Spiritual Life
God with Us
by The Benedictine Convent of Clyde
Booklet, size 6" x 3.75", 78 pages
Compiled from the writings of St Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. A religious founder, far-reaching theologian, and holy man of God, St. Alphonsus never fails to utter a stirring word that draws out a lively penitence and redoubled dedication to the work of God from his audience. Carved out from his greatest writings, The 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation contains classic texts of Catholic spirituality that teach you the practical way to Heaven.
In these selections, St. Alphonsus reviews twelve key virtues that lead to sanctity and heavenly glory:
- Love, Faith, and Hope
- Love of God and Love of Neighbor
- Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience
- Meekness and Humility
- Recollection and Prayer
- Mortification and Love of the Cross
Resonating throughout St. Alphonsus's work, and here no less, is the profound sense of sin and its awfulness that he undoubtedly felt and from which he longs to save his flock. He dwells repeatedly on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven, bringing the reader to consider his own eternal destiny. Above all, St. Alphonsus's words are permeated by what seems a prolonged meditation on the words of Our Lord: "What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?"
And yet, though St. Alphonsus can be a terrible and grave man to hear, it is only from the most unique tenderness and subtlety of his heart that such words can spring. For "out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh," and St. Alphonsus's heart was only filled to the brim with genuine desire for innocence and purity of heart in all his spiritual children. It is worth noting he never refused absolution to anyone.
There is no better teacher on moral theology to ever grace the Church than St. Alphonsus Liguori. Let The 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation guide you away from the mortal error of indifference to sin and into the joyful light and beatitude of holy suffering, leading you up the 12-step stairway to sanctity.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.25", 216 pages
by St Teresa of Avila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, mystic, Carmelite reformer, and Doctor of the Church, is one of the greatest people to ever walk the face of the Earth—and even one of the greatest saints. Her position as a spiritual master is uncontested and, as her Way of Perfection will attest, her method of prayer was simple: through astounding sanctity and humility, as well as intensive recollection, we may approach God through meditation and come to know Him intimately. And He always rewards us more than we deserve.
From this saintly life developed a method of prayer, a veritable method of growing in perfection, that includes such insights as this:
- Prayer must never be self-indulgent.
- Only solitude and interior quietude are necessary for meditative prayer.
- Vocal prayer is of extreme use and must be said humbly and attentively.
- Meditation is necessary to grow in virtue.
- Recollection of one's nothingness before prayer is essential.
- Humility and perseverance are necessary for prayer.
- And so much more . . .
The Way of Perfection is an astounding work by an astounding saint, a highly detailed and immensely useful guide to approaching the Lord through higher and higher degrees of meditative prayer and contemplation, written by the queen among the saints of meditation, beyond compare in mystical wisdom. Let that wisdom pierce your heart too, through the words of these pages.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 271 pages
Includes The Book of Her Life, Spiritual Testimonies and the Soliloquies
by St Teresa of Avila
Volume One of The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, first woman doctor of the church. The translators have taken full advantage of all that recent scholarship has contributed to a better understanding of Teresa and her writings.
This volume includes her first major work, The Book of Her Life, and two of her shorter works, the Spiritual Testimonies and the Soliloquies. Clear and contemporary, this rendering captures Teresa's spirit while remaining faithful to her thought. Includes general and biblical index.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 420 pages
The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vol. 2
Includes The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle
by St Teresa of Avila
This volume contains two of Teresa's most popular works: The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle.
Shortly after writing The Book of Her Life for her confessor, St. Teresa wrote The Way of Perfection at the request of her nuns who were eager to learn about prayer and contemplation. Throughout this work she teaches her nuns about prayer and also teaches us.
The Interior Castle is considered St. Teresa of Avila’s masterpiece. She wrote this last work in just a few months in 1577, five years before her death. At this point in her life she had been granted the highest mystical graces; this book is the fruit of her lived experience and a deep-felt praise of God for it. Using the image of a castle, Teresa describes the soul’s progressive inner journey through seven dwelling places, until finally reaching the center where, now transformed, it is united with God.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 554 pages
by St Catherine of Genoa & Don Cattereo Marabotto (her Confessor)
The Spiritual Doctrine of St. Catherine of Genoa is one of the most unusual Catholic books ever written. The subject of this book explains what the spirit of Christ opposed to the spirit of the world can mean in the life of a soul. St. Catherine of Genoa, a member of an illustrious Italian noble family, was married but had no children. She and her husband worked in a hospital in Genoa, of which she later became director.
