Showing results by narrator "Kevin OBrien" in All Categories

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.

Pope Benedict XVI's second encyclical, Saved in Hope, ("Spe Salvi" in Latin) takes its title from St. Paul, who wrote, "In hope we have been saved." In this audiobook, the Holy Father continues a line of thought he began with his first encyclical, God Is Love. Love and Hope are closely related in the spiritual life. Love of God involves hope or trust in God. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man."

In this riveting biography, author Bret Thoman accomplishes what few biographers have. He pierces the inner life of Francis, revealing his deepest passions, his unquenchable love for poverty, and his unshakable grip on the core of the Gospel. The life of Francis, so often festooned with spectacle and miracle, is in reality the story of a soul yearning for God in every moment and glimpsing his presence in all creation.

In The Blessed Eucharist, Father Michael Mueller describes how Christ's love for us moved him to create this most beautiful sacrament. He explains why our Lord veils himself in the appearance of bread - a garment so humble he is little known, little loved, even neglected and insulted. Fr. Mueller helps the listener discover what a treasure the sacrament is.

As a kid, I was forced to go to Church every Sunday. In my senior year of high school, I gave up faith and religion altogether and embraced being agnostic. I sought the American dream by cofounding a software company and pursued money, fitness, and success, but none of that ever satisfied or gave me peace. Why Be Catholic? is not exactly my journey, but it is the journey of the Church. This book will help you make sense of the logical and historical realities that reveal how and why the Catholic Church is who She says She is.

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.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. A religious founder, consummate theologian, and holy man of God, St. Alphonsus never failed to utter a stirring word that drew out a lively penitence and redoubled dedication to the work of God from his audience. Here, in The Holy Eucharist, is his extensive work on the Sacrifice that brings about Salvation. As a devoted preacher and teacher, Liguori sought to bring others to devotion and sanctity in the most Blessed Sacrament.

Pope Benedict XVI will go down in Church history as one of the greatest popes. In this heartfelt defense of Pope Benedict’s words and works, a tribute to his life and legacy and an homage to his sanity and sanctity, Joseph Pearce’s biography provides an unforgettable encounter with this great historical figure.

With prophetic insight into our times, Benedict warns of a "radical manipulation of man" in the name of tolerance, insisting that the only "authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance" is Christ himself—and Christ crucified. A lifelong Catholic, the late pope pays tribute to some of the giant figures of Christianity who have served him through the years as guiding stars: his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the 20th-century German Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, and the silent carpenter Joseph, his patron saint.

The What Every Catholic Should Know series is intended for the average faithful Catholic who wants to know more about Catholic faith and culture. The authors in this series take a panoramic approach to the topic of each book aimed at a non-specialist but enthusiastic listenership. Already published titles in this series include: literature, salvation, mercy, being Catholic, God, and philosophy.

With gripping detail and firsthand accounts that sound like a novel, renowned author Warren Carroll unveils the events that led up to the divine intervention in which Our Lady of Guadalupe was sent to an Aztec, known now as St. Juan Diego. Here is the untold story of the faith and valor of the Spanish as they encounter an early Aztec culture marked by an immorality and an idolatry of epic proportions, along with the hardships they endured in the face of unspeakable cruelty.

Join Thoman as he skillfully weaves the known facts of Clare’s life with imaginative passages that bring the listener into the profoundly spiritual world of the “Light from the Cloister.” Hailing from an aristocratic or “Major” family, Clare continually—in imitation of Our Lord and Francis—sought to make herself lesser or minor. In the process, in another of God’s “divine paradoxes,” she became a giant, not only of her Age, but of all time.

"I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: The blessed sacrament." (J.R.R. Tolkien). Eucharistic adoration according to Fr. Frederick Faber is “the queen of all devotions”. Pope St. Pius X taught that it was the devotion “most profitable for our salvation”. And St. Gemma Galgani treasured it as “the school of Paradise where one learns how to love”. So many popes and saints exhort us to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord. And the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration will enrich your hours with him.

Now, perhaps more than ever, men need to be men. But what it means to be a man has been twisted into a pale and mangled image of true manhood. Manual for Men serves as a field guide and instruction manual for those husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers who would become real men of God - men who protect, physically and spiritually, those entrusted to them; men who sacrifice, pray, fight, love, and live by the example of Christ. There is a battle for our souls, our families, our world, and Our Lord calls us men to fight. Are you ready to answer the call?

The Most Holy Rosary is one of the greatest prayers in the history of the Church. Garnished as it is with the testimony of saints and popes for the last thousand years, the only greater prayers are the Mass and the Divine Office. It is a prayer for the people, to be said over and over, and yet many still seek ways to enter into the deeper mansions of spiritual richness to be found in this devotion. If you seek to reap the full harvest of this bountiful prayer, focus on the mysteries to better follow the life of our Lord through the eyes of Our Blessed Lady.

Hell and how to avoid it are perennial topics of interest for believing Christians and others. With good reason. Entire libraries have been written on the subject. Most people, even those familiar with his classic, do not realize that Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, chock-full as it is of history and politics, is a masterpiece of spiritual writing. The most famous of his three volumes is the Inferno, an account of Dante's journey through the underworld, where he sees the horror of sin firsthand.

It is of vital importance that each individual soul recover this lost sense of sin and to begin the struggle to conquer the deadly sins that threaten his or her salvation. The Manual for Conquering Deadly Sin will help you do just that in your own life. As Fr. Kolinski makes clear, the truest medicine is found in the sacramental life of the church. But, in addition to the graces found in frequent confession and reception of the Eucharist, the Manual for Conquering Deadly Sin will be an indispensable aid in your fight.

Everything needed to understand and appreciate the traditional Latin mass! Extremely informative, yet very easy to listen to! This book explains prayer by prayer, what happens at the Latin Mass and why. Why is the Mass in Latin, the use of silence, bells, specific colors, etc. - and how we participate. Reviews are very enthusiastic! Ties in beautifully with Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio opening the door to the universal celebration of the Latin Mass.

The Dogma of Hell explores the basic Catholic doctrine on hell, purposefully awakening in the listener a profound realization of its reality and eternity of horrors. Eminent French theologian Fr. F.X. Schouppe, SJ, author of Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, has written here a similar but much smaller book.

In this engaging fictional conversation, Peter Kreeft gives credible voices to C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Billy Graham, as they discuss one of the most contentious questions in the history of Christianity: Is Jesus symbolically or substantially present in the Eucharist? These widely respected modern Christian witnesses represent three important Western theological traditions.