Books - (also see Inspirational Books)

Perfect for presiders, cantors and lectors, as well as for accompanists to use to assemble each week's service music. These binders also function beautifully as an expandable alternative for enrollment or remembrance books. Use for general intercessions, announcements, special rites, and seasonal service programs. These binders are beautifully constructed, heavily embossed, and assembled by hand. The exterior art is by Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS. The water of baptism mingles with wheat and grapes as they move toward the center of the cross and meet with the circular movement of the Spirit. Size: Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11. Ceremonial Binders include the following features: Three-ring format. Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11 size. Long-lasting construction. Varnished fabric cover. Elegant foil embossing. Inside front pocket. 1 spine.

Perfect for presiders, cantors and lectors, as well as for accompanists to use to assemble each week's service music. These binders also function beautifully as an expandable alternative for enrollment or remembrance books. Use for general intercessions, announcements, special rites, and seasonal service programs. These binders are beautifully constructed, heavily embossed, and assembled by hand. The exterior art is by Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS. The water of baptism mingles with wheat and grapes as they move toward the center of the cross and meet with the circular movement of the Spirit. Size: Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11. Ceremonial Binders include the following features: Three-ring format. Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11 size. Long-lasting construction. Varnished fabric cover. Elegant foil embossing. Inside front pocket. 1 spine.

Perfect for presiders, cantors and lectors, as well as for accompanists to use to assemble each week's service music. These binders also function beautifully as an expandable alternative for enrollment or remembrance books. Use for general intercessions, announcements, special rites, and seasonal service programs. These binders are beautifully constructed, heavily embossed, and assembled by hand. The exterior art is by Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS. The water of baptism mingles with wheat and grapes as they move toward the center of the cross and meet with the circular movement of the Spirit. Size: Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11. Ceremonial Binders include the following features:Three-ring format. Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11 size. Long-lasting construction. Varnished fabric cover. Elegant foil embossing. Inside front pocket. 1 spine.

Our celebration binder is perfect for presiders, cantors and lectors, as well as for accompanists to use to assemble each week's service music. These binders also function beautifully as an expandable alternative for enrollment or remembrance books. Use for general intercessions, announcements, special rites, and seasonal service programs. Ceremonial These binders are beautifully constructed, heavily embossed, and assembled by hand. The exterior art is by Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS. The water of baptism mingles with wheat and grapes as they move toward the center of the cross and meet with the circular movement of the Spirit. Size: Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11. Binders include the following features: Three-ring format. Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11 size. Long-lasting construction. Varnished fabric cover. Elegant foil embossing. Inside front pocket. 1 spine. 

Perfect for presiders, cantors and lectors, as well as for accompanists to use to assemble each week's service music. These binders also function beautifully as an expandable alternative for enrollment or remembrance books. Use for general intercessions, announcements, special rites, and seasonal service programs. Available in five colors ( Green, Red, White, Blue & Purple). Ceremonial Binders include the following features: Three-ring format. Holds pages up to 8 1/2 x 11 size. Long-lasting construction. Inside front pocket. 1" spine.   Fabric weave laminated cover with beautiful gold foil stamped Jerusalem Cross on front, back and spine.

This book provides a paragraph-by-paragraph commentary on the Catholic Church's Order of Celebrating Matrimony. Readers will learn about the history and theology of the elements of the rite and of the pertinent texts in the Roman Missal. Paul Turner provides translations of reports of the study group that revised the ceremony after the Second Vatican Council. The book also covers the Spanish translations used in the United States, Mexico, and Colombia, and variations permitted in Australia and in England and Wales, as well as in French-speaking Canada. This in-depth commentary serves as an invaluable resource for practitioners and students of Catholic weddings.

Author: Paul Turner

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814663530
Details: 324 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 02/02/2017

This is the first book in English on priesthood in religious life to be published in twenty years. Its fourteen contributors search for new ways forward in the understanding of the distinct identity and ministry of religious mencommitted to community, the prophetic lifestyle of vows or promises, and the particular charisms of their congregationswho have also answered the call to priesthood. Essays in this collection include reflections from a bishop, from the perspective of a lay theologian, from an expert in the social sciences, and on Pope Francis's teachings on priesthood. Included as well are essays that are rooted in particular cultural traditions, in spirituality, and in canon law.

Subtitle: Searching for New Ways Forward
Author: Edited by Stephen Bevans and Robin Ryan

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814684542
Details: 232 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 11/15/2018

Maxwell Johnson has made multiple contributions to our understanding of liturgical history and liturgical theology. This volume honors his work by offering a set of important essays by respected scholars that bridge the distance between scholarship and praxis, to be accessible and relevant to both pastoral ministers and academic theologians.

It is organized according to three categories: liturgical year, Christian initiation, and Eucharist. Within these categories, the contributors are especially attentive to three important aspects of liturgical history:

• the role that important figures in liturgical history played as liturgical pastors
• how liturgical history has been used in shaping contemporary liturgical rites and prayers
• how liturgical history informs contemporary understandings and beliefs

Ultimately, the book pays tribute to Johnson's contributions to the life of the church by exploring ways that the study of liturgical history might help the church remain faithful to God and to the sacramental worldview that continues to define and characterize classic Christianity.

Subtitle: On the Intersection of Liturgical History and Pastoral Practice
Author: David A. Pitt, Stefanos Alexopoulos, and Christian McConnell (editors)

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814662434
Details: 288 pgs , 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 
Publication Date: 10/01/2012

The principal liturgies of Holy Week underwent a series of revisions between 1951 and 2011. In this book, noted liturgist Paul Turner charts the rubrics and prayers of the current rites paragraph by paragraph, explaining the historical development of individual components, how and why the post-Vatican II liturgical reform made its revisions, and where the Roman Missal, Third Edition has added nuances. This book will help ministers, liturgists, catechists, and all the faithful enter more deeply into the mystery of the cross of Christ, their glory and their hope.

Subtitle: Holy Week in the Third Edition of The Roman Missal
Author: Paul Turner

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814662427
Details: 192 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 12/01/2011

2009 Catholic Press Association Award Winner!

Perhaps no liturgical scholar of our time is better able than John Baldovin to write with clarity and accuracy about the meaning of the church's liturgy and the history of its development in the last half century. In this summary volume on the reform of the liturgy since the Second Vatican Council, Baldovin pinpoints and assessesboth sympathetically and criticallythe objections to changes in the liturgy since the council, focusing on philosophical, historical-critical, and theological questions. After addressing each criticism in turn, in a final chapter he assesses the critique of postVatican II liturgy as a whole, affirming what is accurate and necessary, rejecting what is backward looking, and proposing a set of principles to guide future development. No one who studies or participates in liturgical action in the twenty-first century can afford to overlook this book.

Subtitle: A Response to the Critics 
Author: John F. Baldovin, SJ

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814662199
Details: 192 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 11/01/2008

Each year, many adults who have never been baptized become Catholic. In the United States, these adults are outnumbered by baptized Christians of other denominations who seek to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In the minds of many Catholicsindeed, in many parish preparation programsthere is little difference between the two groups. Baptized and catechized Christians are often placed in programs with those who have not been baptized. Just as often, the two groups are welcomed into full membership alongside one another during the Easter Vigil, thereby obscuring further the distinction between them. Imagine that a high school senior transfers schools and is subsequently placed in middle school classes. Imagine no one thinking this change in status odd.

Turner seeks to clarify and confirm the status of baptized persons who enter into full communion of the Catholic Church. In addition, he explores the rites of reception in the early church and the Second Vatican Council call for ecumenical dialogue and looks to the reception rites of other Christian communities to gain added perspective. Turner historical and ecumenically sensitive analysis will help members of catechumenate teams think more carefully about the baptismal unity of all Christians. Drawing on that foundation of unity, they will find cause for rejoicing and restlessness and will learn steps to avoid and steps to takeso that communion becomes both easier to achieve and a reality in their midst.

Author: Paul Turner, STD

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814662168
Details: 184 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 01/01/2007

The charismatic renewal is a sign of the continuing relevance of the Holy Spirit for the baptized and gives life and direction to the Church in its mission in the world. Appearing soon after the close of Vatican II, the charismatic renewal has been one of a number of movements of the Spirit in the Church marked by a call to holiness and evangelization.

Call to Holiness gathers the wisdom within the renewal, thirty years after its beginnings, to help guide its continued life. This document evolved out of several years of consultation with leaders, theologians, and bishops associated with the charismatic renewal from various national backgrounds. Theologians not associated with the charismatic renewal have also been consulted.

The document covers the vocation to holiness, the experience of the Spirit, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the charisms, forms of community life, and the call to evangelize. Chapters are "The Spiritual Renewal Coming from the Council," "The Experience of the Holy Spirit and its Fruits," and "Gifted for Mission."

Subtitle: Reflections on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Author: Paul Josef Cordes; Preface by Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814658871
Details: 80 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 10/01/1997

Why do parish First Communion Masses so often neglect good liturgical principles? Should these celebrations resemble something analogous to a recital? Or, should they be celebrations worthy of the praise and glory of God?

