Showing results by narrator "Kevin O'Brien" in All Categories

Continuously popular since it first appeared in 1977, The Incorruptibles remains the acknowledged classic on the bodies of Saints that did not undergo decomposition after death, many remaining fresh and flexible for years, or even centuries. After explaining both natural and artificial mummification, the author shows that the incorruption of the Saints bodies fits into neither category but constitutes a much greater phenomenon which is unexplained by modern science even to this day.

Is truth knowable? If we know the truth, must we hide it in the name of tolerance? Cardinal Ratzinger engages the problem of truth, tolerance, religion and culture in the modern world. Describing the vast array of world religions, Ratzinger embraces the difficult challenge of meeting diverse understandings of spiritual truth while defending the Catholic teaching of salvation through Jesus Christ. But what if it is true? is the question that he poses to cultures that decry the Christian position on man's redemption.

Lectio Divina with the Spiritual Masters offers a transformative way to engage with Sacred Scripture through the guidance of the Saints and masters who have gone before us. Rooted in the ancient practice of Lectio Divina—a contemplative and prayerful reading of God’s Word—this approach combines enriching commentary from holy men and women with structured meditations and prompts.

In this book, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) gives us profound meditations on what our life in Christ should be like as it is lived through the various Seasons and Feasts of the liturgical year. This book also includes thoughts on other spiritual and secular themes such as the true nature of peace, why it is difficult for so many to experience joy, the relationship between spirit and matter, vacation and rest, etc.

In Saints Who Raised the Dead, the listener will find stories from the lives of St. Francis Xavier, St. Patrick, St. John Bosco, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Rose of Lima, Bl. Margaret of Castello, etc., and includes the raising of persons who had died, descriptions of heaven, hell, and purgatory by temporarily dead persons and an analysis of contemporary "after death" experiences. It's fascinating.

There's a multitude of Lenten meditation books but only one that's packed with the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas. Journey through Lent with the Church's greatest philosopher-theologian. This unrivaled spiritual master will guide you in encountering Our Lord and experiencing the type of fruitful Lent that he often experienced. You will relish this magnificent treasury of sixty-three of Aquinas's Scripture-based sermons specially selected for the holy season.

During his years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, well-known Vatican prelate Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has given three in-depth interviews. The first two interviews have become best selling books: The Ratzinger Report and Salt of the Earth. Because of the tremendous reception those books received, the Cardinal agreed to do another interview with journalist Peter Seewald, who had done the very popular Salt of the Earth interview. This third in-depth interview addresses deep questions of faith and the living of that faith in the modern world.

In From Silence to Silence: A Benedictine Pilgrimage to God’s Sanctuary, Fr. Francis Bethel, OSB, a Benedictine monk from Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma, draws from the centuries-old monastic tradition of prayer and his own personal experience to provide a spiritual guide for Catholics who want to silence the distracting noise of this fallen world to hear more clearly the quiet or “silent” voice of God. To understand and partake in the divine mysteries requires that we block out the cacophony of disruptions that plague our lives and separate us from God.

Island of the World is the story of a child born in 1933 into the turbulent world of the Balkans and tracing his life into the third millennium. The central character is Josip Lasta, the son of an impoverished school teacher in a remote village high in the mountains of the Bosnian interior. As the novel begins, World War II is underway and the entire region of Yugoslavia is torn by conflicting factions: German and Italian occupying armies, and the rebel forces that resist them the fascist Ustashe, Serb nationalist Chetniks, and Communist Partisans.

Ethan McQuarry is a young lighthouse keeper on a tiny island, the rugged outcropping of easternmost Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. A man without any family, he sees himself as a silent vigilant, performing his duties courageously year after year, with an admirable sense of responsibility.

