Saints' Lives - Collections
by Ethel Pochocki
Ethel Pochocki, whimsically and unforgettably, presents a new set of heavenly friends to readers young and old in this third collection of Once Upon A Time Saints stories. Beginning in the dark of December, the start of the Church Year, there are stories and poems for each month, all bursting with saintly—not to mention angelic—deeds and happenings. Each tale or verse—whether of mystical apparitions in a tiny Irish village or of friars who float in the air or of entire countries single-handedly converted to Christianity—makes it quite plain that heaven doesn't keep to its place at all, but is happily determined to spill over into earthly life—here, there and . . . all around the year.
Once Upon A Time Saints More Once Upon A Time Saints
Ages: 10 +
Paperback, 212 pages
by Andrew and Lenora Lang
Marvelous legends and exciting true stories of Christian saints and heroes will provide many hours of delightful reading to believers and non-believers alike!
Read the exciting stories of:
| The First Hermits (St Paul the Hermit & St. Anthony of the Desert) | The Roses from Paradise (St Dorothea) | The Saint with the Lion (St Jerome) | Synesius, the Ostrich Hunter (St Synesius) | The Struggles of St Augustine (St Augustine of Hippo) |
| Germanus the Governor (St Germanus of Auxerre) | Malchus the Monk | The Saint on the Pillar | The Apostle of Northumbria | St Columba of Iona |
| Brendan the Sailor | The Charm Queller | Dunstan the Friend of Kings | St Margaret of Scotland | St Elizabeth of Hungary |
| Saint and King | The Preacher to the Birds | Richard the Bishop | Colette | The Apostle of the Japanese |
| The Servant of the Poor | The Founder of Hospitals | The Patron Saint of England |
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 342 pages
Saint Claude de la Columbiere, Saint Margaret Mary Aloocoque, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
by Margaret Yeo
“My pure love unites forever these three hearts.”
These were the words spoken to St. Margaret-Mary on Friday, June 21, 1675 by Our Lord as she received Holy Communion from the hands of St. Claude de la Colombière, just after they had knelt together before the Blessed Sacrament and dedicated themselves to serve the Sacred Heart.
This was not the first time, nor the last, that Our Lord had spoken to her. Indeed, most of her life was lived in constant and intimate communion with the Sacred Heart of her spouse. The first time she laid eyes upon St. Claude Our Lord told her, “This is he whom I have sent you. He is My faithful servant and perfect friend.”
This book, unlike others about St. Margaret-Mary or the revelations of the Sacred Heart, contains the full story of St. Claude’s life and the role that he played in hers and in the task of “making known” the Sacred Heart and the promises made to those who live and promote that devotion. On May 31, 1992, Claude de la Colombière was canonized. His feast day is Feb 15.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 284 pages
The Brave Lives and Holy Deaths of the Eight North American Martyrs
by Rev. John A. O'Brien
French priests enter a war zone where captured Westerners are paraded before their captors, tortured, and then beheaded. Their desecrated bodies get dumped by the roadside.
Iraq in 2007? The Gaza Strip? Western Afghanistan?
No. A place more dangerous: Canada in the 1600s. On rivers and in forests, Iroquois slaughter Huron and Europeans kill for land and power. It's a landscape of blood and horror whose viciousness eclipses the terrorism that shocks us today. Into this iniquitous land go dozens of stouthearted Jesuits, the purest examples of Roman Catholic virtue our Western continent has ever seen.
Their purpose? To baptize souls and preach the gospel to savages whose degraded, vicious lives cry out for the light of Christ.
Many of these Jesuits were murdered, and today eight of them are saints. Six were priests: Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Antoine Daniel, Charles Garnier, and Noël Chabanel; two were lay assistants: René Goupil and Jean Lalande.
They are the Jesuit Martyrs of North America, and this is their story.
From letters these brave men wrote to their superiors by the light of Indian campfires or while skimming lovely waters in swift canoes, John A. O'Brien has crafted the terrifying, inspiring, and true tale of the dangerous struggle they engaged in for enormous stakes: the salvation of countless souls mired in darkness.
O'Brien shows that in the best of times, these good men were surrounded by lasciviousness, pandemonium and demonic rituals. Bad times brought bloody war, upraised tomahawks, the shrieks of victims, and knowledge that their superstitious hosts might turn against them without warning, and bury a tomahawk in their skull.
Patient, charitable, and heedless of their own lives, these eight Jesuits spoke constantly of Jesus, baptized thousands, and even in the shadow of death brought them the consoling graces of the Sacraments. Between times they cared for souls dying of smallpox, cleaned festering wounds, and day in and day out returned love for hatred, blessings for curses, and prayers for abuse.
Ultimately, all were murdered. Some died from a sudden blow; the rest were mutilated and tortured until, with forgiveness in their hearts and Jesus name on their lips, they died in flames their persecutors had set around them.
Saints of the American Wilderness tells of these good men who sought nothing less than the conversion of a continent. Their zeal won for them the imperishable crown of martyrdom and sanctified with their holy blood the soil of North America.
Truly, they are models for those who would be saints in bloody times like ours.
Paperback, size 8.25" x 5.5", 257pp
by Dominican Novices, St. Catherine of Siena
The Order of Preachers, purveyors of the Rosary, Hounds of the Lord—the Dominican order is one of the greatest jewels in the treasury of the Church. Such an illustrious band has produced numerous saints: confessors, nuns, popes, martyrs, preachers, mystics, and more.
In Dominican Saints, readers will find biographies of 14 of the most illustrious members of St. Dominic's lineage:
| St Dominic | St Peter the Martyr | St Hyacinth | St Thomas Aquinas |
| St Raymond of Pennafort | St Agnes of Montepulciano | St Catherine of Siena | St Vincent Ferrer |
| St Antonius | St Pius V | St John of Cologne | St Louis Bertrand |
| St Catherine de Ricci | St Rose of Lima |
Pious tradition relates the story of St. Dominic's vision of the future of his order. One night, deep in prayer, he was granted a vision of the heavenly court, and the walls of Eternity parted to reveal Our Lord and Our Lady.
Suddenly, Dominic began to weep.
When the Lord asked him why he could be so sorrowful, St. Dominic replied that, although he could see so many members of other orders in heaven, he could find not one Dominican. Ever mirthful, Our Lord then indicated his Mother, saying that the order was in her care. At this, Our Lady raised her mantle and spread it wide, revealing a host of Dominicans so vast it seemed to fill the entire heavenly court. Here, come to know these holy men and women of one of the most privileged groups in history.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.25", 452 pagesby Fr Bonaventure Hammer, O.F.M.
In 14th-century Rhineland, part of modern-day Germany, the Black Death had struck hard. Many were dying, and the situation was dire. But the faith of the Rhinelanders was strong, and they knew who turn to: fourteen holy helpers, saints of God with protective patronages against various maladies and hardships, including the plague itself. The fourteen had not been connected to each other in their earthly lives or by any devotion until then, but they had one thing in common: they would help whoever devoutly asked. They are here for us to now, as The Fourteen Holy Helpers.
| St George | St Blaise | St Erasmus | St Pantaleon | St Vitus |
| St Christopher | St Dionysius | St Cyriacus | St Achatius | St Eustachius |
| St Giles | St Margaret of Antioch | St Catherine of Alexandria | St Barbara |
In this short volume, you will find out just who these saints are (most are early martyrs), what their special patronages are, and why they are so close to God. The most wonderful aspect of the devotion to the Fourteen Holy Helpers is that it provides an example for how the oldest saints in the Church are never far from us but are always eager to help all generations of Christians. This book shows the greatest link between the earliest centuries of the Church and our own age: the communion of Saints. Most of all, these Fourteen Holy Helpers will not only aid you against all physical maladies but will also protect you from spiritual harm and will show you how to imitate them in ever deeper devotion to Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 112 pages
Sitxty-three Saints of the Western Church from the First to the Twentieth Century
by Hugh Ross Williamson
Sixty-three Saints of the Western Church from the 1st to the 20th Century Saints are the men and women who best love Christ and His Church.
