Every month in 2024 Pope Francis has a monthly prayer intention. Every month we will release a book list that will draw your heart and soul deeper into prayer on these topics.
Mary, you who are Mother of all, welcome into your heart those who are going through the pain of the loss of a child. You know the pain of loss, on Good Friday, and the feeling of absence and silence in the waiting for the Sabbath. There are no words to fill the void, it is a goodbye that will always await the resurrection of the Sunday of glory. We believe in that day, as Mary did, and we await the definitive reunion. But while that is still to come, for those who suffer this pain, we ask for the Spirit of consolation, capable of giving life where there is death, and to set on the way those who have fallen. Give us the grace to be communities that shelter and support parents who have lost a child and who are living proclamation of the definitive life that will reach them. Amen.
Our advice to book clubs & individuals:
- Pick just one of these books to read this month
- Pray this short prayer before or after each time you read, and at the start of your book club meetings.
- During the meetings, make use of the topical discussion guides & videos on the Pope’s website.
Watch how story transforms your
empathy,
prayer life,
&
your capacity to imagine God with you in any situation.
Because of the sensitive nature of this topic we have chosen to include trigger warnings to aid those readers in discerning the best book for them according to what stage of grief they are in.
A Life Decision by Laurie M. Lamb
Peyton and Joe Callahan are thrilled to hear they’re expecting their second child…until they learn the baby has the chromosomal disorder, Down Syndrome.
Peyton is willing to accept this special child. She worked at a camp for Down Syndrome kids one summer. She found the children sweet and loving. Being a woman of faith, Peyton is certain God will grant her and Joe the strength they need to raise this innocent little gift.
Joe, however, feels differently. He, too, spent a summer with a Down Syndrome child…only his wasn’t camp fun and games. He suffered through the child’s behavioral problems, health issues, and ultimately the child’s death. Not wanting his family to endure the same pain, Joe adamantly insists they end the pregnancy and try again.
Can Peyton convince Joe to trust in God and embrace this child, or will Joe convince Peyton that religious clichés aren’t enough to help them down what he is certain will be a rough road? Can they live with the choice that they do make?
Trigger Warnings: abortion, post abortion grief, post abortion marriage, prenatal death, postnatal death
Rachel's Contrition by Michelle Buckman
Rachel Winters had nothing, won it all, and then lost everything. After the death of her daughter, grief-spawned delusions cause Rachel to lose her husband, her home, and custody of her son.
Help arrives from two unlikely sources: a young teen, Lilly, battling her own demons, and a tattered holy card depicting Saint Therese of Lisieux.
As Rachel grows closer to Lilly and comes to know Saint Therese, unbidden memories from her edgy past reveal fearful mysteries of seduction, madness, and murder . . . and a truth that will haunt her forever.
Trigger Warnings: child abuse, child neglect, post partum depression, divorse, classism, rape, teen sexual abuse, codependancy, postnatal death, infant death, teen death
Woman, My Confession by Marianne Collins
A Spiritual Autobiography
Live through the extraordinary life of Marianne Collins and her amazing conversion. Features an absolutely unbelievable ending that will transform your perspective on grace, suffering, and love.
We warmly invite you to meet this truly beautiful woman. Tens of thousands of readers, men and woman alike, have been deeply moved by her incredible life. She is an effortlessly engaging writer and her story takes less than an evening to read.
Trigger Warnings: abortion, post abortion grief, abusive parents, emotional neglect, abusive romantic partners, coerced abortion
The Boy Who Knew: Carlo Acutis by Corinna Turner
The Boy Who Knew Carlo Acutis is the powerful and inspiring journey of a fictional teenage boy, Daniel, who has just been diagnosed with leukemia. At first reluctant to turn toward Blessed Carlo Acutis for help, Daniel finds in him a role model and a spiritual companion, who helps him to trust in God and to discover the meaning of life.
Trigger Warnings: cancer, teen death
The Fisherman's Bride by Catherine Magia
What is the role of women in the Church? Is there a place for Woman leadership in a community with only male priests? Magia draws these present day questions back to the very beginning of Christiandom in the marriage of Peter. This book begins before Peter and his wife have been changed by Christ. They are struggling sinners and struggling in their marriage. This couple’s struggle to find solidarity in their marriage become a meditation on our present day church’s struggle to find our own balance of solidarity between men and women.
