The Seeker's Guide to Being Catholic


Book Description

Recognizing that being Catholic today means being a pilgrim--a person with questions, doubts, and insecurities--award-winning author Mitch Finley invites readers to explore with him the riches of the Catholic tradition.




The Seeker's Catechism


Book Description

Do you want to learn more about Catholicism? Are you returning to the faith after a long absence? Do you want to know what role the Catholic faith plays in your life? The Seeker’s Catechism answers your questions in an easy-to-read Q&A format to help you feel more at home with what the Church believes and practices. This updated edition of The Seeker’s Catechism by veteran teacher Michael Pennock offers concise answers to questions about the riches of Catholic faith based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You will learn about what the Church teaches about the sacraments, annulment, the purpose of prayer, the Virgin Mary, salvation, the Paschal Mystery, and much more. New features include: questions for personal reflection at the end of each chapter; thought-provoking quotations by saints such as St. John Damascene, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Ambrose, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Birgitta of Sweden, and St. Bernadette; numbered and indexed questions for easy reference; and an appendix offers information about how to become a Catholic. This book is perfect for adults or teens interested in becoming Catholic through RCIA, those preparing for Confirmation, former Catholics returning to the Church, or anyone wanting to begin a closer examination of the faith. It makes an ideal gift for seekers as they begin to explore or enhance their understanding of Catholicism and deepen their relationships with God.




The Seeker's Guide to Saints


Book Description

Who were the saints and what is it about them that causes people all over the world to remember them? What were their stories, motivations, passions--and shortcomings? This informative, delightful, inspiring book reveals the truth behind the misconceptions and the mystique in a survey of saints throughout the history of the Church. The stories included here emphasize that, although the saints were often flawed and quirky individuals, what made them saintly above all else was their dedication to faith. They had a "passionate, extraordinary, pull-out-all-the-stops devotion," writes award-winning Catholic author Mitch Finley, and a desire for truth that is not unlike our own.




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.




How to Go from Being a Good Evangelical to a Committed Catholic in Ninety-Five Difficult Steps


Book Description

American evangelicalism has recently experienced a new openness to Roman Catholicism, and many evangelicals, both famous and ordinary, have joined the Catholic Church or are considering the possibility. This book helps evangelicals who are exploring Catholicism to sort out the kind of concerns that typically come up in discerning whether to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In simple language, it explains many theological misunderstandings that evangelicals often have about Catholicism and suggests the kind of practical steps many take to enter the Catholic Church. The book frames evangelicals becoming Roman Catholic as a kind of "paradigm shift" involving the buildup of anomalies about evangelicalism, a crisis of the evangelical paradigm, a paradigm revolution, and the consolidation of the new Catholic paradigm. It will be useful for both evangelicals interested in pursuing and understanding Catholicism and Catholic pastoral workers seeking to help evangelical seekers who come to them.




Celebrating Good Liturgy


Book Description

These artilces, derived from a popular series in "America" magazine, show how the Church's central act of worship can be a richer experience for everyone. They offer a wealth of practical advice to deepen Catholics' appreciation of the Mass. (Catholic)




The Seeker's Guide


Book Description

In 1977, Elizabeth Lesser cofounded the Omega Institute, now America's largest adult-education center focusing on wellness and spirituality. Working with many of the eminent thinkers of our times, including Zen masters, rabbis, Christian monks, psychologists, scientists, and an array of noted American figures--from L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson to author Maya Angelou--Lesser found that by combining a variety of religious, psychological, and healing traditions, each of us has the unique ability to satisfy our spiritual hunger. In The Seeker's Guid, she synthesizes the lessons learned from an immersion into the world's wisdom traditions and intertwines them with illuminating stories from her daily life. Recounting her own trials and errors and offering meditative exercises, she shows the reader how to create a personal practice, gauge one's progress, and choose effective spiritual teachers and habits. Warm, accessible, and wise, this book provides directions through the four landscapes of the spiritual journey: THE MIND: learning meditation to ease stress and anxiety THE HEART: dealing with grief, loss, and pain; opening the heart and becoming fully alive THE BODY: returning the body to the spiritual fold to heal and overcome the fear of aging and death THE SOUL: experiencing daily life as an adventure of meaning and mystery




Saint Hildegard


Book Description

Saint Hildegard: Ancient Insights for Modern Seekers is a treasure trove of St. Hildegard’s bracing, rich, and transforming insights. Written for today’s seekers and spiritual directors, it takes us deeper into our own experiences in the company of the mystic visionary St. Hildegard, whose twelfth-century wisdom, still strikingly relevant to our contemporary struggles, enriches our journeys. Spiritual director and retreat guide Susan Garthwaite knows this journey well—she’s traveled it for years. St. Hildegard has influenced Garthwaite’s spiritual life, as well as her work as a spiritual director, and here she gives concrete examples of spiritual experiences and practices in which St. Hildegard’s insights can draw out our own wisdom. She also gently touches our worst experiences and offers St. Hildegard’s light for our liberation and fullness of life. Like all of us today, St. Hildegard dealt with a world in turmoil. She believed spiritual development was the key to peace in troubled times. With her guidance, read, reflect, pray, discern, journal, heal, befriend your soul, and discover your mystic self. A richer life awaits.




The Nones Are Alright


Book Description