A brand new year means brand new books! To get your reading list for 2019 started, here are seventeen brand new Catholic books you need to add to your reading list in the upcoming year.
1. The Road to Siena: The Essential Biography of St. Catherine of Siena by Edmund Gardner
Long out of print, this new edition has been slightly abridged and generously supplemented with the reflections of other biographers, historians, and artists—who shed fresh light on what we know about an amazing woman.
(Release date January 15, 2019)
2. How Christianity Saved Civilization: And Must Do So Again by Mike Aquilina and James Papandrea
Facing an overwhelmingly dark and hostile culture, Rome’s early Christians took the steps necessary to transform it.
Their struggles and the hard lessons they learned documented here afford us hope that, by imitating their example, we may do the same for our culture today.
(Release date January 17, 2019)
3. Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens by Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady
Husband-and-wife youth ministry experts Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady offer realistic and engaging spiritual guidance for Lent that includes timely topics for teens such as relationships, being your best, competition, control, fear, and forgiveness.
(Release date January 25, 2019)
4. Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI by Scott Hahn
Bestselling author and theologian Scott Hahn argues that the heart of Benedict’s theology is salvation history and the Bible and shows how Benedict accepts historical criticism but recognizes its limits.
(Release date January 22, 2019)
5. Timeless: A History of the Catholic Church by Steve Weidenkpof
The latest by Steve Weidenkpof is fresh retelling of the history of the Church. In this easy-to-read, not-your-average history book, you’ll be introduced to the vivid, dynamic story of God’s work in the world since Pentecost.
(Release date January 28, 2019)
6. Spiritual Direction from Dante: Avoiding the Inferno by Father Paul Pearson
Hell and how to avoid it are perennial topics of interest for believing Christians and others. With good reason. A reading experience like no other, this new book will educate and entertain you, but most importantly, will help you avoid the inferno!
(Release date February 4, 2019)
7. Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul by Father Paul Scalia
Guided by Father Scalia’s introduction and commentaries, you’ll realize that the Church has faced crises and survived, even thrived, before. If you are a priest or bishop, just maybe reading these words of men not unlike yourself, will inspire you to stand and be counted and preach God’s word from the pulpit without counting the cost.
(Release date February 15, 2019)
8. On Faith by Pope Francis
Read the inspiring words of Pope Francis to discover the transforming power of faith. Drawing on examples of faith from the Old and New Testaments, as well as examples from his own life of faith at work in the world, Pope Francis demonstrates that faith, like hope, is rooted in love.
(Release date February 15, 2019)
9. Girl, Arise! A Catholic Feminist’s Invitation to Live Boldly, Love Your Faith, and Change the World by Claire Swinarski
Is it possible to be both a Catholic and a feminist? Claire Swinarski, writer and creator of The Catholic Feminist podcast, believes it is: “I’m a feminist for the same reason I’m bold and honest and sometimes ragey: because Jesus was all of those things.”
(Release date February 8, 2019)
10. How to Catholic Family: Nourishing the Faith in the Messiness of Everyday Life by Tommy and Karen Tighe
This book is a practical, encouraging guide for the rest of us: Catholic parents that want to impart the faith to their children but aren’t quite sure where to start. There will be plenty of fails along the way, but this new book will encourage you to keep trying to develop a faith-filled family life.
(Release date February 18, 2019)
11. The Anti-Mary Exposed: Rescuing the Culture from Toxic Femininity by Dr. Carrie Gress
Building off the scriptural foundations of the anti-Christ, Carrie Gress makes an in-depth investigation into the idea of an anti-Mary—as a spirit, not an individual—that has plagued the West since the 1960s. Misleading generations of women, this anti-Marian spirit has led to the toxic femininity that has destroyed the lives of countless men, women, and children.
(Release date March 1, 2019)
12. Ave Maria: The Mystery of a Most Beloved Prayer by Pope Francis
“At the beginning of the re-creation of the world, there is a dialogue between God and a single woman,” notes Pope Francis in Ave Maria.This important new work by Pope Francis provides an enlightening new vision of the importance of women in the Church and the world, seen through the lens of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
(Release date March 12, 2019)
13. Abba Isn’t Daddy and Other Biblical Surprises: What Catholics Really Need to Know About Scripture Study by William Burton, O.F.M.
Did you know that when Jesus called God “Abba” he didn’t really mean the familiar “Daddy” as you may have been taught? This new book is a perfect resource to encourage you to learn the principles of scripture study and undertake a deeper reading of the Bible.
(Release date March 22, 2019)
14. Catholic Bucket List: What Every
Catholic Should Know (And Do) by
Shaun McAfee
If you’re involved in teaching RCIA, know someone who recently converted to the Catholic faith, or just came home to the Church yourself, put this book on your to-read list for 2019.
(2019 release date to be announced by Our Sunday Visitor)
15. Be Brave in the Scared: How I Learned to Trust God During the Most Difficult Days of My Life by Mary Lenaburg
As a parent, do you struggle with trusting God’s will for your life and for those you love? Are you tired and afraid? In Be Brave in the Scared, Mary Lenaburg shares how the overwhelming demands of caring for her severely disabled daughter ultimately taught her (and can teach you!) that trusting in God and accepting his will can lead to profound joy, no matter what challenges you face.
(Release date May 10, 2019)
16. The Heart of Perfection: How the Saints Taught Me to Trade My Dream of Perfect for God’s by Colleen Carroll Campbell
From the award-winning author of My Sisters the Saints, former presidential speechwriter and mother Colleen Carroll Campbell weaves stories of her own struggles against comparison and impossible expectations with those of seven ex-perfectionist saints (and one heretic) who show us how to pursue a new kind of perfection: freedom in Christ.
(Release date May 21, 2019)
17. Dwell: One Woman’s Search for Home and a Sense of Belonging by Hallie Lord
When Hallie Lord imagined her future, she dreamed of a beautiful home on a small plot of land where she and her family would put down roots—ones that would grow deep over many decades. Instead, her reality became eleven moves in fifteen years—with eight babies along the way!
(Release date August 6, 2019)