Reading The Sighs And Signs Of Our Times

A collection of 11 articles from the September 2021 edition of La Civiltà Cattolica, the highly respected and oldest Catholic journal published from Rome. “Peace and union are the most necessary of all things for men who live in common, and nothing serves so well to establish and maintain these as the forbearing charity whereby we put up with one another’s defects” St Robert Bellarmine. As timely as ever! This month Giancarlo Pani reviews Bellarmine’s life and works. When Karol Wojtyla was elected, few would have imagined that the new pontiff was about to bring a renewal to the Social Doctrine of the Church. However, there were clear indications in his earlier life of the direction he would take, Fernando de la Iglesia Viguiristi tells us in John Paul II and the Social Doctrine of the Church. From the archive we have Bartolomeo Sorge’s speech on the relationship between the Gospel and modern culture to the “Cultural and Literary Challenges in Italy 50 Years after the Second Vatican Council Conference” in November, 2012. In Considerations on Power and International Aid Relations, Michael Kelly, publisher of La Civilta Cattolica, English edition and his friend and colleague Daniel Solymári from the Order of Malta, who is active in the resettlement of refugees, detail how aid is an element of politics, whose original scope was born out of the interaction between nations and right up to the present it occurs significantly among states and political institutions.

The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

The genius and the sunshine girl. As children, we fought bitterly and often, bickering every chance we got. But then we grew up. Then we came back. Delphine Dansey carries her heart on the outside of her body; she’s looking for love and chasing dreams. She’s spoiled and selfish, the kind of beautiful that’s made for money and fame. But somehow she’s ended up in my keeping: a pretty submissive I can’t seem to resist, a lover who obsesses and tempts me. I thought I’d locked my heart away a long time ago, along with all my other weaknesses. But some doors won't stay closed, no matter how hard I fight to keep them shut. She unravels me, just like our friends are unraveling, just like Thornchapel itself is unraveling. All year long, we’ve been sowing lust and jealousy and pain, heedless of the consequences. But a harvest is inevitable, and so now we must reap our sorrows. And our sighs. *Harvest of Sighs is Book Three in the Thornchapel series.*