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$549.00 $499.00
Dom Prosper Guéranger, 7,000+ pages , Hardcover, 15

Please see our paperback edition here.

This fifteen volume set has full-color dust jackets, ribbon place markers, over 7,000+ pages total in 15 volumes

This monumental liturgical work, comprising fifteen volumes, was the life-long labor of Benedictine Abbot Dom Guéranger. Written with the heart of a seraphic contemplative, the holy abbot takes the reader on a daily spiritual pilgrimage through the liturgies of both the East and the West as he immerses the soul into the very life of the ecclesia orans et adorans (the church praying and adoring). The author achieves this by providing daily entries corresponding to the yearly cycle of the Church’s worship in both her divine seasonal feasts and those of her saints. Each day begins with a rich and provocative meditation on the mystery of faith to be celebrated together with the ecclesial history of the same; this is followed by excerpts from the Roman Missal’s Mass of the day (complete with Propers, i.e., Introits, Collects, Offertory prayers, etc ) as well a host of exquisite hymns from the divine office which are coupled with varied and sundry sequences garnered from other ancient Catholic rites.

The temporal and geographical universality of the Church is thusly honored; and the oneness of faith amply manifested in light of the axiomatic criterion: Lex orandi est lex credendi (the law of praying is the law of believing). If the essence of the Holy Mass is God, the Incarnate Victim, offering Himself to God, then the liturgy of the Mass is man, in union with Jesus Christ (per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso), offering God to God. Truly, here is a priceless treasure awaiting your holy exploitation. Such was the strategy employed by the father of Saint Therese of Lisieux who made it a daily routine in the Martin home to read to his five daughters from these very volumes.

This Loreto edition is the only complete edition available, with all of the deleted material that is missing from other American editions restored by Loreto.

 

cyber
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$329.00 $279.00
Abbot Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B., 7,000+, Softcover, 15

Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B. Abbot of Solesmes

2020 Softcover Edition - 7,000+ pages in 15 volumes

ALSO AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER HERE.

This monumental liturgical work, comprising fifteen volumes, was the life-long labor of Benedictine Abbot Dom Guéranger. The holy abbot, writing with the heart of a seraphic contemplative, takes the reader on a daily spiritual pilgrimage through the liturgies of both the East and the West as he immerses the soul into the very life of the ecclesia orans et adorans (the church praying and adoring). The author achieves this by providing daily entries corresponding to the yearly cycle of the Church’s worship in both her divine seasonal feasts and those of her saints. Each day begins with a rich and provocative meditation on the mystery of faith to be celebrated together with the ecclesial history of the same; this is followed by excerpts from the Roman Missal’s Mass of the day (complete with Propers, i.e., Introits, Collects, Offertory prayers, etc ) as well a host of exquisite hymns from the divine office which are coupled with varied and sundry sequences garnered from other ancient Catholic rites.


You may also order individual volumes of any of the 15 books in his set from the drop down menu above.

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$379.00 $259.00
Rev. Alban Butler, Illustrated 5100 pages- Hardcover

Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints - Complete Seven Volume Set

January to December plus Appendices etc. - Hardcover - Illustrated -5100 pages

Vol. 1 - January and Introductory material

Vol. 2 - February/March

Vol. 3 - April/May

Vol. 4 - June/July

Vol. 5 - Aug/Sept

Vol. 6 - Oct./Nov.

Vol. 7 - December and Appendices

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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$299.00 $239.00
Joseph Pohle, 3754 total pages , Cloth hardcover
The Pohle-Preuss  Manual of Dogmatic Theology In Twelve Volumes-

Complete Set of 3754 total pages - Cloth hardcover

(Pronounced Po-lay Proyce) Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

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$219.00 $189.00
Father Denis Fahey, 14 Titles

Complete Set of Fr. Denis Fahey's books - 14 Titles

Mental Prayer According to the Teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1927)

Secret Societies and the Kingship of Christ (1928)
The Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1931)
The Social Rights of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ the King Adapted from the French of Rev. A. Phillippe C.SS.R. by Fr. Denis Fahey C.S.Sr. (1932)
The Mystical Body of Christ in the Modern World (1935)
The Rulers of Russia (1938)
The Workingmen’s Guilds of the Middle Ages (1943) (A translation of the work by Dr. Godefroid Kurth C.S.G.)
The Kingship of Christ and Organized Naturalism (1943)
Money Manipulation and the Social Order (1944)
The Mystical Body of Christ and the Reorganization of Society (1945)
The Tragedy of James Connolly (1947)
The Rulers of Russia and the Russian Farmers (1948)
The Kingship of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation (1953)
The Church and Farming (1953) 

 

“I repeatedly promised Saint Peter that if I ever got the chance, I would teach the truth about his Master in the way he and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, wanted it done. That is what I have striven to do and am doing.”    
—Rev. Denis Fahey
 

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$259.00 $169.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Hardbound, 4

Limited time discount. Was $199, now $169. Sale ends soon. New price will be $219. 

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.

For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.

This set boasts the following features:

  • Hardcovers & Satin Ribbons
  • 2800+ Pages in Four Volumes
  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • Sewn Binding & Headbands
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings

Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.

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$199.00 $159.00
9781622921669, Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P., Hardcover with dust jacket, Four

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 408 pages

This magnificent set of four books is an exposition and guide to the entire Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was written by one of the premier Dominican Thomistic scholars who were active in the scholastic revival of the 1930s and 40s. These books contain the entire Summa transposed into modern English prose, thereby making accessible, for those who are not trained philosophers, the complete theology of Saint Thomas’s Summa.
The composition of these four books matches up perfectly with each of the 614 questions of the Summa. This book is meant to be read alongside the actual Summa in order to make it more easily understood by the average reader.


Volume One - The Architect of the Universe - 408 pages

Volume Two - The Pursuit of Happiness - 412 pages

Volume Three - The Fullness of Life - 462 pages

Volume Four -  The Way of Life - 430 Pages

The Author

Father Farrell’s four-part Companion to the Summa has been responsible for much of the renewed interest in Thomism in the United States. It is required reading for many Catholic college students and “unrequired reading” for thousands of other lovers of St. Thomas.
Its author was born in Chicago in 1902. He attended Dominican schools and was ordained in the Dominican order in 1927, then going to the University of Fribourg for his S.T.D. degree. In 1940 he was awarded the seldom given Dominican honor of the Master of Sacred Theology degree. He served as a Navy chaplain during World War II and was then stationed at the Dominican Houses of Studies in Washington, D. C. and River Forest, Illinois until his death in 1951.

 

A Word About Loreto Publications

All publishing houses have some overarching principles that guide the choice of which books they publish and promote (unless they be primarily interested in monetary gain, in which case they are of no account) and according to which they base their operations and choices.

Loreto’s foundation is based upon a specific set of Catholic principles and a school of thought that developed around a religious order founded in 1949 in Cambridge Massachusetts, the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the heart of their spirituality lies two essential pursuits, the pursuit of wisdom as described by their philosopher Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M. —“Wisdom is the most perfect knowledge of the most important truths in the right order of emphasis, accompanied by a total, permanent disposition to live accordingly.”—and a fervent desire to train up an army of apostles to convert our beloved nation to the Catholic religion.

The spiritual and intellectual life of these ardent Slaves developed by being steeped in the works of people such as Cornelius aLapidé, Dom Gueranger, St. John Eudes, St. Louis Marie deMontfort, Bl. Dom Marmion, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Alphonsus Maria deLiguori, and the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, especially St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Of course, their attachment and devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and the ancient and immemorial Roman liturgy is legendary.

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$179.00 $149.00
1622920589, Rev. George Haydock, 1,942, Hardcover

For those of you who do not know about this wonderful Bible, here is some information:

The Haydock Bible is a larger-print (12 point) format Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible with a comprehensive Catholic commentary (210 sources used!) and an illustrated Catholic Bible Dictionary and History of the Books of Holy Scripture reproduced from the 1859 edition of Fr. Haydock, whose superb explanations and commentary take up about one-half to two-thirds of each page. The commentary is drawn largely from the Fathers and Doctors of the Church - Absolutely invaluable! (note: some other Haydock editions are missing a lot of the Commentary present in this Edition)

The copious commentary (which is not large print) and accompanying dictionary make it the best English Bible available if you want to understand Holy Scripture. If you want a Bible that is not just the Word of God but will help you to understand the Word of God, then look no further! Old Testament with engravings and illustrations, Space for recording family births, marriages, and deaths, Tables (Biblical weights and measures, etc.), Historical and Chronological Index, New Testament with illustrated Bible Dictionary, Historical and Chronological Index and History of the Books of the Catholic Bible.

