Philosophy

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 408 pages

This magnificent set of four books is an exposition and guide to the entire Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was written by one of the premier Dominican Thomistic scholars who were active in the scholastic revival of the 1930s and 40s. These books contain the entire Summa transposed into modern English prose, thereby making accessible, for those who are not trained philosophers, the complete theology of Saint Thomas’s Summa.
The composition of these four books matches up perfectly with each of the 614 questions of the Summa. This book is meant to be read alongside the actual Summa in order to make it more easily understood by the average reader.

Volume One - The Architect of the Universe - 408 pages

Volume Two - The Pursuit of Happiness - 412 pages

Volume Three - The Fullness of Life - 462 pages

Volume Four -  The Way of Life - 430 Pages

The Author

Father Farrell’s four-part Companion to the Summa has been responsible for much of the renewed interest in Thomism in the United States. It is required reading for many Catholic college students and “unrequired reading” for thousands of other lovers of St. Thomas.
Its author was born in Chicago in 1902. He attended Dominican schools and was ordained in the Dominican order in 1927, then going to the University of Fribourg for his S.T.D. degree. In 1940 he was awarded the seldom given Dominican honor of the Master of Sacred Theology degree. He served as a Navy chaplain during World War II and was then stationed at the Dominican Houses of Studies in Washington, D. C. and River Forest, Illinois until his death in 1951.

A Word About Loreto Publications

All publishing houses have some overarching principles that guide the choice of which books they publish and promote (unless they be primarily interested in monetary gain, in which case they are of no account) and according to which they base their operations and choices.

Loreto’s foundation is based upon a specific set of Catholic principles and a school of thought that developed around a religious order founded in 1949 in Cambridge Massachusetts, the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the heart of their spirituality lies two essential pursuits, the pursuit of wisdom as described by their philosopher Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M. —“Wisdom is the most perfect knowledge of the most important truths in the right order of emphasis, accompanied by a total, permanent disposition to live accordingly.”—and a fervent desire to train up an army of apostles to convert our beloved nation to the Catholic religion.

The spiritual and intellectual life of these ardent Slaves developed by being steeped in the works of people such as Cornelius aLapidé, Dom Gueranger, St. John Eudes, St. Louis Marie deMontfort, Bl. Dom Marmion, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Alphonsus Maria deLiguori, and the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, especially St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Of course, their attachment and devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and the ancient and immemorial Roman liturgy is legendary.

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 408 pages

This magnificent set of four books is an exposition and guide to the entire Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was written by one of the premier Dominican Thomistic scholars who were active in the scholastic revival of the 1930s and 40s. These books contain the entire Summa transposed into modern English prose, thereby making accessible, for those who are not trained philosophers, the complete theology of Saint Thomas’s Summa.
The composition of these four books matches up perfectly with each of the 614 questions of the Summa. This book is meant to be read alongside the actual Summa in order to make it more easily understood by the average reader.
Volume One
This volume attempts to put in popular form St. Thomas’ masterly study of God, man, and the world in the Prima Pars of his Summa Theologica. His study is of extreme pertinence to our times precisely because we are the victims of a constantly increasing intellectual confusion. We have become more and more timid about digging beneath the surface of life, more and more emphatic about a knowledge of facts, less and less concerned with the wisdom of beginnings and ends. To put it baldly, we have concentrated more and more on the physical world and less and less on man and on God. The fact is, however, that exclusive concentration on a study of the world does not unearth the important truths about the world; an exclusive consideration of man and the world results in a blurred, distorted vision of both. We have tried to know only the world and remained most ignorant of it; to know only man and the world and have become entangled in a mass of meaningless detail. For the world is intelligible only in terms of man and God; man is intelligible only in terms of God; God is intelligible only in terms of Himself.

