Faith and Politics (Ignatius Press)

To say Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is one of the greatest theologians of our generation is an understatement. He should be classified as one of the most brilliant minds of our generation. Experiencing Hitler's Nazi Germany shaped the way he thought, especially in relation to faith and politics. He wrote a great deal on how these two ideas intersect and interact with each other and Ignatius Press has recently compiled some of these works together in the appropriately named Faith and Politics.

The book begins with a sobering comparison Johann Sebastian Bach's Passion of Christ and Krzysztof Penderecki's Passion. The former details Jesus' Passion and stops before the Resurrection, whereas the latter addresses the sufferings of the people of Auschwitz. This comparison is further built upon, while also discussing the seriousness of man's sinfulness and affliction. This leads us to a section on Jesus and Pilate. In this chapter, we see the hypocrisy of the Jewish people claiming to observe ritual purity, but at the same time lacking purity in their hearts. Pilate, by choosing not to release Jesus though he found him innocent, chose political stability over truth. We then see Augustine in opposition with the politics of Rome and Christians when faced with a totalitarian regime. Ratzinger argues that Christianity killed the notion of a "divine state," and that Christian morality and good must be present in a society. The next and longest section deals with a pluralistic society and the freedom, conscience, and values of the people and the society they are living in. The book ends with a transcript of a debate between Ratzinger and Paolo Flores d'Arcais (an atheist) on the existence of God. In my opinion, the book is worth buying for that transcript alone.

Drawing on Scripture and Church Tradition, Ratzinger shows us how politics and faith intersect and intertwine. More importantly, he demonstrates that without a grounding in faith, politics and society can lose their meaning and their way. As Christians, we are called to live in this world, but not be of this world. Therefore, we must use our faith to help shape our society and not let our society shape our faith. This was a very interesting, enlightening, and sometimes challenging read by Ratzinger, like all of his works. If you are involved in politics or studying politics at school, this will be of more benefit to you than the casual reader.

Heroism and Genius (Ignatius Press)

When you look back through the history of the Catholic Church, there have been some amazing men and women who helped shape not only the Church, but society as well. The stories of their lives could fill an endless amount of volumes, and each would be a remarkable read, no doubt. Fr. William J. Slattery recently penned a book titled Heroism and Genius. In this book, he narrowed the focus to priests. The book's introduction begins with a lengthy quote from Aragorn to Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. He then summarizes the three main parts of the book. Part One explains what modern historians have concluded with the Church's role in the shaping of Western Civilization, why the book asserts that priests were the constructors of this civilization, and the milestones from from 200 A.D. to 1300 A.D. Part Two "describes the gradual shaping from A.D. 300 to A.D. 1000 of the embryo of medieval Christendom." Part Three shows the "decisive role of priests" in the building of different social, artistic, and economic institutions.

Chapter Two looks at the Fall of the Roman Empire and the Conversion of Europe. It also looks intently at something we take for granted and that is the birth of the parish and the impact it had in shaping and preserving Western Christendom. Chapter Three, a favorite of mine does some heavy lifting in that it discusses the powerhouses that are Ambrose, Augustine, Leo the Great, and Gregory the Great. Augustine gets the lion's share of Chapter Three (as is to be expected), but it was nice to see Ambrose get his dues. He famously stated, "The Emperor is in the Church, not above it," and showed us that you cannot back down from God's truths, even to someone as powerful as the emperor. Chapter Four focuses on St. Benedict and St. Columba and the amazing impact that monasteries had on Western Europe. Chapter Five focuses heavily on Charlemagne, his model of Europe, and the man who mentored him, Alcuin. That was truly a fascinating chapter and shined the light on a man many in history overlook, because he is so overshadowed by Charlemagne.

I just walked you briefly through Part Two of this book. I won't do the same for Part Three. Instead, I will close with my thoughts on why you should buy this book. The Catholic priest right now is the one of the most under-appreciated people in the Western world. Whereas, he used to be held in extremely high regard, he is now seen as just a common man, and talked about behind his back as such too. One could also even argue that the priest is an endangered species. Just for a small sample size, my archdiocese produces one priest a year (on average) with a recent high of four one year. This book explains the vital role that priests have played in Western Christendom and culture since Christ founded the Church, and it does so with history to prove it. Without priests, I shudder to think where our society would be today, or if it even would be. It is for that reason that I encourage you, no implore you, to buy this book and read it. We must appreciate our priests again, help our priests to be the best that they can be, and foster vocations for new priests.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

The Trials of Saint Patrick (Augustine Institute)

Radio dramas is a forgotten form of entertainment in today's age. One of the most famous ones ever was Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds, which had people truly believing that aliens had landed and were going to wipe us off the face of the earth. The BBC has made some good ones in recent times with my favorite one being The Chronicles of Narnia. Last year, Augustine Institute has utilized this medium with their Augustine Institute Radio Theatre. Their first program, which debuted last year was Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi. This year they released The Trials of Saint Patrick. Both are available for $30 a piece. The Trials of Saint Patrick is a 4 CD/8 part radio drama with actor John Rhys-Davies leading the billing. The episodes are as follows:

1. Abduction - Older Patrick is before a tribunal and recounts his teens where he became a slave
2. The Way Out - Patrick escapes after having been a slave for six years
3. Home - Patrick is reunited with his family
4. Preparations - Patrick studies in France and meets Tertius
5. Old Masters - Patrick begins his mission in Hibernia, but meets great resistance
6. King of Kings - Patrick displays a miracle of fire to King Laoghaire, so that he may continue preaching
7. Blood Crescent - Patrick takes on the pagans and their gods, and experiences a dark time in his life
8. Coroticus - The tribunal comes to a close, but not before Patrick is attacked for his past by someone who should be his friend

Included with the four CDs is a small discussion guide, which has several questions for each episode that are great for personal reflection or small groups. These questions reflect on Patrick's life by looking at it through the lenses of Scripture and the Catechism. Using these two pillars, we are asked to look at his life and compare it to ours. How do we respond to suffering? How can we better participate in God's plans for our life? How we can share the message of God with others?

The program was captivating to listen to, and I really appreciate that they got native-born United Kingdom actors to perform these roles. This added a level of authenticity to the program that would have been lacking if they just used American born actors. What I disliked about the program was the music. It was a bit louder at times than the spoken parts, so I felt I had to turn down the program when the music was on and turn it back up when the speaking occurred. As for the packaging, it is very beautiful, but I felt the size was unnecessary and unwieldy as it was twice the height of a normal CD. This might make it a little difficult to stock on shelves in physical stores. The sleeve was also a bit unneeded. Those quibbles aside, I think it's an excellent program that should be listened to by all Catholics. All most people know about St. Patrick is the shamrock (not mentioned in this program), that he drove all the snakes from Ireland, and that his feast day is March 17th. This program teaches you so much more about the man and saint. I highly recommend it.