Trigger Warnings: post natal child death, disfunctional relationships, threat of stoning for adultury
How to Nourish Your Marriage, The Sacramental Method by M.C. So
Marriage as a Catholic vocation is on the decline. People are either not getting married or ending their marriages at alarming rates. And yet, despite encyclicals, calls for holy families, and even the recent synod on the family, have you ever heard a priest pray for an increase in vocations to marriage at Mass? If formation for a religious vocation takes several years of intense schooling, why is there no set curriculum or length for marriage preparation?
Enter this book. Using the Catechism and tying in modern examples and stories, this short work re-characterizes the ultimate goal of any Christian (going to Heaven) in simple terms. It then points out how each Sacrament nourishes the vocation of marriage and helps couples at all stages (just married, in the midst of a storm, or old and golden) to achieve this goal. In addition, each chapter includes discussion questions which serve as excellent conversation-starters.
“An excellent resource for modern Catholics. It presents Catholic teaching in a way that is practical and easily understood. Every married couple and couple preparing for marriage should read this. I look forward to reading Michael’s future works.”
– Bishop Tod Brown, bishop emeritus, Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange
“In short, this is an easy-to-read, short book which would be great for a couple who is preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church. Even before I finished (but after my wife finished) reading the whole book, we ordered one for my son and his fiancé, who are preparing for their marriage. Michael So’s writing style reminds me of a best-selling author, Matthew Kelly. I completely agree with the author that the witness of a loving family testifies that God is love and He is merciful. I hope my wife and I will meet Michael and his wife (and now their infant daughter) sometime soon to further discuss our joys from reading his book. Those who would like to adopt this book for marriage preparation classes can perhaps draft a curriculum more in detail such as how many meetings would be set aside for the ten chapters in the book, etc.”
– Deacon Peter Chung, St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center
Trigger Warnings: None. A useful book for couples in any stage, but especially for trying times
Relic of His Heart by Jane Lebak
A midwife has a chance to right a seventy-year-old wrong.
Tessa delivers babies at night and raises five sons by day. When an angel appears after a birth and asks for help on a quest, her first response is, “Angels don’t even exist,” followed by a swift, “No.”
Even after he proves he exists (and lets her call him Martin) she wants nothing to do with his quest: Martin wants to find a relic stolen at the end of World War II, when the town of Barlassina was torched and its church destroyed. The relic went into the pocket of a long-dead soldier and hasn’t been seen since.
Without the relic, the church won’t be rebuilt; without the church, Barlassina will die. It’s been gone for eight decades, but Martin senses the relic is about to be “birthed back into time.” He wants Tessa there when it happens. There’s only one chance to make it right, and he’s desperate.
Trigger Warnings: prenatal death, miscarriage, labor and delivery
The Saving Power of Suffering by Fr. Jacob Powell
Why is there so much suffering in the world? How should we deal with suffering in our own lives? The Saving Power of Suffering teaches the answers to these questions and more, showing Catholics how to transform trials into triumph. Suffering is not our enemy but a mechanism by which God is able to help us find, accept, and even use our trials for personal and spiritual growth. In this book, Father Jacob Powell discusses how to see suffering through God’s eyes, how to utilize the tools God gives us to remain fervent in the faith and steadfast in the storm, and how to encounter suffering in imitation of Christ. Nothing can overcome the faithful who bind themselves to the grace of God, develop virtuous lives, lean on the saints for help, and entrust themselves into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mother. With these aids, suffering is harnessed into a weapon against which the devil and all the forces of evil are powerless. All glory be to God!
Trigger Warnings: none, a useful book for those in pain
The Servant of The Suffering: Rose Hawthorne by Voyage Comics
Rose Hawthorne dreamed of following in her father’s literary footsteps. Nathaniel Hawthorne was becoming one of America’s most well-known authors with the publication of The Scarlet Letter, and his success allowed the Hawthorne family to travel across Europe. Rose was eager to take-up the pen and show the world what she had to offer.
However, God had other plans for Rose. Through a series of remarkable events, Rose converted to Catholicism and gave-up her quest for literary fame. Instead, she was led to put her talents at the service of God and serve those suffering from incurable cancer. She even founded a religious order and became known as Mother Mary Alphonsa. Her inspiring life story is now made accessible in an engaging comic book format.
Trigger Warnings: child death, cancer
