The Bookshelf

John Paul the Great: His 5 Great Loves

John Paul the Great: His Five Great Loves, by Jason Everet

If you like St. John Paul II this book is amazing. It is also a great book if you want to learn more about him. John Paul is my favorite saint and learning more about his life through his five loves is inspiring. In particular, the sections on his love of prayer and of Mary left me wanting to pray more. His connection to God showed throughout his pontificate. -- Fr. Aaron Laskiewicz

Renew your faith by learning what enamored the heart of Saint John Paul II.

Something Other Than God

"Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It," by Jennifer Fulwiler is recommended by not only parishioners of St. Dominic Catholic Parish, but Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Brandon Vogt, who works as the Content Director for Bishop Robert Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Brandon has said, "Like Augustine and Lewis before her, Jennifer recounts her compelling journey of conversion through a colorful and stirring memoir.

Smart, inspiring, and absorbing, Jennifer's book will go down as one of the best spiritual memoirs since "Mere Christianity." It will lift her to her rightful place alongside Augustine and Lewis, troubled converts, talented memoirists, and courageous intellects who each followed the truth to its beautiful and unsettling conclusion."

The Only Necessary Thing

In the book The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, editor Wendy Greer collects writings from Father Henri J.M. Nouwen, a Dutch-born Catholic priest. Drawn from many decades of his life, the compilation of Henri's thoughts and feelings reveal the core of the man and his belief that prayer is the only necessary thing.

The love of Jesus will give you an ever-clearer vision of your call. The more you are called to speak for God's love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart. The farther the outward journey takes you, the deeper the inward journey must be. Only when your roots are deep can your fruit be abundant.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, author of more than 40 books, is considered one of the great spiritual writers of modern times. He taught at the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, and Yale, but shared the last seven years of his life with people with mental handicaps as pastor of l'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto.