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.
Dom Prosper Guéranger Abbot of Solesmes Translated from the French Third Edition by Michael J. Miller
When nineteenth century Christendom shifted its allegiance from a divine vertical authority to the horizontal revolutionary ideals of egalitarian democracy and false liberty, Dom Guéranger’s erudite polemical masterpiece contributed more than any other contemporary work to uphold the papal monarchy in all of its divinely ordained prerogatives. This labor of the holy abbot helped to restore in Catholic Europe the spiritual sword, as well as the magisterial cathedra, to the Vicar of Christ the King. And he did so, not by any clever manipulative abuse of language, but simply by appealing to the simplicity and clarity of the gospels, universal Christian tradition, and the common consensus fidelis. The brilliant hypothetical scenario, drawn by the author, of a college of a dozen apostles, called by Christ, but without a “Cephas” (a Rock) in Peter and his successors, presents even the infant “collegial” church in such an unenviable plight that one might pity them even more than one might pity the Methodists or Seventh Day Adventists, had any of them been at the marriage feast of Cana.
By Fr. Leo J. Kinsella PB 168 pages Happiness does not just happen . . . It must be earned! Here is a marriage blueprint that every man can follow. Great marriages do not just happen, they are made. It takes three parties to make a good marriage: the husband, the wife, and the Lord. This book is concerned with helping the man to become ‘the man for her’. Father Kinsella had already published his famous and successful book The Wife Desired, which is also available from Loreto Publications, in 1952. The first book of advice for women was so successful that the demand for a book of marital advice for men forced Father to write this one in addition. He sat for many years on a diocesan separation court and had also successfully counseled many unhappy couples during his years in the priesthood. Both books sold over a quarter of a million copies shortly after their publication and were read by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. They are practical manuals for how to improve your chances for a happy and successful marriage. When this book was first published in 1957, one in four marriages in the USA ended in divorce. Today, half of all first marriages end in divorce, and a much higher percentage of second and third marriages find the same end. This means that the majority of Americans are unsuccessful at the most important enterprise of their life, and it follows that the resultant destruction of the happiness, mental stability, and moral character of the majority of the people is the greatest problem that we face as a nation. Of course, the dangers to the salvation and earthly happiness of these people, and to the unfortunate children born of such unions, is where the cold statistical facts become more personal and of immediate concern to each of us. The divorce rates also do not speak to the issue of those many couples who do not divorce, but who nonetheless are not living in what could be termed deeply happy and fruitful marriages. Being a party to an unhappy marriage is one of the most difficult (yet largely avoidable) situations that anyone can endure in life.
G. K. Chesterton - PB 220 Pages
Edited and Published posthumously by Frank SheedIn 1933 Hitler came into power. In 1936, G. K. Chesterton died. In between, Chesterton kept his eyes steadily on the Nazi movement, seeing and foreseeing everything—even to the agreement of Germany and Russia to divide Poland.
Week after week he came back to one aspect or another of the danger: Prussianism as a spirit poisoning Germany, Hitlerism as Prussianism, the special peril (unique in human history) that lies in racism, the Jewish roots of Hitlerism, the vital function of Poland, and the elements among ourselves that made for the increase of Hitler’s power—especially the pacifism that made war inevitable. It is not too much to say that this inevitablility of war was the dominating theme of the last years of Chesterton’s life. Certainly it was never far from his pen.
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.
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.
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)
Father John J. Hugo - PB - 330 pages
This is the second of three books written by Fr. John J. Hugo concerning the great 20th century spiritual retreat master, Fr. Onesimus Lacouture S.J. and his work. The first published by Loreto was The Gospel of Peace, and the third to be re-issued is entitled A Sign of Contradiction.Fr. 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 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.The Notes are entitled Applied Christianity and few spiritual writers of the 20th century have put in such clear and lucid language a precise (and practical) explanation of the true nature of a Christian life. This work will be compared to the works of such great writers on the spiritual life as St. John Eudes, Abbot Dom Marmion, Dom Chautard, St. Ignatius of Loyola and others.