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 412 pages

Volume Two
There is a need felt by those who, having heard enough of St. Thomas to whet their appetite, suddenly discover that they cannot go directly to St. Thomas without the guidance of a professor; and for most of them the leisure days of the classroom are over forever.
This, then, is the double purpose of this book: to furnish a rational defense of his faith for the ordinary Catholic and to open St. Thomas to the layman who has no professional philosophical or theological knowledge. It is not, then, intended only for the very learned, nor for a textbook. If it must be described in a phrase, it might best be called an easy guidebook to St. Thomas’s greatest work.
Just as a guidebook to Paris can be best evaluated in the streets of Paris, so this guide book to the Summa can be best appreciated in the pages of the Summa, by comparing the individual chapters of the book with the corresponding questions of the Prima Secundae (First Part of the Second Part) of St. Thomas’ Summa, questions that are given at the head of each chapter. Any particularly striking point will be found more fully and more beautifully developed in the Summa itself; further proofs, explanations, and illustrations can all be had directly from St. Thomas.
It is important to remember that it is the Summa reduced to popular language and not merely another book about St. Thomas or about the Summa. In fact, it is often more than that, for, particularly on difficult questions, the parallel passages in other works of St. Thomas have been freely used where the conciseness of the Summa might have caused some obscurity for one not wholly familiar with the thought of Thomas.

Father Farrell’s four-part Companion to the Summa has been responsible for much of the renewed interest in Thomism in the United States. It is required reading for many Catholic college students and “unrequired reading” for thousands of other lovers of St. Thomas.
Its author was born in Chicago in 1902. He attended Dominican schools and was ordained in the Dominican order in 1927, then going to the University of Fribourg for his S.T.D. degree. In 1940 he was awarded the seldom given Dominican honor of the Master of Sacred Theology degree. He served as a Navy chaplain during World War II and was then stationed at the Dominican Houses of Studies in Washington, D. C. and River Forest, Illinois until his death in 1951.

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 464 pages

Volume Three
Originally, Fr. Farrell published Vol. Two and Vol. Three before Volumes One and Four.
Chesterton, in his Saint Thomas Aquinas, has explained both my order of publication and the title of this volume. “He (Thomas) did, with a most solid and colossal conviction, believe in Life; and in something like what Stevenson called the great theorem of the livableness of life.… The medievals had put many restrictions, and some excessive restrictions, upon the universal human hunger and even fury for life.... Never until modern thought began, did they really have to fight with men who desired to die. That horror had threatened them in Asiatic Albigensianism, but it never became normal to them—until now.” The whole second part of the Summa, covered by Vols. two and three, deals precisely with the living of human life, the invaluable meaning of that life, and the secrets of the fullest success in the living of it. This part was published first, had to be published first, because of that unholy, perverted eagerness of modern men to throw away their lives and to discard their humanity. This is St. Thomas’ superb defense of the humanity of man. The remaining volumes of this work plumb the depths and scale the heights of the unutterable truths, the mysterious beginnings and glorious goals, that interpenetrate that human life with something of divinity, the truths that are the ultimate explanations of its incredible significance.
This is not a book about the Summa, but the Summa itself reduced to popular language; and Thomas is not read in a day or a year, nor can we suffer an introduction to him, shake hands and then dismiss him from our lives. If we make the happy mistake of so much as smiling at him, he moves bag and baggage into our minds, to become an increasingly more delightful intimate as the years move on.

