Family Life and Parenting
By Fr Leo J. Kinsella
Happiness does not just happen . . . It must be earned!
Here is a marriage blueprint that every man can follow.
Great marriages do not just happen, they are made. It takes three parties to make a good marriage: the husband, the wife, and the Lord. This book is concerned with helping the man to become the man for her . Father Kinsella had already published his famous and successful book The Wife Desired, which is also available from Loreto Publications, in 1952. The first book of advice for women was so successful that the demand for a book of marital advice for men forced Father to write this one in addition. He sat for many years on a diocesan separation court and had also successfully counseled many unhappy couples during his years in the priesthood. Both books sold over a quarter of a million copies shortly after their publication and were read by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. They are practical manuals for how to improve your chances for a happy and successful marriage.
When this book was first published in 1957, one in four marriages in the USA ended in divorce. Today, half of all first marriages end in divorce, and a much higher percentage of second and third marriages find the same end. This means that the majority of Americans are unsuccessful at the most important enterprise of their life, and it follows that the resultant destruction of the happiness, mental stability, and moral character of the majority of the people is the greatest problem that we face as a nation.
Of course, the dangers to the salvation and earthly happiness of these people, and to the unfortunate children born of such unions, is where the cold statistical facts become more personal and of immediate concern to each of us. The divorce rates also do not speak to the issue of those many couples who do not divorce, but who nonetheless are not living in what could be termed deeply happy and fruitful marriages. Being a party to an unhappy marriage is one of the most difficult (yet largely avoidable) situations that anyone can endure in life.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 168 pages
By Rev Daniel A. Lord, S.J.
During 1936-1937 Father Daniel A. Lord gave various cities some lectures on marriage. Many questions were submitted by those eager to learn, so those questions, and the answer from Fr. Lord are found in these pages. All the questions concern problems or difficulties that Catholics have met in their own experience or in the experience of friends. Following are some of the topics: Money matters, honeymoon, privacy, divorce, birth control, mixed marriage, valid marriages, interesting a possible husband, how old, children and “facts of life” and many more. Presented in a question and answer format.
Booklet, size 8" x 5", 77 pages, Impr 1947.
by Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance
Reprinted from the 1906 edition.. This is a wonderful guide for Catholic young women; filled with many counsels and devotions.
It addresses many of the issues which face girls in their adolescent years. After admonishing the young lady to be a 'child of Mary,' Fr. Lasance builds a 'Maiden's Wreath' combining catechism and virtues with an appropriate flower (lily, rose, etc.). Should the religious state or married life be followed? Chapters discuss both alternatives with an additional section on family life. Extensive traditional devotions (novenas, prayers, etc.) end the book, which also contains detailed information about the Sodality of Mary. A classic, as is the Young Man's Guide.
Paperback, size 6" x 4", 680 pages
Guidance and Good Manners for Catholic Youth
by Anne C. Tracey
A very kindly priest used to excuse the mistakes in etiquette which he noted in children by saying, "Well, it's not so much the manners but the manner that counts." Many have perfected their manners but they cannot hide the hurried, indifferent manner of their greeting. Many never make a mistake in form but their manner lacks warm sympathy for others. With whom would you rather live, the man of perfect manners who really cares nothing for you, or the sincere friend who occasionally slips on a rule of manners? How can one learn to treat everyone--the rude, the noisy, the impolite, the irritating, as well as the pleasant person--how can we learn to treat every person with good manners, a kindly manner, yes, with love? The answer is known to you. The Catholic boy and girl know that they must love their fellow men because in them they see Christ. This is the true spirit of Catholic manners.
Booklet, size 8.5" x 5.5", 25 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
The Wonder Worker and Patron of Expectant Mothers
by Fr. Edward Saint-Omer, CSsR
Saint Gerard Majella, the Wonder-Worker and "Patron of Expectant Mothers," is worth far more to the veneration of Catholics than he has been afforded for much of history. Though he died of tuberculosis at only 29 as a lay brother, he achieved paramount sanctity, as great as the wonderworkers of the first millennium. His character was such that his religious superiors attested not only that he had never committed a mortal sin, but also that they could not detect a single trace of guilt at all!
