• Our Blogger

    Fr. Joseph Jenkins

  • The blog header depicts an important and yet mis-understood New Testament scene, Jesus flogging the money-changers out of the temple. I selected it because the faith that gives us consolation can also make us very uncomfortable. Both Divine Mercy and Divine Justice meet in Jesus. Priests are ministers of reconciliation, but never at the cost of truth. In or out of season, we must be courageous in preaching and living out the Gospel of Life. The title of my blog is a play on words, not Flogger Priest but Blogger Priest.

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    john on Ask a Priest
    Sarah on Ask a Priest
    Aidan on Ask a Priest
    "Alyssa on Ask a Priest
    mike shannon on MARY OUR MOTHER

Books

Here are some fine Catholic books written by my brother priests in the Archdiocese of Washington:

creedThe Faith We Profess: A Catholic Guide to the Apostles’ CreedMsgr. Peter J. Vaghi offers a simple introduction to Catholicism blending sound Catholic teaching with scripture, the wisdom of the saints, literature, and personal anecdotes to offer a synopsis of the faith suitable for lifelong Catholics and inquirers alike. Vaghi deftly explains how this oldest of the Church’s creeds is not only a summary of Catholic beliefs, but an invitation to entrust oneself to God. Twelve chapters corresponding to the twelve articles of the Creed offer a fast-paced tour of the Catholic faith, with particular attention to sometimes neglected aspects that are distinctive to Catholicism. Questions for reflection and prayers are included for group and/or devotional use.

sacramentsThe Sacraments We Celebrate: A Catholic Guide to the Seven Mysteries of Faith – Drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, and the writings of Benedict XVI and John Paul II, Msgr. Vaghi’s easy-to-use resource considers each of the sacraments from a personal, communal, and social perspective. The chapters explore the sacraments as a whole and examine the scriptural foundation, the history, and the symbolism of each. At a time when Mass attendance, Confession, and the celebration of Catholic weddings are all declining, the clarity and accessibility of Msgr. Peter Vaghi’s writing on the meaning of these celebrations, complemented by questions for reflection and prayer, makes The Sacraments We Celebrate a vital resource for any Catholic seeking to understand these central actions of the faith.

commandmentsThe Commandments We Keep: A Catholic Guide to Living a Moral Life – In his latest addition to the Pillars of Faith series, Msgr. Peter Vaghi guides readers in an exploration of the choices they make in their daily lives. With simplicity and clarity, he unpacks each of the Ten Commandments using a three-pronged approach: discover how the commandment was understood in the Old Testament, understand how Christ fulfilled the commandment in his life and teaching, and examine the personal and practical implications of each commandment for life today.

prayerThe Prayer We Offer: A Catholic Guide to Communion with GodMsgr. Peter J. Vaghi guides readers in an exploration of the practice of Christian prayer, starting from the perspective that prayer is God’s gift to his people. Following the outline of the fourth section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he explores the Old Testament roots of prayer, Jesus as the Master Teacher of prayer, and Jesus’ own prayer–especially during Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Vaghi guides readers into the riches of prayer and offers practical guidance for overcoming common obstacles to conversation with God. Chapters are also devoted to the Rosary and the Our Father.

forgivenessForgiveness: A Catholic Approach – In this book, Fr. R. Scott Hurd writes of the spiritual, psychological, physical, and social benefits of learning how to forgive and find peace. Drawing from his pastoral experience, Hurd examines how human weakness affects such things as our ability to forgive and reconcile, our capacity to trust, and how we cope when a plea for forgiveness is rejected by a person we have wronged.

Our own Cardinal Donald Wuerl is also a wonderful teacher and author of the faith.

Cardinal-Wuerl

New Evangelization: Passing on the Catholic Faith Today
The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home
Faith That Transforms Us: Reflections on the Creed
Seek First the Kingdom: Challenging the Culture by Living Our Faith
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition
The Catholic Way: Faith for Living Today
Teaching of Christ
The Sacraments a Continuing Encounter with Christ: Taken from Teaching of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults
The Gospel Truth: A Lectionary-Based Catechism for Adults
The Gift of Faith: A Question and Answer Version of the Teaching of Christ

2 Responses

  1. “Our own Cardinal Donald Wuerl is also a wonderful teacher and author of the faith.”

    Maybe you should update this. Didn’t he resign not too long ago because of admitting covering up sexual abuse by priests in his Diocese and elsewhere?

    FATHER JOE: While we can disagree about actions taken (or not taken) in regards to misbehaving priests, his writings are still worthwhile, especially THE TEACHING of CHRIST. Further, while he is retired (over 75), he remains as the papally appointed administrator of the Archdiocese of Washington.

  2. Hello, My name is David and I just accepted to go to training to become a Eucharistic Minister which I know is an honor and is important. Now my question is: Is there a book that I should read to further my knowledge and understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist and my responsibility?

    FATHER JOE:

    A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist by Abbot Vonier

    The Eucharist: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics by Mitch Pacwa

    Eucharist (Catholic Spirituality for Adults) by Robert Barron

    God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

    The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Scott Hahn

    I have not read it but the following might be useful…

    The Breaking of the Bread: An Updated Handbook for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion by Fr. Joseph Champlin

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: