Spiritual Life

Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Our habitual thoughts make us what we are. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Sooner or later a man’s habitual thoughts come out in his life and character. What his thoughts are determines what he will become.
    The sayings of saints, and of wise and holy men and women, if read day by day, with prayerful reflection, will cheer us and sustain us in the conflicts with the enemies of our salvation, will help us to do what is right, to press onward and upward, valiantly and persistently toward the goal of perfection. 281 pp

By Rev. F.X. Lasance.

“Rejoice in the Lord” emphasizes and unfolds the fundamental truth contained in the epigrammatic saying of Father Hecker: “The end of religion is joy– joy here no less than joy hereafter.” It is composed of three parts. The first part is a Book of Reflections. Under the caption “A Word of Good Cheer for Each Day in the Year” are gathered together from the Sacred Scriptures, and from the writing or sayings of saints and sages, words or thoughts, that will help us, if we make them our own, to maintain a spirit of cheerfulness in all our vicissitudes, that will encourage us, if we meditate on them, to cultivate the habit of looking on the bright side of things. The second part is a Book of Prayer; that is to say, a prayer-book which is suitable to all states of life for all ordinary occasions of devotion. The third part is A Little Books of Indulgenced Ejaculations and Short Prayers. 505 pp

We purpose, by means of this book, to inculcate the proper spirit of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, to assist souls in cultivating the interior life in the midst of the distracting pursuits of the world, and to foster a fervent yet reasonable devotion - a love that is both affective and effective - not a mere sentimentality, but a robust and practical piety.
    It is this that lives become self-forgetting, devoted, according to the Heart of Jesus, and, through, union with Him, are hidden in God. 638 pp.

By Fr. F.X. Lasance. 662 pp

This book wants to make you remember the things that tend to your peace and happiness, the things that count for eternity; it wants to be your friendly mentor in the storm and stress of life, if you will have the grace to accept it as such, to the end that, by prayerfully meditating on the subjects proposed for your consideration, you may grow in the knowledge and love of God, may strive constantly after that which is the will of God - your personal sanctification and, in the imitation of Jesus Christ, your divine Master and Model, you may practise the virtues proper to your state of life, as inculcated especially in the Eight Beatitudes, so that you may ultimately achieve your destiny and one day be admitted to the City of the Saints, the everlasting happiness of which is indicated by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him,” and which is described by St. John in the Apocalypse : “Behold the tabernacle of God with men. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more; for the former things are passed away.”

"WHAT WILL THIS NEW YEAR BE FOR US? 

God only knows, but by our desire for sanctification we can turn for help to Our Lord’s will to save our soul and all souls. How consoling it is to think that our everyday life can be transformed into numerous graces of sanctification and Redemption! So it was throughout the life of Our Lord and of the Virgin Mary."
                 —Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (January 3rd Feast of St. Genevieve)

This little collection of quotes, taken from the sermons and writings of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, assigns a short reading to every day of the year. It is a beautiful and simple way to practice daily recollection and elevate the mind to God. This new collection of the Archbishop’s words helps to develop the daily habits that can shape our eternal destiny.

"With the shepherds, we will go to that little Child, and despite His frail appearance we will believe in His divinity, confronting all those who, on the contrary, think of doing away with the Child as soon as He is born. Herod is already sending his troops to kill all the infant boys less than two years old, hoping that this future King will be among those children. Madman! He is opposing the One who comes to save him."
—Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (December 28th Feast of the Holy Innocents)

191 Pages

“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.

• 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.

"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.

• The Love of God;
• The Flight of the Love of the World;
• The Pleasures of the World;
• Duties of the Rich;
• Portrait of the Christian Woman;
• Woman's Sunday;
• The Useful Life;
• Woman's Conversation;
• The Life of Union With God;
• The Exercise of Prayer and Meditation;
• The Life of Self-Denial;
• The Christian Mission of Women.

St Therese and the faithful is a practical manual which makes this great saint and doctor’s little way applicable to those living in the world.

Benedict Williamson shows, in this wonderful work, that the spirituality of St Therese is not just for religious, just as sainthood is not for religious only, but is for everyone. The home, just as truly as the convent, can be the school of sanctity, and St Therese leads the way.

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The Imitation of Christ by Thomas À Kempis needs no introduction. For more than five centuries it has been the most popular spiritual book second only to the Sacred Scriptures. It presents the fundamental principles of the spiritual life. The Christian soul is invited to follow Christ Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. As we study its contents we are convinced that without that Way there is no going, without that Truth there is no knowing, without that Life there is no real living.

This translation by Bishop Challoner, who revised the Douay-Rheims Bible in the 1740's, is the most beautiful and edifying available. The Imitation of Christ speaks to the soul of every Christian, reminding him of the brevity of earthly joy compared to the eternity of happiness with God. This spiritual classic belongs to every Christian library.

Confident that the Church teaches us rightly but knowing as well that each of us must walk closely with God — hearing His voice not only through the Church but in the depths of our own hearts — Newman here shows us how to look to Our Lord and declare:

I need you to teach me day by day, according to each day's opportunities and needs. Teach me . . . to sit at your feet and to hear your word. Give me that true wisdom which seeks your will by prayer and meditation. . . . Give me the discernment to know your voice from the voice of strangers, to rest upon it, and to seek it in the first place. 

This was Newman's greatest desire. It awakened in him ceaseless prayer, countless good works, a profound love of the sacraments, and the habit of daily meditation which strengthened his will, deepened his understanding, and enkindled in him an ever greater love of God.