St Thomas More
by Rev P. Henry Matimore
The purpose of this beautiful book is to acquaint our children with biographies that will have some particular influence on the development of their characters. Each story has been planned as a real character training project, not merely as a reading lesson, to inspire admiration for faith and religious heroism.
"To accomplish this purpose, we have endeavored to stimulate interest in each saint by presenting him or her as a real human being who lived in a real world among real people and not as a super-being surrounded by miraculous wonders. We have tried to make the saints human, admirable, and lovable, and therefore imitate-able." (from the Foreword). Questions and Things to Do are found at the end of each story.
| St Cecilia | St Sebastian of Rome | St Agnes of Rome | St Monica | St Patrick |
| St Columba | St Boniface | St Thomas of Canterbury | St Francis of Assisi | St Hedwig |
| St Hyacinth | St Louis IX | St Gertrude | St John Nepomucene | St Joan of Arc |
| St Thomas More | St Franis Xavier | St Aloysius | St Vincent de Paul | St Issac Jogues |
| St Gerard Majella | The Cure of Ars | St Theophane Venard | St Damien of Molokai | St Therese of Lisieux |
Ages: 9 - 12
Paperback, size 8.2" x 5.8", 302 pages
by Fr Lawrence G. Lovasik
St. Joseph Picture Book Series, Part 1 of 12 books on the "Super-Heroes of God"--commonly known as Saints--by beloved author Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D. introduces Catholic children to 15 of the most well-known Saints. Among the features of this book are:
- a full-color illustration of each Saint
- short, easy-to-understand lives of the Saints that offer a window on what made them so special in the eyes of God
- the feast day for each Saint in accordance with the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church
- a concluding prayer
| St. Elizabeth Ann Seton | St. John Bosco | St. Patrick | St. John Baptist de la Salle |
| St. Anthony of Padua | St. Thomas More | St. Anne | St. Lawrence |
| St. Pius X | St. Peter Claver | St. Vincent de Paul | St. Teresa of Avila |
| St. Margaret Mary Alacoque | St. Isaac Jogues | St. Stephen |
Paperback, 32 pages
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
A Novel Based on the Life of Saint Thomas More
by John Edward Beahn
Status and wealth, power and fame: St. Thomas More had them all. As a wise and popular statesman, internationally recognized scholar, and Lord Chancellor of England, More was perhaps the most highly respected Englishman of his day until his conscience required that he lay down his life for his Catholic faith. A Man Born Again, as twenty-first-century political trends call for heroic Catholic resistance to government assault upon the Church.
Paperback, 272 pages
by St Thomas More
Awaiting execution in 1535 for refusing to betray his faith, Thomas More opens the door on his own interior life by creating a fictional dialogue. It takes place in 16th century Hungary between a young man, Vincent, and his dying but wise old unle, Anthony.
Vincent is paralyzed by fear of an impending Turkish invasion which could force hime to betray his faith or die a martyr. As he pours out his fears, Anthony responds as only the calm and clear-headed St Thomas More could do: on the comfort of God in difficulties, the benefits of suffering, atonement for evil acts, faintheartedness and the temptations to suicide, and scrupulosity.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 318 pages
by St Thomas More
In The Four Last Things, St. Thomas More prescribes frequent meditation on Death, Judgment, Pain and Joy in order to combat the spiritual diseases of pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth.
The Supplication of Souls is More's vigorous, humorous, and artful defense of one of the flashpoints of the Reformation: the Catholic dogma of Purgatory. It is his devastating response to a defamatory political tract that claimed that the greed and corruption of English clergymen stemmed from their insistence on being paid to pray for the dead.
A Dialogue on Conscience sets forth More's reasons for refusing to abjure his Catholic faith by taking the oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII as the head of the Church in England. It illustrates why More has a deserved place among the Church's greatest saints and martyrs.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 218 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
A Story of Saint Thomas More
by Brother Evan Schmid, CSC
Thomas More lived his life totally devoted to God. He attended daily Mass, prayed, practiced penance, kept the Commandments and was devoted to the Blessed Mother. He turned to God for help in making decisions. He taught his children to keep God first in all things and to stick firmly to God when those around them did not. He said “Life is short and heaven is earned by tears.” And “It is blessed to suffer loss of house, land and life rather than offend God.” Reading this story can encourage us to follow in the footsteps of Saint Thomas More by following this piece of advice from him. “Conscience is the voice of God-All must follow God’s law.”
Level 2
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 93 pages
St Thomas More
A great man in hard times
by E.E. Reynolds
A complete life of the saint based on primary source accounts, state papers and contemporary registers. Reynolds leaves no written source uncovered in drawing together for us the man who became one of the most famous men not only in England, but even in Europe, who gave his life for the rights of the Church over the tyranny of the state.
Reynolds traces More’s life and environs, as well as More’s writings and poetry, to bring out the man and the hour in which he lived. There are lengthy studies of Richard III, Utopia, and The Dialogues which More wrote against heretics. Lastly, he concludes with a penetrating legal analysis of the reasons which brought More to the Tower and to beheading.
Throughout there are many crucial and important direct quotes from letters, speeches and of course, the words of More related by early authorities in court and at his trial. Thereby we see the warm relationship between More and great scholars like Colet and Erasmus, as well as his close relationship with his daughter Margaret (Meg) and his great strides to provide her an education which she took up brilliantly. This makes More come to life as a real person, with wit and joy and above all passion, not the plaster saint of a second nocturn variety. There is a reason why More is one of the few and best known laymen to be canonized and remembered through the ages.
Paperback, 436 pages
by St Thomas More
Considered by C.S. Lewis as perhaps the best dialogue written in English, this friendly, spirited, and often merry exchange takes place at St. Thomas More’s peaceful and cultured home in Chelsea.
St. Thomas More's Dialogue Concerning Heresies is a conversation between the experienced humanist and statesman More and an intelligent college student who has been influenced by the spirit and ideas of the new men and reformers, especially Martin Luther and William Tyndale. It addresses questions that continue to be discussed today:
- Isn’t it idolatry to pray to saints, venerate images, and go on pilgrimages?
- Why listen to what the Church teaches? Shouldn’t we go only by Scripture, since it is the word of God?
- Why didn’t the Church want laypeople to have their own Bible, and in English?
- How do we know which church is the true one?
- Why waste time on philosophy and other secular studies if the Bible is God’s revealed word?
This edition of More’s Dialogue brings this masterful work into wide circulation for the first time since its publication in 1529.
Paperback, 509 pages
by Charles A Brady
he fascinating story of St. Thomas More of London Town is interestingly told by the author and is generously illustrated by S. Ohrvel Carlson.As described in the introduction in Chapter One “This is the story of a great saint who was born almost five hundred years ago.....One may still see his handwriting and a portrait of him painted by his friend Hans Holbein. A visitor may pluck a leaf from a mulberry tree growing in what was once Sir Thomas’ garden on the river Thames. He may even hear the tick of a clock that once hung on the wall of his beautiful Chelsea home. But if any young reader really wants to hear that great heart beat again, he or she may read this little story of St. Thomas More’s large life. (Imprimatur 1969)
Ages: 10+
Hardcover, 56 pages
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