faithAlivebooks Blog

Ten Best Catholic Novels

Patrick Samway, SJ, former literary editor of "America" and acclaimed author, chooses his top ten Catholic novels in the selection "The Ten Best Catholic Novels You'll Ever Read." It appeared in the book "I Like Being Catholic: Treasured Tradition, Rituals, and Stories."

He writes, "In much the same way that I am not sure that Catholic mathematics or Catholic watercolors exist, so too I am not sure about putting too much stock in the category of 'Catholic novels.' I do know that there are Catholic authors who write novels, but can we call their novels 'Catholic?' Since the word Catholic is not under copyright, what does it mean exactly? Should the definition of Catholic be restricted to someone who has been baptized in a Roman Catholic Church?"

For Samway's full discussion of the topic, visit faithAlivebooks.

U.S. Catholic Literature

In Una M. Cadegan's article, "U.S. Catholic Literature," she poses questions about how we create literary genres, specifically probing into the genre of Catholic literature. She asks questions like "What is Catholic literature?" and explores what U.S. Catholic writers have written and the ways in which these authors have thought about literature. Cadegan is the associate professor of history and the director of the American Studies Program at the University of Dayton. To read the full article, reprinted with permission, visit faithAlivebooks.

A Place of Mercy

faithAlivebooks is pleased to announce the publication of A Place of Mercy: Finding God on the Street, a new release by Thomas O'Brien. He is a professor of Catholic social thought at DePaul University in Chicago. To purchase a copy of A Place of Mercy, visit Amazon.com; to order in quantity, send an e-mail to danpierson@faithalivebooks.com.

Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott, author of Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, and Bird by Bird: Some Instruction on Writing and Life talks with Dave Welch in an interview about her life in writing. For more information about Anne Lamott, visit faithAlivebooks.

Stalking the Divine

Kris Ohlson, author of Stalking the Divine: Contemplating Faith with the Poor Clares sent me an email with the lovely review of her book. The review appeared in the January 14, 2005 issue of the Catholic Chronicle, the free online news sponsored by the Catholic Chronicle – Catholic Newspaper for the Toledo Diocese and Beyond.

In a review in Commonweal, Lawrence S. Cunningham, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame noted, “I have more than once observed in these pages that some of the finest contemporary spiritual writing comes from women, who bring a certain critical edge to their work, along with a deep appreciation for the Catholic tradition. I am thinking of writers like Kathleen Norris, Patricia Hampl, Annie Dillard and the late Denise Levertov. To that number I would like to add Kristin Ohlson, who has given us a powerful account of the faith of the Poor Clares her own honest search to connect to that faith.”

Congratulations to the Catholic Chronicle for introducing its readers Stalking the Divine and to Kathleen Norris, Patricia Hampl, Annie Dillard, Denise Levertov and Kristin Ohlson for providing us with literary works for individual reflection and parish reading group discussion.

For more information about Stalking the Divine visit faithAlivebooks.com. Discussion questions are also available.

How to Raise Good Catholic Children

How To Raise Good Catholic Children by Mary Reed Newland, originally written in 1954, is back in print and is available from Sophia Institute Press.

"How to Raise Good Catholic Children is the most amazing combination of experience, common sense, and down-to-earth sanctitythat has yet been printed." Sr. Mary deLourdes of St. Josepy College, Maine

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