The Archdiocese of Chicago now has another Catholic bookstore. St. Paul’s Catholic Biblical Multicultural Book Center opened recently at 5525 W. Belmont Ave., and boasts an offering of Bibles in numerous languages. “We’re not here to compete. We’re here to collaborate,” said Pauline Brother Peter C. Lyne, a member of the Society of St. Paul and spokesman for the book center. The center’s primary mission, Brother Peter explained, is to help local Catholics and to evangelize, especially with the growing Hispanic Catholic population both in the Chicago area and nationwide. However, the center does not solely serve Hispanics, nor does it offer religious artifacts. The center offers books, CDs and DVDs, Brother Peter said, to maintain its focus on “educating people on reading sacred Scripture.” Following the example of their founder Blessed James Alberione, the Paulines use media to communicate the Gospel message in a Christ-like manner to those away from parish life. Alberione also founded the Daughters of St. Paul, who have a media center at 172 N. Michigan Ave. This ministry includes reaching people of all ethnicities through producing materials in multiple languages. The book center offers Bibles in languages including as English, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, French, Japanese and Tagalog. “We want to reach all the people in our area,” said Pauline Father Arcangel Cardenas, director of the book center. “We realize we have three big community groups here in Polish, Spanish and English, but we offer our products for everyone.” Since the center opened in December, Cardenas said, customers have been looking for Bibles and other reading material. Some ethnic groups, he said, have been shopping for texts on novenas, the Catechism and Christian formation; others are searching for materials on spiritual development. The book center also offers a meditation room that includes an altar with a bible. “It’s like a temple, sacred space — a place where people can re-energize and focus,” the brother explained. “It’s for people who are looking for a place of solitude, quiet and reflection.” This prayer space is also in keeping with the Pauline charism, as Blessed Alberione stressed ministry should be a center for light and warmth — light coming through the search for God and warmth emanating from the Holy Spirit. When the book center is not open, it goes on the road, Brother Peter said. Each weekend, the staff fills a van with books, bibles and other materials and visits parishes for Saturday and Sunday Masses. The Catholic Biblical Multicultural Book Center, located at 5525 W. Belmont Ave., is open 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Contact them at 773-993-0857 or [email protected].
Mark Nimo inspires people to be on fire for the Lord Mark Kwaku Nimo wants to set you on fire. Or, more accurately, he wants you to become the fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit, so that you can give off sparks that will set other people on fire with the Holy Spirit as well.
Local priest releasing book on eucharistic adoration Have you ever wanted to participate in eucharistic adoration, but shied away because you didn’t know whether you could just sit there for an hour? Or even a half hour? Or have you wanted to develop a habit of daily prayer but found the mechanics of it daunting?
Book helps people explore pope’s teaching on belonging Pope Francis’s concern for migrants and refugees, his focus on ecology, his calls to “go out” to share the good news of salvation, even his support for the controversial possibility of informally blessing LGBTQ+ couples flow from his conviction that people need to know they belong to God, to one another and to creation.