St. Gerard was born in Muro, south of Naples, in 1726. His father died while he was a child, and so his mother sent him to be an apprentice tailor under his uncle, who was a kind master, though Gerard suffered on account of the foreman. Eventually, St. Gerard found work on his own as a servant of the rather picky Bishop of Lacedonia, who died, leaving Gerard to go back to work as a tailor. He gave to his mother and the poor and also donated for Masses for the poor souls in Purgatory. Hearing God's call to religion, he tried to become a Franciscan and then a hermit but failed both times. At last he managed to enter the newly founded Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer—the Redemptorists—at age 26.
His jobs included all manner of manual labor, which he performed dutifully, and he even bound himself to an additional vow to always do that which seemed more perfect, not only exhibiting perfect obedience when asked but also obeying his superiors' unspoken desires even in their absence. He became called the Father of the Poor for his strenuous work, despite his frail health, and it was a mortification of the will for him to stay away from the Lord in the tabernacle.
One particular example of his sanctity comes from early in his career as a Redemptorist. Though he was a marvel of chastity, when he was 27, he was accused of being the father of a young pregnant woman's child. He bore the lie resolutely, patiently, and silently, barred from receiving Sacramental Communion on account of his unwillingness to deny his guilt. It was not for years, until the woman died having revealed the truth, that Gerard was finally acquitted, earning the astonished praise of St. Alphonsus Liguori himself.
His miracles were intense and known to many, including raising a boy from the dead who had fallen off a cliff; multiplying wheat and bread; walking on water to save fisherman from a storm; and posthumously saving an expectant mother and baby in childbirth by his handkerchief. St. Gerard became famous for these miracles and more: cures, charities, ecstasies, mortifications, prayers, purity, obedience, zeal for souls, discernment of spirits, penetration of hearts, infused knowledge, prophecies, knowledge of distant events, bilocations, and power over nature and over other human hearts—and even over the devil. Finally, he predicted the day and hour of his own death of tuberculosis in 1755. Recounted in this sizeable biography are also his funeral, posthumous miracles, beatification, and canonization in 1904.
You will have to search far and wide to find another Saint's life as inspiring as that of St. Gerard Majella. For God has surely manifested His approval of this servant and his wonderful sanctity through such many and great miracles of grace.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.25", 258 pages
and its Significance for Catholics
by Rev Henry Theiler, S.O. Cist.
This booklet correctly presents the teaching of the Church concerning sacramentals, specifically that of Holy water, and it likewise encourages in popular form, and from practical viewpoints to the faithful, the wholesome use of Holy Water.
Translated from its original version with a few scriptural and historical insertions by the translator.
Booklet, size 8.1" x 5.4", 62 pages, Impr 1906
A Story of Christ, Yourself, and Your Job
by Fr. Daniel A. Lord, S.J.
About how a young man, in line to be a surgeon, is forced to quit medical school when his father suffers an untimely death. He hates his job until a walk with a priest makes him think. The story goes on to show that even Jesus, the divine physician, was a hard-working carpenter. “Whatever my job, it’s a good job. Christ the carpenter, help me to do my job as well as you did yours.”
Booklet, size 8.5" x 4.75", 32 page, Impr 1941
by Kenelm Digby
Born in Ireland in 1800 of English Stock and raised in a strongly Protestant surrounding, Kenelm Henry Digby entered the Roman Catholic Church while writing his first great masterpiece; The Broadstone of Honour, first published in 1822. The Broadstone treats of the origin, spirit and institutions of Christian Chivalry and the true practice of the same. It was his deep study of these lofty ideals and the "Ages of Faith," which he had been raised to despise, that led him to his conversion.
Maxims of Christian Chivalry was edited bt Nicholas Dillon, O.F.M. in 1924, taking essential bits from The Broadstone and categorizing them into a book which could well serve as a manual for the Catholic Knight.
Some headings include: Definition of Honour * Definition of Chivalry * Motto of Chivalry * Rules of Chivalry * Extracts from the Book of Chivalrous Instruction * Religious Orders of Knighthood * Preparation for Knighthood * List of Famous Knights * Facing Death * The Voice of Nature * Fruits of Solitude * Reverence for True Womanhood * The Divine Office * Church Music * All Things in Christ...but a small sampling. Foreword by Robert Kane, S.J.
Paperback, size 8" x 5", 152 pages
The Radiation of the Liturgy Into Catholic Homes
by Fr Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
Many beautiful; traditional religious customs that will give Catholic homes a truly Catholic spirit year round: E.g.; blessing of children; name days; feast days; Advent and Christmas customs; etc. Great reading for all. Essential to help every Catholic family overcome secularism. Shows the religious source of even such common things as pretzels; hot cross buns; the Easter ham; Thanksgiving Day; Spring Cleaning; etc. What parts of the Christmas Tree are Catholic; and which ones came from secular influence. Very interesting and useful!
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 132 pages
How to Make a Catholic Home
by Mary Reed Newland
How does one develop a space for one’s children free from the worst aspects of the surrounding culture? How to foster a spiritual life where children can develop a vision of God, themselves, and the world, and an approach to Him through prayer and the habits of daily life?
Mary Reed Newland, in We and Our Children, here offers wise counsel on making the home a domestic church for the raising of Catholic children in holiness, truth, and the Christian virtues. All things central to a child’s life—play, work, school, creative activity, family responsibilities, prayer, the sacraments, and the Mass—are shown to be occasions for encouraging a spiritual outlook and the formation of sound Catholic habits. Here is an inspiring and common-sense guide to help all Catholic parents develop the spiritual and moral character of their children.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 286 pages
Also available in hardcover on request (additional cost)
Avoiding Bitterness In Suffering
by Dr Ronda Chervin
When Ronda Chervin’s son, Charles, ended his own life, he did so believing that it is pointless to endure inevitable suffering. In the wake of Charles’s death, Dr. Chervin set out to discover some of the most basic — but all too often misunderstood — answers to why God allows us to suffer, and how we can bear it with perseverance and hope.
She shares her discoveries in these pages, helping you understand that while there is no escape from pain, pain itself is the road into the heart of Christ where peace can be found.
You’ll be given encouragement and practical advice as you explore afflictions such as failure, fear, frustration, loneliness, loss, marital problems, physical pain, fatigue, and temptation.
Dr. Chervin explains each affliction in detail and offers reflections on the lives of saints who suffered from the very same cross. Throughout each chapter you’re given practical suggestions on how you can meet Christ in your particular pain.
You’ll draw wisdom from the lives and writings of saints who were addicted, depressed, exhausted, raped, and unhappily married. And among these saints, you’ll discover within their responses a pattern that you can ponder and imitate.
Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering will bring courage and hope that in Christ and in communion with his saints, you can — and will — triumph over every kind of adversity. You’ll also learn:
- How you can overcome the pain associated with loneliness and isolation.
- Five ways to overcome doubts about the Faith.
- Four steps to liberation from the suffering of indecision.
- Five ways to meet Christ in the suffering of exploitation.
- What St. Benedict teaches us about failure – and how it changed the world.
- How to cope with failure and poverty.
- Five ways you can transform fear into trust in Christ.
- How you can turn frustrations and anger into a Christian spirit.
- How you can respond in a holy way to marital discord, demanding spouses, physical abuse, psychological abuse, abandonment, and rage.
