiness? The life of the virtues holds the key, and among those virtues, prudence holds the reins. No, this isn't your grandmother's definition of prudence. This virtue actually inspires practical wisdom, allowing us to choose well and to bring order into our lives. In Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly, Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, aims to work prudence back into the conversation and explain how it can transform us along our path toward what really matters.

"How can we save civilization?" It's becoming a common question. As the world descends into chaos, Christians are thinking deeply about how to stem the tide. Many options have been presented to overcome Christian persecution and cultural decadence, but The Marian Option is one that is already in motion...and has been for centuries.

Scripture is your guide to what matters most in life. If you're not familiar with it, Patrick Madrid's choice of 150 key verses can ease you in. If you regularly read and pray with Scripture, these verses will provide you rich food for thought. No matter what your situation, the Bible will help you evaluate the choices and make the decisions that confront you every day. Either explicitly or implicitly, Scripture addresses all of life's problems, worries, dangers, questions and uncertainties.

Behind monastery walls, men of God spend their lives preparing for the passage of death. Best-selling French author Nicolas Diat set out to find what their deaths can reveal about the greatest mystery faced by everyone - the end of life. How to die? How to respond to our fear of death? To answer these and other questions, Diat travelled to eight European monasteries including Solesmes Abbey and the Grande Chartreuse. Through extraordinary interviews with monks, he learned that their death experiences are varied and unique, with elements of peace, pain, humility, sorrow, and joy.

Glory to God for the men of old who endured the persecutions of this world with joy and faith. Much can be learned from those who have looked death in the face and yet remained true to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Christine Valters Paintner, best-selling Catholic author and online abbess for Abbey of the Arts, uses reflections, stories, guided activities, prayer experiences, and a variety of creative arts to help you patiently and attentively listen to God's invitation. Everyone wants to understand God's will for their lives. Christine Valters Paintner shares one of the most ancient paths to understanding from her study of monasticism and immersion into Celtic spirituality while living in Ireland.

The Two Babylons is a religious pamphlet published in 1853 by the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland theologian Alexander Hislop. The author argues that the Catholic Church is the Babylon of the Apocalypse which is described in the Bible. The work examines the symbolism of the Book of Revelation in detail.

What does our Catholic faith teach us about eating well? Some of us eat too much food. Or we eat too little. Often, we eat without gratitude, without charity, without respect. But, as award-winning author and food-blogger Emily Stimpson Chapman explains in The Catholic Table, with a sacramental worldview, the supernatural gift of God's grace can transform and heal us through the food we make, eat, and share.

In Saints Who Saw Hell, you’ll find the scriptural witness to the reality of hell, including the warnings of Jesus, the prophets, and the Apostles.

Against the backdrop of a catastrophic pandemic that has spared nothing and altered everything, this remarkable document is a cry from the heart of a pastor to all peoples to see beyond their differences and to grow together to build a new and peaceful world. Pope Francis addresses his renewed call to universal fraternity to all people of good will, regardless of their religious convictions.

In Apologetics and the Christian Imagination, Holly Ordway shows how an imaginative approach - in cooperation with rational arguments - is extremely valuable in helping people come to faith in Christ. Making a case for the role of imagination in apologetics, this book proposes ways to create meaning for Christian language in a culture that no longer understands words like "sin" or "salvation", suggests how to discern and address the manipulation of language, and shows how metaphor and narrative work in powerful ways to communicate the truth.

In My Sisters the Saints, author Colleen Carroll Campbell blends her personal narrative of spiritual seeking, trials, stumbles, and breakthroughs with the stories of six women saints who profoundly changed her life: Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Faustina of Poland, Edith Stein of Germany, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Mary of Nazareth. Drawing upon the rich writings and examples of these extraordinary women, the author reveals Christianity's liberating power for women and the relevance of the saints to the lives of contemporary Christians.

We live in a world that has become secularized, marked by ideology and partisanship. In such a world, how are we supposed to know what is right and wrong? As Christians, how are we supposed to approach the social issues of our day? With conflicting voices surrounding us, how can we hear and know the voice of Jesus Christ and receive His teachings? As Christians, we seek to live the way of the Lord Jesus, but that’s easier said than done. Sanctify Them in Truth by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, STD is an approachable, easy-to-listen guide on eight of our most pressing social issues.

Clare of Assisi is generally known as “the female friend” of Saint Francis of Assisi and for centuries her legacy has remained obscured by his shadow. Yet Clare’s life and story ought to shine in its own light and on its own terms (her name, after all, means “light”). She is a figure of true heroism, tenacity, beatitude and grit who plotted her improbable course in the context of the raucous and explosive period of the Middle Ages.

Sometimes discernment seems complicated, and we struggle to “be still” to listen to God’s voice. Following the death of his spiritual director, St. Alphonsus Liguori penned timeless advice in a letter to one of his spiritual daughters, and it became the famous work titled Uniformity with God’s Will. Now, Dan Burke breaks open St. Alphonsus’s 18th-century classic for you. He intersperses relevant explanations and insights within the text of this great saint and includes reflection questions for each chapter.