Books

Priestly Formation, Towards a Sapiential Vision. “Here, in this book, is the fruit of years of prayer and reflection by Jean—not only on the universal call to holiness demanded of all the faithful, but also on the centrality of a deep spiritual life and ministry, thereby making spiritual life the cornerstone for the formation of priests, both in the seminary and throughout their lives of service.”
“[…] step by step, Jean presents with clarity a revolutionary model of a vision of what future seminary formation might look like. Always by necessity, stressing the academic, the pastoral and human but with each of them closely and intimately connected to the spiritual.
In his approach to priestly formation, Jean, while respecting the traditions of the past and the present, proposes a pioneering model which, if embraced, would transform and greatly enhance the way we prepare our future priests.”
“If Jean’s insight and recommendations are taken up, especially with its strong emphasis on Lectio Divina and the Prayer of the Heart, then I do believe that it will in time produce not only good but holy priests.” (Rev. Dr. Michael Doyle PhD, STL.) (Amazon USA – Amazon UK)

A Letter to the Pope is a bold yet deeply respectful appeal to the heart of the Catholic Church. Framed as an explanation of a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV—but truly intended for any pope willing to confront the most urgent challenges of our time—this book exposes a crisis the Church can no longer afford to ignore: the collapse of spiritual formation.

In an age marked by confusion, decline in vocations, and loss of spiritual depth, the author identifies the root of the problem and offers a path forward. No lasting renewal, he argues, can take place without a profound reform of spiritual formation—one that is rooted in grace, animated by the Holy Spirit, and oriented toward true union with Christ. This requires nothing less than a renewal of spiritual theology and a transformation of how theology itself is taught and lived.

Urgent, audacious, and grounded in reality, this work is a prophetic call to action—for the Pope, and for all who long to see the Church alive with holiness once more. (Amazon USA – Amazon Uk)

The Small Catechism on Lectio Divina teaches, through 100 questions and answers, how to listen to the Lord Jesus, who desires to speak to us each day through the daily readings of the Mass. It is a simple and practical book for every believer. The art of listening can be summed up in two key moments:
– Listening in our hearts to the daily personal Word that the Lord gives us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
– Putting the Word into practice with the power of His strength.
This book explains in detail how to ensure that the Word takes flesh within us and bears fruit. Without this incarnation, our Christian life remains empty.

“Mary, grant us your purity in listening, your attachment to the Word of your Son, and your commitment to putting it into practice through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“This practice (Lectio Divina), if effectively promoted, will bring the Church – I am convinced – a new spiritual springtime.” — Benedict XVI (Amazon USA – Amazon UK)

Finished and Unfinished Lectio Divina A few years ago, “Lectio Divina at the School of Mary” was published, a work originally written in 2001. The teaching of Lectio Divina began in 1995 and has continued to develop since then. Over time, a significant challenge emerged: many individuals noticed that the daily readings often conveyed the same message. The Lord was beginning to impart His supernatural light, with the Holy Spirit acting directly and personally.However, the light people received seemed general rather than specific, practical, or precise. As a result, Jesus’ will often appeared unclear, leaving people uncertain if they were truly listening to Him or practicing Lectio Divina correctly.The key was to persist in prayer until the light became clear and Jesus’ will certain. This crucial aspect, however, was not sufficiently emphasised or explained in the first book. Therefore, the purpose of this new book, Finished and Unfinished Lectio Divina, is to assist all who have begun practicing Lectio Divina, as outlined in the first book or in the Solid Foundations Course, and need clarity on this issue.Additionally, articles published on the website have been included in this book. (Amazon USA – Amazon UK)

