Catholic Book List
Adoption and Families Catholic Thought Part
3
In the Beginning . . . There
Were no Diapers (2005) Tim Bete
I Am in Here: The Journey of a Child with
Autism Who Cannot Speak but Finds Her Voice (2011) Elizabeth M. Bonker , Virginia G.
Breen
Dancing With Max (2010) Emily Colson
Kisses from Katie: A story of relentless love and redemption(2011) Katie Davis”
The Family Nobody Wanted (1954) Helen Doss
Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left's Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom (2011) Marybeth Hicks
No Biking in the House Without a Helmet (2011) Melissa Fay Greene
Adoption: Choosing It, Living It, Loving It (2009) Dr. Ray Guarendi
Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! Homeschool Days, Rosary Nights, and Other Near Occasions of Sin
Dancing With Max (2010) Emily Colson
Kisses from Katie: A story of relentless love and redemption(2011) Katie Davis”
The Family Nobody Wanted (1954) Helen Doss
Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left's Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom (2011) Marybeth Hicks
No Biking in the House Without a Helmet (2011) Melissa Fay Greene
Adoption: Choosing It, Living It, Loving It (2009) Dr. Ray Guarendi
Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! Homeschool Days, Rosary Nights, and Other Near Occasions of Sin
Death by Minivan (2018) Heather Anderson
Renshaw
Wait No More: One Family's Amazing Adoption Journey (2011) John Rosati and Kelly Rosati
The Color of Rain: How Two Families Found Faith, Hope, and Love in the Midst of Tragedy (2011)
Michael Spehn and Gina Kell Spehn
Just Peace: A Message of Hope (2006) by Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Jennifer Smith Stepanek
Around the Year with the VonTrapp Family (2018) Maria Von Trapp
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2622328.Maria_Augusta_von_Trapp
“Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens.”
― Maria von Trapp
“Christianity nowadays is like a big household where many cousins live under the same roof. They all belong to the same clan, but at times they have very different ideas about how to run their family affairs.
Some of them, for instance, have no use for any outside devotion. God is a spirit, and He wants to be worshipped in spirit only, they say. Consequently, they have dispensed with all liturgy. They don’t want any distracting ceremonies, no incense, no vestments, no music, no pictures and images, not even sacraments—only the service of the spirit.
The trouble is, however, that as long as we live here on earth, we simply are not pure spirits, but we have also a body, and in that body, a very human heart; and this heart needs outward signs of its inward affections. That is why we embrace and kiss the one we love; and the more we love, the more ardently we press him to this very heart—somehow it seems as if these cousins had overlooked that fact. But you can’t cheat the heart; it knows what it wants, and it knows how to get it.”
― Maria Augusta Trapp
“It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn't seem to make sense. Some day, however, we shall understand.
In looking back over the years we can discover how a red thread goes through the pattern of our life: the Will of God.”
― Maria von Trapp
“The most striking difference between little ones and grownups is that little ones cannot worry, and they cannot worry because they have no past and no future. They live only in the present moment. Just watch children. If they play, they play and don't even hear us call them and don't notice anything that is going on around them. If they eat, they eat; if they sleep, they sleep. There is a beautiful English word which describes how they do whatever they do, they do it 'whole-heartedly', whereas grownups always are half-hearted.”
― Maria von Trapp, Yesterday, Today & Forever
Adoption (2016) Jaymie Stuart Wolfe
One Beautiful Dream: The Rollicking Tale
of Family Chaos, Personal Passions, and Saying Yes to Them Both
by Jennifer Fulwiler
Family
Children’s
Catholic Books (some)
The Catholic Bible For Children (2011)
Karine-Marie Amiot, Francois Carmagnac, Cristophe Raimbault, Anne Sophie Du Bouetiez
From the creation of the world to the infancy of the Church,
the important stories from both the Old and New Testament are vividly retold
and illustrated for young people in The Catholic Bible For Children.
Also included are chapters on the prophets and the psalms. In the back is a
glossary of important people, places and objects, providing added information. Ages
6 and up
Book of Saints For Catholic Children Daniel A. Lord (2009)
Book of Saints for Catholic Children, is a beautiful book for your child.
With 96 stories to read such as St. Mary of Egypt, St. Luke, St. Therese, St.
Robert, along with St. Helen and many more. Each story has a picture of the
saint and has their feast day.
Illustrated Lives Of The Saints W.H. Hirten
The hardcover Illustrated Lives of the Saints
is compact and concise and has over 100 saints featured in it. Each saint's
story has a fully color illustrated picture.
Saints Chronicles
Collection 1-4
by Sophia Institute
Press
Angel In The
Waters (2005) Regina Doman
In his mother's womb, a tiny baby grows, explores the
waters, and talks with the angel who is there.
These gentle illustrations and wise words tell the story of that baby and the angel in the waters . . a story that will delight all young children, because the journey from conception to birth is their story, too.
These gentle illustrations and wise words tell the story of that baby and the angel in the waters . . a story that will delight all young children, because the journey from conception to birth is their story, too.
