And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none." --Mark Twain

    

    O'Sullivan’s very popular and soul-stirring books, for it reveals the simplest secret of holiness and happiness over. Scarcely one Catholic in a million has heard about the amazing power of the Holy Name of Jesus which the author explains here. He brings forth stories and quotes from Scripture, history and the lives of the Saints, showing the incredible efficacy of this Sacred Name and urging us to invoke it often — dozens of times, even hundreds of times each day!The author describes what remarkable prayers can be summed up in the one word, “Jesus.” He shows how the habitual practice of this simple devotion shields us from temptation and leads us to holiness of life. He says that by repeating reverently the Holy Name we can glorify God, call upon His aid, pay our spiritual debts, assist the Souls in Purgatory, obtain a share in the graces God is constantly pouring out, receive protection from the devil, obtain the grace of a happy death, be preserved from disasters and even regain our physical health!The Wonders of the Holy Name reveals a tremendous secret almost unknown today. In bringing out this secret, Fr. O'Sullivan gives us thereby a glimpse into the infinite holiness at the heart of our Catholic Faith.

    But at every step he has been accompanied by some surprising friends—the saints of the Catholic Church. For many, these holy men and women remain just historical figures. For Martin, they are intimate companions. “They pray for me, offer me comfort, give me examples of discipleship, and help me along the way,” he writes. The author is both engaging and specific about the help and companionship he has received. When his pride proves trouble­some, he seeks help from Thomas Merton, the monk and writer who struggled with egotism. In sickness he turns to Thérèse of Lisieux, who knew about the boredom and self-pity that come with illness. Joan of Arc shores up his flagging courage. Aloysius Gonzaga deepens his compassion. Pope John XXIII helps him to laugh and not take life too seriously. Martin’s inspiring, witty, and always fascinating memoir encompasses saints from the whole of Christian history— from St. Peter to Dorothy Day. His saintly friends include Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, Mother Teresa, and other beloved figures. They accompany the author on a lifelong pilgrimage that includes stops in a sunlit square of a French town, a quiet retreat house on a New England beach, the gritty housing projects of inner-city Chicago, the sprawling slums of Nairobi, and a gorgeous Baroque church in Rome. This rich, vibrant, stirring narrative shows how the saints can help all of us find our way in the world. “In a cross between Holden Caulfield and Thomas Merton, James Martin has written one of the best spiritual memoirs in years.” —Robert Ellsberg, author of All Saints “It isn’t often that a new and noteworthy book comes along in this genre, but we have reason to celebrate My Life with the Saints. It is earmarked for longevity. It will endure as an important and uncommon contribution to religious writing.” —Doris Donnelly, America “An account . . . that is as delightful as it is instructive.” —First Things “In delightful prose Martin recounts incidents, both perilous and funny, that have prompted him to turn to the saints, and in doing so shows us a new way of living out a devotion that is as old and universal as the Church.” —Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, Fordham University “An outstanding and often hilarious memoir.” —Publishers Weekly “Martin’s final word for us is as Jungian as it is Catholic: God does not want us to be like Mother Teresa or Dorothy Day. God wants us to be most fully ourselves.” —The Washington Post Book World

    The beautiful story of how one young woman learned to live in God's will, without fear.

    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.

    A collection of inspirational writings includes reflections on love, prayer, giving, service, poverty, forgiveness, and Jesus.

    Andrea Ambrosi, a country priest and a cosmopolitan Italian canon lawyer, as the two piece together the life of a long dead Korean War hero and military chaplain and fashion it into a case for eternal divinity. Joe Drape offers a front row seat to the Catholic Church's saint-making machinery—which, in many ways, has changed little in two thousand years-and examines how, or if, faith and science can co-exist.This rich and unique narrative leads from the plains of Kansas to the opulent halls of the Vatican, through brutal Korean War prison camps, and into the stories of two individuals, Avery Gerleman and Chase Kear, whose lives were threatened by illness and injury and whose family and friends prayed to Father Kapaun, sparking miraculous recoveries in the heart of America. Gerleman is now a nurse, and Kear works as a mechanic in the aerospace industry. Both remain devoted to Father Kapaun, whose opportunity for sainthood relies in their belief and medical charts. At a time when the church has faced severe scandal and damage, and the world is at the mercy of a pandemic, this is an uplifting story about a priest who continues to an example of goodness and faith.Ultimately, The Saint Makers is the story of a journey of faith—for two priests separated by seventy years, for the two young athletes who were miraculously brought back to life with (or without) the intercession of the divine, as well as for readers—and the author—trying to understand and accept what makes a person truly worthy of the Congregation of Saints in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

    Elizabeth of the Trinity prophetically claimed that holiness is not exclusively the domain of priests and nuns but is truly for everyone.God created the human soul to be a special channel of His grace on earth and to serve as a unique image of His love. Few saints have spoken to hearts as acutely as St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, who has helped even the busiest, weariest, and most distracted of us create an inner chamber within our souls where we can rest in God’s peace and love.In this tender yet powerful book, author Claire Dwyer takes you on a spiritual journey with this little-known but fast-ascending saint. She shows you how to overcome aridity in prayer and discover ways to bring peace to familial relationships. You will learn how to identify and fulfill the specific mission God has for you and how to draw courage and meaning from the inevitable sufferings you will face.Best of all, you will learn how to encounter and live in union with God, which opens up a sanctuary of peace within your soul.The purpose of your life is not something to discover in the remote future. You can begin to live your ultimate end — union with the Trinity — right now in the secret center of your heart, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit already dwell.St. Elizabeth of the Trinity has revealed the way. Read this book, and you will see with new eyes that your eternal destiny is already living within you, in this present paradise.

