Catholic Books

Barely out of college, Isaac trades the quiet of his family ranch for the excitement of the big city with his dream job at an up-and-coming advertising agency. Until his perfect new world is shattered by bad choices, a pretty girl, a moment's temptation-and a late night walk that quickly spirals out of control. Reeling with the horror of a mistake that can't be undone, Isaac struggles to get his soul in order. Can he forgive himself? Can he make things right with God? What about Rebecca? With...

It all happened one morning. It was as if the world had gone mad. Well, maybe not the whole world, but enough of it to get noticed. People were waking up as if possessed; suffering souls resorting to tearing at their skin, crying out loud to no one in particular, haunted by a sudden internal torment that no one around them could decipher. For investigative reporter Elijah, this news story was way bigger than a scoop. Unless he could unmask the truth behind the madness, how could he stop it, o...

Book 4 of Faith & Kung Fu Series Truth comes to light and love is revealed after Tanner confesses her devotion to Gabriel. But when a former fling and co-star offers his assistance on her debut movie, he's a constant reminder of all the ways Tanner has messed up. Add a crazed kung fu rival, paparazzi on the prowl, and a controlling stage mom, and things get ugly fast. Can Gabriel and Tanner find truth in the chaos? Or is their newly-found romance doomed before it's even begun?

Do you feel as though you're in the midst of a storm? Your life, your children's lives, and your country--they may cause you to feel like a storm is raging. In this powerful new book, Fr. John Riccardo breaks open the Scriptures to give us tangible hope for our lives. Discover how you can live with unshakable hope today!

God's Solution to a Civilization in Crisis  "How can we save civilization?" It's becoming a common question. As the world descends into chaos, Christians are thinking deeply about how to stem the tide. Many options have been presented to overcome Christian persecution and cultural decadence, but the The Marian Option is one that is already in motion...and has been for centuries. Dr. Carrie Gress provides a thoroughly researched account of the significant cultural and military events where Mar...

In concise, straightforward prose, author Dan Burke here provides an invaluable road map for spiritual growth, complete with signposts to help ensure that you remain on the right path. He guides you through the hazardous terrain that can threaten your spiritual health and shows you how to discern God's will daily and follow it in a meaningful way. Through intensive study of the major Catholic mystics, Dan has acquired the keys to developing a more meaningful relationship with Christ, which he...

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers GrimmPerhaps no other stories possess as much power to enchant, delight, and surprise as those penned by the immortal Brothers Grimm. Now, in the new, expanded third edition, renowned scholar and folklorist Jack Zipes has translated all 250 tales collected and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, plus twenty-nine rare tales omitted from the original German edition, as well as narratives uncovered in the brothers' letters and papers.Truly the most comp...

The moving story of a young man's amazing journey to discover the roots of the Christian faith in the Ancient Near East, which led him from Protestantism through the Messianic movement and into the Catholic Church. This journey took him to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea, the Nożyk Synagogue in Warsaw, and the Judean Desert and into the heart of ancient and medieval Jewish tradition: the Hebrew Bible.Along the way, he met a cast of odd and wonderful characters, false prophets, and saintly ...

This collection of poems verses the mystery of God and Creation. Exploring the stories and characters of Scripture, Classical history and myth, the reader confronts the glory of God and is plunged into the depths of the human condition. This work deals with the sacred and the profane, the sublime and the ridiculous. Twenty-first century readers are confronted by their own needs and greeds reflected in the foundations of western civilisation. There are also more directly personal poems, of lov...

Discover the world of Francesca Cabrini in this moving book that not only educates children about a remarkable person in American history, but inspires them with stories of her compassion, courage, vision, and miracles. The first American citizen to be canonized, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini rescued forgotten children, even from the dark, damp sewers of New York City, and provided them with safe havens, loving comfort, and a quality education. Within these endearing pages, children will encount...

The most up-to-date "catechism" in print! For the first time in over fifty years, a Catholic bishop has published his own comprehensive presentation of the Faith--what to believe, how to live, and how to pray as Christ taught. Sure to be a classic for generations to come, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith offers a clear and readable summary of Catholicism as a whole, given in the pastoral style of the apostles. Using the simple and direct "Question-Answer" format so popular among instru...

In the heart of faith, amidst trials and tribulations, lies the inspiration of the Eucharistic martyrs--men, women, and children whose love for the Blessed Sacrament led them to the ultimate sacrifice. Martyrs of the Eucharist: Stories to Inspire Eucharistic Amazement is a profound collection of twenty-nine stirring stories, curated into four distinct sections: those who died attending Mass, those who died celebrating Mass, those who risked their lives defending or protecting the Eucharist, a...

