BOOKS

He’s a rockstar, literally bigger than life. His red cassock glows with the love of the Church. He’s a small town boy made good, real good, and this year he sat down with one-hundred and fourteen other cardinals to elect a new pope after Benedict XVI abdicated due to poor health, AND, he was elected president of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.

The following books, including one by an Arizona author, are suitable for Christmas giving.

The book "Three Moments of the Day: Praying with the Heart of Jesus” is one of those tests of Church unity.

Chapels at Princeton, Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago are explored in Margaret M. Grubiak's "White Elephants on Campus," which provides readers with two history lessons. One is about religion's role on campuses of private, nondenominational U.S. universities; the other is about the architecture of these chapels.

Readers interested in the Catholic Church's role in international development will benefit from reading three books which explain that the church long has been a formal presence in international development and that individuals rooted in Catholic tradition, prayer and Catholic social teaching can change the world. But fair warning: Readers might feel inspired and uncomfortably challenged while reading them, for answering the call of Catholic social teaching, the books point out, is not an easy task.

In the opening line of her new book, “Non-negotiable: Essential Principles of a Just Society and Humane Culture,” Sheila Liaugminas writes, “We the people are losing our ability to think clearly or reason well.”

Go into any modern bookstore or go online to any major bookseller and you will find oftentimes large self-help sections. Look closer and you...

"From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement" takes a critical look at Chavez and...

Jesuit Father James Martin today has a hard time believing that he initially turned down a suggestion to go to Jerusalem as source material for his newest book, "Jesus: A Pilgrimage."

We’ve all read and heard the story of 12-year-old Jesus accompanying Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the annual Passover feast (Luke 2:41-52). Like any party with a whole gaggle of friends and relatives, even the best of parents lose track of their kids.