Apologetics and Catechism

Baptism
Man's Contract with God
by Saint John Eudes

Saint John Eudes wrote many books and is best known today as the Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In fact, he composed the Masses for those feast days. One of his most eloquent and powerful works is this treatise on baptism originally entitled, Le contrat de l’homme avec Dieu par le Saint Baptême.   

This treatise is one of the clearest and most lucid explanations of the essential nature of the sacrament ever composed. Due to his Jesuit training and his great sanctity, this saint is able to make such a clear and orderly presentation of the effects of this solemn contract between God and his children that it is hard to imagine anything better ever being written on the subject.

St. John spent years with the Oratorians (founded by St. Philip Neri), and he was also the founder of two religious orders and an experienced missionary and preacher. He knew how to speak clearly and effectively to both Catholics and non-Catholics. Reading this compelling presentation of God’s great plan for us, elucidating the contract that we have entered into by our reception of the sacrament of baptism, and the responsibility that falls upon both God and ourselves for fulfilling our respective ends of that contract is a source of tremendous grace to the reader.

Although not intended as a catechism on baptism, it is strongly recommended that any teenager read it before confirmation and that any adult convert read it before their entrance into the church, as there is no better explanation we have ever seen of the practical (not theological) nature and effect of baptism. Upon reading this book you will come to a deeper understanding of why there can be no salvation outside of the Catholic Church and without sacramental baptism.

Booklet, 68 pages 

St. Thomas More's Dialogue Concerning Heresies is a conversation between the experienced humanist and statesman More and an intelligent college student who has been influenced by the spirit and ideas of the new men and reformers, especially Martin Luther and William Tyndale. It addresses questions that continue to be discussed today:

• Isn’t it idolatry to pray to saints, venerate images, and go on pilgrimages?
• Why listen to what the Church teaches? Shouldn’t we go only by Scripture, since it is the word of God?
• Why didn’t the Church want laypeople to have their own Bible, and in English?
• How do we know which church is the true one?
• Why waste time on philosophy and other secular studies if the Bible is God’s revealed word?

This edition of More’s Dialogue brings this masterful work into wide circulation for the first time since its publication in 1529. 

Mother Loyola's work on the subject of Confession is not merely groundbreaking, but seems to form one of the most crucial of her strengths, given that the Sacrament of Penance has always been the most avoidable and avoided of all; most Catholics express a distaste for it akin to torment. For her readers, however, such angst is inconceivable, as she does not merely help to remove all fear and discomfort associated with the Confessional; she also enkindles a deep sense of appreciation for the gift of the sacrament. This, in turn, fosters an eager anticipation of the grace it confers. Those who make use of Forgive us our Trespasses­--whether children or adults--will find themselves seeking this healing Sacrament with regularity.

Please note: this is considered a revised edition due to the correction of errors in the original text, the addition of selected footnotes, and minor clarifications in punctuation or phrasing. No material has been removed or rewritten.

Suggested Age Range:9-12
Suggested Age Range:13-15

Paperback, size 5.5" x 8.5", 124 pages

This treasured collection of sermons, talks, and lessons for children is an essential tool for the formation of your child’s Catholic character.

Teach your children to:
• Love God and their Catholic Faith
• Respect their elders, priests, and teachers
• Strive for virtue, Love God
• Build Catholic friendships
• Be holy even when it’s difficult

An uncompromised education is no longer available to the vast majority of Catholics. If your children are to become Catholic adults, who will keep the Faith and pass it to the next generation, they need to be unshakeably grounded in the truths of the Faith. This book provides the guidance most children would have received in a Catholic elementary school and can be read to children or used to supplement their Catholic formation at home.

337 pp, paperback

by Msgr Gaume

    The great merit of the Catechism of Perseverance as a text-book for the more advanced instruction of young persons in the history, doctrines and practices of the Christian religion, has been universally admitted. The plan followed by the author is such as to facilitate very much the acquisition of this necessary knowledge, by presenting a connected idea of religion from the creation of man to the end of time. 413 pp

The Summa Theologica is the best-known work of Italian philosopher, scholar, and Dominican friar SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274), widely considered the Catholic Church's greatest theologian. Famously consulted (immediately after the Bible) on religious questions at the Council of Trent, Aquinas's masterpiece has been considered a summary of official Church philosophy ever since. Aquinas considers approximately 10,000 questions on Church doctrine covering the roles and nature of God, man, and Our Lord Jesus Christ, then lays out objections to Church teachings and systematically confronts each, using Biblical verses, theologians, and philosophers to bolster his arguments. This massive five-volume work of scholarship, addresses just about every possible query or argument that any believer or atheist could have, and remains essential, more than seven hundred years after it was written, for clergy, religious historians, and serious students of Catholic thought.

Hardcover: 6.14" x 9.21"