Family Life and Parenting
12 Heart to Heart Talks of a Father to His Son
by Anonymous
Twelve heart-to-heart talks to be given by Dad to his boys and young men about the mysterious processes of reproducing life. Presents timeless supernatural attitude in accord with Catholic principles. No crude language. Graduated structure in three parts: ages 9-13; 14-16; 16-19. Suggestions for preserving purity.
Booklet, size 7" x 4.5", 75 pages
A Manual for Christian Mothers
by a Priest of the Capuchin Order
"What on God's good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?"
With these words, Cardinal Mindzenty, summed up the glories of maternity, ordered toward the creation of new saints for the kingdom of God. And yet, the life of the mother is not an easy one. Between helping her husband, caring for her children, trips to school, the doctor, the grocery store, not to mention housework, cooking, and more, the life of a mother can lose it's proper focus: the glory of God. Add to this an increasingly hostile modern world who thinks little of mothers and offers little help and support and the situation is overwhelming.
To help Catholic mothers sanctify themselves in their state in life, and through that, to sanctify their homes as well, we have printed the original, unadulterated version of Mother Love, a complete prayer and devotional book, just for moms!
Originally written in the late 1800s by a priest of the Capuchin order, this "manual for Christian mothers" contains:
- Morning and Evening Prayers for Mothers
- Devotions for the Holy Rosary
- Points of Doctrine a Christian Mother Should Teach to Her Children
- Prayers at Mass
- The "Ten Commandments" of Christian Education
- Devotions for Confession, and Communion
- Devotions for the Poor Souls, and for the Way of the Cross
- Prayers for the Various Special Necessities of a Christian Mother
- Prayers to Some of the Special Patrons of Christian Mothers
- Indulgenced Prayers
- A short book of instructions for Christian Mothers on the Christian Training of Children
It contains almost everything a mother needs to nurture and grow her spiritual life, so that through their sanctification they may sanctify their husbands and children, and truly become the heart of the Catholic home.
Soft Imitation Leather cover, size 6.9" x 4.8", 362 pages
previously know as Young Man of Character
by Bishop Tihamer Toth
In A Guide to Building Manhood, Bishop Tihamer Toth outlines the specific steps and qualities that boys must cultivate to develop into virtuous Catholic men. Toth's vision of forming strong, virtuous men rests on instilling self-discipline, personal responsibility, and a distinct code of Catholic conduct from an early age. This process aims to transform the natural selfishness of childhood into a selfless orientation towards the good of others. The code of conduct outlined serves as a guiding light, steering boys away from self-centered impulses and towards developing qualities that are essential for true masculine strength and honour.
To name a few virtues presented and discussed:
- Honour - Upholding the highest standards of moral integrity, truthfulness, and adherence to one's principles, even in the face of adversity or temptation.
- Holiness - Nurturing a profound spiritual life centered on faith, virtue, and a commitment to living according to God's will.
- Trustworthiness - Becoming a man whose word is his bond, someone deserving of the utmost confidence and reliance.
- Usefulness - Embracing a spirit of service, generosity, and a desire to employ one's skills and talents for the betterment of society and those around them.
By mastering self-discipline and embracing this ethical framework, the once self-absorbed child is transformed into a man who embodies Catholic ideals. He becomes someone who yearns not for personal glory, but to be a force for good: a protector, role model, and inspiration to all he encounters. The code serves as a bulwark against moral corruption, empowering men to resist societal pressures and remain steadfast in their pursuit of virtue.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 176 pages
by Fr Francis Xavier Lasance
A Guide for the young Catholic man.
In this book by Fr. Lasance, he provides counsels, reflections and prayers for young Catholic men. This is a good source for young men on a variety of subjects, including: how to conquer sin and the occasions of sin; virtues needed to fight in the battle for salvation; choosing one's state in life; and guidance to various devotions for Mass, Confession and Holy Communion.
