For Chesterton fans this collection of articles written over eighty years ago are vintage G. K. The author arranged the articles in book format by sections and chapters giving to the whole the salient title: The Outline of Sanity. Accused by thickheaded social "progressives" of wanting to push society back into an antiquated agrarian provincialism, these insightful socio-economic indictions ought rather to have heralded the Catholic thinker as today’s prophet for social sanity. The perennial truths of the principles making up these critical commentaries will surely be even more evident in today’s restless age of stroboscopic consumerism. Master of paradox that he is, Chesterton, the philosopher, exposes the enslaving and dehumanizing aspects of an economy dependent upon monopolistic plutocrats and their so-called "labor saving" machines of mass production. With his penchant for balancing satire with humor, this literary giant provides a common sense solution to this age’s fast pace trek to nowhere. Modern man must be weaned gradually, he argues, back away from the imperialistic megalith corporation as a statistical wage earner and be productive on his own terms, on his own land. In order for man to achieve happiness, his true end, he must not build his life around some ephemeral retirement plan, but live each day for his real end: eternal retirement with God. Taking the original sense of the word economy as domestic harmony the ideal which the author champions is simply called Distributism. It is the very antithesis of Monopoly.
Also Available as Ebook
By Dom Prosper Guéranger - PB - 404 pages
In the nineteenth century there was a concerted effort on the part of liberal revisionists to undermine the Church’s history by challenging the veracity of the Acts of the Martyrs. Some miraculous events associated with the lives of very popular saints, whose names were canonized in the Roman Missal, were treated with ridicule by scholars more concerned with documents than the living evidence of common tradition. It was righteous indignation that moved Abbot Dom Guéranger to defend the cause of Saint Cecilia, whose holy celebrity had spanned fifteen centuries. The abbot’s strategy was to validate the traditional accounts of all the martyrs’ lives by exonerating just one. He achieved this in the holy virgin Cecilia’s case by presenting in book form every morsel of factual evidence available, especially that which modern archeological excavations offered. As a result of his labor, there arose a refreshing new devotion to the young martyr, and – at least for a time — the cynical scoffs of the proud were silenced. This particular biography was written in response to the request of his co-reformer and friend, the Benedictine Abbess Cécile Bruyère.
Prospér Louis Pascal Guéranger was born in France, in 1805, at Sablé-sur-Sarthe. In the Napoleonic era, 1827, during the continued anti-clerical aftermath of the French Revolution, he was ordained a parish priest. As a young curé he authored several works on church-state relations. In 1836, having purchased an abandoned priory that was for sale in Solesmes, he and five other parish priests took solemn vows as Benedictines, with the intention of restoring the monastic life in France according to the ancient rule of Saint Benedict. Until his death there in 1875, Abbot Dom Guéranger devoted himself to restoring the cenobitical life as originally cultured thirteen centuries earlier by the father of western monasticism. He did much by his writings and prayers to keep the church in France loyal to the person of the Sovereign Pontiff and away from the dangers of both Gallicanism and Jansenism.
Mary Perkins - Cloth Hardcover - 232 pages
Mary Perkins worked for Sheed & Ward publishers in the 1930s and was a close friend of Fr. Leonard Feeney who encourged her to publish this book. It is without doubt the best Latin textbook for a neophyte who wishes to learn well the language of Holy Mother Church. The Latin is taken directly from the Missal and as a teaching tool this book is simple and thorough and not intimidating. Highly recommended, especially for Catholic homeschoolers or anyone new to our language.
The Three Pillars of Faith in the Real Presence: Ordination, Offertory, Consecration
Edward Snyder - PB-146 pages
Since the introduction of the Novus Ordo liturgy in the 1960s, Catholic belief in the Real Presence and the essential sacrificial nature of the Mass and of the priesthood has declined precipitously. In addition, the number of men entering the priesthood and the percentage of Catholics regularly attending Mass has also fallen off dramatically. When seeking answers to why these facts are so, the author of this treatise, Edward Snyder, has undertaken a substantive study of the words used in both the ancient and the new liturgy and arrived at some startling discoveries and conclusions.
Since belief in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Christ’s true presence in the consecrated host are beliefs central and essential to the Catholic religion, it is important to understand why these beliefs are no longer held by so many. Certain core doctrines believed by the first Christians were supported by the linguistic evidence they left in the New Testament. What does this linguistic evidence consist of? Specifically, about the year 325 B.C. the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. This translation was done by seventy Hebrew scholars and it is known as the Septuagint. The Greek and Latin New Testament texts contain many semitisms—that is words that were used based on the Aramaic spoken and written by the Church when the original Christians were primarily Aramaic speaking—that can only be properly translated into English, or any other vernacular language, if the Hebrew roots are understood.
This philological study of the root of words used in the scriptures and the liturgy will be most useful as an aid to understanding why clarity of belief is disappearing so rapidly in the Church of our day.
John Haffert - 265 pages - 5" x 8"- PB
Originally printed in 1940. Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. From the Preface by Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen: "Mr. Haffert has in a masterly way laid bare the solid foundations upon which this [Brown Scapular] devotion reposes. His case is so strikingly presented that to challenge this devotion is to challenge to some extent, the tradition and authority of the Church." The Scapular Promise of Our Lady is: "Whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire." Pope Pius IX said, "this extraordinary gift of the Scapular brings its great usefulness not only to the Carmelite Family of Mary but also to all the rest of the faithful who wish, affiliated to that Family, to follow Mary with a very special devotion." The book contains 15 chapters, including, The Origin of the Promise, Meaning of the Promise, Historicity of the Promise, How the Promise is Kept, Scapular Prayer and Communication of Benefits, and much more. This is the most complete book on the subject we have seen. It gives many examples of the powerful protection one gets from the Scapular and that protection is in great need today.
The principal author of this book, Father Aladel, was a member of the Congregation of the Mission founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. More importantly, he was the spiritual director and confessor of Saint Catherine Laboure. The Miraculous Medal was designed by the Mother of God and communicated by her to Sister Catherine with the instruction that this devotion be spread throughout the Church. The inscription: O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee, anticipated the definition of the Immaculate Conception by nearly a quarter of a century. This book relates not only the heavenly visitations given to this humble saint, as well as her adventures and crosses endured for Our Lady’s cause, but also it gives the ensuing history of the medal itself with many accounts of miracles which accompanied its pious reception.
By Fanchon Royer - PB - 304 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
Miguel Pro was born in 1891. He was the third of eleven children, four of whom had died as infants or young children. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at El Llano on August 15, 1911, was ordained in 1925, and executed in 1927. In 1952—just 25 years later—his cause came up for beatification and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988. At the time of Padre Pro’s death, Mexico was under rule of the fiercely anti-clerical and anti-catholic President Plutarch Elias Calles who had begun what writer Graham Greene called the “fiercest persecution of religion anywhere since the reign of Elizabeth.” During those years of the Masonic-Communist persecution, the Mexican people rose up in a great war to defend their nation and the rights of the Church and of Christ the King. Their battle-cry was Viva Christo Rey! Blessed Padre Pro’s martyrdom came at the height of the war and it typifies the period of the Cristero rebellion and its heroes. He took no part in the war, but spent his life ministering to the poor and faithful Mexicans.
He was one of the earliest combatants of communism and a pioneer “priest worker.” While observing the Mexican miners’ needs as assistant to his father, a mine operator, he first recognized his vocation. After entering the Society of Jesus, and spending time in Belgium and Spain for studies, he fell into the company of priests and seminarians who were preparing the way for the apostolate to the worker. When he returned to Mexico at the height of the anti-Catholic persecution, his was a mission to the laborers and to the poorest Mexicans.
by The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
There is no dry theologizing in this spirited rebuttal, written in 1974, to defend the clear meaning of the thrice defined dogma: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is No Salvation). What you will read in this exposition is a hearty response, not laced with anything but the truth, as the supreme magisterium has already expounded it, concerning the visible whereabouts of the only means instituted by Jesus Christ for salvation.
Sister Catharine Goddard Clarke, M.I.C.M.
For those who have enjoyed Sister Catherine’s Our Glorious Popes, this work is an equally worthy production from the pen of an historian gifted in the art of scholarly composition. Its theme is a song of gratitude to Our Savior Jesus Christ and to His Blessed Mother for so plentiful a redemption. The author exudes both her own joy in living the sacramental life within the Catholic Church, and her holy indignation over the fact that liberal Catholic clergymen in the United States were teaching that one’s personal sincerity of conscience was an acceptable substitute for the one and only means of salvation given by Christ. Sister Catherine demolishes all the ambiguous subterfuges that in her day (and far more so today) were undermining the doctrinal clarity that in centuries past left no doubt as to the whereabouts of the only way of salvation.
A Trappist Talks to Nuns About Doubling for the Mother of God - 56 pages Small BookThis book was originally published in 1941 and was written by a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He had a sister who was a nun, and he dedicated this treatise—it is actually written more in the style of a letter of instruction or exhortation—to her and therefore by proxy to all female religious. It presents to them a challenging meditation on what the essence of their vocation is. He calls it “Doubling for the Mother of God.”This book has been brought back into circulation by Loreto Publications at the request of a traditional house of Sisters who have found it very useful and inspiring to them in their spiritual life and their apostolate.We are certain that not only those female religious who take their vocation of assisting others to attain salvation very seriously, but also many whose vocation is in the world or in the clerical state but who also have that same burning desire to help save souls and to build up the Mystical Body of Christ in the modern world, will find solace and sound advice in the pages of this powerful meditation.Theologically sound and based upon years of meditation, especially on the doctrines of the mystical body, this work is certain to be of interest to all who are called to be mothers.
