Devotion and Spirituality

Written by A Passionist - 400 Pages - EBOOK - PDF

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.

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Saint Benedict, father of western monasticism, is rather more known for his life and Rule than for a medal cast in his honor. The history of the image and the exorcism engraved on the medal, as well as the power of that Cross which the holy patriarch bears in his right hand, can be traced back to the eleventh century. Before he became Pope Saint Leo IX, one Bruno of Toul was cured of a mortal sickness after Saint Benedict appeared to him in the very guise we see depicted today on this sacramental. The Sisters of Charity under Saint Vincent de Paul also wore the blessed medal on their rosary. Abbot Gueranger, spiritual son of Saint Benedict, wrote this book to promote this very powerful devotion.

Finally...Loreto's Popular Martyrology is Back in Print! - 372 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB

We have chosen to re-issue the Third Turin Edition of the Roman Martyrology for many reasons. Among them are the nobility of its style, the serene chastity of its language, the continuity of its ancient lineage, and the fact that it is essentially the same text read by countless souls over the centuries on their pilgrimage to the Eternal Jerusalem. In a word, tradition.

You will not find listed here the numerous saints canonized over the last sixty years. This may be unfortunate but some lack cannot be avoided; there are other sources and newer calendars. The historical importance and the spiritual value of this edition is inestimable. We hope that this offering from Loreto will fill the desires of many souls  who will know best how to utilize this volume to their advantage. This 20th century may well have been the bloodiest in the long and glorious history of the Church of God upon earth. Remember that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. God willing, we will reap a bountiful harvest of souls in the 21st century.
May the example of those who have already tread the path of the cross, fortify our souls, give us courage, and provide hope that we too may have the grace to receive, with grateful affection, whatever end the providence of God has destined for us.

Compiled by Father Lasance - 1926 Edition 546 pages - Ebook 

This is a beautiful and very useful prayerbook. Originallly put together by the prolific Father Lasance, this book was reccommended by Pope Pius XI. It was printed in a large font with plenty of spacing and was designed for easy reading in the low light conditions found in many Catholic churchs.

Loreto has produced a modern edition on bright white paper for ease of reading in places where the lighting is less than adequate or for those people who either need magnifiers for close up reading or whose eyesight is less than what it used to be. This is the only truly large print prayerbook available with all of the old traditional prayers.

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It was only eight years after our Sorrowful Mother appeared to the shepherd children in the south of France, that Bishop Ullathorne took up his pen to defend the authenticity of the visitation. With Rome's permission, the author writes as a contemporary chronicler of the events, conducting interviews with the seers and with ecclesiastics who were involved.

Heart of Jesus Families Novena - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB

According to the revelations of the Sacred Heart and with prayers composed by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

For the spread of the kingdom of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so as to renew all things in Christ

This 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)

236 pages - EBOOK - PDF

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.

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BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF ALL THE SERMONS FOR MARY’S FEASTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

By Bishop Jaques Benigne Bossuet

PB 164 pages

Translated by F. M. Capes

With an Introduction by Rev. William T. Gordon - Priest of the London Oratory

The great and learned Jacques Benigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux in France, was the author of many works, most prominent among them the Continuity of Religion, a compact history of the world from a Catholic perspective.
This book is a translation of his sermons given on all of the principal feasts of Our Lady throughout the year. His profound knowledge of the scriptures and his excellent theological training combined with a deep love for the Mother of God was productive of these powerful insights and thoughts about the
Theotokos.
From Bossuet’s teaching we learn that, to quote Cardinal Manning’s words, “the titles of  honor given to Mary are not metaphors but truths—they express, not poetical or rhetorical ideas, but true and living relations between her and her Divine Son and between her and ourselves.”

Translated by Helen Waddell - 312 Pages - EBOOK - PDF

For several hundred years, in the youth of the Church, countless men, and a few women, fled the world and flocked to the deserted places of this earth wishing to found (and to find) their lives in God alone.
Their experiences transformed not only their own lives, but also in many ways, the world they left behind.
The beauty and timelessness of their stories has captured the imagination of men throughout the ages that have followed. To live in search only of God and the eternal verities is a theme that men never weary contemplating and often imitate.
The original of these translations is the Latin of the Vitae Patrum, a vast collection of the lives and sayings of the Desert Fathers, edited by the learned Rosweyde, and printed at the Plantin press in Antwerp in 1615. The original ran to 1600 pages. These extracts assembled by Helen Waddell are among the best.

Benedict Avery O.S.B.—40 pages - EBOOK - PDF

The life of every Christian soul on it’s pilgrimage through this vale of tears must be fed primarily on two foods. The origin of these two foods is the two trees in the Eden of our first parents, of which trees one was allowed to their use and one was forbidden. The Tree of Life was intended to feed the life that God had breathed into Adam and Eve. We now have a replacement for the food of that tree. That food is God Himself as the Bread of Life in the Eucharist.  Adam’s disobedience regarding the command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the cause of mankind’s fall from grace. Now that man knows of evil, God has given us something to teach us to distinguish the evil from the good. Of this tree we also have a new bread to eat, as Jesus himself told us, “Not by bread alone (temporal bread) doth man live, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.” The word of God is two things, scripture and Jesus—especially in the Eucharist. These two foods are essential to us to sustain our life of grace that will, hopefully, lead us to eternal life.

