Very few published works require such a lengthy explanation of exactly WHICH edition is being offered, in what format, and why, than Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The reason is that there are so many very different books being printed under this author’s name and under this title due to it’s long history (the work is almost 300 years old) and its universal popularity. Few catholic books except the Bible, the Confessions, the Imitation, and the Summa, are as widely read. This book has also been extensively revised, altered, and updated since its original publication, with new editions, even 21st century revisions being made, that we feel the time is ripe for an original, unexpurgated, and unrevised print version to be made available.This edition is widely considered to be the most complete and authoritative ever issued. It is the 1854 edition of D. J. Sadlier of New York, and in the Preface it gives its “pedigree.” The original was printed anonymously in London in 1759, after 30 years work on the project. The edition published by Sadlier is an exact replica of the Dublin and London edition of 1833. Being a scholarly work, but also a work deeply imbued with the piety and devotion of a priest’s lifetime effort, it is loaded with footnotes which comprise a significant proportion of the total text. In the original book, the footnotes were printed in such a small, closely-set typeface, that they were almost unreadable.Loreto Publications has utilized the recent development of OCR scanning to extract the original text and to put it into a modern, highly readable, and much larger font typeface than any of the old editions. We have extensively proofread the text thus generated, and have made the layout “user friendly” as the moderns so succinctly state. In addition, our already available edition of Butler’s Little Pictorial Lives—which is a drastic abridgment of this original edition to one volume, illustrated, with one saint and one image for each day of the year—has provided us with 365 beautiful 19th century engravings which we have added to this original un-illustrated text. Loreto has made a few corrections of obvious typographical errors and has slightly altered some capitalization rubrics and some spellings, but we have has refrained from alterations to the text. We think that modern readers are not so uneducated as to need the work “updated” for them, either as to content or style, since the beautiful expressiveness of Butler’s 18th century grammatical and rhetorical mastery is not so far removed historically as to render it unintelligible to any ordinary 21st century reader. We are certain that our readers will appreciate the original work for its piety, beauty, and comprehensive scholarship.
A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history that truly matters for all eternity.
This spectacular history by Fr. Alban Butler, The Lives of the Saints, presents to the reader the life story of over 1600 saints and their times. In the original introduction we find this bold statement:
“It is on this account we have ventured to designate The Lives of the Saints an historical supplement to theOld and New Testaments. We think this work deserves to be so considered, on account of the close resemblance it bears to the historical portions of holy writ. Let the divine economy, in this respect, be for a moment the subject ofthe reader’s consideration.”Loreto Publications has here reproduced the finest original edition of the text from the early 19th century with no modernization, alterations, deletions, or additions to the product of Father Butler.
Father Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to be educated at the English College, Douay, in France. In 1735, Butler was ordained a priest. At Douay, he was appointed professor of philosophy, and later professor of theology. It was at Douay, he began his principal work The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. He also prepared material for Richard Challoner’s Memoirs of Missionary Priests, a work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth. He labored for some time as a missionary priest in Staffordshire, and was finally appointed president of the English seminary at Saint Omer in France, where he remained till his death in 1773.
Butler's Original Lives of the Saints Vol. 4 - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
June & July - Hardcover Illustrated - 806 pages
Putting these invaluable books together in a new and modern format has been a joy for us. Some of the longest treatises are contained in it. The section on St. Ignatius of Loyola is almost a complete biography!
Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints - August & September- Vol. 5 - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
Hardcover - Illustrated -840 pages
Butler's Original Lives - Vol. 6 - October & November - Ebook - 954 pages
Volume 6 of Butler’s Lives covers the months of October and November. Putting these invaluable books together in a new and modern format has been a joy for us. We hope that you are enjoying them. Vol. 6 at 954 pages is the largest. Some of the longest treatises are contained in it and these two months are very rich in the sanctoral cycle and full of famous saints.
A great man once said that “History is the laboratory of Wisdom.” And where do we find the best history? It is found in the lives of the saints, for it is through their lives on earth, lived within the union of Christ’s mystical body, the Catholic Church, that we see the only history thattruly matters for all eternity.
vitis Sanctorum
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Rev. Alban Butler's ORIGINAL Lives of the Saints Vol. 7
December plus Appendices etc. - Ebook - Illustrated -632 pages
Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen PH.D., D.D., LL.D., Litt. D. — Small book - 60 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
“The most sublime act in the history of Christ was His Death. Death is always important for it seals a destiny.” “Any dying man is a scene. Any dying scene is a sacred place. That is why the great literature of the past, which has touched on the emotions surrounding death, has never passed out of date. But of all deaths in the record of man, none was more important than the death of Christ. Everyone else who was ever born into the world, came into it to live; our Lord came into it to die. Death was a stumbling block to the life of Socrates, but it was the crown to the life of Christ. He Himself told us that He came ‘to give his life a redemption for many’; that no one could take away His life; but He would lay it down of Himself.”
—from the Prologue
The primary act of Christian worship is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—the death of Our Lord on Calvary re-enacted daily on our altars. Archbishop Fulton Sheen here gives us a series of sublime meditations on Calvary and the Mass. They are arranged in seven sections. Each section of the Mass is paired with the seven last words of Our Lord from the Cross. The book is subtitled A Missal Companion. You will find by using it that way, that your devotion to the Holy Sacrifice will be deepened and your prayer life enriched.
The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION - Ebook (pdf, kindle, epub)
Volume III: Commentary on St. John
There has never been a Catholic version of the Catena Aurea published in English until now. Using in-line citations, Douay-Rheims biblical texts, modern easy-to-read fonts, and supplying updated (including on-line source) references to original documents, Loreto has produced the first Catholic edition of the invaluable commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors collected by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
We have been working on this project sporadically as time permitted us for several years. This edition far surpasses all of the protestant versions available from other Catholic publishers.
The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION- Ebook (kindle, epub, pdf)
Volume II: Commentary on St. Mark and St. Luke
Ebook (epub, mobi, pdf) - The Golden Chain Of St. Thomas Aquinas - CATHOLIC EDITION
Volume I: Commentary on St. Matthew
Small booklet - 60 pages
The Dogma of Faith Defended:
There is no dry theologizing in this spirited rebuttal, written in 1974, to defend the clear meaning of the thrice defined dogma: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is No Salvation). What you will read in this exposition is a hearty response, not laced with anything but the truth, as the supreme magisterium has already expounded it, concerning the visible whereabouts of the only means instituted by Jesus Christ for salvation.
