Alice Curtayne - PB 176 page - 5.5" x8.5"

 

Bright jewels of Irish storytelling for children

Saints have over the years inspired many tales that go beyond what we know about them. These pious fictions are delightful and can even be instructive. For the lovely legends of the saints that have come down to us reflect not only the holiness but also the gaiety of the saints. These Irish legends are in that tradition. Patrick, Brigid, Columcille — “the three brightest jewels in Ireland’s crown” — are here, and Canice, Finbarr, Cormac, Finnian, Brendan, Gall, and others.

Here’s the moving story of what happened when Patrick baptized the daughters of the King of Connaught and the shocking tale of the spike that pierced Aengus, the courageous Prince of Munster, just as Patrick baptized him. You’ll read about the spilled jar of milk that led Adamnan to become the Abbot of Iona; how Colman’s alarm clocks (a mouse and a rooster) took turns waking him; and a dozen or so other charming tales.

Alice Curtayne brings to these legends of Irish saints a rich grasp and a deep love of the Catholic faith of her native Ireland. She has unerringly chosen stories which will appeal to readers young and old and she tells them with the poetry and feeling that mark the work of every true Irish storyteller.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Covering topics from literature to philosophy, history to social criticism, this is a snapshot of thought on 20th-century Europe (and the world) by one of Europe’s sharpest wits and ablest pens. The volume includes 39 brief sketches of individuals, each one of whom illustrates an aspect of contemporary society. Social, historical, and religious thought all figure prominently in this book, making it of great use in any study of the literary, religious, and social aspects of early 20th-century England and Europe. It will be of interest to students and scholars of the essay in English literature. It is a fine introduction to Chesterton’s social criticism, which remains unique for its willingness to criticize some of the uncomfortable truths about capitalism without straying toward an inhuman bureaucratic socialism.

Dom Alban Fruth

Do you want to know how to make the Heart of Jesus glad? Then listen to the stories about Tonio Martinez and Andrew de Thaye. They made their lives a song of love for both Jesus and His Blessed Mother, Mary. From their lives you too can learn how to please and love Jesus. These boys in a few short years have attained that goal which sometimes takes grown-ups a whole lifetime to reach. If you do what these boys did, Jesus will also consider you a hero. Jesus loves little children. He wants them to visit Him and to receive Him in Holy Communion. He said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not. For of such is the kingdom of God." Go then to Jesus, and He will make your heart pure and holy, as is His own. Let Tonio and Andrew show you the way to the loving Heart of Jesus!

Hilaire Belloc

Belloc has written elsewhere that the victory of the Reformation in England led to its victory in much of the rest of Europe. That victory unleashed the forces of social disintegration, Protestantism, Capitalism, and anti-Catholicism and let them to challenge the tradition of Monarchy on the field of battle. This book tells the story of how Charles I came to face those forces, manipulated by the Money Power, and how and why he failed. Charles I reads like "a ripping yarn", but it explores the personalities, the issues, the clashes, and the circumstances as they were. Thus it is not "acceptable orthodoxy." But it is real history.

Hilaire Belloc

In The Last Rally, Belloc narrates with clarity and vigor a central episode in the decline of the English Monarchy. Restored to the throne following the interlude of Cromwell’s “Commonwealth,” Charles II devoted his life as King of England to maintaining the integrity of the throne against all the forces arrayed against it: the power of the great landowners who worked through the Parliament; the influence of the Lawyer’s Guild; and the irresistible mercantile and financial strength of the City of London. The story that Belloc brings to life is thus one of survival: the story of a ship of state brought “through peril and storm under a great captain.” It is also the story of manhood and determination in the face of overwhelming odds; as such it is a story that Hilaire Belloc was eminently qualified to write.

“If kingship would have remained, the Peasantry would have been saved. Also there would have been a considerable and well-organised traditional Catholic body, which might have been a quarter of the nation, or at least a sixth . . . As it was, with the fall of the Stuarts, the Catholic Church in England was utterly crushed out. “ — Hilaire Belloc, 1939

Dollfuss: An Austrian Patriot was written by neo-Thomist professor Fr. Johannes Messner based upon his close association and collaboration with Engelbert Dollfuss, Chancellor of Austria. Messner's account of Dollfuss's life provides a brief sketch of biographical details, but, more importantly, illustrates Dollfuss's social vision and provides an account of his attempt to structure Austrian social and economic life along the lines determined by Quadragesimo Anno. As a leading exponent of Catholic Social Doctrine as it was expressed in the Austrian tradition established by Karl von Vogelsang, Messner is uniquely qualified to highlight the reforms initiated by Dollfuss as they relate to the traditional social vision of the Church.

