Books are fundamental to everyone’s life, from childhood onward, because they offer the opportunity to acquire knowledge and expand one’s cultural background; they stimulate thought, analytical skills, imagination, curiosity, and creativity; they strengthen memory and help develop skills and abilities; they take us on journeys through the past, present, and future and within ourselves; they foster and enrich our inner life. World Book Day, celebrated on April 23, reminds us of this, with the aim of encouraging everyone to discover the importance of books, the pleasure of reading, and to appreciate the contribution authors make to humanity.

“I never dared begin my prayer without a book”

In the field of Catholic publishing, an area in which Editrice Shalom has also worked since 1995, books enable us to get to know Jesus more closely, to speak with him heart to heart, to travel with him along the roads of the world, and to walk beside the saints whose lives move us, speak to us, help us, and advise us, giving themselves completely to our hearts.
Over the centuries, many saints became saints by reading a book that someone had picked up and circulated long before; perhaps it had remained hidden for years, dusty and forgotten, until the right moment, as in the case of Treatise on True Devotion to Mary, by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. Until they fell into the hands of people who sought to quench their thirst for infinity. Among the many saints who converted after reading a book are Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Benedicta of the Cross (born Edith Stein).

The great Doctor of the Church, Saint Teresa of Jesus, wrote: “I never dared begin my prayer without a book, since my soul was afraid to do so without such help, as though it had to fight against many external enemies. With this remedy, which was like a companion or a shield against which the blows of my many distracting thoughts would land, I felt encouraged... Often, all I needed to do was open the book; sometimes I read a little, sometimes a lot, according to the grace the Lord granted me”.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta often liked to repeat that a book is a pulpit with undefined boundaries, in time and space. How true these words are. How wise. Over the centuries, entire generations have been able to learn about the Word of God thanks to books and the spread of good literature.

Our mission

As Editrice Shalom, our mission is to offer people today books on prayer and spirituality that provide practical help in fostering a real encounter with Christ and his grace.
Through our books, we never tire of promoting the centrality of:
– the Eucharist and its worship;
– the Word of God, listened to and meditated upon;
– prayer in all its forms, to help people discover or rediscover the beauty of faith;
– Marian devotion, and thus contribute to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary;
– the figure of our beloved Saint Joseph, so often forgotten;
– angels and saints, restoring dignity and importance to all devotions, including those that the frenzy of our times is causing to disappear.
In addition to prayer manuals, we have specialized in publishing books that explain the Word of God, as well as books on meditation, spirituality, the lives of the saints and their works, the writings of the Supreme Pontiffs, and the history of the most important Marian apparitions, always remaining faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, to the Holy Father, and in union with the College of Bishops.

“On Your Word”

Another important part of our publishing work is the daily missal (bimonthly) “On Your Word”, for reading and meditating on the daily Mass readings.
In this regard, a few weeks ago, one of our young readers told us this story: “A priest from my parish knocked on my door and told me he had heard that I had just moved in and wanted to welcome me and perhaps bless the house. After an initial moment of embarrassment, because I was not a believer, I decided, out of politeness, to let him in. The priest was very cordial and we exchanged a few words, then at the end of the visit he thought it best to give me the daily missal. I replied that I was not interested at all and that he would do better to give it to someone who needed it more than I did. However, the priest did not give up and promptly replied that I should take it anyway and give it to my mother. This time too, I accepted. After about a month, I plucked up the courage and went to see the priest myself. After a few polite remarks, I finally said to him: “Father, do you happen to have another daily missal? The one you gave me last time, in the end, I not only opened it, but started reading it little by little. Now I read the daily Gospel every day, I can no longer do without it, and I always carry it with me””.
Testimonies like this encourage us, year after year, to continue offering new publications, preserving all the freshness, passion, and originality of our beginnings. We will never tire of publishing books that offer everyone the opportunity to grow in faith; to learn to entrust themselves with renewed confidence to Christ, who leads us in the Spirit to the Father; to seek comfort in the example of the saints, men and women as fragile as we are, but witnesses to the joy of God; and above all, to seek support from the Virgin Mary, “who goes before us on the journey of faith”, and from her spouse, Saint Joseph.

Drawing on the treasures of faith

By reading, meditating, and praying, we draw on the treasures of faith that belong to the Tradition of the Church, which we want to discover each day with renewed wonder, and then live and proclaim them.
Staying on the subject of treasures, Walt Disney said that “there are more treasures in a book than in all the pirate loot on Treasure Island... and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life”. Thus, every page of our books becomes a treasure to discover, so that we may return to the Lord with all our hearts and bear joyful witness to him before our brothers and sisters.
So, let us choose books that help us delve into the mystery of our relationship with God, because sometimes a book can change a life...
Why not take this opportunity to give a book to someone dear to us? Or treat ourselves to a gift to make our lives better?