Title: Crossing Home:  The Spiritual Lessons of Baseball  Author: James Penrice  ISBN: 0-8189-0675-8  Paperback: 118 pp.  Price: $5.95 + shipping  To Order call:  1 800-343-ALBA (2522)  Please have your Master, Visa  or American Express card ready. To order online click here.

For those who follow baseball "religiously," here is a book which follows religion through baseball. The game is a treasure trove of Christian symbolism and allegory, providing a wealth of images from which to draw inspiration and spiritual wisdom. As Jesus used the common events of everyday life in his parables, our challenge is to find God in the activities and events of our culture and use them in new ways to bring the Good News to others. Baseball is ripe for the challenge. Crossing Home explores Christian faith through the language and imagery of baseball. Among the topics covered are: salvation, the Trinity, the mercy of God, the social implications of faith, responsible use of time and talent, pain and suffering, perseverance and endurance, the meaning of true freedom, the consequences of sin, the role of the devil, dependence on God, accepting our limits, facing our fears, contemplative prayer, healing, ecumenism, defending Christianity from both critics and modern influences, the importance of religious education, the help of the saints, and the joy of being a Christian. Seasoned throughout with relevant scriptujre passages, the book includes the insights of many spiritual giants of the game of life, both past and present, and will be a welcome addition to the library of any fan.

James Penrice an avid sports fan, graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and life-long Detroit Tiger fan, grew up in Plymouth, Michigan where his love for baseball grew to a real passion. Married and the father of three children, former elementary school teacher and presently Director of Religious Education at St. Mary's Parish in Spring Lake, Michigan, he is the author of several Alba House titles including: Crossing Home: The Spiritual Lessons of Baseball (1993), Goal to Go: The Spiritual Lessons of Football (1994), If There Is a God, Why Do I Need Braces?: An Adolescent Journey to Adult Faith (1995), God Could Be a Teen (1997) and Living the Eucharist Through Sports, soon to be released (2009).