First Communion Liturgies explores the purpose and practice of First Communion in our time, uncovers the pitfalls associated with it, and offers a guide for preparing celebrations that will enrich the lives of children and families, bringing them into a deeper relationship with God and the church.

Subtitle: Preparing First-Class First Celebrations
Author: Donna M. Eschenauer

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814649671
Details: 112 pgs , 5 3/8 x 8 1/4 

In The Word on the Street, John Martens brings the Bible to where people live: in the church, at home, at work, and in the broader world. This Lectionary commentary for every Sunday of the liturgical year, offers readers a way in which the Bible can speak to them in light of their lives today.

John Martens is known for his contributions to "The Word", a popular column in America magazine. The Word on the Street, Year A is the first book in a three-volume series that presents scriptural, liturgical, and preaching commentary for Sundays throughout the year.

Subtitle: Sunday Lectionary Reflections
Author: John W. Martens

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814649640
Details: 152 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 08/30/2016

Widely embraced by homilists and those interested in reflecting more deeply on the daily Lectionary readings, Bishop Richard Sklba's Fire Starters: Igniting the Holy in the Weekday Homily has served as a practical resource for preparing engaging weekday homilies for Ordinary Time. After much anticipation, Bishop Sklba and coauthor Fr. Joseph Juknialis now offer Easter Fire, a welcome companion to support anyone called to preach at Easter weekday Masses.

Easter Fire provides the biblical citations and summary phrases for the reading and the gospel plus the refrain from the psalm each day. After each citation, the authors offer a series of meaningful insights based on Scripture scholarship, their own prayerful reflection on the texts, and years of preaching and pastoral experience. These brief "bullet point" entries provide nuggets of knowledge and inspiration that will stimulate personal prayer and spark homily possibilities for the preacher every day.

Easter Fire will ignite sparks that can be enflamed by God's Spirit, to not only enrich the spiritual journey but to add light and warmth for the preparation of weekday homilies during the Easter season.

Subtitle: Fire Starters for the Easter Weekday Homily
Author: Richard J. Sklba and Joseph Juknialis

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814648667
Details: 216 pgs , 7 X 10 
Publication Date: 02/22/2016

Cantors throughout the United States and elsewhere have long known Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN, as a reliable teacher and mentor in how they understand and practice their important ministry. In Becoming the Psalms, she explores the spirituality of the psalms, a spirituality that shaped God's people in the past, forms the church today, and leads us into the future. Each chapter offers cantors who pray and sing the psalms a better understanding of the role of the psalms in shaping faith.

Kathleen Harmon is known as the author of Music Notes, a popular column in the journal Liturgical Ministry. Becoming the Psalms showcases some of her finest entries as well as new material exploring the relationship between praying the psalms privately and praying them liturgically, as well as the function of the responsorial psalm as proclamation.

Subtitle: A Spirituality of Singing and Praying the Psalms
Author: Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814648599
Details: 104 pgs , 5 3/8 X 8 1/4 
Publication Date: 06/22/2015

Thousands of readers have found Fr. Mark Boyer's The Liturgical Environment: What the Documents Sayto be a useful compendium of the church's law and guidelines on the liturgical environment. Rooted in the norm of active participation as the guiding principle for all liturgical celebration, each chapter considers the ecclesial documents that pertain to the particular objects under discussion, the theology found in the documents, and the praxis that flows from the theology. Now in its third edition, The Liturgical Environment has proven to be an essential resource for all those involved in planning, building, renovating, decorating, and worshiping in a sacred environment.

This new edition is significantly expanded and revised to take into account important material from the third edition of The Roman Missal, the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Pope Benedict's apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, and the Vatican's Instruction on the Eucharist, Redemptionis Sacramentum. Additional material has been added on celebrating the parish feast day, principles involved in decorating, and fakery in the liturgical environment. New information on the font and various baptismal scenarios for the Easter Vigil is also included. Three new chapters focus on celebrating marriages, funerals, and anointing the sick; on the concept of progressive solemnity in the liturgy; and on liturgical furniture for conference use when Mass is not celebrated in a church. Finally, new discussion questions present opportunities for reflection and discussion.

Subtitle: What the Documents Say: Third Edition
Author: Mark G. Boyer

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814648575
Details: 296 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 05/06/2015

Pope Francis has said, "How I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor!" How might your parish answer the Holy Father's call more boldly? The Ministry of Peace and Justice is a practical guide meant to help faith communities deepen their commitment to bringing God's compassion to a wounded world. Intended for pastoral leaders and parishioners with a heart for those who are poor and vulnerable, this book includes creative suggestions for starting or expanding social efforts and contains six ready-to-use educational, interactive sessions for new or growing peace and justice committees.

Author: Michael Jordan Laskey

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814648131
Details: 108 pgs , 5 3/8 x 8 1/4 
Publication Date: 02/11/2016

Among the prayers of the Mass that vary from day to day (the propers), the Roman Missal includes an entrance antiphon and communion antiphon. English Proper Chants is a collection of beautiful, simple chant settings for these antiphons, with English texts, for all of the Sundays and solemnities of the liturgical year.

The project's composer John Ainslie, an internationally respected liturgist and musician, believes that chant is a musical idiom that continues to have an important (but not exclusive) role in the Catholic liturgy. English Proper Chants reflects his conviction that the use of chant in English requires sensitive handling in order to respect and reflect the particular rhythms of the language.

Both melody (5-line modern notation) and accompaniment editions are available. The accompaniment edition is printed in a convenient, coil-bound format that allows it to lie flat on music stands, while the melody edition is perfect-bound (paperback). Indices of antiphons and of psalms are included in each. Pagination is identical in both editions for easy combined use. All purchasers of either edition receive access to download digital images for the antiphons of any composiiton in the book.

Subtitle: Melody Edition
Author: John Ainslie, Composer

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814648100
Details: 240 pgs , 6 x 8 1/4 
Publication Date: 05/19/2015

Once again, Pope Francis has set the pundits, news outlets, and politicians buzzing, this time with an historic encyclical letter on care for the environment called Laudato Si On Care for our Common Home. As an alternative to all the noise and bloviating, the faithful and the curious alike will welcome this reliable, serene, and inspiring companion to the document.

David Cloutier's Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis's Laudato Si is an ideal guide for parish adult faith formation, RCIA, college and high school campus ministry, and individual study. Preachers and teachers, too, will welcome Cloutier's consistently clear and engaging writing, free of academic jargon and Catholic code words. With Cloutier as a guide, readers will understand better and respond more effectively to the profound spirituality, the solid doctrinal principles, and the stirring call to action that Pope Francis offers in Laudato Si.

Subtitle: A Faith Formation Guide
Author: David Cloutier

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814647547
Details: 86 pgs , 5 3/8 X 8 1/4 
Publication Date: 12/11/2015

Since the ending of Vatican II, the church has officially published no fewer than eight major documents calling for adults to be the center of the church's educational mission. And the Catholic faithful are calling on the church to quench their thirst for a deepening of their lived faith. They realize that the catechesis they received as children simply isn't enough to continue in the faith as adults in the church and world; they desire a deepened faith.

In Deepening Faith, Janet Schaeffler, OP, offers a practical guide and source of encouragement to parish and diocesan committees, catechists, and adult faith formation teams. She outlines the essential foundations, methods and strategies that can support this journey for today's adults of all ages and generations.

Subtitle: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish
Author: Janet Schaeffler, OP

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814646526
Details: 104 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 12/09/2016

Although the Catholic funeral rite has not changed in the past few decades, society has. Parishes have new questions to face that their liturgical book does not consider: eulogies by family members, the final disposition of cremated remains, and the collapse of the traditional three-stage funeral liturgy. Light in the Darkness takes a fresh look at the pastoral challenges society is posing, while giving concrete suggestions for implementing the vision of the Catholic Church's Order of Christian Funerals. The appendix includes catechetical materials for families planning a funeral and an extended commentary on all the Scripture readings for a funeral Mass.

Subtitle: Preparing Better Catholic Funerals
Author: Paul Turner

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814646076
Details: 144 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 07/03/2017

Preaching is an essential part of the life of the church. Preachers are called to proclaim the word of Godthe Good News of salvationin the church's name. Since the Second Vatican Council, the popes have emphasized a vision of good preaching that meets the needs of the church and the people of God. In this articulate and engaging guide for deacons, priests, and bishops, Deacon Peter Lovrick brings this mission into focus for the twenty-first century. He begins by outlining the church's expectations of homilists. He then presents various methods for clarifying and measuring the marks of preaching that fulfills the church's vision. Finally, he discusses practical steps preachers can take to accomplish those goals and nourish the faith of their people through homilies.

Priests, deacons, and others involved in the ministry of preaching: the people entrusted to your care want you to read this book!

