Spiritual Life
by Rev. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
Catholic doctrine on the interior life of Christ as it relates to our own interior life. The profound explanation meaning of Our Lord's words and actions in a manner understandable by all, yet to a depth few doctors of theology would even guess was there! Each chapter is virtually a glorious essay that can stand alone.
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 398 pages, Impr.
by St Francis de Sales
translated by Allan Ross
Written for the layman surrounded by worldliness, this is a masterpiece of mystical and devotional literature, by a great and much loved Doctor of the Church. This book does what many similar books fail to do, teach the reader to grow in holiness, step by simple step.
Since its first publication in 1609 this book has never gone out of print. It has always occupied a privileged position in the Church: no guide ever written provides so complete, so balanced and so practical an approach to the spiritual life.
St. Francis de Sales was a master psychologist, with a special gift for teaching practical morality. His writings are characterized by sublime common sense. Even non-Christians have admired his prose. Above all, he is a spiritual genius, and thus was made a Doctor of the Church. This book is truly medicine for the soul.
Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis De Sales, edited and translated by Allan Ross. This edition has been re-typeset using the text of the 1943 edition originally published by Burns Oates and Washbourne, London, under the imprimatur of Edm. Canon Surmont, Vicar General, Westminster, 20th November 1924.
Leather Hardcover, size 8.3" x 5.5", 332 pages
or, Considerations on the Eternal Maxims (The Ascetical Works, Volume 1)
by St Alphonsus Liguori
Covers the shortness of life, the certainty of death, the uncertainty of the hour of death, how with death all ends, the importance of salvation, the value of time, the eternity of Hell, the pains of Hell, the remorse of the damned, and the anguish of the sinner at death. Plus: the happy life of the virtuous, their peaceful and victorious death, the glories and happiness and eternity of Heaven, etc. Preparation for Death is a complete program for saving our souls that understands this life is principally the means for attaining our salvation.
Hardcover, 7 1/2" x 4 3/4", 473 pages
By Dom Prosper Guéranger
The 19th century background of France during which time Dom Prosper Guéranger classic work, The Liturgical Year, appeared is fundamental to understand the importance of this multi-volumes set.
France was going through such a continuous series of political, social and ecclesiastical upheavals from 1789 (the French Revolution) up to the 20th century that one wonders how it was able to maintain its sanity. The governments changed no less than six times within that period. These wars, revolutions and depressions plagued the French people. And the Church suffered much during and after the French Revolution so that direction was needed to bring it back on track. Seeing the suffering and depression of the French Catholic Church and her people, Dom Guéranger began writing his monumental work in 1841. He died in 1875 after writing nine volumes.
The remaining volumes were completed by another Benedictine under Dom Guéranger's name. Dom Guéranger's belief was that the Mass and the cycle of the Church s year could help restore what had been forsaken. Indeed, one can say that the mission of Dom Guéranger was to restore the more than thousand-year tradition of Christianity and its forgotten riches which were abandoned during the French Revolution and its aftermath. He began in post-revolutionary France by founding the 1st Benedictine community in 1836. In 1841 he began the Liturgical Year to bring back Catholic culture and consequently Western Civilization by turning to the Catholic Mass which is the source of all graces and the soul of Catholic worship. His commentaries, explanations and historical observations as contained in this work are profound, devotional and instructive. Each Mass during the entire Church’s yearly cycle is analyzed and explained in simple terms so as to make the reader appreciate the vast treasure and importance of that particular Mass during the year. The Introits, Collects, Epistles, Gospels, Offertory prayers, etc. all have appropriate explanations which bring out the richness of the Mass.
Preserving Christian Publications’ reprint of this set is made to last many readings with a durable hardback light-blue binding that is sewn. Each volume is numbered on the spine for the season it covers.
Hardcover
by St. Paul of the Cross.
These little “Flowers of the Passion” are a collection of devout thoughts and sentiments gathered mostly from occasional letters of that great lover of Jesus crucified, St. Paul of the Cross. They are a treasure to humble and simple souls, and show what sweetness, comfort, graces, and virtues can be drawn from devout meditation on the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. It is only from constant and loving reflection on the love shown towards us, and bright examples of every virtue given us by our suffering Lord, that such beautiful and affecting sentiments could so spontaneously spring.Impr, 1893,
Paperback, 241 pages
The Story of a Soul
The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
"Be not afraid to tell Jesus that you love Him; even though it be without feeling, this is the way to oblige Him to help you, and carry you like a little child too feeble to walk."
