NEW: Saint Corbinian’s Bear – Lenten Companion for Bearish Humans

Hope and Life Press is pleased to announce the release of the book Saint Corbinian's Bear: Lenten Companion for Bearish Humans by Timothy Capps, Esq., and Kathryn Capps. The book is illustrated by Ragan Black.

Maybe you're not learned. Maybe you're not holy. Maybe you're not even entirely human. That's okay. A 1300-year-old talking Bear is here to be your daily companion during Lent.

In the early 8th century, a Frankish hermit named Corbinian traveled to Rome, to be near the relics of Saint Peter. A pious tale relates that a Bear killed his pack horse as he crossed an Alpine pass. God had plans for him because the Bear was miraculously tamed and served as a replacement beast of burden all the way to Rome. There, Corbinian freed him and the Bear was never seen again. Corbinian was sent to bring true Christianity to the Germans. He founded a Benedictine monastery in Freising, Bavaria, and became known as Saint Corbinian. His Bear survives to this day on the papal coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI, who was ordained in Freising, and as Joseph, Cardinal Ratzinger, served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

This Lenten Companion for Bearish Humans imagines that the above story missed one detail. The Bear was granted the ability to talk. The Bear was so intrigued by Saint Corbinian that he followed him all the way to Bavaria where the two became fast friends. Many years later, Saint Corbinian was moved to share Lent with the Bear - perhaps to protect the local pony population. In 40 stories that follow the authors' own Lenten experiences and rhythms, the sincere, but simple, Bear learns one lesson after another. Sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, but always memorable, together they form a grand adventure.

A Bear begins Lent, but what kind of creature shall see its end? Tim and Kathryn Capps draw in part upon their experience as Benedictine oblates to transmit timeless truths for all Christians in this charming story. The tales are told with deceptive simplicity. After each chapter, they ask questions to help you think about the lessons the Bear has learned. They are not always the right ones. Bears sometimes serve best as bad examples. You may be surprised to find much of yourself in the Bear, but that's okay. If a Bear can make it through Lent and learn a thing or too, so can you.

This is a Lenten Companion unlike any other, designed for even the most Bearish Humans. Saint Corbinian's Bear: Lenten Companion for Bearish Humans is available in paperback and ebook editions from Amazon, major booksellers and directly from the publishers.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Timothy Capps was an Arabic linguist with the US Army, where he held top secret clearance in the 101st Airborne. Capps then graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law and became a Navy JAG lawyer. He received the NYC Bar Association's Committee on Military Justice Award for Trial Advocacy, also the Navy Achievement Medal. Capps had two missions to the Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, for which he received the Southwest Asia Service Medal. He then became a public defender and also served as prosecutor in the Illinois AG's Office. Capps set up his criminal defense practice and became well-known for handling death penalty cases with innovation and tenacity. The Illinois Supreme Court invited him to serve on the committee approving lawyers as defense counsel in capital cases. Some of Capps' high-profile cases appeared in Life Magazine, Oprah Winfrey Show, Nancy Grace, CNN. Capps was recognized as an expert on false confessions and hired by the State to train death penalty defense teams. He also got the Cunningham Award for "distinguished service as a death penalty defense advocate." In 2011, the abolition of executions bill passed the Illinois legislature, but the Governor deliberated over signing it. Capps wrote a Letter to the Editor arguing against the death penalty from his experience as prosecutor and defense counsel. To the extent his letter was influential, Capps put himself out of a job. His professional legacy includes a perfect record on death penalty cases, a not-guilty verdict by jury where evidence included a videotaped confession, and the development of original tactics still used in murder cases today.
Kathryn Capps is a veteran radio broadcaster who was a staple of the Illinois airwaves for years. She left broadcasting to work as a legal assistant at her husband's criminal defense firm. Kathryn is now retired and looks after her chickens and goats on a hobby farm, when she is not plying her skills as a fiber artist with loom or needles. She has written the study questions for this book during the onset of a blizzard of baby goats, sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop all night. Kathryn is a Benedictine oblate along with Tim at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana.