By Rev. Jerome DalGal - PB 188 pages
Pope Leo XIV Address to Participants in the Meeting of Studies on Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val
In the early part of the 21st century, because of the incessant and often strident media attention to the doings and mis-doings of many highly placed Churchmen, it is good to reflect upon how much good can be accomplished for the greater glory of God and the advancement of religion by even one man of deep holiness who has been placed in a position of great authority and responsibility in the Church. Such a man was Cardinal Merry del Val. He was born into an aristocratic family of Irish, English, and Spanish parentage (oh happy combination!) in the city of London. His parents were the Marquis Raphael Merry del Val and the Countess Josephine de Zuletta. Among the family of his forebears was a martyr of the Church, St. Domenguito del Val, a child of barely seven who was crucified to a wall in the Cathedral of Saragossa in 1250 by the enemies of Christianity. He is of course best known as the architect and executor of St. Pius X’s war against Modernism, for which great service to God he acquired numerous enemies in his lifetime, and for which we can be sure that he gained many friends in Heaven. But his life was not one of merely temporal greatness. He was a profoundly humble and virtuous man as well.Saint Pius X had as his Secretary of State a man who was eminently worth of his holy pontificate—Cardinal Merry del Val. In 1931, a year after the death of this illustrious Cardinal, the famous French scholar René Bazin made he following observation: “Judgment was passed in many different ways on Cardinal Merry del Val while he was living. This was due largely to the part he played in the political and religious affairs of his time. But now that he is dead people are getting to know him better, for with death has come the unveiling of the well-guarded secret of his extraordinary spiritual life.”
The Papal Plan for Restoration: Restoring the Catholic Priesthood
A Study Guide for Catholic Laity, Seminarans, and Clergy - By Robert Wolfe
Large 8.5" by 11" format 200 pages - paperbackAs the title suggests, this book describes a plan taken from key papal encyclicals that engendered and safeguarded the vitality of the Catholic Faith in the prospering pre-Conciliar Church. That plan is still being followed by small traditional Catholic communities around the world today, producing that same vitality in their members. The families in these communities, particularly the heroic mothers in these large families, produce many priestly vocations. Shepherded by the traditional orders that serve them, these families seed the restoration of the Catholic priesthood.In the Book:
• A wake-up call for Catholics.• Modern popes quoted acknowledging the crisis in the Church.• Extensive statistics on problems currently facing the Church.• A thorough study guide on the problems and their proposed solutions.• More than twenty papal encyclicals quoted.• Six key encyclicals studied in detail.• Six elements of the Plan developed from the encyclicals.• Ten cause-and-effect relationships developed, statistically linking the crisis with the implementation of changes subsequent to Vatican II.• Statistical evidence that the current crisis could have been prevented had the bishops at Vatican II not ignored the quoted warnings of pre-Conciliar popes.• A logical, defendable, statistical estimate of the abundance of Catholic priests the Church would have today if pre-Conciliar Church growth had continued.• Statistical evidence that the current shortage of priests has a proven remedy not being seriously considered by our bishops.• Statistics on vital Catholic communities successfully implementing the Plan.• New seminaries ordaining many traditional priests for the Extraordinary Form Mass.• Integral to the study guide is an extensive survey questionnaire on the Faith, the Mass and The Plan.
Fr. Clement Raab, OFM - 136 pages PB
The Church is essetiay coservative. Her conservatism is not merely a measure of prudence and good judgment; it is an intrinsic necessity. No matter what she may consider, decide, or undertake, she always harks back to the beginning. After twenty [one] centuries the “pillar and ground of truth” has not moved a whit from her primitive position, while all other human foundations have either crumbled to dust or have been driven headlong by the maelstrom of this fast changing world. To these, the ideal looms hazily in the distant future; to the Church, it stands firmly in the distant past. The closer she aligns herself with Christ, the surer she is of ultimate success and victory, being “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph. II:20). The present volume is designed to serve as a ready survey and reference book on the history of the councils. It is to serve as an aid, primarily to the cleric or lay student who has neither the time nor the opportunity to delve into, and analyze sources and controversies, but who is satisfied to learn the outstanding facts and findings concerning which Church historians generally agree. This brief and positive sketch of the twenty great events in history, so vibrant with life and so far-reaching in their consequences, will afford him, we trust, a very definite and appreciable knowledge of the nature and history of Holy Mother Church. Originally published in 1937, this re-issue of Fr. Raab’s classic work on the history of the Ecumenical Councils did not include anything about Vatican II, because its convocation still lay in the future. We have not added to his work since so much has already been written of the newest Council elsewhere.
Mario Peterson & Tom Concert — 96 Pages - PB
Searching for Fine Pearls is an easy-to-read summary of the monumental Catholic classic The Mystical City of God that was written by Venerable Mary of Agreda, a 17th century Franciscan abbess, who had mystical visions and revelations concerning many intimate details of the life of our Lord and his Blessed Mother not revealed in the Gospels. These revelations were described and published in four volumes, in Spanish, during her lifetime.For those readers who might be daunted by the thought of reading the full work of over 2,000 pages, this short summary may encourage them to make the effort. Many saints, popes, religious, and other holy men and women, as well as humble laymen from all walks of life have found great grace and consolation in the pages of The Mystical City of God.This work has received the approbation of seven popes and has been read and meditated upon by millions in the four centuries since its original publication. An English translation was produced in 1912 and has enjoyed a wide readership.Mary of Agreda’s incorrupt remains and the well documented facts of her evangelizing bilocations to the New World attest to her holy life. Fray Junipero Serra, the founder of so many of the famous California missions, and a brilliant scholar and theologian, was profoundly influenced by her inspirational writings. He always carried with him three books; his breviary, a copy of the bible, and The Mystical City of God.
Dona Emilio Pardo Bazan
Much more than simply “another life of Saint Francis,” this book will dazzle and enthrall, and educate all readers, from the most erudite to those who have only rudimentary knowledge of (or interest in) the life of one of the greatest and most exceptional saints. Aptly titled, this author provides the reader with a deeply spiritual and radically historical framework in which she illumines the uniqueness of this soul and the depths of the effects upon the world produced by the sanctity of this one human being who cooperated so magnanimously with the ever present grace of God.
Benedict Sisters of Perpetual Adoration - 128 pages PB 5.5" x 8.5"
A devotional explanation of the prayers, ceremonies, and mysteries of the Holy Sacrifice, and of the benefits to be derived from devout participation.
Pope Saint Pius X, almost a century ago, encouraged the faithful to “Pray the Mass” as a part of his efforts at liturgical renewal. After nearly a half-century of liturgical “renewal” which largely consisted of “experiments” with the Holy Sacrifice that went beyond the wildest imaginings of that holy pope, our current pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, has issued his Motu Proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum, in which he urges the Bishops to encourage and aid the celebration of the liturgy of the Roman rite in the ancient form which had been in universal use until 1962.
For those faithful who have remained attached to the liturgy that has been essentially unchanged for over 1400 years, or for those just discovering the immemorial rite, this book will provide a thorough and deeply reflective explanation of all of the rubrics, prayers, and actions of the Holy Sacrifice. This book, that was first published in the 1930s by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration, is written in a style suitable to laymen of all levels of education. It is a thorough presentation and is based upon sound Catholic theological and liturgical principles.
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.
Abbot Dom Columba Marmion - PB– 280 Pages
Abbot Dom Columba Marmion was born in Dublin, in 1858, the year that our Lady appeared at Lourdes, and he died on January 30, 1923. That is the Feastday of Saint Martina, and it was also on January 30th that two other great founders died. It was January 30, 1875 that the Abbot of Solesmes, Dom Prosper Gueranger, passed to his eternal reward, and also, on the same day in 1978, that Father Leonard Feeney, who had a great devotion to both Abbots, departed from this vale of tears.The substance of this book was gathered together by Dom Raymond Thibaut and originally published in 1941. The material was taken from the three great spiritual classics of Dom Marmion: Christ, the Life of the Soul, Christ in his Mysteries, and Christ, the Ideal of the Monk, all published shortly before his death.Rarely will one find such great spiritual treasures as are contained herein, except from other masters of the spiritual life, such as St. Francis deSales or Saint John of the Cross.
Fr. F. J. Remler, CM - PB 180 pages - 5" x 7"
Learn how to resist temptation now — before it’s too late!
You’ve no doubt taken steps to ensure your safety — and your family’s — from various kinds of worldly calamities. But if you haven’t made sure you’re properly on guard against temptations, you’re setting yourself up for a spiritual disaster of immense proportions. No matter how devoted to Christ you are, temptations are going to come to you. That’s why How to Resist Temptation is essential reading for every serious Catholic.
The author, Fr. Francis J. Remler, C.M., helps you prepare yourself so that, when temptations begin to assail your soul, you’ll be ready. Learn from Father’s experience Fr. Remler gives you the benefit of his expertise as a confessor and shepherd of souls, as he shows you how to identify and guard against common misunderstandings of what temptation really is and what it is not — misunderstandings that can paralyze your spiritual growth. He details ways you can recognize the elements of temptation — and be on guard against often-unrecognized causes of individual temptations. He reveals how you can keep the memories of your past sins from troubling and tempting you now, and clarifies why God allows temptation to exist in the first place. He even explores the role of the demonic in day-to-day temptations — with firm faith in God’s power.
A marvelously encouraging and optimistic book, How to Resist Temptation even contains useful directions on how you can — believe it or not — actually benefit from temptation, and how you can learn from others’ examples as you fight against temptation. So the next time the siren song of temptation starts to sound in your ears, don’t try to tough out the struggle alone — call on God’s ever-plentiful grace, and go to battle against sin armed with the wisdom of How to Resist Temptation!
Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. - Small book - 100 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.” — Fr. Denis Fahey Fr. Fahey’s life work was the promotion of the Catholic social doctrine of Christ the King. He firmly believed that “the world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it.” He always defended the Mystical Body of Christ without compromise. He called the social doctrine “Our Lord’s Program for Order.” This is the second book Father Fahey wrote exposing Communism as it was actually practised in Russia. The first book, The Rulers of Russia was published ten years earlier and was widely appreciated for its exposure of the truth about those who brought about the ‘birth’ of Communism. “See to it, Venerable Brethren, that the faithful do not allow themselves to be deceived! Communism is intrinsically wrong.” — Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris, on Atheistic Communism
Fr. John Kane
How to make your Confessions less difficult and more fruitful
If you still drag your feet about going to Confession, here's the help you need to enable you to overcome your reluctance and open your soul to the vast reservoir of mercy found in Confession.
This down-to-earth, practical guide shows you how to transform your confessions from embarrassing moments in a dark room into profound experiences of God's love. The author, Fr. John Kane, provides solid guidelines for how you can (and must) make the most effective possible use of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Even better, he shows you how to carry the grace of Confession into your daily life, so that you'll start winning — consistently — your battles against sin.
Get Fr. Kane's help to confess well and avoid sin:
The major works of compadres G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc have been widely circulated in the past few decades among an expanding circle of Catholics seeking a more universal knowledge of our Christian perspective, history and faith. At this time Loreto Publications cannot carry these treasures of wisdom, which are voluminous (Belloc wrote about 150 books), however a good supply can be obtained from other Catholic publishers. What we have chosen to do is periodically promote certain of their productions which we feel are particularly timely and potentially formative. Outline of Sanity and The Free Press preeminently qualify as fare for any soldier whose enlistment in the Church militant is more than perfunctory. The Free Press is a new release from IHS Press. It was written in 1917, the same year Our Lady came to Fatima. The media’s manipulation of thought among the masses, which Belloc warned about back then, by the financial power elite (motivated by capitalist interest rather than truth) has grown exponentially over these last four score industrial and technological decades. Yet this eighty page essay is not a wailing sheet of moral nor intellectual despair. The mighty author was too much of a Catholic, too much a man of hope, to see nothing but gloom and darkness on the literary horizon.
Also Available as Ebook
Baron Théodore deBussieries - 80 pages
Alphonse Ratisbonne was a French Jew who was miraculously converted while at Rome in the Church of San Andrea della Frate. His brother had previously converted and become a Catholic priest, but Alphonse hated the Catholic church and vowed never to enter. This is the story of the power of prayer and a miracle of grace. It is a powerful, delightful, and consoling story that every apostolic Catholic should know.
Louis Veuillot - PB 146 pages
Louis Veuillot’s mid-19th century condemnation of liberal Catholicism throws a flood of light on the crisis of Church and world following on the Second Vatican Council. Catholics who read “The Liberal Illusion” will grasp, once and for all, that the crisis is primarily due not to Vatican II, but to a centuries-long struggle between Revelation and Revolution. Vatican II was merely a decisive moment in that struggle when power within the Church passed from the servants of Revelation to the deluded victims of the Revolution.
Fr. John Hugo - 422 Pages - PB
Fr. Onesimus Lacouture was a Jesuit who had the great gift of being a masterful director of souls. Being a Jesuit formed in the old mold of true Ignatian spirituality and deeply affected by the so-called “French School” of Cardinal Berulle, St. John Eudes, and St. Louis Marie de Montfort, his retreats, given to over 6000 American and Canadian priests, produced extraordinary results. His most well known disciple and good friend, Fr. Hugo, has produced for posterity, the Notes from those Ignatian retreats as given by Fr. Lacouture and subsequently by himself and many other priests.A Sign of Contradiction is Fr. Hugo’s apologia for the work of Fr. Lacouture and the “spiritual movement” that grew spontaneously from the ardent, enlightened, and effective preaching of the retreats. He describes the movement, its opponents and its supporters as well as the revelatory doctrines so convincingly presented by Fr. Lacouture. This book is spiritually motivating, historically informative, and powerfully illuminating in regard to the condition of the Church and the faithful in North America during the mid-twentieth century. The Gospel of Peace, and Applied Christianity (the retreat notes of Fr. Lacouture) by Fr. Hugo are also available from Loreto Publications.
Right Rev. Francis Aidan Gasquet, Abbot-General of the English Benedictines
In these days when there is a strong movement afoot without the fold to restore the unity of the Christian Faith, we can indulge the hope that the four lectures of the distinguished abbot will prove fruitful. They are on subjects so vital to unity, i.e., the supremacy of the pope, the sacrifice of the Mass, the eternal priesthood, the universal Church. We pray that these sermons will attract the attention of many outside the Church, and make them meditate on the bitterness of breaking from their “Father's House”. May God's holy grace prove stronger than prejudice, as it has so often in the past, and may it soften the hearts which have been hardened by cruel legislation rather than by wilful disobedience.
Written by A Passionist - PB - 400 Pages
Contemplating the Holy Face on the shroud of Turin, one sees a deep wound on the forehead of our Savior where one of the many thorns of His cruel crown punctured that very spot above His eyes where His members in the Church are marked who enter rightly into the penitential season of Lent. From the many figures of that spiny diadem in the Old Testament to the reality of the instrument of torture beaten into the head of the Son of God amidst insults and spittle, this terrible book, unforgettable in its endearing pathos, will surely help us to understand something of the true ugliness of sin and the awesome price the Just One had to pay in conquering it.
Bishop Jacques Bossuet
This history of the true religion, written some three hundred years ago by the “Eagle of Meaux,” Bishop Jaques Bossuet, is a study of the Old and New Testaments in the light of the continuity of God’s interactive and faithful presence in the salvific affairs of His people. There is no book which better explains the meaning behind the types and figures of so many seemingly enigmatic commandments given to the patriarchs and prophets of old by the Lord God. No book better illustrates God’s particular and permissive providence in the rise and fall of nations and empires demonstrating, too, how those powers willfully estranged from the true religion cannot act outside of the Creator’s universal economy of salvation. Bossuet’s genius for teaching and lucidity of style merge beautifully in this unequaled masterpiece of pious erudition. As you read this book you will understand how it is that nothing of the ancient covenant was left unfulfilled in Christ and/or in the Church, His extended body. This is scriptural theology for clergy, religious, or laity. It is the complete story, this side of heaven, of man’s fall and his consequent restoration in Christ through the Church. Another chapter of this continuity of religion yet remains to be completed — an everlasting one, the Author of which is the Word of God — we pray we may all read the final chapter in heaven.
This is the full set of three volumes of Fr. Hughes history described elsewhere on this website.
Volume One: The Church and the World in which the Church was FoundedVolume Two: The Church and the World the Church CreatedVolume Three: The Church and the Revolt against it of the Church-created World
Hilaire Belloc - PB 130 Pages
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc, 1870-1853, 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 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. In 1906, he married Elodi Hogan, from Napa California. Their brief. but ecstatically happy. marriage ended with her death in 1914, after she had borne him five children. He never remarried, and he wore mourning for the rest of his life. This beautiful and precisely chiseled, almost fairy-taleish narrative, subtitled A Tale of Affection in Youth and Age, must certainly have been a poignant reminder that he himself had, by the inscrutable providence of God, been granted that deep measure of affection in his youth that is so idealistically pictured in Belinda, but denied that affection in old age that is equally well-depicted. This brief novel of human love and affection idealized is a delightful and cheerful reminder that indeed, life can have its moments of beauty, if even only as a foretaste of the delights promised to those blessed with the grace of perseverance unto salvation.