The Princess and the Kiss (2000) Jennie Bishop
In The Princess and the Kiss, author Jennie
Bishop shares the gift that God gave to her when she asked Him how she could
share the message of purity with her daughters in their early years and stress
the importance and beauty of saving themselves for marriage. This book is a
treasure!
The Squire and the Scroll (2004) Jennie Bishop
The Squire And The Scroll is a captivating adventure which follows a young squire
who travels a long, dangerous road beside his brave knight, on a quest for
their king. The action builds until the final face-off with a monstrous, evil
dragon. Only then does the squire learn of the secret beyond the cave that ends
in a joyous celebration for the entire kingdom.
The Beatitudes
for Children (2009)
Donna Piscitelli, Rosemarie Gortier, Mimi Sternhagen
(Illustrator)
In The Beatitudes for Children each
Beatitude is coupled with a kid-sized explanation that makes it easy for them
to relate to these powerful statements. A family interaction page follows,
featuring real-life applications that kids and their parents can participate in
so the whole family is inspired to apply the Lord's instructions to their lives
Seeds of Faith for Children (2013)
Rosemarie Gortler, Donna Piscitelli, Mimi Sternhagen (Illustrations)
Just like a seed needs the right things to grow -- water,
air, dirt, and care -- your faith needs some important things to grow.
The Mass Book for Children (2014) Rosemarie Gortler, Donna Piscitelli
Here's a delightful way to introduce your little ones to
Jesus in the Eucharist. With its captivating writing style and charming art, The
Mass Book for Children not only teaches young children the parts of the
Mass but also shows them why joining in the joyful gathering is an experience
of love.
Just Like Mary (2003) Rosemarie Gortler, Donna Piscitelli, Mimi Sternhagen
From her Immaculate Conception to her Assumption, Just
Like Mary is the story of Mary told in a way that will charm and delight
your children. They'll also love the full-color pictures that brighten the
book.
Little Acts of Grace (2002) Rosemarie Gortler, Mimi Sternhagen (Illustrator), Donna Piscitelli
These Little Acts of Grace help us and keep our minds and
hearts focused on God. But most of all, they let Him know just how much we love
Him every day!
Little Acts of Grace 2 (2010) Rosemarie Gortler, Donna Piscitelli
Little Acts Of Grace 2 will help you guide the young children in your life to
grow in their relationship with Jesus by understanding that He is their Best
Friend.
Living The 10 Commandments for Children (2007) Rosemarie Gortler, Donna Piscitelli
Elementary-age children will appreciate the positive,
real-world examples and vibrant full-color illustrations that bring the stories
and pages to life in Living the 10 Commandments for Children.
Golden Legend of
Young Saints (2009) Henri Daniel-Rops
Loyola Kids Book of
Saints (2001) Amy Welborn
Parenthood and
Family Life
Made This Way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues
by Trent Horn, Leila Miller (2018) Kindle
Mission of the Family (2012) Jon Leonetti See Above
The Discerning Parent: An Ignatian Guide to Raising Your Teen (2017)
Tim
and Sue Muldoon Own
Discernment might also be described as a process of developing the “acoustics of the heart,” in the words of Wilkie Au and Noreen Cannon Au.1 Discernment is a refinement of the practice of listening to God’s music in a world full of noise. We love that image: it suggests that what each of us is doing in discernment is using a tuning fork to ensure that the tune we play is in harmony with the music of God. This book is an attempt to tune our own hearts as parents so
Muldoon, Tim (2017-04-06T23:58:59). The Discerning Parent: An Ignatian Guide to Raising Your Teen . Ave Maria Press. Kindle Edition.
Scripture is not a rule book; nor is it a book of magic spells. It is God’s way of inviting us to hit the pause button on our busy lives and dwell within “God’s time”—seeing things in the immediate foreground of life against the background background of eternity. It is a chance to remind ourselves that all our struggles as parents, and all our hopes for our teens, unfold within a story of God creating us in love and calling us to grow in love to be more and more like him. That call is at once the most difficult and most meaningful way of living because it means we are willing to do the hard work of walking with our teens through the daily dramas of life. And with teens, there certainly are dramas! Turning to scripture reminds us, though, that these are but moments in a much larger story, and it is good to give ourselves regular reminders of that story.
Muldoon, Tim (2017-04-06T23:58:59). The Discerning Parent: An Ignatian Guide to Raising Your Teen . Ave Maria Press. Kindle Edition.
Christian Fatherhood: The Eight Commitments of St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers (1997)
Manly Art of Raising a Daughter (2018)
Alan
Migliorato Kindle
Sexuality and SSA People
Walt Heyer
A Transgender's Faith (2015)
Why I Don’t Call Myself a Gay Christian
How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace (2017)
Daniel Mattson
Beyond Gay (1999) David Morrison Book Review
http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/summer_2003/ft_catholic.html
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/search/?q=DAVID+MORRISON+
Joseph Sciambra
Swallowed By Satan: How Our Lord Jesus Christ Saved Me From Pornography, Homosexuality, and the Occult. (2013)
Eve Tushnet
Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith (2014)
Sexuality and Marriage and NFP Catholic Thought Part 2
Greg Alexander and Julie Alexander
Marriage 911: How
God Saved Our Marriage (and Can Save Yours, Too! (2011)
David Anders
The Catholic Church Saved My Marriage: Discovering Hidden Grace in the Sacrament of Matrimony (2018)
Art Bennett
Catholic and Married: Leaning Into Love (2014)
101 Quick Questions with Catholic Answers: Marriage,
Divorce, and Annulment (2011) Jim Blackburn
Selected and introduced by
Catholic Answers’ staff apologist Jim Blackburn, this easy-to-follow book aims
to help Catholics more fully understand the Catholic Church’s teaching and laws
concerning marriage so that they can be assured of always treating marriage
with the dignity and respect that God originally intended for this sacred
institution.
