Fatima for Today


Andrew Apostoli - 2010
    pAt the peak of the First World War, our Lady warned of another worldwide conflict, the rise and spread of Communism, and a terrible persecution of the Church unless people repented of their sins and returned to God. She also requested devotion to her Immaculate Heart and a special consecration of Russia. pMuch of what Our Lady of Fatima said was revealed soon after her appearances, but the third and final "secret", which was not a message but a prophetic vision seen by the children, was not unveiled by the Vatican until 2000. Pope John Paul II, who read the third secret while recovering from the attempt upon his life in 1981, believed the vision signified the sufferings the Church had endured in the twentieth century. pBecause of the prophetic nature of her messages, Our Lady of Fatima has been the subject of much controversy and speculation. In this book, Father Andrew Apostoli carefully analyzes the events that took place in Fatima and clears up lingering questions and doubts about their meaning. He also challenges the reader to hear anew the call of Our Lady to prayer and sacrifice, for the world is ever in need of generous hearts willing to make reparation for those in danger of losing their way to God.

John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father


Peggy Noonan - 2005
    . . the most historically recognized pope (Library Journal)With such accla imed books as When Character Was King, Peggy Noonan has become one of our most eloquent and respected commentators. Now she offers a stirring portrait of a spiritual and intellectual giant who personally confronted all of the worst tragedies of his age. Drawing on scholarship, interviews with prominent Catholics, and her own experience, Noonan traces the extraordinary life and struggles of Pope John Paul II with characteristic insight and probity-and explores how much we can learn from his leadership, diplomacy, humility, and holiness. Passionate and often deeply personal, John Paul the Great is as exceptional as the man it celebrates.

Return To Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic


Francis J. Beckwith - 2008
    He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president.This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. EXCERPTIt's difficult to explain why one moves from one Christian tradition to another. It is like trying to give an account to your friends why you chose to pursue for marriage this woman rather than that one, though both may have a variety of qualities that you found attractive. It seems to me then that any account of my return to the Catholic church, however authentic and compelling it is to me, will appear inadequate to anyone who is absolutely convinced that I was wrong. Conversely, my story will confirm in the minds of many devout Catholics that the supernatural power of the grace I received at baptism and confirmation as a youngster were instrumental in drawing me back to the Mother Church. Given these considerations, I confess that there is an awkwardness in sharing my journey as a published book, knowing that many fellow Christians will scrutinize and examine my reasons in ways that appear to some uncharitable and to others too charitable.

The Catholic Study Bible


Anonymous - 1990
    In this new edition, one-third of the Reading Guide materials are new, and all of the other Guides have been reviewed and revised by their original authors.The extensive Reading Guide, the focal point of this volume, leads the reader through the Scriptures, book by book. References and background information are clearly laid out to guide the reader to a fuller understanding of the Bible. New to this edition is a more extensive treatment of the biblical background, including history and archeology.Other outstanding features include: a 15-page glossary of special terms and complete Sunday and weekday lectionary readings for the liturgical years of the Church. Thirty-two beautiful pages of full-color Oxford Bible Maps come with a place-name index for easy reference.Perfect for both higher education and clergy, Bible study and general readers, The Catholic Study Bible is an essential resource for both experienced students and first-time readers.The New American Bible Revised Edition:The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) brings to culmination the work of nearly 100 scholars, including translators, editors, and a subcommittee of Catholic bishops who provided extensive review of the biblical text over a period of many years. The NABRE is the first major amendment to the New American Bible translation since 1991. It features:*The first update of the Old Testament since 1970, taking into account recent archaeological and textual discoveries.*Complete revision of the Psalter.

Through Gates of Splendor


Elisabeth Elliot - 1957
    The men's mission combined modern technology with innate ingenuity, sparked by a passionate determination to get the gospel to those without Christ. In a nearby village, their wives waited to hear from them. The news they received - all five missionaries had been murdered - changed lives around the world forever. Written while she was still a missionary in South America and at the request of the men's families, Through Gates of Splendor was Elisabeth Elliot's personal account of the final mission of these five courageous men. Filled with quotations from letters, material from personal journals, a wealth of photographs, and an epilogue update, this reprint of the original hardcover edition tells a lasting story of God's grace, unconditional love, and great courage. This story inspired the 2006 box office hit End of the Spear and is sure to inspire the next generation of servant believers.

Apologia Pro Vita Sua (A Defense of One's Life)


John Henry Newman - 1864
    Mary's, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic church. Perhaps no one took greater offense than Protestant clergyman Charles Kingsley, whose scathing attacks against Newman's faith and honor inspired this brilliant response. Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman's spiritual autobiography, explores the depths and nature of Christianity with flowing prose and a conversational style that has ensured its status as a classic."False ideas may be refuted by argument, but by true ideas alone are they expelled. I will vanquish," Newman promised, "not my accuser, but my judges." His honest and passionate defense consists of a personal history of his religious convictions, from earliest memory through the Oxford movement and his ultimate conversion. His concluding point-by-point refutation of Kingsley's charges features thought-provoking contentions that strike at the very roots of the principles underlying Protestantism. Newman won respect and admiration with his Apologia, a work that has helped clarify perceptions of Roman Catholicism among readers of every faith.

