Religious Books

"'Jesus, where are you?' I prayed every night as I wept . . . I felt I had failed as a priest, for I had preached love and the people made genocide. . . .Then I heard God speak to me. Jesus wanted me to use these experiences to evangelize later. It was then that I knew my life would be spared. God would make a way."

During the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga tells the dramatic story of how he survived while losing more than eighty of his family members and 45,000 of his parishioners in the killings. In the aftermath, Fr. Ubald experienced a renewed sense of purpose as a minister of reconciliation and a healing evangelist in his homeland and around the world. In Forgiveness Makes You Free, he offers five spiritual principles that can help those traumatized by the past to experience healing and peace in Christ.

In 1994 the world looked on in disbelief and horror as Rwanda erupted in violent bloodshed. All across the landlocked African country, militant Hutus rose up to exterminate the Tutsi population, including women and young children. One hundred days later, a million bodies littered fields, streets, and even churches. Now, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a powerful testimony emerges of the power of God to bring peace and reconciliation into hearts full of fear and hate.

In Forgiveness Makes You Free, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga shares his own dramatic story of how he survived the genocide and its traumatic aftermath. He testifies about how God spared his life so that he might help others with deep physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds to experience peace and healing. In retelling the story of how he forgave the man who killed his family and cared for the man's children while he was in prison, Fr. Ubald demonstrates how showing mercy can facilitate true forgiveness even in the most painful circumstances of our lives.

Throughout the book, Fr. Ubald teaches about five spiritual keys that draw us to Christ, the only source of lasting peace:

be thankful and have faith

choose to forgive

denounce evil

decide to live for Jesus

claim the blessing

Each chapter combines Fr. Ubald's story with reflection questions that guide readers along their own path of healing: from fear to faith, from shame to freedom, from isolation to reconciliation, from resentment to mercy, and from conflict to peace.

The final chapter offers a guided meditation to help those who need to experience the power of God to release those held in bondage by fear and hate and to find the secret of peace. An appendix contains information about "The Mushaka Reconciliation Project," a catechetical tool that has been used successfully by parishes in Rwanda, and could easily be adapted by parishes in the United States, to mediate reconciliation between individuals and groups who have become estranged by violence, trauma, and ethnic or cultural divisions.

"Francis, rebuild my Church!" That is how St. Francis of Assisi heard the call of Christ. It is also how Jorge Mario Bergoglio, at the age of 76, and a Jesuit, seems to have accepted his election to the papacy with the choice of a name that no other pope has ever chosen.

Who is Pope Francis, elected in one of the shortest conclaves in history? Who is the man chosen to be the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit pope?

How does he see the world and his ministry? How does he understand his call to serve Christ, his Church, and the world? In short, what is the mind and heart of this new pope of a new world--of the Americas and the rest of the world of the 21st Century?

In the words, the ideas, and the personal recollections of Pope Francis--including material up to the final hours before his election--the most highly regarded Vatican observer on the international scene reveals the personality of this man of God, gentle and humble. The son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, he made radically following Christ and the way of non-violence the pillars of his pastoral ministry in a country, continually tormented by social and economic inequities.
This complete biography offers the keys to understanding the man who was a surprise choice, even a kind of revolutionary choice, for pope. It is the story of the humble pastor of one of the world's largest archdioceses; a cardinal who takes the bus, talks with common folk, and lives simply. It is the story of why the cardinal electors of the Catholic Church set aside political and diplomatic calculations to elect a pope to lead the renewal and purification of the worldwide Church of our time.

"Brothers and Sisters, before the bishop blesses the people, I ask you to pray to God that he will bless your bishop."
- Pope Francis
"Catholics and others eager to know all they can about Pope Francis will learn a great deal from Andrea Tornielli's first-person account."

-James Hitchcock, Professor of History, St. Louis University, author of History of The Catholic Church

The lectures in this volume witness the importance of the meeting between the university of the learned and the university of the poor. From them a deep understanding of true discipleship emerges. +

Bishop Serratelli invites you to journey with those who were with Jesus in His last hours. You may be like Peter one day, and like Judas, Simon, Mary Magdalene, or Our Lady on another. This Lenten book provides a deeper appreciation for God\'s eternal saving love. The author weaves Scripture and history so seamlessly that you feel the pain and betrayal of Our Lord and truly appreciate what He has done for you and how precious is His love.