Perfect for Confirmation or Wedding gifts!

Previous editions were in two softcover volumes. This edition is one hard cover volume on fine Bible paper with a gold-leaf image on the burgundy leather cover along with a satin ribbon marker. Size is 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.

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$149.85 $129.95
9781622921577, St. Thomas Aquinas, 2,500+, Hardcover

The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION

3 Volume Set Commentary on the Four Gospels

Vol. 1 Matthew, Vol. 2 Mark & Luke, Vol. 3 John


There has never been a Catholic version of the Catena Aurea published in English until now. Using in-line citations, Douay-Rheims biblical texts, modern easy-to-read fonts, and supplying updated (including on-line source) references to original documents, Loreto has produced the first Catholic edition of the invaluable commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors collected by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.

We have been working on this project sporadically as time permitted us for several years. This edition far surpasses all of the protestant versions available from other Catholic publishers.

 

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$159.93 $119.95
God, 3 Volumes: 2,680, Hardcover, 3

THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Vol. One includes the books from Genesis to Esther - 1080 pages

Vol. Two includes the books from Job to Machabees II -1040 pages

In keeping with the wishes of the  Holy Father, Benedict XVI, Loreto Publications has published this truly unique edition of the Bible in Latin and English. Suitable either for students of theology and the Scriptures, for those studying Latin, or just for Catholics who wish to conduct themselves according to the mind of the Church, this edition brings together two classic versions of the Bible which have served Catholics well, down through the centuries.

 

  • One Volume New Testament
  • Two Volumes Old Testament
  • Clear Typeface
  • Burgundy bonded leather cover
  • English column opposite Latin column
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$79.00
6" x 8.5" folded size

Roman Rite Folding Travel Altar Cards

 

Description: Leatherette bound (magenta), 6" x 8.5" folded size, has a gold stamped cover, with a magnetic security closure strip (not pictured above.) The design has been improved to be clearer and easier to read! Placement of Credo is lower-left. These beautiful cards are for the 1962 Missal used with the Traditional or Extradordinary Form.

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$69.00
N/A, N/A, Hardcover

The first totally re-typeset, Latin-English daily missal for the laity since Vatican II. This is the most complete missal ever produced in the English language. We have included everything and have produced a missal that is affordable while being of the highest durability. The Roman Catholic Daily Missal will become your life-long liturgical companion —at Church, at home, and on the road. All new typesetting —not a photographic reproduction: clear and crisp type. According to the 1962 juxta typica (typical edition) of the Missale Romanum. 1,980 pages All liturgical texts in Latin and English (both Propers and Ordinary) All readings in English and Latin All music in Gregorian notation Ordinary with rubrics in red Gilt edges 5 liturgically-colored non-fraying ribbons Smythe Sewn, rounded back binding with durable, leather-like Skivertex polymer gold-embossed flexible cover Rounded corners on pages and cover Reinforced 80 lb. resin-impregnated endsheets for extreme durability Printed and bound in the USA on the highest quality natural Bible paper imported from France especially for this missal Fully and thoroughly indexed.

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$69.95 $59.95
9781622921591, Dr. Robert Hickson, 680, Hardcover

Hardcover - 8.5" x 11" 680 pages

Loreto Publications is pleased to present almost 100 essays from one of the most fascinating Catholic American essayists of our post Vatican era. Robert Hickson's broad experience and deep personal knowledge of politics, military affairs, literature, and religion in late 20th century America give him a unique perspective and judgement that is thoroughly Catholic and poingnantly expressive. His curriculuum vitae is impressive and his experience as a soldier, college professor, public speaker, husband, father, and traditional Catholic warror are evident in these profound and penetrating writings.

FOREWORD

It is part of the vocation of a small Catholic publisher like Loreto Publications to give voice not only to the accumulated wisdom of past ages, but also to make known the effects of grace in the souls of the men and women whose lives run concurrent with our own, when those effects are worth noting and preserving for future generations. If the effects of supernatural grace manifest themselves in the remarkable written expression of a Catholic warrior, it can be a great benefit for others to read and contemplate the procession of thought produced by
those effects in a man of substantial educational attainments and wide experience. This is why we have chosen to make available this selection of almost 100 essays by our good friend Dr. Robert Hickson.
One of the requirements for the acquisition and growth of virtue that nature and grace impose upon a man is that he make a serious attempt to impose order in this world of disorder. First he must order his own thoughts and passions, and then he may seek to promote order in his own sphere of influence in the world. This is the work of a Christian educator. The artfully composed and clearly enunciated order of Dr. Hickson’s thinking is strikingly evident in the writings of his mature years as presented in these two volumes. Not only does he beautifully expound upon a topic, but he gently coaxes the reader to make further considerations of his own on the topic presented. In other words, he stimulates the thinking process in his audience and he arouses the desire of the intellect for deeper and more fruitful contemplation. Surely, the achievement of that objective is one of the many goals of sound education.
These essays are not the work of a superficial man. They are challenging, and were meant to be so. In his essay “The Contribution of Catholic Letters to the Conversion of Our Country” you will find the following paragraph:
G. K. Chesterton, who was himself a Catholic Man of Letters, memorably said, moreover, that “the test of all happiness is gratitude” and “your world would be a lot larger, if you were smaller in it.” And, with the help of such Catholic Letters and Literature, we may also help to
make that world larger for others, unto their more abundant life, both here and in Beatitude.
That paragraph could easily serve as the Introit to all of Dr. Hickson’s literary efforts. And so it is with a constantly enlarging sense of gratitude that we offer to our loyal followers these two volumes in hope that you too will appreciate this twentieth century Catholic American soldier’s literary legacy.

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9781622921751, Dr. Robert Hickson, 680, Hardcover

Hardcover - 8.5" x 11" 680 pages

Loreto Publications is pleased to present almost 100 essays from one of the most fascinating Catholic American essayists of our post Vatican era. Robert Hickson's broad experience and deep personal knowledge of politics, military affairs, literature, and religion in late 20th century America give him a unique perspective and judgement that is thoroughly Catholic and poingnantly expressive. His curriculuum vitae is impressive and his experience as a soldier, college professor, public speaker, husband, father, and traditional Catholic warror are evident in these profound and penetrating writings.

FOREWORD

It is part of the vocation of a small Catholic publisher like Loreto Publications to give voice not only to the accumulated wisdom of past ages, but also to make known the effects of grace in the souls of the men and women whose lives run concurrent with our own, when those effects are worth noting and preserving for future generations. If the effects of supernatural grace manifest themselves in the remarkable written expression of a Catholic warrior, it can be a great benefit for others to read and contemplate the procession of thought produced by
those effects in a man of substantial educational attainments and wide experience. This is why we have chosen to make available this selection of almost 100 essays by our good friend Dr. Robert Hickson.
One of the requirements for the acquisition and growth of virtue that nature and grace impose upon a man is that he make a serious attempt to impose order in this world of disorder. First he must order his own thoughts and passions, and then he may seek to promote order in his own sphere of influence in the world. This is the work of a Christian educator. The artfully composed and clearly enunciated order of Dr. Hickson’s thinking is strikingly evident in the writings of his mature years as presented in these two volumes. Not only does he beautifully expound upon a topic, but he gently coaxes the reader to make further considerations of his own on the topic presented. In other words, he stimulates the thinking process in his audience and he arouses the desire of the intellect for deeper and more fruitful contemplation. Surely, the achievement of that objective is one of the many goals of sound education.
These essays are not the work of a superficial man. They are challenging, and were meant to be so. In his essay “The Contribution of Catholic Letters to the Conversion of Our Country” you will find the following paragraph:
G. K. Chesterton, who was himself a Catholic Man of Letters, memorably said, moreover, that “the test of all happiness is gratitude” and “your world would be a lot larger, if you were smaller in it.” And, with the help of such Catholic Letters and Literature, we may also help to
make that world larger for others, unto their more abundant life, both here and in Beatitude.
That paragraph could easily serve as the Introit to all of Dr. Hickson’s literary efforts. And so it is with a constantly enlarging sense of gratitude that we offer to our loyal followers these two volumes in hope that you too will appreciate this twentieth century Catholic American soldier’s literary legacy.

