Teen Interest
Following Christ isn't always easy. You need faith, courage, patience, and love.
Colleen Swaim looks at eight young souls who became saints for the against-the-current, selfless heroism of their teen years. In addition to the inspiring stories, Ablaze includes maps, recipes, prayers, journal prompts, scripture references and reflection questions to help the reader apply the saints' experiences to every day life.
Read how an Italian high school student inspired thousands as she faced cancer joyfully. Follow a new Christian as he marches to his death by fire after standing firm in his faith in the face of a wretched king. Lock arms with a young man and his crucifix as he dares brawling teens to throw the first stone.
We are all called to follow Christ in our own ways. This book will inflame your heart with vivid storytelling, saintly challenges, prayers, images, and more. Discover how you can set your world ablaze with love for the Lord!
Features: Saint Dominic Savio; Saint Teresa of the Andes; Saint Kizito; Blessed Chiara Luce Badano; Saint Stanislaus Kostka; Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception; Blessed Pedro Calungsod; and Saint Maria Goretti.
View sample pages.
Paperback
Review by Lisa M. Hendey, CatholicMom.com webmaster:
If you're a mom of teens like me, you're constantly on the lookout for books and resources that will help inspire your family. With this new book by Colleen Swaim -- her first, but hopefully just the start of a prolific writing career -- we discover a treasure of the faith for Catholics young and old.
Ablaze is aimed at teens, but truthfully, the resources contained within this book will aid anyone looking to grow in sanctity and faith. Colleen profiles the lives of eight young saints and blesseds, sharing their path to sainthood with accounts that are filled with insight and detail. She has a voice that truly manages to bring these stories to life. Perhaps it's her work as a high school teacher that has provided her with an insight into what will move, challenge and inspire young people. Ablaze is filled with so much more than simply biographical details, including sidebars, vocabulary descriptions, maps, sacramental lessons, and even recipes. Journal prompts, prayers, scripture references and reflection questions help the reader to fully interact with the content presented, applying it to the challenges of every day life.
Each of the saints profiled, though living in different periods of history, has a freshness and a relevance to the world our teens face today. Colleen Swaim aptly brings their heroic virtues to light in a way that will have teens (and grown ups too!), eagerly interacting with her content and asking for more. I give Ablaze my highest recommendation and will enjoy sharing it with my own son this summer.
Confirmation is an important milestone in the life of every believer. If baptism is the sacrament of rebirth into a new and supernatural life, confirmation is the sacrament of maturity and coming of age. This confirmation in the power of the Holy Spirit leading to a firm profession of faith has always been the particular effect that Catholic tradition has ascribed to the sacrament.
Pope Francis has spoken frequently about confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This volume, developed with young people in mind, is a collection of the Pope's encouraging words to us on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Compiler Jaymie Stuart Wolfe has added a foreword and a section of prayers that include the Holy Spirit in Scripture, praying with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Veni Sancte Spiritus. Designed to engage the young and foster a life-giving faith, Anointed makes the perfect gift for all those celebrating or preparing for the sacrament of confirmation.
The perfect journaling companion to The Catholic Youth Bible® has arrived: designed for girls to discover who they authentically are! Its inviting pages will make them want to write, color, draw, and doodle in response to the open-ended prompts. It will help them reflect on their gifts, their goals, their self-image, and their mission; and it will encourage prayer.
From the author:
As a young woman, I often heard that advice. Sometimes I wondered, "What does that really mean?" Other times I thought, "I don't really know who that is yet."
I came to realize that we discover how to "be ourselves" through our relationship with the God who created us. The same awesome God who knew the universe needed a sun and air also knew the world needed you. How amazing is that?
We truly discover our identity when we nourish our relationship with God and learn His will for our life. This journal is designed to help you enjoy learning about God's will for you.
