The Catholic Bookworm

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Gregory Cleveland, OMV, on his book Consuming Love: Discovering Christ the Bridegroom in Holy Communion  (March 11, 2025) The Eucharist is the “sacrament of love.” Jesus Christ is the true Bridegroom of our hearts, and it is he whom we receive in holy Communion. Even if you have received our Lord thousands of times in the Euchar...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Glenn Morrow on his book Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love (March 5, 2025) We are not meant to travel through our lives alone. These are tales of the sustaining power of love. Whether we are descending into the Grand Canyon on muleback or lost in Venice with absolutely no sense of direction, a journey shared is the best vaca...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Bobby Angel on his book The Postmodern Predicament: And a Roadmap for Recovery and Restoration (March 3, 2025) Society no longer encourages wonder or spending time pondering the big questions of life. Indeed, the childlike gifts of curiosity and gratitude have been trampled over by technology and benumbed by complacency. In these en...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Scott L. Smith on his book Near-Death Experiences (February 25, 2025) Near-death experiences (NDEs) are endlessly fascinating for those who long for Heaven or are just curious about the things we cannot see (yet). Lost in all the discussion of NDEs, however, is their long, rich history. Saints and mystics have been visiting Heaven for thousands of years, a...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Jeanne Curcio on her book Joyfully Married: Wisdom from Couples Married 50 or More Years (February 26, 2025) Joyfully Married presents the wisdom of couples who have been married for a half-century or longer. Their words may differ, but they share similar insights into how they have stayed together through all of life’s “ups and dow...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dr. Leisa Marie Carzon, on her book Sister, Soldier, Surgeon: The Life and Courage of Sister Deirdre Byrne, M.D.  (February 24, 2025) Meet a modern-day Joan of Arc. Whether in scrubs, camouflage, or a religious habit, Sr. Dede Byrne, in her threefold calling as a professed religious sister, renowned surgeon, and U.S. Army colonel, i...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Antony Kolenc on his new series "The Incarnate". (February 19, 2025) October, 2007. Joshua Christiansen thinks he’s just an ordinary teen, ready to graduate high school and infatuated with his best friend Rachel…until Agent Samson shows up and tells him who he really is. Now, while dodging ruthless zealots and evading government plo...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Joseph Ruli (author) and Jaclyn Warren (illus) on Giovanni and the Fava Beans (February 18, 2025) Set in Sicily during the Middle Ages, this inviting picture book shares the origins of the St. Joseph Altar tradition. When young Giovanni’s community suffers a terrible drought, he is upset to find fava beans—what he feeds the pigs—on...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Dennis Billy, CSsR, on his chapter entitled "Spiritual Discernment in the book Gender Ideology and Pastoral Practice: A Handbook for Catholic Clergy, Counselors, and Ministerial Leaders, ed. by Theresa Farnan, Susan Selner-Wright, and Robert L. Fastiggi (February 18, 2025) This book has been designed to assist Catholics doing pa...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Mark C. Roser on his book Blindsided: A Journey from Tragic Loss to Triumphant Love (February 17, 2025) Why is there evil in a world created by a good and all-powerful God?   Ethan Roser, a 19-year-old studying to be a pastor at Wheaton, raised in Africa as the son of faithful missionaries, wrote those words just days before his dea...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Bill Waters, OSA, on Smelling Like the Sheep as We Minister to God’s People (February 14, 2025) When Jesus said to go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News, he meant to incorporate his teachings and our faith into the ordinary aspects of our lives. This book includes reflections on practical pastoral life covering topi...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Patrick O'Hearn on his book with co-author Dan Burke entitled The Truth about Hell: Through the Wisdom of Jesus, Mary, and the Magisterium (January 30, 2025) Religious leaders do not teach about Hell to scare people to come to Church, though the fear of Hell often leads souls to turn back to God. Hell is the result of mankind’s free...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Sr. Gianna Casino, LIHM, and Eileen Spinner on their book Mom, Tell Me Why You're Catholic and Everything Else You Love: A Faith-Based Guided Journal (January 29, 2025) Disclaimer: This guided journal is designed for physical writing and reflection. If you do not own a Kindle Scribe, use Active Canvas, a tablet, or similar device th...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dr. Pedro Gabriel on his book Rigidity: Faithfulness or Heterodoxy? “Why is Pope Francis always criticizing faithful Catholics?” is an oft-repeated question whenever the Holy Father makes one of his usual invectives against religious rigidity. Francis has indeed made such denunciations a hallmark of his pontificate. But what does he...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Rich May on his book Addressing Moral Confusion. (January 22, 2025) The goal of this workbook is to help our youth to receive catechetical instruction without getting bogged down by the mindset of the world today, thereby enabling them to be more open to the truth of the Gospel of Christ and His Church. It uniquely addresses these c...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Stefanus Hendrianto, SJ, on his book Saturdays with Father Schall. This book, inspired by an essay for Fr. Schall’s 90th birthday, reflects on the author’s relationship with the older Jesuit. It explores themes of “another sort of learning,” intertwining intellectual and spiritual growth, meditations on life and death, and the v...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Sr. Helen Adaku Ogbuji on her book Dealing Effectively with Domestic Abuse (January 20, 2025) “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).This work examines the different faces of violence in our society and how a woman’s body is sometimes treated as an object to be used. When one g...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Emmanuel Conduah on his book Untapped: Harnessing the Maximum Potential of Women in Leadership (January 14, 2025)

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Joseph Freymann on his Summa Apologetica: Catholic Apologetics and Moral Questions (January 9, 2025) Summa Apologetica is for adults and mature teens. It is specifically designed for a year-long course in Catholic Apologetics at the late high-school or early-college level. The book contains 160 questions and answers on Catholicism,...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Kevin Wilson on his book The Saint I Knew! Exciting 'Encounters' with Holiness. Each of us has the potential to become a saint. We're especially reminded of this when we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, usually as a teenager, and choose a saint as our patron and inspiration. Who better than the saints and blesseds to inspire u...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Adrian Reimers on his article “Male Chastity according to Pope St John Paul II” in the book Lived Experience and the Search for Truth, edited by Deborah Savage and Robert L. Fastiggi This book is an initial attempt to arrive inductively at the truths embedded in the moral teaching of the Church through the lived experience of faithf...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dr. Eduardo Echeverria on his book  Jesus Christ, Scandal of Particularity: Vatican II, a Catholic Theology of Religions, Justification, and Truth  (December 30, 2024) In this book, in view of the light of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, and hence the scandal of particularity, the author explores the relationship between the S...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Fr. Dennis Billy, CSsR, on his books about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (December 20, 2024) Our Sorrowful Mother: Meditations on Mary’s Seven Dolorsby Dennis Billy, C.Ss. R.This book is a series of imaginative meditations on what Catholic devotional literature refers to as “The Seven Dolors of Mary,” seven moments in Our Blessed Mother’s...

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dcn. Steve Kramer on his article "The Deacon as Preacher of the Word of God: Past, Present, and Future" (December 20, 2024) The Deacon as Preacher of the Word of God: Past, Present, and Future by Deacon Steven Kramer, D.Min. | Seminary Journal

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dr. Gerard Verschuuren on his book Why You Would Want to Be a Catholic (December 16, 2024) This book shows the reader why the Catholic Faith is the best faith there is, each chapter highlighting a particular characteristic feature of Catholicism. Why You Would Want to Be a Catholic by Gerard Verschuuren | En Route Books and Media