Read a Good (Evangelizing Catholic) Book Lately?

Rebuilt: The Story of a Catholic Parish

Change isn’t easy and neither is church. But change is what parishioners and their leaders must do if they want their churches to thrive. Faced with the challenge of reviving a dying and disengaged suburban Baltimore parish, Father Michael White and lay associate Tim Corcoran examine their experiences of transforming a community of churchgoers into congregants focused on the mission Jesus gave us: growing disciples.

 

The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided by St. Thérèse of Lisieux by Br. Jacques Philippe. From the bestselling author of Interior Freedom, his 2012 book shows us St. Thérèse of Lisieux sought a new way to Heaven: “a little way that is quite straight, quite short: a completely new little way.” Blessed with personal limitations that might have discouraged another, Thérèse believed God would not have given her a desire for holiness if He did not intend for her to achieve it.

Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell. Weddell begins her book by quickly and systematically outlining the problem that the Church faces today.

· Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing (p. 24).

· 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics (p. 25).

· 79 percent of those who have dropped the name "Catholic" and claim no religious affiliation of any kind, have done so by age 23  (p. 33).

· In the early 21st century, among Americans raised Catholic, becoming Protestant is the best guarantee of stable church attendance as an adult (p. 35).

· The majority of adult Catholics are not even certain that a personal relationship with God is possible (p. 46)

· Mass attendance is always lower than, and goes up and down with, the percentage of those who are certain that it is possible to have a personal relationship with God (p. 44).

The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - It will take your breath away in its evangelical fervor, spiritual insight, beauty, profound theology and depth of insight. Officially released [in 2013], the first Apostolic Exhortation written by Pope Francis is entitled Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel and it will send shockwaves of the Holy Spirit when its impact is fully experienced.

The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic: How Engaging 1% of Catholics Could Change the World by Matthew Kelly. If you walk into any Catholic church today and look around, you will discover that some people are highly engaged, others are disengaged, and the majority are somewhere in between. What key things did... Mother Theresa, Francis of Assisi, John Paul II, Catherine of Siena and Ignatius of Loyola all have in COMMON? THEY ALL PRACTICED THE FOUR SIGNS!

Evangelizing Challenge This Week

Form a Catholic Book Club among your Men’s or Women’s club friends, your CRHP class, your RCIA class or “Coming Home” group.

Some comments came from  Kevin Cotter of FOCUS Blog, GoodReads.com,the Vatican Press Office  and Antionette Thomas.