New Ignatius Press books for Spring 2011

Here are some of the new titles Ignatius Press will be publishing this spring:

• What We Can't Not Know: A Guide, by J Budziszewski. In this new revised edition of his groundbreaking work, Professor J. Budziszewski questions the modern assumption that moral truths are unknowable. With clear and logical arguments he rehabilitates the natural law tradition and restores confidence in a moral code based upon human nature. Available February 2011.

• Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, by Pope Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and no myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. He thinks that the best of historical scholarship, while it can't "prove" Jesus is the Son of God, certainly doesn't disprove it. Indeed, Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus-a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount to claims of divine authority, claims not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception. Benedict XVI presents this challenge in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Part Two Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, the sequel volume to Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.

• Fire of Love: A Historical Novel About Saint John Of The Cross, by Jose Luis Olaizola. Stories of saints do not often begin with their parents' courtship. But in this historical novel, love is at the very center of the drama, for Saint John of the Cross became one of the Church's foremost experts on intimacy with God. His mystical poems on divine love are considered some of the greatest verses ever written in the Spanish language. Available March 2011.

• Happiness, God and Man, by Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn. The highly regarded teacher, writer and pastoral churchman, Cardinal Schonborn, talks about man's happiness, small and great, about happiness as it is supposed to be and as it is discovered. He explains what it means to say that all human beings are created for happiness. His insightful writings are centered on meditations about happiness and also about the deeper meaning of love and friendship. Available March 2011.

• Into Your Hands, Father: Abandoning Ourselves to the God Who Loves Us, by Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen. In this simple but profound book, Father Stinissen distinguishes three degrees or stages in abandonment. The first stage consists of accepting and assenting to God's will as it manifests itself in all circumstances of life. The second is actively doing God's will at every moment of one's life. In the third stage, abandonment to God is so complete that one has become a tool in God's hands. At this stage it is no longer I who do God's will, but God who accomplishes his will through me. Available March 2011.

• Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile, by Joseph Pearce. Revise, expanded edition. Based on exclusive, personal interviews with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Pearce's book provides profound insight into a towering literary and political figure. This biography contains previously unpublished prose poems written by Solzhenitsyn after his return to Russia, and a gallery of rare photographs. Available March 2011.

• Padre Pio Under Investigation: The Secret Vatican Files, by Francesco Castelli. The documents in this book reveal every aspect of Padre Pio's life from his amazing supernatural gifts to his health. In his depositions, he admits, under oath, to the phenomenon of bi-location and to other supernatural charisms, and for the first time tells the detailed story of his stigmatization. Also included are letters from his spiritual father and a chronology of his life. Available March 2011.

• The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother and Pro-Life Activist, by Ruth V.K. Pakaluk. This book is the powerful story of an amazing woman who converts to Catholicism at Harvard University, marries her college sweetheart and joyfully welcomes several children. After some successful forays into pro-life activism in New England, Ruth Pakaluk is struck with breast cancer and dies at the young age of forty-one. Available March 2011.

• Toward the Gleam: A Novel, by Thomas M. Doran. A story that features a giant pirate and slaver, a human chameleon on a perilous metaphysical journey, a mysterious hermit, and creatures both deadly and beautiful, this is a novel that explores the consequences of the predominant ideas of the 20th Century. Available March 2011.

• What Is Dogma?, by Cardinal Charles Journet. The great theologian Charles Journet explores the meaning of dogma in his classic work What is Dogma? In what sense are dogmas an object of faith? How do reason and faith relate to dogmas? How are dogmas both essentially unchangeable and yet open to development? Are dogmas accessible only in learned theological language or are there common-sense ways of understanding them? Journet addresses these and other important questions. Available March 2011.

• YOUCAT: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, by Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn. YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is the official catechism for World Youth Day. Written for high-school age people and young adults, YOUCAT is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. The popular format includes Questions-and-Answers, highly-readable commentary, margin pictures and illustrations, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations, and quotes from the Saints and other great teachers. Available March 2011.

• Poor Banished Children: A Novel, by Fiorella Nash. Poor Banished Children is the tale of one woman's relentless search for freedom and redemption. The historical novel raises uncomfortable questions about the nature of courage, free will and ultimately salvation. Available March 2011.

• Anglicans And The Roman Catholic Church: Reflections on Recent Developments, by Stephen E. Cavanaugh. The twelve essays in this book discuss the reasons Anglicans have recently sought reconciliation with the Holy See. They explore the history of the Pastoral Provision and the Apostolic Constitution, as well as the needs of the new ordinariates if they are to flourish. Also considered are the changes to the Roman liturgy since the Second Vatican Council and the specific patrimony that Anglicans bring to Catholic worship. Available April 2011.

• The World of Saint Paul, by Joseph Callewaert. Joseph Callewaert's engaging work on St. Paul reads like a novel. With inviting, even dramatic, prose, it recounts the story of the great Apostle to the Nations. This is no dry tome or ponderous biography. Nor is its subject a "safe" historical figure, irrelevant to the issues of today: St. Paul remains controversial.

• Manalive A Novel, by G.K. Chesterton. Beautifully written, mixing the ridiculous with the profound, full of hilarious dialogue and lushly detailed writing, Chesterton's main character Innocent Smith somehow manages to restore joy to all the dull and cynical lives around him. In this delightfully strange mystery, Chesterton demonstrates why life is worth living, and that sometimes we need a little madness just to know we are alive.

• Holiness Is Always In Season, by Pope Benedict XVI. This inspiring volume presents the Pope's numerous reflections on many saints arranged according to the calendar year. He shows how the life of each saint has something unique to teach us about virtue, faith, courage and love of Christ. Dozens of saints are covered in this wonderful spiritual book. The Pope exhorts us through their lives, "Be holy! Be saints!"

Comments

[Evan]

Is Journet's What is Dogma? a new release of the Mark Pontifex translation, or a new translation entirely?

Thanks for the heads up on the spring list.

[Kevin C.]

I read Pearce's biography of Solzhenitsyn on a whim several years ago in the local library and it was my first introduction to Solzhenitsyn. I haven't gone very long since then without returning to Solzhenitsyn. And it is quite true that this is the best book out there dealing with his Christian faith. The others pay lip service to it while Pearce acknowledges that it was the driving force behind Solzhenitsyn's work.

The prose may be worth the price of admission itself.

[Will Peaden]

I was just thinking that I had read nearly everything that Pearce had written except this book and that I might find it second hand. Now I know that I need to read it. How God works...

[Elizabeth D]

A novel about St John of the Cross! Wonderful! As usual there are so many interesting books in this list. The Padre Pio book sounds like an important contribution. The claims about him are of such an extraordinary nature that surely I am not the only one who would like a close-up examination from a reliable witness.

[Kevin C.]

Carl, Mark,

What, if anything, is different in the Solzhenitsyn book aside from the additional prose? I don't remember the 1st edition being anywhere near 500 pages in length.