Igniting the Fire of Our Faith, 100 Questions and Answers to Ignite Our Faith This book is for each person who wants to ignite and nurture their personal faith. The first part of the book essentially presents Christ as the centre of our faith. In the second part, the author shows that faith can grow and provides practical explanations on how to nourish it by offering various means for it to do so, all complementary and rooted in the Tradition of the Church. The last part in particular is specifically dedicated to the growth of faith. The wisdom and practical advice found in this book are presented in the simple form of “100 questions and answers,” making it very accessible at all levels. Faith is both a challenge and a great help for our lives. With this in mind we must face our doubts and put into practice the directions and ways offered in this book in order to see our faith ignite again and grow.
“Mary, you who have believed, make us participants in the purity of your Faith, your adherence to the Word of your Son, your commitment to follow Him to the end with the strength of the Holy Spirit.”
“May this Year of Faith [2012-2013] make the relationship with Christ, the Lord, ever stronger, for only in Him do we have the certainty to look to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love.” — Benedict XVI (Amazon USA – Amazon UK) (Table of Contents click here)

Solid Foundations Handbook This handbook is the summary of the essential points in each lesson of the course Solid Foundations 000, ‘Initiation into Spiritual Life’, of the School of Mary. Attending the course remains essential. Essentially, the book compiles the handouts from the lessons, available on the website (www.schoolofmary.org), now conveniently consolidated in one volume. It offers practicality and clarity, allowing participants to track their progress and gives a comprehensive overview of the teachings. All the essentials for the course and required texts for the Prayer of the Heart are contained within this book. (Amazon US – Amazon UK)

Praying the Mass The goal of this book is to help the faithful to live better the Mass, to enter into the grace of the Mass, to understand what God wants to give us and how we can benefit from the graces of the Mass.
The Mass has everything in it; it is the summary of the Gospel; it is the summary of Jesus’ life; it contains God’s entire gift for us. One Mass would be enough! Its richness is incommensurable. With the help of the great masters of spiritual life like St. Teresa of Avila we can enter more deeply in the Mass and benefit from its immense richness.
Liturgy is Prayer. Liturgy is the norm of Prayer. Liturgy is the source and summit of our prayer. Have we explored the depth and richness of Liturgy? We often remain fixed on the exterior acts of worship and forget that true worship is “in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:23-24), that we have an altar in our heart because of the Baptismal Priesthood and that we are called to participate in the Mass in a deep and way.
St. Teresa of Avila teaches us contemplation –i.e. God’s intervention in our prayer which elevates us in Him– but she recommends a more perfect prayer, a prayer which unites “vocal prayer” and “mental prayer” (the Prayer of the Heart). We can say the same about liturgy: to live liturgy in a more perfect way we need to unite the exterior rites with an inner participation which leads to true contemplation.
This book is composed of various articles published on the website of the School of Mary (www.schoolofmary.org). One might find some repetitions, but in spiritual life, repetition is always beneficial.
1- The Specificity of Christian Prayer
2- The Immersion in the Trinity
3- Liturgy as Prayer
4- Two Types of Contemplation
5- Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer According to Carmelite Spirituality
6- Raising Awareness of the Liturgy of the Word
7- Proposal for a Celebration of the Liturgy of the Word
8- Prayer of the Heart and Communion
9- Transfiguration and Mass
10- Mary’s Fiery Prayer

(Amazon US – Amazon UK)

Hearing Jesus’ Call, A Quantum Leap Our Christian life can be divided in two periods, one before hearing Jesus’ Call, and one after. This book addresses aspects of Jesus’ Call that can easily be overlooked and delves into the difference between merely knowing that God calls all the baptised to holiness and truly hearing Jesus’ personal Call in our hearts at a specific point in our lives. (Amazon US – Amazon UK)

A Small Catechism  on the Prayer of the Heart The Prayer of the Heart is the dearest treasure of Christians. It is the backbone of the Church: it transforms any prayer by the Fire of God’s love. It allows direct contact with God: an immersion in Christ where He is able to communicate his Holy Spirit to us. In the simple but nonetheless deep and probing form of Questions and Answers, the author, by the grace of God, entrusts the secret of the sustainable and successful way of practising Prayer of the Heart to us. Whilst rooted in the living Tradition, these 100 questions are full of new intuitions and many practical insights that make it a useful manual. No Christian who prays or who loves Jesus and longs for the Holy Spirit can ignore this teaching. (Paperback and Kindle Amazon US – Amazon UK)

