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About a year ago I received an email from a Catholic author with a request to participate in a novena.  Essentially, the request was for blessings upon the works of Catholic authors in the form of sales, recognitions, and other assorted sundry ways in which an author might actually make a living, or at least get a few dollars here and there. 

Being a Catholic publisher I was delighted to take part in this novena.  Along with my own personal participation in the prayers, I wrote a small article and posted it on a few websites that published my articles.  Much to my surprise the item took on a life of its own and appeared on a number of Catholic author’s blogs and additional websites.  It was a call to Catholics everywhere to search out and support the works of Catholic authors and I began receiving requests for suggestions on ways in which to find great Catholic books for families, parishes, and classrooms.

Since that novena request, we have been blessed by a Papal visit in which our beloved Pontiff has asked us to get better at catechizing ourselves and our families.  He called for a return to the roots of Catholicism for educators, families, and parishes.  As I listened, I couldn’t help but think about Catholic authors like Harriet Sabatini whose book, “Joseph’s Hands,” is written for Catholic youngsters and catechism programs as it promotes vocations in a beautiful and uplifting way.  Her book has been endorsed by Archbishop Foley of Alabama and Catholic author Bert Ghezzi.  It is a book that belongs in every Catholic classroom around the country and is just what Pope Benedict was referring to when he asked us to develop vocations in our children.

If you are interested in finding books that are written by Catholic authors for Catholic audiences and are perfect replacements for popular secular books and books clubs (this is especially true for middle school kids), I’ve put together a list of Catholic titles and Catholic booksellers.  I asked many Catholic families and Catholic webmasters who have a “pulse” on their audience, to give me some “must read” Catholic selections. The only criteria?  Let’s shed light on some of our lesser known, but well worth knowing, Catholic authors.  Today I wanted to share the list of highly recommended books with you in hopes that as you put together your summer reading list, in consideration of Benedict’s call to get back to Catholic basics, or if you want to offer recommendations to your parish’s religious education program or parochial school teachers, please consider these Catholic works.  Go ahead and print this list out, save it, share it…I am sure you will love these recommendations!

Highly recommended fiction for adults:  Letters to Luke by Joe Holoubek has been endorsed by C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General and Archbishop Philip Hannan of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  It has won numerous awards including First Place in the Writer’s Digest Inspirational Category.  Letters to Luke is available at http://littledovepress.com/

Highly recommended non-fiction for adults:From Pharaoh to the Father by Kay Murdy, who is the co-coordinator of the Catholic Bible Institute for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is absolutely jam packed with spiritual information about the Lord’s Prayer and provides a great depth of information from which to spend contemplative time with God.  From Pharaoh to Father is available at http://www.daily-word-of-life.com/kay’s_writings2.htm

Highly recommended fiction for teens and adults:The Story of Peace by Miriam Ezeh is a beautiful story of chaste love and right relationships and has been heralded as “required reading” for every teenager and adult.  The Story of Peace is available at http://www.ninevehscrossing.com/Books-Media-Youth.html

Also recommended fiction for teens and adults is Emily’s Hope by Ellen Gable and The Green Coat by Rosemary McDunn which are both available on Amazon. Highly recommended fiction for pre-teens and early teens:My Big Feet by Joan L. Kelly is that perfect combination of plot, characters, and our Catholic faith and has received a five star review from Lisa Hendey, CE contributor and webmaster of Catholic Mom.  My Big Feet is available at http://jlkellyshamrockstories.com/

Higly Recommended books on Mary and Prayer:Behold Your Mother by Heidi Hess Saxton available at www.ChristianWord.com.  Heidi’s book does have an imprimatur for anyone interested in using it in their religious education formation classes or as gift giving for Catechumens or for the ideal Mother’s Day “card.”  Heidi’s book is also a featured 2 minute video on YouTube and mentions Cafe Theology!  Check it out (you may need to copy and paste this address in your browser) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zR0003wTzQ

Highly recommended pro-life and vocation building books for young Catholic children:Joseph’s Hands by Kety Sabatini has been endorsed by Archbishop Foley of Alabama and has been featured on a number of Catholic radio programs.  Joseph’s Hands is available at http://ninevehscrossing.com/index.html Isabel’s Sister by Kety Sabatini is also highly recommended reading for young Catholic children and is available at http://ninevehscrossing.com/BooksChildren.html

May you and your family enjoy many of these fine works by Catholic authors and be enriched by their faithfulness to our Catholic Church.

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

The very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the apostles and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the Church founded, and if anyone departs from this, he neither is, nor any longer ought to be called, a Christian.

– St Athanasius

Our relationship to God needs not only the inward aspect; it also needs to be expressed.  And as well as speech, singing  and silence, standing, sitting and kneeling, expression also calls for this celebratory walking along together in the community of the faithful, together with the God in whom we believe. 

In the Christian liturgy itself we can identify two elements which gave rise to the Corpus Christi procession.  The liturgy of Holy Week, in which the Church reenacts the drama of the last week of Jesus’ life, presents two “processional” paths found in the sacred events themselves, namely, the procession of palms and Jesus’ ascent to the Mount of Olives after the institution of the Eucharist. 

