Paul exhorts us to “pray without ceasing” — a beautiful goal that sounds daunting, even impossible. But wait! These pages break open an authoritative, time-tested method that countless laymen still use today to pray with constancy and thereby soar to the heights of holiness. It’s called the Liturgy of the Hours. Also known as the Divine Office or the breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours is an important vehicle for advancing in the spiritual life — a step that any serious Catholic, with the help of Fr. Timothy Gallagher, can take today. Relying on insights from popes and saints, as well as on his five decades’ experience praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Fr. Gallagher opens your eyes to this spiritual treasury and shows you how, by means of its sanctifying rhythm, it will help you progress on your spiritual journey. Soon, you will be among the multitude of Catholics who pray the Hours daily and are richly blessed by the flow of graces these prayers yield. From the wise Fr. Gallagher, you’ll learn: • The basic elements of the Liturgy of the Hours • How to incorporate them into your day, no matter how busy it may be • How the Hours will revitalize your daily prayers and prevent them from becoming routine • How they will extend the graces you obtain at Mass into your entire day • How praying the Hours with your family will link you more intimately to each other—and to the universal Church If you’re looking to invigorate your prayer life and draw closer to Our Lord in friendship and holy contemplation, discover the Liturgy of the Hours.

    You have no idea what you are capable of. None of us do. God is constantly trying to open our eyes to the amazing possibilities that he has enfolded in our being. The saints continue this work, encouraging us to explore all our God-given potential, not with speeches but with the example of their lives.When we have the courage to collaborate with God and pursue our truest self, he lights a fire within us that is so bright and warm, it keeps shining long after our days on this earth have come to an end. The lives of the saints have captivated the people of every age for this very reason.There are two questions that confront the people of every place and time, questions that confront you and me today: Are you satisfied with the direction the world is moving in? Are you satisfied with your life?These questions are always before us, within us, around us. They are part of our spiritual quest and part of our human quest. These questions linger in our minds when we read the news of happenings in our own country and around the world. They tickle our souls when we witness the battle between good and evil, however it manifests in our own lives.Are you satisfied with the direction the world is moving in? This is one of life's inescapable questions, and we each respond with passionate action or selfish indifference.Our collective dissatisfaction with the direction of the world leads to the consensus that the world needs changing. And yet, we seem gripped by exasperation and paralyzed by the false belief that we can't do anything about it. The saints dispel that exasperation and inspire us to bold action. They remind us over and over again: We can change the world.

    Gloria Polo Ortiz, a dentist from Bogota Columbia.She was taking shelter from a storm with her nephew, when both of them were struck by lightning. What happened to her afterwards was a miracle which led to her conversion and a life of abandonment to the will of God.She now tells her story in many different countries around the world, and has the approval of her diocese in Bogota, Colombia, and her spiritual director.Her testimony is an inspiration for all of us, and will increase our faith in Christ Jesus and His Holy Catholic Church.

    

    He has been hailed as a pioneer in helping ordinary Christians find God in their daily lives. Moved as a teenager by footprints of a barefoot Carmelite priest in the snow, Josemara felt called to greater generosity in the priesthood and in his struggles to build up Opus Dei during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This latest biography is the most extensively researched work on his family history, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. The reader benefits from an enormous wealth of details in extensive notes and appendices. Accompanying them are excerpts from his correspondence, spiritual writings and testimonials from dozens of friends and acquaintances. The remarkable story continues in volumes II and III.

    A. Pierce, author of Spirituality at Work The concluding prayer of the Mass is a command: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. We are charged to go forth and quite literally transform our families, our communities, and our world through the redeeming sacrifice of Christ as celebrated in the Mass. Fr. Dominic Grassi and Joe Paprocki use this challenge as the starting point for their inspiring and illuminating look at the central act of Catholic worship. They ask, What would our faith look like if we truly understood the gift of the Eucharist?Living the Mass will stir a new passion for and a greater understanding of this sacred two-thousand-year-old celebration offered freely to all who come, to all who believe.  Also available in Spanish! Vivir la misa

    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.