This girl's journal is divided into six sections:
- Who You Really Are
- Peace
- Love
- Prayer
- Talents and Gifts
- Your Life
It is versatile. Some days she may go right to the “Prayer” section; other days she may just want to find a page to color. With this journal, she can choose where she wants to go, when she needs to. The journal is designed to be flexible for her needs, wherever her heart may lead her.
"What kind of relationship do you desire to have with Jesus?"
"What gifts has God given you that you can use to glorify him?" In Breakthrough: The Companion Journal, Fr. Rob Galea's reflections on faith and the lessons he learned and shared in the bestselling Breakthrough are highlighted and paired with questions such as these to assist you in applying these lessons to your own faith. The journal takes you chapter by chapter through Breakthrough, guiding you as you consider your faith, your relationship with God and others, your past, and your future. Breakthrough shares Fr. Rob Galea's journey from desperation to hope--from a lonely and angry teenager to a passionate priest--while Breakthrough: The Companion Journal invites you to consider your own life and faith in light of the experiences Galea shares and the lessons he learned from his troubled past. This full-color, visually appealing journal also includes inspirational quotes from the book to contemplate as you write and full-page quotes that you can pull out of the book and post as a daily reminder. Whether you are reading Galea's book for the first time or the fifth, Breakthrough: The Companion Journal will help you more deeply understand his journey to hope and apply its lessons to your own life.
“How can you keep your heart focused on Jesus, our first love?”
“What kind of relationship do you desire to have with Jesus?”
“What gifts has God given you that you can use to glorify him?”
In Breakthrough: The Companion Journal, Fr. Rob Galea’s reflections on faith and the lessons he learned and shared in the bestselling Breakthrough are highlighted and paired with questions such as these to assist you in applying these lessons to your own faith. The journal takes you chapter by chapter through Breakthrough, guiding you as you consider your faith, your relationship with God and others, your past, and your future.
Breakthrough shares Galea’s journey from desperation to hope—from a lonely and angry teenager to a passionate priest—while Breakthrough: The Companion Journal invites you to consider your own life and faith in light of the experiences Galea shares and the lessons he learned from his troubled past.
This full-color, visually appealing journal also includes inspirational quotes from the book to contemplate as you write and full-page quotes that you can pull out of the book and post as a daily reminder.
Whether you are reading Galea’s book for the first time or the fifth, Breakthrough: The Companion Journal will help you more deeply understand his journey to hope and apply its lessons to your own life.
Ciao! Meet Carlo: an Italian fifteen-year-old techie who loved coding, video games, animals, and also lived a life that put him on the highway to heaven!
Set to become the first millennial saint, Blessed Carlo Acutis was a vibrant, faith-filled Italian teenager who loved technology and the Eucharist. This kid-friendly biography is the perfect introduction to Carlo’s fascinating and moving story.
You Can Be a Saint! is a series of kid-friendly biographies about the many inspiring, diverse, and holy people on the path to sainthood.Features of the series:
- Written in an engaging, narrative form
- Colorful, playful illustrations and design
- Fun and informative sidebars
- Perfect for children ages 8-11
- Durable, high-quality hardcover
What do you really want to do with your life? Who do you want to be in your life? How does God speak to you about your life? This volume, like the Catholics on Call program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, raises these important questions. The highly respected essayists shed light on the variety of vocational paths in the church while providing insights about discernment, ministry, and prayer. They seek to offer young men and women information, guidance, and inspiration as they discern a life of ministry, and help them to discover that discerning a vocation is not a matter of choosing the more appealing of a variety of options; rather, it is an openness to discovering God's will.
Contributors:
Robin Ryan, CP, editor
Thomas P. Rausch, SJ
Donald Senior, CP
Sheila McLaughlin
Robert Schreiter, CPPS
Charlene Diorka, SSJ
Bishop Robert Morneau
Stephen Bevans, SVD
Lizzie Velasquez recently graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in communications. She is one of only three known people in the world with a medical syndrome that doesn't allow her to gain weight or create muscle. Lizzie, an author of three books, has appeared as a motivational speaker at more than 200 workshops. Her story has been featured in national and international media, including The Today Show, Inside Edition, Katie Couric, Dr. Drew, Australia's Sunday Night, and Germany's Explosiv.