The Glories of Divine Grace: A Fervent Exhortation to All to Preserve and to Grow in Sanctifying Grace We know that through Baptism we become children of God and heirs of heaven--that we receive sanctifying grace and have a share in the life of God himself. But what does that mean in our daily lives? The Glories of Divine Grace describes the immense gift of grace won for us by the Savior and the inconceivable power this grace gives to our lives. Among the mysteries of faith, the doctrine of g...

There's no place like homeDo fairies really come for the dish of milk we leave them? Is Mrs. McClenahan really a witch? How is it possible to find a new baby in a bed of parsley? These are all questions Pat Gardiner wants to know. And it seems her Irish housekeeper, the incomparable Judy Plum, always has an answer...For Pat, there is no place more magical on earth than her home of Silver Bush, with its majestic birch trees and enchanting gardens. If it were up to her, nothing there would ever...

Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis By early 1943, it had become increasingly clear that the Allies would win the Second World War. Around the same time, it also became increasingly clear to many Christian intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic that the soon-to-be-victorious nations were not culturally or morally prepared for their success. A war won by technological superiority merely laid the groundwork for a post-war society governed by technocrats. These Christian intellectuals-Ja...

Many are well aware of St. Thomas Aquinas's intellectual prowess -- his genius in metaphysics and supernatural theology that pierced the depths of truth. However, few know about the private spiritual life of this illustrious Doctor of the Church. This work, written by Msgr. Martin Grabmann, a foremost authority on Aquinas, is unique in its telling of the holiness of St. Thomas's priestly soul. Neither a purely devotional nor a strictly scientific treatment of the interior life of St. Thomas, ...

In An Exemplary Couple: Saint Gianna Beretta and Pietro Molla, you will read the story of the spouses Saint Gianna Beretta and Pietro Molla, and with an account, through direct testimonies, of the most significant moments of their married life. This is followed by an analysis of their marital journey through their own correspondence, highlighting the distinctive features of their relationship as fiancés, spouses, and parents. Finally, their daily spirituality is linked with the texts of the M...

If the old toy soldier hadn't come to life, Roger would never have discovered the magic. And that would never have happened if he and his sister, Ann, hadn't been sent to stay with their bossy cousins for the summer. And that wouldn't have happened at all if their father hadn't gotten sick and gone into the hospital. But all of that did happen, and now Roger, his sister, and their cousins find themselves in a bygone world of chivalry and knighthood, of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. In this knightly...

With contributions from Leo Darroch, Fr. Gabriel Díaz-Patri, Philippe Maxence, Sebastian Morello, Matthew Schellhorn, and Erik Tonning What do Evelyn Waugh, Lanzo Del Vasto, Nancy Mitford, F.R. Leavis, Agatha Christi, Yehudi Menuhin, René Girard, and Franco Zefferelli have in common? Along with scores of others-artists, musicians, scholars, writers, actors, politicians, and business people-they signed petitions to save the Catholic Church's ancient Latin liturgy, between 1966 and 2007. This i...

Per Étienne Gilson, "philosophy is a collective enterprise in which no one can pretend to take part unless he is first properly introduced." To provide that proper introduction vis-à-vis the modern period, Gilson and Langan move systematically through the landmark figures and ideas of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. Beginning with the vestiges of medievalism in Montaigne and Bacon, they then cover the interplay of science and philosophy (Descartes, Newton, and Vico); the emergen...

When one lists the influential figures who gave shape to the modern psychological disciplines, a thirteenth-century philosopher and theologian does not immediately come to mind. After all, what illuminative value could the philosophical treatises of St. Thomas Aquinas claim for the case studies of Sigmund Freud, for example? In Thomistic Psychology, Robert Edward Brennan, O.P., explains how philosophical principles influence psychological practice and inquiry. Although Thomistic Psychology fi...

"Seek out the Lord and his might; constantly seek his face." This concise admonition from the Book of Psalms captures the impetus of Seeking God's Face. In these meditations, Joseph Ratzinger reflects upon the major feasts and the Sundays of the year, inspired by Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the lives of the saints. The seasons of Advent and Christmas receive particular attention, with an address on the mystery of suffering, a sermon on the "Word Made Flesh," and a consideration of the ...

Only Jesus, first published in English in 1962, is the last of Luis M. Martínez's writings, and widely hailed as his magnum opus. Combining robust doctrine and authentic mysticism, Martínez leads his readers through a quadripartite meditation on the person of Jesus Christ. In Part One, he considers the unfolding of revelation through the Incarnation, public ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Parts Two and Three reflect on the union between Jesus and the Christian faithful,...