Fr. Walter Farrell, O. P. - Hardcover 430 pages

Volume Four
St. Thomas died too soon to finish his book, the Summa Theologica. Not all authors are so fortunate. This book marks the completion of a series, projected long ago perhaps with an eye to Thomas’ good fortune. The first was a search for the ultimate answers that form the bedrock of human life, human action, and the living of human life; the second furnished the key to human life and human action; the third concentrated on the living of human life in all its exuberant fullness; this, the fourth, traces the royal road a man’s feet must walk and the goals that await him at the end of the journey.
It was the Son of God Who declared. “I am the way”; this book takes His words literally, as they were meant to be taken. Its subject matter, then, is the sublime mystery by which the Son of God became man to lead men to God, the mystery of the Incarnation. It does not stop at an examination of the mystery but goes on to trace all the consequences of God’s dwelling among men: the life of Christ, detail by detail; His blessed mother; the continuation of His life in the sacraments; and the goal of heaven which is at the end of the royal road, the goal of hell which is the terminal of any other path. From beginning to end, this book deals with the supernatural, and that without apology, excuse, or defense; all this has been taken care of in previous volumes. Its contents are thus not so much an argued thesis as a divinely stated fact. If a modern reader is avid of facts, he will find a sublime diet of divine facts here; if, however, he is fastidious in the matter of facts, particularly supernatural facts, this diet may well prove too much for him.
It was not, however, for the fastidious, but for those who were hungry for God that these books were written. If they do something to stave off starvation from those who have the courage to admit their hunger, Thomas may be pardoned for not having seen to it that they were not finished, and I may be forgiven for the effrontery that began them.
Again, I wish to express my gratitude to Thomas for the good things in these books, and to my critics that the bad things are not worse.

Gary Potter - PB - 100 pages

Gary Potter has been a Catholic journalist and writer of the first rank for over fifty years. As a convert to the Faith during the 1960s, (that time of revolutionary turmoil in the Church and the world), he developed a unique perspective on the Church in the 20th century that has matured over the years into a deep and penetrating vision of our times and the place of the Church and the Faith in the politics of our age.
As it is in Heaven is all about Christian politics. It contains Mr. Potter’s summation of that common worldview that was held by the men who built that civilization known as Christendom during the ages of Faith in the Christian West. He observes its disappearance and describes the effects of its absence on the life of men in our day. He proposes that it will one day be revived in a fashion suitable to modern times.
This extended essay encourages Catholics to face reality in the murky spiritual darkness of our present century. That means that it is also a message of light and hope. Do not be mistaken, Mr. Potter is no silly optimist or clueless observer. He knows the darkness and the dangers as clearly as any living writer, but he is a Catholic through and through, and his judgments are sound and realistic. Catholic realism! A realistic outlook can only come to a Catholic who believes and who tries to live according to that belief. The strength to face reality and to deal with it courageously is what is most necessary to men who wish to truly live—not just pass through this world—and to fight manfully for truth and goodness and beauty during this short pilgrimage that is life on earth.
On Earth, as it is in Heaven is part of the daily prayer of every Catholic, indeed it is also the daily prayer of many who loosely adhere to certain Christian principles, even though they do not yet belong to God’s Church and are therefore far behind on their road to salvation. The subtitle of the book (Christian Living and Social Order) clarifies the challenge. Let us hope and pray that this challenge to live this life as if God really mattered, is heard not only by weak and confused Catholics, but also by all men, who in any way desire to live a virtuous life, make this world a better place in which to live, and to give glory to God by doing His will ON EARTH, as it is already done in Heaven.

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.

Distributist Perspectives is a collection of essays by leading thinkers of the school of English Distributists that in the 1920s and 1930s articulated a humane vision of social and economic life based upon the Social Doctrine of the Church. Subtitled "Essays on the Economics of Justice and Charity," and including essays by Hilaire Belloc, G. K. Chesterton, George Maxwell, Harold Robbins, Cdr. Herbert Shove, H. J. Massingham, and Eric Gill, this first collection of Distributist writings serves as an introduction to the depth and coherence of the Distributist position on such essential topics as the nature of work, the role of tradition, the dangers of industrialism, and the importance to the family and the State of the widespread distribution of ownership of productive property. Volume I of the series offers a rare glimpse through true, primary source material, of the seriousness and persuasiveness of the critique of modernity by some of the finest English Catholic minds of last century. This first volume of Distributist Perspectives also offers a newly edited edition of the Distributist Manifesto, written by Arthur J. Penty for the Distributist League in 1937.

This compilation of important distributist authors delivers valuable insight into the manifest problems of society. Although most of the contributions were written more than 50 years ago, the questions raised by the writers have remained largely unanswered, and essays regarding topics like education, work, and freedom have lost little relevance in the ensuing decades. Featured authors include Eric Gill, Harold J. Massingham, and Dorothy Sayers.

EBOOK - PDF Only

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.

