“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.” – St. Augustine
Since I’ve built up a large collection of extra books and resources, every week I give some away absolutely free, no strings attached.
Each giveaway lasts seven days with a new one beginning every Friday. You can enter any time during the week. Check out my past giveaways here.
Thanks to the good folks at Image Books, I’m giving away TEN copies of the excellent book-length interview between journalist John Allen, Jr. and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, titled A People of Hope: The Challenges Facing the Catholic Church and the Faith That Can Save It. The book was just re-released in paperback and I previously raved about here.
In addition, I’m also personally giving away TEN Kindle copies of Cardinal Dolan’s new eBook, Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis. Read below to learn more about these two books and how to enter the giveaway!
A People of Hope: The Challenges Facing the Catholic Church and the Faith That Can Save It
by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and John Allen, Jr.
Image, paperback, 256 pages
Released on July 9, 2013
One of the world’s most respected religion journalists profiles New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan, one of the country’s—and possibly the world’s—most important Catholic leaders through lengthy exclusive interviews.
Unique among the current leadership of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Dolan shares his insightful perspective in this series of conversations on the present and future of Catholicism. In these pages Dolan shares a perspective which is typically not part of the information an average person would know through today’s media. This omission often leaves outsiders with a terribly flawed grasp of what’s actually happening in the Church. Legitimate stories on, for example, abuse and Church authority can’t be dissolved by reactive conspiracy theories about how the media is out to get the Catholic Church. That said, if these scandals are all there is to the Catholic Church, why would anyone bother being Catholic?
It may not be surprising that there are an estimated 22 million ex-Catholics out there, yet it is revealing that even more people have chosen to remain with the Church. Tens of millions of Americans, and hundreds of millions more around the world, still turn to the Church for inspiration, for its sacramental life, for its experience of community and service. In every diocese in America you can find parishes that are flourishing.
The faith represented there is not an exaggerated religious frenzy that feeds an uncritical view of the Church. Catholics are nothing if not sober realists about the humanity of their institutions and leaders. They see the Church not as a debating society or a multinational enterprise, but a family—with all the flaws and dysfunction, but also all the joy and life, of families everywhere. This is why Archbishop Dolan is such an important part of the Church’s emerging landscape.
In A People of Hope Dolan is seen at his best, capturing an upbeat, hopeful, affirming Catholicism that’s the untold story about the Church today. As readers spend time with Dolan here, they may find that his love for people and zest for friendship is what’s truly fundamental about the man, not a PR device calculated to conceal some other agenda. Dolan can and does draw lines in the sand when he believes that core matters of Catholic identity are at stake. He’s well aware that we live in a deeply secular world in the West, in which powerful pressures, both subtle and overt, seek to blur the counter-cultural message of Catholicism on many fronts. One key to Dolan’s character, however, is that changing hearts, not knocking heads, is always his first instinct.
John Allen draws out a picture of future trends by exploring where Dolan wants to lead, and how will a Church that increasingly bears his imprint look and feel? To understand this, what’s really necessary is to get inside his head and then let him speak for himself. To that end Allen frames questions in a way that allows Dolan to expand on the topic himself as much as possible. The result is a book more “with” Dolan than a book “about” him, which is indeed the best way to understand the man. At the end, one can agree or disagree with Dolan’s outlook, but one may at least be better equipped to understand why thoughtful modern women and men might still believe there’s something worth considering in the Catholic message.
Whatever the future may have in store for Dolan—staying in New York until he dies, being called to Rome to work in a senior Vatican post, or something else entirely—he will be a force in the Catholic Church both nationally and internationally for some time to come, and it’s well worth trying to discern what that might mean.
Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis
by Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Image, eBook
Released on July 9, 2013
The Archbishop of New York offers his insight on his time in Rome, the Conclave and the election of a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.
Since February 2013, many have asked Cardinal Timothy Dolan to comment about Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, his final days in the Vatican, the Conclave, and the excitement and joy of the election of Pope Francis. Those two months–between the time Pope Benedict announced his retirement up until the election of Pope Francis—were a deeply spiritual and important period for the Cardinal.
In this eBook original, he reflects on that most exciting of times. By turns, witty, provocative, and inspiring Cardinal Dolan gives a first hand account of what happened during those days and what it means for the future of the Church.
I’m using Rafflecopter to help with the giveaway, which is cool because it allows you multiple entries for commenting, posting on Facebook, sharing on Twitter, etc. Click below to enter:
(If you’re reading this through email or RSS and don’t see the giveaway widget, click here.)
The winner(s) will be randomly selected next Friday and the book(s) will be sent out, free of charge, shortly thereafter.
In the future I’ll be giving away more books and resources, sometimes multiple items per giveaway! So subscribe via feed reader or email to ensure you never miss your chance to win.
(Since I’m covering the shipping costs, only residents within the continental United States are eligible to win.)