Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love)
Be gentle with and kind to each other. At the risk of sounding banal and reductive, I would argue this simple bit of advice is at the heart of what Pope Francis strives to tell us in his apostolic exhortation,…
Category Publisher’s Letter
The Certain Hope of Easter
The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is deeply embedded in both the reality of the material world and the divine. Through Good Friday, we are reminded of the former. Through the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday itself, we recall…
Books to Help You Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions
The beginning of the New Year is always a time of stocktaking and resolution-making. Out with the old, in with the new, we say. For Novalis in 2016, the “new” is full of promise. It starts with our own contribution…
Bring Hope to the World
It is small wonder that the early church chose Dec. 25 to represent the day that Christ was born. Just after the winter solstice, the day of the year in which we experience the longest night, the birth of Jesus…
The Power of Faith to do Good in the World
It is April and we celebrate the Easter season once again. Inevitably, our focus on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ provokes existential questions about our relationship to God and the place of faith in our lives. This year, religious…
The Weaving and Uncertain Path to Love
For several years, like many others, I had been after David Wells to write a book. I knew he had a book in him, and it was a great book. It’s just that he had to sit down and write…
Celebrating the Life and Work of Thomas Merton
The next 12 months are shaping up to be a momentous time in the Church. One of the events adding to the importance of 2015 will be the centenary of the birth of the famous mystic monk, Thomas Merton. Merton…
The Immaculate Conception’s Special Place in Our Hearts
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) is one of the most revered celebrations in the Church year. Though overshadowed by Advent and the looming Christmas festivities, it nonetheless reflects the enduring love and veneration of the people of God…
Prepare for Christmas: Books for the Advent Season
Daylight comes late and ends early in November. The cooling temperatures and shorter days are harbingers of the looming winter, but also of the spiritual season of Advent. This pre-Christmas period is a time of preparation, of “making straight” the…
New Books for Teachers
August is a deceptive time of year. On the surface, the lazy, hazy days of summer appear to reign supreme. But for many of us, there is a subtle change of consciousness as we recharge our reserves of energy and…