Catholic Books

The Complete Prayers of St. Francis and St. Clare, with Selections from Brother Juniper, St. Anthony of Padua, and Other Early Franciscans We do not immediately associate Francis and Clare with prayer and praying. St. Francis, according to the most common legends, rarely sat still. St. Clare did, more so, but that was probably mostly because of the convent and the grille and the conventions of the time: she couldn’t be a walkabout friar. However, they did sit still. And they stood. And they danced. And they fasted. And they sang. In all these ways, Francis and Clare prayed for hours each day, as did the brothers and sisters who came after them on the Franciscan way. This prayer book gathers the stories and words of the prayer life and prayers of these remarkable Christians. SKU: 98842

The Sinner's Guide is the most famous work of one of one of the most prominent and exceptional spiritual teachers of the sixteenth century. It has been compared to The Imitation of Christ for its breadth, intensity, and usefulness for devotion and has been translated into Italian, French, German, Polish, Latin, and Greek. Covering what many spiritual writers neglect, Venerable Louis discusses both virtue and vice—how to both do good and avoid evil. Included in this volume are chapters on: Eleven motives for practicing virtue Twelve privileges of virtue Cautions against deferring conversion Remedies for the seven deadly sins and others Virtues and duties of our state And far more! Venerable Louis stands as a master of the spiritual life throughout the whole Christian tradition. Born in extremely poor circumstances, his mother was widowed when he was five, and the pair subsisted on alms gathered from outside the gate of a Dominican priory. Eventually, Louis became a Dominican himself, and began a career of preaching that resulted, at length, in traveling throughout Spain and Portugal. He attained—despite the humble friar's best efforts—various posts in the Order of Preachers and served at courts of nobles and the queen regent of Portugal. He was offered bishoprics and the cardinalate, but declined all offers. He suffered much in his life, accused by the Spanish Inquisition of heresy unjustly; he was later vindicated by the Council of Trent and the witness of subsequent saints. Indeed, he counts among his readers and recommenders such pillars of sanctity as St. Rose of Lima, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Louise de Marillac, and St. Francis de Sales, who recommended Venerable Louis's works be read as a "second Breviary." But Venerable Louis's primary mission, quite unusually for his time, was to write and preach for the laity. Indeed, a disapproving observer said Venerable Louis wrote for "wives of carpenters," maybe forgetting who the Blessed Virgin was. Let, then, the words of this venerable Spanish preacher illuminate your heart with the light of Christ, speaking, as it were, straight from the bosom of the Master.

Saint Catherine of Siena's life was of such astoundingly glorious sanctity that even the great saints seem to pale in comparison to her magnificence. She was born to a merchant family in Siena in 1347 and dedicated her virginity to God at 7. Around then she also began to have visions of Christ in majesty. In her difficult teenage years, her desired path forward in steadfast religious devotion and stringent fasting was opposed by her family. To her mother's chagrin, she cut her hair to avoid suitors, following her own advice to "build a cell inside [the] mind, from which [one] can never flee." At 21, she experienced a mystical marriage with Christ and soon received the stigmata as well. Catherine attempted to negotiate peace between Florence, Siena, and the Papal States; she made it her goal to save the papacy from crumbling, inducing the pope to return from Avignon to Rome. In addition, she wrote heavenly tracts, the seraphic wisdom and mystical doctrines of which made her centuries later declared a Doctor of the Church. In her last years, she was summoned to Rome to defend the papacy again when the Great Western Schism broke out. After all that, she died, worn down by her enormous stringencies, at only 33 years old. In this short, popular biography for young and old alike, meet the saint who saved the papacy and married Christ, who bore His wounds and survived on His Eucharist. In short, meet the saint among saints, surely a "wise virgin of the number of the prudent."

"Their angels in the heavens gaze always upon the face of My Father, Who is in the heavens." —cf. Matthew 18:10 Angels are often the first to go when people begin to question Catholic doctrine. However, it is a definitive tradition of the Faith that the angels and other spirits are real and present—even more so than we are—in Creation. Not to mention that Our Lord said so Himself! Each one of us has a guardian angel, and there are myriads of other angels from all ranks of the nine choirs ready to aid us if we but call upon them, our "bigger brothers and sisters," as it were, in heaven. In All about the Angels, mainstay author Fr. Paul O'Sullivan offers a wonderful exposition on the bodiless spirits of heaven, showing how they visit people many times in the past and present. They would do so still if we but asked! Fr. O'Sullivan relates how the angels: Prevent accidents Comfort us Help us Protect us from the devils All about the Angels contains beautiful stories about the great archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, along with stories from the lives of St. Gemma Galgani, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Bosco, and many others! Let Fr. O'Sullivan's words inspire in you a desire for greater communion with the angels, who reflect the glory of God most perfectly. SKU: 97995 Paperback 148 Pages

