Extreme Makeover: Transformed by Christ, Not Conformed to the Culture


Teresa Tomeo - 2011
    With its emphasis on youth, physical beauty, and sexuality, the secular media is encouraging women - and girls - to see themselves primarily as sex objects.A former television news reporter, Tomeo pulls together the latest research on social behavior and trends to demonstrate that women are harming themselves and their chances for true happiness by adopting the thoroughly modern, sexually liberated lifestyle portrayed in magazines and movies. Packed with not only persuasive statistics but also powerful personal testimonies, Extreme Makeover shows that it is not the slogans of the sexual revolution and the women's liberation movement that free and dignify women, but the beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church.So what are women steeped in the Hollywood and Cosmo girl version of reality to do? Undergo Tomeo's Extreme Makeover. With the help of this book, they can shed the toxic messages that objectify and enslave them and embrace the truth about being a beloved daughter of God.

Jesus Is: Find a New Way to Be Human


Judah Smith - 2013
    How would you finish that sentence?The subject is there, and so is the verb, but what comes next? Your answer could shed light on the path to becoming who you were made to be. In these pages, Judah Smith fills out that sentence again and again, each time further revealing the character of Jesus. He writes as if to a friend, revealing the Jesus that somber paintings and hymns fail to capture. With passion, humor, and conviction, he shows that Jesus is life. Jesus is grace. Jesus is your friend. Jesus is a new and better way to be human.

God Is Not Nice: Rejecting Pop Culture Theology and Discovering the God Worth Living For


Ulrich L. Lehner - 2017
    Lehner reintroduces Christians to the true God—not the polite, easygoing, divine therapist who doesn’t ask much of us, but the Almighty God who is unpredictable, awe-inspiring, and demands our entire lives.  Stripping away the niceties with a sling blade, Lehner shows that God is more strange and beautiful than we imagine, and wants to know and transform us in the most intimate way. With his iconoclastic new book God Is Not Nice, Lehner, one of the most promising young Catholic theologians in America, challenges the God of popular culture and many of our churches and reintroduces the God of the Bible and traditional Christianity. As Lehner writes in the book’s introduction, "We all need the vaccine of the true transforming and mysterious character of God: The God who shows up in burning bushes, speaks through donkeys, drives demons into pigs, throws Saul from his horse, and appears to St. Francis. It’s only this God who has the power to challenge us, change us, and make our lives dangerous. He sweeps us into a great adventure that will make us into different people." This book is not safe. It may startle and annoy many people—including those who purport to teach and preach the Gospel, but are missing it, according to Lehner. God Is Not Nice intends to overthrow all of our popular misconceptions about God, inviting us to ask deeper questions about the nature of our lives and our relationship with him. When you're finished with God Is Not Nice, you may find the idols you constructed in God’s name smashed, replaced with a God who will ask you to live an entirely different life full of hope and transformation.God Is Not Nice has been translated into several foreign languages.

United States Catholic Catechism for Adults


United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - 2006
    His story like the stories at the start of each chapter in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults give us a glimpse into the lives of Catholics who lived out their faith throughout our country's history. Each chapter in the Catechism for Adults includes stories, doctrine, reflection, quotations, discussion questions, and prayer to lead the reader to a deepening faith. The Catechism for Adults is an excellent resource for preparation of catechumens in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and for ongoing catechesis of adults.

Expecting to See Jesus: A Wake-Up Call for God's People


Anne Graham Lotz - 2011
    And, she wants to make sure you and all other Christians are ready for that moment when your faith becomes sight.Anne knows from personal experience that it's in the busyness of our days, as we're drifting in comfortable complacency, that we most need a wake-up call--a jolt that pushes us to seek out a revival of our passion for Jesus that began as a blazing fire but somehow has died down to an ineffective glow.In Expecting to See Jesus, Anne points out the biblical signs she sees in the world all around us and shows how you can experience an authentic, deeper, richer relationship with God in a life-changing, fire-blazing revival.