Edited by Daniel M. Clough, M. A. - PB - 264 pages
This book is compiled according to the magnificent pattern established by Thomas Aquinas in the Caena Aurea. It is a well reasearched and thoughtfully composed listing of the Commentary of the saints and fathers and doctors of the Church who have writen of the first three chapters of Genesis. Unlike aLapide, there is no commentary or analysis of the scripture from the compiler himself but it is a remarkably well done listing of what has been written by the gretest of commentators themselves and although there are some differences of opinion among the saints writings here, yet, the whole of their accumulated commentary presents a remarkably unified picture of the "mind of the church" from the earliest times through the centuries on the first (and arguably most important) three chapters of Gods' Words to men.
Dr. Paul Lavin & Robert Lavin
Without knowing anything about the man whose life is recounted on these pages, The Iron Man of China may seem a curious title. Except for a year furlough home in the states, Father Lavin served the Chinese people for twenty years (1932-1953), traversing thousands of miles by foot or bicycle, and exposing himself every day to life threatening dangers. In 1953 the Communists expelled him from the mainland threatening him with death if he should ever return. This well-documented book, written by the Iron Man’s nephew, illustrates one of the reasons why there are ten million Catholics, loyal to Rome, in China today.
Distributist Perspectives is a collection of essays by leading thinkers of the school of English Distributists that in the 1920s and 1930s articulated a humane vision of social and economic life based upon the Social Doctrine of the Church. Subtitled "Essays on the Economics of Justice and Charity," and including essays by Hilaire Belloc, G. K. Chesterton, George Maxwell, Harold Robbins, Cdr. Herbert Shove, H. J. Massingham, and Eric Gill, this first collection of Distributist writings serves as an introduction to the depth and coherence of the Distributist position on such essential topics as the nature of work, the role of tradition, the dangers of industrialism, and the importance to the family and the State of the widespread distribution of ownership of productive property. Volume I of the series offers a rare glimpse through true, primary source material, of the seriousness and persuasiveness of the critique of modernity by some of the finest English Catholic minds of last century. This first volume of Distributist Perspectives also offers a newly edited edition of the Distributist Manifesto, written by Arthur J. Penty for the Distributist League in 1937.
George J. Hill, M.A. - 360 pages softcover
Few stories grip the heart and stir the soul like those tales of faithful Catholics who have risen up in arms to throw off the tyrrany of anti-Catholic oppressors. The great stories from the bible such as that of young David or Judas Macchabeus and his sons have their numerous counterparts in the history of the Church as well. What Catholic has not thrilled to such stories as that of the First Crusade, or the defense of Malta or the Battle of Lepanto—all victories for the Catholics. But even when the Catholic cause is not immediately sucessful as in such epic wars as the Jacobite rebellions, the nine-years war of Red Hugh O’Donnell and The O’Neill against Queen Elizabeth, or the fight of the Cristeros for a Catholic Mexico, the stark reality of such glorious sacrifices for the Faith inspires us down through the ages.
Such is the story of the War in LaVendée and the courage of youth displayed in the story of the Little Chouannerie by the teenage scholars of Vannes. The satanic explosion of hatred of Christ, of his Church, and of all that was decent in Catholic France that is known to history as the French Revolution was valiantly opposed in the west of France by a peasant army in both Brittany and in LaVendée. This is their story.
The names of Charette, LaRochejaquelein, Abbé Bernier, Cathelineau, Le Tiec, and Jean Chouan should be as well known to Catholics as those of Red Hugh O'Donnell, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Padre Pro, Godfrey deBouillion, Don Juan of Austria and others.
This story will break your heart…and will mend it as well.
Vive la Nation! Vive le Roi! Vive la réligion Catholique!
PrefaceIt is commonly argued by writers on the French Revolution that the state of the Church, as well as of the nation in general, must have been exceedingly corrupt, and that both clergy and people were equally destitute of religious belief and of moral principle, or so total a disruption of all the bonds of society could never have taken place, attended as it was with circumstances of unprecedented confusion and horror; and they point to the fact of priests and religious, and even bishops, openly apostatizing from Christianity, and abandoning themselves to all the infamous license of the times, and the atrocious crimes perpetrated by a people so lately, in profession at least, Catholic.
That society was radically and irretrievably corrupt especially in high places, and that many of the clergy, and in particular those about the court, were deeply infected with the taint of infidelity, is unhappily too true. But such writers seem utterly to overlook a fact equally patent and remarkable, that hundreds of ecclesiastics not merely retained and avowed their religious belief, in spite of persecution and contempt, but shed their blood for the faith; enduring the grossest insults and the most agonizing torments, not only with meekness and resignation, but with a touching piety, and a sweet and tender charity towards their murderers, such as make their constancy and fortitude differ in kind from any thing which mere natural heroism, however exalted, has at any time exhibited; while thousands risked their lives and abandoned all things for conscience sake. If a few traitors and apostates—for few they were in comparison with those who stood firm in the hour of trial, and nobly suffered all that a diabolical malice could inflict, rather than abate one tittle of their obedience to the divine law; if this wretched minority are to be taken as a proof of the inroads that vice and infidelity had made upon the Church of France, how triumphant is the demonstration afforded by her numerous martyrs and confessors that she was yet sound and pure at heart!
And as respects the people at large “To judge of a whole nation,” says Mr. Belaney in his Massacre at the Carmes, “by the conduct or manners of its populace in its capital and larger cities in times of great excitement, would lead to as false and unjust, as well as ungenerous conclusions, in respect to that nation, as it would to judge of an individual only by what he did when under the effects of delirium tremens or intoxication.” “The populace,” as he elsewhere observes, “required to be deceived, as well as bribed into the commission of acts which cause us to shudder when we look back on them, even at a distance of sixty years.” An execrable faction, devoid of every principle of morality and every feeling of humanity, had usurped the power of the state; and while over-awing the better portion of the nation by wholesale proscription and slaughter, drove the masses of the people to enact, in a frenzy of terror and fury, excesses which, left to themselves and in their sober senses, they would never have had the heart to perpetrate. That under the seething surface of vice and impiety which covered the land, there lay hid all the while, even in the worst days of the Revolution, fathomless depths of sanctity and devotion beyond the ken of the godless world, the annals of the times sufficiently testify; and that, even when the nation had passed through its fiery conflict, and a generation to whom religion was an effête superstition, and priests but tyrants and impostors, appeared upon the scene, there still remained, not only among the country populations, but among the inhabitants of the towns, a vast amount of supernatural belief, which waited only for an occasion to manifest itself, one circumstance alone would prove:—the demonstrations, not of sympathy and affection merely, but of religious veneration, with which Pius VII was everywhere received on his entrance into France, a prisoner, in the year 1809; multitudes crowding round the carriage in which he was seated, and begging his benediction on their knees as he passed along.
But if the clergy of France contributed its noble army of martyrs at Paris, Lyons, Nantes, her peasantry of Brittany and La Vendée sent forth an heroic band of veritable soldiers of the cross, as admirable and as worthy of being held in everlasting honor as their enemies are deserving of the universal reprobation of mankind. Brave, generous, honorable, merciful, and pure, in the heat of the fight resolute and undaunted as veteran soldiers, and in the hour of victory as tender-hearted as children—what a contrast do these “brigands,” as their opponents called them, present to the self-styled “patriots” of the Republican forces! Sensual, treacherous, bloodthirsty, breathing only hatred and revenge, exhibiting a cruelty and a ferocity truly satanic, their delight seemed to be only in massacre and rapine, and in the commission of the most hideous crimes. Catholic France may well be proud of her heroes of La Vendée. What but simple, supernatural faith could have produced such an army of patriot crusaders, and inspired a system of warfare so truly Christian?
For it is not possible to separate the religion and devotion of the Vendean peasants from their natural virtues and martial qualities. As they fought primarily for their Church, and only secondarily and, as it may be said, accidentally, for their king, so first and before all things they were Catholics: —to their heart’s core they were what the pseudo-philosophers of the day would call “superstitious and bigoted;” as much so as the priests who walked calmly forward to meet their assassins with their breviaries in their hands, and the names of Jesus and Mary on their lips. These men, so intrepid, so cool and yet so daring, so generous and so noble-minded, recited their rosaries on their way to the battlefield, and threw themselves on their knees before the image of the Crucified as they charged down upon the bayonets of the foe. Abstract from the Vendean his faith, and he is no longer the same man: that faith not only inspired his actions, it made him what he was.
As to the conduct and results of the war, it is unnecessary to anticipate here remarks that are made in the course of the narrative. In spite of some signal and palpable blunders, no candid mind, which considers the disadvantages under which they labored, will withhold from both generals and subordinates a very high need of praise, not only for their courage, which was undoubted, but for their strategic skill and address. Unhappily, as the contest proceeded, and their first chosen leaders perished in battle, serious evils began to show themselves; fatal jealousies were engendered, dissensions broke out amongst the new commanders, cruelties were perpetrated which rivaled in barbarity the enormities by which they were provoked, unjustifiable severities were adopted even against members of their own body, and the whole morale of the army notably degenerated. Such were but the inevitable consequences of long-continued warfare, and that of so embittered a character, the subversion of all established order, and the absence of any legitimate head. And yet to the end sufficient of the old spirit remained to excite the fears and even to elicit the admiration of their foes. Despite the terrible reverses encountered in the field, and the general disorganization that ensued, their bravery and tenacity had made themselves so effectually felt, that the Vendean insurgents succeeded finally in obtaining an honorable peace. But their greatest glory consisted in the fact, that the Catholic religion never ceased to be openly professed in La Vendée; nor did they consent to lay down their arms until liberty of worship was guaranteed to them, and their priests were recognized and protected by the laws.