Adam and Eve After the Pill:: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution (2012)
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Robert P. George
The Meaning of Marriage: Family,
State, Market, & Morals (2010)
The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning (2014)
Kimberly Hahn
Graced and Gifted: Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart (2011)
Life-Giving Love :: Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage (2011)
Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage (2011)
Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for the Family Life (Life-Giving Love) (2011)
Legacy of Love: Biblical Wisdom for Parenting Teens and Young Adults (Life-Nurturing Love Book 4) (2011)
Catholic Education: Homeward Bound (2013)
Men and Women Are From Eden: A Study
Guide to John Paul II's Theology of the Body (2005)
Healing: Bringing the Gift of God's Mercy
to the World (2015)
Sherif Girgis, Ryan T Anderson, Robert George
What Is Marriage?: Man and
Woman: A Defense (2012)
Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage
(2008)
Jennifer Kaczor
The Seven Big Myths About Marriage (2014)
Hallie Lord
Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things That Really Matter (2012)
Spice Up Your Marriage: A 28-Day
Adventure (2014)
Getting the Marriage Conversation Right: A Guide for Effective
Dialogue (2012) William B.
May
teaches you how to promote and defend traditional
marriage in non-religious terms. It’s a great “how to” guide to answer those
tough questions you’ve struggled with.
Gregory
K. Popcak and Ronald David Lawler
For Better Forever: A Catholic Guide to Lifelong Marriage (1999)
For Better Forever: A Catholic Guide to Lifelong Marriage (1999)
Dr. Janet Smith
Contraception: Why Not (1993) MP3
Why Humanae Vitae Is Still Right (2018)
Matt
Walsh
The Unholy Trinity Blocking the Left's Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender (2017)
Christopher West
SEXUALAITY and PRO-LIFE
Raymond Dennehy
Anti-Abortionist At Large: How To Argue Abortion Intelligently And Live To Tell About it (2006)
https://www.hprweb.com/author/raymond-dennehy/
Gimme Love, Gimme Hope, Gimme Shelter:
The True Inspiration Behind the Movie Gimme Shelter (2013)
Tim
Drake
Behind Bella: The Amazing Stories of
Bella and the Lives it's Changed (2008)
Carol Everett, Jack Shaw
Blood Money: How I Got Rich off a Woman's Right to Choose (1992)
Abby Johnson and Cindy Lambert
Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a
Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life (2014)
The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion
Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories (2016)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4444567.Abby_Johnson
The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk - Convert, Mother & Pro-Life Activist (2011) Michael Pakaluk (Editor)
[P]regnancy isn’t a physical problem. It is a normal state of well-being for a healthy woman. Her body is doing exactly what it is physically supposed to do. The cervix has clamped shut to keep infection out and to keep the baby in. Just about every system of her body—her metabolism, her circulatory system, her muscles and bones, everything is adapting to the task of nurturing this new human life.
The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind
(1996) Bernard Nathanson
Jessica Shaver
Gianna: Aborted...and Lived to Tell about It (1995)
Ramona Treviño, Roxane B. Salonen
Redeemed by Grace: A Catholic Woman’s Journey to Planned Parenthood and Back (2014)
Do not pretend
you don’t know if the unborn is a human being, or a “person.” That is the same
argument that was used by Germans concerning Jews, and the Supreme Court and slaveholders
concerning slaves.
The child in the
womb is not a carrot who becomes a little boy, nor is she a blob of protoplasm
that becomes a little girl.
He or she is a
little boy or girl from conception. In fact, from the time you were
conceived—as one cell—what you are today—your gender, the color of your eyes,
the color of your hair (absent any coloring or highlights), all of that and a
thousand other details were present in the one cell that was you. The genetic
research of today proves this fact beyond any doubt.
The child in the
womb is a human being, and to deliberately destroy that child for the sole
reason that someone else does not want that child to exist is wrong.- Randall
Terry: Do You Believe in Good and Evil?
https://www.epm.org/static/uploads/downloads/book-resources/WhyProlife-excerpt.pdf
Sexuality and Singleness
How to
Get to 'I Do' - A Dating Guide for Catholic Women" (2010)
Real Love: Answers
to Your Questions on Dating, Marriage and the Real Meaning of Sex (1996)
Single and Catholic: Finding Meaning in Your State of Life (2016) Judy Keane
In Single and
Catholic, author Judy Keane gives you guidance and encouragement as you
find purpose and meaning in the life God has given you.