 

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1450, Soft flexible covers

This is the new 2017 Edition of our popular missal for Sundays and Daily Mass. This is a complete Daily Missal for the traditional Latin Mass. It includes the Requiem and Nuptial Masses and feastdays Masses of the Calendar of Saints.Published in 1958 there are miniscule differences between this missal and the 1962 Version. The Canon has red print instructions for the rubrics. Both the Canon and all of the daily proper prayers are in English on one side and Latin on the other.

Ideal as a gift or a special treat for yourself, this missal fits the bill at the right price. Live the liturgical year to the fullest with the New Marian Missal for the traditional Latin Mass.

  • White or Black leatherette cover
  • Soft flexible covers
  • Rounded corners
  • Black version has red colored page edges
  • Red and gold satin ribbon page markers
  • Red and gold head bands
  • 4" X 6.5" size
  • Illustrated
  • 1,450 pages
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$65.00 $59.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Hardbound, 4

 

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.

For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.

This set boasts the following features:

  • Leather Covers & Satin Ribbons
  • 2800+ Pages in Four Volumes
  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • Sewn Binding & Headbands
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings

Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.

In stock

$65.00 $59.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Hardbound, 4
THIS VOLUME HAS ALL OF THE FRONT MATTER AND CHAPTERS ONE THROUGH CHAPTER TWELVE.

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.

For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.

This set boasts the following features:

  • Leather Covers & Satin Ribbons
  • 2800+ Pages in Four Volumes
  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • Sewn Binding & Headbands
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings

Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.

In stock

$65.00 $59.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Hardbound, 4

 

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.

For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.

This set boasts the following features:

  • Leather Covers & Satin Ribbons
  • 2800+ Pages in Four Volumes
  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • Sewn Binding & Headbands
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings

Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.

In stock

$65.00 $59.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Hardbound, 4
THIS VOLUME HAS ALL OF THE FRONT MATTER AND CHAPTERS ONE THROUGH CHAPTER TWELVE.

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.

For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.

This set boasts the following features:

  • Leather Covers & Satin Ribbons
  • 2800+ Pages in Four Volumes
  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • Sewn Binding & Headbands
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings

Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.

In stock

$65.00 $50.00
Cornelius aLapidé , 758 pages - Hardcover

The complete and unabridged commentary of Cornelius aLapidé on the First and Second Epistles of Saint Paul to the Corinthians and his Epistle to the Galatians.

This is the 5th book in our series of the Great Commentaries of Cornelius aLapide  S. J. The Four Gospels Commentary is listed elsewhere on this website. Those who have the Gospels Commentary already know what a treasure aLapide’s work is.
This volume perfectly matches the original four volume set and this is the first and only complete translation from Latin into English of these three Epistles of Saint Paul. We are now working on a translation of the Catholic Epistles for publication next year. Translation and publication in English of this 33 volume Latin magnum opus is continuing - first the rest of the New Testament and then the Old—God willing!
758 pages - $50. Hardcover

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$65.00 $50.00
Cornelius aLapidé, 440 pages - Hardcover

The complete and unabridged commentary of Cornelius aLapidé on the Catholic Epistles of Saints John and Jude

This is the 6th book in our series of the Great Commentaries of Cornelius aLapide  S. J. The Four Gospels Commentary is listed elsewhere on this website and commentary on Galatians and Corinthians are also available. Those who have the Gospels Commentary already know what a treasure aLapide’s work is.
This volume perfectly matches the original four volume set and this is the first and only complete translation from Latin into English of these four Epistles. We are now working on a translation of more of aLapides peerless commentary for future publication. Translation and publication in English of this 33 volume Latin magnum opus is continuing - first the rest of the New Testament and then the Old—God willing!
440 pages - $50. Hardcover

 Read a book review HERE!

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1930278241, God, 1392, Hardcover

The new bible is 6" x 9" and 1632 pages. That is more than the old one because the font is larger. It is exactly the same text, just more readable.

Even after all of the modern "revisions" of the bible that are now available to Catholics, many still think that the Douay-Rheims version, (the only English translation of the Catholic Vulgate bible in use for almost 400 years) is the very best ever produced. We at Loreto agree that what was good enough for thirty generations of English-speaking  Catholics and countless Saints and Matyrs is still good enough for us. The text is clear and easy to read and the two satin ribbons mark the pages where your daily reading is to begin. This Bible fills the need for a small (6" x 9" x 1.5") good quality hardbound Douay-Rheims bible. It is a perfect gift for Christmas, First Communions, Confirmations, weddings, birthdays, etc. and is also great for those who want a portable bible which is legible, durable, and handsome

  • Douay-Challoner version
  • Hardbound sewn binding
  • Genuine bonded leather cover
  • Gold embossed title and decoration on spine and cover
  • Top quality bible paper
  • Family Register pages
  • Papal Encyclical Providentissimus Deus of Leo XIII at front
  • Sharp, clear, and readable text
  • Gold and red satin ribbon page markers
  •  Illustrations
  • Index
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9781622921577, St. Thomas Aquinas, 872, Hardcover

The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION

Volume I: Commentary on St. Matthew


There has never been a Catholic version of the Catena Aurea published in English until now. Using in-line citations, Douay-Rheims biblical texts, modern easy-to-read fonts, and supplying updated (including on-line source) references to original documents, Loreto has produced the first Catholic edition of the invaluable commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors collected by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.

    We have been working on this project sporadically as time permitted us for several years. This edition far surpasses all of the protestant versions available from other Catholic publishers.

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9781622921546, God, 1080, Hardbound

THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

SOON AVAILABLE AS A THREE VOLUME COMPLETE MATCHING SET

Vol. One includes the books from Genesis to Esther - 1080 pages

Vol. Two includes the books from Job to Machabees II -1040 pages

(Vol. 2 of the Old Testament will be available on December 15, 2021)

Option to order full set or Old Testament will be availble on Mon 12/12/21

 

In keeping with the wishes of the  Holy Father, Benedict XVI, Loreto Publications has published this truly unique edition of the Bible in Latin and English. Suitable either for students of theology and the Scriptures, for those studying Latin, or just for Catholics who wish to conduct themselves according to the mind of the Church, this edition brings together two classic versions of the Bible which have served Catholics well, down through the centuries.

 

  • One Volume New Testament
  • Two Volumes Old Testament
  • Clear Typeface
  • Burgundy bonded leather cover
  • English column opposite Latin column

 

Download a free sample from this book.

 

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9781622921553, 1040, Harbound

THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A THREE VOLUME COMPLETE MATCHING SET

Vol. One includes the books from Genesis to Esther - 1080 pages

Vol. Two includes the books from Job to Machabees II -1040 pages

 In keeping with the wishes of the  Holy Father, Benedict XVI, Loreto Publications has published this truly unique edition of the Bible in Latin and English. Suitable either for students of theology and the Scriptures, for those studying Latin, or just for Catholics who wish to conduct themselves according to the mind of the Church, this edition brings together two classic versions of the Bible which have served Catholics well, down through the centuries.

 

  • One Volume New Testament
  • Two Volumes Old Testament
  • Clear Typeface
  • Burgundy bonded leather cover
  • English column opposite Latin column

 

Download a free sample from this book.

Acts of the Apostles - Chapter 27:11-40


    11    But the centurion believed the pilot and the master of the ship, more than those things which were said by Paul.
    12    And whereas it was not a commodious haven to winter in, the greatest part gave counsel to sail thence, if by any means they might reach Phenice to winter there, which is a haven of Crete, looking towards the southwest and northwest.
They weather a great storm
    13    And the south wind gently blowing, thinking that they had obtained their purpose, when they had loosed from Asson, they sailed close by Crete.
    14    But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroaquilo.
    15    And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up against the wind, giving up the ship to the winds, we were driven.
    16    And running under a certain island, that is called Cauda, we had much work to come by the boat.
    17    Which being taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they let down the sail yard, and so were driven.
    18    And we being mightily tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship.
    19    And the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship.
    20    And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay on us, all hope of our being saved was now taken away.
Paul declares that all are to be saved
    21    And after they had fasted a long time, Paul standing forth in the midst of them, said: You should indeed, O ye men, have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and have gained this harm and loss.
    22    And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but only of the ship.
    23    For an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night,
    24    Saying: Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar; and behold, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
    25    Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God that it shall so be, as it hath been told me.
    26    And we must come unto a certain island.
He exhorts them to take some food
    27    But after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country.
    28    Who also sounding, found twenty fathoms; and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms.

