NEW TITLES

If you’re looking for a great love story, for an adventure that pits a noble fighter against the darkest of villains and wins through to a mighty victory, then look no further than The Christian Cosmic Narrative: The Deep History of the World. Written in a way that captivates the imagination, come inside this book and discover the greatest story ever told from the pages of the Bible. Foreword by Fr. John Riccardo.

For fans of the sport, professional baseball is like a religious experience because it offers mystery — the visible with the invisible. Blazing speeds, graceful fielding, and blistering hitting occur amidst ever-changing strategies, signs, substitutions, and situations. One pitch builds on another, one out on another, one inning on another, and one game on another.

Watching players perform with wit, skill, and courage at the highest level satisfies the yearning of our hearts and minds to witness nobility in action. That’s why we can “religiously” follow the sport. It speaks to our soul.

In The Doubleday Code, author Jim Pieczynski draws parallels between the sport we love — baseball — and the faith we embrace — Catholicism. Each chapter also provides prompts for prayer and personal reflection and can be used as a study guide for retreats.

Fans who appreciate baseball are students of the game. They understand the deeper mysteries and are rewarded immensely. So, too, are committed Catholics who understand the teachings of the Faith and seek not an earthly Hall of Fame, but a heavenly one.

About the Author

Jim Pieczynski is a Catholic speaker who offers presentations on the Eucharist, Mary, and the Catholic mysteries hidden in Major League Baseball. Jim and his wife, Mary, live in Fairhope, Alabama. They have five children and eleven grandchildren.

His friends called him an explosion of joy. Mountain climbing, music, practical jokes and political debates were among his many passions. With film star looks, common sense intelligence, and amazing athleticism, Pier Giorgio Frassati had every reason to pursue worldly success. He chose to focus on higher goals instead.

Identified as “The Man of the Eight Beatitudes” and recognized as one of the most fascinating and relatable saintly examples of the 20th century, he was devoted to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother and led a mostly hidden life of charity that ultimately cost him his life at the age of twenty-four. When his body was exhumed in 1981, it was found to be perfectly incorrupt. He was beatified in 1990. All three popes since then have commended this dynamic young Italian’s life to the Church―and especially to younger Catholics.

Author Christine Wohar, a noted expert on Frassati, has created this practical guide to Pier Giorgio’s short but spirited life. Writing in a simple, accessible style, she presents 40 reflections on aspects of his personal life and spirituality. Prayers and concrete action steps are included to help you make this future saint’s habits and methods your own.

Grace is one of the most enigmatic concepts of our Faith. Yet it is uniquely and wonderfully woven into all that we do and believe as Catholics. In these pages, Fr. Brian Mullady provides one of the clearest and most luminous explanations of grace ever written, employing the same “everyday Catholic” language that has made him so popular as an EWTN guest and retreat master.

God created Adam and Even to walk and talk in intimacy with Him in the garden. Our highest calling is to return to that state of perfect holiness, which we can achieve only by relying on God’s sanctifying grace.

Perfect holiness is not only possible but essential if we wish to achieve eternal life. That’s why Fr. Mullady has written this accessible and practical guide ― to help you understand how grace is working in your life presently and to teach you how to seize all the unclaimed graces God is offering you throughout each day.

You’ll learn how the action of the Holy Spirit comes from within the very character of your being and how to improve your openness to each of the three types of grace. You’ll explore the time-tested methods for practicing the three counsels of perfection and how to employ remedies against the three great weaknesses of our nature.

You’ll also learn:

How grace perfects ― and does not destroy nature

Precisely what you must do to make yourself more open to grace

The three types of grace and how to magnify them

Why God uses mediators of grace even though He is the source of grace

Why God expanded the Israelites’ knowledge of right and wrong (and thus their culpability) but did not communicate grace to them

Two theological errors that most people of good will mistakenly believe

The three states of nature on which even the workings of God depend

How grace operates in our daily lives to bring us closer to each person of the Trinity

Intimacy with God is man’s highest calling. We can achieve it by relying on God’s sanctifying grace, which gives us the fullness of life and makes us holy. Accessing the graces we’ve been overlooking is how we discover what it means to be truly human, for, though we all possess natural life, it is only through grace that man is fully alive.

How often have you heard the Gospel at Sunday Mass and wondered, "What happens next?" Often, our only experience of the Gospels is of those isolated segments taken out of context, like unassembled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, rather than the story of our Savior's life.

The Life of Jesus Christ: Understanding the Story of the Gospels aims to change that experience. Author Russell Shaw weaves together the events of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John's narratives in chronological order to capture a true and rounded picture of Jesus’ life.

The Life of Jesus Christ is the scriptural companion you've been searching for. Together, the four Gospels reveal Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, as a man of complexity and depth — compassionate but stern, who knew how to laugh and how to cry, a charismatic leader uninterested in worldly power, a subtle thinker who drew sublime messages from ordinary life. With Shaw guiding you, you'll truly get to know the Son of God in a new way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Russell Shaw is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty books. For eighteen years, he was secretary for public affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference. He later oversaw media relations for the Knights of Columbus for ten years.