Signs of Life: 20 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots

Dr. Scott Hahn, beloved Catholic author, professor, and speaker celebrates the touchstones of Catholic life, guiding readers to a deeper faith through the Church’s rites, customs, and traditional prayers.

This thorough and yet approachable guide to Catholic practices unveils the deep scriptural roots of our faith to help us better understand and, consequently, cherish our Catholic identity. Whether the reader brings questions, a latent faith, or a lifelong commitment, they are sure to be inspired and educated!



Dr. Hahn unveils the biblical roots of 20 Catholic customs, including:

– Holy water
– The Sign of the Cross
– The Mass
– Guardian angels
– Novenas
– Priesthood
– Incense
– Relics
– Confession
– Indulgences
– Intercession of the Saints
– The Rosary
– Scapulars and medals
– and many more!

Praise for Signs of Life

“Things done for too long can become a habit—and habits have a way of losing their meaning. In this long-awaited treasure of a book, Scott Hahn reveals the historical and biblical roots of so many Catholic practices. Finally, Catholics will not only know what to do but why they do it.”
– Raymond Arroyo, New York Times bestselling author and host of EWTN’s The World Over Live

The Imitation of Christ

View book sample

The spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ, the second most widely-read spiritual book after the Bible, has had an astonishing impact on the spiritual lives of countless saints, peasants, and popes for centuries. Even today, the soul-searching words of the fifteenth-century cleric Thomas à Kempis continue to resonate, unbounded by time or geography. Drawing on the Bible, the Fathers of the early Church, and medieval mysticism, his four-part treatise shrugs off the allure of the material world, blending beauty and bluntness in a supremely spiritual call-to-arms.

This beautiful translation by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley is considered by many teachers, writers, and readers to be the best English translation ever, and one that greatly enhances the life-changing insights of Thomas à Kempis.

About the Author

Thomas à Kempis (1379–1471) was born in the diocese of Cologne and educated by the Order of Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life at Deventer, in the Netherlands. He lived for seventy years among the Canons Regular of Windesheim at Mount St. Agnes, a monastery near Zwolle, where he was twice elected superior and once made procurator. He spent his life reading, writing, and copying manuscripts.

About the Translator

Ronald Knox, a convert from Anglicanism and a well-known Catholic priest and author in England from 1920 to 1960, was educated at Eton and Oxford. He translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English and wrote numerous spiritual books including The Hidden Stream, The Belief of Catholics, Captive Flames, and Pastoral and Occasional Sermons.

Product Details

224 Pages
Book size: 5.25" x 8"
Paperback
Published year: 2017

Praise for The Imitation of Christ

“The Imitation has come to be seen as the major work of the devotio moderna, which was characterized by psychological insight and an orderly study of the path to contemplation and the love of God. If we could construct a composite picture of all great Christians—Catholic or non-Catholic—of the last five hundred years who found The Imitation substantially beneficial, enlightening, and inspiring, we would need no further proof that familiarity with this great classic is an integral part of a mature spiritual life and even a path to holiness.”

–Father Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., Author of Arise from Darkness

Lent with the Saints - Booklet

Meditations and The forty days of Lent provide Christians, and those preparing for baptism, with an intense period of preparation for the ‘Feast of all Feasts’, Easter, the ‘Passover of the Lord’. This collection of sayings and meditations dwells on the central Lenten themes of prayer, conversion, repentance, fasting, almsgiving and self-denial, as lived from apostolic times until the present day. This little companion to private reflection will offer ready sustenance to those setting out on the joyful road to Easter.

The Case for Jesus - Book

For well over a hundred years now, many scholars have questioned the historical truth of the Gospels, claiming that they were originally anonymous. Others have even argued that Jesus of Nazareth did not think he was God and never claimed to be divine.

In The Case for Jesus, Dr. Brant Pitre, the bestselling author of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, goes back to the sources—the biblical and historical evidence for Christ—in order to answer several key questions, including:

  • Were the four Gospels really anonymous?
  • Are the Gospels folklore? Or are they biographies?
  • What about the so-called “Lost Gospels,” such as “Q” and the Gospel of Thomas?
  • Did Jesus claim to be God?
  • Why was Jesus crucified?
  • What is the evidence for the Resurrection?

As The Case for Jesus will show, recent discoveries in New Testament scholarship, as well as neglected evidence from ancient manuscripts and the early church fathers, together have the potential to pull the rug out from under a century of skepticism toward the traditional Gospels. Above all, Pitre shows how the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood by putting them in their ancient Jewish context.

Read a sample.

Rome Sweet Home

Orthodoxy

“This is the thrilling romance of Orthodoxy. People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy.”
–G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

In a time when relativism prevails in our culture, the choice to be an “orthodox” Christian can seem “heavy, humdrum, and safe.” G.K. Chesterton recognized this over a hundred years ago, and it is still true today: people have become deaf and blind to the high adventure of the Christian Faith.

Of the numerous works that Chesterton wrote, the most brilliant synthesis of his philosophy and deeply religious faith is manifested in his masterpiece, Orthodoxy. Written when he was only thirty-four, it tells, in his inimitable, soaring prose, of his earthshaking discovery that orthodoxy is the only satisfactory answer to the riddle of the universe. Orthodoxy is perhaps the most outstanding example of the originality of his style and the brilliance of his thought. C.S. Lewis and many other emerging Christian thinkers have found this book a pivotal step in their adoption of a credible Christian Faith.

In Orthodoxy, Chesterton sets out on a quest to defend Christianity–contemplating its strange yet true paradoxes, examining today's unhinged modern philosophies, and ultimately concluding with the deliriously joyful truth of the Good News. Never has a defense of Christianity been so compellingly unorthodox as in Orthodoxy. An intellectual and spiritual autobiography of sorts, Orthodoxy describes Chesterton's journey, a rip-roaring adventure, of discovering the ONe who is Goodness, Truth, and Beauty itself.

Is Jesus Really Present in the Eucharist? - Booklet

Statistics are reporting that over 70% of Catholics polled in America do not believe in the Real Presence of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist — a verifiable crisis of faith. Using key sources from scripture and tradition, Bishop Michael Evans explains how Jesus is present today when we celebrate the Mass. This highly readable and accessible text is a must read for all Catholics seeking the proper answer to this dire question.