If You
Really Loved Me: 100 Questions on Dating, Relationships, and Sexual Purity -
Revised and
Expanded (2009)
How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul (2011) Jason Evert, Crystalina Evert
Single women often feel left
alone to find answers to their deep questions about love and intimacy. Some
hang out and hook up, hoping for love. Others are afraid even to hope. At some
point, every woman needs reassurance that you - and your standards - are not
the problem. In How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul,
you'll discover twenty-one strategies to guide you through the single years of
life.
Molly Kelly
Saved sex: Chastity-- Because
You're Worth It (1997)
Thomas G. Morrow
Christian Courtship in an Oversexed
World: A Guide for Catholics (2003)
Chastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin
(2014)
The Catholic Girl's Survival
Guide for the Single Years (2012)
These Beautiful Bones: An
Everyday Theology of the Body (2013)
The ABC's of Choosing A Good Husband (2001)
In The ABC's of Choosing A
Good Husband, author Stephen Wood gives practical and insightful advice
to women on how to choose a partner for life. As the happily married father of
six daughters, the author writes from a wealth of experience and passes on
time-tested strategies and surprising new ideas that will help you as you
prepare to make the most important decision of your life.
The ABC's of Choosing A Good Wife(2003)
Finding a good wife and lasting
love in marriage is no easy task. In The ABC's of Choosing A Good Wife,
author Stephen Wood offers time tested advice for making the greatest decision
of your life. It's practical, convincing, full of invaluable wisdom and some
surprising new ideas
Sexuality and
Battles
Freedom: Battle Strategies for Conquering Temptation (2015) Everett Fritz SEE BELOW
In Freedom
Everett Fritz explains God’s design for sexuality and why it’s the only
path that can lead to true happiness.
In his new book, Integrity
Restored, Dr. Peter Kleponis presents an alarming in-depth look at the
pornography epidemic that is ruining lives
So why doesn’t
pornography present the truth about sex and relationships? Well the truth is that healthy sex and
intimacy can only be found in a committed marital relationship where it is an
expression of deep physical, emotional and spiritual love. Pornography violates this because it takes
sex out of that relationship. There is
no commitment or intimacy. Sex is
reduced to nothing more that a selfish recreational activity that, while
temporarily exciting, can never provide lasting fulfillment. In a healthy and fulfilling marital
relationship there is no need for pornography.
How Pornography
Affects Young People
My Peace I Give You:
Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints provides a
much-needed resource for spiritual healing from the isolating effects of these wounds.
Religious mysticism radiates through
the popular culture. And as mysticism is a more universal and exciting form of
religious expression than dogma, it’s also where the American people are
increasingly getting their spiritual nourishment.
They don’t need to know St. Thomas
Aquinas or Hans Urs von Balthasar to understand the awesome beauty of God and
the splendor of creation—they just have to see the film Gravity. They don’t
need Billy Graham to tell them that love is stronger than death—they just have
to turn on the radio or listen to the Beatles. They don’t need a National
Review subscription to tell them that liberals and central planners are often
resentful people with emotional problems who are simply out for control—they
just saw The Dark Knight Rises. The popular culture is exploding with art,
creativity, and mysticism. And in response conservatives get an occasional Star
Trek joke from Jonah Goldberg.
We need filmmakers, cartoonists,
dreamers, and novelists. We don’t need more think tanks. We need romantics and
God-seeking artists. Ten years ago this February, Mel Gibson releasedThe
Passion of the Christ. Rather than a ham-fisted and hectoring right-wing
lecture, it was, particularly in the early scenes, a work of gorgeous
mysticism. In the decade since, conservatives have done little to follow up.
There have been some bright spots, perhaps, pointing to the power such projects
can have.
| Essays
Sexuality and
Homosexuality
John F. Harvey
The Truth about Homosexuality: The Cry of the Faithful (1996)
Homosexuality and the Catholic Church (2007)
In accord with the natural moral law, the majority of men and women have a natural physical attraction to the opposite sex, and this attraction is meant to lead to an intimate permanent union of a man and a woman in marriage who look forward to children. We call this complementarity. There cannot be a true communion of bodies in homosexual-genital intercourse. Some years ago a mother who was part of a team conducting an engagement encounter retreat privately asked me about homosexual behavior: “How do they do it?” I described how they did it, and she just smiled at me as she said, “The parts don’t fit.”
Harvey O.S.F.S., Fr. John F. (2013-04-01T23:58:59). Homosexuality & the Catholic Church: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions . Ascension Press. Kindle Edition.
In helping persons with SSA to be chaste (which is the principal goal of Courage. Seeking chastity is the necessary first step away from SSA. The individual may not be able to recover completely his natural heterosexual tendencies, but he or she is moving in the correct spiritual direction. With God’s grace, he or she will be able not only to avoid same-sex sins but also to develop interior chastity.
Harvey O.S.F.S., Fr. John F. (2013-04-01T23:58:59). Homosexuality & the Catholic Church: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions . Ascension Press. Kindle Edition.
In Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, it is clear that God designed the human body in two forms, male and female, for the purposes of marriage and procreation. I consider what the Church teaches concerning the nature of the marital act and then ask whether homosexual acts can fulfill the purposes of marriage.
Harvey O.S.F.S., Fr. John F. (2013-04-01T23:58:59). Homosexuality & the Catholic Church: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions . Ascension Press. Kindle Edition.
The Bible and Homosexual Practice (2001) Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon
Simply put, sex matters. The powerful mating instinct built into the human species, with its enormous potential for both pleasure and pain, consumes an extraordinary amount of our time and energy as we attempt to figure out how to satisfy it and domesticate it, with whom and when, so as to maximize pleasure and minimize pain to ourselves and others. The mating instinct can be harnessed to build families, contribute to a stable and nurturing society generally, and promote happiness; but it can also destroy these social goods. Consequently, much is at stake on nearly any issue involving sexual ethics.
Gagnon, Robert A. J. (2010-09-30T23:58:59). The Bible and Homosexual Practice . Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.
I think there’s a way to encourage people to trust that the Church
understands them, understands the tangle of the human heart and knows how to
move forward from that. But it’s not done from a position of condescension or
severity. Jesus tells us that the truth is to be liberating. What’s it supposed
to liberate us from? Confusion, ignorance, self-centeredness, sin. It’s
intended to liberate us so that we are able to renew ourselves. And that’s
where we find fulfillment.
The Church has been able to announce the Gospel for 2,000 years,
and it has not always been done perfectly in every case. But, certainly, we
know it can be done, because we see people responding to grace. Approaching Homosexuality With ‘True
Compassion,’ Not ‘Sentimentality May. 29, 2015
We try to be very thoughtful about the words we choose, because we want to be thoughtful about how they’ll be heard. One of the great points of St. Thomas Aquinas’s pedagogy is that “Things are received in the mode of the receiver.” So [human beings] have experiences and perceptions that color or filter or influence the way we hear things.
Father Paul Check Approaching Homosexuality With ‘True Compassion,’ Not ‘Sentimentality May. 29, 2015
Robert Reilly,
Making Gay Okay:: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything (2014)
Man is a social being. Though parts
of his life take place in private, in the normal course of things even those
private aspects have public manifestations. Indeed, public social life is organized
in such a way as to ensure privacy for certain things. We learn what should be
private from the public way in which certain privacies are protected. So by
private we do not mean things that are nobody else’s business. The private, in
this sense, is everybody’s business. For example, certainly the sexual intimacy
between a husband and wife is held to be private and inviolate. But what are
the public manifestations of this privacy? Obviously, wedding rings, children,
private property, homes, schools, communities—the whole structure and fabric of
society, in fact, is built to protect and maintain the conditions for that
intimacy and its results. The whole social and political order is supportive of
this privacy. It is encouraged and protected by law because it is held to be of
benefit to all.
Reilly, Robert
(2015-09-10T23:58:59). Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior
Is Changing Everything . Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
Rationalizations for moral misbehavior work like this. Anyone who chooses
an evil act must present it to himself as good; otherwise, as Aristotle taught,
he would be incapable of choosing it. When we rationalize, we convince
ourselves that heretofore forbidden desires are permissible. In short, we
assert that bad is good. Conscience often wins out afterward, and the person
repents—first of all by admitting to the evil nature of the act committed. The
temporary rationalization crumbles, and moral reality is restored. Habitual
moral failure, however, can be lived with only by obliterating conscience
through a more permanent rationalization, an enduring inversion of morality.
Reilly, Robert (2015-09-10T23:58:59). Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing
Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything . Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
Abortion is the ultimate in the larger rationalization of the sexual
revolution (of which the homosexual cause is part): if sex is only a form of
amusement or self-realization (as it must be when divorced from the moral
order), why should the generation of a child stand in the way of it or penalize
its fulfillment? The life of the child is a physical and moral rebuke to this
proposition. But the child is too weak to overcome the power of the
rationalization. The virtual reality of the rationalization is stronger than
the actual reality of the child. The child succumbs to
the rationalization and is killed in a new “sacrament”. With more than
fifty-five million abortions performed since 1973, the investment in the denial
of the evil of abortion and in the establishment of the alternative reality
that allows it has become tremendous.
Reilly, Robert (2015-09-10T23:58:59). Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing
Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything . Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
Made for Love: Same-Sex
Attraction and the Catholic Church (2018)
Sexual Authenticity:
An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism (2009)
I have been asked by several people what the thesis of
this book is. I briefly considered opening with an essay about how the entire
idea of a thesis is a socially constructed artifact of heteropatriarchy, but I
decided against it. Too snide, too tongue-in-cheek, too clever. Still, I don’t have
a thesis. What I have, instead, is a method: this is a series of meditations,
an essay in the sense of “an attempt,” to try to overcome the general trend
towards sterile, cross-purpose dialog between Christians and homosexuals on the
subject of sexual morality. My goal is to create some sort of common ground on
which a dialog could be had and then start trying to say something meaningful
and, God willing, true. The fodder for these meditations is a combination of
research, experience, and autobiography.
