Lenten items
With considerations on the Passion.
Translated from the Italian of St. Alphonsus Liguori by a Catholic Clergyman.
Described in simple language, according to the narration of the Holy Evangelist. This book is filled with the events of Christ’s crucifixion with bible verses placed in appropriate areas for explanation. Also, has many prayers. As you read this unusual book you will feel that you are right there with our Lord and follow Him all the way.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 256 pages
by Fr. Bernard A Fuller, S.J.
This pamphlet takes you, in spirit, to the last hours of our Lord’s crucifixion. You see the various groups of people. In one group, the soldiers of Rome, the hired executioners, are there with all the Judases of the world who sell their souls for worldly pleasure and their God for gold. In another group stand the holy women and Magdalene and John and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. That is our place! Magdalene, the sinner, bids us come, and Mary, our Mother, holds out her arms to welcome us. The Seven Last Words of Jesus are explained with emotion, making us realize that all of the suffering of our Lord was caused by our sins.
Booklet, size 8" x 5.3", 32 pages, Impr 1930
Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Easter Vigil
The restored Liturgy of Holy Week According to the Traditional Roman Rite
This book is very helpful if you do not have a 1958 or later missal containing the revised rite of Holy Week of Pope Pius XII. Surprisingly, many people who do have the revised Holy Week in their missal, still like to use the Sacred Triduum Missal because the type is fairly large and the entire rite is laid out so that you do not have to flip back and forth.
MULTIPLE CEREMONIES IN ONE BOOK The Sacred Triduum Missal contains the entire ceremonies for Holy Thursday evening, Good Friday's Solemn Liturgy and the Paschal Vigil on Holy Saturday; with parallel Latin and English texts and rubrics in red.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 190 pages
by St Robert Bellarmine
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mark 9:43)
Hell is a terrible place…but how horrific is it actually?
What would happen to me if I were to be there eternally?
St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, explains the horrors of Hell in clear details in Hell and its Torments. St. Robert explains why Our Lord repeatedly mentions the “fires of Gehenna” and the fate of the souls who turn against him. Of Judas he says. “it would be better for that man if he had never been born” (Matt 26:24). Our dear loving Lord’s numerous references to Hell and warnings against it should prompt us to consider it in detail and understand its horror.
If we cannot be inspired to run towards God by the rewards and joys of Heaven, let us at the least begin our movement towards our loving God by fleeing the fires of Hell.
Originally one part of a four-part sermon, St. Robert Bellarmine’s vigorous examination of the reality of Hell will inspire you to amend your life and desire even more the blessedness of Heaven. This small and powerful booklet is perfectly composed so as to focus our minds on the essential realities of Hell.
The meditations on the pains of Hell, written in 1574, remain surprisingly relevant to our modern world. The sermon considers the tremendous gravity of sin, the complete and unthinkable suffering of those in Hell, and the contrast of Hell with the blessed souls in Heaven. In all these considerations, St. Robert Bellarmine vigorously pursues the truth of Hell and its relevance to us as sinners.
The brief and powerful lessons in Hell and Its Torments will touch your soul and inspire to abandon sin and turn to the grace that God constantly offers so that we can become saints.
Booklet, size 6" x 3.25", 46 pages
by Chrissi Hart
From the Garden of Eden to Golgotha-the myth retold for young audiences.
Discover the legend of the tree that would become the Cross of Christ. Grown from seeds gifted from the heavens, a magnificent tree participates in ancient history before becoming the crowning symbol of Christianity.
With lush illustrations and poetic text, The Legend of the Cross adds a new dimension to the story of Easter and is sure to become a Christian classic for children everywhere.
Also available in hardcover.
Paperback, size 11" x 8.5", 32 pages
The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent
Given in the Year 1622
by St Francis de Sales
One of the most profoundly influential and deeply inspirational saints in the last five centuries of the Church, St. Francis de Sales is famous for his personality and writings, which have earned him, respectively, the appellation "The Gentleman Saint" and the designation Doctor of the Church.
De Sales’s tempered and gentle yet firm and determined approach to spiritual direction made him a true pearl of great price in the Church’s spiritual patrimony. No one ever mastered the doctoring of souls quite like this gentle Doctor of the Church—as countless saints formed by his legacy will attest. His Marian devotion and dedication to educating the laity by means of modern communication (at that time, leaflets) placed him ahead of his time, and his erudition combined with his sweetness mark him as a highly unusual man in the story of the Church, particularly during his time.
