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October 2007
 “Over two thousand years after his death, Jesus of Nazareth continues to be the object of fascination, devotion and controversy....” So begins Daniel J. Harrington’s new book, Jesus: A Historical Portrait. The popularity of recent movies such as The Passion of the Christ and The Da Vinci Code demonstrates people’s intense interest in Jesus’ life and times, but without the time and academic credentials to examine ancient sources, it can be difficult for a layperson to glean truth from all the speculation.
Fr. Harrington has done this and presents it in this book, based on the popular newsletter series of the same title recently published by St. Anthony Messenger Press. He discusses the world of Jesus, Jesus the teacher, Jesus the miracle worker, Jesus and politics, Jesus and women, and other aspects of Jesus' life and ministry. John P. Meier, professor of theology at Notre Dame University, commented on this book: “One is astonished that anyone could condense so much learning and insight into so few pages.”
 If you’ve ever wondered how mystics experience God, Murray Bodo, O.F.M., tells you in his new book, Mystics: Ten Who Show Us the Ways of God. Best-selling author of Francis: The Journey and the Dream and numerous other books, Fr. Bodo introduces his book by describing the mystic’s experience: “The moment of ecstasy for all mystics is the moment of God’s entrance into their lives, an experience so intense that they are aware of nothing except the infinity of God’s love, and they want nothing but to submit themselves to the will of that love—the source of all bliss, of all fulfillment and enlightenment and peace.”
Fr. Bodo chose to study mystics such as Mary, the mother of God, Francis of Assisi, Jacopone da Todi, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, and Gerard Manley Hopkins for this book. In the Introduction he writes, “The mystics have been touched by God in an extraordinary way and in some cases have written extraordinarily well of the inner journey. Every mystical text is the story of an individual’s encounter with God. In those words we can find inspiration and motivation to seek, with the same single-minded perseverance, to be open to God’s voice.” This book shows us, too, how to be open to God’s voice.
Host Brian Patrick will interview Dennis O’Connor, author of a forthcoming book about parish twinning, Bridges of Faith, on his “Sonrise Morning Show” at 7:45 am EST on Wednesday, October 24. Listen to Sacred Heart Radio (WNOP 740 AM in the Cincinnati area).
Mystics: 10 Who Show Us the Ways of God
Murray Bodo Pauline Books and Media (the Daughters of St. Paul) offers a video review on their "Book-a-Day" feature on YouTube. View it here.
Breaking Free of the Web: Catholics and Internet Addiction
Kimberly Young, Psy.D., and Patrice Klausing, O.S.F. Pauline Books and Media (the Daughters of St. Paul) offers a video review on their "Book-a-Day" feature on YouTube. View it here.
Fr. Timothy Schehr, author of The Bible Made Easy, will appear on The Catholic Channel’s “As You Think” on Friday October 26, at 11:00 pm ET on Sirius Satellite Radio 159.
 Are you or a loved one glued to the screen? A new book from St. Anthony Messenger Press can help. Breaking Free of the Web: Catholics and Internet Addiction by Kimberly Young, Psy.D. and Patrice Klausing, O.S.F., offers clinical and spiritual guidance to Catholics wishing to break free of addiction and return to health.
Kimberly Young is an associate professor of management sciences at St. Bonaventure University. A licensed psychologist, her work on Internet addiction has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and ABC’s World News Tonight. She has written two other books on Internet addiction, Caught in the Net and Tangled in the Web, but this is the first to add the crucial spiritual component. “My previous books focused much more on clinical intervention and techniques. In Breaking Free of the Web, Scripture and reflection pieces are added to make the book the first faith-based perspective on Internet addiction,” says Dr. Young. “We focus on the main aspects of Internet addiction – cyber-sex addiction, infidelity online, vocational problems related to Internet addiction, parenting issues related to Internet addiction, stages of Internet addiction – and explore in depth each subtype of abuse mentioned." Sr Patrice Klausing, a teacher at St. Clare College and formerly a counselor at The Counseling Center in Wellsville, New York, adds, “There are relational, psychological, physical, spiritual and economic consequences that are affecting multitudes of people, many of whom have not yet sought help or admitted they have a problem.” For those who have not yet recognized their addiction, or concerned family members or friends of the addicted, this book can begin the process of healing.
Kimberly Young, author of Breaking Free of the Web: Catholics and Internet Addiction, will appear live on Seize the Day with Gus Lloyd Monday October 15 from 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. on The Catholic Channel 159 on Sirius Satellite Radio. Visit The Catholic Channel website.
Two new books from St. Anthony Messenger Press invite you to deeply experience the spiritual call and life of two radically different saints: St. Paul and St. Joan of Arc.  In St. Paul: Called to Conversion, Ronald D. Witherup introduces us to a Paul influenced by the diverging characteristics of the world he lived in, yet deeply committed to what he had seen and heard of the Lord he encountered so abruptly on the road to Damascus. Witherup introduces his retreat by recognizing that “Paul wrote to real people with real problems and questions....We are in the same boat. We also have our troubles and our questions. We also seek guidance in our lives. We make a retreat precisely so that we can step back, take a larger view of life, listen more intently for God’s Word, and return with a renewed sense of purpose and direction.” For this, Witherup offers Paul as an excellent spiritual guide.
 St. Joan: God’s Warrior by Barbara Beckwith, managing editor of St. Anthony Messenger magazine, invites us to retreat with one whose life has inspired innumerable plays, films and even operas. A retreat with Joan invites us to step outside our ordinary boundaries, as she did hers, commenting at one point about “women’s work,” “There are plenty of other women to do it.” Joan’s hair, cut short to fit her battle helmet, was but one of the outward signs of her commitment to what she heard God telling her to do. Following Joan, above all, teaches us to learn to trust when God calls us to reach beyond ourselves, to take a risk. “Trust is accepting the loving embrace of God and realizing we are always standing on large shoulders,” Beckwith writes. Join Joan on a life-changing journey.
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“Over two thousand years after his death, Jesus of Nazareth continues to be the object of fascination, devotion and controversy....” So begins Daniel J. Harrington’s new book, Jesus: A Historical Portrait. The popularity of recent movies such as The Passion of the Christ and The Da Vinci Code demonstrates people’s intense interest in Jesus’ life and times, but without the time and academic credentials to examine ancient sources, it can be difficult for a layperson to glean truth from all the speculation.
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