Thinking Catholic


Book Description

Archbishop Pilarczyk offers a series of thoughtful, pastoral, and heartfelt reflections on all aspects of our lives in the world, seen through the eyes of one deeply faithful to the tradition and teachings of the Church. He seeks to "help people to savor and appreciate and nourish the gift of thinking Catholic".




Counsels of Imperfection


Book Description

For more than a century, the teaching authority of the Catholic Church has attempted to walk along with the modern world, criticizing what is bad and praising what is good. Counsels of Imperfection described the current state of that fairly bumpy journey. The book is divided into 11 chapters. First comes an introduction to ever-changing modernity and the unchanging Christian understanding of human nature and society. Then come two chapters on economics, including a careful delineation of the Catholic response, past and present, to socialism and capitalism. The next topic is government, with one chapter on Church and State, another on War, and a third that runs quickly through democracy, human rights, the welfare state, crimes and punishments (including the death penalty), anti-Semitism, and migration. Counsels of Imperfection then dedicates two chapters on ecology, including an enthusiastic analysis of Francis’s “technocratic paradigm”. The last topic is the family teaching, which presents the social aspects of the Church’s sexual teaching. A brief concluding chapter looks at the teaching’s changing response to the modern world, and at the ambiguous Catholic appreciation of the modern idea of progress. For each topic, Counsels of Imperfection provides biblical, historical and a broad philosophical background. Thomas Aquinas appears often, but so does G. W. F Hegel. The goal is not only to explain what the Church really says, but also how it got to its current position and who it is arguing with. In the spirit of a doctrine that is always in development, Counsels of Imperfection points out both strong-points and imperfections in the teaching. The book should be of interest to specialists in Catholic Social Teaching, but its main audience is curious newcomers, especially people who do not want to be told that there are simple Catholic answers to the complicated problems of the modern world.




Being Catholic


Book Description

This book is…an act of witnessing, a testimony to the generosity of God that Catholics experience in accepting and living out the gift of faith that Christ has bestowed on them.—from the Introduction A bishop is not only a spiritual shepherd but a teacher. In Being Catholic Archbishop Pilarczyk teaches in clear, concise language the basic beliefs and practices of Catholics and what shapes a Catholic's thinking. The book discusses: HOW WE BELIEVE: Believing Catholic is a matter of knowing, understanding and responding to a story-the true story of God's love for us. It offers "the fundamentals that have to be there if thinking and practicing Catholic are going to have any appeal or make any sense." HOW WE PRACTICE: Reflections on the behaviors that express our faith and our membership in the Church, such as going to Mass, receiving the sacraments and raising children Catholic. By being a practicing Catholic, we strengthen our behaviors so we can proclaim them to others. HOW WE THINK: A series of thoughtful, pastoral and heartfelt reflections on all aspects of our lives in the world, seen through the eyes of one deeply faithful to the tradition and teachings of the church. Topics for "Thinking Catholic" include respect for life, spiritual maturity and a universal Church.




The Catholic Thing


Book Description

The Catholic "thing" - the concrete historical reality of Catholicism as a presence in human history - is the richest cultural tradition in the world. It values both faith and reason, and therefore has a great deal to say about politics and economics, war and peace, manners and morals, children and families, careers and vocations, and many other perennial and contemporary questions. In addition, it has inspired some of the greatest art, music, and architecture, while offering unparalleled human solidarity to tens of millions through hospitals, soup kitchens, schools, universities, and relief services. This volume brings together some of the very best commentary on a wide range of recent events and controversies by some of the very best Catholic writers in the English language: Ralph McInerny, Michael Novak, Fr. James V. Schall, Hadley Arkes, Robert Royal, Anthony Esolen, Brad Miner, George Marlin, David Warren, Austin Ruse, Francis Beckwith, and many others. Their contributions cover large Catholic subjects such as philosophy and theology, liturgy and Church dogma, postmodern culture, the Church and modern politics, literature, and music. But they also look into specific contemporary problems such as religious liberty, the role of Catholic officials in public life, growing moral hazards in bio-medical advances, and such like. The Catholic Thing is a virtual encyclopedia of Catholic thought about modern life.




Catholic Social Thought


Book Description

This classic compendium of church teaching offers the most complete access to more than 100 years of official statements of the Catholic Church on social issues.




