St. Anthony Messenger Press announces the release of two new titles in its groundbreaking new series Called to Holiness: Spirituality for Catholic Women: Embracing Latina Spirituality and Awakening to Prayer.

In Awakening to Prayer: A Woman's Perspective , author Clare Wagner breaks the process of coming to prayer into six stages: noticing, awakening, thirsting, struggling, nurturing and transforming. Each of these stages has its own experiences and tasks which serve to deepen prayer life. At the end of each chapter, “Food for Thought” questions help you examine your thinking on the chapter’s subject and a ritual formalizes your completion of the chapter’s tasks. Check this book out here.

Embracing Latina Spirituality: A Woman's Perspective, by Michelle A. Gonzalez, defines the essence of Latina spirituality. For the non-Latina reader, this book serves as a window into a particular Roman Catholic spirituality which can enrich the reader’s spiritual life. Personal identity and spirituality is intimately entwined with community and family. Read more about this book here.

All five volumes in the Called Holiness series released so far can be seen here, at the series' home website, along with articles and other information posted by the series authors. Reading guides, discussion questions, rituals and applications to daily life are available to help readers discover how their own life experiences reveal the sacred.

Saints at the Dinner Table by Amy Heyd

"I choose a dish from St. Isidore of Spain, Manor House Chicken. The recipe was easy to follow, timing was on target, and most importantly, everyone loved it." -- Not Lukewarm, blogspot. Read the review here.

Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth, by Ilia Delio, O.S.F., Keith Douglass Warner, O.F.M., and Pamela Wood

“…offers spiritual practices that focus on ‘practical, hands-on approaches to reconnecting with the Earth and acting in right relationship.’”—National Catholic Register

“…is not just a book of Franciscan spirituality, but, to use business jargon, a set of resources, including exercises for personal meditation and group discussion.”—The Lutheran.

Virtuous Healers: Models of Faith in Medicine by Edgar Gamboa, M.D.

“Virtuous Healers is not a public policy treatise; it is a prayer book, complete with reflection questions, short prayers…and spiritual exercises.” —Initiatives, National Center for the Laity

Song of the Sparrow: New Poems and Meditations, by Murray Bodo, O.F.M.

“The meditations invite the reader into the depths of our own being through the explorations of a mystic and the pragmatism of a 12-year-old school boy.” —TAU-USA National Newsletter

African Saints, African Stories: 40 Holy Men and Women, by Camille Lewis Brown, Ph.D.

“This book is meant not only for information purposes, but also to provide material to meditate or pray with the holy person(s).” —Sooner Catholic

Grieving With Grace, by Dolores R. Leckey.

"Grieving With Grace offers a helpful spiritual guide to the changes and challenges that accompany the loss of a loved one." -- Spirituality and Practice. Read the review here.

St. Anthony Messenger Press announces the release of John Dear on Peace: An Introduction to His Life and Work by Patricia Patten Normile, S.F.O. In this book, Normile takes an in-depth look at the work Jesuit John Dear has done over many years to promote peace in all kinds of settings—from homeless shelters and soup kitchens to war zones like Iraq, El Salvador and Northern Ireland, all over the world. He has written numerous books and was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Normile explains why she wrote this book and how it can help others searching for a way to “live peace.” “This is simply an introduction to an authentic gospel approach to peace, a way of active nonviolence that John lives and invites others to enter. Each reflection leads readers to the book from which the material is taken. ...The hope is that John Dear’s message will move from head to heart to spirit and ultimately to hands and feet as you begin to live out the message of each reflection.”

Gerald Thomas Straub, author, Thoughts of a Blind Beggar and When Did I See You Hungry? writes, “[Dear] is a true prophet of peace and nonviolence who is willing to follow the gospel no matter the cost to him. ...This is a book you will not only want to read but also give to all your friends.”

Just in time for the Franciscan friars’ 800th year anniversary, St. Anthony Messenger Press announces the release of Francis and His Brothers: A Popular History of the Franciscan Friars by Dominic V. Monti, O.F.M. This eminently readable, beautifully presented history takes the friars from Francis’ own conversion through the forming of the brotherhood—the Order of Friars Minor, or the Lesser Brothers—to current times.

This history emphasizes not only the medieval developments of the world’s most beloved band of men but also the internal evolution and mission efforts of the friars during the modern period, from the sixteenth century to the present. Monti gives particular emphasis to the history of the order in the English-speaking world: first England and Ireland and then North America and the twentieth-century expansion of the order to other English-speaking countries.

Sr. Ilia Delio, O.S.F., author of Franciscan Prayer, writes that this book is “a fascinating read—erudite, comprehensive and engaging. Dominic Monti brings together a wealth of scholarship and experience as a Franciscan Friar, drawing us into one of the most exciting adventures of Christian history.”

February 25th is Ash Wednesday and St. Anthony Messenger Press is ready for the season with Daily Reflections for Lent 2009 by Rev. Norm Langenbrunner. See it here.

This little booklet asks us to meditate on Scripture, reflect, pray and act each days of the season of Lent. The daily reflection feeds our minds, the prayer feeds our soul and spirit, the call to action feeds our desire to act differently and with purpose during this holy season. As Father Langenbrunner explains, “This book is your vade mecum (Latin for “go with me”). Someone in the seventeenth century coined the term to describe a book that one always has at hand.” The Scripture, reflections, prayers and calls to action in these pages will become a valuable companion as you walk this journey. This booklet is also available in Spanish as Reflexiones diarias para Cuaresma 2009. Check it out here.  

St. Anthony Messenger Press’s Franciscan Library announces the re-release of two classic Franciscan Press titles,  Saint Francis Prayer Book compiled by Auspicius Von Corstanje, O.F.M., and Hope and Healing: Prayers for Catholics, by Sister Ann Redig, O.S.F. and Reverend James Toal, O.F.M.

Saint Francis Prayer Book is partly a collection of Saint Francis’ prayers drawn from his writings, which were first published some 30 years after his death as well as Francis’ prayers found in the earliest biographies. Together, they express a soul wholly given over to God and provide modern readers with a model for their own prayers. There is a wealth of material here that needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Check it out here.

Hope and Healing: Prayers for Catholics is a small format book of prayers compiled especially for use with the sick and hospital-bound. Catholics ministering the sick will appreciate having this collection at hand. Learn more here.

Those grieving will find sure comfort in Carol Luebering’s new book Coping With Loss: Praying Your Way to Acceptance. Divided into the stages of grief – denial, pain, anger, guilt, depression, acceptance – this book provides definitions of each stage so that readers can locate themselves on the grieving spectrum. Luebering then provides individual stories under each stage and instructs readers to find prayers that speak to them specifically. Prayers have such down-to-earth titles as “When You Are Always So Tired,” “When You Are Angry at Someone Who Is Responsible,” “When You Are Ashamed of Your Feelings,” and “When People Avoid You.”

Patrick Marrin, editor of Celebration, writes, “Luebering reminds us that others have gone before us, marked the terrain and left clues for us. She offers both a practical handbook and a compassionate hand to help us move through grief toward hope, through suffering to restored peace and deeper spiritual maturity.” Order this book here.