This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, we earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you often find yourself confessing the same sins over and over again?
Do you just keep making the same New Year’s Resolutions?
You are not alone.
And although “misery loves company”; you may also be happy to hear some people have risen above these frustrations with the help of Jesus, and they want to help you rise above them too.
Whether you are putting “self-improvement” on your Christmas list this year, hoping to have a Catholic New Year’s Resolution or you simply want to grow in God’s grace this Advent; we believe one of these works will help you reach your goal and nurture your relationship with Christ.
Many feel frustrated when they go to confession and say the same sins again and again.
Bless me Father for I . . . am not loving my spouse enough, I act selfish when I do this that and the other, I am lukewarm in my faith, I neglect spiritual and primary duties . . . you could probably add something to this list, couldn’t you?
We believe that God put us in a community to help us rise up against what prevents us to grow closer to Him. Some people have overcome great odds, and want to help you rise above what challenges you too.
Here are some resources that we hope will help you overcome a spiritual battle you are fighting right now.
Do you struggle with sins against purity?
The Pornography industry brings in more money that motion picture industry (and this stat is from before the pandemic). This industry targets human weakness and succeeds.
Perhaps you know someone that also has this struggle . . .
Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified Culture
Redeemed Vision is not just another book on pornography. It is the fruit of one man’s journey from living with the shame of a debilitating pornography compulsion to discovering the joy of redeemed vision and desiring to share it with others.
Our culture has not simply allowed pornography to proliferate; it has adopted the pornified vision as the normal way of seeing the body and sexuality. Christians are no exception, as evidenced by how many settle for coping mechanisms that never actually change their hearts and set them free.
But what if the way we view the body — our own and those of the persons around us — could change? What if the root of our attraction to pornography could be redeemed at its core — in our hearts? What if we could rediscover the beauty and truth of our bodies and sexuality in such a way that the pornified vision loses its appeal?
Whether you are struggling with a compulsion to pornography, love someone who is, or are wondering how to help your children, students, or parishioners deal with the pornified culture around you, this book boldly proclaims to YOU that redeemed vision is not only possible — it is the way we were meant to see.
Are you willing to let go of the way you currently view the world and receive a new way of seeing? If so, enter into this beautiful journey to embrace a redeemed vision to become the person God has created you to be.
Gift/Donation idea: Gift this to a parish to place in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel or simply give it to a priest and he can give it to someone who might be struggling.
Do you wish you prayed more often?
Do you daydream when you pray?
Perhaps you are thinking – I’m not struggling with something that bad. I just wish I prayed more and that when I prayed, I didn’t drift off and day dream.
One prayer many of us struggle with is the Rosary. We know we are invited to really meditate upon the Mysteries, but we find ourselves drifting. One way we can battle that tempation to think of other things is with visual aids and mediations of the Saints.
Two recent publications were created to help you do just that.
The Beads: Rosary Mediations Guided by the Saints was published by Reverent Catholic Mass.
Sara Estabrooks, blogger over at ToJesusSincerely states:
“I love this new Rosary book from Reverent Catholic Mass. It has bead by bead reflections from the Bible and the Saints, as well as representations in art for each mystery.
If you’re looking for new resources to help you pray the Rosary during this month of the Holy Rosary, definitely check out The Beads.”
A Painted Rosary cleverly pairs a modern and sleek design with the richness of traditional sacred art to transform how you pray the Rosary. Increase prayerful focus and deepen your meditation as you become immersed in the 20 mysteries of the Rosary through paintings from the 11th – 17th centuries. With limited distractions and containing just enough content without being overwhelming, A Painted Rosary is designed to be used while praying. Each turn of a page reveals a mystery of the Rosary with its corresponding full-page painting, spiritual fruit, and a Printed Bead Tracker. Simply move your thumb down the page of beads to keep your place, allowing the colors of the tracker to pull you into the scene of the painting.
Wish you just prayed more?