    29    Then fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
    30    But as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under color, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship,
    31    Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers: Except these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.
    32    Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
    33    And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying: This day is the fourteenth day that you have waited, and continued fasting, taking nothing.
    34    Wherefore I pray you to take some meat for your health’s sake; for there shall not an hair of the head of any of you perish.
    35    And when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to God in the sight of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
    36    Then were they all of better cheer, and they also took some meat.
    37    And we were in all in the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
    38    And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea.
The all escape unharmed
    39    And when it was day, they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship.
    40    And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands;

 

Actus Apostolurum - Chapter 27:11-40

    11    Centurio autem gubernatori et nauclero magis credebat, quam his quæ a Paulo dicebantur.
    12    Et cum aptus portus non esset ad hiemandum, plurimi statuerunt consilium navigare inde, si quomodo possent, devenientes Phœnicen hiemare, portum Cretæ respicientem ad Africum et ad Corum. Patiuntur magnam tempestatem
    13    Aspirante autem austro, æstimantes propositum se tenere, cum sustulissent de Asson, legebant Cretam.
    14    Non post multum autem misit se contra ipsam ventus typhonicus, qui vocatur Euroaquilo.
    15    Cumque arrepta esset navis, et non posset conari in ventum, data nave flatibus, ferebamur.
    16    In insulam autem quamdam decurrentes, quæ vocatur Cauda, potuimus vix obtinere scapham.
    17    Qua sublata, adjutoriis utebantur, accingentes navem, timentes ne in Syrtim inciderent, summisso vase sic ferebantur.
    18    Valida autem nobis tempestate jactatis, sequenti die jactum fecerunt:
    19    et tertia die suis manibus armamenta navis projecerunt.
    20    Neque autem sole, neque sideribus apparentibus per plures dies, et tempestate non exigua imminente, jam ablata erat spes omnis salutis nostræ. Affirmat Paulus omnes salvandos esse
    21    Et cum multa jejunatio fuisset, tunc stans Paulus in medio eorum, dixit: Oportebat quidem, o viri, audito me, non tollere a Creta, lucrique facere injuriam hanc et jacturam.
    22    Et nunc suadeo vobis bono animo esse: amissio enim nullius animæ erit ex vobis, præterquam navis.
    23    Astitit enim mihi hac nocte angelus Dei, cujus sum ego, et cui deservio,
    24    dicens: Ne timeas, Paule: Cæsari te oportet assistere: et ecce donavit tibi Deus omnes qui navigant tecum.
    25    Propter quod bono animo estote, viri: credo enim Deo quia sic erit, quemadmodum dictum est mihi.
    26    In insulam autem quamdam oportet nos devenire.
Hortatur eos ad cibum sumendum
    27    Sed posteaquam quartadecima nox supervenit, navigantibus nobis in Adria circa mediam noctem, suspicabantur nautæ apparere sibi aliquam regionem.
    28    Qui et summittentes bolidem, invenerunt passus viginti: et pusillum inde separati, invenerunt passus quindecim.
    29    Timentes autem ne in aspera loca incideremus, de puppi mittentes anchoras quatuor, optabant diem fieri.
    30    Nautis vero quærentibus fugere de navi, cum misissent scapham in mare, sub obtentu quasi inciperent a prora anchoras extendere,
    31    dixit Paulus centurioni et militibus: Nisi hi in navi manserint, vos salvi fieri non potestis.
    32    Tunc absciderunt milites funes scaphæ, et passi sunt eam excidere.
    33    Et cum lux inciperet fieri, rogabat Paulus omnes sumere cibum, dicens: Quartadecima die hodie exspectantes jejuni permanetis, nihil accipientes.
   34    Propter quod rogo vos accipere cibum pro salute vestra: quia nullius vestrum capillus de capite peribit.
    35    Et cum hæc dixisset, sumens panem, gratias egit Deo in conspectu omnium: et cum fregisset, cœpit manducare.
    36    Animæquiores autem facti omnes, et ipsi sumpserunt cibum.
    37    Eramus vero universæ animæ in navi ducentæ septuaginta sex.
    38    Et satiati cibo alleviabant navem, jactantes triticum in mare.
Omnes evadunt incolumes
    39    Cum autem dies factus esset, terram non agnoscebant: sinum vero quemdam considerabant habentem littus, in quem cogitabant si possent ejicere navem.
    40    Et cum anchoras sustulissent, committebant se mari, simul laxantes juncturas gubernaculorum: et levato

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9781622921584, St. Thomas Aquinas, 1034, Hardcover

The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION

Volume2: Commentary on Sts. Mark & Luke


There has never been a Catholic version of the Catena Aurea published in English until now. Using in-line citations, Douay-Rheims biblical texts, modern easy-to-read fonts, and supplying updated (including on-line source) references to original documents, Loreto has produced the first Catholic edition of the invaluable commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors collected by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.

    We have been working on this project sporadically as time permitted us for several years. This edition far surpasses all of the protestant versions available from other Catholic publishers.

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9781622921607, St. Thomas Aquinas, 640, Hardcover, 3rd of three

The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION

SHIPPING THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2023

Volume III: Commentary on St. John


There has never been a Catholic version of the Catena Aurea published in English until now. Using in-line citations, Douay-Rheims biblical texts, modern easy-to-read fonts, and supplying updated (including on-line source) references to original documents, Loreto has produced the first Catholic edition of the invaluable commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors collected by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.

    We have been working on this project sporadically as time permitted us for several years. This edition far surpasses all of the protestant versions available from other Catholic publishers.

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Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 408 pages

This magnificent set of four books is an exposition and guide to the entire Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was written by one of the premier Dominican Thomistic scholars who were active in the scholastic revival of the 1930s and 40s. These books contain the entire Summa transposed into modern English prose, thereby making accessible, for those who are not trained philosophers, the complete theology of Saint Thomas’s Summa.
The composition of these four books matches up perfectly with each of the 614 questions of the Summa. This book is meant to be read alongside the actual Summa in order to make it more easily understood by the average reader.
Volume One
This volume attempts to put in popular form St. Thomas’ masterly study of God, man, and the world in the Prima Pars of his Summa Theologica. His study is of extreme pertinence to our times precisely because we are the victims of a constantly increasing intellectual confusion. We have become more and more timid about digging beneath the surface of life, more and more emphatic about a knowledge of facts, less and less concerned with the wisdom of beginnings and ends. To put it baldly, we have concentrated more and more on the physical world and less and less on man and on God. The fact is, however, that exclusive concentration on a study of the world does not unearth the important truths about the world; an exclusive consideration of man and the world results in a blurred, distorted vision of both. We have tried to know only the world and remained most ignorant of it; to know only man and the world and have become entangled in a mass of meaningless detail. For the world is intelligible only in terms of man and God; man is intelligible only in terms of God; God is intelligible only in terms of Himself.

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Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 464 pages

Volume Three
Originally, Fr. Farrell published Vol. Two and Vol. Three before Volumes One and Four.
Chesterton, in his Saint Thomas Aquinas, has explained both my order of publication and the title of this volume. “He (Thomas) did, with a most solid and colossal conviction, believe in Life; and in something like what Stevenson called the great theorem of the livableness of life.… The medievals had put many restrictions, and some excessive restrictions, upon the universal human hunger and even fury for life.... Never until modern thought began, did they really have to fight with men who desired to die. That horror had threatened them in Asiatic Albigensianism, but it never became normal to them—until now.” The whole second part of the Summa, covered by Vols. two and three, deals precisely with the living of human life, the invaluable meaning of that life, and the secrets of the fullest success in the living of it. This part was published first, had to be published first, because of that unholy, perverted eagerness of modern men to throw away their lives and to discard their humanity. This is St. Thomas’ superb defense of the humanity of man. The remaining volumes of this work plumb the depths and scale the heights of the unutterable truths, the mysterious beginnings and glorious goals, that interpenetrate that human life with something of divinity, the truths that are the ultimate explanations of its incredible significance.
This is not a book about the Summa, but the Summa itself reduced to popular language; and Thomas is not read in a day or a year, nor can we suffer an introduction to him, shake hands and then dismiss him from our lives. If we make the happy mistake of so much as smiling at him, he moves bag and baggage into our minds, to become an increasingly more delightful intimate as the years move on.