He carried the weight of your sin with His cross and walked up a hill to be crucified. It was a walk that led to the redemption of humanity. It is more than history. It is more than a movie. It is a path of transformation. Will you follow Jesus on the way?
Come Walk is an incredible pocket-sized book that will take you through the Stations of the Cross and Jesus’ Passion and Death in a way you never have experienced it. Scripture, prayer, and reflection make this a powerful devotional that is perfect for Lent and Triduum.
If we want love, why do we often settle for less?
-- from the Foreword by Jason and Crystalina Evert
Tired of toxic relationships, many young adults want to clean up their love lives. They desire to give their lives to Christ and turn away from sin--but without a concrete plan, they quickly fall back into old habits. Featuring daily reflections and resolutions, this forty-day detox provides a practical cleanse for those who want to purify themselves from the poisoned dating culture and live a life of authentic freedom, respect, and love.
Inside you'll find:
Sometimes it's seeing God at work in ordinary human experiences that nurtures faith. The Bible has so much to teach about life, and the people of the Bible have so much to teach about living. In a very real way, these people are our spiritual ancestors who show us how to deepen our relationship with God. The 366 reflections in Day by Day with People of the Bible will help teens examine the stories of over 70 biblical characters. With a Scripture passage, commentary, brief question, and prayer, these daily reflections will allow teens to carry the wisdom of God into their daily lives.
Do you feel like God is calling you to...something, but you don't know what? Don't know where to start? Do you find it hard to clear away the noise of life, and apps, and phones and really listen to God?
You're not alone! But, happily, now there is a book to help you cut through the clutter so as to prayerfully discern God's will for your life...that life to which he calls you and for which He created you.
Discernment Do's and Don'ts, a practical guide to vocational discernment for Catholic teens and young adults, combines the teachings of Scriptures, Church documents, the Church Fathers, and the saints -and a healthy dose of good old common sense - into one handy "How to" guide on finding God's will for you.
College chaplain, tech apostle, and parish priest Fr. George Elliott shows young people how to navigate seven different states of the discernment process and provides one best practice (the Do's) to employ and one pitfall to avoid (the Don'ts) at each stage.
Discernment Do's and Don'ts is an invaluable guide offering a wealth of practical advice and resources including:
Discernment Do's and Don'ts lays out a clear path and helps young people identify anything that may be interfering with the discernment process and suggests ways to overcome those obstacles. Though written for teens and young adults, every Catholic not yet settled in a definitive vocation and anyone who cares about such "seekers" (That's you, parents!) should read this book.
From playing video games to sleeping in, teens can think of countless things they would rather do than go to Mass on Sunday morning. That is, unless they knew what they were missing. Do I Have to Go? explains the meaning and the mystery of Mass in such a way that teens will be asking, ‘Why wouldn’t I go?’
With wit, clarity, and common sense, Matthew Pinto and Chris Stefanick answer the tough questions teens have about the Mass—from the rituals contained in the Liturgy, to the doctrines of the Eucharist and the priesthood. When teens understand that the Mass is literally the meeting place between heaven and earth, they will have a newfound sense of awe and a deeper understanding of their role as a Catholic in a post-modern world.
In Do I Have to Go? teens will learn:
- Why the Mass is an essential part of the Christian life.
- The mystery of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
- How the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is communicated to and through the Church and the sacraments.
- The meaning of all the gestures and symbols of the Mass.
- How the Mass has developed from its roots in the Old Testament, through its institution by Christ.
- The importance of the liturgical seasons for the spiritual life.
Everyday Justice brings the principles of Catholic social teaching to teens, whether they are using it as a companion for a social justice course, to broaden their personal understanding of justice issues, or as a reflection guide while they are on a service project. But more than that, it inspires them to respond to our Gospel call. Each day begins with a quote from the Scriptures, a Church document, or an advocate of justice and is followed by a reflection, a prayer, and a call to action.
