2024 CatholicBrain Spring Gift Guide

We are dedicated to nurturing the spiritual growth and educational development of individuals, families, and communities through the power of faith-based learning.

Catholic Bible Storybook ($29.99)

Catholic Bible Coloring Book ($12.99)

Sunday Mass Activity Book ($19.99)

Adventure Catechism

Electronic Reader ($20)

Adventure Catechism

Coloring Book ($14.95)

Adventure Catechism Reader ($24.95)

ThankOGod,ourFather,YouforgivingusCarlo, amodeloflifeforyoungpeople, and amessageoflove for all. You made him fall in lovemakingwithYourSon,Jesus, the Eucharist hisYou“highwaytoHeaven”. gavehimMary, asabelovedMother, andwiththeRosary,Youmadehim singthepraisesofhertenderness AttendAccepthisprayerforus. especiallytothepoor, whom he loved and assistedmayThroughhisintercession, Ireceivethegrace I need.. (mentionhere) Andfulfillourjoy, byplacingCarloamongtheblessed ofYourHolyChurch, so that his smile mayshineagainforus forthegloryofYourHolyName Amen

PrayerforCarloAcutis

9450-957 The Sacred Hearts

Square Gold Leaf Framed with

Back.

Under Glass.

118GT-978 • J.M.J. Three Hearts Rosary

6mm Garnet Swirl Glass with Capped Imitation Pearl Pater Beads and Silver Oxidized 3 Hearts Photo Center and Crucifix. 18"

Scapular. (2) 15" Red Cords.

5991-123 Divine Mercy Hinged Porcelain Keepsake Box. 1 ¼" H

E24-972 • Carlo Acutis

Laminated Holy Card.

E24-977 • Saint Joseph - Terror of Demons

2 ½" x 4 ½" Laminated Holy Card. Printed in Italy.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA GRAPHIC NOVEL

9x12 Hardcover Book, 48 pages

Our Lady of Fatima the Graphic Novel is packed with attractive full color pages of the miraculous events. The reader will take a trip back in time with Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco to re-discover the events that took place when Our Lady appeared to them in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

MSRP 24.99 / Wholesale $12.49

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE GRAPHIC NOVEL

9x12 Hardcover Book, 58 pages

Our Lady of Guadalupe the Graphic Novel will surely help all young Catholics understand the importance of Marian devotion and the sacraments in one’s path to conversion and salvation.

MSRP 24.99 / Wholesale $12.49

SUPER J AND THE POWER OF LOVE

9x9 hardcover book 24 pages

Super J and the Power of Love brings the reader into the world of Super J, a child with Down syndrome. Despite the challenges, Super J is welcomed into a world of brokenness, which he overcomes with love and joy. Written in a rhyming format with vibrant pictures, this book is perfect to read to children with Down syndrome or to young readers, helping them see that all l ife is a precious gift from God

MSRP 19.99 / Wholesale $9.98

SAINT FLASH DRIVES

in durable PVC, houses a 16GB flash drive and comes with a handy clip so you can bring these beloved saints with you wherever you go.

MSRP 17.99 / Wholesale $8.99

www.deogratiasco.com/register

info@deogratiasco.com

“If we really want to LOVE we must learn how to FORGIVE. ”

can be heroic.”

~ Turin Crucifix™ ~

A Crucifixion Artwork incorporating details from the Shroud of Turin and other Relics of the Passion of Christ.

A majestic and stunning depiction based on the most accurate details from the evidence of five of the Relics of Christ’s Passion.

This exquisite Artwork includes an optional hardbound, illustrative book describing the process of design as well as insights from Saints, Mystics, and recent archeological discoveries.

The inaugural edition of the Turin Crucifix™ is introduced for Lent 2024. This most unique sculpture of the heretofore unknown combination of details from the Relics of Christ’s Passion is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Features ofthe TurinCrucifix:™

 Nineteen-inch-tall Cross & Corpus for wall mounting

 Details from the Relics of the True Cross, Crown of Thorns, Nails, Titulus (Inscription) and the Holy Shroud of Turin

 Rock Mount, for mounting on a table or other flat surface, includes instruments of the Passion: Hammer, Pilers and Dice.

 Hard copy, illustrated book describes the creation of the sculpture

 Vial of Holy Shroud FragranceTM devotional prayer oil

 Packaged and Distributed by the Sisters of St. Benedict Center

Nowaccepting both retail anddistributor orders.

Scan for full details and ordering information

St. Croix Press, Inc.

Founded in 1971, we’re a family-owned printing company serving publishers of short to mediumrun publications and catalogs. Our belief that the customer comes first is a core value of St. Croix Press. We maintain high standards of quality, craftsmanship, respect, and personal service. We know you have many choices of printers. We hope you will choose us to help your business grow.

"I HAVE MORE TO TELL YOU..."

