Religion Catholicism

This is a book of wisdom and insight that explains how providential are the trials through which the Catholic Church is now passing. All these themes receive new clarity and depth from Cardinal Ratzinger.

In How to Converse with God, St. Alphonsus Ligouri teaches us how to use the small events of everyday life to raise our hearts and minds to God: in praise, contrition, hope, joy, and union with God's will. In this way, we can “pray unceasingly” and converse with God in the way most pleasing to him - personally and confidently.

One part biography, one part prayer book, The Life and Prayers of Saint Padre Pio is an essential for any Christian. The foundation for Padre Pio's work in the world was love. His love of God became intertwined with his love of humanity so that the two became inseparable and unwavering. Padre Pio is notable not for his erudition or even his teachings, per se, but for the man he was and the intercessor he continues to be. Pio gave himself to Christ as a spiritual victim for the souls of sinners.

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.

"Creía que ya había pensado todo lo que necesitaba pensar con respecto al amor, cuando el sermón de Henry Drummond cayó en mis manos. A partir del momento en que leí las palabras de este libro, e intenté poner en práctica sus enseñanzas, mi vida cambió mucho." (Paulo Coelho) "Aunque hable las lenguas de los hombres y de los ángeles, si no tuviera Amor, sería como el bronce que suena, o como el címbalo que tañe."

The Albigensian Crusade: The History and Legacy of the Catholic Campaign Against the Cathars in France examines the origins of Catharism, the conflicts with Catholicism, and the fighting that led to Cathars being stamped out across France.

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.

Many Catholics don't believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. Rather, they see the bread and wine of Holy Communion as mere symbols of Christ's body and blood. Is that disbelief just a misunderstanding or is it a blatant rejection of one of the central beliefs of the faith? In Real Presence, University of Notre Dame theologian Timothy P. O'Malley clears up the confusion and shows you how to learn to love God and neighbor through a deeper understanding of the doctrine of real presence.

Pornography is no longer just a men's issue. Dr. Peter Kleponis presents an alarming in-depth look at the pornography epidemic that is ruining lives, marriages, families, and careers - and hindering life-giving relationships with God. Hear the stories of real people - men, women, clergy, seminarians, and teens - who've suffered from addictions to pornography and went on to find healing. Freedom is possible. Integrity can be restored.

The talks on which this book was based were given at the John Main Seminar in 1998, the annual international event of the World Community for Christian Meditation. Previous presenters have included the Dalai Lama, Jean Vanier, Bede Griffiths, and William Johnston. A monk reflects on Scripture in the light of experience. He or she utters a word that startles his listeners into realizing that tradition is not a matter of second-hand experience but the living and human self-transmission of Christ to his disciples.

The war is on. The Devil plots to defeat you. Meet some battle-tested warriors who fight at your side. Satan is real. He's a formidable foe who wants to snatch us away from God, and the thought of doing battle with him can seem daunting. Even so, the saints who have gone before us have engaged the Devil, armed with the power of Christ and emerged victorious! These fellow warriors in heaven now fight on our behalf.

One of today's most prophetic voices, Richard Rohr invites us to self-disclosure and to enter the wondrous divine dialogue with clarity, insight and holy desire! These daily meditations for Lent are his gift to us for our transformation into our original "image and likeness," which is the very image of God.

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.

In Struck Down, Not Destroyed, Vatican reporter for America magazine Colleen Dulle takes listeners for the first time into her own experience of reporting: how the church has put her own faith into crisis, and how she has managed to stay Catholic by meeting again and again the spiritual reality at the heart of the church—God and the saints. With each chapter, Dulle revisits her reporting on a church crisis, revealing to listeners that in every instance of anger, betrayal, and hurt, she was ultimately renewed in hope, courage, and resolve.

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.

While many Catholics are aware of great female saints such as Catherine of Siena and Thérèse of Lisieux, a view persists that, over the centuries, women played a limited role in the development of Catholic traditions and institutions. In this innovative survey of Church history, Bronwen McShea demonstrates instead that faithful women have always been at the heart of the Church's common life, shaping it and the course of entire civilizations.

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.

Author S. C. Slawin spent his first 44 years as a faithful Catholic, having been born and raised in the Roman Catholic Church. His faith led him to take an active role in the church, spending time as an altar server, a CCD teacher, a lector, and an RCIA instructor. After living his life dedicated to the traditions, doctrines, and practices of Catholicism, he embarked on a very unexpected and momentous journey into a deeper exploration of the teachings of the Catholic faith and the Holy Scripture.

With silence increasingly becoming a stranger to us, one man set out to become its intimate: Pablo d'Ors, a Catholic priest whose life was changed by Zen meditation. With disarming honesty and directness, as well as a striking clarity of language, d'Ors shares his struggles as a beginning meditator: the tedium, restlessness, and distraction. But, persevering, the author discovers not only a deep peace and understanding of his true nature, but also that silence, rather than being a retreat from life, offers us an intense engagement with life just as it is.

It is one of the most ancient, arcane, and to some, embarrassing rites of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet the number of priests in Italy trained as exorcists has risen tenfold over the past decade - and they are still unable to keep up with the skyrocketing demand for their services. Award-winning foreign correspondent Tracy Wilkinson reveals that "devil detox", as some call it, is a booming industry, complete with motivational speakers, international conventions, and plenty of controversy.