Why I Am Catholic (and You Should Be Too)


Book Description

Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Popular Presentation of the Catholic Faith. (First Place). With atheism on the rise and millions tossing off religion, why would anyone consider the Catholic Church? Brandon Vogt, a bestselling author and the content director for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, shares his passionate search for truth, a journey that culminated in the realization that Catholicism was right about a lot of things, maybe even everything. His persuasive case for the faith reveals a vision of Catholicism that has answers our world desperately needs and reminds those already in the Church what they love about it. A 2016 study by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 25 percent of adults (39 percent of young adults) describe themselves as unaffiliated with any religion. Millions of these so-called “nones” have fled organized religion and many more have rejected God altogether. Brandon Vogt was one of those nones. When he converted to Catholicism in college, he knew how confusing that decision was to many of his friends and family. But he also knew that the evidence he discovered pointed to one conclusion: Catholicism is true. To his delight, he discovered it was also exceedingly good and beautiful. Why I Am Catholic traces Vogt’s spiritual journey, making a refreshing, twenty-first century case for the faith and answering questions being asked by agnostics, nones, and atheists, the audience for his popular website, StrangeNotions.com, where Catholics and atheists dialogue. With references to Catholic thinkers such as G. K. Chesterton, Ven. Fulton Sheen, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Bishop Robert Barron, Vogt draws together lines of evidence to help seekers discover why they should be Catholic as an alternative. Why I Am Catholic serves as a compelling reproposal of the Church for former Catholics, a persuasive argument for truth and beauty to those who have become jaded and disenchanted with religion, and at the same time offers practicing Catholics a much-needed dose of confidence and clarity to affirm their faith against an increasingly skeptical culture.




The Gospel of Happiness


Book Description

What is true happiness? How can you experience it? And can you live it wholeheartedly in your day-to-day life? Every thoughtful person asks such questions. Thoughtful Christians ask a few more questions such as, Can Christian practices enhance happiness? If so, how? And does Christianity provide happiness in a way that other paths, like psychology, cannot? Christopher Kaczor suggests answers to these and other questions about how to be happier. In The Gospel of Happiness, the bestselling author of The Seven Big Myths of the Catholic Church highlights seven ways in which positive psychology and Christian practice can lead to personal and spiritual transformation. Focusing on empirical findings in positive psychology that point to the wisdom of many Christian practices and teachings, the author provides not only practical suggestions on how to become happier in everyday life but provides insight on how to deepen Christian practice and increase love of God and neighbor in new and bold ways. “Part of the Christian message is that authentic happiness is to be found not in selfishness, but self-giving,” writes Dr. Kaczor. “In this book, I highlight the many ways in which positive psychology and Christian practice overlap. All of this points us toward deeper fulfillment in this life, and in the life to come.”




American Catholic


Book Description

American Catholic places the rise of the United States' political conservatism in the context of ferment within the Roman Catholic Church. How did Roman Catholics shift from being perceived as un-American to emerging as the most vocal defenders of the United States as the standard bearer in world history for political liberty and economic prosperity? D. G. Hart charts the development of the complex relationship between Roman Catholicism and American conservatism, and shows how these two seemingly antagonistic ideological groups became intertwined in advancing a certain brand of domestic and international politics. Contrary to the standard narrative, Roman Catholics were some of the most assertive political conservatives directly after World War II, and their brand of politics became one of the most influential means by which Roman Catholicism came to terms with American secular society. It did so precisely as bishops determined the church needed to update its teaching about its place in the modern world. Catholics grappled with political conservatism long before the supposed rightward turn at the time of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Hart follows the course of political conservatism from John F. Kennedy, the first and only Roman Catholic president of the United States, to George W. Bush, and describes the evolution of the church and its influence on American politics. By tracing the roots of Roman Catholic politicism in American culture, Hart argues that Roman Catholicism's adaptation to the modern world, whether in the United States or worldwide, was as remarkable as its achievement remains uncertain. In the case of Roman Catholicism, the effects of religion on American politics and political conservatism are indisputable.




Talking with Catholic Friends and Family


Book Description

Capturing the heartbeat of the Roman Catholic way of life, "Talking with Catholic Friends and Family" provides an insightful glimpse into the way Catholics think about God, the church, getting to heaven, and the practice of their religion.