This volume contains three separate works: The Life and Doctrine of St. Catherine of Genoa, the Spiritual Dialogue and the Treatise on Purgatory. The latter alone is worth the price of the entire book and sets the theme for all three writings. St. Catherine sees the entire Christian life as one of purgation. If the cleansing of the soul in this life is not completed it is simply continued in the next. The Treatise on Purgatory explains the attitude of the Poor Souls, their sufferings of Purgatory and those of Hell.
The Spiritual Doctrine of St. Catherine of Genoa teaches us that the only truly important progress made in this life is the development of the human soul and that all else is insignificant in comparison. St. Catherine demonstrates that what we do with our precious allotment of time will determine what we shall be for all eternity.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.25", 328 pages
The Works and Ways of God
by Fr. Frederick William Faber
Fr. Faber's brilliant work on the Eucharist, The Blessed Sacrament: The Works and Ways of God considers the magnificent gift Our Lord has given us in this holiest of mysteries: the Mystery of His very Body and Blood. His aim is to inspire a reverential awe and love for God's greatest work, the compendium of all miracles, and Summit of the Sacraments. Included are Fr. Faber's insights into the theology of transubstantiation (rendered all the more useful by Fr. Faber's upbringing in and countering of Protestant denials of this truth), as well as descriptions of Our Lord's five Eucharistic sufferings. Fr. Faber urges reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
As usual, Fr. Faber ranges over the entire Catholic Faith in this work, not limiting his wisdom's scope, and enlightening our minds and inflaming our souls with a more deeply Catholic outlook on life.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 464 pages
The Price of Our Salvation
by Fr Fredrick William Faber
Fr. Faber calls it the price of our salvation, for Our Lord died from loss of blood. Says, it is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celibacies, austerities, heroic charities and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 278 pages
All for Jesus
The Easy Ways of Divine Love
by Fr. Frederick William Faber
In All for Jesus, Fr. Faber provides one of his most tender and encouraging spiritual treatises, because the subject of his discourse is Divine Love. He urges us to save our souls by "serving Jesus out of love," for "everything comes easy to love." In addition to powerful motives for the love of God (something we have been preached since youth and can take for granted without stopping to contemplate), Fr. Faber shows how Christian perfection is not nearly so difficult as it seems, because true love will transform all of our actions. For the yoke of the Lord is easy, and His burden is light.
In short, Fr. Faber shows that, if we love God, it will be with us as it was with Jacob working to earn the hand of Rachel: "Years would seem but days; for the greatness of our love." This is Fr. Faber at his finest. Let his rare wisdom, characteristic of a more ancient Christian sage, guide you through the "easy ways of Divine Love."
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 328 pages
The Beatitudes
compiled by Fr Francis X. Lasance
This short work is a practical guide for daily living the beatitudes. Through quotations, stories and examples, Father Lasance simplifies each of the eight beatitudes and shows us the importance of practicing virtue, so we too may one day be numbered among the Blessed in Heaven.
Original 1940 reprint with improved formatting.
Paperback, size 7" x 5", 150 pages, Impr 1940
by Fr Jose Trevino
As in biological life, spiritual life has its iron laws ordained by God that must be followed for one to thrive. In this practical and edifying book, Fr. José Guadalupe Treviño presents these laws and shows how to employ them to make spiritual progress.
Fr. Treviño devotes a full chapter to each of the eighteen rules, unpacking their significance and benefits. You will profit from St. Thomas Aquinas’s advice about the chief duty of beginners in the spiritual life and his reflection on why the contemplative life is superior to the active life.
You will come to understand the common barriers to prayer and how to overcome them—including the single greatest obstacle on your road to perfection. You will learn how to grow in recollection throughout the day and cultivate the awareness of the presence of God. Additionally, you’ll discover your predominant fault, answers to common misconceptions about holiness, and the authentic signs of spiritual progress.
In this classic foundational work for spiritual growth, Fr. Treviño will teach you three steps to total surrender that will lead your soul to the heights of holiness and the one thing to which you must be ever faithful on the road to sanctity.
Masterfully, through practical points and enriching explanations, he will guide you in:
- Four steps to rooting out venial sin
- The first quality necessary for total surrender
- The surprising way we receive the highest graces
- What must become our daily food (Try to guess!)
- The six essential ways to love
- Three signs that you have become lukewarm (Fervent souls, take note!)
