How did the church come to recognize the books of Scripture, and why does the shape of the canon still matter today? The Shape of the Canon invites readers into the story of how Christians learned to hear the voice of Christ in these particular writings and not in others. Rather than treating the canon as a puzzle of lost councils or political maneuvering, this book shows how Scripture emerged from the worship, memory, and discernment of the early church. At the heart of the story are the ...

Many people inherit a faith long before they understand it. They grow up within a world of rituals, rhythms, and expectations that shape them quietly and completely. Yet somewhere along the way, a question begins to rise: Is the gospel as complex as the system received, or is it simpler than ever imagined? This book follows the journey of an unnamed pilgrim whose life unfolds inside a sincere and structured religious tradition. Through Scripture, education, relationships, and loss, the pil...

Our Savior Uncomplicated, His Church United invites readers into a clear, generous, and deeply biblical vision of the Christian faith, one that honors the church's long story while cutting through centuries of confusion, division, and inherited misunderstandings. With pastoral warmth and historical precision, David Michael Bouterie guides believers through the central doctrines that shape Christian identity, showing how Scripture, the early church, and the great teachers of the faith conve...

For centuries, Christians have honored Mary with titles, stories, and devotions that grew far beyond the brief, beautiful portrait preserved in Scripture. The Apostolic Road invites readers to step back through time and examine how those later traditions emerged--through apocryphal writings, cultural imagination, and the powerful pull of inherited devotion. Drawing on Scripture, the early Fathers, and modern scholarship, David Michael Bouterie traces how the Mary of the New Testament gradu...

In The Catholic Way, Bishop Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington D.C., has offered up an accessible, easy-to-use blueprint to the Catholic Church's most recent catechism, a detailed summary of Catholic thought compiled by a commission of church cardinals and bishops in 1992.

"The first thing to say in our exploration of priesthood is this: priesthood is a fundamental and inescapable part of being human. All human beings, knowingly or not, minister as priests to one another. All of us, knowingly or not, receive priestly ministrations from one another. Unless we begin here, we are not likely to understand the confusions and uncertainties and opportunities we have been encountering in the life of the church itself in recent years. We shall be in danger, in fact, ...

This highly praised handbook on ministry is an essential resource for clergy and laity alike--clear, readable, theologically sound, and pastorally wise. Traces the development of ministry from New Testament times through Vatican II to provide pastoral guidance for priests, nuns, teachers, and others who are called to the ministry.

"[A] celebration of what is beautiful and lasting in the Catholic tradition . . . a kiss of peace to [all] Catholics, whether liberal, conservative, or confused." —Michael Leach, co-editor of I Like Being CatholicWhat makes a Catholic a Catholic? According to Thomas Groome, a professor in theology and religious education at Boston College, Catholics share certain vital features of life and identity. What Makes Us Catholic explains and illuminates t...

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's election as Pope Benedict XVI brought a world-class biblical theologian to the papacy. There is an intensely biblical quality to his pastoral teaching and he has demonstrated a keen concern for the authentic interpretation of sacred Scripture.Here a foremost interpreter of Catholic thought and life offers a probing look at Benedict's biblical theology and provides a clear and concise introduction to his life and work. Bestselling author and theologian Sc...

What on earth are you chasing? We are all chasing something, and always for the same reason: we want something or someone to give us the joy we yearn for at the very depths of our being. All too often we are searching for joy in all the wrong places. Pope Francis calls this the feverish pursuit of the frivolous. What brings you joy? We live busy lives and in the midst of all the chasing it is essential that we slow down from time to time, and not just slow down, but pause, to reflect of wh...

FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS, Doors to the Sacred has endured as an indispensable account of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Used in hundreds of university and seminary courses and full of critical acclaim, it details their historical and cultural evolution and the rituals and practices associated with them. This Vatican II Golden Anniversary Edition explains the liturgical changes found in The Roman Missal, Third Edition, and provides extensive resources for stu...

When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation--"doing everything for God's glory"--is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God. For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.Cult...