Bishop Thomas McMahon, the Bishop of Brentwood, attended the launch of Take and Read: The Gospels which is an excellent new series designed to help people explore the Bible more deeply.

Richard Frost, a member of staff at Alive Publishing, involved in the administration and day to day management of International Prison Outreach, writes to a prisoner on Death Row through an organisation called LifeLines.

He shares his thoughts and reflections on this important and vital outreach.

The theme for Prisons Week (November 15-21) this year is ‘Holding Fast to Hope’. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews says: ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another’ (10:23-25).

We receive many letters and much feedback from prisoners and their chaplains about how Bible Alive is a great source of encouragement and hope both to prisoners in serving their sentence and also to the prison chaplains who minister to them.

Among them we received the following remarkable and wonderful testimony from a prisoner who is currently serving his sentence in an English prison. 

Alive Publishing has the privilege, as a Publisher to the Holy See, to publish Pope Benedict’s latest social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, which addresses the profound and far-reaching issues of human development.

On October 11, in Rome, Pope Benedict will canonize a truly amazing woman, and Little Sisters of the Poor around the world will give praise and thanks to God for her, their foundress Jeanne Jugan.

International Faith Outreach is delighted to launch a new and exciting initiative.

Taking our inspiration from the Red Cross, who sent out parcels to prisoners of war during the Second World War, we want to send out our own Holy Cross Faith Parcels full of faith resources to our brothers and sisters who live in the third world.

The relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux will be visiting England from September 16 - October 16. Her relics have visited nearly 40 countries around the world and wherever they have gone people have experienced conversion, healing, a renewed sense of vocation and answers to prayers. Fr John Udris, Dean of Northampton Cathedral and author of The Gift of Thérèse of Lisieux helps us to understand and appreciate the significance of the relics of St Thérèse and her prophetic bones.

‘I want to light the way for souls like the prophets…’ This is how Thérèse of Lisieux expressed her ambition and ultimate dream just a year before she died. The Carmelite order to which she belonged looks back to the prophets Elijah and Elisha as its inspiration.

A Leap of Faith Challenge

Pope Benedict has declared a Year of the Priest. The vocation to be a priest is a high and noble one and we at Bible Alive during the course of this year will seek to highlight the beauty and dignity of the priestly vocation.

Fr Peter Norton and Fr James Mealy took part in a charity fund-raising event for the sick, infirm and elderly priests of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. During the event they spoke to Bible Alive about what made them want to embrace the adventure of the priestly vocation.

Written by Joanna Moorhead

It's a busy Friday evening at Heathrow's Terminal 5, and BA air stewardess Katie Colbran, 32, has just stepped off a flight from Milan. She's had a busy week that's already taken her to Paris and Amsterdam; tomorrow, she'll be off to Oslo. That's the nature of her amazing job, she says happily: constant travel, a different city every night, and great camaraderie with other flight crew.