"...THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WILL GUIDE YOU TO "ALL TRUTH"

John 16:12, 13

BOOK OF HEAVEN

The Call to the Creatures to the Order, to the Place and to the Purpose for Which They Were Created by God - All 36 Volumes-New U.S. Edition-Regular paper - Hardcover"...no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually

Jesus Mother Mary

Saint Joseph

Our Lady of Kibeho

Saint John

Paul II

Saint Francis of Assisi

gifts ThAt bring THe hope & ligHT oF cHrist

I love that I can find everyday, beautifully made products for my children that point them to God in the little everyday moments.

- Elizabeth, Be A Heart Customer

faire.com/direct/beaheart

wholesale.beaheart.com

wholesale@beaheart.com

OUR STory

My name is Erica Tighe Campbell and I am the founder of Be A Heart and also the mother to two (soon to be three) children. Be A Heart was born out of a time of my life when I desperately needed the light of Christ to flood in. To get through a difficult season of fighting anxiety and depression, I began to teach myself how to do calligraphy as a way to connect with beauty and God. I passed my free time in art museums in Brooklyn and saw the way that beautiful things pointed me to God’s goodness and felt great hope for my life.

Calligraphy progressed to many areas of design and in 2018, I felt the urge to launch a full line of beautiful, Catholic products. I wanted to make things that inspired hope and pointed to Christ’s light. And I wanted them to be go to gifts that everyone both loved to give and receive. Our customers turn to us to purchase gifts for the special moments in their lives - new babies, baptisms, first communions, birthdays, and holidays. We love to partner with local shops to bring Be A Heart into as many homes as possible.

baby showers + BaptismS

When I had my first child, I recognized the lack of trendy, Catholic baby products on the market so I created my own. These are our best sellers year round, year in and year out. There are many variations on these products that all sell well.

EASter BaskETS

As my child grew, I created more things for her that would excite her and introduce her to the friend she has in Jesus. Both of my daughters can now easily call out an image of Mary because of their beloved Mary dolls.

FIrst ComMuniON + confirmaTION

So often the presents received for First Communion and Confirmation go into the back of a closet somewhere. I wanted to make gifts that children and teens would actually want to use right now!

MUSLIN SWADDLE BLANKETS

SAINTS MUSLIN QUILT

MEAL BLESSING BIB IN SAGE GREEN

BABY’S FIRST ROSARY

GOOD SHEPHERD PUZZLE

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM SILICONE TEETHER

MARY DOLL

JESUS HEALS BANDAGES

JESUS OF NAZARETH DOLL

PAINT-YOUR-OWN MARY CERAMIC STATUE

ROSARY KITS

HOLY SPIRIT TRINKET DISH

PUNCH NEEDLE KITS

ROSARY WALLET WRISTLET

Kiss Me Goodnight

Ultimate First Communion Gift: Father Leopold Celebrates Mass

Written by Maurice Prater Illustrated by Cecilia Lawrence

$11.00 - Discounts Available! 888.484.9945 Divine Providence Press divineprovidencepress.com

800.937.8200

Now you can combine faith and fun! The Mass comes alive for kids in this unique building set of genuine LEGO® bricks. The 28-page full-color instruction guide makes building the altar, ambo, credence table, presider’s chair and tabernacle a snap. Put the lectionary, Roman Missal, chalice, paten, hosts, cruets and lavabo dish in place, get Fr. Leopold vested and he’s ready to celebrate Mass. Congregation not included. $64.99 with free shipping www.domesticchurchsupply.com

Books by Most Rev. Arthur J. Serratelli, S.T.D., S.S.L., D.D.

Seek Spiritual Solace

Daily Companion for First Responders

Allan F. Wright

Although our numerous first responders have long been our “lifesavers,” the daily Scripture, reflection, and prayer in this book will give them a fuller appreciation of their crucial role and their need for strong faith and God’s presence at every moment. 192 pages. Size 4 x 61/4

No. 147/19 – Dura-Lux cover $10.95

ISBN 978-1-958237-06-9

The Love of Eternal Wisdom

St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort

This classic work reveals the deep love and power of Wisdom for today’s readers to fully navigate all the stages of their existence. Montfort’s words offer concrete means to acquire sought-after Wisdom. 288 pages. Size 41/4 x 63/4.

No. 323/19 – Dura-Lux cover $14.95

ISBN 978-1-953152-99-2

Key of Heaven

A Manual of Catholic Prayers and Devotions

Edited by Rev. Francis Evans

Doctrines, feasts, devotions, litanies? Yes, they still exist. This completely new compendium of timeless beliefs and practices may offer a learning experience for some. For others, perhaps it will serve as a reawakening of meaningful Catholic traditions. 304 pages. Size 41/4 x 63/4

No. 908/19 – Dura-Lux cover $15.95

ISBN 978-1-947070-49-3

Our Lady of Grace Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI

By Betty Meredith, Owner

Our Lady of Grace Bookstore started in the early 1990s at the request of Thomas S. Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza, who had built a corporate chapel inside the world headquarters of Domino’s Pizza in Ann Arbor, MI.