ANGELUS PRESS has completely re-typeset this Catholic classic from 1905. This edition is printed on beautiful cream paper and encased in a gold-embossed hardback cover with a black ribbon.
Hardcover, 760 pages
Journey of Love
by Helen Louise Hartmann and Janice Brickey
This heirloom-quality prayer book features striking, full-color illustrations of Our Lord’s Passion to assist your meditations on His sacrificial love for us. A beautiful gift for mothers of all ages and available in time for Holy Week, Journey of Love is also adorned with gold-foil edges and a black marker ribbon.
Full color illustrations, gold gilded edges, Skivertex cover, with black ribbon, size 6.25" x 4.75", 97 pages
by Fr Henry V. Sattler
Helps parents fulfill the extremely important duty of training boys and girls to be pure and innocent, and to enter marriage with a noble and holy purpose if God calls them to that vocation. Sex education is the duty of the parents, yet many parents still struggle to convey the facts of life to their children in a natural and inspiring way. Explains what parents should tell their children, when and how they should tell it, what moral and psychological dangers they must avoid, and what questions they should anticipate.
Paperback, 237 pages
Educating a Child: The Art of Arts
The Stages of Education
by Fr Joseph Duhr S.J.
A must-read for all parents and educators who want to understand the essential role they must play as God’s co-operators in the education of children.
In this second volume (of two), Fr Duhr successively examines each stage of the child’s education from before birth to the point when he or she is finally ready to leave the family home. The author distinguishes four main stages in this educational journey: the awakening of the senses (1-4 years), the awakening of the mind (4-7 years), the awakening of the will (7-12 years) and the awakening of the heart (12-18 years). He insists that “the best way of preparing the child for his or her life as the man or woman of tomorrow is to allow him or her to live out as perfectly as possible these distinct lives which correspond to the different stages of their development”.
Paperback, size 8.2" x 5.8", 264 pages
Educating a Child: The Art of Arts
The Goal of Education, the Family and Authority
by Fr Joseph Duhr, S.J.
A must-read for all parents and educators who want to understand the role they must play as God’s co-operators in the education of children.
In this first volume (of two), Fr Duhr begins by laying out the goal of education, which is to gradually form the child physically, intellectually and morally, teaching him to master his instincts and passions, so that he will one day be capable of leading himself. Ultimately, it is to establish God as Master and King in this soul which was created by Him for His Greater Glory and destined to find its happiness and perfection in possessing Him.
Having laid the foundations, Father then describes the family atmosphere which is favorable to the blossoming of the child. Finally, he looks at authority, its origin and purpose, and how to use it in order to bring the child to what God wants him to be.
Like every good teacher, Fr Duhr knows how to make his subject matter palatable, while not watering it down in any way. He constantly illustrates his points with beautiful and entertaining stories from the real lives of parents and children, some famous (like Saint Augustine, George Washington, Daniel O’Connell, Frédéric Ozanam, Louis Pasteur and Anne de Guigné) and others not so famous.
This book is an indispensable tool for all parents and educators and is destined to become a classic in the English language.
Paperback, size 8.2" x 5.8", 328 pages
The technological advancements of this age are undeniable. But have you ever stopped to consider how technology may be affecting different aspects of your life?
Half-Life: The Decay of Reality takes an unabashed look at the all too real consequences of day-to-day exposure to the digital world. It asks what its effects are on children, families, dating, marriage and even intelligence and thought processes, but especially peace of soul. Understanding the consequences of this digital age is key to living a better life and ultimately having a stronger faith.
GREATER AND GREATER ISOLATION:
"By a kind of paradox, this constant presence of other people makes for a fragile construction of one's own personality...The riches to be found in genuine friendships become rare in this constant solicitation from all sides." -Fr. Patrick Troadec, SSPX
Television
The Soul at Risk
by Isabelle Dore
There are few technological inventions that have had such universal impact in the past century. But what should we think about this phenomenon, especially from a Catholic perspective? A brief study such as this helps demonstrate that, indeed, it is something which puts "the soul at risk." Sooner or later, we all have to make choices: Television in the home or not? Moderate use or not? Grudging toleration or opposition with all one's might? The best thing to do in making a choice is to consider all the aspects of television and audio-visual media in general. Movies, videos, and DVDs are in various ways both alike and different from TV.
