When Mercy Seasons Justice is a powerful story of redemption, resilience, and humanity, set against the backdrop of the modern-day refugee crisis and Catholic Church scandals. In this moving debut novel, former Congressman David Bonior weaves together an inspiring story of two characters who dare to defy the status quo. The first is Pope Francis, the kind-hearted, unconventional leader who struggles to usher his church out of a crisis riddled with scandals. The second is Maria Elena, a Honduran mother desperate to save her four children from their terror-stricken community. As Maria and her children head north to seek asylum in McAllen, Texas, Francis grapples with unfaithful bishops and a male-dominated clergy, who rebel against the drastic changes the Church desperately needs. Just as Maria and her family must rely on the help of good Samaritans they meet along their journey—including an artistic gardener, two priests in the mold of Francis, and a New York Times reporter—Francis must seek the advice of his trusted aides, Father Soto and Sister Mary Vernard, to lead the Church through one of its biggest upheavals since the Reformation. Will Maria and her children survive their harrowing search for asylum? And, at this significant turning point in the history of the Church, will Pope Francis redefine his male-dominated papacy—and, ultimately, his legacy? When Mercy Seasons Justice is a timely narrative of hope, faith, and redemption, that intertwines the struggle of two parallel souls trying, despite all odds, to search for virtue and compassion in a world seemingly full of corruption.

When Mercy Seasons Justice is a powerful story of redemption, resilience, and humanity, set against the backdrop of the modern-day refugee crisis and Catholic Church scandals. In this moving debut novel, former Congressman David Bonior weaves together an inspiring story of two characters who dare to defy the status quo. The first is Pope Francis, the kind-hearted, unconventional leader who struggles to usher his church out of a crisis riddled with scandals. The second is Maria Elena, a Honduran mother desperate to save her four children from their terror-stricken community. As Maria and her children head north to seek asylum in McAllen, Texas, Francis grapples with unfaithful bishops and a male-dominated clergy, who rebel against the drastic changes the Church desperately needs. Just as Maria and her family must rely on the help of good Samaritans they meet along their journey—including an artistic gardener, two priests in the mold of Francis, and a New York Times reporter—Francis must seek the advice of his trusted aides, Father Soto and Sister Mary Vernard, to lead the Church through one of its biggest upheavals since the Reformation. Will Maria and her children survive their harrowing search for asylum? And, at this significant turning point in the history of the Church, will Pope Francis redefine his male-dominated papacy—and, ultimately, his legacy? When Mercy Seasons Justice is a timely narrative of hope, faith, and redemption, that intertwines the struggle of two parallel souls trying, despite all odds, to search for virtue and compassion in a world seemingly full of corruption.

How can we be just and merciful? Are justice and mercy in conflict? Or are they aspects of the same truth? Christians in America are presented with two conflicting versions of justice and mercy. One version comes from the dominant secular narrative of America. Justice and mercy are contradictions. Mercy is devalued and discouraged. But within the counter narrative of God revealed through Torah, the prophets, and particularly through the life and parables of Jesus, justice and mercy are aspects of the same truth and way of God. There is no justice without mercy. There is no mercy without justice. In this book, Rev. Brooks Harrington draws on more than 40 years' experience as a criminal prosecutor, a pastor of an inner-city church in an impoverished neighborhood, and the founder of a legal ministry protecting indigent victims of family violence and child neglect and abuse. Through moving stories of women and children he has encountered, he shows the terrible toll of the dominant narrative's version of justice and mercy. And he offers Christians hope with new and startling insights into God's justice and mercy revealed in the parables of Jesus.

Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty comprehensively explores the Catholic stance against capital punishment in new and important ways. The broad perspective of this book has been shaped in conversation with the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty, as well as through the witness of family members of murder victims and the spiritual advisors of condemned inmates. The book offers the reader new insight into the debates about capital punishment; provides revealing, and sometimes surprising, information about methods of execution; and explores national and international trends and movements related to the death penalty. It also addresses how the death penalty has been intertwined with racism, the high percentage of the mentally disabled on death row, and how the death penalty disproportionately affects the poor. The foundation for the church's position on the death penalty is illuminated by discussion of the life and death of Jesus, Scripture, the Mass, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the teachings of Pope John Paul II. Written for concerned Catholics and other interested readers, the book contains contemporary stories and examples, as well as discussion questions to engage groups in exploring complex issues.

When Jesus asked us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the imprisoned, he didn’t mean it literally, right? Kerry Weber, a modern, young, single woman in New York City sets out to see if she can practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in an authentic, personal, meaningful manner while maintaining a full, robust, regular life. Weber, a lay Catholic, explores the Works of Mercy in the real world, with a gut-level honesty and transparency that people of urban, country, and suburban locales alike can relate to. Mercy in the City is for anyone who is struggling to live in a meaningful, merciful way amid the pressures of “real life.” For those who feel they are already overscheduled and too busy, for those who assume that they are not “religious enough” to practice the Works of Mercy, for those who worry that they are alone in their efforts to live an authentic life, Mercy in the City proves that by living as people for others, we learn to connect as people of faith.

James Beck looks at prominent themes in the teaching and ministry of Jesus and how they relate to the five major traits of human personality.