July-August 2013
Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God
Daniel Burke with Fr. John Bartunek, LC, STL
Emmaus Road $13.95
This book gives ordinary people a powerful framework for participating in spiritual direction whether they are beginners, veterans of spiritual direction, or strugglers outside the process. Noting that all successful athletes have personal trainers and coaches, Burke encourages readers to find a spiritual guide—a coach—who will help them understand the general trajectory of their souls and work with them to deepen their relationship with God. Burke answers the questions many of us have about spiritual direction. What is it? Is it for me? What keeps me from claiming all the spiritual riches Christ has for me? How can I understand where I am in the journey toward peace and holiness? How do I find a spiritual director? This immensely practical book is filled with insightful wisdom and sound Church teaching on how to direct and nurture a rich interior life with the help of a trusted spiritual guide.
The Inner Life of Priests
Gerard J. McGlone, SJ, and Len Sperry
Liturgical Press $19.95
At a time when controversy surrounds the very concept of Catholic priesthood, everyone from Catholic laypeople to Church leaders wonders how priests are identified, formed, and supported. Authors McGlone and Sperry analyzed the psychological, social, physical, theological, and spiritual dimensions of priestly and seminary life to determine what it takes to become and remain a happy, healthy, holy priest. This collection of articles is an excellent resource for those providing psychological services to priests and those involved in their formation. It will also appeal to individual priests and seminarians seeking to examine factors in their own personalities and social relationships as they relate to the research.
Thank You, Sisters: Stories of Women Religious and How They Enrich Our Lives
John Feister, editor and contributor
Franciscan Media $14.99
John Feister brings us a compendium of stories told by a cross-section of American Catholics in recognition of the compassionate, generous, joyful, faithful work of these unsung heroines. Contributors, including NPR’s and MSNBC’s Cokie and Stephen Roberts, New York Times best-selling author Adriana Trigiani, and rainforest activist Binka Le Breton, tell stories of women religious mostly unknown outside their communities, with such exceptions as Sr .Helen Prejean of Dead Man Walking fame and Sr. Dorothy Stang, murdered for her activism in the Brazilian rainforest. This book is a tribute to the generations of women religious whose dedicated service in areas such as health care, education, social justice, and pastoral ministry profoundly influenced the recipients of their service and, through them, the nation at large.
The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development
Volumes I and II
Joseph A. Jungmann, SJ
Ave Maria Press $49.95
One of the greatest achievements of twentieth-century theology, Joseph Jungmann’s newly revised study of the origins, evolution, and theology of the Mass from its earliest format onward is essential reading for anyone wishing to deeply understand Roman Catholic worship. The revised edition includes a chapter on the commingling of the eucharistic species that was previously unavailable in the English-language edition. Previous editions were hugely influential on the reformers of the Second Vatican Council. As the Church continues to reflect on the Mass and reform its rites and rituals, this revised edition is sure to find a new audience among liturgical historians.
Stories of Early Christianity: Creative Retellings of Faith and History
vanThanh Nguyen, SVD, STHD
Liguori Publications $12.99
Author vanThanh Nguyen brings to life the struggles and adventures of the lesser-known Acts of the Apostles characters Mary from Nazareth, Matthias, Rhoda, John Mark, Cornelius, Barnabas, Dionysius the Areopagite, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, and Luke. Each chapter contains a reflection, helpful sidebars, and points for personal meditation or group sharing. Fr. Nguyen’s engaging retelling of these narratives of faith and history paints a vibrant picture of the Church in its infancy and reveals the miraculous and unpredictable workings of the Holy Spirit in real people who were saints as well as sinners—and who mirror the lives of all Christians.