They may be kings or queens, statesmen or soldiers, scholars, visionaries, workmen or beggars. They teach us the real meaning of human history, and they show us how to live in any walk of life or set of circumstances.
Many of these saints were martyrs, killed in periods of persecution. Others died trying to bring the knowledge of Christ to pagan tribes. Yet others built up the Church through their example and their teaching, but were never called upon to shed their blood.
| St James the Greater | St Denis | St Helen | St Ambrose of Milan | St Germain |
| St Patrick | St Genevieve | St Brigid of Ireland | St Benedict | St Gregory the Great |
| St Columba of Iona | St Hermengild | St Isidore of Seville | St Aiden | St Audry (Etheldreda) |
| St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne | St Giles | St Boniface | St Eulogius of Cordova | St Swithun |
| St Wenceslaus | St Wolfgang | Sts Henry & Cunegund | St Edward the Confessor | St Benno of Meissen |
| St Gregory VII | St Norbert | St Bernard of Clairvaux | St Thomas of Canterbury | St Hildegard |
| St Hugh of Lincoln | St Francis of Assisi | St Dominic | St Anthony of Padua | St Elizabeth of Hungary |
| St Willebold | St Louis IX | St Albert the Great | St Thomas Aquinas | Bl Ramon Lull |
| St Elizabeth the Peacemaker | St Catherine of Siena | St John Nepomucene | St Bernadine of Siena | St Joan of Arc |
| St Jerome Emiliani | St Thomas More | St Ignatius Loyola | St John of God | St Francis Xavier |
| St Teresa of Avila | St Peter Canisius | Bl Edmund Campion | St Camillus de Lellis | St Vincent de Paul |
| St Alphonsus Liguori | St Benedict Joseph Labre | The Cure d'Ars | St Bernadette | St John Bosco |
| St Therese of Lisieux | St Pius X | St Frances Xavier Cabrini |
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 239 pages
by Dr Malcolm Brennan
This is the bloody chronicle of 24 English saints who laid down their lives as a testimony to the truth of the Catholic faith during the English "Reformation." Champion men and women. Inspiring to the young. Find strength in the heroic lives of those who watched the destruction of the Catholic faith in their country. Through their death they planted the seed of restoration.
| Chapter 1 St John Houghton St Robert Lawrence St Augustine Wester St Richard Reynolds | Chapter 2 St John Fisher | Chapter 3 St Thomas More | Chapter 4 Bl John Forest | Chapter 5 St Cuthbert Mayne |
| Chapter 6 St Edmund Campion | Chapter 7 St Ralph Sherwin | Chapter 8 St Alexander Briant | Chapter 9 St John Paine | Chapter 10 St Luke Kirby |
| Chapter 11 St Richard Gwyn | Chapter 12 Bl James Fenn | Chapter 13 St Margaret Clitherow | Chapter 14 St Margaret Ward | Chapter 15 St Robert Southwell |
| Chapter 16 St Philip Howard | Chapter 17 St Nicholas Owen | Chapter 18 Bl John Ogilvie | Chapter 19 St Edmund Arrowsmith | Chapter 20 St John Southworth |
| Chapter 21 St Oliver Plunkett |
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 166 pages
Drinking with Saint Nick
Christmas Cocktails for Sinners and Saints
by Michael P. Foley
Raise your spirits and toast Saint Nick!
Hot gin toddies. Smoking rosemary old fashioneds. A "wet" Advent calendar. Now you can experience Christmas the way it was meant to be celebrated: with festive cocktails and a lively history of Saint Nicholas and other saints! Michael Foley, author of Drinking with the Saints, presents holiday drink recipes; beer, wine, and cider recommendations; and witty instruction on how to honour the saints in this exquisite gift book that will make your Christmas more spirited than ever before.
"With lively stories and delicious drink recipes, this book takes us on a rollicking journey through the lives of the saints. What a fun and fabulous way to engage with your faith during the holidays." -- Jennifer Fulwiler, author of One Beautiful Dream and host of the Jennifer Fulwiler Show on the Catholic Channel
Hardcover, size 7.3" x 5.4", 224 pages
by Ethel Pochocki
Here are yet more of "those human and lovable people whose mysterious passion for God led them into preposterous escapades." Story-teller Ethel Pochocki follows up her book Once Upon a Time Saints and presents another collection of wildly distinctive saints - from Hyacinth to Zita to Longinus to Kentigern - and readers will again be charmed by the vivid immediacy of their settings. We find out what very real people they were, these saints who lived and breathed in a wold as hard, as wet, as hot, as enticing and as changeful as our own. Yet their heroism is all their own. Ethel Pochocki leads us through their adventures, joys and sorrows to the truly happy ending each one gained.
Saints included
| St Hyacinth | St Joan Delanoue | St Joseph of Arimathea | St Kentigern |
| St Longinus | St Martha | St Melangell | St Moses the Black |
| St Nicolas Postgate | St Pharaildis | St Rigobert | St Servulus |
| The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus | St Simeon | St Swithin | St Zita |
| St Adauctus |
Ages: 5 +
Paperback, size 8.4" x 7", 93 pages
Women of Faith is an essential resource for parents, grandparents and godparents wanting to give children a taste of the historical, living Church. This book is a collection of stories of the women saints and martyrs of the early Christian Church. Featuring saints venerated in both Orthodox and Catholic traditions, this book will introduce children to amazing role models of the faith. Showcasing women who were light in a dark time, these stories are filled with courage, beauty and ultimately, a faith in God that transformed the world.
| St Genevieve | St Agnes | St Brigid of Ireland | St Apollonia | St Isidora |
| St Dymphna | St Sunniva | St Margaret of Antioch | St Paraskevi | St Hermione |
| St Ursula | St Barbara | St Lucy |
Each saint is featured with a stunning watercolour portrait, a short story from her life and a prayer suitable for young children.
Example:
O Dymphna, you healed many bodies and minds. Comfort me when I am worried. Calm my mind when I am afraid. Pray to God for me that I will think clearly and that I will have your love for people whose minds are ill.
Paperback, size 11" x 8.5", 28 pages
Readings on the Saints
by Rev Jacobus de Voragine
Depicting the lives of the saints in an array of factual and fictional stories, The Golden Legend was perhaps the most widely read book, after the Bible, during the late Middle Ages. It was compiled around 1260 by Jacobus de Voragine, a scholarly friar and later archbishop of Genoa, whose purpose was to captivate, encourage, and edify the faithful, while preserving a vast store of information pertaining to the legends and traditions of the church. In this translation, the first in English of the complete text, William Granger Ryan captures the immediacy of this rich work, which offers an important guide for readers interested in medieval art and literature and, more generally, in popular religious culture. Arranged according to the order of saints' feast days, these fascinating stories are now combined into one volume. This edition also features an introduction by Eamon Duffy contextualizing the work.
Paperback, 788 pages
by various authors
compiled by Helen Waddell
For several hundred years, in the youth of the Church, countless men, and a few women, fled the world and flocked to the deserted places of this earth wishing to found (and to find) their lives in God alone.Their experiences transformed not only their own lives, but also in many ways, the world they left behind.
The beauty and timelessness of their stories has captured the imagination of men throughout the ages that have followed. To live in search only of God and the eternal verities is a theme that men never weary contemplating and often imitate.The original of these translations is the Latin of the Vitae Patrum, a vast collection of the lives and sayings of the Desert Fathers, edited by the learned Rosweyde, and printed at the Plantin press in Antwerp in 1615.
The original ran to 1600 pages. These extracts assembled by Helen Waddell are among the best.
Includes short stories on
The Life of St Paul the First Hermit by St Jerome
The Life of St Pelagia the Harlot by James the Deacon
The Life of St Mary the Harlot by St Ephraem of Edessa
Plus more
Paperback, 312 pages
by Catechetical Guild Comics
A “graphic novel” at its finest! Original copyright 1956! Contains 9 different short, wondrous tales about heroic martyrs, saintly nuns, and a great sorcerer!