How well do you know Jesus? Like, REALLY know him? Catholic author and speaker Katie Prejean McGrady shares sometimes embarrassing, often humorous, and always inspiring stories about how she came to know and love Jesus and how you can, too, through prayer, scripture, sacraments, and service. In the summer of 2016, Katie Prejean McGrady walked off the stage feeling great about a forty-five-minute talk she had just given, when a young man from the audience stopped her for advice. His questions caught her completely off guard. "Who is Jesus?"
"How can I get to know him?" Prejean McGrady--who speaks to tens of thousands of Catholic teens and young adults a year about her passion for Jesus--couldn't give the guy a straightforward answer. And it bugged her. Bigtime. In Follow, she uses engaging, sometimes awkward, and frequently funny stories from her own life to show you four simple and practical steps to get to know Jesus and have life-changing friendship with him:
Growing Up Girl gives mothers and daughters a resource for creating that quiet, reflective time to be with each other and with God. The book makes a special gift from Mom to daughter or the perfect Confirmation present. Ages 11-15.
A Harvard graduate, Rhodes Scholar, and devout Catholic tells you everything you need to know about keeping your faith at a modern university. Drawing on her recent experience, Aurora Griffin shares forty practical tips relating to academics, community, prayer, and service that helped her stay Catholic in college.
She reminds us that keeping the faith is a conscious decision, reinforced by commitment to daily practices. Aurora's story illustrates that when you decide your faith matters to you, no one can take it away, even in the most secular environments and under strong peer pressure. Throughout the book, she shows how being Catholic in college did not prevent her from having a full "college experience," but actually enabled her to make the most of her time at Harvard.
Aurora encourages students who are about to begin this formative journey, or those now in college, that the most valuable parts of college life -- lasting friendships, intellectual growth, and cherished memories -- are experienced in a more meaningful way when lived in and through the Catholic faith.
HEROIC WOMEN, REMARKABLE LIVES
The Bible is filled with pages of narratives of people that gave their entire lives to God. Many of these stories are about men and a natural question arises, “Are there women in the Bible? Do they have a place in the Church?” It is a good question with a great answer. There are many women who are a vital part of salvation history and their stories are critical parts of Sacred Scripture. Do you know them?
I Choose the Sky paints a beautiful portrait of just a handful of these women – seventeen, in fact, whose stories are easily glossed over, but not easily forgotten. These women, heroic and virtuous, teach us something about the very fabric of human-kindness and God’s love. This book is about their choice to raise their eyes heavenward despite difficulties and live their lives with hope, boldness, generosity, and great faith.
This scriptural devotion will inspire young women to raise their heads along with Mary, Martha, Lydia, and Esther and look into the eyes of Jesus, the God who loves deeply and perfectly.
These days, virgins may be embarrassed by their lack of "experience" while non-virgins may feel it's too late for them. Men and women of all ages feel compelled to "take their relationships to the next level"--meaning they think it's time to have sex, not try on wedding rings. Chastity author and speaker Jason Evert addresses these issue, and dozens more, in If You Really Loved Me: 100 Questions on Dating, Relationships, and Sexual Purity.
This landmark work features the most common questions Evert is asked when speaking about the virtue of chastity in hundreds of Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and public schools. His humorous, friendly and blunt approach opens hearts and minds to a topic often either rejected out of hand or misunderstood.
Teens will find this book a useful guide to starting a relationship, deciding one's vocation, one day finding a potential spouse, and maintaining purity--without forsaking love. This book will give parents and educators new insights to help teens know the difference between love and lust. They may even look at their own lives differently, because as Evert explains, chastity is not only for singles; married couples must practice this virtue as well.
