Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian teenager, will be the first millennial saint recognized by the Catholic Church. His canonization was initially scheduled for April 27, 2025, but was postponed following the death of Pope Francis. Pope Leo XIV announced the new date as September 7. Carlo Acutis, often referred to as "God's computer genius" or "the first millennial saint," utilized his computer skills primarily to disseminate knowledge of the Catholic faith and inspire devotion to the Eucharist.
Carlo Acutis was a typical teen with an extraordinary heart. Born in London and raised in Milan, he had a deep love for soccer, computers, and his golden retriever. But above all, Carlo was drawn to God in a way that astonished everyone around him. By the age of seven, he was attending daily Mass. By his early teens, he had taught himself coding and created an online exhibition of Eucharistic miracles that would spread around the world. When leukemia claimed his life at fifteen, those who knew him began to speak of his holiness—and miracles followed.
In this warm and accessible biography, historian Michael Collins tells the remarkable story of the first millennial to be declared “Blessed†by the Catholic Church. With sensitivity and clarity, Collins traces Carlo’s early years, his surprising spiritual wisdom, and his enduring influence in the digital age. A story of faith, compassion, and grace, God's Influencer is an inspiring portrait of a modern teenager who found joy in serving others and saw the internet as a tool for sharing God’s love.
In The Lord's Prayer,, Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and beloved spiritual teacher, reflects on Christianity's most universal prayer in a way that transcends tradition, inviting all people into a deeper experience of gratitude, trust, and hope. Drawing from his lifetime of spiritual insight, Brother David explores each line of the prayer as a profound pathway toward inner peace and global compassion. Through meditative reflections and engaging conversations, he reveals how this ancient prayer speaks powerfully to the human condition today.
Joining Brother David in this work is Brigitte Kwizda-Gredler, a medical sociologist and spiritual director whose presence enriches the book with fresh perspectives and lived wisdom. Their dialogue opens new insights into the prayer's timeless message, inviting readers of all backgrounds to see the Lord's Prayer not only as a sacred Christian tradition but as a prayer for all people. Perfect for personal reflection or group study, this book is a gentle yet powerful guide for anyone seeking to live with greater mindfulness, love, and connection.
Brother David Steindl-Rast was born in 1926 in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to the United States in 1952, joined a Benedictine monastery, and practiced Zen. He is cofounder of the Center for Spiritual Studies and a recipient of the 1975 Martin Buber Award. At present, Brother David serves a worldwide Network for Grateful Living through gratefulness.org, an interactive website with thousands of participants daily from more than 240 countries and territories. He currently resides in a monastery in his home country of Austria.
"This book on the psalms offers a penetrating insight into who and what God is according to the psalms. Such a revelation presents for many persons the possibility of different ways to understand God, a new vision of divinity." —from the foreword
Organized into four brief chapters, this book presents the depth and beauty of the psalms—their poetry, images, and verses—while commenting on their meaning. At the end of each chapter the text calls on contemporary theologians and spiritual writers who have explored and developed the themes.
Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, SJ, is the Emeritus T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Anglican/Roman Catholic Consultation USA and cochairs the Los Angeles Catholic/Evangelical Committee for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
This work offers a selection of passages from Catherine of Siena as a basis for a path of spiritual growth with the theme of growth in capacity to love. There is an introduction and fifteen chapters, no additional front or back matter. Each chapter will include a couple of very short passages from Catherine; a couple of scripture readings about the theme of Catherine’s passages; a meditation and guide to Catherine’s wisdom; and exercises based on Catherine’s wisdom.
The book invites engagement with the content of the passages through the suggested prayer exercises that seek to help persons apply Catherine’s wisdom to their own journey. These prayer exercises are suitable for a beginner or someone already on a spiritual journey. They contain methods of prayer that are active and use the imagination, as well as more contemplative ones.
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"St. Catherine of Siena is often known for her challenging the religious authorities of her time. But that understanding of this multifaceted saint is too narrow. This lovely new book helps us all understand the foundation of her spiritual life, which is love. This love, which comes from God, and which is for God, is a beautiful invitation for the reader to enter into a world of God's embrace." —James Martin, SJ, author of Learning to Pray.
"In her beautifully scripted guide to the spirituality of Catherine of Sienna, Diana Villegas makes four significant offerings. First, she tells us the story of an important spiritual leader in the context of her time and place. Second, she highlights the essential theology and meaning of this leader for our time and place; namely, the conviction of God as loving presence at work in all people at all times to include and involve us in the unfolding of love. Third, she highlights the vision of Catherine for the feminine divine. Fourth, she scaffolds for the reader a pathway into the spirituality that Catherine represents, namely a journey into the loving and peaceful wisdom of God that is accessible to each human being through attention to the inner life. Diana's writing is intelligent, crystal clear, grounded in extensive scholarship and personal familiarity with the writing and spirit of Catherine, yet remarkably accessible and practically applicable to the everyday person open to learning from one of Christianity's great mystics. This book is a treasure!" —Dr. Phil Daughtry, spiritual director and founder of Fruitful Mind Consultancy, Adelaide, South Australia
Diana L. Villegas studied spirituality at the Institute of Spirituality of the Gregorian University, Rome, and obtained a PhD in theology, specializing in the history of spirituality, from Fordham University. Her dissertation compared discernment in Catherine of Siena and Ignatius of Loyola. She is a trained spiritual and retreat director with over thirty of years of experience. After many years in the Boston area, she now lives in her native Colombia.
