2019 Best Book Awards, Finalist: Religion—Christianity Far too many Catholics think of the saints as old, cold, and irrelevant to everyday life. Catechist and spiritual director Bob Burnham, however, experiences the saints as something quite different: beautiful examples of people who, though flawed like us, opened themselves to God’s grace and can teach us to do the same. In Little Lessons from the Saints, Burnham skips the typical biographies of saints and offers instead brief but powerful spiritual lessons from 52 different saints, each followed by a short meditation. Chapters are grouped under five main themes: Surrender, Freedom, Pilgrimage, Hospitality, and Loving Knowledge. Burnham succeeds in offering simple ways to apply each saint’s particular charism to our own lives. Inspiring and practical, Little Lessons from the Saints helps us realize that we, too, are called to be saints.

52 glimpses into the gifts (charisms) of the saints offer quick lessons that can easily be applied to our own lives, helping us become saints ourselves.

Book of SaintsWho are the saints, why are the lives of saints important for children, and what can children learn from lives and actions? In Loyola Kids Book of Saints, the first in the Loyola Kids series, best-selling author Amy Welborn answers these questions with exciting and inspiring stories, real-life applications, and important information about these heroes of the church. This inspiring collection of saints’ stories explains how saints become saints, why we honor them, and how they help us even today. Featuring more than sixty saints from throughout history and from all over the world, Loyola Kids Book of Saints introduces children to these wonderful role models and heroes of the church. Ages 8-12.

The author links personal stories, scripture, prayer, and soul-strengthening exercises for the vocation of Catholic motherhood through the introduction of fifty-two holy companions.

The lives of the Saints are one of the most powerful ways God draws people to himself, showing us the love and the joy we can find in him. But so often, these Saints seem distant—impossibly holy or dull or unlike us in race and age and state in life. In Saints Around the World, you’ll meet over one-hundred Saints from more than sixty countries, including Saints with different disabilities, strengths, and struggles. The beautiful illustrations and captivating storytelling will introduce you and your children to new heavenly friends while also helping you fall more in love with Jesus. Each story in this book is written not only to capture the imagination but also to speak about God’s tremendous love and our call to be saints. There are stories in Saints Around the World for when you feel like life isn’t fair, when people are being unkind to you, when you’ve made a terrible mistake, when you’re struggling at school, when prayer is hard. And there are stories of shouting down Nazis, of fleeing a murderous villain, of making scientific discoveries, of smoking a cigar while enemy soldiers amputate your leg. There are scared Saints, brilliant Saints, weak Saints, adventurous Saints, abused Saints, overjoyed Saints, disabled Saints—and the point of every one of them is the love of God. Whether you’re checking the map to find Saints who look like you or perusing the extensive indices to find Saints with your skills or struggles, you’ll find countless stories in this book that remind you how very possible holiness is.

Little Lessons from the Mystics is catechist and spiritual director Bob Burnham's follow-up to Little Lessons from the Saints. In his new book, Burnham provides brief stories from mystics’ lives to help us make connections, learn lessons, and begin our own mystical practices. Organized by the main mysteries of our faith: the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, the People of God, and the Most Holy Trinity, this book offers an inviting perspective on mystics and mysticism that is refreshing, new, and helpful.

The story of Jesus includes all kinds of characters. Some see these people as mere examples to follow or to avoid, and some have only heard about them in Sunday school stories. But their interactions with Jesus reveal much more about the person of Jesus himself and the message he has for us. Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus tells the story of 10 people or groups of people who are integral to the story of Jesus told in the Gospels. Each chapter takes a character off the Sunday school felt board and reveals them as a three-dimensional person with desires, motivations, flaws, and limitations. They are more than examples—they show us a unique angle on the grace available through Jesus for sinners. Each chapter also offers challenging applications to the lives of readers.