- Four ways you can turn to Christ in times of temptation.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 243 pages
The Year of the Lord in Liturgy and Folklore
by Fr Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
The Church’s Liturgical Year reflects the fullness of Divine Revelation. In the various celebrations and commemorations of the Year of the Lord, the Church recalls the mysteries of faith: the Incarnation of God’s only-begotten son, his passion, death, and resurrection which won redemption for mankind, and his institution of the sacraments and founding of his Church for the salvation of souls. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, first published in 1958, is a masterful summary of the origin, history, development, and observance of the events on the Christian calendar as they developed to the mid-twentieth century.
With warmth, wit, and due reverence, Francis X. Weiser, S.J., presents the liturgical and devotional aspects and the cultural expressions—the food and drink, music and dancing, and more—found in these salvific occasions. Set in three parts, the study progresses through the temporal rhythm of the seasons (Sundays and weekdays), the recollection of Christ’s redeeming work (Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Pentecost and Corpus Christi), and the jubilation over the fruits of that work (the Blessed Mother and the angels and saints).
An easily accessible and richly detailed guide to the holy-days and celebrations of the Christian liturgical year, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs remains true to its testament as “a key to a devout and meaningful observance of the Year of the Lord.”
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 384 pages
On the Christian Education of Youth
by Pope Pius XI
Encyclical on Christian Education. Principles to be followed by the Church, State, and Family regarding education. Based on nature and revealed truth.
The inviolable principles which this document lays down regarding the Church, family and State in the matter of education, are based on the very nature of things and on revealed truth. They cannot be shaken by the ebb and flow of events. As for the fundamental rules which it prescribes, these too are not subject to the wear and tear of time, since they are only the faithful echo of the Divine Master, Whose "words shall not pass away."
The encyclical is a real Magna Carta of Christian education, "outside which no education is complete and perfect." It lends itself to study, today as it did in the past, by all those who in a spirit of loyalty, desire to know, in this matter, the genuine and firm thought of the Church, "to whom belongs, in a very special manner, the mission of education." In times of difficulty, it provides, with its clarity of doctrine, a certain guide for the courageous efforts of Catholic parents and teachers who are desirous of assuring youth of a formation fully in conformity with the requirements of the faith.
Paperback, 59 pages
Around the Year with the von Trapp family
by Maria von Trapp
In this joyful and charming book, Maria von Trapp (from The Sound of Music) unveils for you the year-round Christian traditions she loved – traditions that created for her large family a warm and inviting Catholic home and will do the same for yours.
Here are the songs they sang for feasts and holidays, as well as Maria’s personal recipes for traditional holiday foods. Here are stories and games to delight your children, and countless other ways to turn events such as anniversaries, baptisms, graduations, birthdays, wedding receptions, and even funerals into feasts celebrated in the Lord.
Most people only know the young Maria from The Sound of Music; few realize that in subsequent years, as a pious wife and a seasoned Catholic mother, Maria gave herself unreservedly to keeping her family Catholic by observing in her home the many feasts of the Church’s liturgical year, with poems and prayers, food and fun, and so much more!
With the help of Maria von Trapp, you, too, can provide Christian structure and vibrancy to your home. Soon your home will be a warm and loving place, an earthly reflection of our eternal home.
Hardcover, size 9.25" x 8.25", 235 pages
Life Lessons for Young Men
by James B. Stenson
A young man’s late teens and early twenties are often undervalued as times of amorphous self-discovery. But it doesn’t have to be that way. What is often considered a period to determine what a young man will do is better used as an opportunity to shape the more important matter of who he will be.
Men who are considered great are those of integrity: men who have unified their intentions, words, and actions, and chosen to be guided by the time-tested virtues of sound judgment, responsibility, courage, self-mastery, and respect for others. Success hinges not only on the major decisions a young man makes, but also on the everyday choices.
Culled from the wisdom of ordinary men who have gone before, this collection of practical advice tackles everything from the books one reads, to the friends he surrounds himself with, to the way he presents himself in social situations. When a young man takes these lessons to heart, he can be sure to become a man of great character, one who can joyfully and faithfully serve his family, his society, and ultimately, his God.