How does television affect the intellect's capacity to apprehend what is true? How does television affect the will's capacity to love what is good? These questions and more are answered inside.
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 80 pages
by Dietrich Von Hildebrand
These pages will give you what you need to make your marriage a source of profound happiness and lasting peace:
- Knowledge: You'll come to understand the nature of marriage and its superiority to "living together" and other temporary unions.
- Love: You'll learn to distinguish love from lust, infatuation, and other common counterfeits; and you'll discover the healing role it can play in the best - and bleakest - of marriages.
- Faith: You'll come to see how the sacramental marriage of Christians is the fulfillment and perfection of marriage, giving husband and wife what every spouse secretly longs for.
Especially today, this beautiful book - which reveals the sublime vocation of Christian marriage - is a must for anyone who is eager to live worthily this great mystery of love.
Marriage will show you:
- The one right motive for marrying - and the many wrong ones (some often accepted by Christians)
- The difference between the meaning of marriage and its purpose (and the dangers of confusing the two)
- The five ways in which married love differs from other loves
- Six counterfeit loves: what sometimes passes for love isn't
- The key role of will in sustaining love
- Your unhappy marriage: it may be a clear "call" from God
- How difficulties and suffering can deepen your marriage - and make you and your spouse better persons
- How marriage reveals God's love and presence
- How Christianity intensifies married love
The meaning of marriage as a sacrament: its promises, its demands, and how it is a source of strength and grace
Paperback, size 6.8" x 4.9", 84 pages
by Michael O'Brien
Master storyteller, best-selling novelist and artist Michael O'Brien - the man to whom CNN went for comment on Harry Potter - has penned the definitive work assessing the Potter phenomenon. This book is essential reading for all parents whose children have read or are considering reading the wildly popular offerings by J.K.Rowling and similar works such as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Although this is an analytical work, the reader will be captivated from the beginning, from the must-read preface onward.
O'Brien's earlier work, A Landscape with Dragons, delineated authentic Christian fantasy literature from its counterfeits. Now in Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture, he contrasts Potter-world with C.S. Lewis's Narnia and with Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and specifically Harry with Frodo. For those whose children have consumed Potter, O'Brien's analysis will enable parents to comprehend the messages which have been fed their children and give them the points and arguments which will hopefully be the antidote to properly reset their moral order.
The book goes beyond Potter, however, to address other bestselling series such as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass. In addition to these and other fantasy books, O'Brien reviews the films which they spawned.
In all, O'Brien's new book teaches Christians how to discern harmless fantasy literature and film from that which is destructive to heart, mind and soul.
"The corruption of Christian civilization's symbols is a centuries-old phenomenon, yet until the modern age the mutations and inversions, along with the making of new diabolic symbologies, remained on the fringes of society in secret societies and small esoteric cults. Now the culture of the cults is visible everywhere, and with the Harry Potter series is entering (and captivating) the mainstream. Through it, the corruption of symbols has moved to a new level of influence, and it has done so on a scale that is unprecedented in the history of literature. If we lose the language of true symbolism, we lose at a basic level of consciousness our way of knowing things as they are. Symbols are not items in some storage room or attic of the psyche that we can take up and discard at will, or rearrange without consequences. To tamper with them is to destabilize the very foundations of the house. While most Christians would never knowingly exchange symbols of evil for symbols of good, many have accepted a new realm of eclectic symbology that allows a mixture of good and evil symbols to influence their thoughts and feelings. But two contradictory symbol worlds cannot long remain in a state of peaceful co-existence within us. Either one or the other will come to dominate and will eventually demand the expulsion of the other." - Michael O'Brien
Paperback, size 8" x 5.5", 278 pages
How St John Bosco Punished
by Fr Augustin Auffray
Punishing a child is a serious affair, in fact it is the most important responsibility of all!