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Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 412 pages

Volume Two
There is a need felt by those who, having heard enough of St. Thomas to whet their appetite, suddenly discover that they cannot go directly to St. Thomas without the guidance of a professor; and for most of them the leisure days of the classroom are over forever.
This, then, is the double purpose of this book: to furnish a rational defense of his faith for the ordinary Catholic and to open St. Thomas to the layman who has no professional philosophical or theological knowledge. It is not, then, intended only for the very learned, nor for a textbook. If it must be described in a phrase, it might best be called an easy guidebook to St. Thomas’s greatest work.
Just as a guidebook to Paris can be best evaluated in the streets of Paris, so this guide book to the Summa can be best appreciated in the pages of the Summa, by comparing the individual chapters of the book with the corresponding questions of the Prima Secundae (First Part of the Second Part) of St. Thomas’ Summa, questions that are given at the head of each chapter. Any particularly striking point will be found more fully and more beautifully developed in the Summa itself; further proofs, explanations, and illustrations can all be had directly from St. Thomas.
It is important to remember that it is the Summa reduced to popular language and not merely another book about St. Thomas or about the Summa. In fact, it is often more than that, for, particularly on difficult questions, the parallel passages in other works of St. Thomas have been freely used where the conciseness of the Summa might have caused some obscurity for one not wholly familiar with the thought of Thomas.

Father Farrell’s four-part Companion to the Summa has been responsible for much of the renewed interest in Thomism in the United States. It is required reading for many Catholic college students and “unrequired reading” for thousands of other lovers of St. Thomas.
Its author was born in Chicago in 1902. He attended Dominican schools and was ordained in the Dominican order in 1927, then going to the University of Fribourg for his S.T.D. degree. In 1940 he was awarded the seldom given Dominican honor of the Master of Sacred Theology degree. He served as a Navy chaplain during World War II and was then stationed at the Dominican Houses of Studies in Washington, D. C. and River Forest, Illinois until his death in 1951.

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Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 430 pages

Volume Four
St. Thomas died too soon to finish his book, the Summa Theologica. Not all authors are so fortunate. This book marks the completion of a series, projected long ago perhaps with an eye to Thomas’ good fortune. The first was a search for the ultimate answers that form the bedrock of human life, human action, and the living of human life; the second furnished the key to human life and human action; the third concentrated on the living of human life in all its exuberant fullness; this, the fourth, traces the royal road a man’s feet must walk and the goals that await him at the end of the journey.
It was the Son of God Who declared. “I am the way”; this book takes His words literally, as they were meant to be taken. Its subject matter, then, is the sublime mystery by which the Son of God became man to lead men to God, the mystery of the Incarnation. It does not stop at an examination of the mystery but goes on to trace all the consequences of God’s dwelling among men: the life of Christ, detail by detail; His blessed mother; the continuation of His life in the sacraments; and the goal of heaven which is at the end of the royal road, the goal of hell which is the terminal of any other path. From beginning to end, this book deals with the supernatural, and that without apology, excuse, or defense; all this has been taken care of in previous volumes. Its contents are thus not so much an argued thesis as a divinely stated fact. If a modern reader is avid of facts, he will find a sublime diet of divine facts here; if, however, he is fastidious in the matter of facts, particularly supernatural facts, this diet may well prove too much for him.
It was not, however, for the fastidious, but for those who were hungry for God that these books were written. If they do something to stave off starvation from those who have the courage to admit their hunger, Thomas may be pardoned for not having seen to it that they were not finished, and I may be forgiven for the effrontery that began them.
Again, I wish to express my gratitude to Thomas for the good things in these books, and to my critics that the bad things are not worse.

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Joseph Pohle, 686 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book Two includes

Volume Volume 2 - The Divine Trinity
Volume 3 - God: The Author of Nature and the Supernatural - 686 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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Joseph Pohle , 684 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book Three - Volume 4  Christology - Volume 5 Soteriology - Volume 6  Mariology - 684 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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Joseph Pohle , 704 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book Six - Volume 10  The Sacraments Part 3  & Volume 11 The Sacraments Part 4 & Volume 12 Eschatology - 704 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints - April & May- Hardcover - Illustrated -722 pages

 

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Butler's Original Lives of the Saints Vol. 4

June & July - Hardcover Illustrated - 806 pages

Putting these invaluable books together in a new and modern format has been a joy for us.  Some of the longest treatises are contained in it. The section on St. Ignatius of Loyola is almost a complete biography!

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Fr. Alban Butler, 954 pages- HC

Butler's Original Lives - Vol. 6 - October & November  - HC - 954 pages

Volume 6 of Butler’s Lives covers the months of October and November. Putting these invaluable books together in a new and modern format has been a joy for us. We hope that you are enjoying them. Vol. 6 at 954 pages is the largest. Some of the longest treatises are contained in it and these two months are very rich in the sanctoral cycle and full of famous saints.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that
truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

vitis Sanctorum
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Rev. Alban Butler, Illustrated 840 pages- Hardcover

Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints - August & September- Vol. 5

Hardcover - Illustrated -840 pages

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Joseph Pohle, 752 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book Five - Volume 8  The Sacraments Part 1  & Volume 9 The Sacraments Part 2- 752 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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9781622921720, Fr. Edward Cahill, S.J., 704, Hardcover

THIS BOOK IS BACKORDERED UNTIL SEPT. 5TH

FR. EDWARD CAHILL S.J.- Hardcover - 702 pages

The history of the modern world, since the French-Masonic Revolution, consists in the war to defend or to destroy the very ideals of Christian civilization. God's plan for men is that all of their societal structures, especially the government of their nation-states should be imbued with Catholic principles, and that Christ would be officially recognized by the state as king and ruler of the nation, that all of the laws of each state, would not only protect the freedom of His Church to operate freely among men for their salvation, but that further, each state would pattern its laws and government according the the social principles laid out by the Church for the happiness and freedom of mankind. But in the modern age, men have uncrowned Him as their King. This uncivilized age has cried out, like the Sanhedrin of old, "We will NOT have this Man rule over us." Thus, we are now quickly regressing into a new and very dark age of barbarism (with modern technology and weapons!) such as the world has never seen before.

Fr. Edward Cahill was an Irish Jesuit who founded "an Rioghacht", a group of Catholics focussed upon bringing the principles espoused in the papal encyclical Quas Primas (on the Kingship of Christ), to the modern world. This book is his masterpiece.

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$40.00
Cornelius a'Lapide, 2800, Digital

Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications’ apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to have access to this masterpiece.

Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.

Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.

This is the online edition only. If you would like to purchase the hardcopy or a combination hardcopy/online edition, you can do so here

This set boasts the following features:

  • Never Fully Translated Before
  • First of over 30+ volumes to come
  • A percentage of sales goes to further translations of other volumes
  • Extensive discussion of Greek & Hebrew word meanings
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The Catholic Church, 752, Hardcover
Revised under Pope Pius XII, this official collection (raccolta) of the Church’s prayers and devotions was published in English in 1957. It includes a timely supplement of additional prayers for many urgent needs all of which were composed under the same pontiff. Many of the more commonly used prayers and devotions are followed by the Latin text, thus providing the perfect aid for teachers and parents anxious to keep the Church’s language both alive and spiritually efficacious. These eight hundred prayers touch practically every spiritual and physical need, and every personal and societal hope. They are the confidently suppliant voice of the Catholic Church in her maternal zeal, joy and agony, nobility and militancy.
  • Prayers and Devotions 1958 Edition Reprint
  • Red Bonded Leather Hardcover
  • Red and Black Ink.
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560, Hardbound

THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

NOW AVAILABLE AS A THREE VOLUME COMPLETE MATCHING SET

 

In keeping with the wishes of the  Holy Father, Benedict XVI, Loreto Publications has published this truly unique edition of the Bible in Latin and English. Suitable either for students of theology and the Scriptures, for those studying Latin, or just for Catholics who wish to conduct themselves according to the mind of the Church, this edition brings together two classic versions of the Bible which have served Catholics well, down through the centuries.

  • One Volume
  • Clear Typeface
  • Satin Ribbon Page Marker
  • Burgundy bonded leather cover
  • English column opposite Latin column
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Fr. Denis Fahey C.S.Sp., 820, Paperback

Fr. Denis Fahey C.S.Sp. - PB 820 pages

“I repeatedly promised Saint Peter that if I ever got the chance, I would teach the truth about his Master in the way he and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, wanted it done. That is what I have striven to do and am doing.”    
—Rev. Denis Fahey

Originally published in 1945, just eight years before his death, this is Fr. Fahey’s magnum opus. All of his written work is centered around the Kingship of Christ and his right to rule over all human societies and governments. Just as we daily pray that God’s will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven, it follows that all human works, especially the government of all of our human societies (the family, the state, the Church in her human aspects) must conform to God’s will and not He to ours.
This book details the Rights of God in human governments. He has the RIGHT to be obeyed, even by the state. This book proposes the RE-organization of society according to God’s will for us on earth and within the context of the Mystical Body of Christ. Human governments will only be as good as they can be in this fallen world insofar as they conform to God’s Divine Plan for Order in establishing and running society. Here is that plan as laid out by God and his Church and explained by Fr. Fahey. Only when man puts God’s Rights first, will there be any hope of Human Rights being respected or upheld.