Hence the moral effects of this war it is hardly possible to overrate. Not only did it prove that France never could be one and indivisible, never could be at peace with herself until religion was re-established; not only did the valor and enthusiasm which were evoked insure respect to the religion which was able to produce such sensible effects—but the multitudes whom terror had silenced and isolated, the weak, the timid, the despondent, and even they in whom the light of faith was well-nigh quenched, felt the influence of a struggle in which they took no part; it awoke and sustained a secret sympathy in their breasts, and kept them in a state of continual readiness to welcome back, even with acclamations, the religion for which they had neither the courage nor the will to suffer or to contend.What, therefore, may not the France of this day owe to La Vendée! How much of the religious revival which now fills Catholic Christendom with admiration and joy may be due to that contest, so obstinately and so fruitlessly maintained, as some may think, in that little corner of the west? And this in two ways; first, as has been intimated, by keeping the lamps burning in her sanctuaries when elsewhere they had been extinguished and the very altars themselves overthrown, and leaving them as beacons to announce to all failing and faltering hearts that an incarnate God still had worshippers, and Peter loyal subjects, among a rebellious and apostate people; and secondly, and principally, by willingly offering that sacrifice which God never fails to accept and to requite—the sacrifice of the heart’s-blood of the best and purest of her children. That blood, like the blood of the martyr-priests, has never ceased to cry out, not for vengeance, but for mercy and for blessings—the richest and the choicest, because spiritual and heavenly—on the land that poured it out as though it had been the blood of brute cattle that die unpitied in the shambles, or rather of the wild beasts of the forest whom it was a necessity to exterminate. Certain it is that nowhere has religion, so trodden down and all but exterminated as it was, had so speedy and so astonishing a resurrection as in once infidel France, and to what can this be more probably attributed, than to that spirit of immolation which animated alike the priests of the Carmes and the peasants of La Vendée? If the butcheries of Tyburn are one day to yield, as we may piously hope, a fruitful harvest of souls to the Church in our land, what might England long ere this have become, had more of her sons bled and died with the gallant Nortons around the banner of the Five Precious Wounds, and the gibbets stood tenfold thicker between Newcastle and Wetherby?
The strength and reality of the principles for which La Vendée contended, and the ardor with which the flame there enkindled burned on, despite the indifference and secularity which weighed upon the land, may be estimated by the enthusiasm excited in the breasts of the young students of Vannes, and the bravery and fortitude displayed in their defense. Singular phenomenon that some hundreds of boys should turn soldiers in sober earnest, all because the great emperor bullied the Pope, changed their catechism, and gave them Charlemagne for their patron instead of St. Catharine and St. Nicholas; but no ambiguous omen of bright and glorious days to France, that, in what with many would have passed for a mere piece of state-policy, with which they had no concern, these schoolboys and seminarians should feel to the quick that a great principle was at stake, for which they were bound, as with all their hearts they were willing, to fight and to die.
The scholars of Vannes—as many as survive—have now passed the prime of their life; but during the forty years that have gone by, what services have they not rendered, by their labors, their writings, their courageous examples, to the Church, to literature, to society! And whence had they derived their first inspirations, but from those annals of the old Chouannerie which as boys it was their delight to collect, and from those bearded men, with their bronzed countenances and thoughtful brows, who had returned to renew the studies of their youth, only that they might complete, as ministers of peace at the altar, the warfare they had begun on the battlefield? True patriots, whose patria is not of this world; though accidentally and from circumstances associated with monarchy, their Catholicism was subservient to no form of government, albeit respectful and friendly to all; upholding obedience to constituted authority as the ordinance of God, it looked, above all things, to maintaining intact the liberties of the Church and the independence of the spiritual power. To such men and such principles France owes everything; and on France at this moment hang the destinies of the world.
The story of La Vendée and of the Little Chouannerie is gathered from the various extant sources; but in the case of the latter, which is drawn principally from M. Rio’s own narrative, an endeavor has been made to assign to that gentleman the position which rightfully belonged to him, but which his modesty and humility prevented him from assuming.
The reader will find a most striking description of the old “Chouans” and the “Little Vendée” among M. Sonvestre’s Tales and Sketches of Brittany and La Vendée, published in Constable’s Miscellany of Foreign Literature. The incidents, which were taken by the author from the mouth of one of Jean’s brothers-in-arms, are related in a style as graphic and touching, as it is simple and unadorned.