Part One: Natural and SupernaturalI. The Two Principles of ActivityII. The Two Principles of Activity: ApplicationIII. The Harmony Between the Natural and the SupernaturalIV. The Conflict Between the Natural and the SupernaturalV. The Pagan MentalityVI. The Law of the Flesh VII. Jesus Speaks of the Supernatural LifeVIII. The Christian MentalityIX. Christian PerfectionPart Two: The Supernatural WorldI. The Glory of God: DoctrineII. The Glory of God: ApplicationIII. The Doctrine of the SamplesIV. The Doctrine of the Samples AppliedV. The Supreme Dominion of God: DoctrineVI. The Supreme Dominion of God: ApplicationVII. The Folly of the Cross: DoctrineVIII. The Folly of the Cross: ApplicationIX. Summary and ObjectionsPart Three: The SamplesI. The Love of GodII. The Contempt of the World: DoctrineIII. The Contempt of the World: ApplicationIV. Forbidden SamplesV. SinVI. The Remedies for SinVII. HellPart Four: The Supreme Dominion of GodI. The Supreme Dominion: God’s IntentionII. The Supreme Dominion in Persons: Blind InstrumentsIII. The Supreme Dominion in Superiors: ObedienceIV. Source of God’s Supreme Dominion: The Divine WillV. The Supreme Dominion of God in us: The Human WillPart Five: The Folly of the Cross I. Almsgiving: The Sowing of External GoodsII. Mortification: The Sowing of Bodily GoodsIII. Afflictions: The Sowing of Interior Goods IV. Death: The Sowing of EverythingAppendix I. Nature and GraceII. Are Natural Actions Meritorious?III. Christian Moderation
Blessed Abbott Dom Marmion OSB - PB- 164 pages
This book is now out of print. We have less than 100 copies left in stock. Get it now before we run out.
This is not a book about spirituality for monks and nuns only. Columba Marmion believes that Christian discipleship means imitating Christ the Monk no matter your form of life. Christ is the sublime ideal of all holiness, the divine model presented by God himself. By faith, we accept this holiness into our lives – but we can also (in fact we must) allow Christ Jesus to become what Marmion calls “the very life of our souls.” This powerful book explores a spirituality that is possible by examining the light of the Gospels and the writings of St. Paul and St. John, offering joy and spiritual understanding to all Christians.
Fr. Bernard Weullner, S. J. - PB 172 Pages
Many readers and students of philosophy are familiar with Fr. Weulner’s brilliant and most useful Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy. Here is another essential work from the master teacher on the philosophic Principles. Principles may well be regarded as the main part of philosophy. They are among the major discoveries of philosophy, condensing in themselves much philosophical inquiry and insight. They are the starting points of much philosophical discussion. They are the base for exposition, for proof, and for criticism. They serve the student and the reader of philosophy much as legal maxims serve jurists and as proverbs serve the people. They are for scholastic philosophers the household truths of their tradition. All our masters of philosophy know these principles well. They use them as a constant set of convictions and as a standard setting on many subjects. Masters like Aristotle and St. Thomas incessantly weave these principles into their writings, and so much so, that familiarity with their principles becomes an indispensable preparation for any intelligent grasp of their works and for any genuine assent to their conclusions.
She has inspired the greatest artists, poets and composers for two-thousand years. Armies have fought under her banner, while entire cities and nations have placed themselves under her patronage and protection. Every day, she is called upon by countless men, women and children to help them in their necessities: "Hail Mary, Full of Grace." She is the Mother of Jesus Christ . . . The Mother of God.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is, perhaps, the most instantly recognizable manifestation of the Roman Catholic Faith. Those outside the Church are hard-pressed to explain it, and they too often view Marian devotion as either a "distraction" from the adoration due to Jesus Christ, or as something "acceptable," but only to a severely limited extent. In reality, the Church's Marian heritage is an integral part of the ancient Faith, and there can be no proper understanding of the Person of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, without a proper appreciation of, and respect for, the Catholic Church's Marian teachings.
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.
Reminiscences of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity A Carmelite Nun of Dijon 1901-1906
Elizabeth was given the name of the Holy Trinity for her consecrated life in the Carmel of Dijon. In here writings, hovere, she referred to herself as "the Praise of Glory" (Ephesians 1:12) on account of her special gift of penetrating the sublime truths in the epistles of St. Paul. So abundantly fruitful was the life of God in here that she seemed to reflect in here every act the eternal processions of His Truth and Love. Saint Elizabeth has been called "another Thérèse".
A clarion call to solve current societal ills... in light of the Faith[.] Anthony Cooney
A compact and compelling look at the usefulness of the medieval guild and the broader political theory underlying it for a solution to the age-old and still perplexing problem of the struggle between capital and labor and the economic tension between cooperation and competition. A clarion call to solve current societal ills, such as unemployment, absentee corporate ownership, and employee disenfranchisement, in light of the medieval Faith.
