Fourteen Epochal Documents by Pope Leo XIII on the Social Teachings - EBOOK - PDF
Edited and annotated by Fr. Joseph Husslein, S. J. - Cloth Hardcover -300 Pages
Few American Catholics truly understand t he social teachings of the Catholic Church. This may be in part due to the fact that many of he best papal teachings on this subject have either been ignored or not widely read by Americans. Father Husslein tried very hard to remedy this situation with the publication of two books in 1940 dedicated to solving this problem. He gathered together all of the encylicals by the two popes who wrote most on the topic and made certain that the english translations were well organized, accurate, and easily understandable and readable in translation. He also made many notes that are helpful to the reader. The service he performed is treausred by all students of the Church's social doctrine and these two books, so long out of print, are now available agai exactly as they were originally published.
If you have not read many of the encyclicals that were published before the modernization of encyclical writing that took place after the 2nd Vatican Council you are in for a real treat! The brevity, clarity, and chastity of the language will surprise you. Leo is no phenomenological exegete. He speaks the way one would expect the Vicar of Christ to speak, in clear, unambiguous, and manly language that is full of charity and pius unction and truth. No one who reads these most important social encylicals will come away confused. Be warned however, their brevity is deceptive. They are overflowing with profound insights and exhortations, therefore, small doses properly savored and meditated upon is the best way to imbibe the true wisdom and sound doctrine found here.
Eighteen Enclicals of Social Reconstruction by Pope Pius XI - EBOOK - PDF
Edited and annotated by Fr. Joseph Husslein, S. J. - 450 Pages
Gary Potter - PB - 100 pages
Gary Potter has been a Catholic journalist and writer of the first rank for over fifty years. As a convert to the Faith during the 1960s, (that time of revolutionary turmoil in the Church and the world), he developed a unique perspective on the Church in the 20th century that has matured over the years into a deep and penetrating vision of our times and the place of the Church and the Faith in the politics of our age.As it is in Heaven is all about Christian politics. It contains Mr. Potter’s summation of that common worldview that was held by the men who built that civilization known as Christendom during the ages of Faith in the Christian West. He observes its disappearance and describes the effects of its absence on the life of men in our day. He proposes that it will one day be revived in a fashion suitable to modern times. This extended essay encourages Catholics to face reality in the murky spiritual darkness of our present century. That means that it is also a message of light and hope. Do not be mistaken, Mr. Potter is no silly optimist or clueless observer. He knows the darkness and the dangers as clearly as any living writer, but he is a Catholic through and through, and his judgments are sound and realistic. Catholic realism! A realistic outlook can only come to a Catholic who believes and who tries to live according to that belief. The strength to face reality and to deal with it courageously is what is most necessary to men who wish to truly live—not just pass through this world—and to fight manfully for truth and goodness and beauty during this short pilgrimage that is life on earth.On Earth, as it is in Heaven is part of the daily prayer of every Catholic, indeed it is also the daily prayer of many who loosely adhere to certain Christian principles, even though they do not yet belong to God’s Church and are therefore far behind on their road to salvation. The subtitle of the book (Christian Living and Social Order) clarifies the challenge. Let us hope and pray that this challenge to live this life as if God really mattered, is heard not only by weak and confused Catholics, but also by all men, who in any way desire to live a virtuous life, make this world a better place in which to live, and to give glory to God by doing His will ON EARTH, as it is already done in Heaven.
Don Pietro Leome - PB 246 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
In our days the war against God and His Church has become deeper and broader than at any time in history. No longer are the powers of darkness content to attack only the institutional Church that God founded. The truth is that the human nature that God the Father created is now the subject of the adversary’s most violent persecution, and through the undermining of the very concept of human nature and the natural law enshrined in it the enemies of God hope to make any consideration of the concept of ‘super-nature’ and super-natural life disappear from the minds of men.
The Church has always been the true guardian of not only supernatural life, but of the natural law as well. Since the natural law is the law that God put into our nature and it is discernible in the light of reason, the Church, speaking for God, is the champion of sound reasoning. With the natural law as well as supernatural law governing human sexuality and family life under attack, Don Pietro Leone has risen to defend (and to properly distinguish) those areas, so that those who wish to defend the Church and human society in our age may have sound teaching upon which to base their actions.
In the course of this treatment of these topics he makes a detailed critique of certain novel presentations of themes found in the Magisterium from the time of the Second Vatican Council onwards. Amongst these doctrines is one he terms ‘Magisterial Personalism’ and another called the ‘Theology of the Body.’ Drawing upon scholastic philosophy and the perennial teaching of the Church, Don Pietro brings light to a subject recently plunged into obscurity and darkness that is not currently being dispelled sucessfully, even by the guardians of Truth themselves.
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.
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.
Jeanne Dvorak - PB - 88 pages
Natural Family Planning and the Christian Moral Code by Jeanne Dvorak, is in its fourth printing. This book reaffirms that NFP was just a novel and sinful introduction to the modern Catholic world. This compact treatise now includes a 1940 letter from the Archbishop of St. Paul, MN, in which NFP is condemned. Natural Family Planning and the Christian Moral Code does more than just examine the negative. It allays fears and bolsters confidence through its many stories and examples of obedient Catholic parents living their family life with faith and trust in God. Children are the first purpose of marriage – better to have them on your lap than on your conscience!
Fr. Denis Fahey C.S.Sp. - 226 pages - EBOOK as PDF, EPUB, or Kindle
“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
This is the last book published before Fr. Fahey’s death. It is an enduring testament to his love of the land and his firm belief that the best setting for most Catholic living is the family farm or small business, similar to the life lived by the Holy Family of Nazareth.The Church is greatly interested in farming because it is the most fundamental of all human occupations. Those who work the land are deeply immersed in, and must work in harmony with, the natural rhythms and processes of God’s creative handiwork. The harmony and balance of rural life are profoundly upset by industrialized living, both on and off the land. Father delves into many spiritual, chemical, technical, and scientific questions pertaining to the future of farming and the life of the Church and all human society, which depends completely on the land for its existence and prosperity.