You will see how to live a balanced spiritual life and avoid scrupulosity and will discover the pitfall you must watch out for as you advance. And you will learn about the source of all holiness and the golden thread that binds all the stages of the spiritual life together and unites us with God.
Paperback, size 8.4" x 5.4", 256 pages
by Archbishop Alban Goodier
No matter how pure or virtuous your intentions may be, you can easily get so caught up in temporal pursuits — “the things of this world” — that you forget about God and His intimate, sustained involvement in your life. But with help from this book, you can turn that around by making an examination of your life that will orient you on the fertile path to Jesus Christ.
It's not enough simply to call yourself a Christian or attend Sunday Mass: you need to decide to live for God rather than for yourself. To help you do so, Archbishop Alban Goodier explains how giving yourself to God will ennoble you and bring you great rewards. He details the many ways in which you will gain happiness by rising above the concerns of this world, even amid the cares and duties of your daily life! He shows how the very fact of God's existence — to say nothing of achieving spiritual closeness with Him — gives meaning and dignity to your life in a way that worldly possessions or success never can.
Uncompromising, incisive, and comprehensive, Overcoming Worldly Concerns is a much-needed wake-up call for every “comfortable Christian.”
Abandon yourself fully to God and learn:
- The little-known fact that will inspire you to resist sin with all your strength
- The ways in which you've been throwing away God's grace
- The secret of the saints that makes them such a powerful help for you today — if only you ask for that help
- How you can be certain of God's love for you at any given moment
- How you can arm yourself for the spiritual warfare that is sure to beset your soul
- The many forms and levels of prayer (and why just knowing them is not enough)
- The most common hindrances to prayer — and how to overcome them
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 144 pages
by Bl Anne Catherine Emmerich
The first part of Inner Life and Worlds of Soul & Spirit casts light on the nature of visionary experience, prayer, the rosary, the amen, and ways of healing.
Part two presents both well-known parables and fascinating new teachings, including an allegory of marriage and of stars at birth.
Part three is occupied with heaven and hell, work for “poor souls” in purgatory, the habitations of the heavenly Jerusalem, John’s Book of Revelations, the “Octangular Church,” and the Churches Triumphant and Militant.
Part four focuses on such places as the spring at Matarea, the pool of Bethesda, the holy sepulcher, the praetorium, and the way of the cross in Ephesus.
Part five considers Egyptian star wisdom, the star of the Magi, Jacob’s ladder, the writing of the New Testament, the chalice of the Last Supper, the “twelve new apostles,” dragons, and Satan. The final section presents themes related to Jesus, including his two genealogial trees, baptism, voice, shoulder wound, the cloth used to lower him from the cross, Veronica’s scarf, his mantle, and apparitions upon his death.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 256 pages
Also available in hardcover on request (additional cost)
by St Thomas More
The Sadness of Christ was the last book that St. Thomas More wrote in the Tower of London before he was executed for standing firm in his Catholic faith.
In it, he explores the Gospel passages that depict the agony of Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. He depicts Christ as a model of virtue in the face of suffering and persecution. And along the way, he includes valuable and eternally relevant reflections on prayer, courage, friendship, statesmanship, and more. Here is an excellent resource for Lent or anytime!
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 124 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
by Ven. Ludovius Blosius
Translated by Fr. Bertrand Wilberforce
This book is written as a kind of spiritual mirror, in which is laid down clearly, though shortly, the chief things necessary for leading a holy life. It contains everything which is likely to give comfort to the soul, and hope and trust in God, to one who, though sinful and imperfect, is nevertheless a man of good will, in order that all Christians might be able to use the book as a spiritual mirror.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 125 pages
by St. Louis de Montfort
This work manifests and proclaims a sublime experience of union with Jesus, eternal and incarnate Wisdom. St. Louis de Montfort gives us a valuable abridgement of his spirituality which can be summed up in the words of St. Paul: "Christ living in us." It holds the key to the full doctrine of St. Louis de Montfort.
Paperback, size 6.5" x 4", 152 pages
by St. Louis de Montfort
A priceless booklet. Each paragraph leads us to a greater understanding, appreciation, and love of the Cross that is our key to the gate of Heaven. Includes 14 practical rules to follow in carrying our crosses in order to accept them generously. Good for suffering souls. Used on retreats.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.88", 36 pages
One Volume Edition
by St Francis de Sales
Masterful combination of theological principles and practical application regarding divine love - the subject of Our Lord's first and greatest commandment. Based on Scripture, the Fathers, St. Thomas. An acknowledged classic which goes to the heart of our religion.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 555 pages