Lectio Divina, The Method

Spiritual reading of the bible (Lectio Divina) has a long and eminent tradition in the Church. In this booklet the method is described in a fresh and practical way, encouraging every Christian to take up the Bible and find in it a true guide for the intellect and for the actions of every day. For the ones who would like to start with a small book, 40 pages, this one is perfect. It explains the method of Lectio Divina. How one can sit in a quiet place, open the daily readings, and make sure that, by the Holy Spirit, he or she is listening to Jesus Word and put it into practice. ( Amazon US  – Amazon UK )

God Loves You “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” (Mk 10:21). We can easily overlook this passage. We think that it is not for us. Who understands the extent of Jesus’ love for each one of us? How many people know that Jesus’ love is the starting point of Christianity? The starting point of our day? The starting point of our prayer? He always has the initiative… always. He searches for us much more than we search for Him, his Thirst to give himself to us is infinite and his Love is unconditional. For many reasons we tend to forget his Love, doubt it and not open ourselves to His Love. This book is meant to strengthen our faith in Jesus’ unconditional love. It closely follows the Scriptures. (Amazon US – Amazon UK)

Luke’s Final Pentecost The goal of this short work is to present the final version of St. Luke’s theological account of Pentecost. Throughout the different amendments of his texts, St. Luke had different approaches to the event of Pentecost. The versions of Luke and Acts we have today in the New Testament are his final amended versions. In them we have a revolutionized way of understanding how Pentecost is applied and lived by each and every reader of his work. What is most surprising is that one event overshadows the rest, both in Acts and throughout Luke’s entire Gospel, most importantly in Chapter 1, and at its very heart – the Visitation of Mary to her kinswoman Elisabeth. Indeed this event illustrates that we are all called to be like Elisabeth and receive the Visit of Our Lady, bearing Our Lord, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Amazon US – Amazon.co.uk))

Mary’s Fiery Prayer There is no denying the fact that it is necessary to understand the correct place of Mary in our prayer life, and furthermore we need to accept Mary’s prayer in us, so when we pray, we pray perfectly, using the Fire of Mary’s Prayer. In this book, the deliberate intention is to go through the different elements of prayer, and combine them with each other at each stage, so that they culminate in our accepting and receiving Mary’s own perfect worship, learning how to make it ours. ( Amazon US – Amazon.co.uk )

Lectio Divina at the School of Mary Finally the full book on Lectio Divina is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and the other Amazon websites, as a hardcopy and as an eBook. It contains the previous three books published as ebooks (see below). It has five parts. Part one is new. Part two corresponds to the first book (Lectio Divina I, The Method). Part three and four correspond to the second book (Lectio Divina II, Mary and the Spirit). Part five, the much loved part five, corresponds to the third book (Lectio Divina III, Lectio in daily life). This is a very important book. The core of it is Part II because it explains the Method. It has the updated version of the steps of Lectio Divina, with the 15 steps explained. (Amazon US – Amazon.co.uk)

“I do not believe that a similar book exists on lectio divina. […] your book is a catharsis for modern intelligence and at the same time a teaching that frees the reader from the “psyche” and its illusions. […] The most terrible thing today is that souls are so thirsty for God, a thirst to meet him in prayer and to be touched by him. […] We can read ample descriptions about the “border of the well”, but in fact what we need is to quench the thirst. What is special about this book is that it teaches the reader how to get water out of the well.” G. Solari

