Bishop Fulton Sheen

Fulton Sheen was unparalleled in his ability to combine theology, devotion, and the profoundest meditations on the central events of the Christian narrative. His writing is a message of inspiration to all: to those wavering in their beliefs he brings comfort and strength; to others he affirms the knowledge that true faith is the most powerful weapon in the world today, ever-ready to meet the challenges of modern life.

Why is it, asks Bishop Fulton Sheen, that one hears so often the expression Go to hell! and almost never the expression "Go to heaven!" Here, at his most penetrating, challenging, and illuminating best is Bishop Sheen with his answer, in a book that breathes new meaning into the truths about heaven and hell, and new life into the concepts of faith, tolerance, love, prayer, suffering, and death.

Beginning with "The First Faint Summons to Heaven," Sheen shows how unpopular it is today to be a true Christian, and describes the struggle for living our faith amid the disorders of our times. Keenly aware of evil in the myriad forms it takes in today's world, Bishop Sheen writes about the constant battle man faces with the "seven pallbearers of character" - pride, avarice, envy, lust, anger, gluttony and sloth - linking them with the corrosive forces that never cease in their attacks on the Church and those who earnestly desire to be serious Christians.

In Go to Heaven, a great spiritual teacher and writer, deeply aware of the human and spiritual conflicts being waged in the world, shows us the way to heaven in a most eloquent book, encouraging the reader to choose heaven now, and to understand the "reality of hell."

In modernity, the word love is one of the most commonly misused and abused in our language. Devoid of order, misconceptions about love run rampant, steeped as we are in narcissism, secular humanism, relativism, and hedonism. Separated from God, society tragically propagates a notion of love that is, in truth, the antithesis of authentic love.

Now more than ever we need Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's wisdom, wit, and logic to refute these errors. In our sightless, irrational, and deeply polarized world, his prescient words elucidate the most divisive issues of our time. Mindful that we are all children of God, Archbishop Sheen decries anti-Semitism, racism, and sexism. He also explains what real tolerance means and why anti-hate campaigns don't work.

The Greatest Commandment is a timely reprint of Archbishop Sheen's two seminal books Love One Another and God Love You. This anthology of his bestselling reflections also contains quotes and prayers that he compiled to foster ecumenism and societal unity. Drawing on Sacred Scripture, the writings of the saints, and philosophy, Archbishop Sheen explains:

A treasure to contemplate, The Greatest Commandment expounds upon our deep-seated need to love God and implore His mercy by developing a personal relationship with Him through Sacred Scripture and the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Confession. God's loving quest for our souls in turn impels us to love our neighbor. Love is a decision and requires sacrifice; it is the total gift of self for another. Our witness aids the disillusioned in finding their way to God. By cooperating with God's Love, we will bring about the restoration of the world.

Bishop Sheen's writings, tapes and videos are as popular today as when he was alive. His timeless insights offered in this book give wise, personal and inspiring guidance on the problems affecting our lives in today's world. His talks cover an amazing variety of subjects, from the character of the Irish to the handling of teen-agers. He discusses education, Christianity, relativity, and world affairs. He speaks about love, conscience, fear, motherhood, work. He tells amusing anecdotes, recites poetry, and ponders the fate of the free world as well as America's destiny.

Among his many best-selling books, none has greater universal appeal than Life Is Worth Living. It offers a stirring and challenging statement of Bishop Sheen's whole philosophy of life and living. It is a book for everyone - of immediate concern to all people seeking understanding, belief, and purpose in these troubled times.

Widely proclaimed a classic work of Christian faith, Life of Christ has been hailed as the most eloquent of Fulton J. Sheen's many books. The fruit of many years of reflection, prayer, and research, it is a dramatic and moving recounting of the birth, life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, and a passionate portrait of the God-Man, the teacher, the healer, and, most of all, the Savior, whose promise has sustained humanity for two millenia.

With his customary insight and reverence, Sheen interprets the Scripture and describes Christ not only in historical perspective but also in exciting and contemporary terms -- seeing in Christ's life both modern parallels and timeless lessons. His thoughtful, probing analysis provides new insight into well-known Gospel events.

