Our Clergy and Staff would like to introduce you to some of our favorite authors and books. We hope that your spiritual journey is enriched by this information: To purchase any of these books online: http://www.amazon.com
The Return of the Prodigal Son
Who was Henri Nouwen? And why do we urgently need to hear his voice today? On The Return of the Prodigal Son, you will learn how a chance encounter with a painting by Rembrandt led this beloved Dutch priest and writer on the last great spiritual adventure of his life. Celebrated as the author of many books on contemporary spiritual life, Nouwen spent his final years ministering to handicapped adults before he died unexpectedly in 1996.
In this rare archival session, Nouwen shows how, like the prodigal son, we find ourselves today in a "distant country" where we spend our lives searching for love where it can never be found. Nouwen explores the "mystery of homecoming," into the embrace of an all-loving, all-forgiving God who is both mother and father. Enriched with many stories from Nouwen's remarkable life as a theologian, a peace-worker, a pastor, and a seeker.
Henri J.M. Nouwen was born in 1932, and ordained into the priesthood in 1957. He pursued an academic career, specializing in psychology from 1964 to 1982, with positions at the Menninger Clinic, Notre Dame, the University of Nijmegen, Harvard, and Yale. Nouwen next spent time as a missionary to the poor in war and poverty-torn areas of Latin America, including Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. In his last years of life, he was a pastor at L'Arche Daybreak, a community for handicapped adults in Canada. Henri Nouwen was the author of over 30 books, including The Wounded Healer; Our Greatest Gift; Life of the Beloved; and others. For information on the life of Henri Nouwen; http://www.henrinouwen.org/
"If you had the chance, just one chance, to go back and fix what you did wrong in life, would you take it? And if you did, would you be big enough to stand it? Mitch Albom, in this new book, once again demonstrates why he is one of my favorite writers: a fearless explorer of the wishful and magical, he is also a devout believer in the power of love. For One More Day will make you smile. It will make you wistful. It will make you blink back tears of nostalgia. But most of all, it will make you believe in the eternal power of a mother's love."
Married Catholic Priest discusses married popes, bishops and priests of the first millennium, before tracing the moves toward a celibate clergy in the West and analyzing the pre and post-Conciliar period.
While describing the "shame and humiliation visited on married priests and their wives" in statement says the book is "balanced by accounts of those who have continued active in church life, some on the national scene."
Gerard S Sloyan, Priest of Trenton, Retired Professor in the Catholic University of America and Temple University, said: "The book makes one ask how and when the Roman See will set up vicariates like those of Opus Dei and the military chaplainries to reinstate to active service in any diocese those who wish to resume priestly ministry.”
Anthony J Tambasco, Professor of Theology, Georgetown University, said: "Anthony Kowalski puts a human face on married Catholic priests. Through descriptions of real life experiences he shows their joys and their struggles and their ongoing commitment to their faith. If theology starts by reading 'the signs of the times,' then this biographical work helps shape theology in the new millennium." For additional information or if you would like to speak with one of our clergy about the married catholic priesthood please send an email to: info@marriedlifeministries.com
A groundbreaking manifesto on the meaning of life! The most basic question everyone faces in life is; “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God’s purposes for putting us on earth.
The Purpose-Driven Life takes the groundbreaking message of the award-winning Purpose-Driven Church and goes deeper, applying it to the lifestyle of individual Christians. This book helps readers understand God’s incredible plan for their lives. Warren enables them to see the big picture of what life is all about and begin to live the life God created them to live.
The Purpose-Driven Life is a manifesto for Christian living in the 21st century...a lifestyle based on eternal purposes, not cultural values. Using biblical stories and letting the Bible speak for itself, Warren clearly explains God’s five purposes for each of us.
For John Michael Talbot, prayer is a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. To help foster this special experience in others, John describes mystical life in terms of the intimate relationship between a man and a woman, or the Lover and the Beloved: For list of other books by this author, additional information on John Michael Talbot or to purchase his books and music online: http://www.johnmichaeltalbot.com/
This is a revised edition of a 1990 anthology. They have gathered together essays by 25 well-known writers about their relationships with God. In addition to pieces by the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Harold Kushner, Stephen Levine, Huston Smith, and others, there are three new essays by Sue Bender, Michael Beckwith, and Andrew Harvey, and a forward by Marianne Williamson.
For the Love of God is divided into five chapters on the awakening spirit; the God within; discovering God; embracing God, embracing life; and God in everyday life. The spiritual and psychological writers here demonstrate the wide variety of approaches to the Most High. They also reveal that spiritual practices such as attentiveness, listening, gratitude, reverence, and compassion are pathways to a full and rich life. For more on this book and books like this visit: http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/ - Reviews.
The bestselling Joshua series takes an invigorating, timely new turn as Girzone's beloved hero spreads his message of love and compassion from the streets of our nation's capital to the blood-soaked lands of the Middle East. Joseph Girzone's novels about Joshua, the carpenter who transforms ordinary lives with words of peace and loving actions, have sold more than three million copies and captured the hearts of readers around the world.