Baptism of Desire:
This ground-breaking article by Brian Kelly lays to rest any thought that the Baptism of Desire theory deserves any description such as; "It is practically unanimously defended by the Fathers and Doctors." In fact, as you study this second article you will find that the primary proponent, and perhaps the originator of the theory, Saint Augustine, later in his life abandoned any belief in it. This proves to be problematic for the few later Doctors such as Sts. Bernard, Aquinas, and Liguori who all traced their acceptance of the theory to Augustine.
The Dogma of Salvation Under AttackThe doctrinal crusade of Saint Benedict Center dates back to the early 1940s when we began to attack, albeit in their incipient form, the very evils that conservative Catholics are so concerned about now. It was not long before we realized, however, that these troubles afflicting the Church were but symptoms of a much more fundamental one, a deadly heresy responsible for them all. Very few people saw the warning signals at that early stage, for the heresy itself had not taken full form and its fruits had not yet appeared.It became more and more evident what this underlying evil was. It was the denial of the necessity of belonging to the Catholic Church for salvation. The whole collapse in the Church today can be traced to the silencing or weakening of this one doctrine. Most so-called conservatives are not aware of this fact. We are convinced that they will never win one single victory until they are.Not until this fundamental truth is preached again from every Catholic pulpit shall we see again the triumph of Catholic values and Christian morals. It is only then that we shall see a resurgence of Catholic life — preaching, education, vocations, missions. Only then shall we see the restoration of orthodoxy and tradition, pre-eminently in the restoration of the traditional Mass.From the start we proclaimed the dogma of Faith: “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” We vowed to defend it. It is our duty not to stop our fight until we have succeeded in rousing the sleeping giant — the Church Militant! Others might observe the effects of the present-day apostasy; it is our vocation to proclaim the cause. There can be no Christian civilization without this most fundamental of all Catholic truths, the belief of innumerable multitudes who have gone before us: Outside the Church there is no salvation.In waging our crusade, even our most determined opponents admit that we have fought courageously and that we have paid the usual price in terms of humiliations and sufferings. Even the most extreme liberals have been willing to grant us the dubious honor of being sincere. We have never sought, we hope, any compensation for our labor on this earth; but we should be able to expect from conservative fellow Catholics, who at the present share most of our worries, the decent consideration due to pioneers in the conservative campaign. We ourselves extend that courtesy to anyone fighting, let it be confusedly, for faith and tradition.
A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal - HB 640 pages - EBOOK - PDF
The author of several liturgically-related works, J.B. OConnell is noted for his ability to clearly explain the complex ceremonial workings of the Roman Rite, particularly for the celebration of Mass by the priest. This book is the indispensable rubrical resource for the traditional Roman Liturgy. This book is valued by clergy and laity alike, not only for its concise handling of the general rubrics, but also for its chapters that briefly describe the history of the development of the traditional Roman Mass, liturgical law, the proper understanding of the force of custom, the importance of the decisions made by the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the opinions of fellow rubricians. OConnells last revision made for the Roman Mass was printed in 1964 after a span of nearly 10 years from his last edition, making it one of the few rubrical books completely in conformity with the new code of rubrics implemented in 1960 that comprise the 1962 edition of the Missale Romanum. Fully indexed and beautifully hardbound in bright red with gold embossing on the cover and spine. This is a must for any priest offering Mass according to the 1962 Missal of the Church's sacred liturgy.
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.
Also Available in Print
Msgr. Francis J. Weber - Ebook
Recently retired from over fifty years of service to God and to the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Monsignor Weber has allowed us to publish some of the delightful, insightful, and very succinct homilies he has given on real and literary characters found in the holy gospels. The four gospels tell us the story of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, the Savior of the world. In the course of those gospels, Jesus Christ tells us many stories that reveal God the Father’s loving plan for our salvation. Through the homilies collected here Monsignor Francis Weber does what a good preacher always does, that is, he points out the spiritual truth the gospels reveal, and then connects that truth with our own faith and daily experiences as disciples of Jesus Christ.By “real characters” Monsignor Weber indicates the real life men and women whom Jesus met and engaged during his life and ministry, such as Peter and Paul and Pontius Pilate. “Literary characters” are the imaginary figures in Christ’s parables, such as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan.
Ebook files: mobi, epub, and pdf
Sr. Mary Concilia O'Brien - Hardcover - 478 pages
This brilliantly concieved and executed textbook was published for Catholic High School & College students. It was published in 1941 and it is still one of the clearest and succinct summaries of Catholic Social teaching. It draws primarily on the teaching of St. Thomas in the Summa and the papal encyclicals of Leo III and Pius XI. There are chapter summaries, questions for further discussion, lists of primary sources quoted, an extensive index, and suggested reading for advanced students. This is an invaluable resource for neophytes in the study of the Church's social doctrines.
THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - EBOOK - PDF
NOW AVAILABLE AS A THREE VOLUME COMPLETE MATCHING SET
(Vol. 2 of the Old Testament will be available on December 15, 2021)
Option to order full set or Old Testament will be availble on Mon 12/12/21
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.
THE VULGATE IS THE OFFICIAL BIBLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Ebook (pdf)
Vol. One includes the books from Genesis to Esther - 1080 pages
Vol. Two includes the books from Job to Machabees II -1040 pages
Download a free sample from this book.
