May 3, 2022
BOOK: Angels All Around Us: A Sightseeing Guide to the Invisible World (formerly titled The Invisible World) , by Anthony DeStefano (Doubleday, 2011) I usually don’t read books that are sent to me unbidden. Anthony DeStefano’s Angels All Around Us was mailed to me by Priests for Life, an organization I support financially. If I…
My relationship with New York Times best-selling author and speaker Matthew Kelly dates back to 2004 when another New York Times, best-selling author and friend Patrick Lencioni, brought him to my attention as a potential speaker for the Diocese of Oakland’s Catholics@Work (C@W) Speaker Series. Despite Kelly’s very busy schedule, we were able to bring…
French pediatrician and geneticist Jérôme Lejeune, renown for discovering the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome, was a devout Catholic. As a Catholic, Lejeune thought his historic discovery would lead to a more compassionate approach to children with the syndrome. Instead—to his horror—Lejeune’s famous discovery became a tool used to diagnose Down Syndrome babies in…
A Review of Joe Murphy’s Spiritual Lifeboat. I was introduced to author Joe Murphy by Mary Jo Potter, the former Dignity Health Board Chair and a recent guest on my radio show, THE MENTORS RADIO. Mary Jo suggested we meet due to my work over 20 years helping more than 6,000 professionals navigate their career…
CNA—Few young Catholic Blessed are more popular in the United States than Pier Giorgio Frassati. Numerous ministries, schools, youth camps and awards bear the name of the handsome and wealthy Italian Catholic activist who was equally known for his social justice concerns, his amiable character, his boisterous laughter and his accomplishments as an avid mountaineer.…
The only challenge in reading a compelling new biography of Fr. Aloysius Schwartz, a Washington, D.C. native—entitled Priest and Beggar: The Heroic Life of Venerable Fr. Aloysius Schwartz— is that it seems to transcend reality at times and bring the reader into the realm of mythical superheroes. However, in reading we learn that Aloysius was…
Book reviews of “The Catholic Guide to Miracles” and the “Diary of an American Exorcist” I fully embrace the reality of a spiritual dimension to life. It cannot be proven with science, but it can be observed and for some, experienced. I am grateful for having numerous spiritual guides and experiences over many years that…
Matthew Pinto, Founder and President of Ascension, announced today the sale of the company to Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Strate, who has become the company’s new owner, president, and CEO. “It has been an extraordinary gift to be able to do the work of evangelization and catechesis as a layman for these 22 years, alongside…
March 17, 2021
I visited Westport Ireland three years ago in search of my grandmother’s (Cahill) birth certificate. It is a beautiful place on the West Coast of Ireland, north of Galway. It lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick which is named in honor of Saint Patrick, the apostle and patron of Ireland and the Irish race.…
OCCatholic—Reading the Bible has had a positive effect on people’s “mental well-being” during the pandemic, according to a Christian Research survey conducted in the United Kingdom. The survey also found that respondents were reading the Bible more and turning to Bible-related videos more during the pandemic. The survey, carried out on behalf of the Bible…
The Pontifical Swiss Guard’s elegant “The Vatican Christmas Cookbook” is infused with the Spirit of Christmas with 100 recipes, stories and pictures that are an integral part of the Vatican Christmas narrative. In this beautifully illustrated book, authors David Geisser and Thomas Kelly have again successfully linked our physical and spiritual needs to food –…
Fr. Wilson D. Miscamble’s American Priest was intended to be a critical biography of Theodore Hesburgh, the priest who was president of the University of Notre Dame for 50 years. Notre Dame loyalists who hold Hesburgh in reverence and are intolerant of criticism need not worry: Nothing in the book will lead to removal of…
CNS—At the request of retired Pope Benedict XVI, his name will be removed as co-author of a book—From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church—defending priestly celibacy, said Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican official who coordinated work on the book. “Considering the polemics provoked by the publication of…
For those who have experienced the joy of savoring any writing by G.K. Chesterton (photo, left), the following Crisis article is for you—ed. Crisis Magazine—…I’ve called Chesterton “The Apostle of Common Sense.” I’d also like to call him “The Apostle of Life.” In his fantastical novel The Man Who Was Thursday, Chesterton says that modern…
Everybody wants to live a better life. Whether we are graduating or encountering post-retirement opportunities and challenges, we want to stay on track and contribute to what is good, inspiring, and helpful in the world. But how? Chris Lowney, a popular speaker on leadership, corporate ethics, and decision making, wants to share with you his…
G.K. Chesterton’s brilliant sketch of the life and thought of Thomas Aquinas is as relevant today as when it was published in 1933. Then it earned the praise of such distinguished writers as Etienne Gilson, Jacques Martain, and Anton Pegis as the best book ever written on the great thirteenth-century Dominican. Today Chesterton’s classic stands…
Loyola Press proudly announces seven books as 2019 Illumination Awards medalists. Illumination Award medals honor books that represent a dedication to Christian literature. The full list of Loyola Press medalists is: CHRISTIAN LIVING: GOLD: God Isn’t Finished with Me Yet by Barbara Lee CATHOLIC: GOLD- Living the Sacraments by Joe Paprocki BRONZE- On Hope by…
Jesuit ministry Loyola Press brings its mission of finding God in all things to Catholic Business professionals in its new partnership with Catholic Business Journal. As a Jesuit publisher since 1912, Loyola Press strives to publish resources that maintain their mission–to serve people, listen to their spiritual needs, and nurture their friendship with God and…
In an afterword to a book on silence and prayer authored by Cardinal Robert Sarah (released late Spring 2017), Benedict XVI praised the prelate as a spiritual model given the depth of his interior life, saying the liturgy is safe in his hands. “Cardinal Sarah is a spiritual teacher, who speaks out of the depths…
June 2, 2015
In the course of six weeks, author Sonia Choquette’s father and brother died unexpectedly, then she concluded she did not like her husband of 30 years. What was happening?
