Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices is fascinating reading, spiritual nourishment, and historical data in a one-of-a-kind reference tool. Not only are universal devotions and worldwide practices examined and explained, but so are ethnic and regional customs and traditions. (Hispanic, Filipino, Vietnamese, Russian, Irish, Italian, and more!) This is the source that tells you: the origin of practice or devotion; how it developed over centuries; and how it's observed today.
New converts and cradle Catholics alike are often perplexed by the myriad of devotions, traditions, practices, and beliefs that the Catholic Church has accumulated over the past twenty centuries. Why pray to St. Anthony to find something lost? Why keep a St. Christopher medal in your car? Or why bury a statue of St. Joseph — upside down! — in your yard when selling your house? In Helen Hoffner’s lovingly-illustrated, encyclopedic Catholic Treasures and Traditions, you’ll find succinct – and sometimes amusing – answers to these and hundreds of other questions. This delightful book explains the origin and nature of most of the common traditions of the Catholic Faith, as well as the source and meaning of many of the quaint and obscure ones. From Forty Hours to First Fridays and from Holy Hours to Holy Days, you’ll find in these pages an informative, delightful compendium of the Catholic way of life, including information about: Novenas * Penance * Prayers for the Dead * First Fridays * Votive Candles * Religious Medals * St. Francis Statues * Bathtub Madonnas * Holy Cards * Crucifixes * House Blessings * Prayer Corners * Advent Calendars * Jesse Trees * Marian Apparitions * Vestments * Icons * Divine Mercy * The Sacred Heart * The Liturgical Year * Holy Days * Religious Orders * The Holy See * The Roman Curia * The Divine Office * Holy Oils * Genuflecting * Relics * Stations of the Cross * The Sacraments * The Angelus * Litanies * Patron Saints and much more to acquaint you with the many wonderful treasures and traditions of the Catholic Faith!
In Awake My Soul, editor James Martin, SJ, offers a meaningful collection of fascinating essays focusing on Catholic devotions and their place in the life of contemporary believers. Originally published as part of a Lenten series in America magazine, each essay discusses a favorite Catholic devotion, its history, its place in an individual's life, and its role in the life of today's Catholics.Awake My Soul features some of today's top Catholic writers celebrating traditional Catholic devotions such as the rosary, the stations of the cross, holy water, novenas, relics, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and more. Contributors include Ron Hansen; Emilie Griffin; Joan Chittister, O.S.B.; and Eric Stoltz.
This newly revised, expanded edition answers the questions most commonly asked by both Catholics and non-Catholics. Dues outlines traditional Catholic religious history, gives an engaging overview of the rich variety of customs associated with Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, and Lent, and provides a thorough understanding of why Catholics practice their faith the way they do.
Do you ever feel confused, befuddled, or just plain lost when it comes to the Catholic Faith? Do the teachings and practices of the Church leave you scratching your head? Then this is the book for you. In Catholic and Curious: Your Questions Answered, Monsignor Charles Pope tackles 500 tough questions on just about every subject imaginable. In easily digestible question and answer format, this book covers everything from God and the Bible to the liturgy, the sacraments, Catholic moral teaching, Mary, the saints, and life after death, all organized by topic for quick reference. In this book you’ll find not just straightforward answers, but a deeper understanding and appreciation of the truth of the Catholic Faith. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Monsignor Charles Pope was ordained a priest in 1989 for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He is a well-known blogger and writer, and has authored a question and answer column for Our Sunday Visitor since 2013. He gives numerous retreats and talks for laity and clergy and appears as a regular guest on EWTN’s Morning Glory.
This book provides the who, what, where, when and how of the most time-honoured traditions of the Catholic Church. It includes: - Step-by-step guidelines to the Mass - Biblical background of the prayers of the Mass - Insights from the Tradition and teaching of the Church - Practical aid to overcoming distractions - Study guide for individual or group use - The right way to: -- Bless yourself with holy water -- Make the sign of the cross -- Offer the sign of peace -- Receive the Eucharist -- Accept a blessing.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, God guides and saves his people through the words of his prophets. When the prophets are silenced, the people easily lose their way. What happened after the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ? Did God fall silent? The dominant position in Christian theology is that prophecy did indeed cease at some point in the past -if not with the Old Testament prophets, then with John the Baptist, with Jesus, with the last apostle, or with the closure of the canon of the New Testament. Nevertheless, throughout the history of Christianity there have always been acclaimed saints and mystics -most of them women-who displayed prophetic traits. In recent years, the charismatic revival in both Protestant and Catholic circles has once again raised the question of the place and function of prophecy in Christianity. Scholarly theological attitudes toward Christian prophecy range from modest recognition to contempt. Mainstream systematic theology, both Protestant and Catholic, has mostly marginalized or ignored the gift of prophecy. In this book, however, Niels Christian Hvidt argues that prophecy has persisted in Christianity as an inherent and continuous feature in the life of the church. Prophecy never died, he argues, but rather proved its dynamism by mutating to meet new historical conditions. He presents a comprehensive history of prophecy from ancient Israel to the present and closely examines the development of the theological discourse that surrounds it. Throughout, though, there is always an awareness of the critical discernment required when evaluating the charism of prophecy. The debate about prophecy, Hvidt shows, leads to some profound insights about the very nature of Christianity and the church. For example, some have argued that Christianity is a perfect state and that all that is required for salvation is acceptance of its doctrines. Others have emphasized how God continues to intervene and guide his people onto the right path as the full implementation of God's salvation in Christ is still far away. This is the position that Hvidt forcefully and persuasively defends and develops in this ambitious and important work.
This book codifies, describes, and contextualizes group rituals and individual practices from world religious traditions. At the interface of religious studies, psychology, and medicine, it elucidates the cultural richness of practices and rituals from numerous world religions. The book begins by discussing the role that religious rituals and practices may play in the well-being of humans and the multi-dimensional cultural and psychological complexity of religious rituals and practices. It then discusses rituals and practices within a number of religions, including Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, Hindu, Confucian, and other traditions. There is a need for a more inclusive collection of religious rituals and practices, as some practices are making headlines in contemporary society. Mindfulness is one of the fastest-growing psychological interventions in healthcare and Yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people in the U.S.A. These practices have been examined in thousands of academic publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, medicine, sociology, and religious studies. While Mindfulness and Yoga have recently received widespread scientific and cultural attention, many rituals and practices from world religious traditions have remained underexplored in scholarly, scientific, and clinical contexts. This book brings more diverse rituals and practices into this academic discourse while providing a reference guide for clinicians and students of the topic.