This CD set was provided to me by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Mary of Nazareth (Ignatius Press)

We have just celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, so it seemed like a perfect time to review a book about her. The book I am reviewing today is called Mary of Nazareth: History, Archaeology, Legends, and it is published by Ignatius Press. The book begins by talking about the Advocata Nostra, which is the oldest icon in Rome and also the cover image of this book. The book then discusses the prophecy of a virgin birth, and how a lot of people tried to attribute it to Octavian the Roman emperor, but he clearly did not fit the bill. The third and one of the most interesting chapters to me delves into oral tradition and apocryphal books to give us a fuller picture on the life of Mary. The Proto-Gospel of James is the major source of inspiration for this chapter and discusses not only Mary, but James the Brother of God, which the Orthodox would say makes him Joseph's, but not Mary's son, and the Catholics would say make him Jesus' cousin.

Rather than continuing to go on and tell you about each and every chapter, I am going to give a brief summary now. The first eight chapters take us all the way up to Jesus' birth. There is a brief aside in the middle of the book, in which the author pinpoints when Jesus was born. The second part of the book talks about the time after Jesus' birth. We see the Flight into Egypt (to escape Herod), Mary's agony under the Cross, and Mary in Ephesus with John the Apostle taking care of her after Jesus' death and Resurrection. At the end of the book is a brief chronology; a very detailed bibliography of other books I now want to read; and most importantly of all, an epilogue on Marian devotion. This brief epilogue shows us that Marian devotion is not a new phenomenon but has roots in Scripture and Tradition.

This book lives up to its billing, as it does a fine job of mixing many different sources of knowledge to give us a detailed portrait of Our Lady. We already know we should have great reverence and devotion to Mary, but this book helps provide us with a wealth of information that should only make our devotion even deeper. What I appreciated most about this book is the variety of sources and interpretations the author (Michael Hesemann) used. It is very easy to get the Roman Catholic blinders on when it comes to matters of Church history and tradition, but within this book were Eastern Orthodox interpretations as well, which helps provide a fuller picture of the greatest saint of all. If you are looking for a fascinating and educational book on Mary for the new year, I highly recommend this one!

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Peter: Keys to Following Jesus (Ignatius Press)

When it comes to important figures in Church History, St. Peter is easily in the top five. Last year Augustine Institue released a DVD program called Lectio: Peter by Dr. Tim Gray. This year Augustine Institute teamed up with Ignatius Press to release a book, also by Dr. Tim Gray titled Peter: Keys to Following Jesus. The book begins with a foreword that states the purpose in writing this book, with one of those purposes being "to impart a theology of discipleship and evangelization based on seven interactions between Jesus and Peter. Each interaction comes after a failure on the part of Peter to understand or act properly." The book is then divided into ten chapters, with the first seven referencing the aforementioned quote, one on Peter and Pentecost, one on Peter coming to Rome, and the final chapter discusses Peter's own Way of the Cross.

The seven encounters Peter had with Jesus were as follows:
1. Jesus recruiting Peter to be an Apostle after Peter was fishing all night
2. Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law and setting up "headquarters" in Capernaum
3. Peter's lack of faith when he was out at sea and the storm came and failing to walk on water
4. Peter becoming the rock on which Jesus will build His Church
5. Peter being given the keys to the Kingdom
6. Peter's increasing leadership and his presence at the Transfiguration
7. Peter's failure and denial during Jesus' Passion

Each of these chapters was very interesting and made you stop and meditate on these different episodes in the life of Peter. We see growth in Peter, but we also see him fall and fail repeatedly too. However, he doesn't stay down and defeated. He goes back to Jesus, because he knows that Jesus is the only one who can save him. The most interesting chapter to me was actually the final one in this book, which focused on Peter's own passion. This chapter relies primarily on Church Tradition, and in it we see Peter fleeing Rome, because the Christians of Rome felt he was too important to be martyred and the Church needed him. As he was fleeing, he encountered Jesus on the road, who said that He was going to Rome to be crucified again (basically implying that Peter was abandoning Rome, but Jesus would not). This opened Peter's eyes and with Jesus' help (again), Peter realized what he needed to do. He went back to Rome and strengthened God's people, even though this ultimately led to Peter being crucified too.

Peter: Keys to Following Jesus is a very important work for any Christian to read. It doesn't paint us a picture of a perfect man, but instead we see a man, like us, who is flawed in nature, but struggling to do the right thing. However, with  God's help, he was able to become a great saint and one of the pillars of the Catholic Church. If you are looking for a thoughtful and thought-provoking study on the life and ministry of Peter, I highly recommend this book to you.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

I Burned for Your Peace (Ignatius Press)

If you have ever been to college and taken an Introductory Philosophy class, then you are somewhat familiar with St. Augustine's Confessions. In fact, it is widely regarded as one of the great works of Western Civilization. Knowing that, well-know Catholic author and philosopher Dr. Peter Kreeft recently released a book called I Burned for Your Peace. The book is intended as a commentary on some of the major points of St. Augustine's Confessions. It is not intended to be a scholarly examination of the whole work, because that would take multiple volumes to cover. If you plan on reading this book side-by-side with Confessions, Dr. Kreeft used Frank Sheed's translation, but if you don't want to buy a new copy, you'll be fine with the one you have.

Dr. Kreeft begins his book with four introductions. The first is an introduction to his book. The second and third are introductions to St. Augustine and Confessions. And the fourth is an introduction to reading Confessions. In the first chapter, we see that Augustine begins his work in dialogue with God. The next  few chapters walk us through stages of his life - infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. In these chapters, we get a glimpse of his sinful and rebellious nature. We then see part of St. Augustine's first conversion in reading Cicero and his initial reading of Scripture with him not being ready to receive it yet. This leads us St. Augustine's three big problems/obstacles to Christianity (problem of evil, problem of God, and problem of morality). The book continues by speaking of the role his mother, St. Monica, had in his conversion and eventually concludes with the theological conclusions St. Augustine discovered.

Reading through Dr. Kreeft's book, I am reminded of the first time I encountered Confessions. Going to a secular university, my professor merely glossed over it and didn't unpack of much of it as I would have liked. I believe if I had this book available then, I would have walked away much more knowledgeable of this great work. Therefore, I invite you, if you have never read Confessions or it has been a while, pick up a copy of this book to read with it. You will find a lot in the book that you missed in your initial reading and you will be a lot more appreciative.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

The Coup at Catholic University (Ignatius Press)

The Coup at Catholic University begins by telling the story of the dismissal of an associate professor named Fr. Charles Curran in 1967. The university said that instead of calling it a dismissal, that anyone asked should refer to it as choosing not to renew a contract of a non-tenured professor. This logic did not set well with Fr. Curran, and he did not take his dismissal lightly, calling it unfair and threatening to take it to the media. The media did get hold of the story and protests and strikes occurred. Eventually, after much deliberation and meetings, the bishops, not only reinstated Fr. Curran, but gave him a promotion that came with tenure.

On its surface, this seems like a David and Goliath story of a young priest battling a large university and winning. In reality, Fr. Curran was a liberal priest teaching sexual morality that conflicted with the Church's teachings during the sexual revolution. So what we have was a Catholic university trying to retain its orthodoxy, and instead caving in to pressure and losing any authority it had left. In 1968, Fr. Curran and 500 other theologians signed a "statement of dissent" saying that they did not have to follow Humanae Vitae and that artificial contraception is not morally wrong. It took until 1986 and Pope John Paul II to declare Fr. Curran ineligible to teach at Catholic University of America. The remainder of the book follows the negative consequences of these actions and the rippling effect it had not only on its campus, but on other Catholic campuses across the United States, because it dealt primarily with where control of the university rested.