JOSEPH F. GIRZONE retired from the active priesthood in 1981 and embarked on a second career as a writer and speaker. In 1995 he established the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world. His bestselling books include Joshua, A Portrait of Jesus, and Never Alone. He lives in Altamont, New York. For more books by this author visit his web site: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/girzone/
"Sweet spot." Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you, a zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle. And life makes sweet sense when you find your sweet spot. 87 percent of workers haven't found their sweet spot; 80 percent don't believe their talents are used. What can you do? You're suffering from the common life, and you desperately need a cure. In Cure For The Common Life, Max Lucado offers practical tools for exploring and identifying your own uniqueness, motivation to put your strengths to work, and the perfect prescription for finding and living in your sweet spot for the rest of your life.
With more than 39 million books sold worldwide, Max Lucado has touched millions with his signature storytelling writing style. Awards and accolades follow Max with each book he writes. Max is the first author to win the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year three times—1999 for Just Like Jesus, 1997 for In the Grip of Graceand 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name.
In 1994, he became the only author to have 11 of his twelve books in print simultaneously appear on paperback, hardcover and children's CBA bestseller lists. Lucado set a new industry record by concurrently placing nine different Word Publishing titles on the CBA Hardcover Bestseller List in both March and April 1997. Max Lucado is a fixture on the national bestseller lists – a Max Lucado title has appeared on the CBA hardcover bestseller list every month for the past eight years. He has appeared on the Publishers Weekly, USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. His newest book, Come Thirsty, was released in October 2004, and Next Door Savior recently won a Gold Medallion award in the Inspirational category.
Max serves as the pulpit minister of the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. But he says his greatest accomplishment is finding a one-in-a-million wife in Denalyn and having three unbelievable daughters: Jenna, Andrea, and Sara.
Birth Place: San Angelo, TX Graduate: Andrews High School, Andrews, TX Advanced Degrees: BA Mass Communications, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX MA: Biblical and Related Studies, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX Positions Held: Associate Minister, Central Church of Christ, Miami, FL Church Planning Missionary, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Currently serving as the Pulpit Minister, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX
To buy books online and get additional information about Max Lucado visit his web site: http://www.maxlucado.com/
The Return of the Prodigal Son 
Henri J.M. Nouwen was born in 1932, and ordained into the priesthood in 1957. He pursued an academic career, specializing in psychology from 1964 to 1982, with positions at the Menninger Clinic, Notre Dame, the University of Nijmegen, Harvard, and Yale. Nouwen next spent time as a missionary to the poor in war and poverty-torn areas of Latin America, including Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. In his last years of life, he was a pastor at L'Arche Daybreak, a community for handicapped adults in Canada. Henri Nouwen was the author of over 30 books, including The Wounded Healer; Our Greatest Gift; Life of the Beloved; and others. For information on the life of Henri Nouwen; 
Married Catholic Priest discusses married popes, bishops and priests of the first millennium, before tracing the moves toward a celibate clergy in the West and analyzing the pre and post-Conciliar period. 
A groundbreaking manifesto on the meaning of life! The most basic question everyone faces in life is; “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God’s purposes for putting us on earth.
For John Michael Talbot, prayer is a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. To help foster this special experience in others, John describes mystical life in terms of the intimate relationship between a man and a woman, or the Lover and the Beloved: For list of other books by this author, additional information on John Michael Talbot or to purchase his books and music online: 
This is a revised edition of a 1990 anthology. They have gathered together essays by 25 well-known writers about their relationships with God. In addition to pieces by the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Harold Kushner, Stephen Levine, Huston Smith, and others, there are three new essays by Sue Bender, Michael Beckwith, and Andrew Harvey, and a forward by Marianne Williamson.
The bestselling Joshua series takes an invigorating, timely new turn as Girzone's beloved hero spreads his message of love and compassion from the streets of our nation's capital to the blood-soaked lands of the Middle East. Joseph Girzone's novels about Joshua, the carpenter who transforms ordinary lives with words of peace and loving actions, have sold more than three million copies and captured the hearts of readers around the world. 
JOSEPH F. GIRZONE retired from the active priesthood in 1981 and embarked on a second career as a writer and speaker. In 1995 he established the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world. His bestselling books include Joshua, A Portrait of Jesus, and Never Alone. He lives in Altamont, New York. For more books by this author visit his web site: 
"Sweet spot." Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you, a zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle. And life makes sweet sense when you find your sweet spot. 87 percent of workers haven't found their sweet spot; 80 percent don't believe their talents are used. What can you do? You're suffering from the common life, and you desperately need a cure. In Cure For The Common Life, Max Lucado offers practical tools for exploring and identifying your own uniqueness, motivation to put your strengths to work, and the perfect prescription for finding and living in your sweet spot for the rest of your life.
With more than 39 million books sold worldwide, Max Lucado has touched millions with his signature storytelling writing style. Awards and accolades follow Max with each book he writes. Max is the first author to win the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year three times—1999 for 