An appealing blend of philosophy, history, and biblical exegesis, from the best-known and most-loved American Catholic leader of the twentieth century, Life of Christ has long been a source of inspiration and guidance. For those seeking to better understand the message of Jesus Christ, this vivid retelling of the greatest story ever lived is a must-read.

Over the course of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's storied career, thousands approached him with a simple request: "Teach us to pray." Now, for the first time ever, his wise teachings on prayer have been collected into a single volume to help you perfect your prayers and make them what they must become: a daily, holy habit.

First come Bishop Sheen's insightful reflections on the Our Father and its indispensable connection to the Seven Last Words of Christ. Then Bishop Sheen unveils smoldering, oft-overlooked riches in other everyday Catholic prayers, transforming them from rote recitations into powerful moments of communion with God.

With his help, you'll then journey through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, learning how to bring peace to your soul and grow more receptive to God's grace. You'll also discover how to make your Holy Hours more efficacious and master a variety of other techniques that Bishop Sheen employed in his own fruitful quest for holiness. Best of all, you'll immerse yourself in an incomparable collection of Fulton Sheen's reflections on the Mass, meditations for Holy Hours, and dozens of prayers he recommends for most occasions in the Christian life.

Prayer, meditation, Holy Hours, the Mass, and even a bit of philosophy: it's all here in this delightful anthology of the works of the saintly archbishop Fulton J. Sheen!

Here are Bishop Sheen's thoughts on such subjects as the relationship between God and man, the quest for holiness, the pain of the human condition.

Here are the fruits of lifelong meditation jon love, reason, the family, charity, freedom, education -- in short, upon the world as we live in it.

Here is practical advice on how to deal with sex, with egotism, even with the atomic bomb.

Here, above all, is the luminescence of belief in and commitment to humanity in all its many manifestations.

Sheen brilliantly examines the vast differences between the benefits of psychotherapy and true confession that leads to conversion. While one may help the patient gain some peace of mind, the Christian gains something far greater through the grace of Confession: peace of soul.

"Sheen has...analyze[d] the inner troubles of frustrated post-war man...to make religion up-to-date, attractive, and necessary to the unhappy, God-repelling souls of the present." (Library Journal)

Paperback

Amidst the backdrop of World War II, the great Fulton Sheen wrote Preface to Religion, his first book published after the war ended. As the world was recovering from death, destruction, and despair, Sheen's timely work tackles the most salient questions pertaining to happiness and sanity. With simplicity and frankness, Sheen declares, "If you do not worship God, you worship something, and nine times out of ten it will be yourself. If there is no God, then you are a god." Throughout this work, Sheen addresses the perennial subjects of fallen nature, forgiveness, the four last things, how God remakes us, the role of religion in the process, and the gift of second chances.

Contrary to the modern world, God does not give us what "we want for our pleasure" but "what we need for our perfection." Preface to Religion reminds us of education's primary purpose, which is to train the mind to use freedom rightly. God chose to make a moral universe, but morality is impossible without freedom. And therefore, the reader will see that the body must always serve the soul.

Finally, Sheen writes on faith, that "the modern man who is not living according to his conscience wants a religion without a Cross, a Christ without a Calvary, a Kingdom without Justice," and a pastor "who never mentions hell to ears polite." For anyone seeking to find true happiness and true freedom, Preface to Religion will be your guide.

Amid the pervasive cultural upheaval and moral uncertainty of the mid-twentieth century, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen emerged as a prophet of hope, always giving people a reason to believe that life is worth living. For decades, "America's bishop" wrote, taught, and preached about the major questions and issues that were shaping American culture.

Prophet of Hope places Sheen in dialogue with eight of the leading thinkers of his day -- John Dewey, H. L. Mencken, Henry Luce, Margaret Mead, B. F. Skinner, Jack Kerouac, Betty Friedan, and Michael Harrington -- showing how he confronted the key philosophical, psychological, economic, and societal issues facing the world in his time. Drawing on his radio broadcasts, television show, and writings, this book presents Sheen grappling with the influences that shaped modern culture, including atheism, isolation, cynicism, anxiety, and despair. His prophetic voice of hope still resonates today.