As a bishop of the Church, St. Francis was emboldened by the charism of preaching the Word of God in a truly apostolic manner. In this volume of The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales: For Lent, the Gentle Saint preaches twelve sermons, given during Lent 1622, on key aspects of the Christian life. Chief is St. Francis's treatment of the virtue of mortification: Through fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving, we can learn to resist temptation, avoid losing our souls, live the faith, approach death with a Christian attitude, conduct ourselves properly in illness, and live in mutual charity. In addition, of special interest is the master of meditation's exposition on Our Lord's Passion. Let St. Francis teach you the way to eternal happiness through the toils and labors of Lent, which can be all joy if done for love of God.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 256 pages
by Archbishop Alban Goodier
This absorbing account provides you with an intimate look at the sufferings of Our Lord through the minds and hearts of those closest to Him. You’ll see Jesus through the eyes of His apostles, of those who condemned Him, of His executioners, and of those He met along the way of the Cross. Drawing from historical research, culture, and his own profound spiritual insights, Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J., masterfully intersperses scriptural accounts and narration to bring the Passion of Jesus fully to life.
You will be moved by subtle observations, emotions, and actions swirling around Jesus as He endures His most terrible and triumphant moments. You will come to understand Judas Iscariot’s thoughts and motives in betraying Jesus, St. John’s personal intuitions about the agony of Jesus’ Heart, St. Peter’s impetuousness, and Jesus’ unconditional love.
As he guides you through this introspective contemplation of the Gospels, Fr. Goodier reveals Jesus’ thoughts, feelings, and actions and explains the sufferings Jesus felt in His soul.
Most significantly, you will see who Jesus is for you and who He longs you to be both for Him and for others. We need “active compassion,” explains Archbishop Goodier, to unite our sufferings to those of Jesus and to relate to the anguish of His Heart. Reflecting upon the agony of Jesus in the garden, the travesty of His condemnation, and the diabolical tortures that He endured, you will see as never before the immense sufferings that only the God-Man could abide.
Through the eyes of the saints, the great lovers of God, you will begin truly to see Jesus, the pain He bore, and why He suffered. Our Lord’s words challenge and comfort contemporary believers as much as they did those who first followed in the footsteps of Christ and His apostles. Once you enter into Archbishop Goodier’s meditations, your understanding of the humility, mercy, and love of Christ will deepen, and you will never experience His Passion in the same way again.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 368 pages
Including Prayers and Promises of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
by The Benedictine Convent of Clyde
“Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'” (Luke 1:34-35).
The beautiful and spiritually enriching practice of devotion to the Sorrowful Mother will be illuminated for you in this powerfully written, pocket-sized booklet.
Although many Catholics today have forgotten about the great sorrows of Our Lady, her role as sorrowing mother grows ever more important with the increasing evils of the modern world. This booklet explains more about Our Lady’s sorrows than most Catholics will ever know. It shows you that being devoted to Mary is to grow in love for her and to obtain many special blessings for ourselves in this life and in the next—particularly, the graces that will be bestowed at the hour of our death, as we pray in the Hail Mary every day.
Based on Sacred Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the writings of the saints, this booklet outlines the four special favors promised to those who meditate on Our Lady’s tears and sorrows. Included to enrich your prayer life and deepen your devotion are many relevant prayers:
- The Stabat Mater
- The Litany of the Sorrowful Mother
- Seven prayers for the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin
- And many more!
Booklet, size 6" x 3.75", 80 pages
by St. Bonaventure, St. Francis of Assisi
WILL YOU NOT WATCH ONE HOUR WITH ME?
The saints of the Church have often produced aids for those desiring to grow in devotion to Our Lord, especially to his Passion; and while the saints have employed many different genres to inform devotion to Christ, there is perhaps none greater than the devotion offered in a liturgical Office.
This little book, which presents two of these Offices by two of the great saints of the Church, is what men and women of the medieval period would have called a Book of Hours.
It is these types of shorter daily Offices which are customarily found in Books of Hours designed for lay devotional use. The most popular of these “Little Offices” was that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but other offices were often included alongside it the Office of the Dead, the Office of the Cross, the Office of the Holy Ghost, or an Office of the Passion as we have here. St. Francis is known to have said the Church’s Office and his own Office of the Passion every day.
Offices dedicated to the Passion commemorate Christ’s suffering by connecting specific hours of prayer to the moments of His Passion: the Crucifixion, for example, was always remembered at the hour of Sext. St. Bonaventure and St. Francis of Assisi were particularly suited to produce rich texts for devotional prayer on the Passion. To the initial texts of his Office, St. Francis added more and more pieces over the course of his life, until the Office of the Passion assumed the shape it now.
In 1257, St. Bonaventure was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order. He served in this capacity into the 1270s, when he was made a Cardinal Bishop. The Franciscans at Paris had developed close ties with the royal court of St. Louis IX. St. Bonaventure preached before the royal family on many occasions. It is traditionally believed that St. Bonaventure composed the Office of the Passion at the request of St. Louis IX for the royal saint’s own use.
