COMING OCTOBER 21, 2025!
Praying with Sacred Art: Pondering the Mystery of Salvation through VISIO Divina
(Sophia Institute Press)
Book description:
One of the most powerful ways of encountering God is through our senses, especially through our perception of beauty. The good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparable, and beauty, rightly considered, always leads to the Creator.
In this rich journey through sacred art, author Derek Rotty accompanies readers through the mysteries of salvation history, highlighting some of the Church’s most moving and celebrated works of visual art. He embraces the concept of visio divina, in which contemplation of sacred art becomes a prayer in much the same way as lectio divina makes a prayer out of Scripture reading.
The Church has always known that images possess the power to communicate truths in a special way. She speaks of sacred art as “a freely given superabundance of the human being’s inner riches.” Thus, the God-given talents of the artist, from ancient iconographers to Caravaggio and beyond, are gifts for the whole Church to bring the faithful closer to the divine.
Rotty reflects on powerful pieces of art and contextualizes them both in Church history and in the practice of visio divina. He explains:
- The classical definition of beauty and why transcendence matters in sacred art
- How sacred art aids contemplative prayer
- The importance of beauty within the walls of the church
- How artists use symbology to communicate eternal truths
In the book, Rotty dissects specific pieces of art, such as the Isenheim Altarpiece and Raphael’s Transfiguration, to aid readers in contemplation of the life of Christ and the divine mysteries. He also includes reflection questions to allow readers to begin their own practice of visio divina.
Praying with Sacred Art takes readers on a sweeping pilgrimage through the movements of the liturgical year, equipping the faithful to “read” great pieces of sacred art and go deeper in their encounter with Our Lord.
Prophet of Hope: Fulton Sheen Responds to the Modern World
(Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2025)
This book is the result of teaching high school students about the need for hope in the modern world, particularly in the United States since the turn of the 20th century, and showing them how Ven. Fulton Sheen spoke into that need during his priestly ministry and broadcasting career.
From the back cover:
Amid the pervasive cultural upheaval and moral uncertainty of the mid-twentieth century, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen emerged as a prophet of hope, always giving people a reason to believe that life is worth living. For decades, “America’s bishop” wrote, taught, and preached about the major questions and issues that were shaping American culture.
Prophet of Hope places Sheen in dialogue with eight of the leading thinkers of his day — John Dewey, H. L. Mencken, Henry Luce, Margaret Mead, B. F. Skinner, Jack Kerouac, Betty Friedan, and Michael Harrington — showing how he confronted the key philosophical, psychological, economic, and societal issues facing the world in his time. Drawing on his radio broadcasts, television show, and writings, this book presents Sheen grappling with the influences that shaped modern culture, including atheism, isolation, cynicism, anxiety, and despair. His prophetic voice of hope still resonates today. Nearly a century after he entered the public sphere, Sheen continues to offer sound guidance for living our Catholic Faith, showing us how to respond with charity, truth, and hope to the modern world.
A Life of Conversion: Meeting Christ in the Gospels, published by Our Sunday Visitor Press in 2019, was based on my own story of transformation and conversion and my years in ministry.
The book is about lifelong conversion to Jesus Christ, which is the hallmark of the Christian life. If we are on the journey of discipleship, we are constantly called to turn more fully toward Jesus Christ. It is not a one-time call. Instead, the turning, the conversion, must happen every day.
From the back cover of the book:
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. — Matthew 9:9
Conversion. The word is often associated with a one-time event, such as the call of Saint Matthew. But even for Matthew, that call was only the beginning, the moment when he started following Jesus. For Matthew, as for all the saints, his conversion lasted a lifetime. Real conversion — repentance and turning toward God — is a process that happens daily. It is our continual “yes” to the Lord and the grace
he offers us.
In A Life of Conversion, Derek Rotty walks through eight Gospel passages that reveal essential lessons about conversion. Through these stories from Scripture, you will encounter Christ again and again, and, with him as your model, you’ll be drawn into a deeper relationship with the master of conversion.
Each chapter includes reflection questions that are perfect for both individual and group study.
Chris Stefanick, an internationally-known Catholic evangelist and author, has commented about my book:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said about Lectio Divina, “If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime.” Derek Rotty is effectively promoting Lectio Divina, watering the fields for that springtime – not just for the renewal of the Church, but for the renewal of every person who dives into the epic and lifelong journey waiting for us in every line of sacred scripture.
I hope the book will help you engage in lectio divina because it will change your life like it changed mine. With that change, our Church will be transformed for God’s glory!
Order your copy of my book now at the OSV Catholic Bookstore, Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble!
Want more? Check out my Amazon Author Page!
I also am a contributing reviewer to The Essential Guide to Catholic Spiritual Classics, edited by Dr. Marie George from St. John’s University. The three reviews that I contributed are:
Divine Intimacy, by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD
Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, by St. Peter of Alcántara
When the Well Runs Dry, by Fr. Thomas Green, S.J.
Derek Rotty 