This week publisher Image Catholic Books sponsors the CBB giveaway. One lucky winner will receive one copy of The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us As Catholics by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. The contest starts at midnight tonight EST and will end 12AM EST Friday 9/26 with a winner being announced later that day.... Read more
Be worthy of your creation Writing to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius, St. Justin Martyr explains how Christians are supposed to behave. We please God, he says, when we imitate God’s virtues and act in a way worthy of our marvelous creation. Our tradition tells us that God does not need the material offerings humans can give him, since he himself is the one who provides everything. And we have been taught, and are convinced, and believe, that he accepts... Read more
The celebrations of the Catholic Church are much more than a requirement. They are a glimpse into the faith itself. The yearly cycle from Sunday Mass in Ordinary Time to the grand feasts of Easter and Christmas are a living catechism for all to enjoy. Co – authors Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina explain the importance of feasts in their latest book The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us as Catholics. Early on in the introduction the following... Read more
Let creation be your book You can be truly free from rules and laws, says St. Ephrem the Syrian, if you order your life the way nature itself teaches you to order it. Yoke yourself under the law, so that you may truly be free. Do not work the desire of your soul apart from God. How many commandments must I write—how many laws must I engrave— when, if you desire your freedom, you could learn them all from yourself... Read more
Today I’m hosting a special guest post. As you have read here previously I recently coordinated a conference locally with Dr. Scott Hahn as the speaker. It was by all accounts a huge success for our parish and the Diocese of Harrisburg as a whole with nearly 1000 in attendance. This past week our Diocesan newspaper The Catholic Witness ran a story on the event. In cooperation with managing editor and author of this piece, Jen Reed, I am sharing... Read more
Make the Sign of the Cross everywhere Wherever you are, says St. Ephrem the Syrian, seal everything you do with the Sign of the Cross, and teach your children to do the same. How gracious is the Lord! How measureless are His mercies! Happy the race of mortals when God confesses it! Woe to the soul that he denies! Fire is stored up for its punishment. Be of good cheer, my child, in hope; sow good seed and do not... Read more
Welcome back to “The Clergy Speaks”, a recurring feature here at The Catholic Book Blogger. “The Clergy Speaks” is a column focusing on one question I have asked various members of the clergy. That question is: What five books would you recommend as must-reads for Catholics today? I left the responses open to current or classic books with the only restriction being that the Bible and the Catechism could not be used as they are a given. This week I... Read more
Don’t despair when you’re in a dry spell St. John Cassian recalls the wise words of the abbot Daniel in the Egyptian desert. Why do we sometimes feel so close to God, and other times so far away? Don’t despair, says Daniel: even in those dry spells, God has your benefit in mind. We asked this blessed Daniel why it was that as we sat in the cells we were sometimes filled with the utmost gladness of heart, together with... Read more
PETE: Your book Saint John Paul The Great : His Five Loves is a slight departure from your usual area of writing. What inspired you to tackle this project? JASON EVERT: I have always had a great love for the Holy Father and for his teachings, especially on young people and human love. Over the past twenty years, I have had the opportunity to travel to speak to more than a million Catholics on six continents. While on these trips,... Read more
In prayer, quality counts more than quantity Palladius of Galatia tells the story of an ascetic who was dismayed to learn that there was a woman who prayed even more than he did. The wise Macarius answered him that the number of the prayers wasn’t the problem: it was whether he was praying with a pure heart. There is a mountain in Egypt called Pherme, which borders on the great desert of Scete. On this mountain dwell some five hundred... Read more
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