Loreto suggests the Douay Rheims version of the English bible as the very best translation available from which to read scripture. It corresponds more accurately to the original Vulgate than any of the more recent translations and the language is most beautiful. The Haydock version also has copious footnotes and commentary from the Fathers.

Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M. - EBOOK - PDF

This is a book of seventy-two concise meditations each on a different subject. Whether it is an event, as the Day; or a virtue, as Gratitude; or a ravaging infidelity, as Islam; or a person, as Our Lady; our author zeroes in on the topic and, with an amazing depth of understanding, simplifies it in relation to time and eternity. The salient theme throughout Brother Maluf’s daily reflections is that every challenge one experiences in this wayfaring state has the capacity to elevate our human frailty to supernatural heights if we engage it with the magnanimous attitude of confident sons of God.

Mary Perkins - 220 pages - Ebook PDF only

This is, we believe, the first “book of etiquette for Catholics” ever published. At first glance it may seem absurd that we should need one, but have you never been puzzled by such apparently easy questions as how to address a letter to a bishop or how to end it? Or, if you are asked to be a god-parent, do you know what is expected of you, first at the church, and then afterwards throughout your own and your god-child’s life? These and a hundred other matters are clearly and amusingly explained in this book, the subjects ranging from the very simplest way to manage a Missal to what to do (and what not to do) when a Catholic doctrine or practice is attacked in your presence.

This book is especially helpful for converts, but it is also extremely interesting for life-long Catholics who have little or no knowledge of the proper manners expected from a Catholic. It was first published in 1938 so the author explains much about how things were done in the Church before the second Vatican Council.

Saint John Eudes - 334 pages - PDF only
One of the most prolific ascetical writers of the seventeenth century, Saint John Eudes was an inexhaustible reservoir of holy wisdom and devotional fervor. Loreto Publications considers it a foremost priority to help make the spiritual doctrine of this great apostle of devotion to the Sacred and Admirable Hearts of Jesus and Mary more widely known. Perhaps no book of his better exemplifies that profoundly incarnational doctrine than The Admirable Heart of Mary. Eudes reveals to his disciples this most pure and maternal of all hearts both in its corporal and spiritual pulsations, while demonstrating with a dozen unforgettable natural and scriptural analogies, how this human heart was so inexhaustibly divinized by the one Divine Heart of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The Admirable Heart of Mary was given to us from the Cross by Jesus Christ. Truly this heart was the first-fruit of His Passion, given to all of Mary’s children, that it might be honored, cherished, invoked and, ultimately, with that of her Son, reproduced in them. This is the essence of the spirituality of Saint John Eudes.

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 - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB

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.

Meditations to accompany all 15 Mysteries of the Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

FULLY ILLUSTRATED IN COLOR - PB - 120 pages

This book of beautiful artwork and quotations from the bible and from other holy men and women is designed to help us meditate on the life of Our Lord and Our Lady, as presented to us in Tradition and Scripture through the Holy Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Prayer is the lifting of our hearts to God and we hope that this little book will assist you in that work.
The First Saturday devotions that were offered to us by Our Lady of Fatima require four actions from us as follows:
1. Confession: This confession can be made before the First Saturday or afterward, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. In 1926, Christ, in a vision, explained to Lucia that this confession could be made a week before or even more, and that it should be offered in reparation.
2. Holy Communion: Before receiving Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer it in reparation to Our Lady. Our Lord told Lucia in 1930, “This Communion will be accepted on the following Sunday for just reasons, if my priests allow it so.” So if work or school, sickness, or another just reason prevents the Communion on a First Saturday, with this permission it may be received the following Sunday. If Communion is transferred, any or all of the other acts of the devotion may also be performed on Sunday if the person so desires.
3. Rosary: The Rosary is a vocal prayer said while meditating upon the mysteries of Our Lord’s life and Passion and Our Lady’s life. To comply with the request of our Blessed Mother, it must be offered in reparation and said properly while meditating.
4. Fifteen minute meditation: Also offered in reparation, the meditation may embrace one or more mysteries; it may include all, taken together or separately. This meditation should be the richest of any meditation, because Our Lady promised to be present when she said;
“...those who keep me company....”
To those who faithfully follow Our Lady’s requests for the five First Saturdays, she has made a wonderful promise which she, as Mediatrix of all Graces, will certainly fulfill: “I promise to  assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.” This means that our Blessed Mother will be present at the hour of death with the actual grace of final perseverance, (which after the gift/grace of Faith), is the most important grace.