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It is time to consider and vote for our February 2017 BOTM.

You may vote for two of the books listed below. Enter your votes by replying in this thread. Voting will end sometime after 5 PM, Central time, on January 18.

A book will be randomly selected for elimination from the nominations list from those that don't receive any votes. Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler, by Mark Riebling and Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society, by John Horvat are exempted from the randomizer as this is their first month on the list.

The nominations are:

Amoris Laetitia: Apostolic Exhortation on the Family, by Pope Francis
Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation The Joy of Love: On Love in the Family is appreciated as an aid to reflection, dialogue and pastoral practice, and as a help and encouragement to families in their daily commitments and challenges.

The Biblical Basis For Purgatory, by John Salza
Jesus taught us about it, and for centuries the Church has faithfully defined and defended it. Protestants deny it even exists, while many Catholics fundamentally misunderstand it. It is Purgatory: that place of purifying penance where souls saved by Christ are made perfect and acceptable to spend life eternal in heaven. In The Biblical Basis For Purgatory, author and apologist John Salza (Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons) offers the definitive scriptural explanation of this distinctively Catholic doctrine. Building on the teachings of Christ and St. Paul, he shows how the existence of a place of temporal punishment after death is not only a logical extension of what we know about the reality of sin and God's justice, but is also a supreme expression of God's love and mercy. Although Purgatory is a place of mercy, its pains are real, and they are severe. This book does more than defend and explain Purgatory it provides a solid plan, drawn from the Church's perennial wisdom for conquering our sins by God's grace, while still on earth.

Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon, by Donald H. Calloway. From the best-selling author of the classic Catholic conversion story, No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, comes a powerful and comprehensive history of a spiritual weapon: the rosary.

Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler, by Mark Riebling
In Church of Spies, the intelligence expert Mark Riebling draws on a wealth of recently uncovered documents to argue that, far from being Hitler’s lackey, Pius was an active anti-Nazi spymaster. He directed a vast network of Vatican operatives—priests and laypeople alike—who partnered with the German resistance, tipped the Allies off to Hitler’s invasions of France and Russia, and involved themselves in three separate plots to assassinate Hitler.

The Coat Without Seam, by Maurice Baring. The story of a miraculous relic, believed to be a piece of the seamless coat won by a soldier on Mount Golgotha after Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixion, captivates young Christopher Trevenen after his sister dies tragically and motivates the very core of his existence from then on, culminating in a profound and tragic realisation.

Daphne Adeane, by Maurice Baring
Barrister Basil Wake and his arresting wife Hyacinth lead a well-appointed existence in the social whirl of London’s early 1900s. For eight years Hyacinth has conducted a most discreet affair with Parliamentarian Michael Choyce, who seems to fit into the Wakes� lives so conveniently. But an invitation to attend a Private View and a startling portrait of the mysterious and beautiful Daphne Adeane signifies a change in this comfortable set-up.

The Life of St. Catherine of Siena: The Classic on Her Life and Accomplishments as Recorded by Her Spiritual Director, by Blessed Raymond of Capua
This is the classic life of St Catherine by her spiritual director. He tells of her only what he experienced firsthand, or of what he learned firsthand from her mother, her sisters, her family members and friends. An incredible life, told simply and straightforwardly, without embellishment and without dodging her many miracles, and miraculous conversions. This book puts you squarely in the presence of one of Holy Mother Church\'s greatest saints.

A Martyr for the Truth: Jerzy Popieuszko, by Grazyna Sikorska
The story of the murder of a Polish priest by agents of the communist government.

On the God of the Christians:, by Rémi Brague -
[The book description on GR is in French. The following is excerpted from Amazon, which indicates it is from the back cover of the book.]
On the God of the Christians tries to explain how Christians conceive of the God whom they worship. No proof for His existence is offered, but simply a description of the Christian image of God.

The Perfect Blindside, by Leslea Wahl
He's an egotistical snowboarder with a silver medal.
She's a judgmental honors student with a flair for photography.
Slashed tires.... False accusations.... A coded message.... When all they can see is each other's flaws, how can Jake and Sophie work together to figure out what's really been happening at the abandoned silver mine?

Reasonable Pleasures: The Strange Coherences of Catholicism, by James V. Schall
The fact of pleasure is obvious to us, but its relation to reason is less understood. We are beings who laugh and run, sing and dance, but we too seldom reflect on why we do these things. Above all, we are beings who think and who want to know whether our lives make sense. In this thought-provoking study of the relationship between our reason and our experience of pleasure, popular professor and author Fr. James Schall shows how reason, religion and pleasure are not in conflict with one another. Religion has to do with how man relates to God. Catholicism is not so much a religion as a revelation. It records and recalls how God relates to man.The popular mood of our time is that neither religion nor revelation has much to do with real life. Yet when we look at things as having meaning and order, they fit together in surprising ways. This coherence should bring us joy, and teach us how reason, religion and pleasure can work together for our benefit. Schall shows us in this book why we have many reasons to think that our lives make sense, that our pleasures can be reasonable, and our reason itself is a pleasure.

Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society, by John Horvat
In times of crisis, we are forced to reexamine our ways and ponder our future. It is in this framework that we need to consider our present economic plight and the charting of our path forward. John Horvat focuses on the present crisis with great insight and clarity. He claims modern economy has become cold, impersonal, and out of balance. Gone are the human elements of honor and trust so essential to our daily lives. Society has discarded the natural restraining influence of the human institutions and values that should temper our economic activities.

The Spiritual Combat, by Dom Lorenzo Scupuli
The Combat is a practical manual of living. At first it teaches that the sense of life is incessant fighting against egoistic longings and replacing them with sacrifice and charity. The one who does not do this loses, and suffers in Hell; the one who does it, trusting not in his own, but God's power, triumphs and is happy in Heaven. The work of Scupoli analyses various usual situations and advises how to cope with them, preserving a pure conscience and improving virtue. It emphasizes also the boundless goodness of God, which is the cause of all good. What is bad originates from the human who rebels against God.

Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul, by Cathleen Medwick
A refreshingly modern reconsideration of Saint Teresa (1515-1582), one of the greatest mystics and reformers to emerge within the sixteenth-century Catholic Church, whose writings are a keystone of modern mystical thought.

Way of the Ascetics: The Ancient Tradition of Discipline and Inner Growth, by Tito Colliander
Written for lay persons living in the world, this is an excellent resource for daily meditation, spiritual guidance and a revitalized religious life.

Amoris Laetitia
Coat without Seam

The Biblical Basis for Purgatory

The Spiritual Combat
Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul

I know that it is unfair because the last novels we comment were my recomendations, but i vote for Daphne Adeane was written by Maurice Baring.

Fonch wrote: "I know that it is unfair because the last novels we comment were my recomendations, but i vote for Daphne Adeane was written by Maurice Baring."

Not unfair at all. Most folks vote for books they've recommended.

The Perfect Blindside by Leslea Wahl

John wrote: "Fonch wrote: "I know that it is unfair because the last novels we comment were my recomendations, but i vote for Daphne Adeane was written by Maurice Baring."

Not unfair at all. Most folks vote fo..."

Thanks for your merciful John :-).

I will vote for:

1) Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul
2) On the God of the Christians:

I am traveling this evening and won't be home until quite late. I will post results as soon as I can.

Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul
Reasonable Pleasures: The Strange Coherences of Catholicism

Voting is over. Results will be posted shortly.