Within this book, the author, Fr. Peter Mitchell, draws on a great deal of primary sources to tell the real story of what happened, as not the liberally slanted version of the story that has been spread. This is always appreciated and makes you trust the author more than if he had just went to secondary or tertiary sources. A lot of people have said they found this book easy to read. I, however, struggled through it a bit as it is 300+ pages of history, and history was never my strongest subject in school. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating read and one you should pick up if you have an interest in Catholic education or Catholic American History.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Risen (Affirm Films)

Today, I am continuing Carmel Communications blog tour to promote the film Risen, which is being released on DVD and Blu Ray tomorrow May 24th. Since this blog was created to review, that is exactly what I am going to do today.

The film Risen is a flashback told through the eyes of Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) a tribune of Pontius Pilate. It begins with Clavius recounting a Zealot revolution led by none other than Barabbas, the very man that Pilate set free instead of Jesus. I will go ahead and warn you. It is pretty barbaric and bloody, and this is part of the reason the film is rated PG-13. After squashing this rebellion, Clavius is summoned by Pilate to go to the scene of the Crucifixion. This is the other scene that caused this PG-13 rating. However, as bloody as these scenes were, they still paled in comparison to Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. In addition to overseeing the end of the Crucifixion, Clavius is given a new right hand man, who is the son of one of Pilate's friend. His name is Lucius, and he is played by Tom Felton. (Yes, you read that right Draco Malfoy is answering to the brother of Lord Voldemort. Back to the review though!)

At the Crucifixion, we see different people who were affected and how they responded to it. We see the anguish of Jesus' Mother Mary. We see the doubt of the centurion at Jesus' death and his wondering if they killed an innocent man. We even see how it troubles Clavius and Lucius at the death of this man called Yeshua (Jesus Christ). The body is removed by Joseph of Arimathea and sealed in the tomb. The Resurrection occurs and the city is abuzz. Did Yeshua really rise from the dead? Was the body stolen? What really happened? This leads to the central plot of the movie. Clavius and Lucius are tasked with solving this mystery. In this movie, you will see the change and growth of Clavius and his search for the Ultimate Truth.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie honestly. Christian films generally go one of two ways in Hollywood. They are either overly preachy with less than stellar actors (Facing Giants and  Facing the Giants), or they have big name actors which are so far from the truth, you wonder why they even bothered (Noah). This movie, thankfully, did not go to either of those extremes. It managed to convey Biblical truths while adapting a little bit of creative license with some of the story. What impressed me most is that a movie called Risen managed to keep Jesus at the center without Him being the main character. Instead, we put ourselves in the searching shoes of Clavius. About the only thing I didn't like about the movie was the character of Pilate. I confess I admit that I am a bit of a Pilate apologist and feel like he is not as much a villain as he is made out to be. Could he have stopped the Crucifixion? Yes, but others could have as well. Some Christian traditions (not many mind you) think he later converted. I like to hope he did, but its impossible to prove. 

Back to the movie review. The main two messages of this movie are one of searching and one of conversion. Just like Clavius, all of mankind is searching for the Truth. Some people will never find the Truth. Others, if they are humble and honest with themselves, will eventually find it in Jesus and experience true conversion. If you are looking for a brilliantly acted religious movie that is historical but timeless, then pre-order a copy of Risen!

This movie was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to see a preview of the movie, check out the video below.

The Lost Mandate of Heaven (Ignatius Press)

The Vietnam War was a dark point in world history. The U.S. lost the lives of many soldiers, and those that returned fell through the cracks of our medical system, suffering physically, mentally, and emotionally. There were also countless lives lost by both North and South Vietnam, but ultimately North Vietnam and the communists "won." There was apparently more to this dark war that went on than we knew about until very recently. Primarily, former President John F. Kennedy and the United States were responsible for the death of South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem. The book The Lost Mandate of Heaven, by Geoffrey Shaw, explains this betrayal.

The book begins reflecting on the assassination of Diem and how even years later, Vietnamese people were trying to keep his memory alive. It then explains how he believed family was one of the most important responsibilities of society. It also details how he tried to restore traditional Vietnamese society. The book then is essentially a history lesson on relations between the U.S. and South Vietnam. You will read about diplomacy in  South Vietnam in the 1950s-1960s, U.S. ambassador Dubrow's condescension towards South Vietnam and Diem, the new ambassador Nolting, isolation and doubt in Diem's ability to lead South Vietnam, and the coup that eventually led to Diem's death.

This book was very difficult to read for many reasons, but I will just focus on two. For starters, the history aspect of it is very specialized. It is a mix of U.S., Vietnam, and military history and the level of detail, while impressive, can weigh the casual reader down. The other reason the book is tough to read is you know how it is going to end. The book does a good job of painting Diem in a good light, but you ultimately know he is going to be assassinated, so it's tough to read, because it feels like you are just waiting for it to happen. Those complaints aside, I think it was important that this book was written. Too often, history is written by the winners. It was nice to expose light on a dark moment in U.S. and Vietnam history and was pleasing that the truth came out, even if it is a poor reflection of our nation. All that said, I am not the audience for this book, but if you think you might be the audience for this book, I recommend it. If not, perhaps just borrow it from a friend, as it might not be your cup of tea.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

17 Cardinals and Counting (Ignatius Press and Carmel Communications)

"Seventeen prominent Cardinals from around the world address problems concerning marriage and the family in a series of new books prepared in advance of the October Synod on the Family." This is how the three books Ignatius Press has recently released are being billed. We have a lot of ground to cover today, but I believe these three books should be read together. So without further ado, let's dive right into the reviews!

God or Nothing is an interview of Robert Cardinal Sarah conducted by Nicholas Diat. Cardinal Sarah is a Guinean Cardinal Prelate and Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. He was previously Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (Human and Christian Development). He was born in 1945 and entered seminary in 1957. Yes, you read that right. He entered the seminary at age 12. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 (age 24), consecrated a bishop in 1079 (age 34), and created a cardinal in 2010 (age 65) by Pope Benedict XVI. Not that I had any doubts in Pope Benedict, but he made a wise choice picking Robert Sarah to become a cardinal.

In the beginning of this book Cardinal Sarah, discusses his childhood and village, how his ancestors were all animists, and the missionary priests of the order of the Holy Ghost Fathers and the impact they had on his village and him particularly. He also discusses the nurturing of his vocation and what put him on the path to priesthood. After background on his early life and ordination in the priesthood, we learn about his further studies in Rome, which included Latin, Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. By studying these languages he felt, he was able to read and better appreciate Scripture and commentary texts in their original languages. I agree wholeheartedly with him, and it makes me wish I had more of an ability to picking up foreign languages. The really interesting chapter to me was his opinion on all the popes during his lifetime, which so far spans Pius XII to Francis. He was honest in the distress he felt when Pope Benedict XVI resigned, but after a few days, he came to acceptance of the decision, because he knew it was a decision the former pope did not make on his own, but with the guidance of Jesus.