Paperback, size 8" x 5", 110 pages
The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur
The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband From Atheist to Priest
by Elisabeth Leseur
This inspiring book gives you a splendid example of how to live as a Christian in a secular environment that can be indifferent or hostile to your Faith. For Elisabeth Leseur had two great loves: God, and her husband Felix. Felix loved Elisabeth as well; yet to their mutual sorrow, he couldn’t share the life of the Spirit that Elisabeth cherished.
Occasionally the happiness of their life together in upper-class Parisian society was shattered by Felix’s frustration and impatience. How could such an intelligent woman waste her time, as he saw it, with ignorant superstitions? Sometimes he and his friends would even ridicule and mock her faith.
But Elisabeth loved Felix too much to allow their home to degenerate into an emotional war zone. She realized that confrontations and arguments were useless; she chose instead to keep quiet and pray for Felix. In her secret diary, she recorded how she used his efforts to destroy her faith as means to grow in love for him and for God.
Throughout their life together, it grieved Elisabeth to think that Felix might be separated from her for all eternity because of his rejection of God. For her, life in Heaven wouldn’t be happy without him. Yet when she died prematurely, Felix was still an unbeliever.
The story doesn’t end there. When Felix found this diary, he discovered how Elisabeth’s whole life bore witness to the truth of the God she loved.
In time, Felix was transformed by the diary and his memories of Elisabeth. He became a Christian and, later, a priest. Now she may even be declared a saint. Elisabeth’s diary and spiritual writings (all included in this one volume) map out for you a path to marital harmony and greater love for God — especially if you love someone who stands outside the Faith. Let Elisabeth’s two great loves, and her faith and perseverance, inspire you now.
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 290 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
The Christian Family Today
by Fr Alain Delagneau
What makes a successful family? Is it merely fulfilling the bare minimum of our obligations, teaching our children prayers, ensuring the family goes to Sunday Mass, but not much else? In the midst of the modern world, is it even possible to think that a family could do much more?
In this profound, and yet easy-to-read book, Fr. Alain Delagneau considers what makes a successful family and how to achieve it. Starting with the basics, this book begins by examining the Sacrament of Marriage and ends with a look at those things which will disrupt the harmony of your Catholic home.
Chapters include:
- The Sacrament of Marriage
- The Harmonious Union of the Spouses
- Conjugal Love: Its Friends, Its Enemies
- Catholic Education
- Some Family Virtues
- May Catholic Spouses Consider Separation?
- The Spiritual Life of the Home
- Human Equilibrium
- Friends or Enemies of the Christian Home
This short book, written by a priest with over 30 years of pastoral experience, is a powerful antidote to the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, which seek to corrupt Catholic homes and destroy souls. Whether you have been married for only a few days, or are nearing the twilight of your married lives, this book is for you, and will certainly show you to how to live the Catholic family life ordained by God, and by which we will save our souls, and the souls of those we love the most.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 108 pages
Memoirs of a Catholi Midwife
by Lisbeth Burger
The author lived as a midwife in Catholic Germany before, during, and after World War I. She had a key insight into the intimate lives of a generation being revolutionized, and the reality is that her experiences are priceless in understanding modern man.
The primary interest of this work is not historical, it is educational and moral. It contains dozens of short stories of personal, first hand experiences from the author's life regarding courtship, marriage, and raising children.
This book of experience will have the advantage of spurring on parents to prepare their children for the great lessons of life, and of giving to these same young people living examples to illustrate these lessons, hopefully sparing them the cost of irreversible consequences.
Easy to read and immediately captivating, you might read this book faster than any other you've read, and yet, you may just as easily read little bits of it between long intervals. In any case, may at least the great life lesson remain: namely that mankind can, and will only, be happy on this earth as long as he faithfully respects the order established by his Divine Creator and His most precious natural gift, Human Life.
Hardcover, size 8.25" x 5.75", 305 pages