Foreword by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, O.P.

"Be men and women of freedom But remember: Human freedom is a freedom wounded by sin. It is a freedom which itself needs to be set free. Christ is its liberator."
--John Paul II, from the Introduction

No matter where you are on your journey of faith, God wants you to be freer. "There is always more freedom, more grace, more forgiveness, more mercy, more God," Father Dave Pivonka says.

But can you be freer than you already are? Maybe you're in a position to do whatever you want, whenever you want, the common definition of...

You might reasonably wonder why anyone would shoulder a heavy backpack, grab a walking stick and hike across Spain. Whatever happened to planes, trains and automobiles? But Father Dave Pivonka knew that the Camino--the ancient pilgrim path to the tomb of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago--offered an opportunity to focus on God in the stripped-down environment typical of the religious journey known as a pilgrimage.

Father Dave takes you along with him, eager to show that God wants to take care of you whether or not you can see down the road or, if tired and sore, you're tempted to quit....

"God really is real I never experienced him before now."

"I felt like there had to be something more--I think I've found it "

"God doesn't just love everyone--he loves me "

It's exciting when someone has a living encounter with the God of the universe. A lightbulb goes on, and everything feels new. But with that sense of exhilaration comes the realization: in order to take one's faith seriously, things must change.

"What do I do now?"

"How can I keep this alive?"

The authors of Encounter Jesus believe that what's really being asked is: "Now that I've discovered...