Catechesis

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 powerhouse book has been a best-seller for years now!

Pope John Paul II referred to the Holy Eucharist as "the greatest treasure of the Church," and yet even many devoted Catholics have a very limited understanding of this powerful sacrament. This book will change all that! You will walk away with a completely new awareness that the Eucharist is not just about receiving Communion; it's about transforming your daily life.

Deeply based on the Scriptures, the writings of the Saints, and the teachings of our two most recent popes, this profound and remarkably readable book will introduce you to some of the "hidden" truths of the Eucharist - truths that have always been embraced by theologians, saints, and mystics, but have rarely been passed on to the average person in a meaningful way. In 7 Secrets of the Eucharist, these truths are finally made accessible to all, as author Vinny Flynn shows how each reception of Holy Communion can be a life-changing experience.

No matter how much or how little you already know about the Eucharist, the "secrets" revealed here will bring you to a new, personal "Emmaus" experience, again and again. Perfect for personal devotion, catechesis, study groups, book clubs, and theological studies, this book will rekindle the "Eucharistic amazement" called for by Pope John Paul II.

In the 1960's, a French nurse, Marie Carre, attended an auto-crash victim who was brought into her hospital in a city she purposely does not name. The man lingered there near death for a few hours and then died. He had no identification on him, but he had a briefcase in which there was a set of quasi-autobiographical notes. She kept these notes and read them, and because of their extraordinary content, decided to publish them.

The result is this little book, AA-1025 Memoirs of the Communist Infiltration Into the Church, a strange and fascinating account of a Communist who purposely entered the Catholic priesthood along with many others, with the intent to subvert and destroy the Church from within. His strange yet fascinating and illuminating set of biographical notes, tells of his commission to enter the priesthood, his experiences in the seminary, and the means and methods he used and promoted to help effect from within the auto-dissolution of the Catholic Church.

No one will read this book without a profound assent that something just like what is describer here must surely have happened on a wide scale in order to have disrupted the life of the Catholic Church so dramatically.

Are we truly striving for heaven or merely avoiding hell?

The human heart's greatest longing is to see God as He is. And yet, many people simply want to escape hell's pain, or even worse, they follow our disordered fallen nature in choosing sinful pleasures. Our Lord said the road to heaven is narrow, but the road to hell is wide (see Matt. 7:13). Is choosing the road to heaven merely wanting to avoid pain, or is it actively pursuing the greatest good beyond imagining?

Do we choose the good because we strive to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, or do we choose the good merely because we fear hell?

God never leaves us alone in these choices. Indeed, He sends us His grace, but--to help us cooperate with that grace and fight valiantly--He also sends spiritual warriors and guides, of whom one of the greatest is Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In Angelic Virtues and Demonic Vices, Saint Thomas guides us on how to pursue our true celestial homeland while avoiding running to a false heaven. He outlines the various vices, and their forty-plus daughters, and details how to conquer them.

After reading this work, you will not only desire to become a saint because you will see how hideous vice truly is but also see how splendid and virtuous living for God is.

Every aspect of the Eucharist matters. The Church provides clear guidance for the celebration of the sacred mysteries for the benefit of the ordained and the baptized to encounter these saving mysteries.

Ars Celebrandi Serving the Mystery of Christ in the Eucharist infuses the contemporary preparations for the Eucharist with a new focus for a greater purpose. This book walks through each part of the Mass, discussing the directives for the celebration through the lens of the ars celebrandi, to help priests, deacons, and seminarians authentically join with Christ in his eternal Sacrifice with deeper faith, confidence, and reverence.

This book presents the chief insights concerning the mystery of atonement in the works of four theological guides: John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Norbert Hoffmann.

The author argues for the central importance and perennial value of a theology of atonement, even as she explains the modern aversion to it. The book's central aim is to deepen our understanding of the biblical claim that God shows himself to be love precisely by sending his Son as atonement. "In this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10).

The book develops a compelling vision of atonement as a process that originates from and is engendered by God's own power to love. This vision not only takes account of the gravity of sin and its consequences, but also provides a clear illumination of the wholly gratuitous, radically forgiving, passionate and powerful nature of God's redeeming love for mankind. Distinct from the majority of theological accounts of atonement, which focus almost exclusively on the role of Christ, this book highlights the role of God the Father in the atoning mission of the Son.

The Didache Bible presents extensive commentaries, based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, for each of the books of the Holy Bible. It also includes numerous apologetical inserts to assist the reader in understanding the Church's teachings on current issues.

It uses the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition translation of the complete text of Sacred Scriptures, Old and New Testaments. This Bible version is considered by many Catholic leaders and authors, including Peter Kreeft and Scott Hahn, as the most beautiful English translation of the Bible today.

