Ave Maria Press, the publishing ministry of the U.S. Province, recently released six new books on topics ranging from Ignatian and Benedictine spirituality to God in marriage and family life .
The books include:
- “Atchison Blue” by Judith Valente: Valente, an award-winning PBS journalist and poet, writes about her experiences at Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Kansas. While she started out leading a workshop on poetry and the soul at the monastery, she eventually became the student of the Benedictine sisters. Her experience with the sisters and their way of life transformed her personal and professional life.
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“Just Married: The Catholic Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the First Five Years of Marriage” by Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak: The Popcaks use Catholic teaching, research, their experience as counselors and lessons from their 23 years of marriage to offer couples the most up-to-date look at what it takes to create and sustain an incredible Catholic marriage that will last a lifetime.
- “Redeeming Administration: 12 Spiritual Habits for Catholic Leaders” by Ann M. Garrido: A program director at Aquinas School of Theology in St. Louis, Mo., Garrido developed 12 habits for Catholic leaders seeking meaning in a job that can feel overwhelming and slow to bear fruit. She draws upon her own experience, that of her colleagues and the lives of 12 saints to provide examples of the habits at work.
- “Encountering Jesus in Work, Sacraments, and Works of Charity,” by Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi: Msgr. Vaghi divides his book into three sections, focusing on the three ways we encounter Jesus in our daily lives. He brings to light the ways we encounter Jesus through moments in which we choose to following God’s command and love our neighbors as ourselves. He draws on the talks and writings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
- “Six Sacred Rules for Families: A Spirituality for the Home” by Tim and Sue Muldoon: The couple reveals how spirituality is not an addition to family life, but the recognition of God in the everyday. They use six basic tenets that unpack the treasures of Ignatian spirituality and applies them to specific examples from their own family life.
- “The First Spiritual Exercises: A Manual for Those Who Give the Exercises” by Michael Hansen, S.J. Designed for retreat directors, spiritual guides, parish leaders and other pastoral ministers, the manual is a comprehensive guide to giving the exercises through four month-long retreats.
