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This guide covers everything you need to know to prepare for married life and to have a beautiful ceremony.It begins by offering guidance to help couples evaluate their readiness to make a permanent life commitment. It follows by addressing both the practical and spiritual aspects of planning a Catholic wedding, both within and outside of Mass. Couples will find that it provides a rich formation in marriage catechesis, helping them to understand the teaching of the Catholic Church on matrimony and family life.Each chapter contains practical tips, points of reflection and a prayer.This invaluable resource is ideal for anyone who wishes to get married in the Catholic Church, as well as being the perfect supplement for marriage ministers and catechists as they accompany couples on their journey to the altar.

The definition of the laity as those not in Holy Orders is swept away by this historic document which provides a positive and clear expression of the identity, dignity, and role of lay people in the mission of the Church. The role of the laity was discussed at the 1987 Synod of Bishops. This led to Christifideles Laici, the first comprehensive statement on the calling and mission of lay people in the Church. A calling to fully participate in the new evangelization. John Paul invites the laity as the labourers in the vineyard to labour for the kingdom.John Paul starts from the basis that baptism is the source of every Christian's dignity and identity, and calls all to a life of holiness and service. The place of the laity in the Church is discussed, including participation in her life and mission with special reference to charisms and ministry. Great emphasis is placed on the shared responsibility of every lay Christian for the mission of the Church, and the need for a new evangelisation of individuals and society as a whole. Particular emphasis is given to the status and role of women. John Paul ends by exhorting all lay people to be fruitful, and to work with the whole Church in obeying Christ's command to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation".

The Acts of the Apostles was penned by the same author as the Gospel of Luke. It is a gripping story which follows the adventures of Paul and the other Apostles taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Contains the famous Pentecost narrative and the vital role of the Holy Spirit in the newly formed Church.

In this richly illustrated volume, Pope Benedict examines the great Saints of the middle ages from St Odo, Abbot of Cluny, to St Peter Lombard the twelfth-century theologian. With the Holy Father as our expert guide, we delve into the great debates of scholastic and monastic theology meeting figures such as Hugh and Richard of Saint Victor, St Peter Damian and St Bernard of Clairvaux. An exploration of the theological meaning behind the Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral architecture of this time provides further depth. Through his series of catecheses on the life and works of great witnesses to the faith, Pope Benedict XVI helps us to understand "what it means to be a Christian today." These portraits of the distinguished figures of the medieval Church are not just biographical sketches but also provide the ecclesial backdrop against which they lived out their 'yes' to Christ. Through the words of the Holy Father, these great Saints and teachers of the faith come alive and call us to reawaken and deepen our faith.

The ten catecheses in this richly illustrated volume take us back to the historical period immediately following the first Fathers of the Church. Each of the Spiritual Masters described by Pope Benedict left their mark on the Chruch's culture and spirituality and helped in her growth. John Climcacus describes the ladder to heaven famously depicted in many icons but also present in the practical counsels he passes on to us in his writings. Bede the Venerable reminds us of the centrality of the Sacred Scriptures as a constant source of theological reflection. St Boniface, Apostle to the Germans and a great organiser, founded the monastery of Fulda in 743 which became the heart and the centre from which a new spiritual and religious culture spread. A less well known writer from Provence was Ambreso Autpert, who transmits across the centuries his precious theological work on the struggle between good and evil; he was a great defender of sacred images and the Assumption of Our Lady. John Damascene was a figure of great importance in the history of the Universal Chruch and Byzantine theology. St Theodore de Studite bore a vivid and coherent witness to Jesus in turbulent times. Rabanus Maurus was a monk whose writings help put us into contact with the wisdom of the ancients. John Scotus Erigena excelled as a notable thinker and patristic scholar. St Cyril and Methodius were brothers united both in Faith and blood who together committed their lives to missionary work and sanctity.

The Liturgy of the Hours is meant to sanctify our whole day. It is split into different "Hours" to be prayed at different times - morning, midday, evening and night. Night Prayer is the last and shortest of these Hours, and is usually said just before going to bed.Night Prayer uses the standard Grail Psalms, and this elegant pocketbook sets out the full text for each day, with guidance for those who may be unfamiliar with praying the Night Prayer of the Church. Aids to examination of conscience are included, as are a small selection of additional prayers.

The 50th anniversary of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae provides Catholics and others with the opportunity to rediscover how to live the true meaning of love, in all its aspects, and above all the gift of sexuality that finds its most creative expression in marriage and family life. This is particularly important today in a society that has reinterpreted love through the lens of a contraceptive culture. Fifty years on, can we grasp the opportunity to reclaim the wonderful truth of the Gospel message: that genuine love, respect for the dignity of others and true generosity of heart develops within our humanity only through the presence of Jesus Christ himself?

From its very title, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Pope John Paul II showed that he wished to give the protection of life, from conception to its natural end, a highly positive character and great new spiritual thrust.While realistically countering new and unprecedented threats to life and the rapid spread of a "culture of death", the primary intention of this document is to proclaim the good news of the value and dignity of each human life, of its grandeur and worth, also in its temporal phase. The cause of life is in fact at the same time the cause of the Gospel and the cause of man, the cause entrusted to the church.This encyclical was published following consultation with an extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals in 1991 and subsequently with all the bishops of the world. It is "a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability," containing "a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person in the name of God: Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness."

Lent is more than forty days of repentance. Lent is a journey full of meanings and graces, projecting us to the joy of Pentecost, passing through the waters of Baptism at Easter. By reflecting on our baptism, the dialogue of faith and the Gospel scrutinies, our Lenten journey takes on a new dimension, and so does our prayer, fasting and almsgiving, as we experience the joy of passing from death to life, from slavery to freedom in Christ Jesus. Fr Ivano is a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster.