By William Cobbett - 370 pages PB
William Cobbett stunned the Protestant world of 19th century England with his publication in 1824 of his groundbreaking work The History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland.Not only was the book deeply researched and footnoted, but it presented a historical picture that was profoundly contrary to the “official history” that had been drummed into the minds of countless Englishmen for three hundred years. In addition, the fact that it was so well written, so sympathetic to the Catholic cause, AND written by a fellow Church of England Protestant made this book an overnight bestseller running into many editions and reprints over the next thirty years.Theological issues are not treated directly, but the illogic of the Protestant positions is clearly seen in the practical results of the break from Rome. For those who wish an objective history of this critical period of English and American history there is no better book available. The power of Cobbett’s prose and his convincing logic and sardonic wit make for a delightful reading experience as well.
This is one of the best books ever written on the EFFECTS in both the Church and in society of the English Reformation.
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.Without sound philosophy to set the limits of scientific inquiry and regulate its modern tendency for cosmological usurpation, science degenerates into scientism. God is the Creator of the universe. All things are ordered to His ends. All matter is at the ultimate service of mans supernatural vocation. This course was given in the spirit of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Doctor of Creation. Nature and the fidelity thereof, matter, space and time, substance and accidents, wisdom and the laws of nature, unicity and the four causes, and finally, the culminating chapter on the final cause, or teleology (purpose) of things, make a captivating study for every man and woman who wishes to be childlike and repose in the contemplative embrace of wonder.
Saint John Eudes - PB - 290 pages
Never, in the history of the Church, had any tribute to Our Lady's childhood been composed which so marvelously applies so many texts of holy scripture with sound Catholic doctrine and the wisdom of her confessors until Saint John Eudes composed this book. Where do we begin if we are ever to become like the little children God wishes us to emulate? Why not begin by contemplating the immaculate life of the precious and most humble maiden of Nazareth.
Saint John Eudes wrote these profoundly affective pages not only for the educators of young Christian women in his own time but for all time. What better example for the education of Catholic maidens than the most admirable early life of Mary, the “glory of Israel,” as she advanced in wisdom and grace in the days of her preparation for her divine maternity. Father Eudes wishes the faithful to behold the “New Eve,” conceived of such holy parents, Joachim and Anne, and reflect upon her perfect charity, her manifold virtues and her uninterrupted contemplation from the moment of her Immaculate Conception to her consuming “fiat,” which truly compelled, in a most wonderful way, the Son of God to come and “rest within her tabernacle.” This study of the holy childhood of the Mother of God is exactly what the title says. To be sure, other works, based upon private revelation, treat of the Blessed Virgin’s early years, but there is no book that specifically treats of the holiness itself of the wondrous child, accumulating its mass of material from the inspired revelation of the sacred scriptures, the liturgical use of the same (as applied by the Church to Our Lady’s feastdays) and the common testimony of the our Catholic fathers and doctors. Saint John Eudes was born at Ri, a country parish near Caen, Normandy, in 1601. Endowed with extraordinary talents and filled with burning zeal for the salvation of souls, he devoted 50 years of life, until his death in 1680, to the preaching of missions and to the organization of ecclesiastical seminaries. He founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, generally known as the Eudist Fathers, for missionary and seminary work; the Order of Our Lady of Charity with its two observances of the Refuge and the of the Good Shepherd; the Society of the Most Admirable Heart for lay persons aspiring to perfection in the world; and lastly, Confraternities of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the propagation among the faithful of the devotion, of which he was the first apostle. He wrote the first Mass and Office for the special feast in honor of the Sacred Heart and of the Holy Heart of Mary, which he established thirty years before the revelations of Saint Margaret Mary.
PB - 236 pages
The Redemptorist Father Michael Müller had a secret weapon which won him more converts than did his indefatigable preaching and writing: the holy rosary. This book was written as a thank you to the Mother of God for graces received. Not only does Father Müller explain what the rosary is, but what the rosary should be. After reading this devoted author, we assure you, you will never again say the rosary mechanically, or wear the scapular apathetically.The Holy Rosary is a gift from the Blessed Virgin Mary, as are her powerful scapulars. This is the theme Father Michael Müller stresses throughout these two hundred and seventy-five pages of grateful acclamation to a devotion upon which the salvation of great multitudes of sinners rests. The heartfelt recitation of the Rosary and meditation on the mysteries thereof is the best “thank you” we can give to Mary for her unfathomable mercies. The scholarly author expounds upon every aspect of this devotion now over eight hundred years old. He relates it wonderfully to the New Testament as well as to the Old. Every single page of this pious work is replete with holy quotations or exciting analogies, inspiring anecdotes or miracles. And, too, there are enough actual accounts of graces spurned, or false, even superstitious devotion, to make us fearful. This is a book that the faithful will love so much that they will feel compelled to share their gift with wayward friends and relatives.
25 Essays Selected by John Edward Dineen - PB 320 pages
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc, 1870-1953, was born in France of a French Catholic Father and an English protestant mother. His mother later converted under the influence of Cardinal Manning, a good friend and mentor of Hilaire. His only sister, Marie (Belloc) Lowndes, was a fairly well-known writer like her brother Hilaire. Belloc’s father died young, leaving his widow in dire financial straits with two young children to support. They moved to England, and they settled in Slindon, West Sussex, where Belloc lived for most of his life.Belloc was a prolific writer and seldom was employed in any other remunerative endeavor during his life, hence the constancy of his precarious financial condition. However he was rarely, if ever, destitute, since he was one of the most widely read writers of the 20th century in both England and America. On this side of the Atlantic he is best known for his political, economic, and historical works. As an essayist he is less well-known, but some think that it is as a poet and essayist that his name will be longest remembered.These twenty-five exquisite essays, selected by John Edward Dineen, were first published as a collection in 1936 and are here offered to a new generation of American readers to savor.