Professor Romano Amerio - PB 816 pages
Romano Amerio, Italian by nationality, was a man of broad and classical erudition, who taught philosophy, Greek and Latin at the Academy of Lugano, Switzerland from 1928 to 1970. He was an episcopal consultant to the Central Preparatory Commission of Vatican II and was a peritus for the Bishop of Lugano during the Council. A true insider to the Council’s activities. He was a friend of the late Cardinal Siri of Genoa and died in 1997. This is the best book written so far on the philosopy and theology of the Council.
334 topic-sections in forty-two chapters covering, among many other things:
The Crisis, The Crises of the Church, The Council: Before, During and After, Paul VI, The Priesthood, Youth, Women, Somatolatry, Penance, Religious and Social Movements, Schools, Catechetics, Religious Orders, Pyrrhonism, Dialogue, Mobilism, Faith, Hope and Charity, Natural Law, Divorce, Sodomy, Abortion, Suicide, Death Penalty, War, Situation Ethics, Globality and Graduality, The Autonomy of Values, Work, Technology and Contemplation, Civilization and Secondary Christianity, Democracy in the Church, Theology and Philosophy, Ecumenism, Baptism, Eucharist, Liturgical Reform, Matrimony, Theodicy, Eschatology, and MUCH MUCH more!

For Chesterton fans this collection of articles written over eighty years ago are vintage G. K. The author arranged the articles in book format by sections and chapters giving to the whole the salient title: The Outline of Sanity. Accused by thickheaded social "progressives" of wanting to push society back into an antiquated agrarian provincialism, these insightful socio-economic indictions ought rather to have heralded the Catholic thinker as today’s prophet for social sanity. The perennial truths of the principles making up these critical commentaries will surely be even more evident in today’s restless age of stroboscopic consumerism. Master of paradox that he is, Chesterton, the philosopher, exposes the enslaving and dehumanizing aspects of an economy dependent upon monopolistic plutocrats and their so-called "labor saving" machines of mass production. With his penchant for balancing satire with humor, this literary giant provides a common sense solution to this age’s fast pace trek to nowhere. Modern man must be weaned gradually, he argues, back away from the imperialistic megalith corporation as a statistical wage earner and be productive on his own terms, on his own land. In order for man to achieve happiness, his true end, he must not build his life around some ephemeral retirement plan, but live each day for his real end: eternal retirement with God. Taking the original sense of the word economy as domestic harmony the ideal which the author champions is simply called Distributism. It is the very antithesis of Monopoly.

Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.Without sound philosophy to set the limits of scientific inquiry and regulate its modern tendency for cosmological usurpation, science degenerates into scientism. God is the Creator of the universe. All things are ordered to His ends. All matter is at the ultimate service of man’s supernatural vocation. This course was given in the spirit of St. Thomas Aquinas, the “Doctor of Creation.” Nature and the fidelity thereof, matter, space and time, substance and accidents, wisdom and the laws of nature, unicity and the four causes, and finally, the culminating chapter on the final cause, or teleology (purpose) of things, make a captivating study for every man and woman who wishes to be childlike and repose in the contemplative embrace of wonder.

Fr. Bernard Weullner, S. J. - PB 172 Pages

Many readers and students of philosophy are familiar with Fr. Weulner’s brilliant and most useful Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy. Here is another essential work from the master teacher on the philosophic Principles.
Principles may well be regarded as the main part of philosophy. They are among the major discoveries of philosophy, condensing in themselves much philosophical inquiry and insight. They are the starting points of much philosophical discussion. They are the base for exposition, for proof, and for criticism. They serve the student and the reader of philosophy much as legal maxims serve jurists and as proverbs serve the people. They are for scholastic philosophers the household truths of their tradition.
All our masters of philosophy know these principles well. They use them as a constant set of convictions and as a standard setting on many sub­jects. Masters like Aristotle and St. Thomas incessantly weave these prin­ciples into their writings, and so much so, that familiarity with their principles becomes an indispensable preparation for any intelligent grasp of their works and for any genuine assent to their conclusions.