Father Richard Boever has creatively written a biography of Saint John Neumann in the first person, as if the saint were speaking to the reader. This book invites each of us to accompany Saint John Neumann along his path of faithful discipleship, deepening our own commitment of discipleship in living out our unique vocation in Christ. -- Justin Cardinal Rigali July 15, 2010 Saint John Neumann: His Writings and Spirituality is the great story of a poor immigrant who rose from priest to bishop and became known for his spirituality, patience, and service. He was the first canonized male saint from the United States, laid the foundation of the Catholic school system in the United States, and introduced the Forty Hours devotion. This book will provide a fresh determination and devotion to your personal prayer and reflection. View sample pages. "Paperback"
Dr. Joseph M. Gambescia, a pious, devout student for seeking God's grace, wrote Reflections... during his pilgrimage to the canonization of John Neumann. He was one of two physicians (Dr. William Zintl) appointed by the Vatican in November 1962 to examine the body of Blessed John Neumann, buried in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Philadelphia. He re-examined the body in 1964 at the request of the director of the Shrine of Blessed John Neumann. Subsequently, he reviewed medical records of several people for the director of the national shrine, to help validate any medical miracles. Dr. Gambescia took a pilgrimage to Rome in 1977 during the canonization of John N. Neumann (he was the third American saint at that time and the first male saint). He gives a unique layman's perspective as one who had touched a saint, worked tirelessly to heal the sick, and thought about the enduring questions in life: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is my relationship to other people in this world? What is my relationship to God? How do I best live the Magis?
Written over 400 years ago, Introduction to the Devout Life is still one of the most popular books for those pursuing holiness. St. Francis de Sales explains how to turn that desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results. Themes include: Pursuing a devout life whole-heartedly Incorporating prayer and sacraments into a busy schedule Growing in virtue Battling wisely against temptation Making spiritual progress through daily, monthly, and yearly exercises Whether you are just beginning your spiritual journey or are more advanced in the spiritual life, you’ll be able to apply this timeless wisdom immediately. Let St. Francis de Sales illumine the path to holiness and strengthen your desire to walk that road with the Lord. St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622) was the Bishop of Geneva and a renowned spiritual director. Preaching during the Counter-Reformation, he is estimated to have converted 70,000 Calvinists in his short lifetime. He was a fervent proponent of the universal call to holiness and spent much of his time guiding lay people on the road to sanctity. Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1877, St. Francis is still helping to form saints through his many writings, of which Introduction to the Devout Life is the most famous.
Part biography of a wartime adventurer, part detective story, and part faith journey, this intriguing book from a New York Times journalist and bestselling author takes us inside the modern-day making of a saint. The Saint Makers chronicles the unlikely alliance between Father Hotze and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, a country priest and a cosmopolitan Italian canon lawyer, as the two piece together the life of a long dead Korean War hero and military chaplain and fashion it into a case for eternal divinity. Joe Drape offers a front row seat to the Catholic Church's saint-making machinery—which, in many ways, has changed little in two thousand years-and examines how, or if, faith and science can co-exist. This rich and unique narrative leads from the plains of Kansas to the opulent halls of the Vatican, through brutal Korean War prison camps, and into the stories of two individuals, Avery Gerleman and Chase Kear, whose lives were threatened by illness and injury and whose family and friends prayed to Father Kapaun, sparking miraculous recoveries in the heart of America. Gerleman is now a nurse, and Kear works as a mechanic in the aerospace industry. Both remain devoted to Father Kapaun, whose opportunity for sainthood relies in their belief and medical charts. At a time when the church has faced severe scandal and damage, and the world is at the mercy of a pandemic, this is an uplifting story about a priest who continues to an example of goodness and faith. Ultimately, The Saint Makers is the story of a journey of faith—for two priests separated by seventy years, for the two young athletes who were miraculously brought back to life with (or without) the intercession of the divine, as well as for readers—and the author—trying to understand and accept what makes a person truly worthy of the Congregation of Saints in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
The James Study Set provides the home study component of James: Pearls for Wise Living. Its ten lessons take you through the Letter of James verse by verse, drawing on pertinent passages from the Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church to help you understand what you are reading and how to apply it to your life. Group discussion of the questions reinforces the lesson, while the suggested responses provide additional insights and explanations. Each lesson should be concluded with the corresponding presentation from the DVD or CD series, which contains expert commentary presented by Jeff Cavins.
Stories of 55 saints, beati, and holy people of the past 200 years, along with their pictures; most are actual photographs. Includes St. Gemma Galgani, St. Bernadette, St. Maria Goretti, St. John Neumann, Padre Pio, Edith Stein, St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Frances Cabrini, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. John Bosco, St. Dominic Savio, and many, many more. Will bring hours and hours of pleasure and entertainment to the entire family.
If the word trinity isn’t in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith? And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway? The Church Fathers provide the answers. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved for us the rich legacy of the early Church. D’Ambrosio dusts off the dry theology and brings you the exciting stories and great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Jerome. This page-turner will inspire and challenge you with the lives and insights of these seminal teachers from when the Church was young.
What drove U.S. Catholics in their arduous quest, full of twists and turns over more than a century, to win an American saint? The absence of American names in the canon of the saints had left many of the faithful feeling spiritually unmoored. But while canonization may be fundamentally about holiness, it is never only about holiness, reveals Kathleen Sprows Cummings in this panoramic, passionate chronicle of American sanctity. Catholics had another reason for petitioning the Vatican to acknowledge an American holy hero. A home-grown saint would serve as a mediator between heaven and earth, yes, but also between Catholicism and American culture. Throughout much of U.S. history, the making of a saint was also about the ways in which the members of a minority religious group defined, defended, and celebrated their identities as Americans. Their fascinatingly diverse causes for canonization—from Kateri Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton to many others that are failed, forgotten, or still under way—represented evolving national values as Catholics made themselves at home. Cummings's vision of American sanctity shows just how much Catholics had at stake in cultivating devotion to men and women perched at the nexus of holiness and American history—until they finally felt little need to prove that they belonged.