The conflict in La Vendée had its counterpart in Flanders. M. Hendrik Conscience, in his spirited historical tale of the era, has described with much dramatic power the sufferings of the people, and their determined, but disastrous, and, as it turned out, fatally ineffectual resistance to the revolutionary forces, and (in the worst sense) revolutionary principles of France. The work in question has just been translated into English. Although fictitious in form, it adheres faithfully to the facts of history: the notes to the original Flemish show, by extracts from the accounts, proclamations, etc., which appeared in the Antwerp newspapers of the time, that the gatherings, skirmishes, and principal events therein depicted, down to the great battle with which the story closes, actually occurred as represented. A few resolute and courageous men, while the masses of their countrymen “looked on in dumb terror” at the destruction of all they held dear and venerable, kept up a continual harassing warfare against the invader, until they were either individually taken and shot, or mowed down in hundreds by the musketry, or hewed and hacked to pieces by the merciless sabers of the French soldiery. But though crushed, and to all outward seeming annihilated, that insurrection against the most intolerable of all despotisms, the tyranny of an impious liberalism, and in defense of altar and hearth, faith and liberty, had as in La Vendée, a most powerful moral effect at the time, and exerted doubtless, both in the natural and in the supernatural order, influences the operation of which we have still before our eyes. For we may well consider the present prosperous condition of Belgium, the freedom, both political and religious, which she enjoys, and the simple piety of her people, to be at once the result and the reward of the spirit displayed, and the sufferings endured, in that truly patriotic struggle.
A New Statement of an Old Ideal
Obliterating the notion that there are only two choices - right and left - for perspectives on social and economic life, this apologia by twelve Catholics for a socio-economic life based upon the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church offers an outline of independent operator-owners, regulative guilds, and economic science subortinated to morality and the genuine needs of mankind.
Father Karl Stehlin, F. S. S. P. X.
Father Stehlin quotes extensively from Saint John Eudes, Cornelius a'Lapidé, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, and Lucia of Fatima. This treatise is one of the most succinct and clear explanations of the complete economy of salvation ever penned. The full role of the Immaculata is explored and refined, and its relevance to the world in our time is detailed in an easy to read and understand format. This is militant Catholic theology made simple for this Marian age.
Dr. Godefroid Kurth - with an Introduction by Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. — Small book 64 pages
Is not the strategy of the enemies of God there to teach us a lesson? They want to destroy the faith in the hearts of individuals, it is true, but they direct still more vigorous efforts to the elimination of religion from social institutions. Even one defeat of God in this domain means the weakening, if not the ruin, of the faith in the souls of many”
This short essay on the workingman’s guilds by Professor Kurth was translated into English by Father Denis Fahey, who also wrote the introduction included here. The introduction is longer than the article since it introduces briefly the entire plan for a Christian social order, of which the economic life of the laboring man is only a portion.
When speaking of the economic life of a Christian society the most important principle to consider is that it—the economic life of society— must be subject to the moral law before all else. This subjection must be the first principle of the structure of society’s economic life and not simply something engrafted as an afterthought. Both politics and economics are disciplines subsidiary to the science of ethics. Without this subjection nations become ensnared by the terrible modern errors known as capitalism, communism, or socialism, all of which amount to the same thing, the destruction of the society operated according to their principles, and the end of Christian civilization.
Distributism for Dorothy or The Economy of Salvation and other exhortations to dethrone the great god mammon
Father Lawrence C. Smith - PB 520 pages
Distributism is not an economic means or a method, rather, the term is meant to be a description or a measurement of a state of affairs in human society. The term Distributism was coined in order to facilitate an assessment of whether or not any sort of “economic system” is working according to Catholic morality. If real property and the means of production are widely owned (distributed) among the population and the majority of men are economically independent and are not dependant upon either the state, large “capitalist” corporations, a minimum “wage”, or other men for their daily bread and the means of providing the necessities of life for themselves and their families, then, you have Distributism. In short, Distributism is a way of life based upon the Gospels and the principles of morality. It is so much more than a mere “economic system.”Distributism is not something that is to be enacted by any state or political entity, although they can and must do what is possible to facilitate its accomplishment. Distributism is a way of living and this way of living must be protected and nourished by society and its organs, i.e. families, societies, and governments. The responsibilty therefore lies primarily with families to begin to live the distributive way of life. Distributism is the living out of the Gospel in our daily lives and it will bring in its wake, peace, joy, and true freedom such as can be found only among the subjects of Christ the King.Father Smith explains it all so beautifully in Distributism for Dorothy: The Ecomony of Salvation and other exhortations to dethrone the great god mammon.
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.