Dr. Zmirak is a student of traditional and Catholic political economy, and the author of Wilhelm Roepke: Swiss Localist; Global Economist. Dr. von Hildebrand is a frequent writer and lecturer on Catholic culture and related subjects. Her husband, the late Dr. Deitrich von Hildebrand, collaborated with Dollfuss and his associates on the paper of the Austrian state, The Christian Corporative State.

The most popular autobiography ever written may well have been that of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Unlike the stigmatist Padre Pio, who is the only saint of modern times to compare in popularity with the Little Flower’s universal appeal, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, during her mortal life (1873-1897), was hardly known outside the walls of her Carmelite cloister. And, she may have never been well known this side of heaven had she not been ordered by her superiors to write a personal journal of her own exquisite growth and fruition in the spiritual life – a growth that never idled from the time she was three. “From the age of three years,” she testified, “I never refused anything to the Great God.” Before the youngest child of Louis and Zelie Martin left this world, she prophesied that her greatest active work would “begin” in heaven and that she would employ herself in beatitude “doing good upon earth.” From there, just as she promised, she has never ceased to “let fall a shower of roses” upon all who invoke her. Such devotion of the universal church, as that bestowed upon Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, was quickly rewarded by the Vicar of Christ. She was canonized only twenty-eight years after her death by Pope Benedict XV.

Loreto Publications is thrilled to publish Carmelite Father Albert Dolan’s unique collection of eight monographs, each of which deals with the temporal spiritual journey of our chosen vessel of grace, either as the saint saw herself in the eyes of God, or as she was intimately known by her parents, four sibling sisters, fellow religious, childhood friends and others whose lives she touched after her death. One might call this redolent nosegay of inspirational testimonies, an anthology, in the Greek sense of that word, for anthos literally means a “gathering of flowers.” In order to compose his octave of devotion, Father Dolan traveled, in 1924, to France: to Normandy’s Alencon, where Saint Thérèse was born, to her family home in Buissonnets, to the Carmel at Lisieux, and to other French towns. Then, he went to Rome, where he and Pope Pius XI had a mutually productive discussion of his apostolate to make the “Little Way” of the Little Flower better known in homes and monasteries in America. At the Carmelite convent he was blessed by priceless interviews with Saint Thérèse’s three sisters (who were nuns there), and one of her teachers. At Caen, he visited a fourth sister, who had joined the Visitation order. One third of this book is dedicated to these precious recollections gathered from her living siblings. In fact, one of the eight monographs, “Book Five,” is completely devoted to the Little Flower’s saintly mother Zelie, who died when Thérèse was only four years old.

Dr. Paul Lavin & Robert Lavin

  

 

Read the Book Review - The Iron Man of China

 

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.

 

Monsignor Gaumé

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."

 

Table of Contents
The Robbers of Judea   
Traditions Concerning the Good Thief   
Name and Origin of the the Good Thief   
The Good Thief’s Manner of Life   
The Scourging   
The Scourging (continued)   
The Way of Sorrow   
Mount Calvary   
Mount Calvary (continued)   
The Crucifixion   
The Suffering of the Cross   
Conversion of the Good Thief   
Causes of the Good Thief’s Conversion   
The Wondrous Nature of the Good Thief’s Conversion   
Faith of the Good Thief   
Hope of the Good Thief   
Charity of the Good Thief   
Prudence and Justice of the Good Thief   
Fortitude and Temperance of the Good Thief   
The Good Thief’s Claim to Martyrdom   
The Good Thief’s Reward   
The Good Thief’s Reward (continued)   
The Glory of the Good Thief   
The Glory of the Good Thief (continued)   
What Became of the Relics of the Good Thief   
On Devotion to the Good Thief   
Notes   

Norbert Georges, O.P.