The above paragraph only covers the first three chapters of the book. The rest of the book is where you will find the wisdom of a pastor. He discusses issues facing the world, issues facing the Church, how Christianity and morality align, etc. I found myself nodding along with everything that Cardinal Sarah said, and I am truly grateful that he is one of the leaders of the Church, and I am pleased that he has so strong a voice at the ongoing Synod. May more Cardinals be as bold and honest as him, when they speak the truth in love on who the Church is and what she believes.

After reading God or Nothing, I turned my attention to Christ's New Homeland - Africa. This book contains a series of articles written by African cardinals and bishops, which include Robert Cardinal Sarah, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Christian Cardinal Tumi, Theodore Cardinal Sarr, Archbishop Samuel Kleda, and several others. The book itself is divided into the following three parts and epilogue:

1. The Synod on the Family: From One Assembly to Another
2. The Gospel of the Family
3. Pastoral Care of Families that are Hurting
Epilogue: An Appeal from the Church in Africa to the State

Part One rehashes the Extraordinary Synod that took place in 2014; defined the purpose of the synod that is occurring now (2015); and also explained specific paragraphs of the 62 paragraphs, which are guiding the Synod. There is also an African take on Instrumentum laboris, the document which will serve as the basis for discussion at the Synod. Part Two talks about magisterial teaching on marriage and family; the indissolubility of marriage; what makes a marriage; and how to promote good marriages. It was especially interesting to read some of the unique struggles faced in Africa, such as Islamo-Christian marriages and indissolubility. Part Three's aim is pastoral care for people dealing with separation, divorce, and remarriage. It also discusses ways to try and spread monogamy in Africa and ways pastors can care for those in interfaith marriages, as were outlined in Part One.

There were six key points on marriage outlined in this book that I found central to the core message of this book:

1. Marriage exists to bring a man and woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to any children their union produces.
2. Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary.
3. Marriage is society's least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children.
4. Government recognizes marriage because it benefits society in a way that no other relationship does.
5. Government can treat people equally and respect their liberty without redefining marriage.
6. Redefining marriage would further distance marriage from the needs of children; deny the importance of mothers and fathers; and weaken monogamy exclusivity, and permanency. It would also threaten religious liberty.

I applaud the African Cardinals and Bishops for standing up so firmly for what the Church teaches, and I wish other Cardinals and Bishops would follow suit. They may refer to themselves as the Young Church, but I think they are showing more maturity and wisdom than the Old Church in Europe. It does give me hope though. If this is the present and future of our Church, we are in good hands!

Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family is a 150 page book of essays written by eleven different cardinals, including Robert Cardinal Sarah, who has been featured in two other recently released Ignatius Press titles. The essays present topics such as "Mercy and Conversion," "Marriage and Family." and "Pastoral Challenge for the Church to Set Out on the Journey of the Third Millennium." It is really tough to review essays, so I am just going to provide you with excerpts from some of the essays.

"Mercy without (any requirement for) conversion is not divine mercy. It is the mistaken pity of an incompetent and/or weak physician who contents himself with bandaging wounds without treating them." - Carlo Cardinal Caffara

"The sense that the family, properly understood, is disappearing is therefore to a large extent the result of the distance between the real world and the virtual world constructed by the media, although it must not be forgotten that this virtual world has a powerful influence on real behavior." - Camillo Cardinal Ruini

"If Christ alone reveals the truth about man, then in rejecting him we lose the meaning of human nature. Sin mars the face of man. Now Christ came not only to save us, but also to repair what sin has broken, to snatch man away from all that disfigures hum, so as to restore to human destiny all its breadth and fullness." - Robert Cardinal Sarah

The book is concise but dense. However, the Cardinals do a masterful job of demonstrating that doctrine and pastoral care are not opposed to each other, but instead operate hand-in-hand. This was easily the most challenging of the three books, but it was also the most rewarding.

There is less than a week left with the Synod. Let us pray our leaders listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit, and stand true to the teachings of the Church.

These books were provided to me for free by Ignatius Press and Carmel Communications. If you found them helpful, please click here, here, and/or here and hit Yes!

Redeemed by Grace (Ignatius Press)

Abby Johnson's book UnPlanned is one of the most well-known stories of a former Planned Parenthood employee's journey from the side of pro-choice to the side of pro-life. What we don't realize is that there are other women who have made that same journey and even more women who want to make that journey but are scared to do so. Redeemed by Grace is the true story of Ramona Treviño's journey from Catholicism to the lies of secularism and back to the truth of Catholicism. As the last stop on the blog tour for her book, I will be providing a general review.

Redeemed by Grace begins with Ramona's first day of her first week as manager of a Planned Parenthood in Sherman, Texas. She was driving home; listening to Catholic radio, as she had been for the past several months; and opening herself to the Spirit, whether she knew it or not. All of a sudden, it hit her. What she was doing was wrong! She was not helping young girls, but instead she was making their lives worse. Tears poured from her with no end in sight, but God's voice told her that it wasn't too late to turn her life around. The book then flashes back to 1985 when Treviño was a little girl and her first inquiry into God's existence and presence in her life. Subsequent chapters detail harsh moments in her life, including getting pregnant at sixteen, marrying into an abusive marriage, and divorce. We also learn of her involvement and advancement in Planned Parenthood and the glorious story of her escape from the lie that is Planned Parenthood.

Chapter 16: Resounding Trust was the chapter that brought everything into perspective for me. Here we see the childlike trust a wife and mother places in God. Ramona was no longer working at Planned Parenthood, so she was looking for a job to help her family that just went from two incomes to one income. She starts by selling insurance, but soon felt that she was preying on the elderly. She then moved to payday loans, but felt she was preying on the poor. She quit both jobs and had to trust in God that He would provide for her family. Monetary gifts rolled in from friends and people she didn't even know. However, the birth of her third child, Philip, was the greatest proof of God's love for her and her husband. That's so simple but profound. Life is the greatest gift of all, and that message emanates from his book.

With a personal narrative writing style, this book can be read very quickly. If you are a reader of average speed, it will take you about a day. That's not to say that this book is an easy read though. It was a hard read packed with emotion and sadness. You ultimately know where she is headed in her journey (toward God and the Catholic Church), but you have to experience the suffering with her before she gets there. When I first received this book, I put it on a shelf to read if I ever had spare time, because I wasn't the target audience for this book. After reading it, I still don't believe I am the target audience for it, but I am glad I read it.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Tolkien's Sacramental Vision and The Hobbit Party (Angelico Press and Ignatius Press)

Despite the insistence of many atheist/agnostic Middle Earth fans, Tolkien's works are bursting at the seams with religious, more precisely, Catholic themes and values. To try and ignore or dismiss the Catholicism that is found in his works is an insult to Tolkien and a sign of ignorance on the reader's part. In Craig Bernthal's work Tolkien's Sacramental Vision, he examines different scenes, objects, and characters in Tolkien's works (mainly The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) under the light of Catholic Sacramentality.

