Book picks similar to
Christian Perfection and Contemplation: According to St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross by Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange
theology
catholic
catholic-theology
spirituality
How to Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics
Mitch Pacwa - 2011
Mitch Pacwa, SJ, tackles these and other questions in this comprehensive book on discernment. He says that first we need to believe in God and his moral laws and make a commitment to please him in all that we do. Then we need to pray so that we can experience the peace that can come only from God. Fr. Pacwa draws from St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, using plenty of everyday examples as well as stories from Scripture to help clarify his points. He encourages readers to develop a rich prayer life and says we can learn to listen to God's powerful voice and hear him speaking lovingly to us even when we are suffering in some way.Confronts modern-day assumptions that can prevent us from being open to God's will for our lives.Emphasizes the many ways we can develop our prayer life to nourish an authentic relationship with the Lord.
One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor's Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions
Kevin Vost - 2014
Thomas wrote, then turn to The One-Minute Aquinas, the fast-paced book that provides busy readers with simple, readable explanations of the truths that, for 750 years now, have caused the works of St. Thomas to be sought out by kings and popes, scholars and saints, as well as by ordinary souls like you — hungry to know God and to love him more and more.In this book’s lucid pages, author Kevin Vost gives you small, digestible portions of St. Thomas’s life-giving wisdom that you can enjoy one minute at a time. Tables and graphics will help you grasp and remember St. Thomas’s key ideas with a minimum of time and effort.Best of all, in The One-Minute Aquinas you’ll find quick, sure refutations of the countless relativistic, secular, and pseudoscientific ideas that are so influential in our culture today — and so shallow, contradictory, and wrong!Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.” Now The One-Minute Aquinas enables even those with limited time and only a modest education to benefit from the wisdom of this great saint.Here, with minimal effort and among scores of other things, you’ll finally come to know and understand:--Why God permits evil--Heaven: what it is (and is not)--Five simple proofs that God exists--Why God became man--Why Jesus let himself be tempted--How you can grow quickly in virtue--Why all souls need the sacraments--Why Jesus let himself be crucified--The causes of lust--The natural law and the Commandments--The soul, free will, sin, and damnation--The angels, their ranks, and their powers--How God governs (and refrains from governing)--God’s power and its limits--The Bible: why didn’t Jesus just write it himself?--The surprising qualities of our resurrected bodies
I Loved Jesus in the Night: Teresa of Calcutta -- A Secret Revealed
Paul Murray - 2008
The media focused attention at once on the unexpected phenomenon of darkness in the life of the saint, the astonishing revelation that, for decades, Mother Teresa had struggled mightily with belief in God. To some, this seemed to lend support to the arguments of the “new atheists.” But what we are offered in this beautiful book is, at last, a serious grappling with the deeper meaning of her darkness, a work of sharp and unusual insight, written by someone who knew her.In this intimate look at her “private writings,” Paul Murray illumines the meaning of a life which is only now beginning to be understood.I Loved Jesus in the Night is one priest’s compelling account of meeting with the saint of Calcutta. Sharing anecdotes and first-hand experiences, Paul Murray offers a glimpse into why Mother Teresa could declare, in one of her letters, that if ever she were to “become a saint,” she would surely be one of “darkness.”This very personal yet powerful book is an attempt to come to terms with the dark night experiences endured by Mother Teresa in the light of the Gospel and the mystical teachings of St John of the Cross. And something else as well...revelations of Mother Teresa’s sense of humor!
The Agony of Jesus
Padre Pio - 1974
One of his few writings, the booklet also includes many pictures of Blessed Padre Pio from throughout his ministry. Padre Pio's beautiful and descriptive manner of writing provide a wonderful spiritual insight into that last night of Jesus' human life.
The Catholic Church Through the Ages: A History
John Vidmar - 2005
This one-volume survey of the history of the Catholic Church--from its beginning through the pontificate of John Paul II--explains the Church's progress by using Christopher Dawson's division of the Church's history into six distinct "ages," or 350-400 year periods of time.
The Rosary
Garry Wills - 2005
Drawing together history and readings from scripture, Wills explains the beads on the rosary and the moments in Christ's life they represent, illustrating each mystery with a stunning Tintoretto painting. The result is an illuminating and poignant exploration of the power of prayer that will edify and inspire readers.
The Spiritual Exercises
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola is the core work of religious formation for members of the Society of Jesus, the single largest religious order within the Roman Catholic Church. For four and a half centuries in many thousands of editions in all languages, The Exercises have embodied fundamental spiritual principles essential to authentic Christian living. The mystical insight informing Ignatius's own relationship with God--which he distilled in The Exercises--is that the divine love of God is providentially present in all the details of our existence. Here Ignatius shows how the faithful can be joined to God in all things, according to the Jesuit motto, Ad majorem Dei gloriam, "For the greater glory of God."
Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide
Edward Feser - 2009
In this cogent and multifaceted introduction to the great Saint's work, Edward Feser argues that you cannot fully understand Aquinas' philosophy without his theology and vice-versa. Covering his thoughts on the soul, natural law, metaphysics, and the interaction of faith and reason, this will prove a indispensible resource for students, experts or the general reader.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope
Pope John Paul II - 1994
He goes to the heart of his personal beliefs and speaks with passion about the existence of God; about the dignity of man; about pain, suffering, and evil; about eternal life and the meaning of salvation; about hope; about the relationship of Christianity to other faits and that of Catholicism to other branches of the Christian faith.With the humility and generosity of spirit for which he is known, John Paul II speaks directly and forthrightly to all people. His message: Be not afraid!
The Life of Faustina Kowalska: The Authorized Biography
Sophia Michalenko - 1987
This authorized biography (formerly titled Mercy My Mission), includes many excerpts from Faustina's famous diary. Whether read alone or as a study aid to reading the diary itself, this book is an inspiring and reliable introduction to this remarkable twentieth-century saint.
Why Be Catholic?: Understanding Our Experience and Tradition
Richard Rohr - 1989
It would alsomake a good RCIA resource as well as a blockbuster stimulus fordiscussions."—Book Nook, Pecos BenedictineThe authors answer the question, "Why Be Catholic?" fairly and squarely, showing a deep appreciation about what is good in Catholicism and a penetrating honesty about the Church's shortcomings. Rohr and Martos also examine what it means to be Catholic in the United States today. Finally, to answer the title question in a more personal way, they present portraits of some outstanding Catholics, especially those we call saints, who have found personal fulfillment by living their faith to the utmost.After reading this book, you will appreciate more fully the unique heritage of the Catholic Church. You will understand how its magnificent tradition enriches the lives of Catholics today and propels the ever-changing Church into the 21st century and third millennium. A popular resource for RCIA, evangelization and religious education.
The Rosary Handbook: A Guide for Newcomers, Old-Timers, and Those in Between
Mitch Finley - 2006
The rosary is perfect for those times when words can't express our feelings, when we want to contemplate the basic truths of our faith, or when we simply want to enter into God's presence. Finley includes a brief and accurate history of the rosary, explains why it is a Christ-centered prayer, and provides background on the individual prayers of the rosary and a short commentary on each of the twenty mysteries.This book will help Catholics who have prayed the rosary all their lives but want to know more about it as well as those who want to begin anew or try it for the first time.
The Little Office Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Catholic Church - 1988
For many people the Gregorian chant of the Little Office offers an introduction to the beauty of the Church's traditional liturgical heritage. This volume will help you sing all the Hours of the Little Office.Our edition includes a commentary on the rubrics and ceremonial by "A Master of Novices" (which was first published in the early twentieth century), and also includes a description of the indulgences with which the recitation of the Little Office has been enriched by Holy Mother Church.The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a shorter form of the Divine Office in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has long been the Church's daily liturgical prayer to Our Lady, and these hours of praise have been used by Priests, religious and the laity throughout the centuries. Lay people used to flock to the great Cathedrals to publicly recite The Little Office during the Middle Ages, and during the great persecution, when the practice of the Catholic Faith was illegal in Great Britain, Bishop Challoner commended The Little Office to his flock.Through its psalms, antiphons, readings, responsorials, and prayers the Little Office stresses the role Our Lady played in salvation history, and how through her fiat the divine Word took flesh in her womb and achieved salvation for us all; and how Our Lord granted her the first fruits of the general resurrection in her holy and glorious assumption.All Catholics are called to a consistent prayer life. For those who do not feel called to recite the Divine Office, but still wish to participate in the liturgical prayer of the Church, or for those who have a particular devotion to the holy Mother of God, there is no finer form of prayer than the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.Features include:Based on an edition published just after the Reform Act in 1850 (allowing English Catholics to openly practice the Faith).English translation uses traditional language – with scripture taken from Bishop Challoner's version of the Douay-Rheims Bible.Fully updated to comply with the editio typica of the Breviary (1961) permitted by the Holy Father's Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum'.The first ever edition to include the complete Gregorian chants for the Little Office.Meditations before each hour from the mediaeval Mirror of Our Lady.Preface by the Very Reverend Fr. Berg, superior of the FSSP.Latin-English, red and black text.Psalms from the Vulgate.Flexible leather cover with stitched edge, gold gilding, 2 ribbons.
Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter
Hans Urs von Balthasar - 1920
Von Balthasar offers sharp insights into some current controversies?for example, the 'bodiliness' of the Resurrection?and spiritual inspiration for the year round. This scholarly reflection of the climax of the Christian year is an established classic of contemporary Catholic theology.