Nearly a century after he entered the public sphere, Sheen continues to offer sound guidance for living our Catholic Faith, showing us how to respond with charity, truth, and hope to the modern world.

He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1952, eclipsing TV giants Lucille Ball, Edward R. Murrow, Frank Sinatra, and Milton Berle. Twenty million viewers would tune in to his groundbreaking TV series, Life Is Worth Living. Billy Graham called him "the great communicator." Yet, behind the celebrity and eloquence, Venerable Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) was, above all, a priest--tirelessly pursuing souls for Christ.

As his cause for canonization advances, his voice continues to resound around the world through his seventy-three bestselling books, twenty years' worth of television and radio programs, and scores of articles and columns, which continue to produce countless conversions to the Faith.

In these pages, you'll encounter gripping stories of Sheen's uncanny ability to read hearts, win back the wandering, and draw even non-Catholics to Christ, sometimes through a single conversation. His life reveals a priest who never compromised the truth yet spoke it with a tenderness that disarmed sinners and restored the lost.

Through the wisdom and witness of Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, you'll discover practical ways to grow in holiness and strengthen your walk with Christ. Moreover, you'll gain new insights, enthusiasm, and understanding of your Catholic Faith.

Fr. Charles P. Connor distills Sheen's sanctity into ten powerful lessons that provide a road map to deeper faith, richer prayer, and a more courageous Catholic life. You will learn how to:

Sheen's prolific life was a battle cry against indifference, Communism, and compromise--always urging souls back to the Father's Heart. His devotion to the Eucharist, his love for Mary, and his heroic clarity in preaching the gospel continue to inspire millions.

Archbishop Sheen was more than a communicator. He was a shepherd who refused to rest until he had led one more soul to Christ.

n the face of a world crisis, which is manifestly deeper than one can imagine, many are inclined to ask: "Has Christianity failed?" Fulton Sheen's Thinking Life Through seeks to answer this critical question. The conclusions the author proposes are far-reaching and touch upon subjects as diverse as the truth and meaning of human sexuality, the purpose of life, discordant marriages, angels, alcoholism, the vocation of the soldier, materialism, parenting, and even the question of spanking children.

On the critical subject of freedom, Sheen writes, "The true definition of freedom is the right to do whatever one ought, and oughtness implies law, goals, purposes, and perfection. Freedom is a moral power and not a physical one. It revolves around what man is rather than what man does. We are more free within the law than outside of it."

Thinking Life Through also addresses the world's political climate, something that in many ways mirrors the present political discourse. Focusing on the tragic decline of post-Christian society, Sheen gives special attention to both the threat of communism and the dangers of socialism. Sheen also gives clarity to the role of the individual and the family while living in a time of moral and political uncertainty. Finally, Sheen addresses good manners and politeness as he states in his quintessential style, "Another effect of materialism is to be seen in the decline of courtesy. There is politeness and decorum and a desire to please others when it is generally recognized that every person bears within himself an image of the Divine." For anyone seeking to grow in wisdom, Thinking Life Through will be your guide.

Fulton Sheen shows you how to win a lasting victory over vice.

Fulton Sheen claims that since all seven deadly sins led Christ's enemies to nail Him to the Cross, we can find in the example of His suffering and death sure means to overcome each of those sins, plus the key to understanding -- and to nurturing in our own soul -- each corresponding virtue.

So, for example, in these pages filled with wisdom and hope, Blessed Sheen teaches us not only how to conquer our gluttony; he shows us how to satisfy our spiritual hunger. We learn not merely how to overcome pride; we discover what we must do to grow humble. From Christ's holy response to each of the seven deadly sins that led to His Crucifixion, Blessed Sheen draws a lesson in how you and I must deal with those same sins, whether we meet them in others or in ourselves.

Day after day, Christians struggle to do good, to avoid evil, and to take up with patience and love the crosses that threaten to crush them. For those of us who still know more of sin than sanctity, Fulton Sheen's revelation of the light that vice sheds on virtue affords a way to understand even better, and a means to attain it. If you abide by the holy counsel of these pages, enduring virtue will soon be yours: you will have achieved your own long-sought-after victory over vice.