    Nuns were the first feminists, argues Fialka. They became the nation's first cadre of independent, professional women. Some nursed, some taught, and many created and managed new charitable organizations, including large hospitals and colleges. In the 1800s nuns moved west with the frontier, often starting the first hospitals and schools in immigrant communities. They provided aid and service in the Chicago fire, cared for orphans and prostitutes in the California Gold Rush and brought professional nursing skills to field hospitals run by both armies in the Civil War. Their work was often done in the face of intimidation from such groups as the Know Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan. In the 1900s they built the nation's largest private school and hospital systems and brought the Catholic Church into the civil rights movement. As their numbers began to decline in the 1970s, many sisters were forced to take professional jobs as lawyers, probation workers, managers and hospital executives because their salaries were needed to support older nuns, many of whom lacked a pension system. Currently there are about 75,000 sisters in America, down from 204,000 in 1968. Their median age is sixty-nine. In "Sisters, "Fialka""reveals the strength of the spiritual capital and the unprecedented reach of the caring institutions that religious women created in America.

    Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and Mother Teresa—who wouldn't want these women as friends and guides? Lively, determined, devout but never passive, they were all straight-shooters with an abundance of common sense. They were also deeply in love with God, clinging to him with a tenacity that freed them to do the impossible. Using the Great Commandment as her guide, Gina Loehr focuses on how each of these women lived out one particular aspect of the command to love God with heart, mind, and soul and neighbor as self. Practical tips offer suggestions on how to be like the Teresas and points for reflection drive the lessons home. These friends of God will help you become, as they were, expert in living out Christ's perfect law of loveThe audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

    WILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONSWILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONS

    We profess it in our creed. We're taught that to bury and pray for the dead are corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We honor the dead in our Liturgy through the Rite of Christian burial. We do all of this, and more, because when Jesus Christ took on flesh for the salvation of our souls he also bestowed great dignity on our bodies. In Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body, Scott Hahn explores the significance of death and burial from a Catholic perspective. The promise of the bodily resurrection brings into focus the need for the dignified care of our bodies at the hour of death. Unpacking both Scripture and Catholic teaching, Hope to Die reminds us that we are destined for glorification on the last day.Our bodies have been made by a God who loves us. Even in death, those bodies point to the mystery of our salvation.

    During the supernatural encounter, God explained the meaning of life, revealed the mysterious truths behind the writings of the Bible, unveiled the secrets of the afterlife and, most importantly, dramatically altered the spiritual course of one young man's life. This odd, irreverent spiritual memoir chronicles Josh's journey with blunt comic undertones, undercutting the lofty gravitas typically associated with the "heaven tourism" genre (including best-sellers like Heaven is for Real, To Heaven and Back and Proof of Heaven). While making no claims regarding "proof" of God, heaven or any particular theological truth, this true story is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into the psychology of religion and the existence of God.

    Why is Christ called the “Son of God”? Discover an answer so simple you’ll wonder why you never saw it before, and so beautiful it’ll take your breath away.

    Saint Francis of Assisi is quite possibly the most popular of all Christian saints. Perhaps it is his adoration for all living things or his unrelenting generosity that has made so many people open their hearts to him. Perhaps it is the deep conviction and piety expressed not only by the saint himself, but in his name, in the Franciscan orders throughout the centuries.Whatever the reason, in a world that is quickly developing in a direction diametrically opposite to the saint's own simple asceticism, Saint Francis of Assisi still stirs strong emotions and compassion. How close he found God, in the very nature around him, is inspiring.All books in The Life and Prayers series come complete with a Touch-or-Click Table of Contents, divided by each section. Enjoy.

    That's what it means to be steadfast. But in a world where so much can undermine our faith or pull us off track, steadfastness is often a rare and elusive trait. James longs for his readers to be steadfast. His letter meets us in our suffering and sickness, our trials and temptations, our wealth and poverty, our ups and downs. He confronts our sin, our speech, and our pride. He encourages believers to have a more resilient and concrete faith: not just to hear the word, but to do it. He calls us to persevere in truth in a world of lies, to see that God's steadfast love is ultimately the source of our steadfast faith.This 8-week study of James provides:5 days of study each week-observing, interpreting, and applying the textDevotional commentary with space to journal your thoughtsMemory verse each weekSmall group discussion questionsKeynote Teaching Videos from the TGC's 2020 Women's Conference In a fickle and wayward age, we need biblical wisdom if we are to stay the course and be steadfast saints. The book of James provides this wisdom, and Steadfast will help you apply it.