Religious Books

In this Tuesdays with Morrie-type book, a pastor reveals lessons for living he's learned from the dying.

What would you do with your life, if you knew it was going to end soon? Mercy is a pastor's recording of the life lessons he's discovered as a result of sitting at the bedsides of courageous people facing death's certainty. Peter Roebbelen explores the gifts that people have given him, the wisdom that he's gleaned from them, almost as if he's been the one being counseled, rather than the other way around.

This joyful and instructive book will encourage anyone who reads it to live to the fullest in the present, and to love the people around them as never before.

A commonly held impression is that Pope Francis is a compassionate shepherd and determined leader but that he lacks the intellectual depth of his recent predecessors. Massimo Borghesi's The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio's Intellectual Journey dismantles that image.

Borghesi recounts and analyzes, for the first time, Bergoglio's intellectual formation, exploring the philosophical, theological, and spiritual principles that support the profound vision at the heart of this pope's teaching and ministry. Central to that vision is the church as a coincidentia oppositorum, holding together what might seem to be opposing and irreconcilable realities. Among his guiding lights have been the Jesuit saints, Ignatius and Peter Faber; philosophers Gaston Fessard, Romano Guardini, and Alberto Methol Ferrer; and theologians Henri de Lubac and Hans Urs von Balthasar.

Recognizing how these various strands have come together to shape the mind and heart of Jorge Mario Bergoglio offers essential insights into who he is and the way he is leading the church. Notably, this groundbreaking book is informed by four interviews provided to the author, via audio recordings, by the pope himself on his own intellectual formation, major portions of which are published here for the first time.

Outstanding reference work for anyone interested in studying and understanding the key documents of modern Catholic social teaching. (The "modern" period begins in 1891, when Pope Leo XIII wrote "Rerum Novarum," a formal letter, known as an encyclical, on the condition of workers.) Part One includes four essays to provide a context for Catholic social teaching; Part Two includes fourteen commentaries on major documents; and Part Three, with three essays, focuses on broad themes, including the future of Catholic social teaching. The commentaries are the meat of the book, and they reflect a simple framework that will appeal in particular to non-specialists: an intro; an outline; the ecclesial and social context; authorship and process of formulation; the primary essay; reactions to the document; an excursus; and a select, annotated bibliography. All of the contributors represent progressive Catholicism in the United States, that is, scholars within the tradition committed to the ongoing renewal of the church in the spirit of Vatican II.

In a moving, dramatic conclusion to his four New York Times bestselling Mother Angelica books, Raymond Arroyo completes the saga of this singular nun with his most intimate book yet.

For more than a decade, the beloved, wise cracking nun who founded EWTN, the world's largest religious media empire, was confined to her cell at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. Though Mother Angelica is still seen and heard by millions each week in reruns on seven continents, the private drama within her monastery, her personal supernatural encounters, and the prolonged suffering she endured has remained hidden. Until now.

Revealed for the first time is the personal request Mother made of God--which sheds light on her long silence. Here are Mother Angelica's spiritual battles in her cell--including encounters with the devil--and the unrevealed episodes of hilarity and inspiration. From playing possum (to avoid undesirable visitors to her room), to undertaking a secret trip to the far East, to blessing her nuns as they leave her care to create new monasteries, Mother Angelica's spunky spirit shines through the narrative.

Mother Angelica Her Grand Silence, the touching, climactic coda to the Mother Angelica canon also offers readers the personal testimonies of people around the world who were spiritually transformed by Mother during her long public absence. And for the first time, the author writes movingly of his personal relationship with Mother--the highs and the lows.

Quiet your mind and soul, put away the smart phone and tablet, and pick up some colored pencils or markers and color! At home, in a waiting room, at church, coloring is a wonderful way to find peace and calm.
This coloring book for adults from Paraclete is not only a simple path to making something beautiful, it has a spiritual element as well. Reflect on thirty names of the Blessed Mother such asMorning Star, Mother of Sorrows, andOur Lady of Light.Each page includes a prayer or meditation, and a beautiful, original design to color as you ponder."

Handy little book of essential prayers.  Daily prayers, prayers for Confession and Communion, prayers for every day of the week.

Make Christmas special this year by exploring the legends, message, and theology behind some of your favorite carols and hymns. This book of daily devotions will take you from December 1 to January 6, from the first days of Advent, through Christmas, ending at Epiphany. Each day, Gordon Giles invites you to draw closer to God through spiritual and historical explorations of beloved, familiar music.
As you read and reflect, you will be asked to consider the meaning of some of the famous Christmas carols that we sometimes sing without a passing thought. You will be introduced to obscure saints as well as living poets and musicians of faith, and you will hear the timeless truths of love and forgiveness, pain and loss, darkness and light.
"If, like me, you have always been confused by the imagery of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas, ' you will find this book both compelling and illuminating. Gordon Giles has selected a kaleidoscopic mixture of musical settings of scripture, hymns and carols, from Gibbons to Taize, Plainchant to Kendrick, via Bach, Berlioz, Vaughan Williams, Menotti and many others. He writes with engaging insight and perception, providing us with material for reflection, prayer and meditation."
--John Scott, Organist and Director of Music, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City