Heart of Jesus Families NovenaAccording to the revelations of the Sacred Heart and with prayers composed by Saint Margaret Mary AlacoqueFor the spread of the kingdom of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so as to renew all things in ChristThis novena also serves as the Perpetual Novena of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Families
"I began to pray the "Heart of Jesus Families Novena" as soon as it arrived. Its content and size invites one to pray at first sight. Having prayed the Novena now for three days, I will pray this novena every day as part of my morning prayers. Every Catholic who desires to deepen their faith must have this book. There is much solace on every page and the love of the Sacred Heart issues forth with every word. Thank you for such a beautiful treasure. May the Lord Jesus and our Blessed Mother bless your apostolate of saving souls."~Anthony (one of our first book orders)
Gary Potter - 272 pages Paperback
To go after something is to inquire into it, to be in search of it, to seek the truth about it. In this book, veteran Catholic journalist Gary Potter goes after the truth concerning one of last century’s principal religious controversies, the so-called Boston Heresy Case, and its chief figure, Rev. Leonard Feeney, S.J.
The most famous Jesuit of his day, Fr. Feeney broadcast on the radio, his books were best sellers, his poetry was mandatory reading in parochial schools. Suddenly, newspapers throughout the country were reporting that he was charged with heresy, expelled from the ranks of the Jesuits, and even “excommunicated.” Now his verse was removed from textbooks and Catholics were forbidden by high Church authorities to have any association with him. Scores of young men and women, students of Saint Benedict Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, defied the ban. On Sunday afternoons, they accompanied the famed cleric to Boston Common, the public park where he took to preaching when he was denied a pulpit. Leading magazines labeled him the “hate priest” on account of his preaching.
Brother Francis Memorial Edition The three articles by Fr. Gallitzin included here were originally published in sequence over a period of several years. The first, A Defense of Catholic Principles, was published in response to a public sermon of a protestant clergyman who used the occasion to attack the Church. The second, An Appeal to the Protestant Public, was published after the clergyman responded with a public Vindication of his remarks and accusations, which utterly failed to address Gallitzins Defense. One of the results of this exchange was that a friendship developed between Gallitzin and another protestant minister who eventually converted. It became clear to Gallitzin that any attempt to convince protestants of the truths of the Faith must depend for its effectiveness, not upon appeals to authority or tradition, but rather to scripture. This he did in hisLetter to a Protestant Friend on the Holy Scriptures. All three articles are masterful, manly, and effective. Many protestants converted. We are pleased to make these writings available to a new generation of Catholic evangelists. 290 pages - PB $15.95
In this age of charismatic emotionalism and aberrant neo-Montanistic Pentecostalism, a definitive and scripturally based book on true devotion to the Holy Spirit is as welcome as it is provident. This production is actually a slightly abridged version of Archbishop Luis Martinez’ original work, El Espiritu Santo, which in English translation was re-titled, The Sanctifier. Written over a half-century ago, the Mexican prelate no doubt anticipated the danger that a Church, founded upon the Trinitarian revelation of Jesus Christ, would face if she neglected to adequately educate her members as to the sanctifying role of the Third Divine Person in the economy of salvation. Such motivating and informative chapters as "Your soul’s delightful Guest," "The Holy Spirit forms Jesus within you," "Let the Holy Spirit possess you," and "Possess the Holy Spirit" are so essential to a divine and Catholic Faith that our faith in the mystery of the Incarnation itself is incomplete without this perfecting grace and illumination. Moreover, the seven gifts of the Paraclete, perfecting our conformation in Christ, are not arbitrary — Martinez stresses — they are necessary for salvation. So, too, are the twelve fruits of the Holy Ghost necessary, which the author expounds upon in the final chapters. Consolator Optime, O very best Consoler, may this inspired treatise of your admirable Archbishop reach many thousands of thirsty souls!
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:
Rev. T. J. O'Kane - Small book - 88 pages
This Catechism of 84 pages was originally published by the Catholic Social Guild of Oxford England in 1936. It contains all of the essential teachings of the Church on man’s nature, purpose, and destiny, as well as his fall and redemption. There are sections on the divine and natural law, the right to life—one’s own and that of others— as well as extensive Q&A sections on education, marriage, private property, wages, the family home, the state and Catholics in politics. This is a great teaching tool and very much needed today in America.
A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal - HB 640 pages
The author of several liturgically-related works, J.B. OConnell 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. OConnells 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.