Evolutionary theory has raised numerous disputed questions among Catholics and other Christians concerning the relationship between faith and reason and between religion and science. Thomistic Evolution shows that the Thomistic intellectual tradition provides insightful and compelling responses to these questions. This second edition includes a revised account of human evolution, an expanded defense of the the historicity of an original human being, and a new chapter in response to criticisms...

To survey the history of the Catholic Church is, in the words of Eamon Duffy, to be left with "a sense of the intractable complexity of the historical reality of the Church and its institutions." To do justice to this complexity, Philip Hughes wrote an ambitious, three-volume survey of Church history-comprehensive in scope yet accessible in detail. In Volume I: The Church and the World in Which It Was Founded, Hughes dispenses with the chronological method, instead following the organic divis...

This second volume carries the history through to the time of St. Thomas Aquinas.

To survey the history of the Catholic Church is, in the words of Eamon Duffy, to be left with "a sense of the intractable complexity of the historical reality of the Church and its institutions." To do justice to this complexity, Philip Hughes wrote an ambitious, three-volume survey of Church history-comprehensive in scope yet introductory and accessible in detail. Volume III: The Revolt Against the Church surveys the critical period of 1270 to 1517 and the key figures and events which preced...

"Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign of contradiction." For the 1976 Lenten retreat to St. Paul VI and the Roman curia, Karol Wojtyla set this prophecy of Simeon to the Holy Family at the heart of his preaching. Over the course of twenty-two meditations, Wojtyla examines and tests the apparent contradictions in the words and deeds of Jesus Christ-all of which are occasions for profound encounters with God himself. Indeed, the "words a sign...

"And people go round saying, 'At least Catholics know what they believe, '" sarcastically remarks Charles Ryder of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. With The Belief of Catholics, Ronald Knox offers a stirring credo which puts the sarcasm of his friend and biographer Waugh's protagonist in its proper place. Building up the vast, intricate structure of Catholic doctrine from its foundation to its summit, Knox begins with a scrutiny of modernity's ill-founded aversion to religion and then pro...

The first of Ronald Knox's three "Slow Motion" collections, The Mass in Slow Motion comprises fourteen sermons preached during World War II to the students of the Assumption Sisters at Aldenham Park. Modest yet arresting in style, Knox explains the Mass from the opening psalm to the solemn words of conclusion: Ite missa est. While the liturgy Knox contemplates is that of the Tridentine Rite, the abundant fruits of his contemplation can be easily translated to the Ordinary Form of the present ...

Augustine's Quest for Wisdom, originally published in 1945, is a veritable encyclopedia of Augustinian thought. Meticulously tracing the saint's intellectual and spiritual conversions toward God, Vernon J. Bourke develops a rich study of Augustine as the original Christian philosopher--a man wholly devoted to the love of wisdom. This study has two parts: first, the scholarly career of one of the brightest intellects the Western world has ever known; second, the ecclesial and pastoral ministry...

Under the Sun of Satan, Georges Bernanos's powerful debut novel, throws the reader headlong into the mystery of evil and the drama of salvation. Saturated with dramatic intensity and marked with Bernanos's inimitable fitful style, the novel follows young Fr. Donissan, a man of fervent faith but limited intelligence, striving to serve the Lord in his rural ministry. The priest's ability to plumb the depths of his flock's inner lives, along with his awareness of Satan on the prowl, grant him fo...

The Church of Apostles and Martyrs is the first installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' magnificent and enormously popular History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first six chapters of that work, surveying the first years of the Church until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; the peerless contributions of St. Paul; the relations between imperial Rome and the fledgling Church; the persecutions and first martyrdoms; the catacombs and development of the liturgy; and the genesis...

The Church of Apostles and Martyrs is the first installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' magnificent and enormously popular History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first six chapters of that work, surveying the first years of the Church until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; the peerless contributions of St. Paul; the relations between imperial Rome and the fledgling Church; the persecutions and first martyrdoms; the catacombs and development of the liturgy; and the genesis...

The Church in the Dark Ages is the second installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' monumental History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first five chapters of that work, skillfully studying St. Augustine of Hippo, whose genius governed Christendom for centuries; the "Great Invasions" of the Barbarians and their conversion under the great popes, Gregory and Leo; the sanctifying influence of such saints as John Chrysostom, Patrick, and Boniface, and the scholars and missionaries of Eas...

The Church in the Dark Ages is the second installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' monumental History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the last five chapters of that work, surveying the threats to the Christian East, from the rise of Islam and onslaughts of jihad to the Iconoclastic Controversy, burgeoning heresy, and imminent schism; the greatness of Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance; the subsequent era of disorder in the West, counteracted by the first great medieval pope, S...