The book begins by explaining what exactly a Catholic novelist is, and then defends Tolkien's place as one. Other topics discussed include the creation story in The Silmarillion; Baptism and the character of Frodo; Penance and Reconciliation; and Galadriel and her gifts, to name a few topics. I learned a lot of interesting things, which I missed in my readings of The Lord of the Rings. For example, I learned that Boromir took Faramir's place at the Council of Elrond. Perhaps, if Faramir had gone like he was supposed to things would have turned out differently. My favorite section of the book discussed Leaf by Niggle. I could definitely relate to Niggle in many ways including time-wasting and the need for perfection to a fault. This brief section in the book led me to reading this work, and hopefully becoming less of a "niggler."

Overall, this was a very fascinating book and one I would highly recommend to any Catholic or Christian who loves Tolkien. It opened my eyes to many nuances in Tolkien's works and made me appreciate The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings on a whole new level. If I had more time, I would break out my copies of the two works and read through them again with this book by my side. Unfortunately, that is not feasible for me at this time, but it is something I plan/hope to do in the future. Five stars and cannot recommend this book more highly.

When you hear the title for The Hobbit Party, you might think the word party is referring to a gala of sorts, like I did. In actuality the title is a play on politics, like the Republican or Democratic Party. While most authors/commentators on Tolkien's work tend to focus on the religious themes in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the authors, Jonathan Witt and Jay Richards, chose to focus on how the political environment of his day shaped his writings and the political and economic themes we find in his writings if we look closely.

Some of the interesting topics discussed include just war, free market/capitalism, and big government. The most interesting chapter to me however was the last one which touched on the topics of love and death. The authors begins this chapter by stating that "Death and the desire for deathlessness was Tolkien's central theme of The Lord of the Rings. We are then given a litany of examples, including the obvious One Ring and Gandalf's death and resurrection; as well as less obvious example of the White Tree of Gondor. Despite all the mention of death, Tolkien however had the right perspective on death. He saw it as a gift, and not a curse. This may sound confusing at first, because death is a consequence of the Fall, but without death we would continue to live on and sin and never reach the ultimate reward of Heaven.

Overall, this book was an interesting read. While it is hard to argue that these political and economical messages/themes are in Tolkien's work, I question whether it is worth reading this much into the works of Tolkien. Sometimes you can over-analyze a work that you risk killing it. Just my two cents. If you are a fan of Tolkien and politics, then this is the perfect book for you. If politics aren't your cup of tea, then you're probably better off avoiding this book. I will end by saying that the book is worth checking out for the End Notes section alone. It contains a great deal of interesting/edifying works that I plan to read in the future.

These books were provided to me for free by Angelico Press and Carmel Communications, respectively, in exchange for honest reviews. If you find these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Mary of Nazareth (Ignatius Press)

Mary of Nazareth starts off in a startling fashion. A band of marauders with a group of dogs is going through a small town and capturing all the young girls. Anna and Joachim hear them coming and manage to hide Mary from the men. The dogs, however, are sniffing around and miraculously are unable to find Mary. This is the first hint of one of the underlying themes in the movie - Mary is special. What about the captured girls? They are lined up and inspected by a woman, Herod's wife. She is looking for the one who is to give birth to the Messiah, and wants to kill her. This and other scenes, like Mary taken to the Temple to live were inspired by the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. It therefore became clear early on that this movie will be a mixture of Scripture, tradition, and creative license.

Fast forward about a decade, maybe two, and we see Mary back home with her parents. Joseph has come to ask Mary to be his wife. They could have went with one of two traditions regarding Joseph. They could have made him an older widower with children from his first wife (my preference). Or they could have went with Joseph who was slightly older than Mary, never married, and remained a virgin his whole life like Mary. They chose the latter. In the first scenes with Joseph, we see him seek the permission of Joachim to talk to Mary and Joachim blows him off. Anna, however, says to go and talk to Mary. This seems out of place given that time, but it made for a "cute scene."  I'm not entirely sure how I felt about the interaction between Mary and Joseph. It was a bit flirty, and just felt like they reduced it to some superficial love story.

The movie continues on with scenes we are familiar with from the Bible. There is the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, etc. The director takes creative license with the story and embellishes the facts, like Joseph getting FURIOUS with Mary for her pregnancy, and Joseph giving up on Mary for what seems like a long time. It was puzzling to me why Mary's parents refused to believe that Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age or the manner in which Mary became pregnant with Jesus. For starters, Anne and Joachim were supposed to be barren as well, so why should it be puzzling that Elizabeth became pregnant. Secondly, her parents said early on in the movie that Mary was special, so why change that all of a sudden? It doesn't fit with the storyline. I'm sure Mary felt some level of ostracization, as was portrayed in the movie, but she shouldn't have felt judged by her parents.

There are parts of this movie that seemed forced and reaching for an emotional moment, and there are parts that leave you raw after viewing them. The scene of the slaying of the Holy Innocents ripped my heart out, and it caused me to really stop and think about those poor mothers and fathers back then whose children died at the hands of Herod. The rest of the movie is a mixture of Bible, tradition, and creative license. We see Jesus as a child get hurt and bleed, which was nice as it's foolish to think that Jesus never got hurt or bled. We see Jesus as an adult performing miracles, preaching, and ultimately dying on the Cross. The final scene of the movie has Mary telling the Apostles about how Jesus disappeared in the Temple for three days, and how she didn't understand at the time, but did now. Mary Magdalene then comes in to tell them that Jesus is risen, and the Apostles run off to see. The move then ends with one last scene of Mary and Jesus, Mother and Son.

As I expected beforehand, I have very mixed feelings regarding this movie. There were times I wanted to scream at the screen, and say, "That's not accurate!" or, "Joseph would have never acted like that!" There were other times I was in awe of how the scene captured the human experiences Mary endured while on this Earth. I waffled between giving this movie a 3.5 or a 4 and ultimately decided on a 4 for one very important reason - the message of this movie. That message is that Mary, greatest Saint ever, wants none of the attention on her and wants it all on her Son. She is there to lead us to Jesus, not the other way around.

This movie was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to check out the corresponding book, Mary of Nazareth: The Life of Our Lady in Pictures. Also, EXCITING NEWS, the actress who played Mary, Alissa Jung, will be visiting 5 cities in North America starting November 15th to promote the movie and blog. The schedule can be found here. Unfortunately, I don't live near any of the cities, but if you are lucky enough to, stop by and see her!

O Day of Resurrection! (Jade Music)

Big Sur, California is known for its natural beauty, so much so that it has been the inspiration for artists and authors alike. It has also become a sort of haven for hippies and beatniks, trying to escape the concrete jungle. However, in 1958, the Camaldolese established the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California. This is a perfect example of being in the world, but not of the world.  What is a hermitage? A hermitage is "a community of hermits, each living in an individual cell enclosed by a garden, but praying together." This prayer includes not only the Mass, but the Liturgy of the Hours. The New Camaldoli Hermitage has released a CD, entitled O Day of Resurrection!, which is a recording of the monks’ Sunday chants of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The CD has 27 tracks and is divided into four sections - Vigils, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. If some of these sections sound unfamiliar to you, they are the Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer, respectively. These are the major hours of the day. The minor hours Terce (Three), Sext (Six), and None (Nine) are not on this CD. If you are unfamiliar with how the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed, you will notice listening to this CD that it is a lot of Psalms, and a lot of Canticles.