Preface

When this little book was composed no one dreamed that it would be an  instrument of God to arouse devotion to Blessed Martin over the English speaking world and bring men to a realization of his right to be a patron of social and interracial justice. As a matter of fact, the interest it has created among English-speaking people has renewed the fervor of the Spanish-speaking people. Peru, in particular, had come to a greater realization of the treasure it possessed, and a governmental decree in November, 1939, declared Blessed Martin national patron of all works of social justice. Requests for literature in Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, German, Slovak and even Russian and Armenian, have come to the office of the Blessed Martin Guild. Everywhere, Blessed Martin is being recognized, not only as a friend in time of need, but also as a star of hope, a leader and a guide in the difficult process of spiritual growth of rehabilitation. This is undoubtedly a sign of God’s approval and  a proof that Blessed Martin is a modern saint with a particular mission at this time when men are so persistently tempted to turn from God and seek their ultimate happiness and destiny in the things of earth. Blessed Martin, by his life, shows conclusively that true peace and happiness can be found only in God, that it can be found in God even by those whom the world despises and who have not the advantages of temporal prosperity and education.
May this little book continue to bring joy to those in sorrow, inspiration to those in doubt, and courage to those who are depressed by suffering and the trials of this world.

By John Haffert - PB -  176 pages

Saint Nuño of Portugal: The Founder of the Braganza Dynasty and Father of Modern Portugal was Beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1918 and Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Don Nuño Alvarez Perreira went to war, in defense of his country. He fought, he killed, and he received many decorations. He was wounded, but he was “lucky” enough to come home.
Five hundred years after he fought his battles, the Blessed Virgin made what was perhaps her most spectacular appearance on earth—her appearance on October 13, 1917, at Fatima, on the very ground on which Nuño fought, and holding in her hands the very symbols under which Nuño led his troops in that place, five hundred years before.
This amazing Nuño—Our Lady’s Knight—led a life bridging centuries, stranger than fiction, fraught with the mystery of war and evil, gold-touched by the sun of the promise made in 1917 by Our Lady at Fatima: “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph and there will be peace.”

Reminiscences of
Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity
A Carmelite Nun of Dijon 1901-1906

Elizabeth was given the name of the Holy Trinity for her consecrated life in the Carmel of Dijon. In here writings, hovere, she referred to herself as "the Praise of Glory" (Ephesians 1:12) on account of her special gift of penetrating the sublime truths in the epistles of St. Paul. So abundantly fruitful was the life of God in here that she seemed to reflect in here every act the eternal processions of His Truth and Love. Saint Elizabeth has been called "another Thérèse".

Written by
Rev. Charles B. Garside, M.A.
Preface by
Rev. Edward F. Garesché, S.J.

Garnering his material from the last two of the four Books of Kings, Father Charles Garside, M.A., paints a portrait of a thundering visionary, who lights up the Old Testament perhaps more brilliantly than any other Biblical figure. A man of prayer and solitude, celibate and chaste, he moved courageously with every heavenly summons, never failing, never daunted. So much a contemplative and a teacher of eternal truth that, even though his inital mark on history falls in the Old Dispensation, he is nevertheless justly claimed as "the founder" of the Carmelite order. Taken by God, who came to seize him in a whirlwind, he was assumed into the heavens by way of a fiery chariot, and placed in the Garden of Eden from whence he shall come in the last days to do battle with the Antichrist.

Originally subtitled “A Study,” Belloc’s Richelieu is a compelling sketch of the Cardinal’s character — specifically of his Will — seen through his background, the figures surrounding him, and his line of action. It is also, above all, a compact chronicle of the making of modern Europe, and the tragedy of its rupture into Catholic and Protestant camps. In attempting to achieve for France the leadership of Europe, Richelieu, Belloc says, “loosed forces stronger than he could deal with,” with the consequent weakening, if not destruction, of Catholicism: “. . . he had almost ruined it in the Empire, and had in any case left it permanently unable to recover its old supremacy there.” This gripping permanently unable to recover its ld supremacy there.” This gripping tale, unfolding at the heart of the European story, is a candid look at Richeliu’s uncanny statesmanship and undoubted sincerity, and the unintended but disastrous effect of these upon the soul of Western civilization.

“. . . Once [Gustavus Adolphus] took the field, Richelieu found that he had called up the devil, and that the devil was too much for him.” Hilaire Belloc, 1930

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) was one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century. Skilled as a poet, journalist, essayist, and author of fiction and children’s stories, Belloc was above all a first-rate historian. His historical biographies include Danton (1899), Robespirre (1901), Marie Antoinette (1909), Cromwell (1927), James the Second (1928), Joan of Arc (1929) Wolsey (1930), Cranmer (1931), Napoleon (1932), Charles I (1933), Milton (1935), Louis XIV (1938), and Charles II: The Last Rally (1940).