Saint Teresa of Avila, 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 Autobiography will attest, her life was one of astounding sanctity and humility. Born to a pious family in 1515, she grew up fascinated with the faith. A popular anecdote from her youth tells of an impromptu escapade with her brother: they attempted to flee to Africa to be martyred by Moors, only to be brought back from the city walls by their uncle. Teresa later joined the Carmelites at 20, but found their practices to be lacking in austerity. She herself was zealous in mortification, and frequently exerted herself to the point of illness. Upon recovery after a particularly long convalescence, she began to experience religious ecstasies, which continued throughout her life. She experienced interior visions (i. E. without sensory manifestation) of Our Lord, levitations, and other graces, including the famous transverberation, where her heart was mystically pierced by a lance borne by a seraph. But Teresa's principle work in life was to reform the Carmelites; she traveled all about Spain establishing new convents and, with St. John of the Cross, men's monasteries. Throughout all of her reform work, her attitude was joyful, saintly, and profoundly charismatic. The same personality shines through in her works on mystical theology, all of which are masterpieces, but the greatest of which is The Interior Castle, a guide of the spiritual journey of the soul through seven "mansions" of spiritual progress. The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila is an astounding work by an astounding saint, a highly detailed and immensely useful look at the interior life of the mistress of the interior castle, a saint beyond compare in mystical wisdom. Let that wisdom pierce your heart too, through the words of these pages.

The Meditation Prayer on Mary Immaculate is one of Padre Pio’s few published writings, penned before he was forbidden by the Church to publish or to engage in correspondence—this for fear a cult would arise around him. Here we encounter a profound spiritual penetration into the mystery of Mary’s unique and sublime role in our salvation. Though brief, it can be read over and over with great benefit since it is—just as the title suggests—both a meditation and a prayer on the meaning of Mary. This booklet also contains a brief sketch of Padre Pio’s life and numerous edifying pictures of this saintly stigmatist. Pages: 32 / Softcover

For over a thousand years, Benedictine monks around the world have followed the daily pattern of morning, noon, and evening prayer known as the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office. Gathered from the Benedictine tradition, the prayers included in this book grew up around the celebration of the Divine Office—embellishing it, illuminating it, and echoing it for generations of the faithful. The Saint Benedict Prayer Book also reclaims little-known prayers (Little Offices, Commemorations, and Litanies) from long ago. For anyone seeking a way of prayer rooted in ancient wisdom, this little book offers a sure path.

A needed antidote for our culture of anger. As both mainstream and Christian culture become more polarized and terms like “age of anger” become commonplace, The Angry Christian meets a desperate need. Not self-help or psychology, this book looks first and foremost at the Bible for answers to the problems of anger. The Bible’s answer? Christians can be good and be angry at the same time. This is possible, and spiritually healthy, if you allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen you to get angry for the right reasons, and keep your anger under control. Ghezzi also shows you how to: Use anger constructively Use scripture to discipline anger Let anger help you overcome obstacles “The Angry Christian draws from scripture, life in the Holy Spirit, and the virtues to fashion a response to anger that can become a moment of grace and holiness.” —His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington “Whether anger is ally or adversary, righteous or right-filled depends upon its when, where, and why. Ghezzi masterfully reveals anger in all its faces, teaching how to harness it for maximum Christian good.” —Dr. Ray Guarendi, clinical psychologist and author of Fighting Mad “Anger is the mental virus of our age. It's an infection that becomes a poison that becomes an addiction, both bitter and delicious. Unless it's curbed, the habitual taste for conflict can break apart communities and families, and eat away every trace of our inner peace. In The Angry Christian, Bert Ghezzi explains the roots and nature of this emotional slavery with exceptional skill. Even more importantly, he shows us how we can be free of it." —Charles J. Chaput, O. F. M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia “Bert Ghezzi is publishing an extremely important book for this particular time. Not only are a lot of people angrily reacting against other people and institutions in our society, but they evoke counter-reactions in ever more volatile forms. Bert addresses the reality of anger in human life, its usefulness and its need for control in practical ways that Christians can apply to themselves. This is a book which one can bring to prayer for meditation and from which one can gain much wisdom in a foolishly angry world.” —Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, EWTN TV and Radio Host "In these tumultuous times, many of us see something that makes us angry almost every time we log on to our computers. Bert has provided a much-needed resource that helps us understand how to channel those intense feelings into making the world a better place." —Jennifer Fulwiler, SiriusXM Radio Host and author of One Beautiful Dream "We’re taught in church to avoid our anger and the pain that goes with it, but in an era of political, social and religious anger, how do we channel it for good? As Ghezzi suggests in his book, anger can be a slow and steady work toward justice, and a useful tool for the hearts of Christians, if we keep it in check and understand how it works. This book is for the average human who struggles to know themselves and others better in all the emotions that come with relationship, and a guide to help us become more whole along the way." —Kaitlin Curtice, author of Glory Happening