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Rev. Alban Butler, Illustrated 520 pages- Hardcover

Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints Vol. 1

Introduction, Prefaces, and January - Hardcover - Illustrated -520 pages

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Rev. Alban Butler, Illustrated 578 pages- Hardcover

Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints Vol. 2

February & March - Hardcover - Illustrated -578 pages

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.

This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:

“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to the
Old and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject of
the reader’s consideration.”
Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Rev. Alban Butler, Illustrated 5100 pages- Hardcover

ORDER NOW FOR SHIPMENT NOVEMBER 20

Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints Vol. 7

December plus Appendices etc. - Hardcover - Illustrated -632 pages

Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.
This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.
Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text.
Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.

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9781622921560, Sr. Mary Consilia O'Brien O.P., Ph. D, 478, Hardcover

Sr. Mary Concilia O'Brien - Hardcover - 478 pages

This brilliantly concieved and executed textbook was published for Catholic High School & College students. It was published in 1941 and it is still one of the clearest and succinct summaries of Catholic Social teaching. It draws primarily on the teaching of St. Thomas in the Summa and the papal encyclicals of Leo III and Pius XI. There are chapter summaries, questions for further discussion, lists of primary sources quoted, an extensive index, and suggested reading for advanced students. This is an invaluable resource for neophytes in the study of the Church's social doctrines.    

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Father Lasance, 546 pages, Soft Cover

Compiled by Father Lasance - 1926 Edition 546 pages - Soft leather-like Flex-cover Handy 4.5" by 6.25" pocket sized prayerbook

This is a beautiful and very useful prayerbook. Originallly put together by the prolific Father Lasance, this book was reccommended by Pope Pius XI. It was printed in a large font with plenty of spacing and was designed for easy reading in the low light conditions found in many Catholic churchs.

Loreto has produced a modern edition on bright white paper for ease of reading in places where the lighting is less than adequate or for those people who either need magnifiers for close up reading or whose eyesight is less than what it used to be. This is the only truly large print prayerbook available with all of the old traditional prayers.

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Rev. J. B. O’Connell, 622, Hardcover

A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal - HB 640 pages

The author of several liturgically-related works, J.B. O’Connell is noted for his ability to clearly explain the complex ceremonial workings of the Roman Rite, particularly for the celebration of Mass by the priest. This book is the indispensable rubrical resource for the traditional Roman Liturgy. This book is valued by clergy and laity alike, not only for its concise handling of the general rubrics, but also for its chapters that briefly describe the history of the development of the traditional Roman Mass, liturgical law, the proper understanding of the force of custom, the importance of the decisions made by the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the opinions of fellow rubricians. O’Connell’s last revision made for the Roman Mass was printed in 1964 after a span of nearly 10 years from his last edition, making it one of the few rubrical books completely in conformity with the new code of rubrics implemented in 1960 that comprise the 1962 edition of the Missale Romanum. Fully indexed and beautifully hardbound in bright red with gold embossing on the cover and spine. This is a must for any priest offering Mass according to the 1962 Missal of the Church'’s sacred liturgy.

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Joseph Pohle , 480 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book One - Volume 1 - God: His Knowability, Essence, and Attributes - 480 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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372 pages, Hardcover book with Dust Jacket and Satin ribbon page marker

Finally...Loreto's Popular Martyrology is Back in Print! - Hardcover book with Dust Jacket and Satin ribbon page marker - 372 pages

We have chosen to re-issue the Third Turin Edition of the Roman Martyrology for many reasons. Among them are the nobility of its style, the serene chastity of its language, the continuity of its ancient lineage, and the fact that it is essentially the same text read by countless souls over the centuries on their pilgrimage to the Eternal Jerusalem. In a word, tradition.

You will not find listed here the numerous saints canonized over the last sixty years. This may be unfortunate but some lack cannot be avoided; there are other sources and newer calendars. The historical importance and the spiritual value of this edition is inestimable. We hope that this offering from Loreto will fill the desires of many souls  who will know best how to utilize this volume to their advantage. This 20th century may well have been the bloodiest in the long and glorious history of the Church of God upon earth. Remember that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. God willing, we will reap a bountiful harvest of souls in the 21st century.
May the example of those who have already tread the path of the cross, fortify our souls, give us courage, and provide hope that we too may have the grace to receive, with grateful affection, whatever end the providence of God has destined for us.

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Father Alban Butler, 538 pages , Hard Cover

Father Alban Butler - Hardcover - 538 pages - Illustrated

With reflections for every day of the year compiled from Butler’s Lives and other approved sources

This beautifully illustrated book is the perfect solution for so many Catholics anxious to get reacquainted with the lives of the saints, but who have too little time to read more thorough biographies. There are approximately five hundred entries covering the feast days for each day of the year with an accompanying pictorial sketch of the saint being honored, and some pious reflection useful for daily meditation.

This is the original version of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives first published in 1874 and largely taken from Butler’s original work. This work is a popular, but very scholarly, abridgement of the complete Butler’s Lives published in twelve volumes in 1847. That is the best edition of Butler’s work with no late 19th or early 20th century ‘modernizations.’

This collection makes excellent reading at table or after the family rosary where in the bosom of intimate familial unity, the history of sanctity may be passed to young minds eager to hear stories of true heroism. Many saints, indeed some very well known and popular ones, took their first steps toward a life of heroic virtue by reading or hearing the lives of other saints who went before.

Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, North-amptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth.

He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.

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Joseph Pohle, 452 pages , Cloth hardcover

Book Four - Volume 7  Grace: Actual and Habitual - 452 pages Cloth hardcover

Many Catholics living today can remember when priests were well trained in theology and could express the Faith properly in their sermons and in their writing. That is because they were given sound teaching at the seminary in Logic, Philosophy, and Dogmatic Theology from textbooks such as this 12 volume set. The famous Pohle-Preuss manual was used in many seminaries in America and other countries prior to the 1950's when seminary training began to go downhill.

This particular manual was used in the Jesuit seminary where Fr. Leonard Feeney, who was one called by his Jesuit superior "the greatest theologian we have in America...by far" was trained. This beautiful hardbound series is an exact reproduction of the edition originally published in 1911, and it was written by  Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle an edited by Arthur Preuss.

Joseph Pohle was a Jesuit and one of the founding faculty members of the Catholic University of America as well as a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He died in 1922 after having produced one of the clearest and most succinct and useful systematic studies of Catholic theology ever published. This series is invaluable for priests, seminarians, and anyone interested in a systematic study of dogmatic theology.

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1565631315, Leo Stelton, 330, Hardcover

Leo Stelton has put to use his years of experience teaching Latin in compiling this concise reference book. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin includes approximately 17,000 words with the common meaning of Latin terms found in Church writings. Entries cover Scripture, Canon Law, the Liturgy, Vatican II, the early church fathers, and theological students, as well as for those seeking to improve their knowledge of Ecclesiastical Latin. An appendix also provides descriptions of ecclesiastical structures and explains technical terms from ecclesiastical law. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin has already been widely praised for its serviceability and indespensability in both academic and Church settings. Leo F. Stelten is Professor of Classical Languages at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

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Father Leonard Feeney, Cloth hardcover

Father Leonard Feeney

Hardcover $34.95    PB $19.95

This collection  of poems and other literary works of Father Feeney is not a complete collection, but a large one nonetheless. It includes almost all of four of his best books: Survival Till Seventeen, Fish on Friday, In Towns and Little Towns, and You’d Better Come Quietly, as well as some of his other works. You will rarely encounter another modern Catholic poet and writer with such depth of faith and dramatic power with words as Father Leonard Feeney. Frank Sheed, of Sheed & Ward, his original publisher and a well-known Catholic writer himself, once labeled him “America’s Chesterton”. Coming from a Catholic Englishman, that is a grand compliment indeed for an American Irishman!

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1622920023, Professor Roberto deMattei, 640, Paperback

This book may be ordered now for shipment the first week of January 2013.

By Professor Roberto deMattei - Softcover - 640 pages

No event of the 20th century produced a greater effect upon the Catholic Church than Vatican II, the 21st Ecumenical Council. To many it might seem to have been simply a meeting of important churchmen gathered to discuss church matters, but because the Catholic Church is the only church founded on this earth by God himself to guide men to salvation, the reality is that centuries from now historians will likely consider it, (as well as the message to the world delivered by the Mother of God during her personal visit at Fatima in 1917), as one of the two pivotal events of world history for the recently ended century.