The Didache Bible is a valuable resource for students and those participating in Scripture studies. Ideal for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith and intended to be accessible by all Catholics in its level of scriptural scholarship.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are typically two sides to the beer coaster:

"Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life." -- George Bernard Shaw

"Here's to alcohol, the rose colored glasses of life." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Drink to feel nothing, or drink to feel something. Both are widely practiced. But both fall flat.

As a Catholic, you want to live a full life, with intention and purpose. You think beer, wine, and liquor can be part of that, but you don't have an authentic way to approach alcoholic beverages, so you abstain or indulge. Either way, you come up empty. The fact is, most of us haven't been taught how to drink well.

In Barstool Theology, Trevor Gundlach cracks open an entirely new way to talk about beer and exactly how it can be an effervescent part of a life well lived. He invites you to become a fellow barstool theologian, ready to discuss the theology of life, friendship, art, seasons, celebrations, and, yes, delicious craft beer.

Barstool Theology does not lay down rules to follow but offers practical ideas to try. It is full of reflection, humor, analogies, ancient philosophy, and Instagram-worthy stories that open a new dialogue about drinking that is fresh, flavorful, and fun.

So, pull up a barstool. Let's have a drink and talk.

The greatest battles do not occur in a distant land or even in past times but in the depths of the human soul. It is the battle between virtue and vice, the conflict between aspiring to be a saint or living a mediocre life. The conflict between reaching heaven or forfeiting it.

In this spiritual masterpiece, Pope Saint Leo IX, identifies our foes: "The enemies in this battle--the vices and temptations which infect our fallen nature--are invisible and internal."

These invisible and internal vices have dragged many souls to hell, and they will not stop until every person has surrendered to their pernicious and vile attacks. Are you saddened and discouraged by such daily assaults? There is hope. In these pages, you will find over twenty-five virtues to help you win the spiritual victory against sin. With God's grace and virtues like humility, detachment, prudent restraint, firm stability, and others, the battle can be won.

But keep in mind that spiritual victory does not happen overnight. The battle wages on until your final breath. The question remains: Are you willing to fight?

Just as this book is a dialogue between the virtues and vices, so too must we learn to listen to the voice of truth and not the voice of lies. The Lord, the General of our souls, whispers words of encouragement and peace while the devil, the captain of vice and enemy of our souls, tempts us to sin and then accuses us.

On our earthly pilgrimage fraught with suffering, sorrow, and trials, let us keep our eyes fixed on our celestial homeland, the eternal city, where there will be perpetual peace. In heaven, Our Lord will welcome His glorious martyrs and courageous soldiers, those who have kept the faith and fought victoriously.

There is nothing more important in this life than fortifying the interior castle of the soul with virtue.

Winner of a first-place award in the future church category from the Catholic Media Association.

We can't just talk about Christ's presence in the Eucharist; we have to believe it, celebrate it, and live it both individually and as a community of the faithful. And we must cultivate a culture in our parishes that treats Real Presence not only as an important Catholic doctrine, but also as the most important part of parish identity.

In Becoming Eucharistic People, theologian Timothy P. O'Malley, author of Real Presence, outlines four essential dimensions of a Eucharistic culture in a parish--one that fosters reverence and unity among the faithful, includes every dimension of human life in the mystery of Christ's Body and Blood, and invites people back to parish life or to become Catholic for the first time.

O'Malley--director of education at the McGrath Institute of Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, and a member of the executive planning team for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Eucharistic Revival--shows what it means to foster a parish culture where the Eucharist infuses the worldview, priorities, and practices of its members. O'Malley leads you through discovery and discernment about how to create a parish culture where each person is called to holiness and receives the spiritual, theological, and pastoral help they need to meet Christ fully present in the Eucharist and to become a witness to him in the world.

O'Malley will help you reflect on four essential facets of a Eucharistic parish culture:

O'Malley says that when we reflect Christ's Real Presence to others, our parishes will become sacred spaces in which every person is led to deeper communion with God and with their neighbors.

Online resources, including ideas for parish retreats, teaching resources, and videos based on this book and the US bishops Eucharistic Revival are available from the McGrath Institute for Church Life.

Books in the Engaging Catholicism series from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame help readers discover the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith through a concise exploration of the Church's most important but often difficult-to-grasp doctrines as well as crucial pastoral and spiritual practices. Perfect for seekers and new Catholics, clergy and catechetical leaders, and everyone in between, the series expands the McGrath Institute's mission to connect the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the pastoral life of the Church and the spiritual needs of her people.