Palm Sunday 2025

Launching my new book on prayer

Dear Sacred Windows Friends,

A blessed Palm Sunday to all!

I’m taking one Sunday away from the regular Vignettes email to highlight my other passion—writing books.

I’m not sure which came first, newsletters or books, but I’ll leave that chicken-and-egg question aside for now and ask you to give some consideration to my newest creation: Praying with Fire.

Msgr. Charles Fink, a former seminary rector and spiritual director, wrote the Foreword to the book,and called it a condensed version of an encyclopedia on prayer. I love that image. This little book definitely covers all the bases.

The other thing I like about this book is the cover! A man who photographs stained glass windows gave me permission to use his images for my publications, and his view of Moses at the Burning Bush seemed to fit the bill for a book on prayer.

When it came back from the printer with its high-gloss sheen—wow!—the colors seemed to surge off the black background like a sacred window in a darkened cathedral.

Of course, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (did I really just use that old cliché?!), so I’d ask you to judge the book by its contents.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

As to the title, in scripture “Fire” is an analogy for divine grace. Learning to let ourselves be transformed by grace through prayer is the unifying theme of this book. It is impossible to grow in holiness without prayer.

In practical terms, this book will teach you the fundamentals of prayer in the Catholic Tradition. You’ll learn

• How the Church defines prayer

• How to pray…and how not to pray, which is equally as important

• The great prayer dilemma—probably not what you think it is

• The assistance of the saints and angels in our prayer lives, and

• Resources for praying well.

Above all, the book’s subtitle, Learning the Pray the Catholic Way, shows that you are not alone in prayer. The Church is an ancient expert in the art of prayer and lovingly opens her vast treasure house of wisdom to give all of us the means to make prayer a meaningful part of our lives.

Oh, and by the way, the book is only 159 pages, consisting of seven easily readable (or skimmable) chapters with lots of quotes and stories, similar to my newsletters.

We’re all busy, so even if you’re not a big reader, this book is not a chore. It also makes an attractive gift for husbands and random family members who may need it (wink, wink).

LAUNCH WEEK!

Holy Week is launch week, which I’m reserving for Sacred Windows readers ONLY.

For you, I’m slashing the (already low) price in half and paying your tax and shipping. I know, this is crazy, but crazy is generally how I do things.

Here are the details for my readers only:

• $5.99 per softcover book (from my website, regular price is $11.99)

• $1.99 for the e-book (PDF version, also on the website; regular e-book price is $3.99)

• [The Kindle Reader version will be posted on Amazon after Easter if you are looking for that.]

This deal lasts only until Easter, then I’m going to offer it to the general audience for regular price.

The experts say that authors who basically “give away” their books are undermining their value, but I see it differently. I want as many people as possible to read it! Low price is my way to do that.

Helping people grow in faith is worth more to me than profit. End of story.

Here are the links if you’re interested in getting the book:

And, although I’ve said it before, I’d like to thank you again for being a faithful reader and for making the effort to overcome the reigning cultural chaos to deepen your life of faith.

May you and your family have a blessed and fruitful Holy Week.

With gratitude,

PS—These are my other books, which are all available on the website too (click image to go to the Shop page):