Books on the Spiritual Life

Bishop Fulton Sheen's renowned and inspiring television series, Life Is Worth Living, was watched by millions of viewers from all walks of life and every religious belief. This book contains the full-length scripts of forty-four of those top-rated programs that drew thousands of letters weekly to Sheen from his viewers in response to the advice and insights he gave on his shows. Bishop Sheen's writings, tapes and videos are as popular today as when he was alive. His timeless insights offered ...

Operating on the maxim that "in the spiritual life one must either fight or die", The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise on Peace of Soul offers guidance and wisdom that can be utilized to battle vices and temptation. Published in 1589 and read daily by St. Francis de Sales, this book will not only help you actively combat your passions and vices but assists in helping you achieve spiritual perfection. Short chapters provide vivid insight into human nature while offering specific advice to help ...

The spiritual journey of many is often marred by prayers that lack the substance and power our souls crave. But don’t despair — The Art of Praying brings light to this age-old problem, offering readers practical strategies for improving their experience with prayer today. Written from the perspective of an experienced teacher, these pages provide an opportunity to learn more about praying with a mature soul. As readers work through the comprehensive guide in The Art of Praying, they'll gain g...

First Steps in Becoming a Saint  "Life, in the end, has only one tragedy: not to have been a saint."- Leon Bloy The ever-popular and prolific Peter Kreeft says that the most important question he has written about is how one becomes holy; or to put it another way, how one becomes a saint. This question is central to all the great religions, Kreeft demonstrates, for striving toward holiness, moving toward perfect love, is the whole purpose of life. Kreeft admits that he is only a beginner on t...

In this age of relentless activity it is easy for Christians, particularly those involved in good works, to fall into the pattern of the activist.  But mere activity and material results are not sufficient for a successful apostolate. In his classic work The Soul of the Apostolate,  Dom Chautard demonstrates that the very foundation of all apostolic work must be the Interior Life.  The apostle of Christ will grow to become an instrument and true channel of God’s graces to the world only throu...

The Secret of Peace and HappinessTrustful Surrender to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure gives readers the essential wisdom and comfort needed when facing life's difficulties. This book offers clear answers to complex and often uncertain philosophical questions such as, why does God allow evil? Why is there suffering in the world? And how do we practice trustful surrender? Trustful Surrender brings us the enlightened two-fold answer if we trust in the divine will, regardless o...

How the Prayers of the Church Can Change Your Life St. 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 ...

Monks on the Threshold of Eternal Life Behind monastery walls, men of God spend their lives preparing for the passage of death. Best-selling French author Nicolas Diat set out to find what their deaths can reveal about the greatest mystery faced by everyone--the end of life. How to die? How to respond to our fear of death? To answer these and other questions, Diat travelled to eight European monasteries including Solesmes Abbey and the Grande Chartreuse. Through extraordinary interviews with ...

A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics  How do we listen to God speak to our hearts, minds, and wills especially above the noise and stress of the modern world? What is the process of discerning God's will? Best-selling author and popular EWTN host Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, tackles these and other questions in this comprehensive book on discernment. He says that first we need to believe in God and his moral laws and make a commitment to please him in all that we do. Then we need to pray so that we can e...

Humility of Heart is a timeless classic, now newly typeset and repunctuated to enhance the reading experience. Written by Blessed Prosper Guéranger over 150 years ago, it's an invaluable source of wisdom and insight on true humility. Throughout his work, Blessed Prosper reveals how humility is the virtue that lies at the heart of all other virtues. His words offer more than just sage advice; they provide spiritual guidance to those seeking to emulate Christ and make their way into the kingdom...

What Is the Particular Examen, and How Does It Conquer Sin? This step-by-step guide on how to make a Particular Examen is rooted in the five wounds of Jesus and includes prayers, sample format, and predominant faults to avoid in prayer, work, study, and recreation. As most of us struggle with the same assortment of sins, these targeted reflections will assist you in conquering your faults. This reprint of the 1952 classic contains prayers for each topic from the traditional Roman Missal that ...

Pocket Guide to Adoration equips Catholics with the tools they need to improve the way they pray and cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. Drawing from the wisdom of the Church and the writings from spiritual masters like St. Teresa of Avila and Fulton Sheen, Fr. Josh Johnson has produced an evergreen resource that Catholics will want to take with them every time they go to Adoration. This pocket guide includes: Stories of Eucharistic miracles Lectio divina prompts an...

Do you ever feel like you're the only one who really understands your faith? Like you're the only one who knows why Catholicism is true? Catherine Stewart felt that way too. In her book, "How to Become a Heroic Catholic," she breaks down the barriers that keep young people from being bold and confident in their faith. Stewart provides clear, simple answers to questions about the Bible and controversial theological issues, using examples from both the Bible and the Catechism. She makes complex...

In Consoling Thoughts on Trials of an Interior Life St. Francis de Sales, beloved Doctor of the Church, gives us treasured insight from the master of spiritual direction. How can the soul persevere in piety in the midst of affliction? How should we conduct ourselves when suffering interior trials? How can we profit from our own faults? St. Francis de Sales explains all this and more. In this masterful collection, St. Francis speaks to every soul on the riches to be gained from suffering trial...

In a generation plagued by fatherlessness, fear, and indecision, men need a mentor.   They need a man who models masculine strength and understands his God-given duty to lay down his life for his family, to provide for their every need, to protect them, to exemplify a life of virtue.   St. Joseph is that man.   Man Your Post: Learning to Lead like St. Joseph is a mission entrusted to you by a company of Catholic men who have faced challenges and found strength through the intercession of the ...

The Secret Weapons Satan Can't Withstand  Since the beginning of time, a fierce spiritual battle has raged between the forces of good and evil. Today the spiritual entities of wickedness are winning, burdening countless souls in a world lacerated by evil. To claim victory, God is calling us to engage in spiritual warfare as the only way to save the world from the desolation that is sure to come. In these pages, theologian Venatius Oforka explains that we are part of a spiritual web through wh...

Straightforward Solutions to Life's Puzzling Problems From the founder of EWTN Global Catholic Network comes this profoundly practical, humorous, and common-sense approach to answering life's most vexing questions. Mother Angelica gently confronts your real-life struggles, lifting your heart to God and leading your soul to heaven as she provides answers from a life dedicated to God not the promises of a world entrenched in vice. Mother Angelica will become your trusted companion in the battle...

First published in 1944 and now a spiritual classic for Catholics across the globe, The Reed of God contains meditations on the humanity of Mary, Mother of God. British Catholic writer and artist Caryll Houselander lovingly explores Mary's intimately human side, depicting Our Lady as a musical instrument who makes divine love known to the world. This refreshed edition is rich and rewarding reading for all Christians who wonder what Mary was really like. While the Second Vatican Council led t...

The resurgence of interest in the Charismata, or Charismatic graces, in the last 40 years has given rise to differences of theological outlook arising from Catholic and Protestant sources. This text addresses those various topics and differences and is divided into three parts. The first part is a translation of Fr. Hagen's authoritative text on the nature of the charismatic graces by Ryan Grant. The second part is the original Latin text of Fr. Hagen, which is provided here for the sake of s...

"Effeminacy is a plague, and it must be eradicated." Families are being destroyed and souls are being cast into hell because of soft and effeminate men. In Terror of Demons, Kennedy Hall provides the cure: traditional Catholic masculinity. Drawing on centuries of Catholic wisdom from Scripture and the saints, Hall provides the tools for the reader to conquer effeminacy and be a man of God. This book is not for the weak-hearted but will strike every man with the sharpness of iron--he who has e...

Now includes which day of the week to pray which mysteries. Pocket Guide to the Rosary helps Catholics deepen their prayer life and improve their ability to pray what St. Padre Pio called the weapon of our times, the Rosary. Drawing from the writings of the saints, the Bible, and Catholic tradition, Matt Fradd has produced a book that every Catholic should read. Its small size makes it easy to carry to adoration, keep around for family Rosary night, or hand out at your parish. Catholics who f...

Saint Benedict's Twelve-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem Saint Benedict's fifth-century guide to humility offers the antidote to the epidemic of stress and depression overwhelming modern young adults. But the language of The Rule by Saint Benedict is medieval, and its most passionate advocates are cloistered monks and nuns. How then does this ancient wisdom translate into advice for ordinary people? With candor, humor, and a unique approach to classical art, Father Augustine, a high school t...

Kindness counts. If you have trouble acting with the consistent kindness our Lord expects, your relationships with God and those you love may be suffering. Probably you just can't find the time and can't ever seem to develop the patience that you need in order to be consistently kind amid the irritations that afflict you daily. That's why this book is such a godsend. There's nothing complicated or magical about learning to be kinder; it just takes greater attention to the things that you do a...

The Catholic Guide to Depression is a life-changing book that demonstrates how modern psychology and faith can come together to provide an effective way to deal with depression. Written by psychiatrist Aaron Kheriaty, this book connects psychological approaches and consistent teachings of the Church in order to provide meaningful strategies for those suffering from this difficult affliction.This revolutionary guide shows readers how to effectively manage their depression without having to sol...

Before being published as a small book, these "counsels of perfection" and spiritual notes by Blessed Edward Poppe (1890-1924), a Belgian priest whose cause for canonization is underway, had been transcribed a hundred times by hand by those who had tasted their flavor, vigor, and supernatural wisdom. Fresh and luminous, this little book has been a tremendous success in Dutch, French, Italian, and German; it now appears at last in English. Responding well to the needs of the faithful, it will ...