One day, a holy man had the courage to meditate on the essential nature of the best educational method.
The answer he gave us was drawn from his forty-five years of profound experience both as a saint and educator.
Who was this saint? His name was Don Bosco.
Father Augustin Auffray, himself a Salesian and author of the most comprehensive biography of Saint John Bosco, gives a very succinct and simple presentation of Don Bosco's method of punishment.
"Saint Gregory Nazianzen says that education is the art of arts...How to practice this art? Saint John Bosco did not invent a new method but rather spelled out one old enough to be ever young: the method of the Gospel itself - the time of judgement is not yet, the time of mercy is here...In order to form saints, you must be a saint."
Here then is the advice of a saint.
Profound. Simple. Effective.
Paperback, 108 pages
Improve your marriage by understanding your spouse!
by Art and Laraine Bennett
In their bestselling book, The Temperament God Gave You, authors Art and Laraine Bennett re-introduced the age-old concept of the four classic temperaments, and showed how to use them to understand yourself, get along with others, and grow closer to God.
Now they're back with more temperament wisdom, designed specially for couples and guaranteed to improve your marital communication, intimacy, and happiness: The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse.
In no other kind of human relationship is knowledge of the temperaments - the fundamental personality traits, hard-wired into us at birth, that affect the way we respond to the world around us - so critical, and so fruitful, as in a Christian marriage. For it's only through mutual understanding of our own patterns of reaction, and those of our spouse, that we can motivate, nurture, respect, and above all, love each other with the selfless patience to which Christ calls us in the sacrament.
In a fun-to-read style that incorporates practical psychology, real-life anecdotes, and decades of clinical experience, the Bennetts will show you:
- The four kinds of spouses — which kind did you marry?
- How temperament affects the way you and your spouse work, pray, argue, socialize, and show affection.
- Tips for developing the communication skills that your temperament needs most, and for nurturing them in your spouse.
- All the possible temperament combinations in marriage, and how to handle the unique challenges that yours creates.
- Proven ways to figure out what really makes your spouse tick!
So often we wish we could make our spouses different (because they're not just like us); yet the Bennetts show that true marital contentment lies not in changing the way God made our loved ones, but in appreciating it — and helping them to perfect it. Read The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse and discover a new world of understanding and respect for the person you married.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 209 pages
And Other Working Women
by Hubert Van Zeller
This unique spiritual guide will help you grow holier and more prayerful as you perform the most menial household chores -- not in spite of those chores, but in the midst of them.
Written especially for women in charge of households, Holiness for Housewives will help you better understand and respect your vocation as a housewife -- and discover in it your own God-given path to sanctity.
This handy guide will show you how to:
- Find meaning in even the most boring work
- Pray in the midst of a bustling household
- Bear the stress of those long days in which the work never seems to end
- Develop a greater awareness of God's presence -- even amid the diapers and the dirty dishes
- Learn to rely more on your will and less on emotions, when life seems to be an endless round of drudgery
- Handle your burdens and sorrows with prayers that are especially fashioned for housewives
Let Holiness for Housewives show you how to find and savor the lasting pleasures that await you in your noble, God-given vocation as a housewife!
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 104 pages
Symbol of the Spouse of Christ
by Elizabeth Black, Emily Sparks
In this beautiful booklet, you will learn what the Sacred Scriptures and Church Fathers said about wearing a veil, as well as the rich theological and symbolic meanings behind the tradition. You will discover how wearing a veil reveals woman’s:
- Esteemed vocation in God’s creation
- Intimate spousal relationship to Christ
- Sacredness as a tabernacle of life
- Mystery as a “garden enclosed”
- Adoration for God and praise of His glory
- Humility and receptivity to God’s love
Booklet, size 6" x 3.75", 48 pages
How to Govern Your Thoughts, Discipline Your Will, and Achieve Balance in Your Spiritual Life
by Fr Basil W. Maturin
This is the book you need for those times in your life when even your most strenuous efforts to follow Christ end in frustration. Christian Self-Mastery explains why following Him can be so difficult — and how you can start now to make progress even in the most vexing areas of your life.