Selmys, Melinda (2009-04-05T23:58:59). Sexual
Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism . Our
Sunday Visitor. Kindle Edition.
March 9, 2017 by Melinda Selmys
The monstrance is wealth seeking to
draw attention to a mystery that looks like a poor-man’s bread. It is art
trying to illustrate the inner radiance of something that appears to be a
cracker. It is religion attempting to illuminate the fantastic truth of a God
who is here, really present, in the most intimate way, in the simplest
realities that sustain our lives. It is theology and philosophy building up
clunky towers of inadequate words in an attempt to describe the indescribable. A Monstrous Monstrance, or Why
Does Religion Suck?
August 12, 2018 by Melinda Selmys
the beliefs we
arrive at are usually chosen from a fairly small range of real options. The circumstances
of our lives dictate our philosophies to a much higher degree than most of us
are comfortable acknowledging. Of course, this means that we are rarely willing
to acknowledge the degree to which other people’s beliefs are the consequence
of their experience rather than of conscious deliberation.
Loving our
intellectual enemies, therefore, becomes difficult. We find it very hard to say
“Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Instead, we want to
castigate and shame them for having arrived at such egregious conclusions. More
importantly, we want to make it clear, both to ourselves and to others, that we
could never, ever, fall into the same error.
Escaping from this
trap involves an exercise of imagination. It involves being willing to get
inside the head of someone who thinks very differently. It involves asking ourselves
difficult questions. What kind of experiences or information might lead me to
arrive at that same belief? What thought process could lead me to arrive at
those conclusions? It involves seeing the other person as another self,
possessed of the same kind of fundamental human inclinations, abilities and
limitations that I, myself, possess. Love Your
Ideological Enemies
April 21, 2018 by Melinda Selmys
Out From Under: The Impact of
Homosexual Parenting (2007)
Mothers and fathers bring unique
and complementary gifts to their children. Contrary to the logic of same-sex
marriage, the gender of parents matters for the healthy development of children.
We know, for example, that the majority of incarcerated men did not have their
fathers in the home. Fathers by their nature secure identity, instill
direction, provide discipline, boundaries, and risk-taking adventures, and set
lifelong examples for children. But fathers cannot nurture children in the womb
or give birth to and breast-feed babies. Mothers nurture children in unique and
beneficial ways that cannot be duplicated by fathers.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to
know that men and women are anatomically, biologically, physiologically,
psychologically, hormonally, and neurologically different from each other.
These unique differences provide lifelong benefits to children that cannot be
duplicated by same-gender “legal” parents acting out different gender roles or
attempting to substitute for the missing male or female role model in the home.
A Warning from Canada: Same-Sex Marriage
Erodes Fundamental Rights
April 24, 2015
Janet E. Smith (Editor), Paul N.
Check
Living the Truth in
Love grew out of the desire to provide answers to the questions posed for the
Synod on Marriage called by Pope Francis
Fr. Paul Check July 01, 2013 True Compassion for the Sexual Sinner
The reason God hates sin is that it damages and even destroys the thing he loves the most: his children. Aquinas wrote, “For we do not offend God except by doing something contrary to our own good” (Summa Contra Gentiles III, 122.2). Jesus can say to the woman caught in adultery “Do not sin again” (John 8:11) only because sin is foreign to her nature, to her identity, to her being—and grace makes possible the avoidance of sin and the growth in virtue in the highest sense: to holiness of life.
The teaching of Christ about adultery and divorce, therefore, includes a number of other unchaste actions: masturbation, fornication, contraception—and homosexual activity. Unchastity of any kind opposes two virtues: temperance, which regulates sense pleasure according to right reason; and, equally important, the virtue of justice, which regulates relationships. In a word, to be unchaste is to be selfish in some degree, whereas chastity advances the self-giving that fulfills our nature.
Jesus’ new commandment of love expresses the fact that, like the one in whose image we are created, we are made to give ourselves in a chaste manner: “Love one another; even as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Self-giving after the heart of Christ disposes the heart for the joy of Christ.
Born to Love:
Gay-Lesbian Identity, Relationships, and Marriage (2009)
https://www.catholicprofiles.org/blog-1/an-interview-with-father-john-r-waiss
Father JP: The Church is not singling out homosexual acts. In the sections
on sexual morality—on the sixth and ninth Commandments (6th: CCC
2331-2400; 9th: CCC 2514-2533)—the Catechism describes homosexual
sins as just one sin among many. In fact, of the one hundred plus paragraphs,
more than seventy paragraphs focus on the positive aspects of sexual morality.
Of the paragraphs describing sexual sins, eleven paragraphs deal
with sins against chastity (such as, lust, fornication, pornography,
prostitution, rape, erotic entertainment, moral permissiveness, impure looks)
and fourteen paragraphs
deal with sins against marriage (such as, adultery, divorce, polygamy,
incest, child abuse, trial marriage, and living together). Only two paragraphs
deal with the sin of homosexual sex, with the later
paragraph listing it among several others.
In other words, homosexual sex is certainly
disordered: it can kill one’s relationship with God and hurt other
relationships, as well. But you cannot say that it is singled out as more
deviant than these others. In fact, divorce is condemned at much greater length
than any of these other sins.