The Story of a Soul, better known to the English public as The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, was first published in 1899. Today it ranks amongst the greatest Christian spiritual classics and it has been translated into practically every well-known language. Almost every pope since its publication has proposed St. Thérèse's teaching to the faithful for their imitation — Pius XI declared her the greatest saint of our age and John Paul II made her a Doctor of the Church.
The Story of a Soul possesses in some degree a characteristic common both to the Gospels and The Imitation of Christ. Men and women open the book, often quite casually, and are caught by the vivid clarity or simple profundity of some sentence in such a way that their lives are completely changed. The style of St. Thérèse is extremely simple and spontaneous, having a charm that is hard to describe, especially when she rises to poetic heights. The final chapter, written for her eldest sister Marie, is simply a childlike outpouring of her heart to Jesus Himself. This spiritual classic will speak gently to your heart.
Leather Hardcover, size 8.5" x 5.5", 232 pages
Finding Confidence in Times of Trial
Letters of St John of Avila
by St John of Avila
Indecision was not in his heart. Surrounded by clerical corruption and unprecedented consumerism, St. John of Avila (1500-1569) led the authentic effort to reform the Church and Christian society during one of its darkest hours.
When faced with spiritually bankrupt seminaries and lax universities, St. John simply founded new ones. When vast regions of his homeland lapsed into spiritual indifference, he spent a decade storming the cities and villages to reignite the Faith. He fearlessly denounced decadent leaders and withstood the subsequent interrogations of the Inquisition with perfect charity, winning over skeptics and melting the hearts of sinners.
For St. Francis de Sales, he was "the learned and saintly preacher." St. Francis Borgia called him "the Great Master" and St. Teresa of Avila named him "the Master of things spiritual."
Pope Benedict XVI recently declared that he would name St. John of Avila the 34th "Doctor of the Universal Church."
And yet, most Catholics have never heard of him.
Among the many lessons you will learn:
- The life-giving habits of an authentic Christian life, which are found not through false "conversions" and "visions," but in the slow and steady steps on the path of holiness.
- How suffering is frequently the means God chooses to reveal His mercy and His design for our lives.
- True beauty: for a Christian it will shine out in poverty, chastity, and fidelity, not in the luxuries and comforts of this world.
- The easy graces of the liturgical year: one of the surest ways to develop in sanctity, and how Christians should ready themselves for the gifts which the Holy Spirit will send.
- The dangers of personal resolutions: These are often built upon pride and mistaken notions, but God sends us every day trials to transform us into His spiritual champions.
- How a Christian should prepare himself for Holy Mass, how to approach the Blessed Sacrament, and what real participation in the Sacrifice means.
- That weakness, persecution, and infidelity are often found within the institutional Church, and what we can do to combat it or at least suffer it faithfully.
Paperback, 160 pages
by Marguerite Duportal
These pages will help you gain happiness and peace by showing you how to understand - and conquer - any trouble, no matter how great. Here you'll learn how to avoid the mistakes most of us make when we're suffering - mistakes that only make our burdens heavier. You'll come to see that misfortunes are not the blind workings of chance, but are vital elements in God's loving plan. With the wisdom in these pages, you'll soon be using your troubles as instruments to unleash God's healing power in your soul.
Here you'll discover:
- How to preserve your peace even amid troubles you can't avoid
- Pain: the surprising role it can play in God's loving plan for you
- Suicidal? Why this suffering world is better than no world at all
- How to find the beauty hidden in the most unappealing duties
- Peace with God: how bearing your suffering well can lead you to Him quickly and directly
- The very worst temptation you'll face in your troubles - and how to prepare for it in good times
- Hope: how you can gain the life-transforming power of this virtue
- How you can bring Christ's light to others in their own sorrow
- How to turn even your worst troubles into opportunities for good
- Why suffering is no compelling argument against Faith
- Despair: the amazing way you can avoid giving in to it, no matter how heavy your burdens
- And a wealth of practical wisdom to help you sing God's praises even in the worst of times!