The two Offices presented here begin the narrative of the Passion in slightly different places: St. Bonaventure’s begins at Matins and Lauds, remembering Christ imprisoned in the early hours of the morning, while St. Francis’s Office begins at Compline the night prior by commemorating the Agony in the Garden.
These Offices invite us to enter more deeply into the memory of the Lord’s Passion, and more deeply into the devotional lives of St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, and even St. Louis IX. In St. Bonaventure’s Office we are taken by a more conventional route into the Passion of Christ. In St. Francis’s Office of the Passion, we find a more unique Office composed of texts that invite us into St. Francis’s own prayers. The Seraphic Father not only presses us to become more devoted to Christ’s suffering; he teaches us to praise God through the created world, to grow in devotion to Our Lady, and to more clearly recognize God as the source of all the goods we have, those of nature gifted to us through creation and those of grace gifted to us by God’s redeeming acts, especially Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Here is how we can better know these saints and, with them, take on the mind of Christ, their Lord and Master: by taking up their prayers daily.
This is a beautiful book that will delight all who use it.
Soft cover, Gilded pages and cover lettering, three ribbons, size 6.5" x 4.3", 179 pages
Meditations on thoughts for Lent, Christ's sufferings and Christ the King
by Fr Robert Maeder
Three excellent, easy to read, sets of meditations by the famous preaching priest and Catholic newspaper editor, Fr. Robert Mader. His delivery of the total faith was so much in the apostolic spirit of primitive Christianity that he was called "the Thunder of the Holy Ghost".
Thoughts for Lent:
| Christ's Sufferings:
| Christ the King:
|
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 166 pages
by Father Jean-Dominique Fabre, O.P.
Do we know Christ’s final words on the Cross? Do we know how they apply to our spiritual life today, in the 21st century?
In this beautiful book, Father Jean-Dominique O.P. takes each of Christ’s seven last words and shows how they apply to all times of History, but especially to our day when the Church and the world are plunged in so much darkness, just like they were at the supreme moment of Christ’s life on earth, His final hours on Calvary.
The seven words of Christ on the Cross are a true guide for Christian life in times of apostasy and revolution. They are an endless source of light, joy and peace. They kindle in the hearts of Catholics a sincere love of the Cross and the Divine Crucified, as well as a proactive hope. Therefore, it is time, more than ever before, to receive this “light which shines in the darkness”.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 178 pages
by Sister Monica
Explains the 14 Stations of the Cross with simple words the child can understand, followed by simple prayers. This book will surely emphasize the great mercy of Our Lord towards mankind and will help them to understand the seriousness of all sin.
Booklet, size 11" x 8.5", 32 pages
by St Bonaventure and Arnold of Bonneval
From the pulpit of the cross, Christ gave His final and most riveting sermon: His seven last words. In times past, Christ frequently spoke in parables, but no more. No, Christ penned these words with His royal blood like a calligrapher using the most delicate of strokes. Christʼs seven last words are the greatest utterances ever recorded in the history of the world—greater than the words of any esteemed orator, heroic leader, or even saint, because they were the last words of God to mankind. They are the “mystical compendium of the entire Gospel,” the perfection of the Beatitudes. Yes, Christ saved the best for last, just like at the wedding feast of Cana—only this time, it was the blood and water from His side that were offered freely to His own bride, the Church.
In this engrossing work, the seraphic doctor, Saint Bonaventure, and Arnold of Bonneval, a Benedictine abbot, offer some of the most profound insights into the seven last words of Christ. Arnold, a friend of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, is believed to be the first person to write on the seven last words, inspiring Bonaventure. While the seven last words have been glossed over for centuries by Christians, it is now time to uncover their hidden and powerful meaning—for there is no greater meditation than pondering the Teacher’s last lecture. In Christ’s seven last words, we find the necessary direction to reach the heights of perfection.
Hardcover, size 7.25" x 5.25", 136 pages
The Mother of Sorrows is the woman of the interior life who leads us to the Master of the interior life, the Man of Sorrows. There is no better way to contemplate the passion of Christ than through the eyes of Mary, she who loved Him above everything, she who loved Him with a mother’s heart, and she who stood firmly when everyone else fled.
Hardcover, size 7.25" x 5.25", 162 pages
by Cardinal Nicolas Patrick Wiseman
“The Christian can have no true devotion at all, if he have it not for the sufferings and death of Christ. For we can have no true devotion without love, its only true foundation.” (Cardinal Wiseman)
Each one of these forty texts on the different aspects of Our Lord’s Passion will give Catholics beautiful food for meditation right throughout the time of Lent and Passiontide.
Cardinal Wiseman does not allow us to be mere passive spectators of a tragedy which, though it may arouse our pity and compassion, would have nothing to do with us personally. Instead, he compels us to acknowledge our own part in the terrible drama of Christ’s sufferings and encourages us to take practical resolutions to change our life accordingly.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 182 pages