The style of singing can best be classified as plainchant, but you will notice some Byzantine influence, especially in the Trisagion, which happens to be one of my favorite prayers. Other tracks/prayers you should recognize include the Benedictus, Magnificat, Our Father, and Salve Regina. What is missing is the appropriate readings for each office. This is because those change Sunday to Sunday (and day to day, but this a CD for Sunday). So, while you could just listen to this album and sing/pray along with the monks, you would be better served getting a little Liturgy of the Hours book or going to a website, pausing the CD at the appropriate time, and reading the proper readings at the proper time.

This CD spoke volumes to me. The music was bone-chillingly beautiful. I have heard or said these prayers hundreds of times, and to my discredit, sometimes glossing over them. However, hearing them chanted, they spoke to me on a deeper level. I won't say I had a favorite track as the whole album is a beautiful prayer. I will say pay close attention to the closing Troparia (Tracks 6 and 13), as they will provide you with excellent material to meditate on until you arrive at the next hour. I leave you with a behind the scenes video of the monks.



This CD was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you are looking for more information on the New Camaldoli Hermitage or perhaps have an interest in a vocation there, please click here.

The Hope of the Family and The Gospel of the Family

The Hope of the Family is a brief (70 pages not counting Introduction and Preface) dialogue between Gerhard Cardinal Müller and Carlos Granados Garcia, the editor-in-chief of Biblioteca de Autores (BAC). The purpose of this book is to "address the question that the Holy Father posed by convoking an Extraordinary Synod on the Family scheduled for October 2014, the question of the 'pastoral challenges of the family.'" The format of this book is question and answer, but instead of looking at problems, it looks at the family or domestic church as a source of hope and a solution, not a problem.

The book starts off by addressing contemporary challenges the world poses to the family. For example young people have a hard time believing in the permanence of love and therefore delay or forego marriage completely. There is also the modern idea that the family is something that should be private and therefore is not relevant among the general public. Cardinal Müller, however, sees marriage as the "original cell of the social organism." Other topics addressed include the sexual revolution, what marriage is, and divorced and re-married persons. Cardinal Müller is astute in pointing out that while civilly remarried Catholics are a problem, they are a minor percentage of the problem, and a bigger percentage problem is Catholics who live together before marriage or just choose to marry civilly as opposed to sacramentally. In this book, Cardinal Müller shows mercy and compassion, but he never veers from Church doctrine and authority. For that I am eternally grateful, and I can only hope that more bishops and Cardinals stick to the Church's teachings. 5 stars.

With the media frenzy surrounding the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on Marriage and the Family, it is easy for non-Catholics and possibly even Catholics to be confused on issues such as divorce and re-marriage and homosexuality. Cardinal Kasper's book did not help matters any, but thankfully, Ignatius Press has released a new book entitled The Gospel of the Family. This book is both an explanation and rebuttal to Cardinal Kasper's liberal and controversial book, with a similar name.

The book begins by discussing the cultural challenge of understanding the role of the family, both in the Catholic Church and in the world, of which the latter has become over-exposed to sex. One must start at this point to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. Chapters Two focuses on what makes up a real, sacramental marriage, and Chapter Three explains how the Early Church defined marriage, given the context of their culture and lack of tradition to fall back on for definition. The last two chapters then conclude by explaining the modern moral perspective and approaches for pastoral care regarding homosexuality and divorce and remarriage. There is also an appendix, which I found to be extremely helpful as it contained thirty questions for the synod. However, you could also use them to better understand, answer, and defend the Church's teachings. Such questions include, "How is marriage indissoluble?" and, "Why is it not possible to give absolution to those divorced and re-married?"

I admit I had a bit of curiosity regarding Cardinal Kasper's book. Part of me wanted to read it just to see what all the hubbub was about. However, this book squashed that curiosity. There were ample quotes and references to Kasper's writings, and they really did a nice job showing how he twisted Patristics and Church teaching to push his agenda. This book, however, shows that it is possible to be merciful without violating Truth and Church teachings. If you are looking to be more informed on two of the hot-button debates in the Church today, then you not only want this book but need this book. The material was presented in a way that was easy to understand, and I walked away from this book feeling more informed and more intelligent.

These books were provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here hit Yes.

Mary of Nazareth Blog Tour/Rosary Crawl Day 3

Today, I am pleased to be part of another blog tour, sponsored by Carmel Communications, which you can learn more about here. This one is for a wonderful movie being released (today in fact) by Ignatius Press, entitled Mary of Nazareth. In order to promote this beautiful film and companion book, Mary of Nazareth: The Life of Our Lady in Pictures, we on the blog tour are going to share with you a video clip that corresponds to a mystery of the Rosary, and either an interview, a review, or our own personal thoughts on Mary and the specific mystery. Today, I will be sharing with you my thoughts on The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, which is the Fourth Joyful Mystery. Before I share my reflections, let us first get our minds right by praying this decade of the Rosary. We will then view the clip, and I will provide a brief reflection on it.

Fourth Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
"And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord') and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons"' (Lk 2:21-24).

"Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth, is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law" (CCC, 527).

Our Father, 10 Hail Marys (contemplating the mystery), Glory be to the Father.



The Presentation in the Temple is a Feast Day that is widely forgotten/ignored in the West, but the East hold it in high regard and consider it one of the twelve Great Feasts. It is celebrated on February 2nd. Why this day? Because this is 40 days after the Nativity, and would have been when Mary's ritual purification was complete. There are some key points to notice in this scene. For starters, we see that Joseph brought two turtledoves for the sacrifice. Turtledoves were the poor family's offering. Had Joseph and Mary been wealthy, they would have brought a lamb for sacrifice. Jesus, the King of Kings, chose to be born into a poor family to show his great humility. If you are familiar with the Old Testament, you will notice that there was no offering to redeem Jesus from service to Yahweh. From this, we understand that Jesus was now in complete service to God. You could also say that He was not redeemed, because he was the One sent to redeem us all from our sins.

I have always loved the figure of Simeon in the Bible. Though, he is in such a brief section, his appearance packs a punch! Here is a man who has been waiting his entire life for the coming of the Messiah.We too should be awaiting this glorious Second Coming and remember we are in this world, but not of this world. If you notice in the video clip above, Simeon also recognized Mary. Some would view this as taking a creative license. However, according to Tradition, Mary was taken by her parents to the Temple as a young girl. She lived there and served as a Temple virgin until she was betrothed to Joseph. We can find this tradition in the Protoevangelion of James. This feast is celebrated on November 21st and unfortunately is largely unknown in the West. I invite you to take the time about both Mary's Presentation and Jesus' Presentation. They reveal small, but key parts of Salvation History that will enrich our understanding of both Jesus and Mary.

