February & March 2010: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

A modern-day Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Seven Storey Mountain is one of the most influential religious works of the twentieth century. It tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man whose search for peace and faith leads him, at the age of twenty-six, to take vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders-the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully immersed himself in it.

The Seven Storey Mountain has been a favorite of readers ranging from Graham Greene to Claire Booth Luce, Eldridge Cleaver, and Frank McCourt. And, in the half-century since its original publication, this timeless spiritual tome has been published in over twenty languages and has touched millions of lives.
--description courtesy of Goodreads.com

January 2010: The Scarlet and the Black: The True Story of Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty, Hero of the Vatican Underground, by J. P. Gallagher

Published by Ignatius Press, November 2009.

November 2009: My Life with the Saints, by James Martin, SJ

Published by Loyola Press, 2009.

Preview this book at Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com .

Find this book in a library.

October 2009: Ten Commandments for the Environment: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out for Creation and Justice, by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker

Seasoned author and journalist Woodeene Koenig-Bricker skillfully weaves together Pope Benedict's key statements on environmental justice into one volume. Additionally, she offers commentary that helps to unpack the Ten Commandments for the Environment, which were recently released by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
--synopsis from barnesandnoble.com

September 2009: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Exhausted from a six-week lecture tour across the U.S. in 1983, Nouwen seeks rest in the L'Arche community in France. During his stay, a painting of Rembrandt catches his attention: The Return of the Prodigal Son. Sustained reflection on the painting slowly emerges into awareness of a new vocation coming to flower in his heart, his own personal call to "come home," to make his home with L'Arche. Identifying with each of the three main figures in the painting, Nouwen crafts a fresh interpretation of a classic story, concluding: "Though I am both the younger son and the elder son, I am not to remain them, but called to become the Father." A miniature of the painting on the memorial card for Nouwen’s wake marked its special place in the memory of the L’Arche Daybreak community where he served as pastor for the last ten years of his life.
--synopsis from HenriNouwen.org

Doubleday, 1992, Pp.142

Click here for a reading guide for this book, provided by HenriNouwen.org.

August 2009: The Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, & the Hope for Tomorrow by Mike Aquilina

Beginning with the earliest martyrs and ending with the twentieth century, The Resilient Church offers a fascinating look at the trials and triumphs of the Catholic Church over the past two thousand years. Fast-paced sketches of critical periods in church history give readers perspective on the challenges faced by the church today. Short selections in each chapter highlight some of the great heroes who influenced the course of history. Mike Aquilina does not shrink from the realities of the past, including badly behaved leaders and those who betrayed the Lord. Yet he also leaves readers with well-founded hope for the future: God remains faithful in every circumstance and fulfills his promise to remain with his church always.
--synopsis from Word Among Us Press

Publisher: Word Among Us Press, The
Pub. Date: May 2007
ISBN-13: 9781593251048

July 2009: Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life by Amy Welborn

There's a voice that will always tell you the truth. The voice that belongs to the One who created you. The voice that belongs to the One who loves you the most deeply and who wants nothing but the absolute best for you. The voice that belongs to the One who knows where your personal path to true peace and happiness lies.

Among all those voices, amid all those voices, is God.

God has the answers for your life - with God's presence in the richness of Catholic faith and belief. This is the place where the living God dwells, waiting for you, waiting with the peace you are looking for. Here. Now.
--synopsis from barnesandnoble.com

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor, Publishing Division
Pub. Date: May 2005
ISBN-13: 9781592761432