Author Fr. Basil W. Maturin insists that no matter how hard you're trying now, you can have a better relationship with God and greater self-mastery — if you follow his simple steps to getting your passions in check and improving your knowledge of your own motives, desires, and fears.
Fr. Maturin emphasizes the crucial role that self-discipline plays in your spiritual life and gives you solid ways you can distinguish it from counterfeits and avoid common mistakes people make when they try to change their habits and live for God.
This extraordinary book will help you in myriad ways to rise above your limitations and truly meet God!
Start on the way to true self-mastery as you learn:
- Two things you must know in order to make any progress at all in your spiritual life
- Why it's dangerous for you to try to adopt a large number of spiritual disciplines all at once
- Self-knowledge: why it involves so much more than its contemporary counterfeit, self-analysis
- Two ways to avoid self-deception when you look at yourself (caution: you'll probably be surprised at who you really are!)
- Why self-control and self-denial are not morbid and gloomy, but hopeful and even joyful - when undertaken properly
- Self-discipline: how it will restore your soul to its full power. Three things you must have in order to gain this power
- The mistake many people make when trying to rid themselves of evil thoughts: are you falling into this trap too?
- Love: the holy school that will purify and ennoble yours - and help you steer clear of prevalent modern counterfeits
- And more that will show you the value of self-mastery - and give you solid directions for attaining it!
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 224 pages
Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season
by Mary Reed Newland
Celebrate the Faith with your kids all year round! For over half a century, Catholic families have treasured the practical piety and homespun wisdom of Mary Reed Newland's classic of domestic spirituality, The Year and Our Children. With this new edition, no longer will you have to search for worn, dusty copies to enjoy Newland's faithful insights, gentle lessons, and delightful stories. They're all here, and ready to be shared with your family or homeschooling group. Here, too, you'll find all the prayers, crafts, family activities, litanies, and recipes that will help make your children ever-mindful of the beautiful rhythm of the Church calendar.
Learn how to make an Advent wreath and how to make it more than just a pretty ornament. Teach your children about the real Santa (the one who was a bishop) and how to celebrate all twelve days of Christmas, giving them a holy wonder that will continue long after all the presents have been opened and the wrapping thrown away.
When Lent comes, read Newland's simple secrets to helping your kids embrace their sacrifices with enthusiasm. Then, let her show you how to make your home a place where Holy Week and Easter are duly treated as the highest, holiest days of all the year.
She'll teach you ways to reclaim All Souls' and All Saints' from the popular occultism of modern Halloween. She'll also show you why Church tradition accords special meaning to certain foods, colors, and symbols, and how these add to the incarnational character of Catholic spirituality allowing children to experience the Faith through sight, smell, touch, and taste.
Mary Reed Newland wrote numerous beloved books for Catholic families, but The Year and Our Children is her undisputed masterpiece. Read it, cherish it, share it, put it into practice and give your kids the gift of a fully lived faith, every day and in every season.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 328 pages
by Priests of St. Mary's College and Academy
This short tutorial provides an introduction to the ethical use of technology and discusses the most common social media and online risks, with a special focus on the youth. Additionally, this booklet provides practical recommendations and tools for the conscientious use of technology.
This indispensable book will be advantageous to any Catholic who interacts with the internet realm, whether it via a smartphone or computer.
Parents contemplating giving their children access to any Internet-enabled device will find valuable insight by consulting the guidelines provided here.
Booklet, size 6" x 4", 36 pages