Personal Growth

by Fr. Dave Pivonka At the very beginning of the Gospels, Jesus calls us to a radical new way of life, saying: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). The word “repent” in Greek is metanoia — but the original Greek word means much more than just repentance. It means to change, to turn, to think differently. Metanoia is not a one-time event but a process, and as Christians we are called to live a life of metanoia. Living...

This Catholic Prayer Journal is a 3 month guided devotional through Scripture and the Saints. The journal includes Bible verses and quotes from the Saints to help you get closer to Christ. It includes the following for every day, entries for: Scripture and reflection.Application to your life.Personal prayer. For every night: The Examen of St. Ignatius of Loyola with entries for gratitude, grace, review, repent and resolve.Journal pages with plenty of room to write.Bible verses and quotes from...

How To Make A Good Confession Pamphlet Many Catholics avoid the Sacrament of Reconciliation simply because they don't remember how to confess their sins. They simply don't know what to say and are too embarrassed to ask. How to Make a Good Confession, a new pamphlet from Our Sunday Visitor, gives Catholics those words, describing the actions and responses for each step of the sacrament. It also serves as a practical guide to a thorough examination of conscience, asking a series of...

“I feel silly trying to make up prayers myself.”“My mind starts to wander as I am speaking to God.”“I just don’t have time to pray.” Do you recognize yourself in any of these statements? Then Pray Fully is for you. Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet—bestselling authors of Divine Mercy for Moms and The Friendship Project—share the rewards and frustrations of their own prayer journeys to create a practical guide that combines testimonies, tips, and journaling space to help you spend quality time...

It seems counterintuitive: conflict can be a blessing. But Catholic theologian and conflict mediator Ann M. Garrido identifies conflict as a potentially fruitful exchange that arises from living and working together in the diverse world God created. Garrido, author of the bestselling Redeeming Administration, offers twelve practical habits for responding to conflict, pairs each habit with a spiritual companion from history, and offers questions and prayers for growth. In Redeeming Conflict,...

Above all other blessings, the most precious gifts of the Holy Trinity to us are the Mass and the Eucharist. In this awe-inspiring book, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula takes you to the feet of the saints to ponder these Sacred Mysteries. You will learn how to rest in the Lord’s intimate physical presence and gain peace of soul, receiving the remedy for temptation, sweetness in struggles, and healing from pain. As Sr. Mary Ann breaks opens the treasure house of writings on the Holy Eucharist, the saints...

What does it mean to be a Catholic woman? A Place to Belong: Letters from Catholic Women is a stunning anthology of deeply personal letters, wisdom from women saints, inspiring quotes, reflection questions, art, photography, and prayers that explores what it means to be a woman of faith today. Twenty-five women from various backgrounds, interests, and states in life—including mothers, religious sisters, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and authors—explore the many ways women live out their...

Imagine the best conversation you’ve ever had — one that set your heart on fire, challenged your thinking, brought you closer to God, and inspired you to act. Recall how that conversation made you feel and how it changed your heart and your life. Such interactions rise to the level of the sacred — sacred conversations — dialogues that transform hearts, strengthen relationships, and make the world a better place by converting compassionate love into action.Conversations like this are rare but...

Emptiness. Burnout. Financial worries. Physical suffering. Does your life ever feel like a storm surge? World-champion surfer and adventurer Bear Woznick has spent decades on the ocean, riding its waves. He doesn’t stand on the shore with his toes in the sand; he goes out into the deep water to watch and wait — and, if need be, to paddle hard to survive. In this compelling spiritual memoir, Bear takes you on a journey from the “mountain waves” of Hawaii to “the Wedge” of Newport Beach,...

We are living through the greatest catastrophe since the fall of the Roman Empire. Western civilization isn’t dying: it’s already dead. Christendom is no more. What we see around us now isn’t Christian. It’s not even a civilization. It’s a walking corpse. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the West can be reborn someday. We know this because it died once before. Who brought it back? The mystics, the martyrs, and the missionaries. Now they must save the West once again. In this...

Our all-time bestseller! Do you feel bad if you express anger? Are you ashamed of your feelings? Do you harass yourself if you make a mistake or fail? Do you experience guilt when you put your own needs before those of others? Be-good-to-yourself Therapy will help you overcome the distorted notions that keep you from living fully and honestly. Approx 80 pages; 4″ x 6″, perfect-bound paperback By Cherry Hartman. Illustrated by R.W. Alley ...

Why, since happiness is so universally sought after, are so many people so miserable? The answer can be found by unpacking the wisdom of two of history’s intellectual giants who set out to answer the question that has confounded man from time immemorial: What makes us happy? Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas existed sixteen centuries apart, yet each reached similar understandings about what makes a person happy and what makes him miserable. In these enlightening pages, Dr. Charles Nemeth...

This wry memoir tackles twelve different spiritual practices in a quest to become more saintly, including fasting, fixed-hour prayer, the Jesus Prayer, gratitude, Sabbath-keeping, and generosity. Although Reiss begins with great plans for success ("Really, how hard could that be?" she asks blithely at the start of her saint-making year), she finds to her growing humiliation that she is failing - not just at some of the practices, but at every single one. What emerges is a funny yet vulnerable...

It started with a Tootsie Roll. The day then-18-year-old Faith Hakesley was to testify in court against the well-liked Catholic priest who had raped her, a court guard pressed a Tootsie Roll into her hand. It was the first glimmer. The little piece of candy reminded her of the Scripture about "faith the size of a mustard seed," and this bit of encouragement, by way of the guard, but really from God, gave her the courage she needed to endure the trial. In Glimmers of Grace: Moments of Peace and...

“The guests in this collection each witness to how God reached out to them and opened their minds and hearts to let them know that He was always there, next to them, calling them home.” -Marcus Grodi, from the Introduction Personal testimonies possess the spiritual dynamism to touch hearts. For over twenty-five years, “The Journey Home” program on EWTN has enjoyed immense success. Here you will find some of the show’s finest interviews, including answers to real-life questions posed by...

Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist's Guide to Sorting Your Stuff Organizing and tidying up has become a national obsession. We are on an endless quest for the perfect containers, boxes, totes, bags, bins, shelves, files, folders, and labels to tame our closets, corral our clutter, and eliminate chaos. Books and television shows promise the magical secrets to getting and staying organized. “So,” you think, “if I just buy these things and follow these instructions, I will finally be organized and...

One of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage teaches anyone to converse with God in this comprehensive guide to prayer.In The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Father James Martin included a chapter on communicating with God. Now, he expands those thoughts in this profound and practical handbook. Learning to Pray explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it,...

Human life. We marvel at its complexity, we wonder at its fragility, and as Catholics we embrace its dignity. But as far back as 1880, the Church has faced the reality that our culture often stands in opposition to God’s loving design for life, love, marriage, and family. In Life and Love: Opening Your Heart to God’s Design, Terry Polakovic takes us on a fascinating tour of eight Church documents, spanning nearly 140 years, that pertain to human life and love: Arcanum Divinae (On Christian...

In Make Every Day Blessed, you will: discover the significance behind each of the liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time);examine the ways you currently celebrate each season, and reflect on the deeper meaning behind our collective celebrations;reflect on how you can live with greater intention throughout the liturgical year. The Catholic Church is full of rich tradition, enabling us to experience the world as God intended through the beauty of each liturgical...

A fierce war rages for your soul. Are you ready for battle? Like it or not, you are at war. You face a powerful enemy out to destroy you. You live on the battlefield, so you can’t escape the conflict. It’s a spiritual war with crucial consequences in your everyday life and its outcome will determine your eternal destiny. You must engage the Enemy. And as you fight, you need a Manual for Spiritual Warfare. This guide for spiritual warriors will help you recognize, resist, and overcome the...

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”— Colossians 3:16 But how can God’s Word dwell in us if we haven’t memorized it? How can it comfort and guide us if it doesn’t live in our hearts? In Memorize Scripture, Catholic speaker, podcaster, and worship leader Jackie Francois Angel invites you on a 12-month journey into the timeless beauty and transformative power of scripture memorization. With 120 carefully selected verses, each organized into 12 thematic chapters, Jackie equips you with...

Guthrie persuasively renders the evolution of a hard-won religious belief that makes room for imperfection and "does not require us to ignore... the sorrows we experience or the unjustness we see but to believe past it." This openhearted offering inspires. - Publishers Weekly Mostly what God does is love you. If we could believe this, really believe this, how different would we be? How different would our lives be? How different would our world be? If you ever struggle with your connection to...

What is prayer and why is it so important? Pope Francis teaches that prayer is the "heartbeat of the Church" and our "yes" to an encounter with God: In the human body, there are some essential functions, such as breathing and the beating of the heart.I like to imagine that the personal and communal prayer of us Christians is the breath, the heartbeat of the Church, which instills its strength in the service of those who work, study, teach; which makes fruitful the knowledge of educated people...

All the saints learned how to master mental prayer, which is silently to turn our thoughts to God in a spirit of reverence. It is a holy skill that fills us with grace and draws us ever closer to our Lord. Here is the classic that will show you how you, too, can develop a deep and meaningful prayer life that is necessary to attain the joys of Heaven. You will learn valuable insights on methods of mental prayer and the eight crucial aspects of this important practice. You will learn how to...

Do you question whether God really exists? Have you considered walking away from your faith because you’ve been hurt by someone in the Church or because you struggle with some of its teachings? Or maybe you’ve already left? Are you carrying around guilt for something you’ve done and don’t feel you are worthy of God’s love? Rebuilt Faith, written by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran—authors of the bestselling book Rebuilt—proposes five simple steps to learn (or relearn) more about your...

Rekindled How Jesus Called Me Back to the Catholic Church and Set My Heart on Fire Author: Mallory Smyth Mallory Smyth has been where many young Catholics are today. But the difference between her and other fallen-away Catholics is that she figured out that when she overlooked the shortcomings of the Church as an institution, she fell in love with Jesus and rediscovered the beauty and truth of her faith. In Rekindled, Smyth’s raw, relatable account of her own disillusionment and departure is...

To guide you through the common challenges to sanctity, renowned author Fr. Leo Trese offers here twenty-four inspiring reflections to help you conquer temptations and remain on the steep and narrow road to Heaven. Principally, you will learn how to overcome a divided heart so you can go “all in” in the spiritual life. From there, you’ll discover how to order your affections properly and how to find the right balance for recreation. You’ll also learn how to assess your talents and limitations...

This classic book has a uniquely rich history of helping people learn how to recognize — and eliminate — common obstacles to their spiritual development. In this groundbreaking work, Dr. Rudolf Allers, a pioneer psychologist and a contemporary of Freud, proves the importance of religion — and Catholicism in particular — by arguing that only the Catholic view of man can explain abnormalities and produce positive personality changes. Among all the psychologists of his time, Allers alone linked...

St. Paul was struck down by divine power, from a bolt of spiritual lightning. In our own lives, we also experience moments of spiritual lightning, whether subtly, dramatically, or circumstantially. Throughout this attention-grabbing book, Deacon Richard Eason reveals how to let God’s power run wild in your soul so that you can be formed in Christ’s values and revel in the abundant life. Through compelling real-life examples, including sports analogies, Deacon Eason focuses each chapter on a...

Msgr. Laurence Spiteri weaves nearly five hundred Scripture references into thirty rich spiritual reflections about your call as a child of God and how to weather life’s storms. His introspective guidance on topics from the Creed and the sacraments to persecution, scandals, injustice, and suffering will help assuage any turbulence in your soul and provide you with a “retreat” from the noise of our times. With practical insights, Msgr. Spiteri will help you deeply experience God’s consoling...

Just as Job was tried, all of us are tested by suffering. It comes to us in many different forms: grief about the past, pain in the present, and sadness about what might have been. The personal dimension of suffering means that it marks our experience and, in some ways, makes us who we are. Coping with suffering as Christians includes certain spiritual practices that lead us to surrender our lives more fully to the Lord. By offering our suffering as a spiritual sacrifice, joined intentionally...

The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life JoAnna Wahlund Whatever their unique circumstances, all Catholic working moms have three things in common: (1) They are Catholic, striving to live out the Faith in every aspect of their lives. (2) They are working, some by choice, and some by necessity. (3) Most prominently, they are mothers — knowing that's the most important responsibility they will ever have. In The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life, JoAnna Wahlund speaks to the plethora of...

Based on his study of great theologians and philosophers dating back to Aristotle, eminent philosopher and physicist Rev. Dr. Robert Spitzer devised his Four Levels of Happiness, asserting that whichever level dominates our lives will dictate our actions and determine the depth and endurance of our happiness. Incorporating examples from science, philosophy, psychology, and everyday life, Spitzer engagingly lays out achievable ways to ascend the ladder of happiness and find the fulfillment of...

The Imitation Of Christ, In Four Books is a beautiful new edition of the original, deeply spiritual book by Thomas � Kempis. In this revised, easy-to-read, prayer book size book, readers will experience the peace and wisdom that has comforted Catholics from around the world. The Imitation of Christ shows how to better live the life of a Christian by closely following Christ's example. This elegant burgundy book with a zipper binding also presents sections on the Rosary and the Stations of the...

An excellent companion to The Imitation of Christ, this book is composed of writings about Our Lady carefully culled from the words of Thomas à Kempis and set forth in the style of The Imitation of Christ. It offers a splendid way to grow in the imitation of Jesus through the imitation of His holy Mother. Author: Thomas a Kempis Pages: 160 Size: 4 X 6 1/4 Color: BLUE Binding: DURA-LUX

The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak: Lessons on Faith from Nine Biblical Families Hardcover by Shannon Bream #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! God always keeps His promises, but not always in the way we expect…. “Have faith” is a phrase we hear all the time. But what does it actually look like to live it out? In The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak, Shannon Bream examines the lives of biblical women to see how God’s plans can turn our worlds upside down. She tells the story of...

