Papal Books
Meaning of Vocation
The Meaning of Vocation: In the Words of John Paul II Over the years, the Holy Father has said much about The Meaning of Vocation and how Catholics should respond to God?s call ? but it has been scattered through dozens of addresses he has given all over the world. Now at last this compact compendium collects the Pope?s choicest remarks on God?s call and how you should strive to hear and obey Him. He helps you clarify what God is calling you to do, explains how and when God calls, and even helps parents face up to their children's vocations!
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A Summary of Rerum Novarum or On Capital and Labor: An Introduction to and Paragraph-by-Paragraph Summary of Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII
This short introduction provides the historical background for Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum as well as some detail about the pope himself. It also provides a paragraph-by-paragraph summary of the document to better understand the teaching. This is ideal for students of the document and those studying Catholic Social Teaching.
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Anointed: Gifts of the Holy Spirit
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Contemplative Rosary with St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Avila
You know that in an Apostolic Letter in 2002, Pope John Paul II added five Luminous Mysteries. Did you know that in that same Letter he also called for a new way of praying the Rosary?
St. John Paul II's new way of praying the Rosary was based on the teachings of St. Theresa of Avila and has become known as the Contemplative Rosary because it more perfectly unites vocal prayer and meditation, transforming the prayers of the Rosary into a contemplative meeting with God.
Did you know about these changes? Have you tried them?
In our new book, The Contemplative Rosary, we have not only incorporated the five new Luminous Mysteries, we have included as well the many other changes Pope John Paul made to the Rosary.
Here are his additions to the texts and prayers -- additions small and large -- that, as John Paul intended, unite the Rosary more closely to the official liturgical prayers of the Church as well as to Scripture.
Here are also scores of full-color images for your contemplation that anchor your attention in each Mystery and transform your Rosary from a hasty, habitual recitation into a profound speaking to God and a keen listening to Him.
Following the wise advice of St. Theresa of Avila and the new method proposed by St. John Paul, you'll find here for each mystery:
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From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church
"The priesthood is going through a dark time", according to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah. "Wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy, many priests are tempted by the thought of giving up and abandoning everything."
In this book, the pope emeritus and the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments give their brother priests, and the whole Church, a message of hope. They honestly address the spiritual challenges faced by priests today, while pointing to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ as the key to faithful and fruitful priestly ministry and genuine reform.
Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah "fraternally offer these reflections to the people of God and, of course, in a spirit of filial obedience, to Pope Francis", who has said, "I think that celibacy is a gift for the Church. . . . I don't agree with allowing optional celibacy, no."
Responding to calls for refashioning the priesthood, including proposals from participants in the Amazonian Synod, two wise, spiritually astute pastors explain the importance of priestly celibacy for the good of the whole Church. Drawing on Vatican II, they present celibacy as not just "a mere precept of ecclesiastical law", but as a sharing in Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross and his identity as Bridegroom of the Church.
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Joy of Love - Amoris Laetitia
"All of us are called to keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families, and every family must feel this constant impulse. Let us make this journey as families, let us keep walking together." Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia
In his groundbreaking work on modern family life, Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family, Pope Francis continues to guide and lead the Church, calling us to be a sign of mercy and encouragement for families of all shapes and sizes.
The Our Sunday Visitor edition includes exclusive reflection and discussion questions, to help Catholics grow in our understanding of this call, and act upon it.
In Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family the Holy Father expands on the topics and considerations of the two Synods on the family, and adds his own considerations to help us provide pastoral guidance to support and strengthen today's families.
On Love in the Family guides us through:
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Joy of Love - Amoris Laetitia
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Last Testament: In His Own Words
The story of the first Pope to resign in over 700 years.
