LENT AND EASTER

"It's not too late."

If you've ever reached the final stretch of Lent feeling weary, distracted, or spiritually flat, this book is for you.

In 9 Days to Easter Joy, Fr. Rich Conlin invites you on a deeply personal journey through Holy Week and the Easter Octave -- leading you from discouragement and darkness to the radiant joy and transformative love of the Resurrection. This book is for anyone longing to be fought for, rescued, forgiven, and filled with joy -- to know personally that the Risen Lord is still moving powerfully in your life.

In the nine days leading up to Easter, you'll encounter Jesus in a new way each day: as the Warrior who fights for you, the King who reigns in love, the Servant who washes your feet -- and so much more.

But the journey doesn't end there.

Most devotionals end on Easter Sunday -- but this one continues. It walks with you for eight more days, through the full Easter Octave, so you won't just arrive at Easter: You will learn to truly live it -- with resurrection power and radiant joy.

Each day includes a short, heartfelt meditation rooted in Scripture and the Church's liturgy, a simple invitation to act, and a concluding prayer for Easter joy.

This isn't just a devotional.

It's an encounter with the living Christ, who fights for you personally, declares that you are worth rescuing, invites you into a joy you cannot manufacture, and sends you to carry that joy into a world that thinks He's still dead.

Why read 9 Days to Easter Joy? Because Easter is more than just a special day highlighted on your calendar -- it's the unstoppable life of Christ now blazing through your own.

Ashes: Visible and Invisible is a collection of short stories by ten Catholic Teen Books authors.

Finishing the Journey: When Liz's faith journey hits a roadblock, will an unexpected detour and chance encounter set her back on track?

Follow Me: A teen's future was all set-before his tragic loss. But his best friend's secret past just might save it.

Take Up Your Cross: Justin's religion is outlawed. When an unbeliever asks him about the meaning of life, what can he say?

A Big Ask: Could God be asking Paul to sacrifice a piece of himself for Lent-literally?

Lent Royal & Ancient: A modern American teen discovers what faith, life and love are like in seventeenth-century Scotland.

No Greater Love: Teenager Lexie Dugan struggles to understand the sacrifice of Lent when she's asked to help take care of her siblings while her pregnant mother is on bed rest.

A Very Jurassic Lent: When a risky Ash Wednesday mission to sterilize T. rex eggs goes wrong, fasting is the least of Joshua, Darryl, and Harry's worries.

Lucy and the Forsaken Path: A medieval girl stranded on a forsaken path confronts threats from without and turmoil from within.

Bread Alone: Struggling with loss, hunger, and temptation, Ethan finds himself walking in the steps of Jesus.

Prepare the Way: Asher's desire to prepare for the Messiah intensifies after he's robbed by bandits, but would fighting alongside the Zealots be the best way?

The theme of bitterness runs through the Bible as a sour reminder of sin's presence in our world--yet it's because of this bitterness that Jesus' grace is so sweet and satisfying. As we learn to turn from our vices and crave real beauty, goodness, and truth through the pursuit of virtues, we grow nearer to God and become more like who He made us to be.

From Tsh Oxenreider, bestselling author of Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent, arrives a devotional to help you meditate and rejoice in the transcendent miracle of Easter. You will...

In this third book in the Old and New series, author Maura Roan McKeegan recounts how all the world spoke one language--until the people of Shinar became too proud, and the Lord came down from heaven and confused their words. What can undo the chaos? And how will Pentecost help God's children understand one another again? Building the Way to Heaven helps young readers to see God's plan of salvation unfold within the stories of the Tower of Babel and Pentecost.

See biblical typology--the Old Testament people, symbols, and events that foreshadow the New Testament--come to life in Building the Way to Heaven. Recommended for ages 7 and up.

About the Author
Maura Roan McKeegan grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and now lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with her husband Shaun and their four children. Her articles have appeared in publications such as Franciscan Way, Guideposts, Lay Witness, and My Daily Visitor. She is the author of the award-winning Old and New Series.