Paperback, size 7" x 5", 128 pages
A Golden Key of Heaven
by Rev. J. Von Den Driesch
“Acts of perfect Contrition and Charity are the great means of salvation; they are more closely related to the attaining of salvation than prayer alone. I desire this little booklet be in the hands of all – convinced that by the attentive reading of it, and by practicing its maxims, the gates of Heaven will be opened to many, very many for whom otherwise they might have been closed forever; and that many more remaining in God’s grace, will preserve their right to Heaven, and their eternal happiness will grow and be increased immeasurably.” Fr. Lehmkuhl, S.J., Preface.
Booklet, size 8x.5”x5.5”, 32 pages, Impr 1904
by St. Francis de Sales
These sayings from St. Francis de Sales have been gleaned from his collected letters, homilies, conferences and publications. While almost always taken from within a larger context, these quotes provide convenient distillations of his rich insights on the love of God, self, others and the created order.
The foundation for all of DeSales' writings is the imitation of what Jesus called the "greatest commandment:" to grow in the love of God and neighbor. This love is strengthened through the celebration of sacraments, the practice of prayer, and a union of our will with God's will in even the most ordinary aspects of life. Love of God must deepen our love of neighbor, best expressed in the practice of gentleness; love of neighbor must deepen our love for God, best expressed in the practice of humility.
Booklet, size 8.5" x 5.5", 26 pages
Victory Over Vice
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Fulton Sheen claims that since all seven deadly sins led Christ's enemies to nail Him to the Cross, we can find in the example of His suffering and death sure means to overcome each of those sins, plus the key to understanding — and to nurturing in our own soul — each corresponding virtue.
So, for example, in these pages filled with wisdom and hope, Blessed Sheen teaches us not only how to conquer our gluttony; he shows us how to satisfy our spiritual hunger. We learn not merely how to overcome pride; we discover what we must do to grow humble. From Christ's holy response to each of the seven deadly sins that led to His Crucifixion, Blessed Sheen draws a lesson in how you and I must deal with those same sins, whether we meet them in others or in ourselves.
Day after day, Christians struggle to do good, to avoid evil, and to take up with patience and love the crosses that threaten to crush them. For those of us who still know more of sin than sanctity, Fulton Sheen's revelation of the light that vice sheds on virtue affords a way to understand even better, and a means to attain it. If you abide by the holy counsel of these pages, enduring virtue will soon be yours: you will have achieved your own long-sought-after victory over vice.
Paperback, size 7" x 5", 128 pages
This book is an attempt to outline that love story of God and man, which achieves its consummation in the unity of the whole Christ; and to show that the spiritual life is a partnership of love between God and man which can be summed up in one word: Christ.
- Dom Eugene Boylan OCSO
Can married couples become holy? Can anyone who is not a priest or a member of a religious institute reach the heights of mystical union with Christ? In this book, Dom Eugene Boylan, Trappist abbot and spiritual writer, shows how the faithful are invited into this intimate union with Him, regardless of their state in life.
Few works can match the completeness of Dom Eugene’s treatment of God’s loving plan for mankind in This Tremendous Lover. He explains how the doctrines of the Redemption and of the Mystical Body form us in holiness through our membership in His Church. A chapter on the Blessed Virgin Mary outlines her essential role in the spiritual life, while a chapter on Marriage and Holiness explains just how exalted and yet attainable, is the ideal of holiness for married couples.
First published in 1946, This Tremendous Lover sold more than a million copies. Decades after it was written, it remains a sure guide to understanding what the love of God for man truly entails.
Toward Easter
Daily Readings and Meditations to Pray Alone or as a Family
by Fr Patrick Troadec
“O God, who desirest not the death, but the repentance of sinners, in Thy goodness vouchsafe to bless these ashes which we purpose to put upon our heads in token of our lowliness and to obtain forgiveness: so that we who know that we are but ashes…may deserve to obtain from Thy mercy the pardon of all our sins, and the rewards promised to the penitent.” – Meditation on Ash Wednesday.
Fr. Troadec’s best-selling series continues in this third book Toward Easter. Father uses the liturgy of the Lenten season to assist us in our daily prayer, meditation and spiritual growth.
Each of the daily meditations covered in this book includes a:Quote: Taken from Scripture, the Mass, or the Spiritual Fathers.
Meditation: A particular truth of the Faith and how it applies to us.
Prayer: Two short daily prayers for the reader to choose from.
Thoughts: Daily recollections that illustrate a profound point
Resolution: Three simple and practical resolutions.
Anyone looking to draw closer to God through the liturgy of His Church while developing the habit of daily spiritual reading and meditation needs to read this series! It continues to be a wonderful and trusted aid for Catholics of any age or walk of life. A profoundly Catholic and truly practical guide to daily growth in holiness.
The series includes:
From Advent to Epiphany
From Epiphany to Lent
Toward Easter
Eastertide Day by Day
From Trinity Sunday to the Assumption
From the Assumption to Advent
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 218 pages
by St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P.
“And I find that the Son of God, descending from heaven and assuming human flesh in the virginal womb of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, up to the day on which He ascended to heaven, did thirty principal deeds, which are comprehended and reprised in the Mass.” —Saint Vincent Ferrer
Saint Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419) was a devout preacher of penance, a precursor of the Last Judgment, filled with zeal. In his twenty-year commission, he brought countless souls into the one true Catholic Faith.
In this brief yet powerful booklet, The Life of Christ in the Mass, St. Vincent Ferrer clearly explains how thirty key events from Jesus’s life are represented in the Mass. This is the perfect meditation for any Catholic who wants to draw near to Our Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Walk with Christ throughout the parts of the Mass with St. Vincent as your guide.
Booklet, size 6" x 3.75", 40 pages
Seeds of the Kingdom
Notes from Conferences, Spiritual Directions, Meditations
by Fr Almire Pichon, S.J. (Spiritual Director of St Therese of Lisieux)
The history of our Holy Faith gives many an instance of Saints working hand-in-hand for the Glory of God and the salvation of souls. As St. Teresa of Avila was given St. John of the Cross, so too was God's own "Little Flower" in need of a devout teacher. It was the saintly spiritual direction from the little-known Fr. Almire Pichon, S. J., which aided her in her daily life at Carmel and helped her to reach the heights of the spiritual life.
Inside this book one will find simple truths and profound treasures of our Catholic Faith, transmitted by a holy man to those who were placed in his care.
Hardcover, 8.9" x 5.8", 271 pages.
by Romano Guardini
The profound wisdom found in this Romano Guardini classic will help you to quiet your soul, concentrate your mind, and grow more receptive to God's grace in the Holy Mass.
Written for ordinary Catholics who are struggling to become closer to Christ, Meditations Before Mass is full of wisdom and yet offers practical, straightforward advice that will help you overcome distractions and restlessness while leading you into a more enriching experience when you enter into Holy Communion with God.
Over fifty years ago, Msgr. Romano Guardini resolved to help his parishioners move beyond the petty hindrances to full participation in the Mass—hindrances to which we are all prone. Just before Mass each Sunday, he gave a brief talk on some aspect of the Mass, teaching them week by week, topic by topic, how to prepare themselves to participate more prayerfully.
So helpful were these 32 talks that they were soon published and have since been reprinted countless times in numerous countries and languages, helping generations of Catholics to deepen their devotion during Mass.
In these pages, you'll discover:
- What to do when Mass becomes boring and "routine"
- How to achieve a genuine—not superficial—stillness
- The one indispensible element for a deep liturgical life
- How to gain control over your wandering attention
- One tendency we must overcome when listening to Scripture readings
- The real meaning of "keeping holy" the Sabbath—and its special importance for the family
- The importance of listening, and the inner barriers that prevent it
- Why it's good to arrive early at Mass whenever possible
- The true significance of standing and kneeling in church
- And dozens of other practical ways to enrich your worship
Paperback, size 7" x 5", 208 pages
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus According to St. Gertrude
by Fr. Andre Prevot
Based on the actual words of Our Lord to St. Gertrude as recorded in her famous Revelations. Shows little-known ways to gain great graces quickly and advance rapidly in divine love, especially by placing all of our own prayers in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that they might be perfected and made more pleasing thereby. St. Gertrude is one of the greatest Saints in the Church, and here indeed are the secrets of a Saint! Impr.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 224 pages