Books

Too often in Britain might we encounter conversations where Abbots and Abbesses are assumed to be artefacts of the past - or Abbeys a form of institution consigned to noble ruin , in countryside outposts only cared for by English Heritage. As we move towards the New Year though a fresh biography of the founding Abbot of Worth Abbey in Sussex knocks such assumptions for six and points the way to... Read More

You know when a book finds you? That is exactly what happened to me this Advent when Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ beautiful spiritual Advent accompaniment book popped up on my Facebook feed, via her book launch at the Margaret Beaufort Institute in Cambridge where she is a Senior Fellow and Director of Religious Life Institute. Our beloved mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October and I thought... Read More

Loving Yourself by Richard Frost, published by SLG Press. St Paul in Corinthians 13:13, teaches us that faith, hope and love abide, and the greatest of these is love. While most people know that looking after ourselves is an important concept how many people really love themselves as they should? Many of us do our best to love others which is not always an easy task and while loving ourselves migh... Read More

My grandson recently had a shock when a sparrowhawk flew down into the garden and just failed to grab his budgerigar who was enjoying the afternoon sun. This incident underlined for me how comprehensive and yet how individual is God's love for all his creatures. Not even a pet budgie falls to the ground, or escapes from certain death, without His knowledge. Then along comes Anthony deStefano's ta... Read More

A much-loved Catholic priest has marked his retirement after 52 years of service to the Diocese of Middlesbrough by publishing his first book. Father Tom O'Neill has served parishes in Hull and Middlesbrough, where he was most recently parish priest of the Holy Name of Mary in Linthorpe for 15 years. Parishioners packed the parish hall for a special celebration evening after Father Tom's retiremen... Read More

Jonathon Porrit's latest book, Love, Anger & Betrayal (Anthony Eyre, Mount House Press, 2025) is a game of two halves. On the one hand it is the author's own testimony to the depth of the climate crisis which is already upon us, outlining the multiplicity of issues now coming to a head - taking us into the land of tipping-points, feedback loops and human chicanery (including the'political capt... Read More

A Million Reasons to Be Angry - Only One to Love by Deacon Sean Loone is a book about mental health, childhood trauma, and faith. Rev Loone is a Catholic Deacon working at Our Lady of the Wayside parish in the Archdiocese of Birmingham where he is also a Catholic Life governor. He has spent much of his career teaching in schools and colleges, and lecturing part-time at St Mary's Oscott, the semina... Read More

A massive best-seller in French for the past four years - God, The Science, The Evidence has just been published this week in English by Palomar - and looks set to attract a much larger audience. In this book, authors Michel-Yves Bolloré and Olivier Bonnassies distil insights from 62 Nobel Prize winners and more than 100 leading scientists from a wide range of disciplines - from cosmology to phys... Read More

The election of Pope Leo XIV signals a defining moment for the Catholic Church. As he steps onto the world stage, the first pontiff ever to hail from the United States inherits the throne of St Peter, the legacy of Pope Francis, and the challenges of a rapidly changing Church. In Pope Leo XIV, veteran Vatican National Catholic Reporter correspondent Christopher White delivers an authoritative acco... Read More

Have you ever wanted to deepen your prayer life and explore the treasures of Catholic spirituality? We are launching an online Book Club to share fellowship with others on the same journey by reading and discussing one of the lesser-known gems of the Church: 'How to Converse with God' by St Alphonsus Liguori. This short but powerful book offers timeless wisdom on prayer, full of practical tips to ... Read More

A new exploration of women's statues in London has been published this week. Juliet Rix is a writer and broadcaster who has written two children's books and two travel books. The book cover displays Rix's favourite statue of Bronze Woman, 2008, a celebration of Caribbean heritage in Stockwell Memorial Gardens, which she sees as a joyful representation of Universal Motherhood. On the reverse is the... Read More

A new book asks what prayer really is, and finds answers in unexpected places. In an age of spiritual fatigue and unmet expectations, Margaret Somerville's new book, When Prayer Doesn't Work: Reimagining our understanding and expectations of prayer (Wild Goose Publications), offers an honest and refreshing reframing of prayer, not as performance or formula, but as presence woven through daily life... Read More

How can the Church ensure that its worship, life and mission flow from an encounter with the God of love, mercy and faithfulness? How can its members develop and sustain a loving personal relationship with Jesus? How can it ensure that it places itself in all it does and thinks under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? In other words how can it 'Realise the Sacred' both in the sense of 'coming to kno... Read More

Professor Akhtarul Wasey, professor emeritus of Islamic Studies, released the book titled: A Vision for Muslim-Christian Cooperation, edited by scholars Herman Roborgh and Joseph Victor Edwin SJ, on Saturday 16 August, at the Indian Social Institute. The event saw the participation of members from the Minhaj Interfaith and Welfare Foundation, alongside theology students from Vidyajyoti. The book i... Read More