Catholic Books I'm Looking Forward To: Robert Barron, Mike Aquilina, Marc Barnes, Brandon Vogt

Fall is new book publishing time and these beauties are almost ready to dive into. I've had them on my wish list for a while so I thought you might be interested too!

As secularism gains influence, and increasing numbers see religion as dull and backward, Robert Barron wants to illuminate how beautiful, intelligent, and relevant the Catholic faith is.

In this compelling new book—written in conversation with award-winning Vatican journalist John L. Allen, Jr.—Barron proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition.

Touching on everything from Jesus to prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

You can hear John Allen and Bishop Barron discuss the upcoming book on this Word on Fire podcast episode. I was particularly intrigued by what Allen says about WOF as an apostolate. I really loved Allen's book with Timothy Dolan and this promises to be just as good. Can't wait to read this one!

The history of the Church didn't take place shrouded in the mists of time. It actually happened and continues to happen through things that we can see and sometimes hold in our hand.

The Christian answer to Neil MacGregor's New York Times bestseller A History of the World in 100 Objects, Mike and Grace Aquilina's A History of the Church in 100 Objects introduces you to:

• The Cave of the Nativity (the importance of history, memory, and all things tangible)
• Catacomb niches (the importance of Rome, bones, and relics of the faith)
• Ancient Map of the World (the undoing of myths about medieval science)
• Stained Glass (representative of Gothic cathedrals)
• The Holy Grail (Romance literature and the emergence of writing for the laity)
• Loaves and fish (a link from Jesus to the sacrament of the Eucharist)
• The Wittenberg Door (Martin Luther and the onset of the Reformation)

I've mentioned this one before but wanted to bring it up since it is coming out fairly soon. So, Mike Aquilina - it's a given I'll love it. I'm looking forward to reading his collaboration with his daughter as well as an insightful look at those 100 objects.

Marc Barnes first cared about being Catholic, "not out of any profound love for the person of Christ, but out of a profound distaste for my other options." After exploring the options of the secular world, Barnes came to the conclusion that even the secular world isn't secular enough. In fact, it is hopelessly Christian.

Through these essays Barnes exposes the hopelessly Catholic nature of our fallen world, and the joyous news that, even for the bad Catholic or the non-Catholic, there is nowhere to hide from the Truth. The beauty of Christ's love can be found even in the most secular of circumstances.

I've liked Marc Barnes' Bad Catholic blog for a long time, so this one is a no-brainer. Agree or disagree, you'll usually wind up laughing and nodding and ... thinking. And all of those are good things, so of course I'm eagerly anticipating this one!

With atheism on the rise and millions tossing off religion, why would anyone consider the Catholic Church? Brandon Vogt shares his passionate search for truth, a journey that culminated in the realization that Catholicism was right about a lot of things, maybe even everything.

Why I Am Catholic traces Vogt’s spiritual journey, making a refreshing, twenty-first century case for the faith and answering questions being asked by agnostics, nones, and atheists. With references to Catholic thinkers such as G. K. Chesterton, Ven. Fulton Sheen, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Bishop Robert Barron, Vogt draws together lines of evidence to help seekers discover why they should be Catholic as an alternative.

I'm a fan of Brandon Vogt's (see my review for his book Saints and Social Justice). His passion for the faith has led him to discuss it in a lot of places and he's now the content manager at Word on Fire, Bishop Barron's ministry. I have been looking forward to reading his spiritual journey from "none" to Catholicism ever since I heard about this book.