“The world will be saved when we have a sufficient number of souls devoted to reparation and not before.” — Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J The great Jesuit Fr. Raoul Plus lived and wrote in an era of immense suffering — war, early death, religious indifference — that coexisted, not surprisingly, with robust Catholic faith and practice. He called for spiritual maturity before greater scientific advancements. In this spiritual masterpiece, Fr. Plus explains every facet of reparation for individual...

To Ends of the Earth: Action Most guys want to be known as men of action — jumping in to help, to save, to win. But being a man of action means much more to Catholic men, because lives are at stake — ours and those of our family, friends, loved ones — for eternity. That sounds pretty serious. Maybe it seems like too much to bear. In To the Ends of the Earth: Action, author Mark C. McCann shows that you can indeed be a true man of action. He breaks your call to action down into ten of the most...

To Ends of the Earth: Character What defines a Catholic man’s character? Is it being brave, or being a peacemaker? Is it intelligence, or talent? Is it success, a beautiful house, a beautiful wife? Is it just being a “good guy”? There’s a simple answer: To be a man of Catholic character is to imitate Christ. Before you say, “Who, me?” listen to author Mark C. McCann, who says that it’s not only possible, it’s the meaning of Catholic manhood. To the Ends of the Earth: Character guides you...

To Ends of the Earth: Witness The world needs men to witness to God. You know this instinctively. But still, it may seem like it’s someone else’s job, that it’s too hard, or that you’re not holy or smart enough. None of that is true. As a Catholic man, you already have the evidence that can persuade your family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers, sometimes without even speaking a word. What is this evidence? Christ has touched your life, and you will never be the same. In To the Ends of...

“Did you say something?” We’ve all been there: that moment when we realize we weren’t listening. Fortunately, listening is a skill we can all acquire with practice, one that has the power to transform our personal and professional relationships. Does the siren call of your Facebook feed tend to drown out the people around you? Do you struggle to make time for face-to-face conversation or prayer because of the constant distractions of technology? Do you really hear what the people around you...

“Convert us, O God; and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80:3). Although many are familiar with the Holy Face Devotion, key fruits and wonders remain untold, and various of its most important spiritual treasures have yet to be discovered — until now.In these extraordinary pages, Mary Jane Zuzolo unveils for you how this devotion is prefigured in the book of Job, complements Fátima and other Marian apparitions, encompasses the spirituality of St. Thérèse, crowns the insights of...

"Ah, would that I could proclaim throughout the whole world the mercy that you have shown to me! Would that everyone might know I should be already damned, were it not for Mary!" - Saint Louis de Montfort We post, tweet, share, like, heart, double-tap, save, pin, and tag. Like it or "unlike" it, social media is an important way for Catholics today to share the Catholic Faith, including our devotion to the #BlessedMother. But as is often the case in social media, comments can be short, cutting,...

Devotions and Prayers to Hush Your Inner Critic—180 Readings Rooted in Biblical Truth for WomenThis lovely devotional, created just for you, is a beautiful reminder of your value and purpose. 180 "glass half full" devotions and inspiring prayers, rooted in biblical truth, will reassure your doubting heart.In each encouraging reading, you will encounter the bountiful love and grace of your Creator, while coming to understand His plan—for you and you alone.180 Devotions to Hush Your Inner Critic...

Happiness. Everyone wants it, but not everyone has it — or knows how to get it. According to a recent Harris poll, only one in three Americans describes himself as happy. Researchers have dubbed this the “most stressed” of all generations, despite its economic prosperity and technological advances. Anthony DeStefano, best-selling author of A Travel Guide to Heaven and Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, addresses this problem head-on in his freshly rewritten book, 30 Days to Your New Life, by...

33 Days to Greater Glory: A Total Consecration to the Father through Jesus Based on the Gospel of John Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of 33 Days to Morning Glory, one of the most popular Catholic books of the last decade, brings us his first new book in three years. 33 Days to Greater Glory completes a trilogy of consecrations: first to Mary, then to Jesus, the Divine Mercy, and now to God, our Father. This final consecration to our Heavenly Father truly is the “greater” consecration, the...

A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Consecration to Divine MercyLive the extraordinary "Jubilee Year of Mercy" to the full! Get your copy of 33 Days to Merciful Love, the stirring sequel to the international best-selling sensation, 33 Days to Morning Glory. Using the same 33-day preparation format, 33 Days to Merciful Love journeys with one of the most beloved saints of modern times, St. Therese of Lisieux, and concludes with a consecration to Divine Mercy.St. Therese was declared a...

An extraordinary 33-day journey to Marian consecration with four giants of Marian spirituality: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Fr. Gaitley masterfully summarizes their teaching, making it easy to grasp, and simple enough to put into practice. More specifically, he weaves their thoughts into a user-friendly, do-it-yourself retreat that will bless even the busiest of people. So, if you've been thinking about...