Acts of the Apostles - Chapter 27:11-40
11 But the centurion believed the pilot and the master of the ship, more than those things which were said by Paul. 12 And whereas it was not a commodious haven to winter in, the greatest part gave counsel to sail thence, if by any means they might reach Phenice to winter there, which is a haven of Crete, looking towards the southwest and northwest. They weather a great storm 13 And the south wind gently blowing, thinking that they had obtained their purpose, when they had loosed from Asson, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroaquilo. 15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up against the wind, giving up the ship to the winds, we were driven. 16 And running under a certain island, that is called Cauda, we had much work to come by the boat. 17 Which being taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they let down the sail yard, and so were driven. 18 And we being mightily tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 And the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship. 20 And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay on us, all hope of our being saved was now taken away. Paul declares that all are to be saved 21 And after they had fasted a long time, Paul standing forth in the midst of them, said: You should indeed, O ye men, have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and have gained this harm and loss. 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night, 24 Saying: Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar; and behold, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God that it shall so be, as it hath been told me. 26 And we must come unto a certain island. He exhorts them to take some food 27 But after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country. 28 Who also sounding, found twenty fathoms; and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms. 29 Then fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. 30 But as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under color, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship, 31 Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers: Except these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. 32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 33 And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying: This day is the fourteenth day that you have waited, and continued fasting, taking nothing. 34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat for your health’s sake; for there shall not an hair of the head of any of you perish. 35 And when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to God in the sight of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36 Then were they all of better cheer, and they also took some meat. 37 And we were in all in the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea. The all escape unharmed 39 And when it was day, they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship. 40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands;
Actus Apostolurum - Chapter 27:11-40
11 Centurio autem gubernatori et nauclero magis credebat, quam his quæ a Paulo dicebantur. 12 Et cum aptus portus non esset ad hiemandum, plurimi statuerunt consilium navigare inde, si quomodo possent, devenientes Phœnicen hiemare, portum Cretæ respicientem ad Africum et ad Corum. Patiuntur magnam tempestatem 13 Aspirante autem austro, æstimantes propositum se tenere, cum sustulissent de Asson, legebant Cretam. 14 Non post multum autem misit se contra ipsam ventus typhonicus, qui vocatur Euroaquilo. 15 Cumque arrepta esset navis, et non posset conari in ventum, data nave flatibus, ferebamur. 16 In insulam autem quamdam decurrentes, quæ vocatur Cauda, potuimus vix obtinere scapham. 17 Qua sublata, adjutoriis utebantur, accingentes navem, timentes ne in Syrtim inciderent, summisso vase sic ferebantur. 18 Valida autem nobis tempestate jactatis, sequenti die jactum fecerunt: 19 et tertia die suis manibus armamenta navis projecerunt. 20 Neque autem sole, neque sideribus apparentibus per plures dies, et tempestate non exigua imminente, jam ablata erat spes omnis salutis nostræ. Affirmat Paulus omnes salvandos esse 21 Et cum multa jejunatio fuisset, tunc stans Paulus in medio eorum, dixit: Oportebat quidem, o viri, audito me, non tollere a Creta, lucrique facere injuriam hanc et jacturam. 22 Et nunc suadeo vobis bono animo esse: amissio enim nullius animæ erit ex vobis, præterquam navis. 23 Astitit enim mihi hac nocte angelus Dei, cujus sum ego, et cui deservio, 24 dicens: Ne timeas, Paule: Cæsari te oportet assistere: et ecce donavit tibi Deus omnes qui navigant tecum. 25 Propter quod bono animo estote, viri: credo enim Deo quia sic erit, quemadmodum dictum est mihi. 26 In insulam autem quamdam oportet nos devenire. Hortatur eos ad cibum sumendum 27 Sed posteaquam quartadecima nox supervenit, navigantibus nobis in Adria circa mediam noctem, suspicabantur nautæ apparere sibi aliquam regionem. 28 Qui et summittentes bolidem, invenerunt passus viginti: et pusillum inde separati, invenerunt passus quindecim. 29 Timentes autem ne in aspera loca incideremus, de puppi mittentes anchoras quatuor, optabant diem fieri. 30 Nautis vero quærentibus fugere de navi, cum misissent scapham in mare, sub obtentu quasi inciperent a prora anchoras extendere, 31 dixit Paulus centurioni et militibus: Nisi hi in navi manserint, vos salvi fieri non potestis. 32 Tunc absciderunt milites funes scaphæ, et passi sunt eam excidere. 33 Et cum lux inciperet fieri, rogabat Paulus omnes sumere cibum, dicens: Quartadecima die hodie exspectantes jejuni permanetis, nihil accipientes. 34 Propter quod rogo vos accipere cibum pro salute vestra: quia nullius vestrum capillus de capite peribit. 35 Et cum hæc dixisset, sumens panem, gratias egit Deo in conspectu omnium: et cum fregisset, cœpit manducare. 36 Animæquiores autem facti omnes, et ipsi sumpserunt cibum. 37 Eramus vero universæ animæ in navi ducentæ septuaginta sex. 38 Et satiati cibo alleviabant navem, jactantes triticum in mare. Omnes evadunt incolumes 39 Cum autem dies factus esset, terram non agnoscebant: sinum vero quemdam considerabant habentem littus, in quem cogitabant si possent ejicere navem. 40 Et cum anchoras sustulissent, committebant se mari, simul laxantes juncturas gubernaculorum: et levato
ebook - PDF only
680 pages
Loreto Publications is pleased to present almost 100 essays from one of the most fascinating Catholic American essayists of our post Vatican era. Robert Hickson's broad experience and deep personal knowledge of politics, military affairs, literature, and religion in late 20th century America give him a unique perspective and judgement that is thoroughly Catholic and poingnantly expressive. His curriculuum vitae is impressive and his experience as a soldier, college professor, public speaker, husband, father, and traditional Catholic warror are evident in these profound and penetrating writings.
FOREWORD
It is part of the vocation of a small Catholic publisher like Loreto Publications to give voice not only to the accumulated wisdom of past ages, but also to make known the effects of grace in the souls of the men and women whose lives run concurrent with our own, when those effects are worth noting and preserving for future generations. If the effects of supernatural grace manifest themselves in the remarkable written expression of a Catholic warrior, it can be a great benefit for others to read and contemplate the procession of thought produced bythose effects in a man of substantial educational attainments and wide experience. This is why we have chosen to make available this selection of almost 100 essays by our good friend Dr. Robert Hickson.One of the requirements for the acquisition and growth of virtue that nature and grace impose upon a man is that he make a serious attempt to impose order in this world of disorder. First he must order his own thoughts and passions, and then he may seek to promote order in his own sphere of influence in the world. This is the work of a Christian educator. The artfully composed and clearly enunciated order of Dr. Hickson’s thinking is strikingly evident in the writings of his mature years as presented in these two volumes. Not only does he beautifully expound upon a topic, but he gently coaxes the reader to make further considerations of his own on the topic presented. In other words, he stimulates the thinking process in his audience and he arouses the desire of the intellect for deeper and more fruitful contemplation. Surely, the achievement of that objective is one of the many goals of sound education.These essays are not the work of a superficial man. They are challenging, and were meant to be so. In his essay “The Contribution of Catholic Letters to the Conversion of Our Country” you will find the following paragraph:G. K. Chesterton, who was himself a Catholic Man of Letters, memorably said, moreover, that “the test of all happiness is gratitude” and “your world would be a lot larger, if you were smaller in it.” And, with the help of such Catholic Letters and Literature, we may also help tomake that world larger for others, unto their more abundant life, both here and in Beatitude.That paragraph could easily serve as the Introit to all of Dr. Hickson’s literary efforts. And so it is with a constantly enlarging sense of gratitude that we offer to our loyal followers these two volumes in hope that you too will appreciate this twentieth century Catholic American soldier’s literary legacy.
Saint Robert Bellarmine - EBOOK - PDF
Available in Paperback
After being called to the Cardinalate by Pope Clement VIII, Robert Bellarmine, one of only two Jesuit Doctors of the Church, found need for a reprieve from what were often tiresome temporal duties. Therefore, to exhaust his intellectual and devotional energies in writing, he prepared for posterity his very own commentary on each of the Psalms. Most of the Psalms of David, he said, read like a compendium of the whole of the Old Testament, a summation in poetic capsule. Others (Ps. 2, 21, 44 & 60) speak so clearly of Christ that they seem rather to belong to the Gospels. Yet, it is not the royal prophet, rather, it is the Holy Ghost, the true Author, Who desires to pluck this ten-stringed instrument of beauty called the Psaltery and bring our hearts to tears or jubilation as we sing praise to the Most High. This is a huge book of nearly four hundred pages, a spiritual goldmine.
Hilaire Belloc - 302 Pages - EBOOK - PDF
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.
Also available in print
Baron Théodore deBussieries - Ebook
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.
The complete and unabridged commentary of Cornelius aLapidé on the First and Second Epistles of Saint Paul to the Corinthians and his Epistle to the Galatians EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
This is the 5th book in our series of the Great Commentaries of Cornelius aLapide S. J. The Four Gospels Commentary is listed elsewhere on this website. Those who have the Gospels Commentary already know what a treasure aLapide’s work is.This volume perfectly matches the original four volume set and this is the first and only complete translation from Latin into English of these three Epistles of Saint Paul. We are now working on a translation of the Catholic Epistles for publication next year. Translation and publication in English of this 33 volume Latin magnum opus is continuing - first the rest of the New Testament and then the Old—God willing!758 pages - $50. Hardcover
This is PDF file only
Cornelius a Lapide created a Scripture Commentary so complete and scholarly that it was practically the universal commentary in use by Catholics (often available only in 30 some Latin volumes) for hundreds of years. As part of the mission of Loreto Publications apostolate we have spent a lot of time and money over the last four years to produce a translation and design a beautiful edition of this priceless commentary so long hidden from the eyes of most Catholics. Now is your opportunity to own this masterpiece.
For an additional fee, customers can have access to an online version of the book. Detailed information and free samples are available from the online edition of a Lapide.
Note: If you have already purchased the books, and wish to purchase online access, contact us.
If you would like to purchase only the online edition ($40.00), you can do so here.
This set boasts the following features:
Note: Customers ordering outside of the US should contact us to be notified of shipping rates.
THIS VOLUME HAS ALL OF THE FRONT MATTER AND CHAPTERS ONE THROUGH CHAPTER TWELVE.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice - 80 Pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
This book is exactly what the title implies, sound advice for the healing of souls in the confessional. Saint Leonard was one of the great confessors of all time. He was a Franciscan and a missionary preacher.
Approbation of His Eminence Paul Cardinal Cullen
Blessed [sic] Leonard of Port Maurice, in Italy, was a distinguished missionary in the last [i.e. nineteenth] century, who gained many souls to God by his preaching and his writings. His works were published in Rome in thirteen volumes in 1853, and duly approved. The treatise now published in English, and entitled Counsels to Confessors, has been always considered to be a most useful and valuable guide in the administration of the sacrament of penance. As I have been informed that the translation, which has been made by a skillful theologian, faithfully expresses the opinions and feelings of the holy author, I am happy to recommend it to those who have the direction of the consciences of others, hoping that they will derive light and instruction from the words of a most holy and zealous laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.
+ Paul Card. Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin.
By Hilaire Belloc - PB 388 pages - EBOOK - PDF
This book was written when Belloc was fifty-five years old, and it is a perfect introduction to the man and his mind. It is a set of mature reflections on sailing the sea, on life, and on all things universal and Catholic. He had lived courageously in the first half of the 2oth century, when all the world was changing irrevocably, and the events of the era were now well-assessed in his maturity. “Fortunately we have a guidebook to Belloc’s rich and variegated mind in The Cruise of the Nona. In this book which he wrote in a discursive and rare mood of self-revelation, will be found all that was Belloc. Here is the Poet, the Master of Prose, the Controversialist, the Historian, the Philosopher, and the Catholic. In this book too will be found the reflections of all his moods which were as bewildering in their number and rapidity of variation as were the characters he adopted. Both in mood and in character he was kaleidoscopic. Here is Belloc the Satirist, the Epigrammatist, the Loveable Friend, the Boisterous, the Wit, the Remote and Sombre, the Christian Champion, and the Pagan Mystic, the Learned Classicist as well as the gay Word-Juggler.“It is impossible to write of Belloc without being contradictory and paradoxical, for he himself was both. There were however, two strong threads which were the warp and the woof of the backcloth against which all the many men who were Belloc appeared. These threads were a strong and simple religious faith and a passionate love of truth.” — From the Introduction by Lord Stanley of Alderly
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.
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.
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.”
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By Wilfrid Diamond - 160 pagesLiturgical Latin, obviously enough to anyone who has even a smattering of the language, is not the Latin of the classical writers. Liturgical Latin, for the most part, is the common Latin of the people with a vocabulary suited to its use. Some Latin words were “christianized”—i.e., given meanings not found in dictionaries of classical Latin. Variant spellings are also quite common in the ecclesiastical books. Here are over 11,000 words—gathered from Scriptures (including the new Latin Psalter), the Breviary, the Missal, and other church books—a good percentage of which are not to be found at all in classical dictionaries, and almost all of which have a peculiar meaning in ecclesiastical use.