The Impact of God: Soundings from St John of the Cross


Iain Matthew - 1995
    Whilst rejection and imprisonment played their part in the life of this sixteenth-century Spanish friar, John's poetry and prose reveal the beauty and power of a wondrous God. It gives us courage to believe in the possibility of change in our own lives, however unlikely or impossible this may seem. Father Iain Matthew uses this classic inspirational Christian writing as his starting point, and offers five interpretations which make its richness relevant to the modern reader.

Medjugorje: The Message


Wayne Weible - 1989
    Journalist Wayne Weible tells how his life was forever changed by what he experienced there.  With refreshing candor and self-deprecating humor, Wayne Weible (1937-2018) takes readers with him on the adventure to Medjugorje that radically and permanently changed his life.  You will discover the apparitions of the Blessed Mother along with him, as he chronicles the ways that the Virgin Mary continues to speak to the world today from Medjugorje. This book continues as the bestseller on Medjugorje in the English language, with over 385,000 copies sold.“Since 1981, the message of conversion and reconciliation with God has been uniquely reaffirmed by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the unlikely little village of Medjugorje. She has been appearing there daily to six young people who live in the valley that lies in the shadow of the cross on Mount Krizevac. According to the youths chosen for this special mission of renewal, the mother of Jesus is bringing an urgent plea from her Son to all mankind to turn away from a world terminally ill with the disease of sin and reconcile with Him.” —Wayne Weible

The Practice of the Presence of God


Brother Lawrence - 1692
    It is the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.” He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence. As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.” This unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.

Humanae Vitae: Of Human Life


Pope Paul VI - 1968
    Pope Paul VI saw clearly the problems inherent in the rising culture of death.

Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy


John Julius Norwich - 2011
    Norwich presents such popes as Innocent I, who in the fifth century successfully negotiated with Alaric the Goth, an invader civil authorities could not defeat; Leo I, who two decades later tamed (and perhaps paid off) Attila the Hun; the infamous “pornocracy”—the five libertines who were descendants or lovers of Marozia, debauched daughter of one of Rome’s most powerful families; Pope Paul III, “the greatest pontiff of the sixteenth century,” who reinterpreted the Church’s teaching and discipline; John XXIII, who in five short years starting in 1958 instituted reforms that led to Vatican II; and Benedict XVI, who is coping with today’s global priest sex scandal.

Catherine of Siena: The Dialogue (Classics of Western Spirituality)


Catherine of Siena
    This is a comprehensive attempt to make the spiritual tradition of large areas of mankind more generally accessible to the ordinary interested reader. A. M. Allchin in Church Times Catherine of Siena-The Dialogue translation and introduction by Suzanne Noffke, O.P., preface by Giuliana Cavallini If you have received my love sincerely without self-interest, you will drink your neighbor's love sincerely. It is just like a vessel that you fill at the fountain. If you take it out of the fountain to drink, the vessel is soon empty. But if you hold your vessel in the fountain while you drink, it will not get empty: indeed, it will always be full. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380 This is the crowning spiritual work of the only woman other than Teresa of Avila to be granted the title of Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. This volume was simply called my book by the fourteenth-century Italian saint. The aim of her book (one of the first books to see print in Spain, Germany, Italy, and England), says Dr. Noffke in her Foreword, was the instruction and encouragement of all those whose spiritual welfare was her concern. Catherine was a mystic whose plunge into God plunged her deep into the affairs of society, Church and the souls who came under her influence. Professor Noffke goes on to call The Dialogue a great tapestry to which Catherine adds stitch upon stitch until she is satisfied that she has communicated all she can of what she has learned of the way of God. In this, the sixth centenary of the great Dominican's death, we live in a time so badly in need of her sense of institutional reform as flowing from Divine truth, love and charity. Dr. Noffke says: In the opening pages of The Dialogue Catherine presents a series of questions or petitions to God the Father each of which receives a response and amplification. There is the magnificent symbolic portrayal of Christ as the bridge. There are specific discussions of discernment, tears (true and false spiritual emotion), truth, the sacramental heart ('mystic body') of the Church, divine providence, obedience.... It is not so much a treatise to be read as it is a conversation to be entered into with earnest leisure and leisurely earnest.

Uniformity with God's Will


Alfonso María de Liguori - 1758
    An easy way to become not only holy but enjoy serenity in this life. This is a little book to keep people from despair; will bring consolation to anyone having trouble accepting his lot in life. A real gem.

Magnificat Year of Mercy Companion


Peter John Cameron - 2015
     Each day of the week, a different way to experience and live the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy: - Poetry that helps you contemplate the miracle of mercy (Sundays) - Meditations from saints and spiritual masters who share their profound insights into this divine gift (Mondays) - Profiles of saints whose lives exemplify extraordinary witness to mercy (Tuesdays) - Teachings of the Catholic Church that explain and highlight this virtue (Wednesdays) - Stories and testimonies of people who have chosen the path of mercy, including non-canonized faithful, literary figures, and victims of tragedy (Thursdays) - Reflections on essential Scripture passages that reveal God’s merciful nature (Fridays) - Devotions and prayers that draw us closer to God’s merciful heart (Saturdays) A practical way for individuals, families, and parishes to walk with the Church in this year-long celebration. An excellent resource to encourage ongoing conversion and fruitful discussions at home, in parish groups, in schools, and in RCIA.

Life And Miracles Of St. Benedict


Pope Gregory I
    It is the earliest and thus the most valuable biography of St. Benedict.