Ignatius Press has been releasing many great movies the past several years, and Mary of Nazareth continues that remarkable streak. In this movie, we see an intimate portrayal of the life of the greatest saint Mary. And while it will bring us closer to Mary, she will bring us closer to her Son Jesus. This movie will be a benefit for Catholics and Orthodox, and could even be used as an evangelization and educational tool for reaching Protestants. Be sure to check out my buddy Sarah's site, Snoring Scholar, tomorrow for the next stop on the Rosary Crawl.

The Seven Big Myths About Marriage and Making Gay Okay (Ignatius Press)

I have to admit that sometimes when I read Ignatius Press books I feel a bit dumb. Ignatius Press does a quality job in publishing books by authors (like Pope Benedict XVI) books that make you think, think really hard. That is why I always take a little bit longer to read their books, to re-read their books. They are so packed with knowledge and wisdom that you are afraid you will miss something if you speed through them. The two books I am reviewing today, The Seven Big Myths About Marriage and Making Gay Okay are no different.

The Seven Big Myths About Marriage is the second book written by Dr. Christopher Kaczor (rhymes with razor) that follows the "seven myths" approach. The first was, The Seven Big Myths About the Catholic Church. In his book on marriage (co-written with his wife, Jennifer) he begins by describing four types of people based on the happiness they pursue - the hedonist, the egoist' the altruist, and the altruist of faith. To explain them briefly, the hedonist finds happiness in bodily pleasure. The egoist is happy when "winning." The altruist seeks happiness in love of others, and the altruist of faith find their happiness "in loving and serving God and the image of God found in every human person." I never thought people could be explained so easily, but the four classifications fit. Now, we have to remember that we can be any of these four types at some point in our life, sometimes on the same day. However, the ultimate aspiration is clearly the altruist of faith.

The introduction would have been enough wisdom for me in the book, but it continues by getting to the meat of the book, which are the "seven myths about marriage." They are:

• Love is Simple
• Marriage is a Fifty-Fifty Contract
• Love Alone Makes a Marriage
• Cohabitations is Just Like Marriage
• Premarital Sex is No Big Deal
• Children are Irrelevant to Marriage
• All Reproductive Choices are Equal

Each myth has its own chapter devoted to it and begins by telling you the myth, which is immediately followed by "the reality." For example, the myth "Marriage is a Fifty-Fifty Contract," is rebutted with, "Marriage is a 100 percent-100 percent covenant." Since I'm already married and a firm believer in Natural Family Planning (NFP), I was not the intended target for some chapters, i.e., cohabitation, premarital sex, or reproductive choices. The first three chapters all spoke powerfully to me though and are ones that I have considered both on a superficial level and a deeper level at varying points in my life, but they really helped make things click. His description of the different types of love and friendship in "love is simple" are a good reference point for the married and unmarried.

One could assume from the title that this book is intended only for married and soon-to-be married people, but I say this a book for all. If you are a pastor or priest, especially one involved in marriage preparation, you will find this book invaluable. If you have friends who try to argue that love is love and all types of "marriage" should be legalized, you will find great arguments on what truly makes a marriage and how it is different from some state-issued contract that people try to declare is a "marriage." If you are a parent, who has budding teenagers or soon to be college students will find useful information as well. In a nutshell, buy this book; read it; and re-read it. You won't regret it.

Making Gay Okay is a book that attempts to explain the pervasive homosexual culture that has been penetrating the United States in the past several decades. Robert Reilly begins his book by looking at the culture war. He demonstrates how people are becoming more accepting of homosexuality, gay "marriage," and the rationalization and subsequent "victimization" of homosexuals. He then looks at marriage and gay "marriage" under the lenses of nature, philosophy, biology, and morality. 

The second section of the book details all the different institutions in which homosexuality is getting a toehold. In this book, he points out the Boy Scouts, military, foreign policy, education, and parenting. As a young parent who has to raise children in this growing and changing world, these examples were poignant which made me stop and think. It's a scary climate, the children of this next generation will be growing up in, and it's even scarier the amount of things we will have to shield our children from.

This was a well-written and well-argued book. Many will try and claim this book is bigoted or hate-filled, but it is simply presented from a traditional perspective. I can't say that it was a book I sought to read, but it was enlightening to read. I feel more informed on the subject matter, and feel like I have some good counterarguments next time I am put in a situation where people are attacking me for my belief in traditional marriage. If you are interested in this topic, you will find the book fascinating. If not, you're probably better off checking the book out at the library or just ignoring it completely.

These books were provided to me for free by Carmel Communications. If you found these review helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Chosen: Your Journey Toward Confirmation Blog Tour

As a convert who married a cradle Catholic, my Confirmation experience was much different than my wife's experience. She was confirmed with a group of her classmates, people she knew, in 8th Grade. I was confirmed on an Easter Vigil in my 20s, with a group of people I didn't know. What's more is our children have the potential to have a different experience than both of us. Our archdiocese has bumped the age of Confirmation back to 11th Grade to encourage children to have a more active part in their salvation. There is also the hope that we won't have a high disappearance rate from adolescence to adulthood. Unfortunately, the change happened before guidelines and teaching materials were developed. FORTUNATELY, Ascension Press has developed just such a program for Confirmation called Chosen!

As someone who reluctantly taught 7th Grade Religious Education before (and lived to tell about it), I know first hand how tough it can be to reach teens. It takes knowledge of the Faith, love of the Faith, and a dynamic personality to keep them engaged and interested. Therefore, I knew that in order for Chosen to succeed, it would need an amazing line up of young, dynamic Catholic speakers. Well, how do the names Jason Evert, Chris Stefanick, and Leah Darrow (just to name a few) strike you? Can you say JACKPOT?! Ascension Press did a marvellous job selecting a veritable Who's Who of awesome Catholic speakers for this project!

I also love that this series is filmed both in the U.S. and internationally. It reminds me a bit of Fr. Barron's Catholicism series in this regard. Your teens will be transported to places like Rome and New Orleans (Sorry Brian Butler, but New Orleans didn't invent Mardi Gras, Mobile, AL did!) all while learning the tenets of the Catholic Faith. But what will they be learning you ask? With 2000 years of history, there is an unending wealth of knowledge they could learn. Chosen, however, focuses on topics that matter both to teens and in the grand scheme of life. They'll learn about God, Jesus, Mary, Salvation History, the Sacraments, and even Chastity!

Each lesson (24 in all) is only 15-25 minutes long. At first, I was like, "This isn't enough time to teach all the beauty that Catholicism has to offer." After having some time to think about it, I now see that when I was their age 15-25 minutes can feel like an eternity. So it makes total sense to keep the videos, brief, powerful, engaging, and lively! I tried to put myself in a teenager's shoes and figure out which video would have spoke the most to the teenage version of me, but then I realized that was foolish. Teenagers, like all people, have different interests and different tastes. So I just decided to pick what spoke the most to me now and that was the last two videos, "How do I build the kingdom?" and "Where do I go from here?" The answers to these questions were pertinent for both teenagers and adults. We all need to become great; become more like Jesus, and do our job to bring people to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic faith!

