At the Roman Synod on the Bible in October 2008, which I covered for HPR, the most common topic mentioned was the need to recommend “Lectio Divina” as a pious practice among the faithful. You have probably seen the phrase mentioned in rece … [Read more...]
The ingredient for priestly vocations
In order to fulfill their ideals and challenges, young people are in desperate need of priestly inspiration.
May 1, 2009 by Fr. Jacek Stefanski
It is truly uplifting to read about the great number of people who are received into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in so many parishes across the United States. This gives the Church a reason to rejoice and … [Read more...]
Light in the Darkness
SURPRISED BY CANON LAW: 150 Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law. By Pete Vere and Michael Trueman (Servant Books, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202), ix + 126pp. PB $9.99.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
This slender volume has earned the praise not only of such notables as Karl Keating and Father Peter Stravinskas but also of the Rev. Francis G. Morrisey, O.M.I. of the Canon Law Faculty of Ottawa’s St. Paul University. The 150 questions a … [Read more...]
The Art of Dying Well
PATIENCE, COMPASSION, HOPE, AND THE CHRISTIAN ART OF DYING WELL. By Christopher P. Vogt (Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706), 2004, 176 pp. PB. $19.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
In a culture of death that promotes euthanasia as compassion, in a secular world that imagines medical science as the cure-all to all human suffering, and in the modern therapeutic society which rationalizes death and dying, to quote from … [Read more...]
Function of Catholic laity
CATHOLIC LAITY IN THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. By Russell Shaw (Requiem Press, P.O. Box 7, Bethune, S.C. 29009; 2005), 191 pp. PB $14.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
As with all his writings, Russell Shaw’s latest Catholic literary product, Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church, is rich, balanced, reasoned, lucid, concise, poignant, and widely accessible. In the volume, he takes up a theme that he … [Read more...]
The Seven Deadly Sins
VICTORY OVER VICE. By Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. (Sophia Institute Press, Box 5284, Manchester, N.H. 03108, 2004), 128 pp. PB $9.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
In this volume Archbishop Sheen attacks each of the seven deadly sins in pointing out that these sins led Christ’s enemies to nail Him to a cross. He refers to examples in the Savior’s life to develop each of the corresponding virtues. Tre … [Read more...]
Know your faith
FAITH FACTS II: ANSWERS TO CATHOLIC QUESTIONS. Co-edited by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr. & Philip C. L. Gray (Emmaus Road Publishing, 827 North Fourth Street, Steubenville, OH 43952, 2004), 188 pp. PB $14.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
This informative book is thoroughly well done, an improvement even on Volume I of Faith Facts, which was reviewed very favorably in HPR about five years ago. But first some facts about CUF: In 1969 H. Lyman Stebbins, the founder of … [Read more...]
Ratzinger on the Church
SALT OF THE EARTH. The Church at the End of the Millennium; An Interview with Peter Seewald. By Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1997), 283 pp. PB $12.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
This book is something like a sequel to The Ratzinger Report, which appeared in 1985. That volume caused quite a stir because of the bluntness of the Cardinal and because Catholics were not accustomed to hear such forthright and strong … [Read more...]
Transcendence in music
SURPRISED BY BEAUTY: A Listener’s Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music. By Robert R. Reilly (Morley Books, 1814 ½ “N” Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, 2002), 351 pp. PB $19.95
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
Robert Reilly is a man of many talents. From Chicago, he is a graduate of Georgetown University in the same class as former President Clinton though perhaps not of the same easy bent of mind. He initially was an actor. He still carries … [Read more...]
Beautiful and Ugly Churches
IN TIERS OF GLORY. The Organic Development of Church Architecture through the Ages. By Michael S. Rose (Mesa Folio Editions, Aquinas Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 11260 Cincinnati Ohio 45211 2004), 136pp. 200 color illustrations. PB $29.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
In a previous book, Ugly as Sin, Michael S. Rose analyzed recent trends in church architecture and pointed out that there are three constants in great and traditional Catholic churches—permanence, elevation and iconography. There he offers a … [Read more...]
A Theology of Friendship
Aelred of Rievaulx: Pursuing Perfect Happiness. By John R. Sommerfeldt (Paulist Press, 997 Macarthur Blvd., Mahwah, N.J. 07430), 184 pp. PB 23.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
Aelred of Rievaulx was an English Cistercian monk who served first as the Abbot of Revensby in Lincolnshire from 1143 to 1147 and then as the Abbot of Rievalux in North Yorkshire from 1147 till his death in 1167. The author of many … [Read more...]
The social damage caused by radical feminists
WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD WORSE: AND HOW THEIR RADICAL FEMINIST ASSAULT IS RUINING OUR SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, MILITARY, AND SPORTS. By Kate O’Beirne. NY: Sentinel Trade. (Reprint-2006), pp. 256. PB. $14.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
In Women Who Make the World Worse and How Their Radical Feminist Assault is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports, Kate O’Beirne exposes the damage that radical feminists have imposed on the most valued institutions in America … [Read more...]
Annulment procedure explained
ANNULMENTS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: STRAIGHT ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS. By Edward N. Peters (Ascension Press, P.O. Box 1990, West Chester, Pa. 19380, 2004), 197 pp. PB $12.00.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Few aspects of Catholicism provoke as many questions as does the topic of annulments. The cynical often regard it as "Catholic divorce," available at least for the rich, but even well–meaning Catholics easily grow perplexed about just how a … [Read more...]
You can go your own way
EXCOMMUNICATION AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, Straight Answers to Tough Questions, by Edward N. Peters (Ascension Press, W5180 Jefferson Street, Necedah, WI 54646, 2006) 100 pp., PB $7.95
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Excommunication is always a hot topic. It frequently arouses considerable interest as well as emotional investment when brought up. In some circles, people lament that excommunication is not utilized frequently enough, and see in it a clear … [Read more...]
Willing the Good of the Other
101 TIPS FOR A HAPPIER MARRIAGE. By Jennifer Roback Morse (663 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, #222, San Marcos, Calif. 92978, 2004; [j.morse@cos.net]), 17 pp. PB $4.77.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Jennifer Roback Morse is a theoretical economist, wife of an engineer, a mother of two, attached to the Hoover Institute at Stanford, a former professor at George Mason University. Her book, Love and Economics: Why the Laissez Faire Family … [Read more...]
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