Prompt Me to Pray by Monica McConkey presents practical tips for prayer that can be easily customized to fit our busy lives, habits, daily tasks, and even our struggles. Recognizing our littleness as an inexhaustible source of Prompts to Pray helps us to reach out humbly in prayer when we need Him most and reminds us that God can use all things for good. The book features different approaches to heartfelt prayer including journaling and praying out loud, both spontaneous and classic prayers.
Do you want to build wealth without compromising your Catholic values?
If you fail at generosity or struggle with avarice, the root cause might be your view of wealth. Many of us wonder about our dreams to live comfortably and our hope to go to heaven conflict or if those two desires can coexist.
Deborah Meyer want to reassure you that God wants you to live life abundantly!
Her new book:
Building wealth is tricky business, especially in Christian communities. Many believe what they’ve always been told: money is intrinsically evil, you’re stuck with your past financial mistakes and wealth planning is only for the very rich.
But these are lies—and wealth isn’t just about money. Being wealthy is about providing for your family and others in meaningful ways. CPA financial planner Deb Meyer turns these misconceptions upside down and shares:
- The step-by-step guide to create a financial plan aligned with your values.
- Easy suggestions to shift how you think about money and ensure your past doesn’t become your script for the future.
- The power of prayer and how it works hand-in-hand with an abundance mindset.
- How to drop the idea that retirement always starts at age 65.
Aligning what we possess with what we believe, this easy-to-navigate financial guide will help you understand you are wealthy when living the life God envisions for you.
Are you engaged to be married, but spending more time planning a wedding than a marriage?
Do you wish you nurtured your marriage more?
Do you bring sins against loving your spouse to confession over and over again?
Awaited was written to invite engaged and married couples into deeper relationship in the Advent season, to consider their own vows and their identity as a new family,
Awaited offers a uniquely rich, discussion-based approach to the season through the lens of married love. Together with your beloved you’ll delve into the Scriptures, into modes of prayer ancient and new, and into daily conversations centered on preparing your home, your hearts, and your marriage for the coming of the Bridegroom.
Wait in hope.
The Awaited One–He who will transform our marriages and our lives –is near.
Headed to a bridal shower before Christmas – this book is definitely an awesome gift to give!
Perhaps it is your relationship with God that needs nurturing, more than a spouse.
Does this describe you?
You find yourself going to Mass on Sunday . . .but the rest of the week, you just don’t see God in your daily life?
In “Finding God Again and Again” John provides an honest account of how elusive God can feel at times but how rewarding it is when we go searching for him in earnest. Readers will gain insight on how to begin their own search as well as inspiration from John’s journey.
John Spitzer’s deeply personal spiritual memoir, more than 20 years in the making, takes the reader through his early life as a medical student and his three cancer battles and how they sent him in search of God. Raised in the Catholic faith, John regularly prayed and attended Mass; however, it was in confronting his own mortality that he yearned to be closer to God, but he didn’t know how.
His search for God leads him on a path filled with daily prayer, spiritual direction and reading about the lives of the saints. John doesn’t shy away from acknowledging his own spiritual frustrations and most readers will see themselves mirrored in his struggles. Whether wrestling with professional challenges, waning soccer skills or energetic English Setter puppies, John strives to find God in all moments, people and experiences.
As an Amazon reviewer states:
“This book tells of a man’s personal journey to God. What makes it exquisitely relevant for today is that it is written by a husband, a father, a pediatrician, a person whose life is filled, like most of us, with family and work responsibilities and concerns. . . “
If you want to not just think about God, but feel him in your heart – read this book!
Do you wish you read your Bible more, but get overwhelmed and don’t know where to start?
Amy Thomas, writer at The Catholic Pilgrim will help you start small with the book of James!
Reflections on the Book of James will slowly walk you through nearly each verse of the Book of James.
As the author states, James is “straightforward and doesn’t pull any punches”. When you read this book with Amy Thomas, you’ll be able to meditate on God’s word in a way that is relevant to modern living.
So, if you want to:
live a more pure life;
grow in a more intimate friendship with Our Lord;
give more generously and be at peace with wealth;
feel like you are not just going through the motions with your faith
and
learn more about what God is saying in the Scriptures,
we hope this list of resources helps you!
