Once again, Pope Francis has set the pundits, news outlets, and politicians buzzing, this time with an historic encyclical letter on care for the environment called Laudato Sì: On Care for our Common Home. As an alternative to all the noise and bloviating, the faithful and the curious alike will welcome this reliable, serene, and inspiring companion to the document.

David Cloutier’s Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Laudato Sì is an ideal guide for parish adult faith formation, RCIA, college and high school campus ministry, and individual study. Preachers and teachers, too, will welcome Cloutier’s consistently clear and engaging writing, free of academic jargon and Catholic code words. With Cloutier as a guide, readers will understand better and respond more effectively to the profound spirituality, the solid doctrinal principles, and the stirring call to action that Pope Francis offers in Laudato Sì.