Written by a "child of divorce" for "children of divorce," Making Your Way After Your Parents' Divorce is a supportive guide that helps personal growth. It takes an honest look at the effects that divorce can have in the life of a teenager or young adult, and the ways that they can move toward healing and forgiveness after their parents' divorce.
Although aimed at teenagers and young adults, this book is a valuable resource for counselors, ministers, religious educators, social workers, and divorced parents themselves. Ideal for both individual and group use.
Paperback
My Dear Young Friends: Saint John Paul II Speaks to Teens on Life, Love, and Courage is based on the actual words of Saint John Paul II spoken to the youth of the world.
Young people from across the United States selected the specific quotes used in this book, because they had found them to be particularly challenging and inspiring.
It is a collection of 52 weekly reflections, each containing a message from Saint John Paul II, a “Think About That,” a “Take Action,” a “Say a Prayer,” and a “Did You Know?”
Hookup culture is about much more than the quest for pleasure. It offers an easy way out of real communication and lasting relationships. It also teaches us to treat each other as objects for personal satisfaction. Even those who reject the hookup culture can still be negatively affected by it and develop poor habits of relating to others. In Off the Hook, Timothy P. O'Malley, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, shows how God's plan for love serves to heal the wounds of hookup culture and is a medicine for what ails our understanding of sex, romance, love, and marriage.
Here are a few things Timothy O'Malley discovered from students in his popular undergraduate course, Nuptial Mystery: Divine Love and Human Salvation:
In Off the Hook, O'Malley explains how the ethics of hooking up shape relationships between men and women and examines the considerable harm to individuals and society that results. By exploring the sacrament of marriage in its biblical, theological, and liturgical dimensions, he offers Catholic young adults and those charged with their formation and pastoral care a wealth of insight into God's plan for love.
Young people will find help grappling with the Church's countercultural understanding of sex, love, and marriage. Parents and pastoral workers will discover a refreshing presentation of the Catholic theology of marriage and wise counsel about forming young people in the Church's vision. Newly married, and even long-married couples will find hope, courage, and the promise of sacramental love that can sustain them for a lifetime.
Now comes an opportunity for children ages 6 and up to meet Philip not only as a football star, but also as a spiritual role model""and their teammate in holiness! With special photographs and behind-the-scenes stories, God's Quarterback relates how Philip has pursued excellence both at the altar and on the field.
If you've ever tried to talk to a young girl about purity and chastity, especially one who's just entering high school, you know how difficult it can be. Finding the right words to let her know about all of the temptations and pressures she'll be facing as she grows up can prove quite a task. What if you could give her something to read that she'd enjoy — and believe? Now you can. "Pure Womanhood" focuses on the concerns and difficulties faced specifically by girls. From questions such as "What guy wants a pure girl?" to "It's my body; isn't it my choice?", Crystalina Evert addresses these challenges in a most engaging way: through sharing her own experiences and how she eventually turned her life around. Crystalina's story raises many questions about the challenges our young people face every day — and the answers she provides will give girls plenty to think about. Whether the young women you know have yet to discover the ways of the world or if they've already made mistakes and are heading down a destructive path, "Pure Womanhood" gives them the reasons — and the assurance — that chastity is the right choice and that it's never too late to start over. With her powerful testimony and blunt words of wisdom, Crystalina restores a young woman's hope for love. She shows that real love is possible, regardless of the past.
Whether your life has already changed by Brennan Manning's dynamic version of the good news or you are meeting him here for the first time, "Reflections for Ragamuffins" will open your mind and heart to a profound new experience of God's unconditional love.
Do you wonder why, as a Catholic, you do some of the things that you do? Have you ever found yourself unable to answer basic questions about what you believe and why you believe it? The Survival Guide for Young Catholics will tell you a bunch of stuff that you might already know and a lot more that you probably don't. You won't get long, boring answers. Instead you'll get quick-fire, straight-up answers that any parent or pope would be proud to hear. So prepare for an overview of the Catholic faith that is sure to leave you a little smarter, a lot more confident and the envy of your fellow Catholics.