- Martyr of Christ - St Issac Jogues,
- Quest of Honour, - Fr de Smet
- The Great Sorcerer - Fr John de Brebeuf,
- Saviour of Vincennes - Fr Pierre Gibault,
- Lady in Grey - St Marguerite D'Youville,
- America’s Mother Seton - St Elizabeth Seton,
- Faith was His Sword - Fr Junipero Serra,
- Revolt in the Sun - Fra Francisco Garces,
- Mexican Martyr - Fr Miguel Pro.
Paperback, 66 pages
The Seraphic Order
A Traditional Franciscan Book of Saints
by Fr Marion A. Habig, OFM and Sr Aquinas Barth
Among the followers of St. Francis there were saints and teachers who were endowed by God with a natural and supernatural kinship with their holy founder. They developed the Franciscan spirituality which had its origin in the simple practical life and the rules of St. Francis; and they gave further, clearer expression to it both by their lives and their writings. Thus they pointed out the characteristic traits of Franciscan spirituality, both in a practical and a theoretical way.
Concerning the distinctive features of Franciscan spirituality, as contained in the Franciscan tradition, suffice it to say that its essence is doctrinal Christocentrism and practical imitation of Christ, conformity with Christ, prompted by love. Distinctive aspects of Franciscan piety are childlike love of God, our Father, devotion to the Humanity of Christ, His Sacred Heart, the Holy Eucharist, the mysteries of the Nativity and the Passion, His Virgin Mother Mary, and reverence for the Catholic priesthood. Franciscan love of God finds expression also in charity to our fellowmen, understanding them as our brothers, especially in aid to the poor and sick and in apostolic zeal for souls, Christian and pagan. Total poverty detaches the Franciscan soul from creatures, but at the same time it recognizes God in created things and uses the latter to mount to God. Emphasis is placed on the will, and hence on love and action above speculation. The atmosphere in which the Franciscan spirit develops is one of individual freedom of the spirit, absence of coercive and confining methods, love of enterprise, and a sense of realism. On the path of this traditional Franciscan way of life many have attained sainthood.
Thus, The Seraphic Order, which recounts their lives and virtues, can well serve as a practical textbook of Franciscan spirituality.
Paperback, 1026 pages
Also available in Hardcover upon request (additional cost)
by Rev. Frank J. Mueller
Over the years 1928-1931, Rev. Frank J. Mueller penned these essays on each of the twelve Apostles for The Sign, a monthly publication of the Passionists. Collected under one cover in 1931 as Christ’s Twelve, these brief character essays use the biblical record to flesh out those few details that have come down to us about each of the twelve men chosen by our Lord to bring His message to the whole world. Though little can be known for certain about many of them, Father Mueller is able to paint a portrait of men with strengths and weaknesses who were nevertheless, through the power of the Holy Spirit, able to lay the foundations of a Church that has endured through the trials of many centuries.
Paperback, size 5.5" x 8.5", 130 pages
For Every day of the Year
by Fr Alban Butler
Butler's Lives of the Saints is the most revered Catholic book after the Bible, the Missal and The Imitation of Christ. A Saint or two for each day of the calendar. Great for a daily meditation; each life is followed by a "lesson" from the life to help us apply the virtues of the Saint to ourselves. Great for the entire family. Includes famous Saints since Fr. Butler's time; all recounted in the same beautiful, reverent spirit that was his. Impr.
Paperback, 428 pages
Revelations of Our Lord to Saints Margaret of Cortona, Bridget of Sweden and Catherine of Siena
edited by Craig Turner
Words of Faith recounts the conversations of God with three great saints: Saint Margaret of Cortona, Saint Bridget of Sweden, and Saint Catherine of Siena. These pages reveal the deep inner life and the personal relationship with God of these holy women, offering a blueprint for our own spiritual life.
Taken from their own writings or from the writings of those close them, these exchanges with God offer an intimate glimpse at the saintly soul’s relationship with the Almighty Father. It is at once a model for us as we strive to deepen our Faith and our relationship with God and a revealing picture of a God Who loves us.
Words of Faith is the perfect devotional for those who wish to strengthen their Faith after the example of the saints.
Paperback, 152 pages