Brandon Vogt - Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to the Changing World

100% of the royalties from this book are being donated to Catholic Charities USA

Endorsements for

Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World

A triumph! One of the best presentations of the Churchs social teaching. Brandon Vogt adeptly and correctly positions social justice in relation to the lives of the saints, and in doing so he rescues it from the ideological constraints that have for far too long made this essential teaching of the Church inaccessible to most of the faithful. Social justice is not simply a theory, but a whole way of life, revealed in all its radical and saving grace in the lives of the Churchs saints.

Very Reverend Robert E. Barron, Rector of Mundelein Seminary and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

A much-needed, well-written, and always-inspiring book. Brandon Vogt reminds us that social justice is not a dirty word; rather, its firmly rooted in the Gospels, in the churchs social teachings, and, as he artfully shows us, in the lives of the great heroes and heroines of our faith. This timely book reminds us that we are called not simply to care for the poor, but to work against anything that would keep them poor. The saints and Jesus would want no less from us.

James Martin, S.J., author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

In this book, Brandon Vogt situates the principles of Catholic social teaching within the venerable Catholic spiritual tradition by presenting these principles within the details of the actual lives of the saints. Each description becomes as vivid as a stained-glass window as it illustrates how each saint lived out the Gospel, and then it presents us with concrete lessons we can use today. This presentation will easily lead the reader to reflection and then to action. I highly recommend Saints and Social Justice as a rich resource for your spiritual reading.

Rev. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA

Incredibly accessible: Brandon Vogt brings Catholic social teaching to life through the actions and examples of the saints. As we cannot commit to what we do not understand, this book opens minds and hearts to connect faith with personal action. An indispensable teaching resource!

Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services

Somebody has described the social teaching of the Catholic Church as its best-kept secret. Brandon Vogt has done a great job letting this immense cat of common sense, divine revelation, and liberating truth and love out of the bag and setting it on the scurrying mice of lies, oppression, and cruelty that are nibbling away at the foundations of our civilization. May his tribe increase!

Mark P. Shea, author of Salt and Light: The Commandments, the Beatitudes, and a Joyful Life

With Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World, author Brandon Vogt dares to suggest that our world might be saved from its either/or self by the non-ideological both/and that has always been Catholic social teaching. Intent on bringing those dread words social justice into the light and rescuing them from rhetorical misuse, Vogt cites the disparate lives and works of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, St. John Paul II, St. Thomas More, and others, to illustrate just how completely our perceived sides and ideologies disappear when issues of life, family, rights, poverty, and human dignity are addressed through the Christ-centered lenses of justice and mercy. This is an accessible book, and a brave one, too. It trusts that we want to leave a better and more peaceable world to our children than the stale-mated, divided one we currently inhabit.

Elizabeth Scalia, author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in our Everyday Lives and the blogger known as The Anchoress

Brandon Vogts newest book offers us a fresh view on Catholic social doctrine from the Churchs best and clearest thinkers: the saints. Vogt takes up Francis Cardinal Georges challenge to set aside partisan ideologies and propose Catholic social doctrine in a simply Catholic manner. Vogts clear, engaging, and accessible style of writing, combined with the practical wisdom of saints who lived these ethical principles out in the real world, with all its ambiguities and challenges, makes Vogts book an excellent introduction to the topic and can be used as a resource for personal reflection, teen or adult group study, or RCIA.

Dr. Thomas Neal, Professor of Spiritual Theology and Academic Dean at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana

The social teachings of the Catholic Church often produce tension or debate. But in this book, Brandon Vogt provides us the opportunity to pray these teachings through, seeing and experiencing them through the lives of the saints. This engaging and well-written work will you help you understand them anew in fresh ways.

Rev. Msgr. Charles Pope, blogger and priest in the Archdiocese of Washington

Saints and Social Justice

A Guide to Changing the World

Brandon Vogt

Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division

Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

Huntington, Indiana 46750

Nihil Obstat:
Msgr. Michael Heintz, Ph.D.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur:
Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
December 20, 2013

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are declarations that a work is free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, for use in the United States of America, copyright 1994 and 1997, United States Catholic Conference Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotations from Vatican and papal documents copyright 2014 by Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Taken from the Vatican website (www.vatican.va).

Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.

Copyright 2014 by Brandon Vogt. Published 2014.

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All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher. Contact: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750; ; 1-800-348-2440.

ISBN 978-1-61278-690-2
(Inventory No. T1395)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-341-3
LCCN: 2014936797

Cover and interior design: Lindsey Riesen Cover photos: Mother Teresa with a baby, Dinodia / The Bridgeman Art Library; Pope John Paul II on his way to Mass at Heaton Park, Manchester, Monday, May 31, 1982, Spencer/Mirrorpix/Newscom; Dorothy Day, Marquette University Archives.

Interior photos: p. 18, The Bridgeman Art Library; p. 28, The Crosiers; p. 39, The Crosiers; p. 47, Claudio Giovanni Colombo / Shutterstock.com; p. 57, Wikimedia; p. 66, The Crosiers; p. 77, File photo; p. 86, The Crosiers; p. 97, The Crosiers; p. 106, Marquette University Archives; p. 117, Spencer/Mirrorpix/Newscom; p. 126, File photo; p. 136, The Crosiers; p. 143, The Crosiers.