He asked Conny Zander, a convert whom Mary nudged to start selling Catholic books from the trunk of her car before she was Catholic, to start a Catholic bookstore next door to the Ave Maria Chapel. Tom wanted to help people attend Mass often (the Chapel has four Masses a day five days a week and two on Saturday morning), pray, go to confession (the Chapel offers confessions before or after each Mass), and dive deeper into their faith, hence the need for a bookstore.

After 25 years, Conny sold the 1,000-square-foot store to me and my husband, Joseph Tabers, in 2014. Purchase payments have been made over a 10-year period.

AWARENESS, AWARENESS, AWARENESS

Once Joe and I bought the store, we noticed that most customers were aged 50 and over. We figured there were three things we needed to do to diversify who we were attracting:

1. Increase online awareness by registering the business with Google, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Yelp, and Yahoo; creating a website, and posting on Facebook and Instagram.

2. Create an email list and send emails once or twice a month.

3. Make more people aware of the store by advertising in 15 area church bulletins.

At the end of that first year, all items were accomplished, except we didn’t find that the church bulletins helped much and they cost the most, so we pulled those ads.

The following year, we created a Facebook page and a simple six-page website to help people outside the local community know we existed and to help us become more findable on Google.

After a few years, we decided to go outside the four walls of our space and expand to an online store. So, in 2018 we migrated from the simple six-page website to an online store through the help of Timber, a third-part vendor to our in-store inventory system (Booklog Point of Sale and Inventory Control in Chicago, IL). The Timber platform syncs the product displayed on the website every two minutes to our inventory system so people can only see and purchase what we have in stock. The pictures and descriptions of most books are pulled in automatically through the Spring Arbor/Ingram distribution platform. However, pictures and descriptions of all gift items and some books must be added manually. It has taken several years to get everything updated. Interestingly, online sales have only amounted to 0.5% of total sales, but the online store allows people to pre-shop and see that a visit is worth the drive.

Betty Meredith, Owner

OUR LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH FACEBOOK

In 2019 and 2020, we began posting pictures every Sunday evening of customers holding up what they purchased and why and tagging the church they attend, so people could see their friends or learn of others who shopped at the store. (The implied theme is “You never know who you’ll meet at Our Lady of Grace Bookstore”.)

In 2021, we added a weekly “Wednesday Window into Our Lady of Grace Bookstore” short video featuring and recorded by our only full-time employee and assistant manager, Stephanie Koch, who highlighted different product areas of the store based on the liturgical season. (We are SO very blessed to work with Stephanie!). We have one full-time employee and two part-time employees.

Eventually, we noticed a direct relationship between what we spent on Facebook and the number of feet that came into the store two weeks later, which then translated into increased sales. Over the years 2021-2023, we increased spending on Facebook to what we had been spending on church bulletins in 2015. Because of this and the after-effect of many people returning to their faith due to Covid, sales have increased almost 60% over 2019 sales.

OUR NUMBER ONE JOB IS HELPING PEOPLE GET TO HEAVEN

It took me a while to figure out that our most important job isn’t providing Baptism, first Communion, Confirmation, or wedding items for purchase, but rather having the resources people need to help them get to heaven. Gifts open the door to faith, but books deepen faith and one’s relationship with God.

Because each person is at a different stage in their faith walk, we also make sure we have books and gifts for those who don’t believe, are ready to believe, and for those more advanced who want to nurture a deeper relationship with the Lord. It can be books on atheism, apologetics, the classics, prayer, healing, family life, philosophy, Theology, spirituality, purgatory and death, Bibles, Bible studies, Mary, or children and teen books. It can be supports for all kinds of devotions. It can be high quality inspiring artwork, stunning wall or standing crucifixes, sterling silver or gold crucifix or Miraculous Medal necklaces, or sterling silver Confirmation saint medal necklaces. We carry over 80 Catholic adult, young adult, youth and children Bibles (no Protestant Bibles) and several versions of the Catechism.

In 2019 we did a major refreshening of the inventory in the store, purging almost everything that hadn’t sold in the past 18-24 months (which we still do every January). We upgraded the quality and uplifting effect of rosaries, gifts, pictures, crucifixes, etc., while also making sure we had products that appealed to and met the spiritual needs of groups of customers ages 18-25, 25-40, 40-55 and 55 and older.

After purchasing the store with $112,500 in inventory in 2014, we increased it to an average of $200k (more during sacrament and Christmas seasons), with half in books and half in gifts. The increase in inventory allows us to have a breadth and depth of options to better minister to people spiritually on the spot for themselves or their loved ones. It is a key reason why sales broke $600k in 2023.

Please reach out to us through CMN, visit our website (https:// ourladyofgracebookstore.com/) or our Facebook page (https:// www.facebook.com/ourladyofgracebookstore/). You may also learn more about how we approach social media, provide customer service, and manage our inventory by viewing three training webinars we recorded in 2023 available under “Training Webinars” on the “Resources” tab on the CMN website.