Preface by Fr. Michael Crowdy. Born in 1914, he qualified as a lawyer and later served with the British Army in India during WWII. He converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 1946, and in 1954 was ordained a priest in the Oratory of St. Philip Neir, later serving in Florence, Northampton, and London.

by Hilaire Belloc

In Which Are to be Found the Eulogies of the Saints & Blessed Approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites up to 1961

Translated from the official Latin texts and adhering to the 1962 liturgical calendar, The Roman Martyrology is an essential part of the daily office of Prime, fascinating daily reading, and the ultimate baby name book! This edition was reprinted anew in its full glory in 2006 from the original 1961 edition that carries a 1962 imprimatur (it was the last revision printed for the 1962 liturgical calendar of the traditional Roman Rite). Fully indexed, handsomely bound (better than the original in fact), and well-made, this book will be cherished in more ways than one!

Dona Emilio Pardo Bazan

Much more than simply “another life of Saint Francis,” this book will dazzle and enthrall, and educate all readers, from the most erudite to those who have only rudimentary knowledge of (or interest in) the life of one of the greatest and most exceptional saints. Aptly titled, this author provides the reader with a deeply spiritual and radically historical framework in which she illumines the uniqueness of this soul and the depths of the effects upon the world produced by the sanctity of this one human being who cooperated so magnanimously with the ever present grace of God.

A compelling historical novel about England’s patron, and an evocative picture of 3rd-century Christianity and Roman life in general.

Archbishop Alban Goodier - PB 280 pages - 8.5" x 5.5"

These pages remind us that God's grace can conquer every human flaw . . .

Christ came not to call saints but to make them — often out of weak, stupid, and sinful men. That’s why the saints are not only models of holiness for us to imitate; they’re reminders that God’s grace can outshine every human flaw.

As Alban Goodier’s classic Saints for Sinners shows us, even the greatest saints had to battle the same stubborn vices, temptations of the flesh, and bouts of spiritual dryness that afflict you and me today. In these pages, with a style that perfectly blends hagiographical detail, spiritual meditation, and a skilled storyteller’s touch, Archbishop Goodier brings us the tales of:

Read these stories and find in them delight and encouragement, as well as hope. You'll come to see that there is no one so sinful, weak, or desolate that God has not already raised another like him to the heights of glory.

In Heaven, where they know what is really important, they marvel that we make such a fuss about the atom bomb and are so little excited about our Lady’s coming to Fatima – easily seen, in heaven, at least, as the most tremendous event of the century. The vision came to the children, our Lady’s message for the whole grown-up world was entrusted to children: children, then, have the first and best right to hear all about it, the best chance of understanding what our Lady wants and of cooperating with her in helping our miserable old world, so sadly mismanaged by grown-ups. The book is not meant just for small children or just for big children. No more enthralling story was ever told, nothing so exciting has been imagined by tellers of tales – and this story is true!

Mark Fellows This is a “must read” for all Christians, especially those who want a better understanding of why our Lord sent His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to earth to communicate to us through Sister Lucia, and her cousins. The book is an easy read of 268 pages tracing the life of Lucia from birth to her death to the present. It is conveniently divided into three main parts, before, during, and after the apparitions of 1917. But equally worthwhile reading are the additional sections on the collection of Sister Lucia’’s writings, and the various supporting documents. For those who are interested in factual knowledge of the Fatima and Tuy apparitions, of the importance of the Rosary, of the need to consecrate Russia, and to reveal the Third Secret, you will find the answers in this book. Softcover 284 pages. $11.95

This book contains a selection from the writings, sermons and personal correspondence of Dom Guéranger, his successor, Dom Paul Delatte, and Abbess Cécile Bruyère who founded the Abbey of St. Cecelia near the monastery at Solesmes. These three are the leading lights of the 19th Century Benedictine revival in France. The readings reveal the deep spiritual forces at work in these souls who educed such profound co-operation from men and women of the Church and the nation during a time of intense spiritual and political turmoil. A good companion reader to the Liturgical Year.

G. K. Chesterton - PB 160 pages - $15.95
The great founder of English and American political journalism is here described and lauded by the great Chesterton, and for us, one of the great English heroes of the 19th century is brought to life for our admiration and instruction in the 21st century.

Witnesses to the Holy Mass and other sermons