The Church of Cathedral and Crusade is the third installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' monumental History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first seven chapters of that work, surveying the salient characteristics of the period 1050 to 1350; the religious foundation of the age and its expressions in prayer and pilgrimage, liturgy and sacrament; the archetype of medieval manhood, St. Bernard of Clairvaux; the leavening labors of reform and renewal by Popes Gregory VII and Paschal II...

The Church of Cathedral and Crusade is the third installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' monumental History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the last seven chapters of that work, surveying the rise of the universities and triumph of scholasticism in Sts. Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas; the emergence of that "perfect expression of a faith," the cathedral; the callings, conflicts, and controversies of the Crusades; the ascent to glory and decline into schism in the Christian East; the ad...

The Christian life demands both action and speech. Christians must, in the words of St. James, "live by the word, not content merely to listen to it." And St. Peter exhorts: "If anyone asks you to give an account of the hope which you cherish, be ready at all times to answer for it." The "Slow Motion" collections of Monsignor Ronald Knox take up these admonitions and provide indispensable assistance for the proper fulfillment of these Christian duties. Whereas The Mass in Slow Motion endows i...

In his own variation on C. S. Lewis's trilemma of "Lunatic, Liar, or Lord," Ronald Knox writes: "I do not believe that, human nature being what it is, the immediate impression made by the preaching of the Gospel could have been so profound, if its first missionaries had only told to the world the story of a Man, clearly not mad, clearly not an Impostor, who was nevertheless prepared to accept the worship due to a God." The Gospel possesses a unique power to persuade its hearers to believe in ...

In this insightful guide, Archbishop Luis M. Martínez delves into the depths of the spiritual life. He explores the balance between active and contemplative prayer, offering practical advice on cultivating a deeper relationship with God. Drawing on the wisdom of spiritual masters like St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Ávila, Martínez reveals the secrets to a truly fulfilling and transformative spiritual journey.

As Ronald Knox was preparing to enter the Catholic Church, he took with him, as a spiritual-reading traveling companion, Virgil's Aeneid. The physical journey of Aeneas toward Rome provided a well-polished mirror to the spiritual voyage of Knox to that other, perfect Rome-the Eternal City of Christendom. "Ingeniously constructed on the Virgillian frame," as Evelyn Waugh writes in his Foreword, A Spiritual Aeneid is Knox's account of his conversion from the Anglican Church to the one, holy, Ca...

A translator, comments Monsignor Ronald Knox in his On Englishing the Bible, has two methods at his disposal: the literal and the literary. In translating Sacred Scripture "for the benefit of a person who wants to be able to read the word of God for ten minutes on end without laying it aside in sheer boredom or bewilderment," then only a literary translation will suffice. And such is the "Knox Bible," the fruit of nine years' solitary labor to craft a fresh translation of the sacred texts. Th...

A Religious Revolution: The Protestant Reformation is the fourth installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' magnificent History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first four chapters of that work, examining the triple crisis in the Church-of authority, as the scandal of the antipopes leads to the Great Western Schism; of unity, as the Hundred Years War, the chaos of famine and plague, and the fall of Byzantium spell the disintegration of Christendom; and of spirit, as moral decay and in...

An Age of Renewal: The Catholic Reformation is the fifth installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' magnificent History of the Church of Christ. This volume surveys the re-awakening of the Catholic soul which began even before the advent of Luther's revolution and which culminated in the tireless devotion of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his founding of the Society of Jesus; provides a superbly detailed summary of the Council of Trent and a fascinating analysis of the decrees and canons and various metho...

"We are workers with you for your joy," states St. Paul, "because you stand firm in the faith." These words, declared Pope Benedict XVI in a 2008 ordination homily, are the very program of the priesthood. To fulfill this program, he told the ordinandi, "the fire of the Gospel must burn within you and the joy of the Lord dwell in you. Only then will you be able to be messengers and multipliers of this joy."Remarkably, the eight reflections of Ministers of Your Joy antedate that homily by thirt...

The atomic bomb marked a catastrophic leap in the history of human achievement. Never before had a man-made instrument dealt out, in an instant, such death and destruction. Once done, it could not be undone. The leap was made; the atomic age begun. To live in this new age, a new spirit was required-a spirit that would prevent mankind becoming the destroyer of all worlds. The father of the atomic bomb himself, J. Robert Oppenheimer, perceived this need, calling for "radical changes not only in...

The Church of the Classical Age: The Era of Great Splintering is the seventh installment in Henri Daniel-Rops' magnificent History of the Church of Christ. This volume surveys the eighteenth century's intellectual revolution, wrought by Galileo, Descartes, and Rousseau (among others); appraises the Church's missionary efforts-in Asia, with the Chinese rites controversy and the spirited work of de Nobili and de Britto in India; in Canada, with the heroic endeavors of Sts. Isaac Jogues and John...