Chesterton's visit to Ireland in early 1918 resulted in this unique, readable, and thought-provoking book on Ireland and the Irish situation of the early 20th-century from one of England's greatest essayists. In Irish Impressions, familiar Chestertonian themes — distribution of property, industrialism, the Faith and Christian society — are discussed in the context of Ireland's struggle for national and cultural independence from the Britain of the early 1900s. Not mincing words, Chesterton points out both the strengths and weakness of the English and Irish positions during that crucial period, always with wit and wisdom — and an appreciation of religious, cultural, and economic essentials, which is characteristic of Chesterton's work. Originally published: London, 1919.
IHS Press is extremely pleased to be able to offer with this newly edited, extensively footnoted edition, a new Preface by Dr. Dermot Quinn.
Dr. Quinn is an Associate Professor of History at Seton Hall University, and an intimate friend and colleague of Fr. Ian Boyd of Seton Hall's Chesterton Institute. Quinn received his doctorate from Oxford University, is author of Patronage and Piety: The Politics of English Roman Catholicis, 1850 — 1900 (Stanford University Press, 1993), and is a frequent contributor to The Chesterton Review.
Hilaire Belloc - PB 302 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. Belloc is easily one of the most well-known Catholic writers and apologists of the 20th century. This book, published in 1923 after Belloc spent some time in the United States (his wife was American), is a bit reminiscent of Alexis deTocqueville’s work Democracy in America, published in 1835 after his own extensive travels in America. What is surprisingly different in their conclusions about the American political spirit is that Belloc saw more of a monarchical principle at work here than deToqueville did. The Contrast represents Belloc’s mature considerations of the important and critical contrast between England (and by extension, the rest of Western Europe which Belloc considers to be much closer in spirit and temper to England than to America) and that new, and to him foreign, thing that he encountered in his time here. The different topical areas that he discusses and contrasts are the physical (geographical), social, military, religious, literary, and linguistic. This is a fascinating analysis from the pen of a great Catholic man who was also a deeply provocative political thinker.
Jean OussetAction is a definitive manual on Catholic Action by one of the 20th Century's great lay Catholic scholars of Catholic Action. This book discusses not only the theory of Catholic Social Action but examines it from practical standpoints: why should Catholic laymen feel called to action for the spread of Catholic social principles in society, how can they make that action effective, and how can they manage the resources available for action. Anyone who has ever felt that something must be done to save society from chaos and collapse should consider this book a must read.
1 Dozen Mass Cards with beautiful cover art
These beautiful Mass cards are packaged with one each of the 12 different artwork covers.
Inside the cards each have a blank left side for writing a personal message or note and on the right side appears the following message:
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offerred for the intention of: (space to write intention of Mass)
By Rev.: (space to write name of priets offerring the Mass)
At the requesst of: (space to write name of person requesting Mass)
From the ashes of Revolutionary France: A manual to help you hold fast to Faith in a barbaric, faithless world
A closer look at its contents reveal that it’s a comprehensive, uncompromising handbook to help Catholics better deal with the obligations and particular problems of the spiritual life. As such, it teaches Catholics what they need to know and to do when all the customary comforts and supports of life have been swept away. It’s a call to true believers to do what the angel tells the Church of Sardis in the Book of Revelation: “Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God.”
Indeed, Fr. Grou reminds you right at the beginning of this book that salvation is only won at a great price. He wrote this book for Catholics who were willing to pay that price themselves. His focus is firmly on Christ, whom he maintains should be the model for your own spiritual life -- not just in theory, but in the hard fact of sacrifice and love so great as to pierce your very heart.
Intent on motivating you to strive to become more fully devoted to our Lord, Fr. Grou stresses the absolute necessity of obedience, humility, and other essential virtues. With the practical emphasis of an experienced pastor, hardened by trials, he marks out here a clear path to true Christian transformation.
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.
George O'Brien In the Department of Human Affairs concerned with the economic activities of man, the old universally accepted code of justice fell into disregard, if not into ridicule; and its place was taken, on the one hand, by the theory that the only safe guide for man to follow in these affairs is his own personal interest, and, on the other hand, and partly as a reaction against this repulsive theory, that the individual has no right of initiative at all, but that his whole being must be subordinated to the welfare of the community. Both these theories would have been equally disapproved by the old, despised ethical authority of the Middle Ages, under whose régime they could not have flourished or developed; but, at the time when they arose, that old authority was no longer universally accepted, and there was no power in Europe strong enough to withstand the march of these two dangerous doctrines. The path to both Capitalism and Socialism had been opened by the Reformation.
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 PublicationsAll 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.
