Family Life and Parenting
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
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
Volume Two: The Spiritual Letters
by Pope Leo XIII
Compiled and Introduced by Leo L. Clarke
The reign of Pope Leo XIII is the fourth-longest of any papacy in the two-thousand-year history of the Catholic Church. Over the course of a full quarter-century, Leo XIII courageously engaged with the modern world, asserting the Church’s authority and wisdom in the face of unprecedented challenges and confusion. He was also a prolific author, issuing a total of eighty-six encyclical letters on matters both spiritual and social. Compiled and engagingly introduced by Leo L. Clarke, The Great Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII comprises—across two volumes—thirty-one of those letters, to present the vibrant and courageous insights of this great shepherd to an age with a pronounced need of hearing and heeding his message.
Volume Two: The Spiritual Letters contains seventeen of Leo XIII’s encyclicals dedicated to strengthening the Church in faith and in practice, including the outstanding Aeterni patris (on the restoration of Christian philosophy), Arcanum divinae (on Christian marriage), and Providentissimus Deus (on the study of Holy Scripture), and crowned with select letters on the Holy Rosary.
Contents
- Aeterni Patris - On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy (1879)
- Arcanum Divinae - On Christian Marriage (1880)
- Exeunte Iam Anno - On the Right Ordering of Christian Life (1888)
- Quamquam Pluries - On Devotion to Saint Joseph (1889)
- Providentissimus Deus - On the Study of Holy Scripture (1893)
- Satis Cognitum - On the Unity of the Church (1896)
- Divinum Illud Munus - On the Holy Spirit (1897)
- Annum Sacrum - On the Consecration to the Sacred Heart (1899)
- Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus - On Jesus Christ the Redeemer (1900)
- Mirae Caritatis - On the Holy Eucharist (1902)
- Supremi Apostolatus Officio - On Devotion of the Rosary (1883)
- Octobri Mense - On the Rosary (1891)
- Magnae Dei Matris - On the Rosary (1892)
- Laetitiae Sanctae - On the Commendation of Devotion to the Rosary (1893)
- Iucunda Semper Expectatione - On the Rosary (1894)
- Adiutricem - On the Rosary (1895)
- Fidentem Piumque Animum - On the Rosary (1896)
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 300 pages
The Summa Domestica
by Leila Marie Lawler
Most wives possess a deep, existential intuition that they bear primary responsibility for creating the home environment, in cooperation with their husbands, who protect and provide for it. When Leila Lawler started out as a young wife and then became a mother, she had no idea how to keep a house, manage laundry, or plan and prepare meals, let alone entertain and inspire toddlers and select a curriculum to pass on the Faith.
She spent decades excavating deeply rooted cultural memories that had been buried under an avalanche of feminist ideology. Lawler developed and meticulously presented these on her popular website, Like Mother, Like Daughter, and has now collected them in this comprehensive, three-volume set to help women who desire a proficient and systematic approach to home life.
The Summa Domestica comprises three volumes: Family Life, which delves into the essentials of establishing the home; Education, which explores the basics of teaching children and preparing them to learn on their own; and Housekeeping, which presents detailed instructions on taking care of the house, meals, and laundry in an active and populous household.
All at once lively, funny, calming, and complete, The Summa Domestica an indispensable how-to book on making and keeping a home that will serve your family best.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5",
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
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 Fr David E. Rosage
This is a book of letters for all altar boys who, from the smallest one up, are the most important people in their parishes. God's Minutemen is what the author affectionately calls them, for he knows that they are always ready for duty as altar boys, no matter what the personal cost. The author writes this book with the hope that in these letters all acolytes may find encouragement to continue being loyal and faithful in their service of our Lord. Father Rosage shows them that while serving Mass is the greatest honor and the biggest job in the parish, it does demand sacrifice. He knows that being on call for duty isn't always easy, and he aims at convincing the boys who have to get up on cold winter mornings to serve early Mass of the great privilege that is theirs.