About the Illustrator
Ted Schluenderfritz is the illustrator of several books including A Life of Our Lord for Children, The Book of Angels, and Darby O'Gill and the Good People. He is a freelance graphic designer and the art director for Catholic Digest and Gilbert Magazine. He lives in Littleton, Colorado with his wife Rachel and their six children. You can view more of his work at www.5sparrows.com.

About the Series

What do the Old and New Testaments have in common? To answer this question, Maura Roan McKeegan presents biblical typology for children. Taking familiar stories from the Old and New Testaments and placing them side by side, children can easily understand at an early age what St. Augustine meant when he said that "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New."

In this Lenten devotional, let Padre Pio guide you through the profound mysteries of the faith, sharing his unique "way of the Cross" as a spiritual father, warrior, and beloved son of God.

Susan De Bartoli, author of the bestselling Advent devotional Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio, invites you on a transformative Lenten journey with her new book, Carry the Cross with Padre Pio. Through carefully selected excerpts from Pio's letters, you will follow in the footsteps of this holy Capuchin monk who spent fifty years carrying his cross and mirroring Christ's Passion.

Journey from the dust of Ash Wednesday to the glories of Easter, witnessing both the sufferings Pio endured and the graces he received. Discover how he embraced each day as a "little Lent," drawing closer to holiness by uniting his sufferings and sacrifices with Christ.

Through the six weeks of Lent, you will accompany Pio through the significant spiritual moments of his life, including these:

Each week begins with a Marian-themed reflection followed by four days that explore aspects of Pio's supernatural gifts and challenges. Each week concludes with a story about his encounter with a consoling angel.

Before you begin your Lenten journey with Padre Pio, De Bartoli encourages you to consider what cross the Lord is asking you to carry for love of him as you journey toward Easter. Without suffering, there can be no healing, no redemption. Take a moment now to thank the Lord for the journey of love ahead as we walk together toward the glories of Easter.

This inspiring book by one of Christianity's most prolific authors brings to life many of those who played important roles in the "Eternal Drama of the Cross." This "journey" to Calvary dramatically introduces the reader to a deep and personal knowledge of faith.

96-page paperback - 5-1/8 x 7-3/8

This classic work from the pen of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen brings together Christ's Sermon on the Mount with his Seven Last Words. From the Mount of the Beatitudes to the Hill of Calvary, Our Lord's public ministry and statements centered on the themes of love and forgiveness, which are explored here with Archbishop Sheen's characteristic insight and passion.

We retrace Our Lord's final steps in praying the Stations of the Cross. But this prayer is more than a casual recollection. Through the stations, we can experience a tremendous and intimate union with him.

The Stations of the Cross help us to better understand the Eucharistic mystery. Given for You reflects on Jesus' passion and death and points us back to the present reality of the Eucharist, where we encounter his self-gift in a close, personal way. In praying these stations, may we come to love Jesus more and run to him, truly present in the sacrament of his body and blood.

In this simple but profound book, Father Stinissen distinguishes three degrees or stages in abandonment. The first stage consists of accepting and assenting to God's will as it manifests itself in all circumstances of life. The second is actively doing God's will at every moment of one's life. In the third stage, abandonment to God is so complete that one has become a tool in God's hands. At this stage it is no longer I who do God's will, but God who accomplishes his will through me.

"This book is . . . my personal search 'for the face of the Lord.'"--Benedict XVI

In this bold, momentous work, the Pope seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from today's "popular" depictions and to restore his true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope incites us to encounter Jesus face to face.

From Jesus of Nazareth ". . . the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: But what has Jesus really brought, then, if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who once gradually unveiled his countenance first to Abraham, then to Moses and the prophets, and then in the wisdom literature--the God who showed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love."

Timeless words from the pen of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen inspire the heart and imagination as readers embark on a Lenten journey toward a better understanding of their spiritual selves. Covering the traditional themes of Lent--sin and salvation, death and Resurrection, sorrow and hope, ashes and lilies--these 50 passages and accompanying mini-prayers offer readers a practical spiritual program as a retreat from the cares and concerns of a secular world view.

Paperback

Each daily reflection--from Ash Wednesday through the Second Sunday of Easter--begins with thoughts from Father Nouwen on an appropriate theme, supported by Scripture, prayer, and a suggested activity for spiritual growth.

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Paperback