“In this world you will have trouble.” In the Upper Room of Passover before Calvary’s offering, Jesus comforted his disciples. There will be suffering, he reminded them; there will be persecution, some would face martyrdom. There was no saccharine happiness — no beige discipleship — that would forever mark their footsteps. There would be trouble.

Sometimes in the midst of all the familial, commercial and year-end activities that are a part of the holidays, our spiritual life can take a bit of a hit. Here are some book recommendations that might help remind us all about why this season should be filled with wonder and joy, and not simply frenzy.

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more . . . He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.” — Stave 5, A Christmas Carol.

Those of us who regularly interact with non-Catholic Christians and others who have left the Catholic faith are often puzzled about how to communicate accurate information about Catholicism in a manner that is readily digestible. We either overwhelm friends or inquiring relatives with long explanations or recommend books that are dauntingly theological; other times we are too simplistic or find ourselves ducking the difficult aspects of the faith.

Those who understand the signs of the times are increasingly jarred by the hollowing out of the American middle class. The variance between owner and worker in today’s industries is greater than even Gilded Age barons; the increasing costs of education, health care, housing, and food are hampering the building of fruitful and faithful families in our land. The voices that tempt our citizens toward despair and violence are being accepted as alternatives to this present crisis, for it seems that representative government can only appear to be hopelessly corrupt with self-interest on every side, in every party, leaving a faithful Catholic confused as to ways to live out an authentic Catholic faith.  The deluge of social media only impersonates our sense of connection and happiness.