An intimate look at this important spiritual writer's life, enriched with the personal accounts of some of the people closest to him: friends, family, and colleagues. A twelve-page photo section is included. +

What does it mean to be anonymous in the gospels? Isn't God the one who calls us by name and knows us even before we are born? In Gifts from Friends We've Yet to Meet, Virginia Herbers introduces readers to nameless gospel characters, each of whom provides us with a story, a journey, and a gift.

Reflecting on experiences in her own life, Herbers journeys through these gospel stories, inviting us to reflect on seemingly insignificant encounters in our own lives. Who are the "anonymous figures" who have played a critical role for each of us? How do the experiences of the nameless gospel characters continue to reach and teach us today? Can it be that their anonymity allows their experience to be both individual and universal?

In each of these anonymous characters, Herbers introduces us to dear friends we just haven't met yet. And each of their ages-old encounters with Jesus contains a gift for all of us today.

Examine the meaning of Lent and its significance in spiritual formation and the preparation for Easter, and walk through the holy season of Easter. Leading North American spiritual writers reflect on what one theologian has called the "bright sadness" of Lent: that it is not about feeling of broken and lost, but about cleansing the palate so we can taste life to a greater extent. In the Lent and Easter seasons, we encounter the God who, in all of life, is for us--for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Even in death we can find resurrection.

This bestselling graduation gift addresses questions grads will encounter as they move into the next phases of life and is a wonderful keepsake full of answers straight from God's Word. Beautifully packaged in a stylish brown Leathersoft with foil stamping and a ribbon marker, this book is a perfect fit for today's graduates.

God's Answers(R) for the Graduate is a fantastic graduation gift that addresses questions grads will encounter throughout life. It's a wonderful keepsake full of answers straight from God's Word.

To commemorate your favorite student's high school or college graduation, give the gift of God's answers to the many questions they're sure to face as they take their next steps in life. God's Answers(R) for the Graduate addresses carefully chosen topics, such as character, relationships, time management, and decision-making, that are vital to successful living for a lifetime. Available in Leathersoft with foil stamping, rounded corners, and a ribbon marker, this book is a perfect fit for today's graduates. The design lends itself to personalization by imprinting the graduate's name.

"God's Knowledge of the World examines theories of divine ideas from approximately 1250-1325 AD (St. Bonaventure through Ockham). It is the only work dedicated to categorizing and comparing the major theories of divine ideas in the Scholastic period. A theory of divine ideas was the standard Scholastic response to the question how does God know and produce the world? A theory was deemed to be successful only if it simultaneously upheld that God has perfect knowledge and that he is supremely simple and one. These questions cause the Scholastic authors to articulate clearly, among other things, their positions on the nature of knowledge, relation, exemplar causality, participation, infinity, and possibility. An author's theory of divine ideas, then, is the locus for him to test the coherence of his metaphysical, epistemological, and logical principles"--

Today's high school and college graduates are looking for a promise of hope for their future. This practical and inspirational devotional delivers God's promises of wisdom, guidance, comfort, and encouragement straight from the Bible on relevant topics such as character, integrity, loyalty, focus, respect, and perseverance.

God's Promises(R) for Graduates is a keepsake gift offering:

Hundreds of Scripture passages from the New International Version Bible translation

A beautiful ribbon marker

A leathersoft design perfect for personalization with your graduate's name

A portable size, perfect to take on-the-go

Three popular color options: black, navy and pink

God's Promises(R) for Graduates is a #1 bestselling inspirational book impacting nearly 2 million graduates with the Hope of God's Word.

Look for additional biblical inspiration for the graduates in your life through the God's Promises(R), God's Answers(R), and God's Wisdom(R) gift books.

Discussion around the bestseller The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher has led many people to want to know more about monastic principles. This book by the modern monastic prior Enzo Bianchi (of the Bose Community in Switzerland) focuses on the human cry, "God, where are you?"

This has been the cry of humankind since time began, and Enzo Bianchi finds God's traces in the searching of significant figures from the Old Testament. We are challenged to question our own certainties like Abraham, suffer torment like Jacob, or falter and become discouraged in the face of a daunting task like Moses. The search for God involves exploring what is profoundly human, and ultimately the greatest manifestation of humanity is to be found in the figure of Christ. That is why we cannot think of God today without turning our minds to Jesus. It is the divine within us who really poses the question, "God, where are you?", so, when we truly begin to search for an answer, we discover that God is already looking for us!