Two thousand years ago, Jesus told the parable of the suffering beggar Lazarus and the rich man. Each had died, with Lazarus joining God in heaven for all eternity while the rich man was condemned to the flames of hell. "Send someone to warn my brothers," the rich man pleaded, "so they won't end up in this place of torment." But God said, "They have the prophets to warn them, your brothers can listen to them." To which the rich man responded, "Then let Lazarus return from the dead that they may believe." But God said, "They will not believe even if a man should rise from the dead."Over the last five hundred years we have witnessed a great many Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in places such as Guadalupe, Mexico; Lourdes, France; Fatima, Portugal. Each Apparition has carried a distinct, albeit similar, message. Pray the Rosary every day, sacrifice for the conversion of sinners and stop offending God. To do these things will mean the defeat of Satan and his Godless ways; an end to Communism and its worldly tendencies; and peace and harmony on earth. Regardless of the associated miracles witnessed by thousands, millions of people continue to deny the reality of the Apparitions and decry the message as a joke.This book recounts the historical life of Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France. A rather ordinary nineteenth century life turned upside down at the tender age of fourteen by the miraculous events that occurred in a rock Grotto near the dumping grounds of Massabielle; the many Apparitions of a Woman who identified Herself as The Immaculate Conception; the miraculous cures that were attributed to a spring of common water, the Virgin's message to mankind; and the extraordinary relevance today for all that care to listen.But as Jesus said, "Even if someone should rise from the dead there would still be unbelievers." Isn't it a pity?

From the cross Jesus gave us his mother to be our mother, too: a singularly holy model, consoler, and intercessor for our spiritual journey. Yet most Protestants, and too many Catholics don't understand the role that God wants her to play in our lives. In Behold Your Mother, Tim Staples takes you through the Church's teachings about the Blessed Virgin Mary, showing their firm Scriptural and historical roots and dismantling the objections of those who mistakenly believe that Mary competes for the attention due Christ alone. Combining the best recent scholarship with a convert's in-depth knowledge of the arguments, Staples has assembled the most thorough and useful Marian apologetic you'll find anywhere. Relevant and essential -- Mary matters. Read Behold Your Mother and find out just how much.

While the story of the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in 1858 are well known, relatively few people are familiar with the saint's own spiritual insights and profound holiness. For the first time in English, this book presents a wide selection of St. Bernadette's thoughts, advice, sayings, and prayers through the touching words of her spiritual diary, notes, and letters to friends and family. After receiving the visions of Our Lady at the grotto in Lourdes, Bernadette eventually became a religious sister as a member of the Sisters of Charity. She lived a life of simplicity, charity, suffering and deep holiness, dying at the age of 35. When she was canonized a saint, her body was found to be incorrupt. In these beautiful writings of St. Bernadette, we learn the secrets of her holiness and happiness. Though she suffered greatly throughout her life, the heroic response of this humble, self-effacing nun transformed excruciating suffering into spiritual fruitfulness. Her letters and writings serve as a model for others passing through their own trials. Her writings reveal and intimate and profound love for God and neighbor. Anyone pursuing a deeper spiritual life will appreciate knowing Bernadette as she truly was, and the inspiring spiritual works of wisdom she offers to us all.

How do Church teachings on the Immaculate Conception affect our understanding of human conception, the renewal of the Church and what it means to be human? Edited by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. Includes chapters by Sr. M. Timothy Prokes, FSE, PhD, Robert Stackpole STD, Mary Shivanandan, STD and others.

Essential reading for all Catholics! Bestselling author, Scott Hahn illuminates a fresh and enlightening perspective on Mary, Mother of God, and her central importance in the Christian faith. In The Lamb's Supper, Hahn explored the relationship between the Book of Revelation and the Roman Catholic Mass, deftly clarifying the most subtle of theological points with analogies and anecdotes from everyday life. In Hail, Holy Queen, he employs the same accessible, entertaining style to demonstrate Mary's essential role in Christianity's redemptive message. Most Christians know that the life of Jesus is foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament. Through a close examination of the Bible, as well as the work of both Catholic and Protestant scholars and clergy, Hahn brings to light the small but significant details showing that just as Jesus is the "New Adam," so Mary is the "New Eve." He unveils the Marian mystery at the heart of the Book of Revelation and reveals how it is foretold in the very first pages of the Book of Genesis and in the story of King David's monarchy, which speaks of a privileged place for the mother of the king. Building on these scriptural and historical foundations, Hahn presents a new look at the Marian doctrines: Her Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, Assumption, and Coronation. As he guides modern-day readers through passages filled with mysteries and poetry, Hahn helps them rediscover the ancient art and science of reading the Scriptures and gain a more profound understanding of their truthfulness and relevance to faith and the practice of religion in the contemporary world.

In 1920s Montreal, 75 parishoners die one terrible night at the hands of an arsonist. Among the survivors are Remouald, whose nightmarish, repressed childhood memories cause him constant turmoil; Séraphon, his invalid father who holds a self-destructive secret; and schoolteacher Clémentine Clément, who obsesses in solitude over past tragedies, unrequited passions, and the grim suspicion that something is woefully amiss with a group of young boys in her class. Gaétan Soucy applies his trademark vivid language, bracing wit, and fearless insight to this compelling story of horror and hope.

The Gospel can be considered a Manual of Prayer, a letter written by the Holy Spirit to you. But God's Word doesn't live in a book. It comes alive when you pray about It. It is not about getting to know what the 'Historical Jesus' did two thousand years ago, what He said "back then"; Jesus Christ is not 'back then' anymore, He is alive, and is longing to talk to you.Taking the Gospel of the day, the iPray provides a commentary that can be a trigger for an authentic and personal conversation with Jesus. That time of prayer spent with Jesus is like a 'cooking pot' in which you blend the Words and scenes of Jesus' life, found in the Gospel, together with your daily life, your worries, your family and friends, all heated up by the fire of the Holy Spirit.'iPray with the Gospel' is not a ready-made meal you can just throw in the microwave, as if they were some prayers that you read and that's it. It is more like a personal recipe that only you can cook with the help of the Holy Spirit.

This second volume of the series Mariological Studies in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe treats the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, hidden in plain sight for nearly a thousand years prior to Bl. John Duns Scotus and his later influence at the Council of Florence. Until now, practically nothing was known of this history. Key to the present study is St. Gregory Nazianzen, whose Marian doctrine inspired Benedict XVI at a 2007 public audience: "Mary, who gave human nature to Christ, is true Mother of God and, in view of her highest mission, was 'prepurified,' as if a distant prelude of the Immaculate Conception." Fr. Kappes' groundbreaking thesis confirms Benedict's insight beyond anything previously imaginable. The person and mystery of Mary in Christ and the Church unfolds as indispensable for ecumenical theology. Greco-Latin agreement on the Immaculate Conception at Florence was itself a portent to subsequent harmony on other doctrinal questions, then, as now. As Pope Francis intensifies efforts to resolve differences between Orthodox and Catholics, Fr. Kappes' research clarifies Our Lady's central role in these efforts.