Showing results by publisher "Franciscan Media" in All Categories

Can you find faith in an episode of "Friends"? Can Adam Sandler teach us about the love of God? Can Kermit the Frog and Alanis Morissette teach us about prayer? Can Harry Potter help save us? Jesuit Father Mark Mossa says yes! Fr. Mossa has served as a minister for young adults in various parts of the northeast and southern U.S. He currently teaches theology at Fordham University in New York City.

In When We Were Eve, Colleen Mitchell draws on the creation story in Genesis to show women God’s gracious plan for their whole being: body and soul in harmony with themselves, others, creation, and their Creator. Through her own story and those of other women, she explores the many ways women struggle with their bodies and the way a biblical understanding of what it means to be a woman can bring them peace and joy.

We are born to savor life, to live in the moment. What holds us back? When we stop the noise, the distraction, the compulsion to perform, the fear of rejection, we make space to savor the power of the present moment. We carry this capacity to honor the present into every encounter and relationship, meaning that we honor the dignity that is reflected by God’s goodness and grace. Every encounter, every relationship, is a place to include, invite mercy, encourage, receive, heal, reconcile, repair, say thank you, pray, celebrate, refuel, and restore.

Richard Gaillardetz creatively draws on the deep wisdom of our Christian tradition while reflecting on the lived experience of marriage. Chapter 1: The Shape of Christian Spirituality; Chapter 2: Marriage and the Life of Communion; Chapter 3: Marriage and Conversion; Chapter 4: Marriage and Sexuality; Chapter 5: Marriage and Parenthood.

Marge Steinhage Fenelon knows the pain, fear, hopelessness, insecurity, resentment and anger of being raised by a troubled mother. She also knows the way out: Mary. In Forgiving Mother, Fenelon deftly explores the ways the Blessed Virgin can provide comfort and healing if you truly desire it. Drawing from personal experience as well as wisdom from Church documents, Scripture, and the saints, Fenelon sketches a path from despair to peace. She offers concrete steps and prayers to help you deal with the painful memories, emotions and fears that are rooted in your past.

Times are difficult; Joseph Grant's meditative delivery wraps his listeners in hope, tenderness, and gratitude. Wandering and Welcome is a beacon of poetic kindness rooted in honesty, Scripture, and truth. You'll want to call loved ones and replay pieces to them. Some sections will make you sigh in astonishment, some will cause you to pause in revelation, and others will bring tears of joy and appreciation. If a book could be both giant reality check and tender hug all wrapped in one, this would be it.

Stories of Jesus provides a portrait of Our Lord in a day-by-day reflection format, based on the Gospel accounts of his life and teachings. Through these reflections, Girzone introduces Jesus and his adult ministry - from his baptism by John the Baptist through his public life and work, to his death and resurrection - pausing along the way to focus on the important people and events of Jesus s world.

This wonderful introduction to the life and teachings of St. Francis offers daily inspiration and a dose of “peace and good” - a phrase often associated with Francis and his followers. Each month celebrates a Franciscan theme - such as peace, conversion, prayer, Mary, charity, and service to the poor. For each day, you will find a quote from Francis’ teachings, a suggestion for living as Francis did, and a challenge for growing in faith and practice.

Much has been written on the last words of Jesus, the traditional phrases taken from Scripture that depict the final moments of Jesus's life as he dies on the cross. In this new take on the last words, author Dan Horan brings a fresh perspective to this time-honored meditation as he challenges readers to look at their lives through the lens of Jesus s suffering and death. Yet interlaced with suffering, the focus throughout is on the immense love of God for human beings, shown in the gift of Jesus, God made flesh.

In the town of Status, across the river from Quo, nothing ever changes. Children are taught to memorize facts but not to think for themselves. Adults live by the motto "work, produce, stay the same." And as long as everyone follows the rules, there is harmony in the two communities. The shops hum, and all ceremonies for the worship of God are appropriately formal and well organized. The past is revered, and the future seems to be secure. Then the Stranger comes to town.

In this spiritual memoir, writer Maureen O'Brien reflects on the many ways in which she found a home and a refuge in the biblical psalms, drawing strength from them in a wide variety of experiences and seeking in them a safe shelter from life's storms.

In The Franciscan Saints, spiritual trailblazers span the centuries from Francis and Clare to Solanus Casey and Mychal Judge, with representatives from every walk of life and corner of the world. Each entry features the essential biographical facts and adds the insight and depth only Ellsberg can provide. The author’s sharp eye for signs and stories of holiness in the gritty, messy real world informs his selections, making his work unique.

Do you sense there is a greater purpose designed for your life and work? Good news! You were designed on purpose for a purpose. John McCarthy is here to guide you on a practical journey to gain purpose, freedom, and a life of joy! The Renewal Journey is a 10-day, 45-minute per day retreat to gain awareness of your purpose and map out a plan to obtain it through your career search. A career of richer purpose and joy will result from your 450-minute investment in the Renewal Journey. This is The Purpose Promise.

Whether you have made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land or have always wanted to walk where Jesus walked, this book offers a rich experience of the many sites associated with Gospel events. Monsignor Vincenzo Peroni takes pilgrims on an unforgettable tour of the most important sites in the Holy Land through beautiful guided meditations, probing questions, and sensitive prayerful reflections. Each chapter also contains Scripture texts that set the scene.

In this audiobook, Melanie Rigney gives us a panoply of widely known and more obscure saints who show the way to be better disciples of Christ. They offer compelling examples of how to meet the challenges of daily life, be strengthened in your faith, and become the man God created you to be.

Most of us fall short of fully living out our values, especially if they are countercultural ones like simplicity and soulfulness. As both a family man and the executive director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Kentucky, Kyle Kramer knows that struggle. In Making Room, he writes not only as an eco-spiritual expert, but also as a fellow pilgrim on the journey toward simplicity, which he defines as the choices that create the freedom to honor our own deepest needs, the concentric circles of human relationships, and God’s gifts of the natural world.

In this memoir, Maureen O'Brien reflects on the gospel story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and what she learns about herself, the people around her, and a fragmented but still beautiful world. While she’s sharing her story of finding God’s love, she’s also sharing the stories of so many others, known and cherished by God even when the world leaves them shattered, finding their way through the world and feasting on the fragments of grace that are always in abundance if we learn to look, to see, to accept, to share.

In-depth conversations with Franciscan authors and artists