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Everyone concerned with philosophy—the college undergraduate just becoming initiated into the fascinating realm of metaphysical inquiry, the interested adult anxious to grapple with questions of fundamental importance, or the busy teacher seeking to whet his student’s appetite for truth—all will find this concise, reference book of the terms most commonly used by scholastic philosophers of remarkable value.
Arranged in dictionary form, this work contains over 1,600 entries and subentries of scholastic terms and phrases, and includes in addition over thirty charts and diagrams providing salient information on such topics as the divisions of act and potency, the kinds of appetites, the categories of being, the types of law and their relations one to the other, the powers of man, and many others. Within an entry the sequence, in general, is as follows: term or phrase defined; its part of speech; its meaning; cross references to antonyms, synonyms, and related terms; abbreviation of the term; uses, particularly of adjectival terms; divisions of incidental terms and phrases using the main term; references; charts and diagrams.
Preference is given to the definitions of terms as found in Aristotle and Saint Thomas, but abundant attention is given to important concepts of such thinkers as Scotus and Suarez. In addition, the author has cited references to the best of modern textbooks and to the pertinent works of prominent neo-scholastics, among them Maritain and Gilson.
What renders the volume so valuable is the fact that it provides in compact form the important concepts common to scholastic thought. By giving clear-cut definitions it helps beginners avoid needless controversies and aids them to see the value of a particular philosopher’s insight into reality. Particularly valuable for the ever growing number of individuals clamoring for the truth handed down through the philosophia perennis, Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy will be appreciated as a basic reference work of prime importance, one which helps all students of philosophy see the relationships between the separate branches of philosophical inquiry and to appreciate the value of definitions as a requisite for the sound philosophical analysis of reality.
C.C. Martindale, S. J. Ebook - 64
Also Available in Print Edition
Father Martindale’s is a truly helpful book on the study of sex psychology. The author shows a profound knowledge of his subject and discusses with much penetation, lucudity, and candor the difficult problem of control of the sexual instinct. It is refreshing to find among so many nauseatingly sentimental books on the subject, one which treats of sex matters with reverence and elevation, being, moreover, enlightening and constructive. Human nature needs intellectual and psychologic help as well as physical and spiritual, and these pages aim at inducing an intelligent understanding of difficulties encountered in the attainment of self control.This publication first appeared in England and the USA between the World Wars. The language is typically British, but the principles remain the same. We at Loreto hope that the modern reader will discover in this little volume much useful material for helping the young man to find real help and joy in overcoming temptations against the sixth commandment.
Distributism for Dorothy or The Economy of Salvation and other exhortations to dethrone the great god mammon
Father Lawrence C. Smith - 520 pages
Distributism is not an economic means or a method, rather, the term is meant to be a description or a measurement of a state of affairs in human society. The term Distributism was coined in order to facilitate an assessment of whether or not any sort of “economic system” is working according to Catholic morality. If real property and the means of production are widely owned (distributed) among the population and the majority of men are economically independent and are not dependant upon either the state, large “capitalist” corporations, a minimum “wage”, or other men for their daily bread and the means of providing the necessities of life for themselves and their families, then, you have Distributism. In short, Distributism is a way of life based upon the Gospels and the principles of morality. It is so much more than a mere “economic system.”Distributism is not something that is to be enacted by any state or political entity, although they can and must do what is possible to facilitate its accomplishment. Distributism is a way of living and this way of living must be protected and nourished by society and its organs, i.e. families, societies, and governments. The responsibilty therefore lies primarily with families to begin to live the distributive way of life. Distributism is the living out of the Gospel in our daily lives and it will bring in its wake, peace, joy, and true freedom such as can be found only among the subjects of Christ the King.Father Smith explains it all so beautifully in Distributism for Dorothy: The Ecomony of Salvation and other exhortations to dethrone the great god mammon.
Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.One can detect a definite influence from the priest poet, Father Feeney, in the rhyme and rhythm of the philosopher poet, Dr. Maluf. The former, however, has that Irish flair for painting with words; the latter that Semitic gift for impressing with similitudes. Brother Francis Maluf wrote these fifty-nine poems for leisure. Those of us who know him would have a hard time imagining him sweating for too long over a verse. When he was deeply moved, whether it be by a devotional grace, by wonder at something beautiful to behold, by a gospel story or character, or even by astonishment over some mystery of iniquity, his contemplative heart would seek a means of expression. These poems are the expression of Brother Francis’ contemplative heart.
Divine Parables Explained: or The Church of the Parables
Father Joseph Prachensky, S.J. - 282 Pages
Never have you heard the parables of Our Lord explained like this learned American Jesuit did in 1890 when this work was first published. Here, in his own words from the introduction, is the author’s reason for publishing this magnificent work:The bible tells us it was given to the Apostles to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven either in parables or plain words. If that was so (and who will doubt it?), who has it now? And to whom is it given, if not to their legitimate successors, who were to continue the work which the Apostles had begun, even to the consummation of ages?If, then, the kind reader of these pages finds in them a more accurate, faithful, and thorough explanation of our Lord’s parables than he ever received from any sectarian preacher, let him bear in mind that the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church are the legitimate and only true successors of those to whom the Savior said: “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”I have selected for exposition only those of the parables that relate to Catholic dogmas controverted by the sects, and I pass over those which contain only lessons of morality never impugned or denied by any one bearing the name of Christian, at least in theory.
By The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - Ebook (pdf)
Also Available in Print Format
By Dom Guy Marie Oury, O.S.B. Translated by Hope Heaney - 440 pages - EBOOK - PDF, EPub & Kindle.
After the devastation of the French Revolution, the first abbot of Solesmes launched the ecclesial movement which invitedall Christians to experience a spiritual participation in the liturgy, “the initial source of the true Christian spirit.” DomGuéranger worked to instill knowledge and love for the origins of Christianity and the Church of the Fathers, thus preparing afertile and fruitful “return to the sources” for the entire Church.
He defined himself as “a man of the spiritual order,” opposed in every way to the naturalism of his era. It seemed to him, andrightly so, that God’s mystery could not be treated as were the human sciences—He transcended them. Throughout his entirelife, Dom Guéranger never stopped protesting against “the diminished truths” mentioned in Psalm 11:2.
