This practical and inspirational book is for people responsible for raising young people in faith--mostly Confirmation sponsors--but really anyone who helps young teens in faith development. Contains practical advice for helping teens with drug, alcohol or abuse problems.

This book has gone through various editions or versions. The "First Version" was given as a paper on "Small Christian Communities in the AMECEA Region: An Evaluation of their Growth and Impact" at the 13th Interdisciplinary Theological Session on the theme "The Faculty of Theology of CUEA Celebrates the Golden Jubilee of AMECEA" at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi, Kenya on 3 March, 2011. Many papers were presented at this conference covering the 50 years of AMECEA under three headings: Part I: "Deeper Evangelization. Part II: "Formation and Education." Part III: "Church Life, Organization and Structures." I specifically treated the topic of "Small Christian Communities" under Part III. Many pastoral leaders including the AMECEA bishops recommended the importance of a thorough critical evaluation and assessment of SCCs to learn from the past and to help plan for the future. Note this is Volume Two of a two volume book. Volume one of this book is also available on AMAZON.

This volume provides all who minister to young people with an effective blueprint for building a truly meaningful ministry

How parents approach the task of passing on religious faith and practice to their children How do American parents pass their religion on to their children? At a time of overall decline of traditional religion and an increased interest in personal “spirituality,” Religious Parenting investigates the ways that parents transmit religious beliefs, values, and practices to their kids. We know that parents are the most important influence on their children’s religious lives, yet parents have been virtually ignored in previous work on religious socialization. Renowned religion scholar Christian Smith and his collaborators Bridget Ritz and Michael Rotolo explore American parents’ strategies, experiences, beliefs, and anxieties regarding religious transmission through hundreds of in-depth interviews that span religious traditions, social classes, and family types all around the country. Throughout we hear the voices of evangelical, Catholic, Mormon, mainline and black Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist parents and discover that, despite massive diversity, American parents share a nearly identical approach to socializing their children religiously. For almost all, religion is important for the foundation it provides for becoming one’s best self on life’s difficult journey. Religion is primarily a resource for navigating the challenges of this life, not preparing for an afterlife. Parents view it as their job, not religious professionals’, to ground their children in life-enhancing religious values that provide resilience, morality, and a sense of purpose. Challenging longstanding sociological and anthropological assumptions about culture, the authors demonstrate that parents of highly dissimilar backgrounds share the same “cultural models” when passing on religion to their children. Taking an extensive look into questions of religious practice and childrearing, Religious Parenting uncovers parents’ real-life challenges while breaking innovative theoretical ground.

Rarely does a book come along that so succinctly explains the decline of modern culture, articulates a defense of the Church's teachings, and offers a hope-filled path for building a civilization grounded in Catholic truth. In these pages, Dr. Ryan Topping does all three, pulling back the curtain on the false philosophies of the secularists and showing that in the West today the most formidable threat to freedom is not failing economies or Islam, but secularism. Our best defense, he claims, is a vibrant Catholic culture, and our best hope for creating it lies in the principles found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In Rebuilding Catholic Culture, you'll discover sensible ways to begin restoring Catholic culture - right now-in your own life and family, and in our larger communities as well: in the theater, in the classroom, in our hospitals, and even in the public square. This profoundly accessible book will renew your confidence in the world-transforming character of our Creed and in the potency of our Faith to shape and redefine the culture of the West. Book jacket.

John Bergsma’s popular Bible Basics for Catholics, which has sold more than 60,000 copies, offers readers an accessible vision of salvation history as it unfolds in the Bible, showing readers how the Bible points us to the saving life and work of Jesus. This new edition includes an additional chapter on covenant fulfillment in the Book of Revelation. Bergsma brings to his theology a combination of academic expertise, pastoral wisdom, and unique playfulness. Bible Basics for Catholics is based on Bergsma’s popular Introduction to Theology course at Steubenville. As a teacher, Bergsma has an uncanny ability to make complex ideas understandable and faith-inspiring while staying true to both Catholic teaching and biblical scholarship. Readers will begin to see the Christian understanding of salvation by walking through the Old Testament, going through the great stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the great kings and prophets of Israel, and culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Many Catholic parents are tempted to leave the religious education and spiritual formation of their children up to their parish or Catholic school. Professional catechist, popular blogger, and father of two, Marc Cardaronella has a passionate plea for those parents: be your child’s primary educator in the faith by what you do and say. This practical guide gives parents what they need to be a bigger partner in handing on the faith to their children by creating a faith-nurturing environment at home. When Marc Cardaronella started his job as a catechist, he could empathize with parents who came to him to talk about how their now-grown children had left the Church because he had been there: Despite years of religious education and regular Mass attendance, Cardaronella never really practiced his faith. He fell away from the Church right after his Confirmation and stayed away for twenty years. Now it’s his mission to equip families like yours to hand on your faith. His passionate message is that the kind of faith formation children need is not taught in standard religious education classes and probably never will be. Cardaronella is on a quest to help you fill the gaps by first strengthening your own faith—opening your heart to God, practicing trust, clearing away obstacles to God’s grace, and creating regular prayer and study routines at home. He gives you the tools to pass that faith on to your kids and make it stick by teaching you how to pray with your children consistently, about adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the power of the Examen prayer, and how to motivate your kids to be engaged in parish life and Christian outreach. Keep Your Kids Catholic offers equal shares of inspiration, challenge, and practical advice. Each chapter includes Reflect, Pray, and Live sections to help you integrate Cardaronella’s message into family life.

The saints are good company. They are the heroes of the faith who blazed new and creative paths to holiness; they are the witnesses whose testimonies echo throughout the ages in the memory of the Church. Most Christians, and particularly Catholics, are likely to have their own favorite saints, those who inspire and “speak” to believers as they pray and struggle through the challenges of their own lives. Leonard DeLorenzo’s book addresses the idea of the communion of saints, rather than individual saints, with the conviction that what makes the saints holy and what forms them into a communion is one and the same. Work of Love investigates the issue of communication within the communio sanctorum and the fullness of Christian hope in the face of the meaning—or meaninglessness—of death. In an effort to revitalize a theological topic that for much of Catholic history has been an indelible part of the Catholic imaginary, DeLorenzo invokes the ideas of not only many theological figures (Rahner, Ratzinger, Balthasar, and de Lubac, among others) but also historians, philosophers (notably Heidegger and Nietzsche), and literary figures (Rilke and Dante) to create a rich tableau. By working across several disciplines, DeLorenzo argues for a vigorous renewal in the Christian imagination of the theological concept of the communion of saints. He concludes that the embodied witness of the saints themselves, as well as the liturgical and devotional movements of the Church at prayer, testifies to the central importance of the communion of saints as the eschatological hope and fulfillment of the promises of Christ.

To young Christians of the world, Pope Francis has a message for you: "Christ is alive, and he wants you to be alive!" In his fourth apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit, Pope Francis encapsulates the work of the 2018 synod of bishops on "Young People, The Faith, and Vocational Discernment." Pope Francis has always had a special relationship with young people, and in his fatherly love for you he shows that: You can relate to young people in Scripture who made a difference You identify with the Christ who is always young You face difficult issues in the world today You yearn for the truth of the Gospel You are capable of amazing things when you respond to the Gospel You learn and grow with help from the faithful of all generations You need bold and creative youth ministry You can discover who God made you to be You are urged to pray for discernment Christus Vivit is written for and to young people, but Pope Francis also wrote it for the entire Church, because, as he says, reflecting on our young people inspires us all. "May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race. The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith. We need them! And when you arrive where we have not yet reached, have the patience to wait for us."