Book picks similar to
Motherless by Brian J. Gail


catholic
catholic-fiction
fiction
christian

Perpetua: A Bride, a Martyr, a Passion


Amy Rachel Peterson - 2004
    Perpetua was martyred in the amphitheater of Carthage in 203 AD, but kept a diary of her arrest and time in prison. While many martyrs were poor or illiterate, Perpetua was neither. A new mother, a noblewoman, wealthy, highly educated she had much to lose, and she chose to give it all away for the privilege of dying for Jesus. The novel expands her diary to include the less than three years between her conversion and her execution.

Little Sins Mean a Lot: Kicking Our Bads Habits Before They Kick Us


Elizabeth Scalia - 2016
    Through the author's honest (and sometimes funny) examination of these sins in her own life, as well as Church teaching, she gives us the tools to kick these bad habits before they kick us.

The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion


Seraphim Michalenko - 1982
    It covers every aspect of the authentic Divine Mercy message and devotion - from the Feast and Hour of Great Mercy to the Chaplet and Novena, as well as selected prayers from the Diary of Saint Faustina. Learn of God's merciful love in the Bible, of the Eucharist and Reconciliation as the great Sacraments of Mercy, and of our call to bring God's mercy to the dying and departed. Produced on Eden Hill, home of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Those Who Saw Her: Apparitions of Mary, Updated and Revised


Catherine M. Odell - 1986
    The Laus apparitions, approved in 2008, were the first Marian apparitions approved by the Church in the 21st century.Let Mary's prophetic messages bring comfort and hope to your life in this thorough and compelling presentation of the extraordinary visits of the Mother of God to her children around the world.

Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life: A Practical Guide to Prayer for Active People


Robert J. Spitzer - 2008
    Some develop very quickly, but do not achieve significant depth; while others develop quite slowly, but seem to be almost unending in the depth of wisdom, trust, hope, virtue, and love they engender. The best way of explaining this is to look at each of the pillars individually.Before doing this, however, it is indispensable for each of us to acknowledge (at least intellectually) the fundamental basis for Christian contemplation, namely, the unconditional Love of God. Jesus taught us to address God as Abba. If God really is Abba; if His love is like the father of the prodigal son; if Jesus' passion and Eucharist are confirmations of that unconditional Love; if God really did so love the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world not to condemn us, but to save us and bring us to eternal life (Jn 3:16-19); if nothing really can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:31-39); and if God really has prepared us "to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all understanding, so that we may attain to the fullness of God Himself" (Eph 3:18-20), then God's love is unconditional, and it is, therefore, the foundation for unconditional trust and unconditional hope. There can be nothing more important than contemplating, affirming, appropriating, and living in this Unconditional Love. This is the purpose of contemplation; indeed, the purpose of the spiritual life itself.

30 Days of Prayer with Mary


Francis Gargani - 2011
    Designed to be used daily over thirty days, each prayer provides the opportunity to seek the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Fifth Gospel


Ian Caldwell - 2015
    The curator is murdered at a clandestine meeting on the outskirts of Rome a week before it opens. That same night, a violent break-in rocks the home of Greek Catholic priest Father Alex Andreou. When the papal police fail to identify a suspect in either crime, Father Alex decides that to find the killer he must reconstruct the secret of what a little-known, true-to-life fifth gospel known as the Diatessaron reveals about the church’s most controversial holy relic. But just as he begins to understand the truth about his friend’s death and its consequences for the future of the Christian church, Father Alex discovers a ruthless stalker is hunting him—an enemy with a vested stake in the exhibit that he must outwit to survive.Rich, authentic, erudite, and emotionally searing, The Fifth Gospel is a riveting novel of suspense and a feast of biblical history that satisfies on every level.

Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe


Max Lucado - 2014
    After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Caf�, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle.Then a curious stranger lands on Chelsea's doorstep, and with him, an even more curious string of events. Soon, customers are flocking to the Higher Grounds Caf�, and not just for the cupcakes and cappuccino. They've come for the internet connection to the divine. Now the caf� has become the go-to place for people in search of answers to life's biggest questions.When a catastrophe strikes and her ex comes calling, Chelsea begins to wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against her quest to make it on her own. After a shocking discovery opens her eyes to the unseen world around her, Chelsea finds the courage to ask God a question of her own--and heaven answers in a most unexpected way."Max Lucado's remarkable gift of storytelling brings the pages to life in his novel Miracle at the Higher Grounds Caf�. This highly relatable story of working through heartache and standing firm on your faith is intertwined with a good dose of humor and overflowing with biblical truth. This message will stay with you long after you've read the last page." --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author of The Best Yes and It's Not Supposed to Be This Way"Step inside the Higher Grounds Caf�, a place brimming with whop, a heaping helping of comfort food, and a direct line to heaven. Where faith lives, all things are possible, for a family, a community, and one woman who wasn't sure she had the courage to believe again." --Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours "Now, here is the in-depth breakdown on why YOU will love it: First of all, Max Lucado is the best. Of course, angels, miracles and neighborhood caf�s are also at the top of the list. Most of us love stories and according to statistics, 54% of us actually love coffee. So, there! Read Miracle at the Higher Grounds Caf� immediately. It's a story by Max Lucado about an angel and the miracle performed for some folks (who drink coffee) in a cool neighborhood caf�. Can a book even get any better than this? I don't think so." --Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Noticer and The Traveler's GiftFull-length inspirational novelUSA TODAY bestsellerIncludes discussion questions for book clubs

Holy Rosary


Josemaría Escrivá - 2002
    Josemaría in this pocket book of meditations on the mysteries of the Rosary, is a continuous act of faith, hope and love, of adoration and reparation. He reveals the secret of overcoming monotony and routine when praying the Rosary, and portrays each Mystery with illuminating eyes of faith — helping you become absorbed in contemplation when you pray to Our Lady. This handsome book is small enough to carry with you everywhere and use whenever you have a moment to spend with Our Lady. The new Mysteries of Light are included in this edition.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat


Mitch Albom - 2021
    He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, nine people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in.“Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says.“I am the Lord,” the man whispers.So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling and inspiring novel yet.Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? What might the Lord look, sound and act like?In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange and quiet man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors already in heaven, or are they in hell?The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is later discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat.It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened. A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

Interior Freedom


Jacques Philippe - 2002
    Without this discovery we will always be restricted in some way and will never taste true happiness. Author Jacques Philippe develops a simple but important theme: we gain possession of our interior freedom in exact proportion to our growth in faith, hope, and love. He explains that the dynamism between these three theological virtues is the heart of the spiritual life, and he underlines the key role of the virtue of hope in our inner growth. Written in a simple and inviting style, Interior Freedom seeks to liberate the heart and mind to live the true freedom to which God calls each one.

Eve


William Paul Young - 2015
    Eve will destroy harmful misconceptions about ourselves.From the author of the 25-million copy bestseller The Shack comes a captivating new novel destined to be one of the most important and talked-about books of the decade.When a shipping container washes ashore on an island between our world and the next, John the Collector finds a young woman inside--broken, frozen, and barely alive. With the aid of Healers and Scholars, John oversees her recovery and soon discovers her genetic code connects her to every known human race. She is a girl of prophecy and no one can guess what her survival will mean...No one but Eve, Mother of the Living, who calls her daughter and invites her to witness the truth about her story--indeed, the truth about us all.Eve is a bold, unprecedented exploration of the Creation narrative, true to the original texts and centuries of scholarship, yet with breathtaking discoveries that challenge traditional misconceptions about who we are and how we're made. As The Shack awakened readers to a personal, non-religious understanding of God, Eve will free us from faulty interpretations that have corrupted human relationships since the Garden of Eden.Eve opens a refreshing conversation about the equality of men and women within the context of our beginnings, helping us see each other as our Creator does--complete, unique, and not constrained to cultural rules or limitations.Thoroughly researched and exquisitely written, Eve is a masterpiece that will inspire readers for generations to come.

A Bloody Habit


Eleanor Bourg Nicholson - 2018
    Even as the old Queen's health fails, Victorian Britain stands monumental and strong upon a mountain of technological, scientific, and intellectual progress. For John Kemp, a straight-forward, unimaginative London lawyer, life seems reassuringly predictable yet forward-leaning, that is, until a foray into the recently published sensationalist novel Dracula, united with a chance meeting with an eccentric Dominican friar, catapults him into a bizarre, violent, and unsettling series of events.As London is transfixed with terror at a bloody trail of murder and destruction, Kemp finds himself in its midst, besieged on all sides—in his friendships, as those close to him fall prey to vicious assault by an unknown assassin; in his deep attraction to an unconventional American heiress; and in his own professional respectability, for who can trust a lawyer who sees things which, by all sane reason, cannot exist? Can his mundane, sensible life—and his skeptical mind—withstand vampires? Can this everyday Englishman survive his encounter with perhaps an even more sinister threat—the white-robed Papists who claim to be vampire slayers?"A real 19th century Gothic vampire story, rich and colorful, and wonderfully full of foreboding. The characters are vivid and convincing, and the historical locales make the supernatural element effective and affecting as it builds to the point where our protagonist must recognize it and confront it."— Tim Powers, Best-Selling Novelist; Author, On Stranger Tides"Imagine a cross between Dracula and The Exorcist, written with the literary flourish of the former and the Catholic sensibility of the latter, and you will have some idea of how this heavenly hybrid on a hellish theme speaks with such death-defying and grave-shattering power in this work."— Joseph Pearce, Editor, Ignatius Critical Editions; Author, The Quest for Shakespeare"Nicholson writes with an impeccable ear for turn-of-the-century English and a dry wit worthy of George Bernard Shaw that makes A Bloody Habit a brilliant combination of edification and fun."— Karen Ullo, Author, Jennifer the Damned and Cinder Allia

Love in the Ruins


Walker Percy - 1971
    Tom More has created a stethoscope of the human spirit. With it, he embarks on an unforgettable odyssey to cure mankind's spiritual flu. This novel confronts both the value of life and its susceptibility to chance and ruin.

The Gargoyle Code


Dwight Longenecker - 2009
    Master Tempter Slubgrip writes daily to a trainee devil Dogwart, advising him on the temptation of a confused young Catholic, while he struggles to control his own patient, an older Catholic man who is facing a serious illness. Meanwhile, Slubgrip has to watch his back, keep control of various under devils who are plotting to take control of his territory and send him to the banqueting house of the Father below. The Gargoyle Code makes for un-put-downable reading at any time, but it is especially designed as a book to be read during Lent. The letters from the tempters begin on Shrove Tuesday and follow day by day, taking the reader on an entertaining, enlightening and sobering journey toward Easter Sunday. Fr Dwight Longenencker has written a book on spiritual warfare that is profound, hilarious, upbeat and inspiring. He nails the devils and all his works, and succeeds in keeping the reader's attention all the way through. This is a book to be read and re-read and to share with others.