Richard Clarke, S.J. - Small booklet - 32 pages
Patience, although neither the highest, nor the most fundamental virtue (those would be charity and humility) is first of all a first-fruit of humility and a bridge to charity. It is a first-fruit because those who are possessed of humility know the fragility of their own nature and accomplishments and how they are totally dependant upon God’s grace in all things and are therefore patient with their own failings. This leads to their learning how to be patient with other things, the so-called physical sufferings of life, and patient with others, since they know how to suffer patiently within themselves and for God, thus acting as a bridge to the fruitful practice of charity, the highest of virtues.Patience and suffering go hand in hand, and since the most important work that we do in this life is to suffer well and in offering that suffering in union with the redemptive sufferings of Our Blessed Lord and his most Sorrowful Mother, patience—that which makes suffering rational, bearable, and fruitful—is one of the most important virtues to acquire and practice magnanimously.Father Clarke makes this, and so much else clear and understandable in this short but potent explication of patience.
By M. L. Cozens - 118 pages - EBOOK - PDF
This most concise and helpful reference work was first published in 1928. It was reissued in 1945 by Sheed & Ward publishers and is presented by Loreto again in 2016 because we feel it will be very useful for students, seminarians, priests, and Catholic laity of all walks of life, since so many of these heresies are once again rearing their ugly heads in these most troubling times. Therefore, we must be not only quick to recognize their manifestation in the era in which we live, but we should also be capable of the refutation of these death-dealing errors for those who would look to faithful Catholics for guidance. Saint Paul in 1Cor. 11:19 says “For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved, may be made manifest among you.” Now at first impression that might seem an odd thing for Saint Paul to say— that there must be heresies? Yet the verse gives its own explanation. It is so that truth (those approved teachers and believers) may be made clear among you. It is often the case that truth or light stands out more clearly when contrasted against untruth or darkness and that is one very fine reason why those seeking the truth in more depth of understanding may wish to study heresies. It is so that truth may be made more manifest!That is exactly what the author does in this book. Not only does heexplain and state clearly the errors but he does three other things that are most helpful to the reader: 1) he describes how and why the heresy arose, and 2) he shows the true teachings in opposition, and 3) he draws out the logical conclusions and implications for thought and behavior that flow from the acceptance of the error. This is a great teaching tool for high schools, colleges and seminaries, or adult study groups.Saint Anthony - Hammer of Heretics - Pray for us!
Ascetic and pastoral reflections for young priests, that they may become apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Translated from German by Michael J. Miller - PB 188 pages
Based on the 6th French edition (Paris: Téqui) This book was composed shortly after World War I by an Italian priest who wished to remain anonymous.
“Manete in dilectione mea,” Our Blessed Lord tells us all, but especially is this counsel given to his chosen vessels, those men of his royal priesthood, so that their priesthood may be one of power and fruitfulness beyond measure. Abide in his love and all power will be given unto you, O Royal sons of David!This jewel, this precious book, speaks to the heart of every zealous, but sometimes timid, priest who desires with desire to do the will of God and to glorify him in the infirmity of their humanness. You know who you are my brothers in Christ! You have been called to the most sublime office on earth. You feel unequal to the task. You yearn to do great things for God. You thirst to help souls! Rejoice! Here is the recipe for all you desire. Recommended by Pope Pius XI and penned by an anonymous Italian priest who had just passed through the fire and agony of World War I—the Great War—this book shall be a light unto your path.
Small booklet - 60 pages
The Dogma of Faith Defended:
Baptism of Desire:
This ground-breaking article by Brian Kelly lays to rest any thought that the Baptism of Desire theory deserves any description such as; "It is practically unanimously defended by the Fathers and Doctors." In fact, as you study this second article you will find that the primary proponent, and perhaps the originator of the theory, Saint Augustine, later in his life abandoned any belief in it. This proves to be problematic for the few later Doctors such as Sts. Bernard, Aquinas, and Liguori who all traced their acceptance of the theory to Augustine.
Professor Romano Amerio - PB 816 pagesRomano Amerio, Italian by nationality, was a man of broad and classical erudition, who taught philosophy, Greek and Latin at the Academy of Lugano, Switzerland from 1928 to 1970. He was an episcopal consultant to the Central Preparatory Commission of Vatican II and was a peritus for the Bishop of Lugano during the Council. A true insider to the Council’s activities. He was a friend of the late Cardinal Siri of Genoa and died in 1997. This is the best book written so far on the philosopy and theology of the Council.334 topic-sections in forty-two chapters covering, among many other things:The Crisis, The Crises of the Church, The Council: Before, During and After, Paul VI, The Priesthood, Youth, Women, Somatolatry, Penance, Religious and Social Movements, Schools, Catechetics, Religious Orders, Pyrrhonism, Dialogue, Mobilism, Faith, Hope and Charity, Natural Law, Divorce, Sodomy, Abortion, Suicide, Death Penalty, War, Situation Ethics, Globality and Graduality, The Autonomy of Values, Work, Technology and Contemplation, Civilization and Secondary Christianity, Democracy in the Church, Theology and Philosophy, Ecumenism, Baptism, Eucharist, Liturgical Reform, Matrimony, Theodicy, Eschatology, and MUCH MUCH more!