Legendary former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz shared three easy to remember and impossible to forget rules for life during a commencement address at Franciscan University Steubenville.
Now in paperback, Three Rules for Living a Good Life: A Game Plan for after Graduation offers a quick, sometimes humorous, and always practical formula for recent college graduates and other young adults to reach success in their business, personal, and spiritual lives.
Three Rules for Living a Good Life is a great gift book for a young adult looking for a quick read that offers encouragement and concrete advice for transitioning to the workforce and to deeper, more committed relationships.
Holtz, one of the most successful college football coaches of all time, shares a message that is genuine and sensible. Punctuated with examples for keeping and living the three rules each day from his years of working with teams, in business, and with his family, Holtz's book keeps the discussion light, humorous, and real.
Holtz's commencement message is one he often shares with business leaders around the world. He points to the foundation of his Christian faith and the necessity for young adults who have been raised in the faith to take stock of themselves at this crossroads of their life. "Don't ignore God! Don't give up the faith!" he writes.
A sought-after motivational speaker, Holtz annually gives hundreds of presentations on topics having to do with leadership, success, and achieving peak results. Holtz has also given many commencement addresses and been awarded a number of honorary degrees. In Three Rules for Living a Good Life, this iconic Notre Dame football coach sums up his essential graduation message in a way that college grads will find useful as they take their place in the "real world."
MAKE DECISIONS THAT MATTER
You are going to make thousands of decisions today and one of them might change your life. Are you confident that what you want and what God want are the same thing? Don’t leave it up to chance - leave it in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
By Francis Insa & Dale Parker
The virtue of purity? Who talks about that nowadays?
This short book presents the topic to today's youth as a challenge to grow and mature into responsible and caring adults, capable of leading and helping others. The authors begin from the vantage of Jesus, who ministered to both young and old, and whose lessons are a call to holiness for us all.
Learn why the virtue of chastity is so pivotal to healthy relationships, how to live and acquire the virtue in a natural way, and what virtues, attitudes, and practices will be key to your achieving a chaste heart, mind, and body. These include prayer, sacrifice, service to others, control over internet use, talking about one’s struggles, and obtaining help in confession and spiritual direction.
This book includes references to websites and further reading and is great as both a personal guide for young people and a teaching tool for adults.
The Words of Jesus for Boys Devotional offers 366 daily devotions toward discovery of what Jesus wants boys to know. For each day, the author provides a Scripture verse, a thoughtful and sensitive explanation and an age appropriate life application that boys "get".
Carolyn Larsen is a best-selling author, actress and experienced speaker with a God-given passion for ministering to women and youth. She has spoken at conferences and retreats around the United States, Canada and India.
- 392 Pages
The internationally best-selling book, YOUCAT - The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, explained to young people the meaning of their faith in language, style and design that has appealed greatly to them. Now YOUCAT - The Youth Prayer Book, helps them to live their faith and deepen their spiritual lives.
The book includes modern, new prayers, along with traditional prayers, and the time-honored prayers of Holy Scripture. It also gives a lot of practical advice on how to pray: in the morning, in the evening, and in between; in sorrow or in joy. The prayer book is illustrated with many photos of young people from all over the world.
Special bulk discount pricing:
100+ copies - 25% discount off the retail price
200+ copies - 35% discount off the retail price
1500+ copies - 40% discount off the retail price
Please email for bulk orders
Walk in faith on campus and beyond...Your College Faith: Own It! serves as a field guide to faith for the student transitioning to, or seeking to make a fresh start in, the realm of college or university life. The authors help alleviate common fears about making it in college and encourage the student to experience faith in a Christian community that serves the unique pastoral needs of young adults. Topics covered include taking ownership of your faith life on campus, maintaining balance in life to increase chances of success on campus, finding a Catholic community on campus, giving back through service work, discerning your vocation, taking advantage of social media and avoiding its pitfalls, and using church documents and spiritual writings to deepen your faith life.