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Pope Pius XI, edited and annotated by Fr. Joseph Husslein, S. J., 450, Cloth Hardcover

Eighteen Enclicals of Social Reconstruction by Pope Pius XI

Edited and annotated by Fr. Joseph Husslein, S. J. - Cloth Hardcover -450 Pages

Few American Catholics truly understand t he social teachings of the Catholic Church. This may be in part due to the fact that many of he best papal teachings on this subject have either been ignored or  not widely read by Americans. Father Husslein tried very hard to remedy this situation with the publication of two books in 1940 dedicated to solving  this problem. He gathered together all of the encylicals by the two popes who wrote most on  the topic and made certain that the english translations were well organized, accurate, and easily understandable and readable in translation. He also made many notes that are helpful to the reader. The service he performed is treausred by all students of the Church's social doctrine and these two books, so long out of print, are now available agai exactly as they were originally published.

If you have not read many of the encyclicals that were published before the modernization of encyclical writing that took place after the 2nd Vatican Council you are in for a real treat! The brevity, clarity, and chastity of the language will surprise you. Leo is no phenomenological exegete. He speaks the way one would expect the Vicar of Christ to speak, in clear, unambiguous, and manly language that is full of charity and pius unction and truth. No one who reads these most important social encylicals will come away confused. Be warned however, their brevity is deceptive. They are overflowing with profound insights and exhortations, therefore, small doses properly savored and meditated upon is the best way to imbibe the true wisdom and sound doctrine found here.

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Various/Compilation, 560, Hardcover

6 x 9 Hardcover 560 Pages

The late 20th and early 21st centuries have been an era of great trial for faithful Catholics. Decay, collapse, self-inflicted auto-demolition and liturgical suicide (to use the words of two 20th century popes), seeming defeat, and (dare we say it) nascent resurrection have characterised our years. This collection of articles is as good a sampling of thought from some of the best Catholic minds and warriors of this period of the Church's history, as may be found anywhere. It will stand for many years as a testament to what we have witnessed, how we have witnessed, and why we have witnessed in our days of exile.

 

 

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Rev. Fernand Cabrol, O.S.B., 386 pages, Soft Cover

Rt. Rev. Fernand Cabrol, O.S.B. (1855–1937) - PB -386 pages

Rev. Cabrol was the Abbot at St. Michael's in Farnborough England and the Prior of Saint Peter's ins Solesmes France. He was one of the heirs to the great Liturgical revival begun by Dom Guéranger and the monks of Solesmes in France. This is the complete Divine Office for Holy Week at the time it was published in 1926. It is useful for those who celebrate the liturgical life of the Church according to the missals of 1962 or earlier. Also available in papaerback.

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Robert D. Hickson, 640 pages, HC

25 Essays by Robert D. Hickson - HC - 640 pages

Archbishop Vigano's Preface


Memory is a fundamental element of a people’s identity, civilization and
culture: a society without memory, whose patrimony consists solely of a
present without a past, is condemned to have no future. It is alarming that
this loss of collective memory affects not only Christian nations, but also
seriously afflicts the Catholic Church herself and, consequently, Catholics.
This amnesia affects all social classes and is not the result of chance, but of
systematic work on the part of those who, as enemies of the True, Good
and Beautiful, must erase any ray of these divine attributes from even the
most marginal aspects of social life, from our idioms, from memories of
our childhood and from the stories of our grandparents. The Orwellian
action of artificially remodeling the past has become commonplace in the
contemporary world, to the point that a class of high school students
are unable to recognize an altarpiece depicting a scene from the life of
Christ or a bas-relief with one of the most revered saints of the past. Dr.
Robert Hickson calls this inability “deficiency of dogmatic understanding”,
“Catholic illiteracy of pestilential proportions”.
Tabula rasa: millions of souls who only twenty or thirty years ago would
have immediately identified the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan or
Saint Jerome or Saint Mary Magdalene are capable of seeing only two men
along a river, an old man with a lion and a woman with a vase. Reading
the pages of Dante, Manzoni or one of the great Christian writers of the
past, many Catholics can no longer grasp the moral and transcendent
sense of a culture that is no longer their common heritage, a jealously
guarded legacy, the deep root of a robust plant full of fruit.
In its place we have a bundle of the confused rubbish of the myths of the
Revolution, the dusty Masonic ideological repertoire, and the iconography
of a supposed freedom won by the guillotine, along with the persecution
of the Church, the martyrdom of Catholics in Mexico and Spain, the
end of the tyranny of Kings and Popes and the triumph of bankers and
viii Gratitude, Contemplation, and the Worth of Catholic Literature
usurers. A lineage of kings, saints, and heroes is ignored by its heirs, who
stoop to boasting about their ancestors who were criminals, usurpers,
and seditious traitors: never has falsification reached the point of such
incomprehensible perversion, and it is evident that the desire to artificially
create such ancestry is the necessary premise for the barbarization of the
offspring, which is now practically accomplished.
We must also recognize that this removal has found significant
encouragement also among those who, within the Catholic Church,
have erased two thousand years of the inestimable patrimony of faith,
spirituality and art, beginning with a wretched sense of inferiority instilled
in the faithful even by the Hierarchy since Vatican II. The ancient apostolic
liturgy, on which centuries of poetic compositions, mosaics, frescoes,
paintings, sculptures, chiseled vases, illuminated chorales, embroidered
vestments, plainchants and polyphony have been shaped, has been
proscribed. In its place we now have a squalid rite without roots, born
from the pen of conspirators dipped in the inkwell of Protestantism; music
that is no longer sacred but profane; tasteless liturgical vestments and
sacred vessels made of common material. And as a grey counterpoint to
the hymns of St. Ambrose and St. Thomas, we now have poor paraphrases
without metrics and without soul, grotesque paintings and disturbing
sculptures. The removal of the admirable writings of the Fathers of the
Church, the works of the mystics, the erudite dissertations of theologians
and philosophers and, in the final analysis, of Sacred Scripture itself –
whose divine inspiration is sometimes denied, sacrilegiously affirming
that it is merely of human origin – have all constituted necessary steps
of being able to boast of the credit of worldly novelties, which before
those monuments of human ingenuity enlightened by Grace appear as
miserable forgeries.
This absence of beauty is the necessary counterpart to an absence of
holiness, for where the Lord of all things is forgotten and banished, not
even the appearance of Beauty survives. It is not only Beauty that has
been banished: Catholic Truth has been banished along with it, in all its
crystalline splendor, in all its dazzling consistency, in all its irrepressible
capacity to permeate every sphere of civilized living. Because the Truth
is eternal, immutable and divisive: it existed yesterday, it exists today
and it will exist tomorrow, as eternal and immutable and divisive as the
Word of God.
Certainly, behind this induced amnesia, there is a Trinitarian heresy. And
where the Deceiver lurks, the eternal Truth of God must be obscured in
order to make room for the lie, the betrayal of reality, the denial of the past.
In a forgery that is truly criminal forgery, even the very custodians of the
depositum fidei ask forgiveness from the world for sins never committed by
our fathers – in the name of God, Religion or the Fatherland – supporting
the widest and most articulated historical forgery carried out by the
enemies of God. And this betrays not only the ignorance of History which
is already culpable, but also culpable bad faith and the malicious will to
deceive the simple ones.
Rediscovering memory, even in literature, is a meritorious and necessary
work for the restoration of Christianity, a restoration that is needed
today more than ever if we want to entrust to our children a legacy to be
preserved and handed down as a tangible sign of God’s intervention in
the history of the human race: how much Providence has accomplished
over the centuries – and that art has immortalized by depicting miracles,
the victories of the Christians over the Turk, sovereigns kneeling at the
feet of the Virgin, patron saints of famous universities and prosperous
corporations – can be renewed today and especially tomorrow, only if we
can rediscover our past and understand it in the light of the mystery of
the Redemption.
This book proposes the noble purpose of restoring Catholic memory,
bringing it back to its ancient splendor, that is, the substance of a
harmonious and organic past that has grown and still lives today, just as
the hereditary traits of a child are found developed in the adult man, or
as the vital principle of the seed is found in the sap of the tree and in the
pulp of the fruit. Robert Hickson rightly shows us, in the restoration of
memory, the way to rediscover the shared faith that shapes the traits of a
shared Catholic culture.
In this sense it is significant – I would say extremely appropriate, even if
only by analogy – to have also included Christian literature among the
Sacramentals, applying to it the same action as that of blessed water, the
glow of the candles, the ringing of bells, the liturgical chant: the invocation
of the Virgin in the thirty-third canto of Dante’s Paradiso, the dialogue
of Cardinal Borromeo with the Innominato, and a passage by Chesterton
all make Catholic truths present in our minds and, in some way, they
realize what they mean and can influence the spiritual life, expanding
and completing it. Because of this mystery of God’s unfathomable mercy
we are touched in our souls, moved to tears, inspired by Good, spurred
to conversion. But this is also what happens when we contemplate an
altarpiece or listen to a composition of sacred music, in which a ray of
divine perfection bursts into the greyness of everyday life and shows us the
splendor of the Kingdom that awaits us.
The author writes: “We are called to the commitment to recover the life and
full memory of the Body of Christ, even if in our eyes we cannot do much to
rebuild that Body”. But the Lord does not ask us to perform miracles: He
invites us to make them possible, to create the conditions in our souls and
in our social bodies so that the wonders of divine omnipotence may be
manifested. To open ourselves to the past, to the memory of God’s great
actions in history, is an essential condition for making it possible for us to
become aware of our identity and our destiny today so that we may restore
the Kingdom of Christ tomorrow.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò
Titular Archbishop of Ulpiana
Apostolic Nuncio
28 August 2020
Saint Augustine
Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church

