Sacraments

This classic collection offers rich meditation material before the Blessed Sacrament, providing prayerful souls with insights gleaned from the wealth of Church teaching and tradition. The selections are drawn from a variety of sources and times. They come from the Old and New Testaments, the Church Fathers, great saints, popes, councils, traditional prayers. These prayers and meditations offer a rich view of the Eucharist, and their unique perspectives are intended to aid us in our understanding, appreciation and worship of this Sacrament of Sacraments.

Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (First Place).


How can Christians grow spiritually in the midst of our sinfulness? How can we transform our lives in a way that allows us to share in the resurrection of Jesus?

God has already given us the perfect solution--the sacraments.

Whether it is the wound of past hurts, the strain in our relationships, or the stress of daily life, we all need to be comforted and made whole by Christ. In this follow-up to his bestselling Be Healed, Bob Schuchts explains how the sacraments can fuel your emotional and spiritual healing and bring you closer to God.

Based on more than thirty-five years of experience as a therapist and decades spent in parish ministry, Schuchts demonstrates how each of the seven sacraments can be a life-changing encounter with Christ, communicated through the power of the Holy Spirit. He pairs each healing sacrament with one of the seven deadly wounds that emanated from original sin in the Garden of Eden. We perpetuate and deepen those wounds each time we sin, but the sacraments are God's remedy for sin. They give us a way to restore us to wholeness in Christ.

In Be Transformed, You'll discover how each sacrament can help you heal from wounds that can impede your relationships and sense of self-worth. With Schuchts's help, you'll learn how:

Baptism makes us beloved children of God, healing our wounds of rejection

Holy Communion heals our wounds of abandonment by inviting us to share in Jesus' abiding presence

Confirmation overcomes our powerlessness through the power of the Holy Spirit

Holy Orders heals wounds of confusion and disorder by re-establishing God's authority in our lives

In marriage, God's faithful love heals wounds of fear and mistrust

Reconciliation restores purity and releases us from shame

Anointing of the Sick provides enduring hope to overcome our hopelessness

Be Transformed offers all of the tools you need for a fresh understanding of the sacraments, including reflection questions, scripture meditations, prayers, and inspiring stories. You'll come away hungry for the sacraments in a way you never knew possible.

In this profoundly insightful and highly readable book, Thomas Nash brilliantly refutes the common charge that the Mass is "unbiblical." As you'll discover in these pages, the story of the Mass goes much deeper than the Last Supper and Christ's Passion. Indeed, it's part of an unbroken story that begins in the Garden of Eden and continues today in your local parish. Working systematically through Scripture, Nash offers an authoritative explanation of salvation history, showing how the Old Testament pre-figures and the New Testament wondrously records Jesus's one self-sacrifice on Calvary which is mysteriously made present at each and every Mass. Nash's meticulous, Scripture-packed analysis relies on hundreds of Bible passages to show that the story of the Mass is inextricably linked with the story of the Bible.

In "The Blessed Eucharist," Father Michael Mueller describes how Christ\'s love for us moved Him to create this most beautiful Sacrament. He explains why Our Lord veils Himself in the appearance of bread - a garment so humble He is little known, little loved even neglected and insulted. Fr. Mueller helps the reader discover what a treasure the Sacrament is, sharing countless compelling accounts of miracles involving the Eucharist, quotations from Scripture and the Saints reflecting the virtues that can be obtained from Communion worthily received and the consequences of an unworthy reception of Our Lord. He instructs the reader on how to best prepare for receiving the Sacrament, and how to properly offer thanksgiving afterwards. "The Blessed Eucharist" awakens a deeper awareness of the incredible gift that God has given us in His Presence in the Eucharist, allowing us to embrace all the wondrous fruits this Sacrament has to offer.

The Holy Eucharist is the Church's center, her most precious treasure, the source and summit of her prayer and worship of God. The Church is built upon and around the Eucharist. In this book, the renowned spiritual writer and Carmelite priest shows how the Eucharist is not only seen as the great Sacrament that brings about our oneness with Christ, and with the faithful, but also how the Eucharist is the foundational norm for all our actions. To become one with the Lord who is sacrificed has necessary consequences. The mystic of the Eucharist leads to a Eucharistic ethic for life. Fr. Stinissen says that the Eucharist is such a rich and many-faceted mystery that a systematic and exhaustive treatment of it does not suffice. Therefore he has chosen to touch on the subject with the help of some key concepts, consider it from different perspectives, and thus continually find new aspects and dimensions of the Eucharist. All the Sacraments are holy, but the Eucharist is called "Sanctissimum Sacramentum". According to St. Thomas Aquinas, all the Sacraments are directed toward this "Most Holy Sacrament" as toward their final purpose. The Church keeps guard over this sacred treasure and does not readily distribute it if she is not sure that others are worthy of it, and receive it with as great a reverence as she does. In this profound work, Fr. Stinissen says that since Christ comes to us in the Eucharist and unites himself with us under the form of broken bread, we must become like him, a sacrificing, serving people. Anyone who wonders how he should act will find the answer in the Eucharist. He is called to become like Jesus, bread that is broken, "for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51).

If you've been wondering how to bring the rich traditions of the Catholic Church's liturgical year into your home and into your family, this is the book for you. If you have no idea what the liturgical calendar is, this still might be the book for you, if you are looking for ways to bring your faith home from Sunday Mass, in every season, all year long.

Catholic blogger and mother of many, Kendra Tierney shares how her family incorporates traditional Catholic practices into today's family life throughout the Church year--from Advent and Christmas, through Lent and Easter, to Pentecost and beyond. She provides ideas for stories, decorations, activities, and foods that will help you to celebrate your Catholic faith with your family and friends without expertise or much advance planning. She also offers tips and tricks from her fifteen years in the Catholic mommy trenches on things like surviving bringing young children to Mass and saying a family Rosary.

Whether you're a convert or a revert, an expert theologian or a brand-new Catholic, a member of a big family or a little one, a stay-at-home or a working parent, you're sure to find ways to make your Catholic faith a memorable and meaningful part of your busy family life. And have fun doing it!

This book provides Catholics who pray before the Real Presence with a new and unique resource to deepen their adoration experience and do so within the Franciscan tradition. Each of 52 reflections for Eucharistic Adoration--one for each week of the year--features four parts that address the spiritual advice of St. Clare to gaze, consider, contemplate, and imitate Christ. Each reflection encourages us to:

Gaze upon Christ, using a quote from a Franciscan source, primarily the letters of Clare of Assisi, but also the writings of St. Francis.

Consider Christ, using a brief reflection that will inspire you to reverence the Real Presence, the Body and Blood of Christ.

Contemplate Christ, by praying a few lines that help you go deeply into the spiritual experience of adoration.

Imitate Christ in your daily life with a challenge to act like Christ after time spent in adoration.

From the bestselling author of The Lamb's Supper comes an illuminating work on the Catholic Eucharist and its link to the Jewish Passover meal.

"Read this book. And don't just read it. Pray about it. Reflect on it. And share it with others."--Brant Pitre, author of The Case for Jesus

In this brilliant book--part memoir, part detective story, and part biblical study--Scott Hahn opens up new vistas on ancient landscapes while shedding light on his own enduring faith journey. The Fourth Cup not only tracks the author's gradual conversion along the path of Evangelicalism to the doorsteps of the Catholic faith, but also explores the often obscure and misunderstood rituals of Passover and their importance in foreshadowing salvation in Jesus Christ.

Revealing the story of his formative years as an often hot-headed student and earnest seeker in search of answers to great biblical mysteries, Hahn shows how his ardent exploration of the Bible's Old Testament turned up intriguing clues connecting the Last Supper and Christ's death on Calvary. As Hahn tells the story of his discovery of the supreme importance of the Passover in God's plan of salvation, we too experience often-overlooked relationships between Abel, Abraham, and the Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt. Along the way, Hahn reveals how the traditional fourth cup of wine used in the concluding celebration of Passover explains in astonishing ways Christ's paschal sacrifice.

Rooted in Scripture and ingrained with lively history, The Fourth Cup delivers a fascinating view of the bridges that span old and new covenants, and celebrates the importance of the Jewish faith in understanding more fully Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

God always has more for usmore of this love, more of his grace, more of his peace. Getting More out of Mass will guide individuals and groups in experiencing God in Mass. Each booklet features five sessions, including a Scripture passage, a short commentary, and questions for discussion and reflection. Suggested prayer exercises for during the week deepen the reader's connection with the Lord and help set the pattern for a regular time of daily prayer and reflection. These books were especially designed for individuals or parish groups that have limited time but are looking for a great impact. They are perfect for any small group or for parents whose children are attending religious education classes. Award-winning author and speaker Mark Hart, editor of the series, introduces each booklet and, in his engaging style, assures us that there really is"something more" that the Lord wants to give us!

Countless graces flow from the use of Holy Water when you understand its role in God's plan of salvation, and how it brings new graces into your life.

In clear, convincing language, Father Theiler lays out for Christians countless surprising, but long-forgotten truths about Holy Water, and explains the interior acts and dispositions that are necessary for this blessed gift of God to have the sanctifying effect our Lord intends for you.

Read these pages attentively; consider them thoughtfully; incorporate their truths and suggestions into your daily spiritual life. In these pages, you'll also learn: The time that God Himself commanded the use of Holy Water (Do you know where the Bible tells this story?) Why God chose water as the means to impart so many blessings even before He created man and woman! What you should and should not expect from the graces conferred by Holy Water

In today's society couched in secularism, relativism, and general moral decline, many people may have lost a sense of sin and are struggling to embrace the importance of spiritual healing. Thankfully God always welcomes us back to experience God's merciful and healing love.

In an uplifting and deeply spiritual presentation, retired priest William Kremmell underscores a basic truth of Christian faith: that our God is a God of unconditional, all-embracing love and forgiveness for all people, revealed in Jesus. Throughout his study, Father Kremmell examines why God's love is everlasting, why we are all sinners, the major reasons why Catholics do not approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the reasons why they should return to this grace-filled experience-all while helping believers find a healthy sense of sin, a new appreciation of the God who is love, and a better understanding of the Sacrament as a sign of God's merciful presence and life-giving power in our lives.

It's All about God's Love is a retired priest's exploration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and why it needs to be renewed and restored as an integral element of the spiritual journey of today's Catholic.