Catholic Media Reviews

When I first saw the announcement from Ignatius Press about the new Didache Bible. I wasn't that interested. It has "commentaries based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church." Yawn. "More than 100 apologetic explanations that help to answer common questions about the faith." That's a little more interesting.

Jeff Ostrowski has written a detailed review of the new English Propers books that Aquinas and More is publishing. Here's a bit:

Scott Hahn is one of the greatest converts to Catholicism in modern history. His conversion story Rome Sweet Home alone has led many to the Faith and many more back to the Faith they left. This work alone would be enough to cement his legacy, but he has written a great many other notable works, including The Lamb's Supper and A Father Who Keeps His Promises, to further expound on the faith and teach converts, cradles, and reverts alike. Lately, Dr. Hahn has been publishing high theology works, which challenge us to grow in our faith and progress from spiritual milk to spiritual meat. Dr. Hahn has returned with a new work entitled Angels and Saints, which is a return to his way of writing that helped so many of us grow in the faith so many years ago.

A Worrier's Guide to the Bible: 50 Verses to Ease Anxieties written by Gary Zimak is a book for all of us since despite what Scripture teaches, many of us still fall into worry over past events, the present and most especially the future.

Swear to God was one of the first books I read as a Catholic. I was either going through the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) or had just been initiated in the Church. I also audiobooked it from Audible. At the time, I didn't grasp the book fully, maybe because I couldn't see the words in front of me, but I did appreciate it. I have since decided to re-read it, a decade later and see how much more it speaks to me today.

Pope John XXIII was never meant to be a game-changer. He was elected to the Papal throne on October 28, 1958. This was shortly before his 77th birthday. Many thought of him as a placeholder or caretaker pope.

My Sisters The Saints is a wonderful memoir in which the author Colleen Campell shares her life story starting in college and continuing through her mid-thirties and the pivotal saints that acted a 'big sisters' and guiding stars to her as she reverts back to a more active practice of her faith, builds a career, gets married and seeks a better understanding of how to keep all of those things in balance and live a life of committed faith. The author also touches on life issues, namely how we treat infertility and how we care for the aged and how the Churches teachings challenged and guided her as she and her family faced these issues.

The Church of Mercy is the latest book with a compilation of talks given by Pope Francis. Each book (by many different publishers) have chosen to address a certain audience. For example, Ignatius Press recently released a book on sin and humility, and Our Sunday Visitor has released one on hope and another on love. Loyola Press has chosen to focus on the theme of mercy. Drawing on talks given in 2013, this book addresses topics such as the Gospel, the Poor, advice for Pastors, and Mary. Each talk is designed to draw people closer to Christ who is the giver of mercy.

The Little Life of Jesus, published by Magnificat, text by Anne Gravier, illustrations by Adeline Avril, is a charming retelling of the life of Jesus for very young children. This book held the attention of my 4 yr old who is active and not very cooperative about sitting still for stories. I see it best for toddlers, pre-school age children and …

So we're about half way through the summer and your kids have gone through every toy, video game and watched enough tv to burn the tv glow on to their eyeballs. And then it happens. A morose child drags himself into the kitchen and says, "Mom, I'm bored. What can I do that's fun?"