Waiss,
John R. (2011-05-18T23:58:59). Born to Love: Gay-Lesbian Identity,
Relationships, and Marriage •
Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Battle for Chaste Love . Outskirts Press. Kindle
Edition.
Written by
Fr. John Waiss on January 13, 2017. Posted in Uncategorized
Some,
especially new Catholics, struggle with the use of Latin in the Sunday Mass, in
particular, with the singing of the Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. As active
participation is encouraged, some find it hard and a bit put off by the loss of
understanding that comes with Latin.
Actually,
the liturgy uses other languages besides Latin. For example, when the early
Church sought to celebrate the Holy Mass in the language of the common people,
i.e. Latin, she chose to leave some prayers in New Testament Greek. So even
today, the Latin Mass retains the Kyrie in Greek, although it is permitted to
use the vernacular, Lord have mercy. We get other prayers from Hebrew, such as
the Alleluia, Hosanna and Amen.
So, why
doesn’t the Church just translate these words into English, Spanish, Polish, or
other vernacular languages when she translates the Mass?
Sense of mystery
We must make the Holy Mass our own—a truly
personal prayer through which each one of us actively enters into dialogue with
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet, as liturgy, the Mass is the public
prayer of the whole Church, the one Bride in dialogue with her one Lord and Bridegroom.
Using sacred languages manifests this universality. When we attend the Mass in
Africa, Japan, Europe, or in South America we are entering into the universal
prayer of love of the whole Church throughout the centuries, both past and
future.
What better way to express the unified love
of the Church for Christ than through these common words of love and praise?
May we deepen our appreciation of the mystery of God’s love through our common
language.
Even the love that man and woman show by
becoming one flesh expresses the great dignity of man and woman as the image
and likeness of God. Love—the union of spirits—is truly divine and its physical
expression is something sacred.
Waiss, John R. (2011-05-18T23:58:59). Born
to Love: Gay-Lesbian Identity, Relationships, and Marriage • Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Battle
for Chaste Love . Outskirts Press. Kindle Edition.
Margie: So, the Catechism
is saying to us that all sinful activity is disordered—not just homosexual
tendencies—and because of that no human being can ever be considered slime, or
“trash.”
Sex & Marriage
Adoption and Families
Sexuality and SSA People
Sexuality and Marriage
Sexuality and Pro-Life
Sexuality and Singleness
Young People
Parenthood and Family Life
Sexuality and Battles
YOUNG ADULTS
www.ncregister.com/site/article/teen_faith_and_vocations
We're on a Mission from God
The Generation X Guide to John
Paul II and the Real Meaning of Life (1996)
Desiderata A Teenager's Journey
to God (2010) David Eich
God loves you enough to invite
you to serve others. He expects your emotions to range anywhere from fear to
joy, confusion to clarity, surprise to expectation. He knew all this before you
took your first breath. Remember the apostles? How many of those smelly old
fishermen do you think really understood what Jesus was asking of them? True,
they were captivated by our Lord’s charisma, miracles, and storytelling. And a
few of them began to question whether or not this “man” was truly the Savior
they were waiting for. But even then, they did not realize what sacrifice would
be asked of them. They just knew that they were being “called”. And they
answered.
Eich, David
(2010-06-22T23:58:59). Desiderata . Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
Tweeting with God #Big Bang,
prayer, Bible, sex, Crusades, sin, career (2012) Michel Remery
The Truth Is Out There: Book And
Study Guide by Brother Amadeus and Amadeus (2013)
A new way to bring the Catholic
Faith to young people While intended for Catholics who wish to understand
their faith better, The Truth Is Out There : Brendan & Erc in Exile
, is also ideal for those who are searching for answers to life’s deepest
questions. This Study Guide is meant to accompany the book, The
Truth Is Out There.
Raising Pure Teens (2010) Jason
Evert, Chris Stefanick
In Raising Pure Teens, noted
chastity speakers Jason Evert and Chris Stefanick incorporate the Church’s
wisdom with 10 proven strategies for talking with teens about chastity. They
offer a perfect blend of humor and sobriety, real-life stories and effective
metaphors, cutting-edge science and undeniable logic.
In How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard, Aurora Griffin
draws on her recent experience, and shares forty practical tips relating to
academics, community, prayer, and service that helped her stay Catholic in
college.
The Big Picture
The Big Picture is a brand new
adventure with high-quality full-color illustrations and a story line that’s
easy to follow as our heroes come face-to-face with the Drama and Mystery of
God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
Amy Wellborn
Prove It! God (2000)
Prove It! Church (2001)
Prove It! Jesus (2002)
Prove It! Prayer (2002)
Prove It! You (2007)
Prove It! The Catholic Teen
Bible (2004)
Tweet others as you would wish
to be tweeted: A Scripture-based guide to social media for the Church (2015) by
Beth Doherty
Young Catholic America: Emerging
Adults In, Out of, and Gone from the Church (2014)
Discerning Your Vocation: A
Catholic Guide for Young Adults (2014)
by Nathanael Pujos and Anthony Ariniello
Before setting out to be a
priest, consecrated or married, remember that there is an even deeper question:
What type of holiness does the Lord want for me? Everyone is called to be a
saint: single people, married people, religious, and priests. What kind of
saint is the Lord calling me to be? In the end, holiness is the only thing that
counts. It is the universal vocation, applicable to everyone. Your state of
life (celibate, married, priest) is important, but remember that it is only a
path to holiness, not the goal itself. It is a means – the field, if you like –
where your sanctification takes place. Deeply engraved in each of us lies our
primary call to holiness, and all vocations are at the service of this call. To
become a saint is exactly what God expects from you!