In the one he enters the Holy City in triumph; in the other he goes from it in prayer, into the darkness of night, into betrayal and death.  There is a close relationship between these two processions:  Jesus enters the city to cleanse the Temple, symbolically destroying it and thus incurring his death.  This in turn is the inner precondition for his giving of himself in instituting the Eucharist and this opening the new Temple of his love.  Again, in sharing himself in the Eucharist, he is anticipating his death and looking forward to the Resurrection.  But his departure from the city into the Passover night is a departure from the peaceful and protected sphere of salvation into the realm of death.  Very early on, the liturgy began to enact these processions in a solemn manner. 

In certain parts of France in the eleventh century the Blessed Sacrament was carried along in the procession of palms: it was a case of going beyond mere historical remembrance and of accompanying Christus Victor on his triumphal entry into his house to take possession of it once again.  Essentially, the Holy Thursday procession is an accompanying of the Host, a walking with the Lord as he goes to deliver himself up for us.  All this must be peripheral in Holy Week, but Corpus Christi brings these partial elements of the Easter mystery into the center and makes them into a special great feast.  What was ambivalent on Palm Sunday, overshadowed by the darkness of the Cross, takes place publicly and on a grand scale at Corpus Christi in the joy of the Resurrection.

From: The Feast of Faith, pp.132-34

Apr 26, 2008

7:00 pm

The CSPYA and YCNY have organized a Bible Study every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month. We will meet in the back of the Cathedral of St. Patrick at the Information Desk between 5:00 P.M. - 5:20 P.M. At 5:20 P.M., we shall head to our pews for the 5:30 P.M. Mass which fulfills your Sunday obligation.

After Mass, we shall meet again at the Information Desk and then proceed down to the Small Meeting Room for our discussion. Those who wish to join us for the study but cannot attend Mass can meet us at the Cathedral Information Desk between 6:15 - 6:20 P.M. There will be someone at the Cathedral Parish House entrance to let you in until 7:00 P.M. The downstairs entrance is at 14 East 51st Street. After the study, we will head out to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — During his whirlwind April 15-20 U.S. visit, Pope Benedict XVI took a few moments out of his demanding schedule for a private meeting with one of America’s pre-eminent theologians, the ailing, 89-year-old Cardinal Avery Dulles.

The wheelchair-bound Jesuit scholar traveled from his residence at Jesuit-run Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx to St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., April 19, for a prearranged, 15-minute private meeting with the pope, just after the pontiff met with disabled youths.

“It was a lovely meeting,” said Dominican Sister Anne-Marie Kirmse, the cardinal’s executive assistant for the past 20 years. She was present to help facilitate the get-together, held in a suite of offices at the seminary.

“The pope literally bounded into the room with a big smile on his face,” she told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview April 21. “He went directly to where Cardinal Dulles was sitting, saying, ‘Eminenza, Eminenza, Eminenza, I recall the work you did for the International Theological Commission in the 1990s.’”  Continue reading here.

May 11, 2008

3:30 pm

Dear friends,

After the visit of the Holy Father we are with our thoughts still with him and with the messages he gave. Before his departure he said again: “I urge you to bear joyful witness of Christ our Hope!”

Let’s do it personally and together! Come and join us on

Sunday May 11
at 3.30 pm
St Vincent Ferrer Church (Lexington Avenue @ 66th street)

where we will have a talk on CHRISTIAN VOCATION followed by prayer, adoration Afterwards we gather for refreshments! The Dominican friars will also be present for a chat, for questions and
confession.

Our guest speaker will be Fr Joel Warden, CO. He is an Oratorian Father,
based in Brooklyn. The Oratorians are founded by Filip Neri. The well known Cardinal John
Henri Newman started the Oratory in England.

We look forward seeing you on May 11! We would appreciate if you could let us know if you can(not) join us!

With our regards and prayers!
Sr. Monika and Sr. Mirjam

by Mark Shea

The relationship between the Old and New Covenants has been a hot topic for 2000 years. Not long ago, Ann Coulter caused a media row by announcing that Christians are “perfected Jews”. A few years before that, a document called Reflections on Covenant and Mission made headlines by apparently saying that Jews did not need Jesus. What do we make of it all?

The Reflections document is as good a place to start as any, since so many people still think it is “what the Church teaches”. In fact, it was released without episcopal permission, had no magisterial authority and was immediately pulled from circulation by the bishops.

The subject of the document was the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and the most easily misread passage was this:

God’s grace, which is the grace of Jesus Christ according to our faith, is available to all. Therefore, the Church believes that Judaism, i.e. the faithful response of the Jewish people to God’s irrevocable covenant, is salvific for them, because God is faithful to his promises.

Contrary to the headlines, this does not mean “Christians are saved by Jesus, Jews don’t need him.” Rather, it means that everybody who is saved—including Jews—will find that they have been saved by Jesus Christ at work in the light they have received in their own particular situation. That’s not new. It’s biblical.  Click to continue

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

Who loves God, finds pleasure in everything; who not loves God, finds no true pleasure in anything

– St Alphonsus Liguori

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