The Spiritual Journey, the Setting  for Christian Hope This book is a milestone not only in Spiritual Theology, but more broadly for Christianity. Comprehending the full picture of the Spiritual Journey is essential for each Christian who receives Jesus’ call to follow Him. Having a clearer vision of Jesus as our Way in our call to holiness, allows us to embark with confidence in Jesus-the-Way and daily renew our act of Hope. The author shares the fruit of his long research in Spiritual Theology, doing so with clarity, in accessible language, based on Jesus’ life and journey. A new understanding of the Gospel emerges, both convincing and captivating. The Journey of following Jesus can then start. No Christian who prays or who loves Jesus and longs for the Holy Spirit can ignore this teaching. (Paperback from Amazon US, from Amazon UK)

The Foundations of Spiritual Life According to St. Teresa of Avila The Book presents in one volume the core elements of the teaching of St Teresa of Avila in a highly approachable manner. St Teresa is a great Master of the Spiritual Life, a Prophet sent by God five centuries ago, a Light that is capable of offering pertinent guidance for the Church. The author follows St Teresa from within, in her personal relationship with the Risen Lord, revealing the secrets of her teaching and the fruitful way for a living spiritual life that leads to fullness. St Teresa emerges from this presentation under a new light, capable of inspiring us today. (Paperback and Kindle from Amazon US, from Amazon UK)

Praying with the Heart, The Little Way to Jesus The Prayer of the Heart is one of the dearest treasures of Christianity. It transforms any prayer by the fire of God’s love, allowing for an immersion in Christ whereby He is able to communicate to us the Holy Spirit. In his new book Praying with the Heart: The Little Way to Jesus, Jean Khoury entrusts to us the secret of the sustainable and successful way of practicing prayer of the heart. While remaining rooted in the living Tradition, the book offers new and abundant practical insights as well, making it a useful contemporary manual to this ancient spiritual practice. No Christian who loves Jesus and longs for the Holy Spirit should ignore this fruitful means of prayer.

“It would be easier to separate light from the sun than Mary from Jesus.” (Grignon de Montfort.)

(Paperback and Kindle from Amazon US, from Amazon UK)

The interior life of Mary, in Monsieur Olier’s letters One of the greatest French Catholic mystics of the 17th Century contemplates the deep and spiritual relationship that exists between Jesus and Mary. For Olier this is the mystery of mysteries – up to now so little known, loved and respected. For the first time extracts from his letters – an incomparable treasure – are translated into English; a message with great influence for our own spiritual life and world today.

“It would be easier to separate light from the sun than Mary from Jesus.” (Grignon de Montfort.)

(Kindle and Paperback Amazon UK – Amazon  US)

Seven Letters from Your Angel All of us have a personal Angel, for protection and guidance and our life can be transformed by this friendship. In this book we find seven letters inspired by our Personal Angels to lead us to better fulfilment of our life. These letters contain information about Angels, and also many practical insights. (Kindle US – Paperback Amazon UK )

St. Thérèse Complete Works Online St Thérèse of the Child Jesus is co-patroness of the School of Mary. “Placing online the group of Thérèse’s originals (called facsimiles) is an invitation open to all. We go to the source materials and reflect upon them so that a new space behind the texts of Thérèse, our Saint Thérèse, opens up. Interweaving her texts that are well known and read with these poor papers, torn, covered with such eloquent writing, obliges us to go beyond our knowledge of the texts to meet another Thérèse.” (to the website of Thérèse’s Works online)

Mary in the Catechesis of John Paul II This book contains the seventy Wednesday Catecheses of Pope St. John Paul II on Our Lady: from September 1995 to November 1997. They are part of his great Catechesis on the Creed. This Catechesis is of utmost interest since it comes after his Encyclical Letter on Our Lady (1987), “Redemptoris Mater” and after the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992). These seventy Catecheses constitute a complete Treatise on Our Lady from the most authoritative voice. Solid, accessible, informative, and a good foundation. The book has six additional Catecheses on Our Lady and the Holy Spirit. ( Amazon US – Amazon UK)