Pujos, Nathanael
(2014-08-20T23:58:59). Discerning Your Vocation: A Catholic Guide for Young
Adults . ST PAULS. Kindle Edition.
I Choose God: Stories From Young
Catholics ( 2010)
by Chris Cuddy and Peter
Ericksen
Augustine had a near-death
experience that caused him to take a serious look at the meaning and purpose of
life. He had many questions, and he wasn’t satisfied with the typical answers.
He found himself yearning for something deeper, something more fulfilling, than
the fleeting pleasures he’d pursuing. The person and work of Jesus Christ
attracted him. Augustine’s passions,
however, still could erupt with seemingly uncontrollable power. While his
spirit was becoming willing, his flesh remained weak. It took many years of
struggle for him to make the firm and irrevocable decision to change his
life. Finally the partying was over. No
longer would he give in to the illicit pleasures his body craved. No longer
would he be a slave to lust.
Cuddy, Chris
(2010-12-27T22:58:59). I Choose God: Stories From Young Catholics . Servant
Books. Kindle Edition.
A Young Catholic's Guide to
Defending the FaithAug 17, 2016
by Adrienne DePrisco
One way to begin considering why
you are a faithful Catholic is to try and ask the questions of someone who does
not believe. If you did not already accept the teachings of the Church, what
would you want to know about them? Compile a list of questions, and then spend
as much time as it takes to figure out the answers. Read books, articles
online, papal encyclicals: the goal is to try and find as many sources as you
can to really develop a deeper understanding of our religion and of God. This
is not only a great way to learn more about your own faith, it is also a
strategy to prepare for conversing with future non-believers. Being able to
respond to questions confidently and intelligently will show that you take the
Church seriously and that there are thousands of others who do as well.
DePrisco, Adrienne
(2016-08-16T23:58:59). A Young Catholic's Guide to Defending the Faith . UNKNOWN.
Kindle Edition.
The Catholic Faith Handbook for
Youth, Third Edition (paperback)Feb 15, 2013
by Brian Singer-Towns
Best-Loved Saints: Inspiring
Biographies of Popular Saints for Young Catholics and AdultsSep 1, 1996
by Reverend Lawrence G Lovasik
S.V.D.
The New Faithful: Why Young
Adults Are Embracing Christian OrthodoxySep 1, 2002
Young and Catholic: The Face of Tomorrow's
ChurchDec 2004
by Tim Drake
24 Unique Ways to Upgrade Your
Catholic Youth Group: Ideas to Transform Youth MinistryJan 21, 2015
Pick Up Your Cross
and Follow Me: Catholic Discipleship - Becoming a Disciple of Christ
(2012)
One Truth! Jesus
Christ (N.E.M. Disciple Training Series, Volume II) (2013)
Screwtape Teaches the Faith: A
Guide for CatechistsSep 15, 2011
Raised Catholic (Can You Tell?)
(American Storytelling)Dec 19, 2005
by Ed Stivender
Called: Discover Your Vocation
DVD’S
Called: Discover Your Vocation -
Leader Kitc
YOUCAT Youth
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2010) Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn
YOUCAT: Youth Prayer Book (2011)
Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn
YOUCAT: Confession
(2013)
YOUCAT Study Guide (2013) Mark
Brumley, Jack Kersting and Paul George
YOUCAT Confirmation: Student
Book (2014) Bernhard Meuser and Nils Baer
DOCAT What to do? By YOUCAT
FOUNDATION (2016) Bernhard Meuser (Editor)
DOCAT: Catholic
Social Teaching for Youth (2016)
YOUCAT Bible (2017)
Engaging a New Generation: A Vision for Reaching Catholic Teens
by Frank Mercadante (2011)
The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren't Working and What to Do About It
by Everett Fritz (2018)
Vocations
Diaconate
Heart of the Diaconate, The: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ (2015) James Keating
Every Man a Deacon? Who is called to ordination as a Roman Catholic deacon (2014) Rex Pilger
Answering the Call: How God Transformed the Lives of Nineteen Catholic Deacons (2010)
Michael J. McGrath and Michael Cooper
101 Questions And Answers On Deacons (101 Questions & Answers) (2004) William T. Ditewig
The Deacon's Ministry of Charity and Justice (2015) William T. Ditewig
Called to Serve: A Spirituality for Deacons (2014) Phyllis Zagano PhD
To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood
Feb 15, 2010
by Fr. Brett Brannen and
Sam Alzheimer KINDLE
Called: What Happens After Saying Yes to God KINDLE
Feb 22, 2018
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