I always look forward to the new books published by Neumann Press, and this book was worth waiting for! God In Our House is a collection of essays that were originally published on a weekly basis in a Catholic magazine named America. Because this feature of the magazine was so popular, the editors published this book, which Neumann Press has now republished.

Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent and concluding with the Last Sunday After Pentecost, each essay is based on a passage from the gospel reading of the day. All Sundays and many Holy Days are included, with the same format: the passage is cited and followed by an approximately two-page essay or story. The author, a father of five, often uses examples from the daily life of a busy family to explain the passage. His style is so appealing! As you progress through the year, you come to know his family almost as well as the teachings of the gospels.

Our family has a custom of re-reading the Sunday gospels on Sunday evenings, and we try to read from a Catholic book as well. With a wide age-span amongst our children, it has been difficult to find a book suitable and enjoyable for all. This book fits our Sunday evenings perfectly. The reading for the week would also be profitable if it were read before Sunday, perhaps as a part of Friday's religion class or Saturday's preparation for Sunday. It only takes a few minutes, but the lessons learned through these enjoyable stories will remain. Buy this book in the hardcover edition! You will enjoy it THAT much as you read it year after year.

"Retreats are time set aside for study, prayer, activities, and discussion about God and His Church. Children can benefit from retreats as much as adults. Jesus would occasionally leave His followers and retreat to the desert or a mountaintop. Even He felt the need to get away from the world for a while." (from the Introduction)

This extensive resource is designed to be a Catholic answer to the Vacation Bible Schools offered by various churches in the summertime. As Catholics, we recognize Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition as essential elements to our faith. In this specific subject of the Holy Trinity, we cannot rely only on Sacred Scripture since the Bible never explicitly mentions the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

It's a Mystery! is a well organized retreat resource that provides very simple preparation for a rewarding retreat for one or more families. The retreat could be offered as a retreat/vacation week as a break from the regular school routine, as a summer project or adjusted for one-day mini-retreat. This program includes a complete outline for a week-long retreat centering on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Activities are generally organized into three different age groups (ages 5-7, 8-11 and 12-15). It includes general supply lists, sample invitations, overviews, song sheets, etc. as well as extensive day-by-day schedules and materials. Each day's section includes an "advanced preparation" checklist, prayers, discussion/lesson outlines, craft ideas, memory work, recipes for snacks, opening and closing suggestions and more. The lessons and memory work include quotes and readings from the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a story of St. Parick and other prayers and hymns.

The huge appendix includes many photocopyable sheets, including: prayers, hymns, word search, maze, poems, art project templates, cooperative games, certificate of completion and lots more.

This simple booklet offers a new idea in helping children learn to meditate upon the Rosary. After six pages introducing the prayers and mysteries of the Rosary (including the Luminous mysteries), there are 26 coloring sheets with a rosary in the center and five segments where children can draw their own pictures of each of the mysteries. Each coloring sheet lists all 20 mysteries of the Rosary. We're planning on using these sheets as a centerpiece in our history timeline binders to illustrate the basic story of the Life of Christ as well as to jump-start a renewed interest in the Rosary in the younger children. Keeping to the Biblical and Apologetics emphasis of the Ascension Press materials, the overview of the Mysteries of the Rosary consist entirely of Biblical citations and quotes for each mystery. The format has a very professional look to it and this resource would be great for use in homes, schools and CCD classes.