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The new bible is 6" x 9" and 1632 pages. That is more than the old one because the font is larger. It is exactly the same text, just more readable.
Even after all of the modern "revisions" of the bible that are now available to Catholics, many still think that the Douay-Rheims version, (the only English translation of the Catholic Vulgate bible in use for almost 400 years) is the very best ever produced. We at Loreto agree that what was good enough for thirty generations of English-speaking Catholics and countless Saints and Matyrs is still good enough for us. The text is clear and easy to read and the two satin ribbons mark the pages where your daily reading is to begin. This Bible fills the need for a small (6" x 9" x 1.5") good quality hardbound Douay-Rheims bible. It is a perfect gift for Christmas, First Communions, Confirmations, weddings, birthdays, etc. and is also great for those who want a portable bible which is legible, durable, and handsome
A Trappist Talks to Nuns About Doubling for the Mother of God - 56 pages - Ebook (pdf) This book was originally published in 1941 and was written by a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He had a sister who was a nun, and he dedicated this treatise—it is actually written more in the style of a letter of instruction or exhortation—to her and therefore by proxy to all female religious. It presents to them a challenging meditation on what the essence of their vocation is. He calls it “Doubling for the Mother of God.”This book has been brought back into circulation by Loreto Publications at the request of a traditional house of Sisters who have found it very useful and inspiring to them in their spiritual life and their apostolate.We are certain that not only those female religious who take their vocation of assisting others to attain salvation very seriously, but also many whose vocation is in the world or in the clerical state but who also have that same burning desire to help save souls and to build up the Mystical Body of Christ in the modern world, will find solace and sound advice in the pages of this powerful meditation.Theologically sound and based upon years of meditation, especially on the doctrines of the mystical body, this work is certain to be of interest to all who are called to be mothers.
G. K. Chesterton - 220 Pages - EBOOK - PDF
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.
The unabridged commentary of Cornelius aLapidé on the Catholic Epistles of Saints John and Jude
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This is the 6th book in our series of the Great Commentaries of Cornelius aLapide S. J. The Four Gospels Commentary is listed elsewhere on this website and commentary on Galatians and Corinthians are also available. Those who have the Gospels Commentary already know what a treasure aLapide’s work is.This volume perfectly matches the original four volume set and this is the first and only complete translation from Latin into English of these four Epistles. We are now working on a translation of more of aLapide's peerless commentary for future publication. Translation and publication in English of this 33 volume Latin magnum opus is continuing - first the rest of the New Testament and then the Old—God willing!440 pages - $50. Hardcover $25.00 E-BOOK
Read a book review HERE!
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by Antonio Socci
Blockbuster Best Seller!
Previously available only in Italian, German, Portugese, and other European languages
Newly translated into English - Over 100,000 sold in English already!
Edited by Daniel M. Clough, M. A. -ebook (pdf,epub,mobi) - 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.
Father John Nicholas Grou, S.J. - Ebook (pdf)
Translated by the Benedictines of Teignmouth
This timely monograph, composed by Jesuit Father Nicholas Grou, contains precious gems of holy wisdom. They are the fruit of a pastor of souls well acquainted with the latter-day stratagems of an experienced adversary determined to get the focus of persecuted and battle-weary Catholics off the straight and narrow course leading to Boromirpersonal sanctity.
The Gift of Self to God, which is the heart of the composition, is an extremely provoking and healing meditation dealing with the necessity and salutary advantage of giving our all to God. It is a perfect compliment to the spirit of Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary.
Not as well known as he should be, the work of this great doctor of the interior life is reprinted here, together with two of his other essays, all of which confirm the virtue of filial trust in God.
25 Essays by Robert D. Hickson - 640 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
Archbishop Vigano's Preface
Memory is a fundamental element of a people’s identity, civilization andculture: a society without memory, whose patrimony consists solely of apresent without a past, is condemned to have no future. It is alarming thatthis loss of collective memory affects not only Christian nations, but alsoseriously afflicts the Catholic Church herself and, consequently, Catholics.This amnesia affects all social classes and is not the result of chance, but ofsystematic work on the part of those who, as enemies of the True, Goodand Beautiful, must erase any ray of these divine attributes from even themost marginal aspects of social life, from our idioms, from memories ofour childhood and from the stories of our grandparents. The Orwellianaction of artificially remodeling the past has become commonplace in thecontemporary world, to the point that a class of high school studentsare unable to recognize an altarpiece depicting a scene from the life ofChrist or a bas-relief with one of the most revered saints of the past. Dr.Robert Hickson calls this inability “deficiency of dogmatic understanding”,“Catholic illiteracy of pestilential proportions”.Tabula rasa: millions of souls who only twenty or thirty years ago wouldhave immediately identified the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan orSaint Jerome or Saint Mary Magdalene are capable of seeing only two menalong a river, an old man with a lion and a woman with a vase. Readingthe pages of Dante, Manzoni or one of the great Christian writers of thepast, many Catholics can no longer grasp the moral and transcendentsense of a culture that is no longer their common heritage, a jealouslyguarded legacy, the deep root of a robust plant full of fruit.In its place we have a bundle of the confused rubbish of the myths of theRevolution, the dusty Masonic ideological repertoire, and the iconographyof a supposed freedom won by the guillotine, along with the persecutionof the Church, the martyrdom of Catholics in Mexico and Spain, theend of the tyranny of Kings and Popes and the triumph of bankers andviii Gratitude, Contemplation, and the Worth of Catholic Literatureusurers. A lineage of kings, saints, and heroes is ignored by its heirs, whostoop to boasting about their ancestors who were criminals, usurpers,and seditious traitors: never has falsification reached the point of suchincomprehensible perversion, and it is evident that the desire to artificiallycreate such ancestry is the necessary premise for the barbarization of theoffspring, which is now practically accomplished.We must also recognize that this removal has found significantencouragement also among those who, within the Catholic Church,have erased two thousand years of the inestimable patrimony of faith,spirituality and art, beginning with a wretched sense of inferiority instilledin the faithful even by the Hierarchy since Vatican II. The ancient apostolicliturgy, on which centuries of poetic compositions, mosaics, frescoes,paintings, sculptures, chiseled vases, illuminated chorales, embroideredvestments, plainchants and polyphony have been shaped, has beenproscribed. In its place we now have a squalid rite without roots, bornfrom the pen of conspirators dipped in the inkwell of Protestantism; musicthat is no longer sacred but profane; tasteless liturgical vestments andsacred vessels made of common material. And as a grey counterpoint tothe hymns of St. Ambrose and St. Thomas, we now have poor paraphraseswithout metrics and without soul, grotesque paintings and disturbingsculptures. The removal of the admirable writings of the Fathers of theChurch, the works of the mystics, the erudite dissertations of theologiansand philosophers and, in the final analysis, of Sacred Scripture itself –whose divine inspiration is sometimes denied, sacrilegiously affirmingthat it is merely of human origin – have all constituted necessary stepsof being able to boast of the credit of worldly novelties, which beforethose monuments of human ingenuity enlightened by Grace appear asmiserable forgeries.This absence of beauty is the necessary counterpart to an absence ofholiness, for where the Lord of all things is forgotten and banished, noteven the appearance of Beauty survives. It is not only Beauty that hasbeen banished: Catholic Truth has been banished along with it, in all itscrystalline splendor, in all its dazzling consistency, in all its irrepressiblecapacity to permeate every sphere of civilized living. Because the Truthis eternal, immutable and divisive: it existed yesterday, it exists todayand it will exist tomorrow, as eternal and immutable and divisive as theWord of God.Certainly, behind this induced amnesia, there is a Trinitarian heresy. Andwhere the Deceiver lurks, the eternal Truth of God must be obscured inorder to make room for the lie, the betrayal of reality, the denial of the past.In a forgery that is truly criminal forgery, even the very custodians of thedepositum fidei ask forgiveness from the world for sins never committed byour fathers – in the name of God, Religion or the Fatherland – supportingthe widest and most articulated historical forgery carried out by theenemies of God. And this betrays not only the ignorance of History whichis already culpable, but also culpable bad faith and the malicious will todeceive the simple ones.Rediscovering memory, even in literature, is a meritorious and necessarywork for the restoration of Christianity, a restoration that is neededtoday more than ever if we want to entrust to our children a legacy to bepreserved and handed down as a tangible sign of God’s intervention inthe history of the human race: how much Providence has accomplishedover the centuries – and that art has immortalized by depicting miracles,the victories of the Christians over the Turk, sovereigns kneeling at thefeet of the Virgin, patron saints of famous universities and prosperouscorporations – can be renewed today and especially tomorrow, only if wecan rediscover our past and understand it in the light of the mystery ofthe Redemption.This book proposes the noble purpose of restoring Catholic memory,bringing it back to its ancient splendor, that is, the substance of aharmonious and organic past that has grown and still lives today, just asthe hereditary traits of a child are found developed in the adult man, oras the vital principle of the seed is found in the sap of the tree and in thepulp of the fruit. Robert Hickson rightly shows us, in the restoration ofmemory, the way to rediscover the shared faith that shapes the traits of ashared Catholic culture.In this sense it is significant – I would say extremely appropriate, even ifonly by analogy – to have also included Christian literature among theSacramentals, applying to it the same action as that of blessed water, theglow of the candles, the ringing of bells, the liturgical chant: the invocationof the Virgin in the thirty-third canto of Dante’s Paradiso, the dialogueof Cardinal Borromeo with the Innominato, and a passage by Chestertonall make Catholic truths present in our minds and, in some way, theyrealize what they mean and can influence the spiritual life, expandingand completing it. Because of this mystery of God’s unfathomable mercywe are touched in our souls, moved to tears, inspired by Good, spurredto conversion. But this is also what happens when we contemplate analtarpiece or listen to a composition of sacred music, in which a ray ofdivine perfection bursts into the greyness of everyday life and shows us thesplendor of the Kingdom that awaits us.The author writes: “We are called to the commitment to recover the life andfull memory of the Body of Christ, even if in our eyes we cannot do much torebuild that Body”. But the Lord does not ask us to perform miracles: Heinvites us to make them possible, to create the conditions in our souls andin our social bodies so that the wonders of divine omnipotence may bemanifested. To open ourselves to the past, to the memory of God’s greatactions in history, is an essential condition for making it possible for us tobecome aware of our identity and our destiny today so that we may restorethe Kingdom of Christ tomorrow.+ Carlo Maria ViganòTitular Archbishop of UlpianaApostolic Nuncio28 August 2020Saint AugustineBishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church
Heart of Jesus Families Novena - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUBAccording to the revelations of the Sacred Heart and with prayers composed by Saint Margaret Mary AlacoqueFor the spread of the kingdom of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so as to renew all things in ChristThis 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)
Rosalie Marie Levy -Ebook (pdf) - 94 pages
This brief treatise was written by a woman who converted from Judaism in the early days of the 20th century and who, in her zeal to convince her fellow Jews of the wisdom of her conversion, wrote much in defense of Our Lord and his Church. One of her most famous works is Why Jews Convert—the personal story of many Jews of her day who came to the realization that Jesus was the promised Messiah and who, once having accepted that fact, followed him in the Catholic church that he founded.Given here is the barest sketch of the history of the world, followed by extensive quotes from the ancient Hebrew scriptures and a corresponding text from the New Testament proving their fulfillment. She then discusses the questions “What think you of Christ? Whose Son is He?” and gives the proper answers. Finally, she exhorts her past co-religionists to consider her arguments and then gives a list of hundreds of Jewish converts in an appendix to the work. This is a powerful little tool for both education and evangelization. Loreto’s editors think highly enough of it to have brought it back into print after an absence of over 70 years.
Rev. G. E. Phillips - EBOOK - PDF
This history of the Holy House of Loreto is the most decisive work in English defending the authenticity of this most hallowed shrine in all Christendom. Our Lady’s Holy House at Nazareth was taken by angels to Dalmatia (Croatia) in 1291 to prevent its desecration by the infidels. Three years later it took flight again to rest in Loreto, Italy, where it remains. Rev. Phillips provides the facts, and excitement behind the story. Many cures, apparitions, and miraculous conversions, have happened within the limestone walls of the Santa Casa.
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.
By Father Leonard Feeney, S.J. - EBOOK - PDF
To My Mother, from her 'Minstrel Boy'.
