Groeschel, C.F.R., would agree. It's a word that's gotten a bad rap, misused and misunderstood even by great thinkers, philosophers, and theologians, and mocked in the cynical soundbites of the media. Rediscover virtue as it should be understood in our lives. With wit, warmth, and wisdom, Father Groeschel reintroduces the Seven Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope, and charity. One by one he makes them meaningful for modern men and women, shaking off the dusty mantle of pretentiousness and demonstrating how each has a real role in a whole and holy life. Father Groeschel's charming conversational style entertains even as he educates and challenges us.

    Yet the struggles they each faced rang with eerie similarity. These courageous women from across the globe-Pakistan, India, Romania, Former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia-shared similar experiences of hardship, subjugation, and persecution, all because of their faith in Christ. Yet all of these women have emerged from adversity as leaders and heroines.The eight modern-day pilgrims featured in "Hearts of Fire" are the hidden jewels in the church universal. They are worthy role models of faith and passion, and women of every age will gain new strength and hope for their own times of crisis and trial as they read these inspiring stories. Each story concludes with thoughtful self-reflection questions for the reader.

    Joseph, yet his life is full of spiritual treasures. Michel Gasnier O.P., here shows you where to find them and how they can enrich your own relationship with God. In this series of brief meditations he explores St. Joseph's work as a carpenter, his marriage, his character, the flight into Egypt, his return to Nazareth, Simeon's prophecy, and more. He gives you an enlightening portrait of this man who remains one of the Church's most extraordinary saints and intercessors.

    In this fast and funny collection of stories from his own life, The Catholic Guy speaks honestly about his failures, successes, and embarrassing moments. His "regular guy" approach to Catholicism is both humble and hilarious.The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

    Lucia, the last surviving Fatima visionary. In these diary-like accounts, Lucia shared moving insights into the lives of her cousins, who are now Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta Marto, their increasing love and sacrifices for God and neighbor, her own family experiences before and after the apparitions, the deaths of her beloved father and cousins, and how Our Lady forever changed all of their lives. ---Read the actual correspondence of Lucia, then a young nun, to her bishop (including the very important Fourth Memoir wherein she wrote Our Lady's opening words to the Third Secret). ---Includes photos, Table of Contents, and NCX navigation. ---Features Sr. Lucia's and her confessor's correspondence about the Pontevedra and Tuy apparitions with which she was favored when a Dorothean nun, included as Appendixes I and II. ---BONUS FEATURES: ---------The opening chapter includes detailed descriptions of the Apparitions and the incredible signs seen by witnesses from May-October 1917 and the first-hand accounts of the Miracle of the Sun---all of which are excerpts provided with permission from the author of the current best-selling title, "Fatima: The Signs and Secrets" (also available on Amazon, in glossy-cover paperback and on Kindle). ------A new Appendix (III) with clarifying information on the Five First Saturdays, all of the Fatima prayers as taught by the Virgin Mary and the Angel of Peace (St. Michael the Archangel), the "Fatima Morning Offering" (composed by Sr. Lucia), the 15 Rosary Promises, and how to pray the Rosary with the meditations for each mystery by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, who is called the "apostle" of True Devotion to Mary.

    For more than four-hundred years, Introduction to the Devout Life by Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales has been regarded as the essential guide to holiness and loving God. This spiritual classic takes on new life in Lift Up Your Heart, where Rev. John Burns has interpreted ten meditations for the modern reader and distilled them into a ten-day mini-retreat that can easily be completed in the midst of a busy life. This practical book goes right to the heart of helping you kick the habit of floating along on your spiritual journey to start actively pursuing holiness and devotion to God. During the course of the retreat, you'll learn the basics of forming a daily prayer routine, including how to offer yourself to God, meditate on his love, and maintain peace in the face of suffering and clarity in the midst of temptation. The meditations will help you:Adopt gratitude as a daily prayer practice.Examine and reorder your priorities and relationships to better reflect your love for God.Discern between good and evil in your life.Desire to love and serve as Jesus did.In a very real sense, Burns helps you take St. Francis de Sales as your spiritual director for ten days. As you do so, you’ll feel God’s fatherly love and restart your faith life, equipped with the tools to connect with God and live for heaven now.

    Francis de Sales' heroic efforts to bring Calvinists back to the Faith comes this succinct, eloquent defense of the age-old Catholic practice of making the Sign of the Cross, which 16th century Calvinists denounced as a Popish invention and many Protestants scorn even today. Along with St. Francis's other lucid explanations of the Catholic Faith and his undaunted love even for those who hated him, this modest book helped restore to their native Catholic faith tens of thousands of people who not long before were intent on killing him.As they did for the Calvinists in St. Francis's day, so in our day these ably translated pages will bring you a better understanding of and a renewed love for the Sign of the Cross, that brief and lively exterior prayer by which, from time immemorial, God has been invoked by serious Christians before all of their endeavors.