Theology of the Body In One Hour


Jason Evert - 2017
    Through his Theology of the Body, St. John Paul II unveiled the beauty of God’s plan for human love. In 60 minutes, discover how the human body—in its masculinity and femininity—reveals who we are and how we are called to live.

Why the Church?


Luigi Giussani - 2000
    He then describes the Church's developing self-awareness of its dual elements of the human and divine. Concerned with verifying the Church's claim to embody Christ, Giussani situates the locus of verification in human experience, arguing that a different type of life is born in those who try to live the life of the Church. Why the Church? is a seminal study that will engage both the scholar and the general reader.

Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa


Immaculée Ilibagiza - 2008
    Through these visionaries, Mary and Jesus warned of the looming holocaust, which (they assured) could be averted if Rwandans opened their hearts to God and embraced His love.Mary also sent messages to government and church leaders to instruct them how to end the ethnic hatred simmering in their country. She warned them that Rwanda would become "a river of blood"-a land of unspeakable carnage-if the hatred of the people was not quickly quelled by love. Some leaders listened, but very few believed. The prophetic and apocalyptic warnings tragically came true during 100 horrifying days of savage bloodletting and mass murder.Much like what happened at similar sites such as Fátima and Lourdes, the messengers of Kibeho were at first mocked and disbelieved. But as miracle after miracle occurred in the tiny village, tens of thousands of Rwandans journeyed to Kibeho to behold the apparitions. After the genocide, and two decades of rigorous investigation, Our Lady of Kibeho became the first and only Vatican-approved Marian (related to the Virgin Mary) site in all of Africa. But the story still remained largely unknown.Now, however, Immaculée Ilibagiza has changed all that. She has made many pilgrimages to Kibeho, both before and after the holocaust, has personally witnessed true miracles, and has spoken with a number of the visionaries themselves. What she has discovered will deeply touch your heart!

Through the Eyes of Jesus: A Trilogy


Carver Alan Ames - 1996
    A book that has and continues to move hearts.

Praying the Rosary Step-by-Step


Rita Bogna - 2013
    It is undoubtedly the most popular and common Marian devotion due to its simplicity, the ease with which it can be learnt and the profound and sublime character of its prayers and meditations.The Rosary has been variously described as “an epitome of the Old Testament,” “an abridgement of the New Testament,” “a compendium of the Gospel,” “the Breviary of the laity,” “the catechism of youth,” “a beautiful system of popular theology,” “an inexhaustible book of meditation for our greatest theologians” and “a whole badge of Christian piety.””Apart from the Eucharist and other Sacraments of the Church, the Rosary is probably the most powerful means of sanctification. It is a key to the most intimate knowledge of Jesus and Mary, and is an effective way to attain to the perfection of Christian charity.As Blessed Pope John Paul II pointed out in his great Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, published at the beginning of the Year of the Rosary in October 2002, “to recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.”As the title suggests, this book is a step-by-step guide to praying the Rosary. The layout of a standard Rosary bead set is imitated, so that each section of the Rosary begins on a new page. The active Table of Contents contains hyperlinks to every prayer in the book.The Introduction includes sections on the origins of the Rosary, the Rosary today, Our Lady's 15 promises, the prayers of the Rosary, and how to pray the Rosary. In addition to the complete Rosary, the book contains the Angelus, the Memorare of Saint Bernard, the Magnificat and the Thirty Days Prayer for obtaining graces, an Act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, the Prayer to Saint Joseph for the October devotions, and the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel.The Bibliography contains an extensive list of Papal Encyclicals related to the Rosary. Clicking on the title of an encyclical will open a web browser and take the reader directly to the official English text of the Encyclical on the Vatican web site.Interest in the Rosary has been rekindled since Blessed Pope John Paul II proposed the addition of a new decade comprised of the five 'Mysteries of Light' which he described as “a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.”In addition to the traditional Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, the Luminous Mysteries (which have never been officially incorporated into the Rosary) have been included in this book for those who like to recite them.To supply a scriptural foundation and greater depth to the meditations on each mystery, suitable Bible passages are provided before the commencement of each decade.The Biblical texts chosen by the author refer not only to the subject-matter of the particular mystery, but also to the spiritual grace which the mystery is believed to confer. The spiritual grace is specified, as is the day on which the subject-matter of the mystery is commemorated by the Church.To give the user's meditation even further depth, and to help focus his or her attention on the mysteries of the Rosary, the beautiful woodcut engravings of Gustave Doré which were made for the English translation of the Bible of 1866 are included to illustrate the mysteries.As Sister Lucia of Fatima said, "There is no problem ... no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

