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Notre Dame, IN—In his moving debut book, Kyle Kramer—America columnist, teacher at St. Meinrad Archabbey, and organic farmer—recounts his candid, humorous, and hope-infused tale of coming to know God and himself. In A Time to Plant, Kramer tells how he came to experience the joys of real community through a journey of honest reckoning with his own ambitions. For Kramer, the story involved lots of dirt. In the summer of 1999, this earnest and high-achieving private school teacher in Atlanta decided to forego a promising academic career. A growing uneasiness with the excesses of American consumerist culture had taken root in his mind and heart and had grown into personal convictions about what it means to be stewards of God’s creation. Those who share a growing skepticism toward consumerism might simply have started bringing canvas totes to the grocery store or patronizing the local farmer’s market. But Kramer experienced a radical call to downward mobility; he heeded the voices of the unlikely prophets in his life and purchased a block of hardscrabble land in southern Indiana in order to start a small farm. Tending it back to health—one difficult lesson at a time—Kramer founded Genesis Organic Farm, built a self-sustaining and environmentally friendly home, and began to fully embrace the Benedictine traditions of physical labor, prayer, and hospitality. A Time to Plant tells the deeply human story of one man’s attempt to make simple living a reality as a spiritual discipline for himself, as a model for his children, and for the good of creation. As Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, writes in the foreword to A Time to Plant,"This book and the story it tells may seem in some sense quiet, mostly confined to a small parcel of land. But it strikes me as a fine and hopeful adventure, one that should give heart to all kinds of people as they try to figure out where they’re called to be."

[photo courtesy of Msgr. Stephen Rossetti. Rossetti (left) pictured with the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J.] Ave Maria Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Why Priests Are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests by renowned psychologist Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti. Now slated to release in October of 2011, this groundbreaking, peer-reviewed study undermines popular notions that Catholic priests are depressed and unhappy in their vocations. Rossetti examines many issues, comparing priests to the general male population with respect to human intimacy, sexual difficulties, burnout, psychological problems, physical health and self-care. He identifies the factors that contribute to happiness among priests as well as those that lead a priest to consider leaving the priesthood. He also looks closely at the contribution of spirituality to psychological health, examining thirteen elements of priestly spirituality. What surfaces is a very human portrait of some very human men who are imbued with a spirituality that has a direct and profound effect on their lives. Priests are clearly, and really not surprisingly, normal men. And contrary to the image portrayed in the media, 92% say they are happy in the ministry. Rossetti is a sought-after expert on Catholic clergy and religious and is frequently interviewed by the New York Times and NPR, particularly in connection with the sexual abuse crisis in America. He served as president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland from 1997 until October of 2009, and for three years prior to that as a staff member. A priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, he also served in two diocesan parishes. Rossetti currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies at the Catholic University of America.

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