Art/Music/Culture

The Vatican, comprising the Apostolic Palace, St. Peter's Basilica, and various other buildings, serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. It has done so for nearly two millennium ever since the first Pope, St. Peter, made it his home.

Thousands of Catholics flock to the Vatican and its iconic basilica each year. But what do you really know about this great basilica and the city that houses it?

Here, Father Jeffrey Kirby takes you on a whirlwind tour of this little country (yes, Vatican City is its own country, Fact # 2) and uncovers the secrets and surprising facts about the city, and its famous church.

Discover what language degree you need to work a Vatican ATM, what archi tectural feature of St. Peter's is a map of the universe, and even what the pope's license plate number is. Along the way, you'll find the deep theological meaning woven into the design and architectural features of St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican.

Whether you've already been to Rome or are still planning your first trip, 101 Surprising Facts About the Vatican will transport you to Basilica and City at the heart of the Catholic Church and enable you to appreciate them like never before.

This beautiful, hardcover cookbook features over 60 recipes to help your family celebrate the liturgical year and the life of the saints.

Both a teaching and a cookbook, this resource offers triple nourishment of body, soul and mind that makes it so much more than a trditional cookbook. From approachable saints bios with an accompanying dish to full meals associated with Holy Days of Obligation, your family will enjoy these delicious, authentic, tested, and easy-to-cook recipes.

Each delicious recipe comes from Alexandra Greeley, a professional world travel and advocate of all things relating to food and faith.

You and your family are sure to find Cooking with the Saints to be a wonderful companion to enrich your liturgical year.

After a brief introduction to each Holy Place, Doyle provides the Scripture passages appropriate to those locations. In offering these passages, Doyle reminds us of Pius XII's statement that to find the meaning of God's word, we must go back to the original languages, determine the intention of the author, and take into account the literary form. Following Pius XII's suggestion, Doyle provides his own translation of Scripture passages. By presenting these passages he offers new meaning by exploring a new experience, in a new context, in a new culture.

Doyle explains that there are major differences between going to the Holy Land as a pilgrim and going there as a tourist, or even as a student of history or archaeology. People join a pilgrimage from faith and for faith. This is not the same as a deepening of theological insight, or becoming more knowledgeable about the facts and beliefs of Christianity. The basic vision that distinguishes a pilgrim from a tourist is summed up in a passage by Paul: 'Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, sink your roots deep in him, build your faith upon him, and overflow with thanksgiving' (Col. 2:6). In The Pilgrim's New Guide to the Holy Land, Doyle brings together the elements that facilitate that vision.

Chapters are "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," "Holy Places East of Jerusalem," "Holy Places West of Jerusalem," "Holy Places South of Jerusalem" and "Holy Places North of Jerusalem." Also includes appendices and an index.

Stephen C. Doyle, O.F.M., has guided more than one hundred pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to Greece and Asia Minor. He has taught Scripture and biblical preaching at St. John Vianney Seminary, East Aurora, New York; Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure, New York; Pope John XXIII Seminary, Weston Massachusetts; St. Bonaventure University; St. Michael&'s College; and Emmanuel College.

Home is where we are nurtured, where we live, and where we love. The language of Home is universal. It is where we find the eternal in the everyday.

But the Home has been neglected. To millions of women today, there is nothing worse than being a "homemaker." If only they knew the supreme value (and reward) of giving loved ones a place to call Home.

Written by two wives and mothers, Theology of Home is a simple guide to help reorient all of us toward our true home, allowing us to think purposefully about how to make our own homes on earth better equipped to get all those living in them to the Father's house. Featuring more than 100 beautiful (and inspiring) photographs from homes around the country, profound words from the saints and other literary figures, and in-depth commentary on the theological and spiritual underpinnings of our love for Home, Theology of Home offers readers a tour of both the Home and the human heart.

Whether you live in a sprawling estate or a humble dwelling, whether alone or with a crowd, this is far more than a book of beautiful photos and great décor ideas. You will also learn how to create a deeper sense of the divine through: