April 2013
Getting the Marriage Conversation Right
A Guide for Effective Dialogue
William B. May
Emmaus Road Publishing $5.95
The current drive to redefine marriage lends a sense of urgency to this easy-to-read guide for answering questions and explaining what is at stake for the future of marriage and the rights of children if marriage is redefined. Based on authentic Catholic social doctrine, Getting the Marriage Conversation Right teaches readers how to promote and defend traditional marriage, how to advocate for public policy about marriage, and how to avoid common traps that hinder intelligent communication. It acknowledges marriage as the only institution that unites children with their parents and provides a substantial section on frequently asked questions.
Based on authentic Catholic social doctrine, Getting the Marriage Conversation Right teaches readers how to promote and defend traditional marriage.
The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
How Engaging 1% of Catholics Could Change the World
Matthew Kelly
Beacon Publishing $25.00
At a time when Catholics are leaving the Church at an alarming rate and disengagement levels among those who remain are staggeringly high, the Catholic Church is faced with the challenge of reengaging Catholics and reinvigorating parish life. In his groundbreaking new book, best-selling author Matthew Kelly explores the question of what drives engagement among today’s Catholics. With a once-in-a-generation ability to bring Catholicism to life for the average person, Kelly provides readers with a blueprint and the tools needed for reestablishing vigorous Catholic commitment. Whether readers are seeking the next level in their spiritual lives or to reinvigorate their parish life, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic will help them live out the message of Catholicism in everyday life and change the way they witness their faith to the larger world.
Dear God, I Don’t Get It
Patti Maguire Armstrong
Liguori Publications $7.99
In an era when children’s authors promote pop culture values in stories that ignore their readers’ spiritual yearnings, Patti Maguire Armstrong offers a wonderful real-life example of questioning and commitment to faith that results in a genuine friendship with God. The perfect book for third- through sixth-grade Catholic kids and classrooms, Dear God, I Don’t Get It is a heartwarming story of a Catholic boy’s faith journey. When sixth-grader Aaron Ajax is confronted by his family’s sudden change in circumstances and uprooted from the home and surroundings he has known all his life, he questions his preconceptions about God and his relationship with him. With excellent writing, vocabulary, and discussion activities at the end of the book, Dear God, I Don’t Get It demonstrates that children often have the same difficulties in their faith lives as adults and feel alone and unable to voice those feelings.
Still Point
Loss, Longing, and Our Search for God
Regis Martin
Ave Maria Press $11.95
Franciscan University professor, popular speaker, and prolific author Regis Martin tells about the crisis of faith he experienced when his mother and brother died and how their deaths pushed him to revisit all he knew and felt about God and his own deepest desires. Drawing on insights from the works of Christian authors like C. S. Lewis, Gerard Manley Hopkins, G. K. Chesterton and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, he shares how he reconciled the theology he teaches with the lived experience of suffering and death. In doing so, he explores the questions at the heart of all human longing: what it means to really be lost, and why it is never hopeless to hope. His search for answers leads him—and his readers—to the "still point” where all polarities converge. Martin eloquently shows that it is at this still point that one encounters the mingling of past and future, grit and grace, man and God. His book offers readers profound insights into the real problems of suffering and death, encouragement and hope, and a way to find the God of mercy through the cross of Christ.
Where to From Here?
The Christian Vision of Life After Death
Brian Grogan, SJ
New City Press $17.95
Eschatology is the branch of theology that deals with "the four last things—death, judgment, heaven, and hell." In an style that is easy to read even for those new to theological and philosophical writing, Fr. Brian Grogan, SJ, takes a fresh and intelligently satisfying approach to such well-worn topics as the general judgment, heaven, hell, and purgatory. Rather than seek to “put the fear of God” in his readers, Fr. Grogan provides positive insights and images, insisting that God’s loving relationship with us, as revealed in Jesus Christ, cannot be broken. While not denying that our life decisions hold consequences, his focus on more positive themes is reflected in some of his chapter titles: "The Best is Yet to Come," "Purgatory: Remedial Education in Loving," "Judgment As Reconciliation," and "Might Hell Be Empty?" This book may raise more questions than it answers, but it offers a fresh and hopeful look at the Christian vision of life after death and is an excellent choice for group discussions on life after death.
Letting Go & Letting God
21 Centuries of Faith
Kathleen Atkinson, OSB
Liguori Publications $14.99
In her latest book, Sr. Kathleen Atkinson offers reassurance to Christians who may be finding it a little scary to really “let go” and respond to God’s call in their lives. As examples of ordinary people who succeeded in living fully Christian lives, Sister Atkinson recounts the stories of saints throughout the centuries who chose to "let go and let God" guide their lives. In addition to their uplifting stories, the author also provides background, reflection, prayers, and thoughtful questions for readers as faith-journey guides to all who seek God more fully. Sr. Kathleen Atkinson is a Benedictine sister from the Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, North Dakota, and is a nationally recognized leader in ministry to outcast and persecuted individuals and groups.