    His daily exposure to the power, politics, and personalities in the seat of Roman Catholicism gave him a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on an institution that is far less monolithic and unified than it first appears. Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place where Curia cardinals fight private wars, scandals threaten to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past is continually upended by the practical considerations of modern life. Thavis takes readers from a bell tower high above St. Peter’s to the depths of the basilica and the saint’s burial place, from the politicking surrounding the election of a new pope and the ever-growing sexual abuse scandals around the world to controversies about the Vatican’s stand on contraception, and more. Perceptive, sharply written, and witty, The Vatican Diaries will appeal not only to Catholics (lapsed as well as devout) but to any readers interested in international diplomacy and the role of religion in an increasingly secularized world.

    You don’t have to pray the rosary all at once and you can pray it anywhere! Do you struggle with praying the rosary: finding time, fighting distractions, worrying about your mind wandering? In Praying the Rosary Like Never Before, Edward Sri offers practical suggestions that come from the rosary’s tradition and, most especially, St. John Paul II. These helpful tips will make the rosary a constant companions through the different seasons, moments, and challenges we all face. These tips serve as easy on-ramps for those who don’t pray the rosary regularly motivate avid devotees of the rosary to go deeper with the Lord. “Offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, relaxed, undivided attention,” says Sri. “I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.” You will find answers to common questions such as the significance of the Hail Mary, whether the attention given to Mary distracts us from God, the meaning of all the repetition, where the rosary came from, what to think about for each of the mysteries, and whether one should focus on the prayers or the mysteries. You will also find biblical reflections on the twenty mysteries of the rosary that provide practical insights to help you not only understand the twenty mysteries but also live them.

    Using everyday language to explain difficult theological concepts, Teresa of Avila compares the contemplative life to a castle with seven chambers. Tracing the passage of the soul through each successive chamber, she draws a powerful picture of the path toward spiritual perfection. It is the most sublime and mature of Teresa's works, offering profound and inspiring reflections on such subjects as self-knowledge, humility, detachment, and suffering.One of the most celebrated works on mystical theology in existence, as timely today as when St. Teresa of Avila wrote it centuries ago, this is a treasury of unforgettable maxims on self-knowledge and fulfillment.

    Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of the popular book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus," comes an extraordinary 33-day journey to Marian consecration with four giants of Marian spirituality: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Father Michael masterfully summarizes their teaching, making it easy to grasp, and simple enough to put into practice. More specifically, he weaves their thought into a user-friendly, do-it-yourself retreat that will bless even the busiest of people. So, if you've been thinking about entrusting yourself to Mary for the first time or if you're simply looking to deepen and renew your devotion to her, "33 Days to Morning Glory" is the right book to read and the perfect retreat to make.

    Here is the first English biography for middle graders on Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish Franciscan who, at Auschwitz, offered himself in exchange for the life of a man with two children. The biography covers Kolbe's early life, his work as a journalist, and his founding of Niepokalanow, the world's largest friary. Kolbe's act of love and faith teaches young readers important lessons that Christianity means more than just going to church, that the Holocaust actually happened, and that saints can be as real and modern as the person standing next to you in line. For first-hand research, the author traveled to Poland to visit where Kolbe lived and to interview people who actually knew him, including his cousin, his secretary, and one of his students. In addition, the foreword is by Ted Wojtkowski, a fellow camp prisoner and now a well-known Polish American who was standing close to Kolbe when he made his offer of self-sacrifice. Kolbe's story is ideal for children of Polish descent, parochial schools, parish libraries, classes in cultural diversity, and classes on World War II or the Holocaust. And, while written simply enough for children, this book will move all readers showing just how much the human spirit can achieve. +

    Bernadette's thoughts, advice, sayings, and prayers through the touching words of her spiritual diary, notes, and letters to friends and family.After receiving the visions of Our Lady at the grotto in Lourdes, Bernadette eventually became a religious sister as a member of the Sisters of Charity. She lived a life of simplicity, charity, suffering and deep holiness, dying at the age of 35. When she was canonized a saint, her body was found to be incorrupt.In these beautiful writings of St. Bernadette, we learn the secrets of her holiness and happiness. Though she suffered greatly throughout her life, the heroic response of this humble, self-effacing nun transformed excruciating suffering into spiritual fruitfulness. Her letters and writings serve as a model for others passing through their own trials. Her writings reveal and intimate and profound love for God and neighbor. Anyone pursuing a deeper spiritual life will appreciate knowing Bernadette as she truly was, and the inspiring spiritual works of wisdom she offers to us all.