Written in an easy flowing style intelligible to even the very young boys, the book is full of helpful pointers about the correct manner of serving, the necessity of being on time, and many other details on which a boy may slip. It offers inspiration and high motivation for living up to the ideals that a Mass server is committed to follow. An extremely practical book, it leaves not one phase of the altar boy's life untouched. . .
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 120 pages, Colour photographs
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
by Father Gaston Courtois
In this book, Father Gaston Courtois establishes the leader’s authority, showing that it comes from God, the source of all authority, not from the members of the society he leads. The leader’s mission is, therefore, a mission entrusted to him by God.
However, far from encouraging leaders to rest on their laurels, Courtois insists that this divinely appointed mission lays a great responsibility on their shoulders: they must have (or do everything they can to develop) the qualities that make true leaders.
Finally, he shows how leaders should carry out the various aspects of their role.
Society is hugely influenced by its leaders. Will they be men who look to their own self-interest and satisfy their own whims, or will they be men who look to the common good and the good of the subordinates for whom they have responsibility before God?
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 246 pages
by Abbe P. Verdries.
Originally published in 1912. This booklet contains 14 chapters on various virtues to include Obedience, Work, Piety, Kindness, Mortification, Character, Christian Prudence, Friendship, Good Reading and others. The author speaks directly to the children using simple words they can understand and relate to and uses stories to make it interesting.
booklet, size 7.2" x 5.2", 65 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
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
Books that Inspire a Love of Life
by Mitchell Kalpakgian
"Fairy tales clear the way for sanctity. They are the child's first morality play, clear-cut, no-nonsense black and white, good and evil, life and death—with a bit of fun thrown in to alleviate the pain." — Ethel Pochocki
The wonders found in fairy tales and myths have enriched childhoods for centuries.
In between "Once upon a time" and "happily ever after" we embark on adventures that seem an eternity away from our everyday lives, and yet through these adventures we are brought back to the innocence and beauty of the truth. In The Mysteries of Life in Children's Literature, journey through a treasury of well-known fables and folk tales, as well as others not so well known, and discover the wisdom hiding within them.
In an age that rejects moral absolutes and repudiates the whole idea of intrinsic evils, children's literature restores the meaning of good and evil, beautiful and ugly, and normal and abnormal, helping us see the nature of our world more clearly than we ever have before.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 185 pages
Quizzes to a Street Preacher
by Fr Leslie Rumble and Fr. Charles Mortimer Carty
79 Questions and Answers on artificial birth control -why the Catholic Church is against it, financial hardships of having children, danger of over-population, bachelor priests as unfit to teach against birth control, role of prayer and self-denial, danger to the mother's life, unfit parents, eugenic considerations, large families vs. higher standard of living and education, etc.
Booklet, size 7" x 4.25", 32 pages, Impr.
by Rev. A. Francis Coomes, S.J.
The Mothers’ Manual contains prayers and directions for the Mother and expectant Mother. It is a true companion, inspiration and comfort for her joys, hopes, loves and anxieties.
Paperback, size 5.2" x 3.5", 218 pages
The Home of St. Therese
by Fr. Stéphane-Joseph Piat, OFM
Meet the family where the Little Flower took root.
In her Story of a Soul, St. Thérèse relates how influential her family life was in forming her spiritual life. Now, the canonization of her parents, Louis and Zélie, and the cause for the beatification of her sister Léonie speak volumes for the robust sanctity of the Martin family.
The Martins took no smooth path to sanctity. They endured the loss of four children, financial troubles, and the cancer that caused Zélie’s death. The key to their success was simply this: love. With love, they endured both great sorrows and the countless little troubles of everyday life.
This is the story of a husband, wife, and five daughters who formed a close-knit, thoroughly Catholic family. Their lives set an example for anyone who seeks to raise a family in love and to live the Faith in daily life.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 460 pages