    Maybe you've never heard of it until now and are asking, theology of the what? Maybe you're already familiar with the basics and are ready to incorporate this teaching on sex, love and marriage into your own life. Whatever your level of understanding, you're probably ready for some good news about sex in a culture littered with the bad news of divorce, adultery, sexually transmitted disease, heartache and loneliness. This guide is designed to help you appropriate the Pope's astonishing message: True, lasting love—that which humanity enjoyed in the beginning, before the Fall—is possible here and now. In nine straightforward lessons, Men and Women Are from Eden introduces the reader to the pope's warm, deeply biblical understanding of God's original plan for men and women, a plan that brings with it healing of mind in regard to sexuality and the body.

    In her book, Eucharistic Miracles, Joan Carroll Cruz documents 36 such miracles which occurred from 800 AD to the present day. This book tells of consecrated Hosts which have visibly turned to human flesh, have bled, levitated, and which have become hard as flint when received by a person in mortal sin. It details the official investigations that have been made into these miracles by scientists throughout the world, and where some can still be venerated today. Eucharistic Miracles also recounts miraculous Eucharistic phenomena in the lives of saints: saints who lived with only the Eucharist for sustenance, received Communication miraculously, or experienced raptures, ecstasies, levitations, visions, locutions, and more. Pictures and photographs of the miracles, the churches they took place in, and the people involved are also included, adding the final touch to a comprehensive, detailed, and extraordinary overview of these miraculous happenings.Eucharistic Miracles is a superb compilation of God's visible testimony of the truth of the Catholic Faith, proving the reality of one of its loftiest mysteries — the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. (352 pgs., PB.)

    

    It includes a year s worth of meditations, drawn from classic and contemporary sources, all written by women. Designed especially to meet the needs of Catholics and those accustomed to liturgically-based forms of worship, it includes a six-year reading plan tied to the lectionary, making it easy to locate readings for daily and Sunday liturgies. Additionally, each weekend devotional is based on the life of a particular woman of the Bible, helping you see the relevance of her story today. Each book of the Bible is preceded by a brief introduction highlighting its historical context and its most important themes. Additional articles focus on topics like the sacraments, holy days, the liturgy, and spiritual direction, explaining the link between tradition and Scripture to help you gain a greater understanding of your faith. Meditations are drawn from a rich variety of authors, including: Joan Wester Anderson Sister Wendy Beckett Esther de Waal Catherine of Siena Dorothy Day Fran Ferder Briege McKenna Julian of Norwich Joyce of Rupp Mother Teresa Teresa of Lisieux Macrina Wiederkehr Scripture offers wisdom for important everyday issues like relationships, marriage, child-rearing, simplicity, prayer, and finding real peace. If you dip into it regularly, it will become a well of continual refreshment, nourishing your faith and strengthening your sense of God s loving presence in your life. Features Include: - 260 Daily Meditations. - 52 Weekend Devotions, Focusing on Women of the Bible. - 50 Tradition Articles Linking Scripture with Important Elements of Catholic Life and Faith. - Complete NRSV, Catholic Edition. - 6-Year Reading Guide Keyed to the Catholic Lectionary. - Indexes. - Imprimatur."

    This popular introduction to praying the rosary draws readers closer to Jesus and Mary by placing the mysteries-including the new mysteries of light-in the context of Scripture. The book addresses commonly asked questions about Mary and the rosary and provides the biblical background for all twenty mysteries. It also includes a scriptural rosary that offers ten Bible texts suitable for meditation on each mystery. An appendix offers the complete text of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. A Servant Book.

    For Elisabeth Leseur had two great loves: God, and her husband Felix. Felix loved Elisabeth as well; yet to their mutual sorrow, he couldn't share the life of the Spirit that Elisabeth cherished.

    After her parents' divorce, she rejected her family's Islamic faith and became an atheist. During her stormy adolescence, she tried to convince a Christian missionary that there is no God but was converted to Christ instead.Her winding path through the riddles of God was not over, however. While attending a Turkish university and serving as a Christian youth minister, Derya began to compare the teachings of Protestantism and Catholicism, and during her doctoral studies in England, she entered the Catholic Church. Ultimately, she ended up in the United States, where she has become a citizen and has settled down to raise a family.Derya's story provides a window into both Islam and modernity. It shows that the grace and the mercy of God know no bounds.  Rather, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ reaches souls in the most unlikely places.

    Therese of Lisieux. A wondrous distillation of the teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux on God's love and on confidence in Him; on humility, peace, and charity; on the Cross; and on abandonment to Providence. Learn to rest in God amid troubles, living joyfully with Him always.