Spirituality Catholicism

In this short book, Forbes beautifully recounts the life and accomplishments of the famous St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism. Forbes tells of St. Benedict upbringing and early life in Rome, where he became disillusioned with their pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Taking up the life of a solitary in a cave in the mountains of Italy, he grew in holiness through prayer and fasting.

In this memoir, Luke Timothy Johnson draws on his rich experience to invite listeners into the scholar’s life—its aims, commitments, and habits. In addition to sharing his own story from childhood to retirement, Johnson reflects on the nature of scholarship more generally, showing how this vocation has changed over the past half century and where it might be going in the future. He is as candid and unsparing about negative trends in academia as he is hopeful about the possibilities of steadfast, disciplined scholarship.

The most profound characteristic of Western Europe in the Middle Ages was its cultural and religious unity, a unity secured by a common alignment with the Pope in Rome and a common language - Latin - for worship and scholarship. The Reformation shattered that unity, and the consequences are still with us today.

Miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss happen more often than we realize, leaving many to suffer in isolation. This unique companion will help those grieving from child loss as they search for comfort and meaning. Couples will encounter the experiences of holy people who suffered loss, such as Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Gianna Molla, and Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo. Parents will also receive hope and consolation from firsthand stories of modern-day parents who have experienced similar losses.

In this timely book, acclaimed radio host and author Jesse Romero teaches men how the traditional liturgy equips them to put on the armor of Christ and fight the daily spiritual battle for souls.

Revelations of Divine Love is a classic work of medieval Christian mysticism. Dame Julian of Norwich received these visions in 1373, at the age of 30. It appears from her writings that she was born in 1343 and died after 1416. The visions appeared to her over two nights when she was gravely ill. After her miraculous recovery, she described and reflected upon the 16 visions. Her theology is one of love and mercy, which has inspired and comforted many believers down the ages.

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.

Faithful Catholics are beginning to realize it’s not their imagination. Pope Francis has led them on a journey from joy to unease to alarm and even a sense of betrayal. They can no longer pretend that he represents merely a change of emphasis in papal teaching. Assessing the confusion sown by this pontificate, Lost Shepherd explains what’s at stake, what’s not at stake, and how loyal believers should respond.

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.

In recent times, more and more people are getting cancer and looking for a cure. When cancer strikes close to home, the faithful turn to Saint Peregrine (also known as the “Wonder Worker”) and Saint Agatha for help. Saint Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer patients and Saint Agatha is the patron saint of breast cancer patients.

How would your life change if you were certain of your identity? If you could know that Someone loves you, sees you, and wants to be close to you - just as you are? In this weekly devotional for women, you're invited to soak in God's word to embrace your identity as a beloved woman made in God's image.

True Devotion to Mary is a book by Saint Louis de Montfort written in 1712. The book was practically unknown for more than a century, when it was found by chance in 1842, at the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary in France. In the book, Montfort describes how true devotion to Mary can spiritually bring one closer to Christ.

Scott y Kimberly Hahn - un matrimonio norteamericano- ofrecen el testimonio cálido, alegre y realista de su conversión al catolicismo. Formados en la Iglesia presbiteriana, inician una peregrinación espiritual que transforma toda su vida; es un camino de búsqueda de la verdad y adhesión a la voluntad divina, que culminó en la inmensa alegría de ser recibidos en la Iglesia católica.

Alice von Hildebrand is a household name to millions who know her from her countless appearances on EWTN, her many important books, and her voluminous articles and essays. But little known is the story of her life, notably the 37 years she spent at Hunter College in New York City. There, despite unceasing opposition that might have defeated even the strongest of souls, she endured with grace and devotion, leaving a mark on a generation of students through her defense of truth through persuasion, wit, and love.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, today Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis' stewardship of the church, while perceived as a revelation by many, has provoked division throughout the world. "If a conclave were to be held today," one Roman source told The New Yorker, "Francis would be lucky to get 10 votes." In To Change the Church, Douthat explains why the particular debate Francis has opened - over communion for the divorced and the remarried - is so dangerous.

In a series of reflections on every part of the Mass, author Tim O'Malley challenges us to turn the idea of boredom on its head, calling boredom the good boredom that opens us to the quiet interior space where we can encounter God. It is there that full participation in the Mass becomes possible the potential to be transfixed by a ritual, to contemplate the readings, and to savor the Eucharist. Become a Bored Again Catholic and rediscover the power of the Mass to change your life and the entire world.

Author Kevin Lowry's journey to Catholicism is fascinating, often funny, and demonstrates God's unfailing, patient love for all of us. A preacher's kid at a Catholic university, Kevin Lowry settled into a double major in beer and billiards soon followed by uncomfortable run-ins with pious students, failing grades, increasing anxiety, a missing night, and the startling realization that some fellow students actually attended Mass the morning after a party instead of sleeping it off. After getting kicked out, Kevin got his act together, got the MBA, and also got the girl.

Never before has humanity existed in a culture that rejects belief in a transcendent power. Previous cultures - even when rent by disagreements - shared a common belief that a greater force stood above the material realm. But when one side acknowledges an ultimate source of truth while the other side denies it, debate is dead and mutual understanding is impossible. It is ordinary men and women who become extraordinary heroes in this the battle against Satan, explains Fr. Longenecker. Only by the light of our lives will we defeat this darkness. Debate and dialogue are now pointless.

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.

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.