Religious Books

How much time is enough to be with God? While it could be the 40 days or years used so often in the Bible, it's also possible that simply stealing a few minutes from the busy-ness of each day is enough time to be in Kairos, "God time." The same is true for the space needed to find God. Whether it be in a deserted place or one filled with activity, whatever space we can carve out to find God--or to make enough room to be found--is enough space. This book is about being with God in short time and tight spaces. The journey is taken through and with the Bible, 40 reflections based on 40 passages from Scripture, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation. For the prayerful reader, it is an opportunity to carve out God-space and God-time, a pilgrimage with God, toward God.

This book is the fruit of holy hours and meditations on the readings for Sunday Mass and Holy Days throughout the year. The author attempts to portray the humanity of the Biblical family. The Gospel of Matthew paints a portrait of Jesus which is refreshingly human. We get to experience a culture and faith journey in a way that comforts us almost 2000 years later. Our questions and issues of today do have answers and consolation from a man who was very much alive and in his divinity offered us salvation.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized the great 20th century visionary of Divine Mercy, Sister Faustina Kowalska, and proclaimed the Sunday after Easter to be celebrated annually as Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2006, Pope Benedict stressed that Divine Mercy is not a secondary devotion, but an integral dimension of Christian faith and prayer. Now Pope Francis has proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin on December 8, 2015. These three Popes have made it very clear that Divine Mercy is a major part of the Christian faith, and now this powerful new book reveals why.

Best-selling author Vinny Flynn continues his popular 7 Secrets series with a book that brings him back to his roots. Vinny was one of the original editors of the official English edition of the actual Diary of St. Faustina, and he has written and edited a vast number of the Divine Mercy materials that are used today.

Through his secrets of Divine Mercy, Vinny shows how Divine Mercy is not just another worthy private devotion; it is the key devotion, the umbrella devotion over everything else. Every other devotion in the Church, every ritual, every activity, every teaching is under that umbrella of Divine Mercy. It's all there to help us understand and enter into Divine Mercy. He shows us how everything in our lives can become more meaningful, more powerful, more life-changing once we really embrace the gift of Divine Mercy -- the overflow of love from the Holy Trinity.

In this compelling and timely book, Flynn draws from Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and the Diary of St. Faustina to not only reveal the heart of Divine Mercy, but to offer you an invitation and a road map so that this mercy can transform your life.

If you're not yet convinced of the impact Divine Mercy can have on your life, if you've never heard of this message and devotion, or if you're curious to learn more about it, this book is perfect for you. It shows us all how to respond to the call of Pope Francis to live lives shaped by mercy, and benefit greatly from the Year of Mercy.

A Commentary on the Order of Mass of The Roman Missal gathers the insights of some of today's foremost English-speaking liturgical scholars to aid in understanding this most recent edition of the Order of Mass and its new English translation. Developed under the auspices of the Catholic Academy of Liturgy this commentary was guided by three primary concerns:

to situate the promulgation of a new English translation of the Roman Missal historically and theologically to aid in the pastoral implementation of these texts and rites to contribute to the ongoing development of vernacular worship for English-speaking Roman Catholics

Contributors include:

John Baldovin Anscar Chupungco Mary Collins Keith Pecklers David Power Joyce Ann Zimmermann

The volume is edited by

John Baldovin, SJ, Professor of Historical and Liturgical Theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

Mary Collins, OSB, Professor Emerita at The Catholic University of America School of Theology and Religious Studies, Washington DC

Edward Foley, Capuchin, the Duns Scotus Professor of Spirituality and Professor of Liturgy and Music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago

Joanne Pierce, Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

A reissue of one of Henri Nouwen's most powerful and most personal books: prayers that "reveal a fearful heart, a cry for mercy, rays of hope, the power of the Spirit, the needs of the world, and finally gratitude."

In his continuing search for a deeper understanding of the spiritual life, Henri Nouwen traveled twice to the Trappist monastery in the Genesee Valley of upstate New York. His first visit inspired The Genesee Diary, a moving account of his daily experiences and of contemporary monastic life. When he returned five years later, the familiar, comfortable daily rhythms of the contemplative life led him to concentrate his attention on meditation. He disciplined himself to write a prayer each day, an endeavor that became this extraordinary book.

