Carlo Acutis

How does a city boy who only lived to the age of fifteen "go viral" more than a decade after he died? Discover the story of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church. Born in 1991, the same year as the launch of the World Wide Web, Carlo has been hailed by the pope as an example of love and holiness in our complex digital age. This tech-savvy Italian teen has shown the world that computer coding and video games are no obstacle to sainthood. From a young age, Carlo's enthusiasm for Jesus was contagious. His witness brought his own family back to faith and even helped convert his Hindu au pair to Catholicism. Carlo called the Eucharist "my highway to heaven" and was eager to tell everyone about the incredible reality of Christ's true presence in the world. To this end, he used his computer to help design an exhibition dedicated to eucharistic miracles that has traversed the globe. Vatican journalist Courtney Mares has traveled in the footsteps of Acutis across Italy to tell his story in depth, interviewing many whose lives he helped transform. This book paints a portrait of him as seen through the eyes of his friends, family, teachers, priests, doctors, classmates, and followers. Features an eight-page color photo insert and an account of the miracles attributed to Acutis' intercession, including one certified by the Vatican. Carlo sought no attention for himself while alive, yet in the years after his death, he has become a global "influencer for God".

In the face of death, the hope of every man is put to the test. When one is dealing with the illness and death of a young boy, one seems to oscillate on the edge of incomprehensibility. Yet there are testimonies that enter the darkness of the mind like a ray of light and warm the hearts of those who have ceased to hope. The life of Carlo Acutis is one of these rays of light. Indeed, it was the light of a lightning bolt on a summer’s night that overcame the darkness of fear and meaninglessness and permitted us to see what there truly is beyond the night of life.

In No Bad Days, JT Jester shares his against-all-odds story of overcoming countless physical and learning challenges to help others find joy in any circumstance and understand that there are no bad days—only hard ones. By the time JT Jester was three years old, he had spent 250 days in the hospital, and he endured sixteen major surgeries before he was sixteen. Diagnosed with VATER/VACTERL Syndrome, a rare combination of several birth defects. JT’s life was anything but easy. On top of his physical challenges, he suffered dyslexia and short-term memory loss, which made learning nearly impossible for him. Yet JT pushed past his physical and educational roadblocks to achieve what many people told him he would never do—learn to read, graduate from high school, attend college, and become a successful motivational speaker, influential podcast host, and bestselling author. In No Bad Days, JT details the incredible story of how he overcame what seemed like insurmountable odds and shares the many invaluable lessons he has learned throughout his life in the hope that others might reach their full potential. These lessons include how to: Find Your Tribe, Pull Off the Label, Stretch Yourself, Listen to Others, and Learn to Fall. JT’s improbable life story is evidence that regardless of the mental and physical challenges you might face, you can defy the odds to create the life you want and accomplish the things you’ve only dreamed about. His remarkable journey is all the proof you need. Through his story, and the inspiring stories of others, JT Jester shows readers how to find joy in any circumstance and proves that there are really no bad days—only hard ones.

How is it possible that a chain-smoking socialist, a teenage video gamer, an opium addict, a satanic high priest, a disabled beggar, and a self-absorbed mean girl became saints? Popular itinerant missionary Meg Hunter-Kilmer will stretch your preconceived notions of holiness by exploring the lesser-known lives of seventy-five extraordinary people whose human struggles and limitations reveal the power of God’s grace. Pray for Us isn’t your ordinary saint book: Hunter-Kilmer highlights the sorrows, struggles, and idiosyncrasies of broken people who turned their lives around and dedicated themselves to God and his work. Through these edgy profiles, full of fresh and fascinating stories, she explores the universal call to holiness and how God can transform anyone—from grouchy theologians to bratty teenagers—into saints. You’ll discover that anyone—even you—can become a saint if you trust in the Lord. Among those you will meet are Blessed Carlo Acutis, an ordinary Italian teen who enjoyed video games and loved the Eucharist but refused to waste time on things that weren’t pleasing to God. Blessed Sara Salkahazi, a chain-smoking socialist and wild-child from an upper-class Hungarian family who exposed the plight of the working class and smuggled Jewish people to safety during World War II. Blessed Victoire Rasoamanarivo, a married woman who defied the opposition of her difficult family to lead the Church in Madagascar. St. Dulce Pontes, the daughter of a wealthy family in Brazil who decided to serve the poor by becoming a nun and teaching literacy to children and their parents in the slums. Blessed Bartolo Longo, a satanic priest who returned to the Church, worked to bring people back to Christ, founded schools for the poor, established orphanages, and created Rosary groups. St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, a Christian opium addict who never got clean but still had the courage to die a martyr’s death for his beliefs during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Hunter-Kilmer presents the unvarnished lives of the saints and holy people in a way that reveals the power of God’s grace in their lives. Their stories—and especially their brokenness—are relatable to us all. An extensive index that includes names, feast days, and patronages will help you find the inspiration you are looking for in the lives of these holy people.

Video games fuel a fundamental human drive for adventure—like the epic quest to slay zombies, a solo voyage to rescue the princess, or setting off with a clan to defeat the final boss. The desire to be a hero in your journey is something Bobby Angel can relate to. A lifelong gamer, he was the cohost of the God and Gaming series on YouTube and often appears as a guest on Bearded Blevins’s Around the Halo on Twitch. In Gaming and the Heroic Life, Bobby explains that you don’t have to just play the role of hero in a game—you can actually pursue a heroic life by the way you engage the virtual world. Gaming and the Heroic Life is a map to becoming not only a better gamer but also a better person—one who has a purpose and knows where they fit into the world. The book contains three levels: Level One explores why people love games and what games have to do with God. Level Two examines how the Easter eggs of truth, beauty, and goodness in games impact players in much the same way that they impact your relationship with God. Level Three demonstrates how gaming can propel players AFK (away from keyboard) to find purpose and meaning in service to others. Bobby shows where video games intersect with a life of faith in God—how games echo with our call to holiness and how we can respond to that call in both the virtual and real worlds.

In 2020, the world changed. What can we expect? Question what to believe and what's next.

Watch the Highlights Video of the June 24 live panel discussion from Rome.??????? When Pope Francis' pontificate has passed, it's very likely that one of the nineteen cardinals featured in these pages will be elected to become the next Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics and the most influential and widely respected moral and religious figure in the world. Yet outside the Vatican walls, despite the considerable roles that some of these men play in the Church and in the world, few of them are known by the public — or even by their brother cardinals. Hence this book, an engrossing and thoroughly documented instrument through which a future pope may be known

Let there be light—illuminating info about today’s Catholic church Catholicism All-in-One For Dummies offers a path toward understanding the beliefs of the Catholic church and how the church operates. Fully updated with information on newly canonized saints, updated teachings from Pope Francis, and how Catholic beliefs intersect with the modern world, this edition gets you up to date with the last 2000 or so years or Catholic history. With five minibooks in one, this friendly Dummies guide will answer your pressing questions. What do Catholics believe? What happens in Mass? Who are the saints? What is the role of the Pope? And other cool stuff you’ve been wanting to know about this Christianity denomination with over one billion members worldwide. Discover the core tenets of the Catholic religion Learn all about the papacy and get to know Pope Francis Get a primer on the Catholic saints, including those newly canonized Walk through the traditions of Mass and the seven sacraments This is an excellent resource for anyone who needs a clear guide to the practices and rules of the Catholic faith and wants a fascinating look into a prominent world religion.