The Sacred Echo: Hearing God's Voice in Every Area of Your Life


Margaret Feinberg - 2008
    Listen for His Echo.”When God really wants to get your attention, he doesn’t just say something once.He echoes.He speaks through a Sunday sermon, a chance conversation with a friend the next day, even a random email. The same theme, idea, impression, or lesson will repeat itself in surprising and unexpected ways until you realize that maybe, just maybe, God is at work.According to author Margaret Feinberg, the repetitive nature of a sacred echo gives us confidence that God really is prompting, guiding, or leading. The sacred echo reminds us to pay close attention – something important may be going on here. The sacred echo challenges us to prayerfully consider how God is at work in our life as well as in the lives of those around us. The sacred echo is an invitation to spiritual awakening.Margaret writes, “I want a relationship with God where prayer is as natural as breathing. If God is the one in whom we are to live and move and have our being, then I want my every inhale infused with his presence, my every exhale an extension of his love.”If that’s your desire too, let Sacred Echo be your guide to a deeper, more rewarding relationship with the God of the universe.

The Virtue Driven Life


Benedict J. Groeschel - 2006
    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.

In God's Hands: The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2015


Desmond Tutu - 2014
    It is a meditation on the infinite love of God and the infinite value of the human individual. Not only are we in God's hands, says Desmond Tutu, our names are engraved on the palms of God's hands. Throughout an often turbulent life, Archbishop Tutu has fought for justice and against oppression and prejudice. As we learn in this book, what has driven him forward is an unshakeable belief that human beings are created in the image of God and are infinitely valuable. Each one of us is a God-carrier, a tabernacle, a sanctuary of the Divine Trinity. God loves us not because we are loveable but because he first loved us. And this turns our values upside down. In this sense, the Gospel is the most radical thing imaginable.It is extremely moving that in this book Archbishop Tutu returns to something so simple and so profound after a life in which he has been involved in political, social, and ethical issues that have seemed to be so very complex.

Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance from Evil Spirits


Neal Lozano - 2003
    They seek counseling, practice confession, and pursue God-centered lives, yet still these genuine believers feel hopeless in finding freedom. Could they be under the influence of evil spirits? Yes, says author Neal Lozano. In Unbound, he reveals Satan's strategies and the sneaky "entrance points" Satan finds to get a toehold in a Christian's life. He helps readers acknowledge the doors they may have opened to evil influence, and shows them how to close those doors and walk in God's freedom and abundance. Lozano's focus on God and his work in the believer's life, not on intimidating aspects of evil spirits, gives this book a balanced and hopeful tone. Because deliverance is part of the ongoing, glorious work of the Holy Spirit, Unbound outlines a plan for tapping into the potent power of the gospel. It also offers guidance on how pastors, counselors, and laity can pray for others who are still bound by evil and help them to gain victory.

FROM GANGLAND TO PROMISED LAND


John Pridmore - 2002
    His jackets were tailored to hold his machete. His drug deals earned him thousands of pounds. Penthouse apartment, luxury cars, designer clothes and women. John Pridmore had everything he wanted. Until one night outside a London club he nearly killed a man.