In these daily prayers, Father Nouwen confronts his own inner chaos as he tries to create a space in his heart where God can dwell. Powerful, searching, and painfully honest, Nouwen's prayers, confessions, and petitions point to the final goal of all spiritual life: to live unceasingly in the presence of God. Like The Wounded Healer and The Return of the Prodigal Son, A Cry for Mercy is filled with freshness and insight. It speaks directly to the contemporary Christian's need for a meaningful spirituality, a disciplined inner life, and a real sense of the divine presence in everyday life.

Hahn explores the "covenant love" God reveals to us through the Scriptures and explains how God patiently reaches out to us--despite our faults and shortcomings--to restore us into relationship with his divine family. Join Hahn as he follows the high adventure of God's plan for the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing down through the generations to the coming of Christ and the birth of the Church. You'll discover how the patient love of the Father revealed in the Bible is the same persistent love he has for you. A Servant Book.

The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

Esther de Waal comes to the Rule of St. Benedict as a lay woman who has studied the Rule and striven to live it. Benedict has been for her both supportive and challenging, both guide and prophet. His Rule asks not for blind obedience and conformity but for personal responsibility.

While the Rule offers much to those seeking a pattern to the structure of their day-to-day, exterior life, which de Waal's previous commentaries have addressed, this commentary focuses on what Benedict tells us about the interior life. It takes the shape of prayerful reflections on his words of wisdom regarding the disposition of the heart. It leads the reader, as the Rule was meant to lead the novice, to answer the very personal question we must all, as Christians, answer: Am I truly seeking God? Includes a copy of the Rule.

Esther de Waal is a well-known author whose interests lie particularly in monastic and Celtic spirituality. Her first book, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (The Liturgical Press), continues to be a bestseller and has-been translated world wide. It was followed by Living with Contradiction: Further Reflections on the Rule and, most recently, A World Made Whole: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition and A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton. She is married with four grown-up sons and lives in the Welsh Borders.

Just days after turning fifty, Martha Maddux, a spirited mother and civic activist, was told she had Alzheimer's disease. She and her husband, Carlen, felt as though they'd been shoved out of a plane 10,000 feet up, with nothing to grab but themselves. But A Path Revealed is not about the fallout from an insidious disease that extended nearly seventeen years. It is in Carlen's words, "The story of a path emerging during our darkest hours, a path that we neither planned nor foresaw."

Carlen traveled with Martha to the backwoods of Kentucky, where the quiet presence of a Catholic nun revealed a hidden path. He was forced to slow down as he traced this path halfway around the world to Australia, retreated weekends to a monastery, embraced meditation, and landed all alone in Thomas Merton's cell.

A Path Revealed echoes accents heard in Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, Richard Rohr's Falling Upward, and John Bunyan's 17th-century classic, The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that all who die in God s grace, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation, but after death, they undergo purification so as to enter the joy of heaven (1030)
Because of the communion of Saints, the faithful, who are still pilgrims here on earth are able to help the Souls in Purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage, especially the Eucharistic Sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences and penance. (Taken from the Compendium of the Catholic Church # 211)
St. Pope John Paul the Great has stated that tradition, has always pointed out that those who find themselves in the state of purification are united both with the Blessed, who already enjoy the fullness of eternal life, and with us on this earth, on our way towards the Father s House (taken from cf.ccgn.1032 L Osservatore Romano & EWTN)
It is truly a wholesome thing to pray for our departed brothers and sisters in Purgatory.
Let us now pray together the Rosary for the Souls in Purgatory.

After spending decades as a highly successful football coach, Lou Holtz shares a common-sense message with teens in an easily understood game plan for life. This proven plan can help readers define and attain their goals.

In Abide in the Heart of Christ, Rev. Joe Laramie, S.J., offers accessible wisdom from the foundations of Jesuit spirituality--St. Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises--in a ten-day personal retreat that will help you encounter Christ, grow your relationship with him, and shape your heart.

Laramie is your guide through this accessible retreat into the heart of Jesus. Based on a structure and approach he developed as a retreat leader at White House Jesuit Retreat in St. Louis, Laramie introduces you to classic themes of the Christian life, including sin, forgiveness, and creation.

This book also helps you learn how to use key scripture passages to reflect on your own experiences. Each reflection includes teachings from the Spiritual Exercises and offers examples from Laramie's own life. Reflection questions and activities guide you in further contemplation to help you see what's in your heart, encounter Christ in your daily life, and live more fully in his love each day.