A remarkable survey of the ability of the Catholic Church to surmount crises posed by civil society while maintaining its nature unchanged. Kurth, a leading Belgian historian of the late 19th and early 20th century, condenses 2,000 years of peace, turbulence, and resolve into a fast-paced, afternoon read.
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
Dom Jacques Houlier - PB – 80 PagesThis beautiful and contemplative book, reflecting upon the characteristics of Gregorian chant that have attracted the attention of so many: its permanence, beauty, and history, as well as its liturgical, sacred, and philosophical qualities is well worth spending some time with.
First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church - PB 278 pages
By the inscrutable designs of divine providence, during the fateful year of 1917, when Our Lady appeared at Fatima, there were two events that also occurred in Russia. The very first Catholic Exarch (a bishop approved by, and under the direct jurisdiction of, the See of Peter) for the Russian Catholic Church was named. He was Blessed Leonid Feodorov. The other event was of course the Revolution, accomplished by Kerensky and Lenin in two stages, that turned over the vast Russian Empire of the Romanovs to a clique of anti-Christian persecutors. Holy Mother Russia (and the whole world) has suffered greatly from this Revolution, and both still suffer from the scars and effects of it.The message(s) of Fatima, given both in 1917 and in subsequent apparitions to Sr. Lucia dos Santos, show Heaven’s concern with Holy Mother Russia and her errors and her coming conversion. The conversion refers of course to the end of Russia’s first and most fundamental “error”—her separation from the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church under the Vicar of Christ. The holy reunion that the Mother of God desires (and demands) is the perfection of the Orthodox Church of Russia that is to be accomplished by a miracle of Grace resulting from the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and all of the Bishops in union with Peter. The erection of the Exarchate by Pope St. Pius X and Pope Benedict XV set the pattern for proper and fruitful reunion of the Orthodox. The holy life of the first Exarch, Blessed Leonid Feodorov (and his only successor Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytskyi, who died in 1951) established the norm that all should look to who pray and work for the successful reunion of the two Churches as Heaven wishes. The Exarchate has been extinguished since 1951, but we believe that its resurrection is only a matter of time, and that its previous existence, and the life of Blessed Leonid, remain as divine signposts on the path of the most glorious and fruitful reunion that is to come.
For more information on Leonid Feodorov see the wonderful article here.
Father Denis Fahey - PB - 146 pages
“I repeatedly promised Saint Peter that if I ever got the chance, I would teach the truth about his Master in the way he and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, wanted it done. That is what I have striven to do and am doing.” —Rev. Denis Fahey
Secret Societies and the Kingship of Christ is a collection of twelve articles that were written by Fr. Fahey and published in The Catholic Bulletin in 1928, the year after he published his first book Mental Prayer According to the Principles of Saint Thomas. Fr. Fahey’s formative educational years coincided with the pontificate of that implacable foe of modernism, St. Pius X , the successor of Leo XIII who had spoken out so stridently against the sect of Freemasonry and naturalism. Attentive to the needs of the Church in his time, Fr. Fahey followed the Leonine instructions given in Humanum Genus article 31; “We wish it to be your rule first of all to tear away the mask from Freemasonry, and to let it be seen as it really is…”This book is a short, but thoroughly researched and footnoted introduction the the subject of Secret Societies and their impact on the Church, Christian civilization, and modern history.
On September 23, 1968 after having borne the stigmata for exactly 50 years, the saintly Padre Pio died. This holy mystic spent his life as a living imitation of Christ and is the only priest in history to bear the stigmata. During his life, in spite of the physical pain he endured, Fr. Pio continued to say his daily Mass. But part of his suffering was unknown. Fr. Pio wrote a petition appealing directly to Pope Paul VI so as to obtain permission, from the highest ecclesiastical authority on earth, to never be required to say the Novus Ordo Missae.
The existence of this petition was kept secret from the public . . . until now.
Things to learn about this holy friar:
“Later, as an aged Capuchin friar, the mere thought of the liturgical reform, which would take effect in 1969, was sufficient to raise in him a holy horror. Throughout his life the holy friar had been obedient even unto martyrdom, but at this time the only request he dared to put forth to the authorities of the Church was to be exempted from the novelties of the impending liturgical reform.”
For the first time published in English read the startling testimony and eyewitness accounts of close friends and spiritual sons of Padre Pio as they reveal his thoughts on the sanctity of the Mass, the changes occurring in the Church during his lifetime, and the chilling effects they would have on the future. Look behind the cloister wall and discover a side of Padre Pio you’ve never seen before.
216 pages. Softcover. Photographs.
By Fanchon Royer - PB - 304 pages
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.