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9781622921744, Catholic Church, 608, Sewn, Hardcover

The Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent - Hardcover - 608 pages - 6" x 9"

Catechism of the Council of Trent for Parish Priests - Issued by Order of Pope St. Pius V
Translated by order of Pope St. Pius V.
English translation and notes by John A. McHugh, O.P. and Charles J. Callan, O.P.
Easy to read modern typesetting.

 

Foreword by Charles A. Coulombe

“Catechesis,” in the sense of teaching the truths of the Faith, is as old as the Catholic Church; Christ Himself was the first and best of our catechists. Indeed, catechesis and evangelisation are inseparable, and always have been. But “catechisms,” in the way we think of them, are a relatively new phenomenon. It was in fact the Protestant Revolt that launched the genre–starting with Martin Luther’s large and short catechisms, in which he laid out his mixture of truth and heresy in a simple question and answer format. In rapid succession, this method was used by Calvinists and others for the same purpose–Cranmer even composed one for the Book of Common Prayer. It turned out to be a devastatingly effective method. Not too surprisingly, beleaguered Catholics responded in kind, St. Peter Canisius, for example, producing one in 1555.
Aware of this background, the Fathers of the Council of Trent decided that a basic catechism explaining the truths of the Faith was an urgent necessity. At the suggestion of St. Charles Borromeo, on February 26, 1562 the Council Fathers resolved that “to apply a salutary remedy to this great and pernicious evil, and thinking that the definition of the principal Catholic doctrines was not enough for the purpose, resolved also to publish a formulary and method for teaching the rudiments of the faith, to be used by all legitimate pastors and teachers.” Thus, the idea was not to publish a popular catechism for everyone to read, but to produce a resource that would allow priests to use it in teaching their people. To be taken primarily from the Council texts, Pius IV entrusted the composition of the work to four theologians: the distinguished Papal diplomat, Archbishop Leonardo Marini of Lanciano; the Knight of Malta, Archbishop Muzio Calini of Zara; Bishop Egidio Foscherari of Modena, renowned for his work with orphans; and the Portuguese Dominican Francisco Foreiro, theologian, Biblicist, and close collaborator with several of his country’s Kings.
St. Charles Borromeo supervised the whole work, and it appeared at last in 1566.
The Council Fathers intended that their catechism should have a definite weight. Thus we read in the seventh canon, De Reformatione, of Sess. XXIV: “That the faithful may approach the Sacraments with greater reverence and devotion, the Holy Synod charges all the bishops about to administer them to explain their operation and use in a way adapted to the understanding of the people; to see, moreover, that their parish priests observe the same rule piously and prudently, making use for their explanations, where necessary and convenient, of the vernacular tongue; and conforming to the form to be prescribed by the Holy Synod in its instructions (catechesis) for the several Sacraments: the bishops shall have these instructions carefully translated into the vulgar tongue and explained by all parish priests to their flocks...”.
Although subsequent centuries would see any number of Catholic catechisms written for the laity by various writers and authorities, this Roman or Tridentine catechism remained the basic standard and the most authoritative – not least because so much of it was taken directly from the Council. In 1979, Pope John Paul II spoke of it as the “Roman Catechism, which is also known by the name of that council [Trent] and which is a work of the first rank as a summary of Christian teaching and traditional theology for use by priests.”
Of course, it was John Paul II who commissioned the Catechism of the Catholic Church which in the minds of many has replaced or eclipsed the Roman Catechism. But this would be a grave mistake. Whereas most of the former comes more or less directly from the Council and so has a certain level of solemnity, the CCC is decidedly a mixed bag. What was written about the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church by its authors is also true of the CCC: “In studying this Compendium, it is good to keep in mind that the citations of Magisterial texts are taken from documents of differing authority. Alongside council documents and encyclicals there are also papal addresses and documents drafted by offices of the Holy See. As one knows, but it seems to bear repeating, the reader should be aware that different levels of teaching authority are involved.” For reasons having to do with modern fashions in theology, there are a few places where the two documents contradict each other quite plainly.
The most notable of these is the question of the necessity of Baptism. The Roman Catechism’s Question XXX, “Baptism is necessary to all unto salvation” states that “If the knowledge of the matters which have been hitherto explained is to be deemed most useful to the faithful, nothing can appear also more necessary than that they be taught that the law of baptism is prescribed by our Lord to all, insomuch that they, unless they be regenerated unto God through the grace of baptism, whether their parents be Christian or infidel, are born to eternal misery and perdition. The pastor therefore must give a frequent exposition of these words of the Gospel: Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The CCC, on the other hand, for the same question, tells us “The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are ‘reborn of water and the Spirit.’ God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament. For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament. ‘Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.’ Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.”
These two statements are in large flat out contradictory (indeed, there are internal contradictions in the CCC’s own text). But the Roman Catechism simply reflects explicitly the defined teaching of the Council of Trent, whereas–as a perusal of the CCC’s footnotes shows–the latter document’s sources are of far less authority. Indeed, the most contradictory statements are not footnoted at all, but must be assumed to be the opinions of the CCC’s authors–and thus, in and of themselves, of no weight when contradicting the Roman Catechism.
But it would be a second error to presume on that account that the CCC is worthless. Save in those very few areas where it contradicts Trent, it explores in a very orthodox way many issues that have arisen since Trent, and also cites Eastern Catholic teaching and worship in a way that helps bring out very clearly the universality of Catholic doctrine.
Those things having been said, it would seem to this writer that the well-prepared Catholic catechist would begin by reading and making his own the Roman Catechism, in the light of which he would then read the CCC. Afterwards, he could then use the St. John Neumann, Baltimore, or any other catechism for actual teaching in the proper light.
But the Roman Catechism remains the gold standard and the essential place to start for anyone undertaking the essential role of catechist. Loreto Publications is to be thanked for once again making easily available to the public an essential document in the life of the modern Church that is only too often allowed–as with so many other things–to slide into obscurity.
Charles A. Coulombe
Trumau, Austria
July 1, 2022
Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

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9781622924097, Sidney Ohlhausen, 462, Paperback

Sidney Ohlhausen - Illustrated - Softcover - 462 pages

This collection of documents and letters grant us an intimate look into the life of an extraordinary priest.
Rev. Haydock is most often remembered today as the author of the famous “Haydock” bible which contains the Douay-Rheims text along with the copious footnotes and commentary by Haydock himself. His purpose was not merely to give the persecuted Catholics of England the best in scriptural text and exegesis taken from the Fathers and Doctors for their own education and edification, but also to give them scholarly ammunition to assist them in the conversion of their protestant family and friends who had been so confused by the various heretical texts and sermons available to them.
The life of Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774–1849) neatly enclosed some of the most remarkable decades in the history of the post-Reformation English Catholic community, as its lay and clerical members moved forward from an ad hoc tolerance to a fuller legal equality. Three years after Haydock’s death, in 1852 St John Newman (1801–90) was to hail the period that took in his own conversion in 1845 as embracing a ‘second spring’, in which England’s Catholic Church re-emerged from centuries of oppression and obscurity, since the Tudor Reformation of the 16th century.

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