Two nuclear wars. Three asteroids. Demonic madness that kills one third of the world's population. Into this, a savior will rise, cloned from Christ. It's not fiction. It's prophecy. The Messiah of the new age. His coming is prophesied by more than a dozen major religions. Cloned from live cells of Jesus Christ found on the Shroud of Turin, Christopher Goodman was born into the most turbulent time in human history. Mentored by former UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Milner, Christopher rises in position and power, and displays remarkable wisdom and compassion. But through disjointed bits of dreams that sometimes haunt him, Christopher reveals significant troubling errors in the biblical record of Jesus' life.

In this popular abridgment of his monumental Preparation for Death, St. Alphonsus teaches the proper attitude toward Death, which is one of readiness; of always having one's "debts cleared". He cautions against letting even one day pass without reflecting on the certainty of death, the shortness of time and the length of eternity. Each chapter is a short consideration on some aspect of death, divided into three points easily understood by people in every state of life.

In the United States, the Prosperity Gospel’s tenets, spread widely by many Protestant preachers, have crept into the Catholic Church. Where did the “Prosperity” Gospel come from? And how has it embedded itself so deeply in this country? In this book, Thomas Storck demonstrates the deep roots that the unrestrained desire for gain has in this country. He argues that the exclusion of serious religious discourse from American public life has led to the public square being emptied of all transcendence, reducing every aspect of social life to material gain.

Even 300 years ago, believers found it difficult to sustain for 40 days the proper Lenten spirit. That's why even then, countless Christians turned to the writings of Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), whose great piety and simple eloquence won him renown as one of the greatest preachers of his time. From Bishop Bossuet's sermons and spiritual writings, believers drew ever greater Lenten wisdom and strength.

Join Father Paul Pearson of the Oratory as he guides you on a spiritual journey through one of the great classics of Christian literature, Dante’s Purgatorio. Purgatory is the least understood of the three possible “destinations” when we die (though unlike Heaven or Hell it is not an eternal one) and is mysterious to many Christians and even to many Catholics today. As he did in his first volume in the Spiritual Direction from Dante trilogy, Avoiding the Inferno, Father Pearson adroitly draws out the great spiritual insights hidden in The Divine Comedy.

Indeed, in our age of social media where it's a constant race to appear the best, to put up a front, and to show others a false image (to show ourselves a false image), cultivating humility is perhaps more important now than ever. Know Thyself then is an invaluable resource for a prideful age. Adapted from Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo's classic Humility of Heart and supplemented with writings from the saints and powerful scripture passages, Know Thyself will reinvigorate you each day in the struggle to be like Christ, to be “meek and humble of heart”.

Here, Joseph Pearce, author of Bilbo's Journey uncovers the rich - and distinctly Christian - meaning just beneath the surface of The Lord of the Rings. Make the journey with Frodo as he makes his perilous trek from the Shire to Mordor, while Pearce expertly reveals the deeper, spiritual significance.

Best-selling author Peter Kreeft presents a series of brilliant essays about many of the issues that increasingly divide our Western civilization and culture. He states that "these essays are not new proposals or solutions to today's problems. They are old. They have been tried, and have worked. They have made people happy and good. That is what makes them so radical and so unusual today. The most uncommon thing today is common sense".

True devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus moves us to ponder the unrelenting love of Jesus, fully human and fully divine, as He poured Himself out for the world. In this book, Fr. Thomas Dailey transports you beyond the prayers and liturgies and helps you to contemplate the Sacred Heart, which Pope Benedict XVI said “has irreplaceable importance.” Fr. Dailey shows you how to experience the way of prayer that formed St. Margaret Mary — the visionary to whom the devotion was revealed — in the religious order founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. Fr.

Essential (and easy) listening for busy Catholics, Strength in Simplicity shows you how to grow closer to God in the things you already do every day, without burdening you with numerous devotions or complicated methods. Author Emmanuel de Gibergues explores the virtue of simplicity that is, having the single intention of pleasing God in all that you do. You'll learn what a difference simplicity can make for you as it did for our Lord and our Lady. You'll come to recognize the signs of true simplicity and find out how to practice simplicity toward God and in your life's activities.