So, you do not like poetry. Too many flowers and angels and stars and clouds. And too many adjectives ending in “Y”. Besides, the better the poem the less you can understand it, right? You are an ordinary Joe who prefers more solid food for his mind and you do not really care if the words rhyme anyway. Well, Joe, lighten up! Let your mind get a taste of Father Feeney’s verse. Your whole family will enjoy the new turf. It will warm the heart. In fact, every one of Father’s poems comes with that guarantee.
Night Noises
Angela died today and went to Heaven; We counted her summers up and they were seven. But why does that trouble you, unloosened shutter, That flap at my window in the wind's wild flutter!
Angela's eyes tonight are cold and dim, Off in the land of song and Seraphim. But what does that mean to you, O creaking stair, And mice in the wall that gnaw the plaster there!
Angela's little hands are folded white, Deep in the meadow, under the starry night. But why should an ugly gnat keep finely whining Around the candle-flame beside me shining!
And never again — and never again will she Come running across the field to welcome me. But, little sheep-bells, out on the distant hill, Why, at this hour, do you wake and tinkle still!
And not any more—alas!— and not any more, Will she climb the stairs and knock at my lonely door. But, moaning owl in the hayloft overhead, How did you come to know that she was dead!
Ebook - Dr. Paul Lavin & Robert Lavin
Without knowing anything about the man whose life is recounted on these pages, The Iron Man of China may seem a curious title. Except for a year furlough home in the states, Father Lavin served the Chinese people for twenty years (1932-1953), traversing thousands of miles by foot or bicycle, and exposing himself every day to life threatening dangers. In 1953 the Communists expelled him from the mainland threatening him with death if he should ever return. This well-documented book, written by the Iron Man’s nephew, illustrates one of the reasons why there are ten million Catholics, loyal to Rome, in China today.
This beautiful little shirt pocket sized prayerbook is only 3" x 5" and less than 1/2 inch thick, yet it contains almost 300 pages of wonderful prayers. This book contains every prayer, meditation, novena, and Mass for the Holy souls that you could imagine. It is a treasure for those who love the Holy Souls and wish to pray TO and FOR our dearly departed. It was the official Manual of the Purgatorian Society promoted under the auspices of the Redemptorists. This edition was published during the second world war in 1941 and was extremely popular among Catholic Americans during the war years. This is a much nicer and handier version of the paperback edition that Loreto has been selling for years.
Sidney Ohlhausen - Illustrated - EBOOK - 462 pages
This collection of documents and letters grant us an intimate look into the life of an extraordinary priest. Rev. Haydock is most often remembered today as the author of the famous “Haydock” bible which contains the Douay-Rheims text along with the copious footnotes and commentary by Haydock himself. His purpose was not merely to give the persecuted Catholics of England the best in scriptural text and exegesis taken from the Fathers and Doctors for their own education and edification, but also to give them scholarly ammunition to assist them in the conversion of their protestant family and friends who had been so confused by the various heretical texts and sermons available to them. The life of Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774–1849) neatly enclosed some of the most remarkable decades in the history of the post-Reformation English Catholic community, as its lay and clerical members moved forward from an ad hoc tolerance to a fuller legal equality. Three years after Haydock’s death, in 1852 St John Newman (1801–90) was to hail the period that took in his own conversion in 1845 as embracing a ‘second spring’, in which England’s Catholic Church re-emerged from centuries of oppression and obscurity, since the Tudor Reformation of the 16th century.
Monsignor Gaumé - EBOOK - PDF
Advocate of God and consoler of Mary, this is the story of the "first" thief, whose wonderful eleventh hour conversion and defense of the holy Kingship of Christ on Calvary, merited him the everlasting title, "The Good."
Monsignor Gaumé opens his book with a graphic, even ugly, description of the true face of a highway brigand in the days of the Caesars. He presents the first meeting of our Egyptian thief and the Son of God in the idolatrous land of the Pharaohs on the occasion of the flight of the impoverished Holy Family away from the sword of Herod.
The rest of this profoundly inspiring account begins on the "Mount of the Skull." It is the story of the Passion as seen through this most unlikely of characters. Meet Dismas; a dying man whose only request from his "Lord" was but a "remembrance" in His Kingdom! Rejoice for a man who was the first to be with Christ "in Paradise."
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.
Garnering what liturgical fragments he could from the words of the New Testament, and what tradition has provided from apostolic times and patristic times, Father Fortescue skillfully demonstrates the continuity of religious ritual rooted in the holy sacrifice as ordained by the Eternal High Priest and Victim, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The one sacrifice, liturgically re-presented in an unbloody manner, although it assumed devotional variations within the principal sees of ancient Christendom, always maintained the same essential form whatever the time or place it was offered in the Catholic world. As this great scholar proves in this admirable study, all Catholic rites come from the same apostolic parentage. If you love the holy Mass you will find this book a worthy companion to your missal. This book describes the ancient Roman Liturgy not the Mass in use since 1969.
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.
Fr. Denis Fahey, C. S. Sp. - EBOOK as PDF, EPUB, or Kindle - 72 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
Mental prayer is, in a certain sense, the most important exercise of the spiritual life. Fidelity to it (saints tell us) will ensure salvation; its complete abandonment may lead to perdition; progress therein means a corresponding progress in the interior life of union with God.Hence, the special value of books which treat of mental prayer. The excellence of the present work lies in the source from which it is drawn. St. Thomas Aquinas holds a unique place among the Doctors of the Church. He has become the official theologian of Christ’s Mystical Spouse, her Universal Doctor. She has canonized his teaching, making it her own in all its essential elements.This is the first of of Fr. Fahey’s books to be published, and it remains one of his most important for it presents the foundation of his spiritual life of prayer that was so fruitful.
Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp., - 100 pages - EBOOK - PDF, Kindle, & EPUB
The art of money manipulation is similar to the art of manipulating the number of inches in a foot or ounces in a pound or days in a week. Those who can do it are in control of the lives and fortunes of those who cannot. Since peace within societies and between nations must be founded upon justice, it stands to reason that there cannot be any justice or peace in a world where the manipulators of money control the economic order to their own advantage. The Christian social order of the nation inevitably breaks down.
The money question is very much on the mind of the American people today. Only the Catholic Church has the answers that we seek. Father Fahey is among the best expositors of the social Kingship of Christ and the economic principles of a Christian social order
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.