Apart from the great videos, there are also great workbooks and guides. I've used Ascension Press' study programs before, and they always deliver high quality resources. They went the extra step this time though. Normally, you get a Leader's Guide and a Student Workbook. However, with Chosen, there is also a Parent's Guide AND a Sponsor's Guide. With this all-encompassing approach, everyone in the process is involved and educated, not just the child being confirmed. This program is not a one-size fits all magic pill that will fix all your Confirmation woes, but let's be honest...no program is. This is definitely a valuable tool that can be utilized by all, and your parish would do well to invest in it. I know I will be recommending this to our Director of Religious Education (DRE) and all DREs I know in my Archdiocese.

If you'd like to see a trailer for Chosen, check out the video below:



In case you missed any of the previous blog tour days, here you go. There's interviews, giveaways, and great perspectives from some of the world's best Catholic bloggers.

• April 8 – Lisa Hendey @ CatholicMom
• April 9 – Kathy Schiffer @ Seasons of Grace
• April 10 –  Lisa Schmidt @ The Practicing Catholic
• April 12 – Jackie Francois @ Jackie and Bobby
• GIVEAWAY @ CatholicMom
• April 15 – Sarah Reinhard @ Snoring Scholar
• April 15 – Rolando Moreno @ Catholic World Report

Lent at Ephesus (DeMontfort Music)

We're living in a Golden Age of Catholic media right now. Hundreds of Catholic books are being published every year. Companies like Ignatius Press are releasing high quality movies on Mary, Augustine, Peter, etc. Word on Fire. Fr. Barron. Catholicism! Ascension Press is producing quality Bible and faith studies for people young and old. Brother Francis is catechizing our young ones via cartoon. And LAST and certainly NOT LEAST, we have singing nuns belting out BEAUTIFUL music that keeps hitting #1 on the charts AND staying there for weeks, if not months. Today, I am privileged to be a part of the blog tour for the latest CD from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, entitled Lent at Ephesus.

I first learned of this album from Carmel Communications, and ever since I received the news of its upcoming release, I knew I had to own it! Lent at Ephesus is another masterful album from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Who are the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles? They are a group of nuns living a religious life in a Benedictine Order. They take their lead from Mary and her hidden life at Ephesus. Church Tradition holds that she went to live with John the Beloved Apostle in Ephesus after Jesus died. Since this group of nuns have a devotion to Mary at this time in her life, all of their albums are labelled "at Ephesus."

When comparing it to the Advent at Ephesus album, one sees that there is substantially more music in this album - 7 songs more to be precise. The songs are sung in an a-capella style, with a nice blend of English and Latin songs. The quality of the voices and audio are heavenly, and the choice of songs is divine. I also really love the sleeve note, as it contains the words to all the songs they sing. This is helpful for following along, learning them yourself, or teaching them to your children. This CD will be replacing Mater Eucharistiae in my car to help me on my Lenten Journey and keep my mind in a holy place even while I'm surrounded by the hustle and bustle of others. With an Advent, Christmas, and now a Lent CD, the only items missing from the sisters' collection are an Easter album and an Ordinary Time one.

If you'd like to see more about the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, you can check out the video below. Clicking here, will allow you to hear samples of the CD and purchase it. EWTN will also run a 30-minute HD special entitled “Lent at Ephesus” featuring some never-before-seen sights and sounds of The Benedictines of Mary for the Lenten season at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, March 14 and 6 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 18. Be sure to check it out, buy their albums, and transport yourself to heaven!

GoBible Review and 20% Off Coupon

With Christmas a mere week away and New Year's right after that, people are starting to enter resolution mode. Many people consider giving up a vice like smoking or attempting to lose weight. Both are noble goals. Instead of giving up something this year, though, I'd like to issue a New Year's challenge -- start something this year instead. I challenge you to grow closer to God in the upcoming year by reading from His Word (the Bible) every day! Now, it wouldn't be a fair challenge if I wasn't willing to participate myself, so I promise to accept the challenge as well.  I will be using the GoBible to help accomplish this challenge! What's the GoBible you ask? Keep reading to find out.

The GoBible is a portable audio Bible that fits in the palm of your hand. I am reviewing the Original edition which, although a little pricier, comes with the following features:

• Contains entire Bible for Catholics
• Over 80 hours of audio, preloaded
• Searchable by verse
• Story index of 230 popular Bible stories
• Topic index
• Holiday/events index
• Bookmarks
• Narrated Rosary and common prayers
• Daily readings by year and cycle
• Voice menu for sight impaired

The first question you may be wondering is "What translation of the Bible does it use?" The GoBible does not use the NABRE (what you hear at Mass) or the RSV-CE (Ignatius Study Bible).  Instead, it features the NRSV-CE. I spoke with the people at GoBible, and they told me that the NABRE was not made available to them, but they also reassured me that the NRSV-CE has an imprimatur, which is a huge plus. For those unfamiliar with this version, it is a bit more literal than the NABRE and does include some gender-inclusive language. This means that in places where the word "men" is traditionally heard, this translation will instead say "people." Rest assured though, God is still referred to as He. There is no gender ambiguity when it comes to the Almighty!

The next question going through your head probably concerns the audio quality and how the Bible is read. In a word, it is AWESOME! GoBible tasked Emmy-Award winning narrator Stephen Johnson. He has what can be described as a smooth, deep voice. For those who don't know who he is (like myself before doing some research), "Stephen Johnston's work with all major Christian Publishers has provided a unique audio library of almost every major Bible version including, KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, Message, CEV and various Bible productions including Dramatized versions of the above. At 65, Stephen is deemed by his colleagues as a "master narrator", with worldwide sales of his many productions. No other person in history has narrated and produced the number of Bible products he has." I'd say he's definitely qualified, and they made a good selection.

So what are my favorite features? That's a tough call, as the more I use the product, the more I love about it. For starters, I love the daily Mass readings. Since my wife and I can't go to daily Mass at this point in our lives, we try to pray with daily Mass readings every night. This helps keep up focused on God, while staying within the rhythm of the Church calendar. Having these readings available in audio format, I can now listen to them several times throughout the day and reflect and meditate on them, or simply rest while listening to them. I also like the popular Bible stories feature. These stories are great for getting your children interested in reading the Bible. Lastly, I love the Rosary feature. I only wish there were more prayers on here, like maybe the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as well.

Lastly, I love that the GoBible also has accessories o expand how you listen to the Word of God. For example, if I want to listen to the Bible on my commute to and from work, it's not very safe to put earbuds in and drive. GoBible has a solution for that with the FM Audio Transmitter. Simply connect the transmitter to your GoBible, plug it into your car's power socket, and BAM Bible over your car's speakers! With Catholic Radio, Catholic CDs, and now the GoBible, my car can be a place of worship on wheels!

I cannot recommend this product enough! For a limited time (until January 3, 2014) GoBible and Carmel Communications have teamed up to offer my readers a 20% discount AND Free Shipping on all orders! Just enter the code SST20 at checkout. So if you are like me and love the Bible, you will want this product. If you are Catholic and wish you knew your Bible better, this is a product you need! So take me up on my New Year's challenge, pick up a GoBible, some rechargeable AAA batteries, and read your Bible everyday! You might love it so much that you read through the entire Bible in a year. What a feat that would be!

This product was provided to me for free by GoBible and Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.