Subtitle: A Practical Guide to Catholic Preaching for the New Evangelization
Author: Peter Lovrick; Foreword by Cardinal Thomas Collins

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814646052
Details: 96 pgs , 6 X 9 
Publication Date: 03/04/2016

In this challenging but hopeful new book, Church, Faith, Future: What We Face, What We Can Do, Fr. Louis J. Cameli renders a carefully composed portrait of the church in North America today. Drawing on philosophy, history, cultural analysis, and sociology, he offers a sobering picture of where church and faith stand in our society and where they seem to be headed. Identifying several possible ways forward, Fr. Cameli points out the way he sees as the most promising and most faithful to Catholic tradition.

In a fascinating afterword to the book, Cardinal Blase Cupich enters into dialogue with Fr. Cameli's thinking, describing how the Archdiocese of Chicago has begun to address the issues and the directions indicated.

Subtitle: What We Face, What We Can Do
Author: Louis J. Cameli; Afterword by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814645659
Details: 116 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 05/22/2017

We all want to celebrate the liturgy well, to experience good, uplifting, and meaningful worship. But what is the best route to follow? In The Rites and Wrongs of Liturgy, Thomas O'Loughlin offers a way forward that strengthens faith, builds up Christian community, and points toward a new direction based on liturgical principles that are rooted in our natures as ritual beings as well as in the gospel.

The Rites and Wrongs of Liturgy explains why good liturgy is important, how to recognize it, and how to assess liturgy in terms of a larger vision of the Christian life. O'Loughlin, a seasoned theologian and teacher, identifies ten principles that make for good liturgy. Such liturgy must be honest, open, joyful, inclusive, celebrative of community, facilitative of engagement, based in creation, attentive to the marginalized, free of clutter, and true to the pattern of the incarnation.

Since good celebrations build faith and bad liturgy weakens it, these principles promise to bring new life and meaning to every celebrating community.

Subtitle: Why Good Liturgy Matters
Author: Thomas O'Loughlin

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814645635
Details: 120 pgs , 5 3/8 x 8 1/4 
Publication Date: 05/17/2018

O Cross of Christ is an original, new prayer composed by Pope Francis himself and recited by him on the occasion of Good Friday 2016. It guides all who pray it to recognize Jesus' cross in some of the most distressing circumstances of today's worldmodern-day martyrs, victims of war, unfaithful ministers, and moreas well as in the lives of people who do great goodconsecrated men and women, families, volunteers, and others.

Presented as a litany, with responses that make it ideal for group use, this little booklet is beautifully illustrated with original art by the American artist Deborah Luke. The result is a prayer resource that promises to serve as a profound source of spiritual nourishment for Christians for years to come. Recommended for personal, family, group, or parish-wide prayer.

Author: Pope Francis

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814645543
Details: 32 pgs , 5 x 7 
Publication Date: 11/22/2016

We all agree that the community needs to be involved in the RCIA. So we make bulletin and Mass announcements explaining the rites and the RCIA process, hoping the parishioners will "get" their responsibility to initiate these seekers. Then, although catechumens, candidates, sponsors, and team members form a tight-knit community, parishioners still wonder who these people are with their rituals that make the Mass long, and most of the newly initiated still disappear from the parish after Easter.

Taking to heart what the United States bishops said in their document on adult faith formation"While the parish may have an adult faith formation program, it is no less true that the parish is an adult faith formation program"Diana Macalintal argues that we have to stop trying to get the parish involved in the RCIA and start getting the catechumens and candidates involved in the parish.

In this book, readers will discover:

Subtitle: RCIA in the Midst of the Community

Author: Diana Macalintal

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 978-0-8146-4465-2, 4465
Details: 142 pgs , 6 x 9 
Publication Date: 03/05/2018

In this book, Gerald O'Collins, SJ, takes a systematic look at the 2010 English translation of the Roman Missal and the ways it fails to achieve what the Second Vatican Council mandated: the full participation of priest and people. Critiquing the unsatisfactory principles prescribed by the Vatican instruction Liturgiam Authenticam (2001), this book, which includes a chapter by John Wilkins: 

• tells the story of the maneuverings that sidelined the 1998 translation approved by eleven conferences of English-speaking bishops,
• criticizes the 2010 translation, and
• illustrates the clear superiority of the 1998 translation, the "Missal that never was"

Subtitle: The English Language and the Catholic Mass
Author: Gerald O'Collins, SJ, and John Wilkins

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN: 9780814644577
Details: 132 pgs , 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 
Publication Date: 10/18/2017