Pope Benedict made history when he became the first Pope in over 700 years to resign from office, stunning the Catholic Church the world over. At last, Last Testament is a stunning and frank autobiography from the shy and private man who has since remained cloistered in a former convent in the Vatican gardens. In interviews with Peter Seewald, the Pope Emeritus breaks his silence on corruption within the Vatican, clerical sex scandals, and the challenge of reforming the Papacy. In these interviews, Benedict discusses such wide-ranging controversies as: - The "Vatileaks" case in which his butler leaked some of his personal letters that alleged corruption and scandal in the Vatican- The presence of a "gay lobby" within the Vatican and how he dismantled it
- His alleged Nazi upbringing
- His attempts at cleaning up the "dirt in the church" (clerical sexual abuse)
- The mysterious private secretary "Gorgeous George" On a more personal level he writes with great warmth of his successor Pope Francis, who he admits has a popular touch, a star quality which Benedict himself has lacked. Much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict's Papacy--in this book he addresses these controversies and reveals how at his late age, governing and reforming the Papacy and particularly the Vatican, was beyond him.
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Pope and the Holocaust: Pius XII and the Secret Vatican Archives
For over two decades, Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, has been blasted in the public square as "Hitler's Pope", accused by bestselling authors of cowardice in the face of the Nazi regime. Some have even said that the pope was complicit in Hitler's grab for power, privately fueled by a hatred for the Jewish people. And if they are right, who would not join in condemning a leader like this, especially one who claims to represent all Christians?
But what if this image of Pius XII is completely backward? Archival and archaeological researcher Michael Hesemann has unearthed thousands of documents--including from the Vatican Secret Archives (or the Vatican Apostolic Archive), only recently opened to scholars--to give a startling picture of Eugenio Pacelli as a shrewd diplomat and a champion of the Jewish people during World War II. Saving thousands upon thousands of lives, Pius demonstrated such courage and compassion in these times that Jewish leaders across the globe praised him, and the ecumenical Pave the Way Foundation has since nominated him for the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum's Righteous among the Nations award.
The Pope and the Holocaust traces Pacelli's fight for peace in the 1930s and 1940s, including his years as apostolic nuncio in Germany, where he resisted Nazism. Even some of his most controversial moves, such as the 1933 Vatican concordat, were made to protect Jewish and Christian lives. What emerges clearly from Hesemann's evidence is a portrait of a man radically committed to the Jews and the revelation God gave to them. As Pope Pius himself remarked in 1938, "It is not legitimate for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism. Spiritually, we are all Semites."
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Practical Holiness: Pope Francis as Spiritual Companion
Good spiritual directors can be difficult to come by; this book offers Pope Francis to be yours. Ever wonder what advice the Pope would give you to help you grow in holiness, deepen your prayer life, know God's will?
In Practical Holiness you'll find the keys to discovering the answers to those questions. With anecdotes about people and stories about saints, this exploration of Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation, Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in Today's World, reminds you that there is no cookie-cutter approach to holiness and encourages you to rediscover your unique way of living out the Beatitudes and Jesus's two-fold command of love. You'll navigate through the "five great expressions of love of God and neighbor" - essential for any Christian in our self-absorbed, digital culture. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter, as well as forty personal questions at the end of the book, make this ideal for reflection, adult faith formation, book clubs, spiritual directors and their directees, and further catechesis during the RCIA's Mystogogia period between Easter and Pentecost.- Please log in to review this product
Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
"A remarkable book. Weigel's biography is likely to remain the standard one-volume reference on John Paul II for many years to come." -- Pittsburg Post-Gazette
?"Fascinating. . . sheds light on the history of the twentieth century for everyone." --New York Times Book Review
The definitive biography of Pope John Paul II that explores how influential he was on the world stage and in some of the most historic events of the twentieth century that can still be felt today
Witness to Hope is the authoritative biography of one of the singular figures--some might argue the singular figure--of our time. With unprecedented cooperation from John Paul II and the people who knew and worked with him throughout his life, George Weigel offers a groundbreaking portrait of the Pope as a man, a thinker, and a leader whose religious convictions defined a new approach to world politics--and changed the course of history. As even his critics concede, John Paul II occupied a unique place on the world stage and put down intellectual markers that no one could ignore or avoid as humanity entered a new millennium fraught with possibility and danger.
The Pope was a man of prodigious energy who played a crucial, yet insufficiently explored, role in some of the most momentous events of our time, including the collapse of European communism, the quest for peace in the Middle East, and the democratic transformation of Latin America. With an updated preface, this edition of Witness to Hope explains how this "man from a far country" did all of that, and much more--and what both his accomplishments and the unfinished business of his pontificate mean for the future of the Church and the world.
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