With Christmas around the corner, traditional Catholics are looking for resources that are true to the Faith for themselves and loved ones. Here are some new titles that I recommend. Share the gift of Faith with family and friends and “cozy up” with these fine books.
This riveting and climactic interview with Bishop Schneider tackles every controversial issue of our time. It is a compendium of straight, authoritative answers that elucidate the truths of our Faith with a piercing light and offer real-world solutions to combat the darkness. The Springtime that Never Came will make you cheer as it reorients you on your journey with Christ. Be encouraged as Bishop Schneider provides inspiring insights for the battle, with trust in God and following the examples of the saints in our chaotic times.
We are going through a period of liturgical exile, explains Bishop Athanasius Schneider in this enlightening book, and the vast proliferation of modern abuses as well as the more fundamental problem of discontinuity with tradition are crying out for remedy. The primary source of abuses is man’s narcissistic tendency to idolize himself instead of paying homage to God. In what is sure to be seen as one of the most impressive books written on the subject of the Mass, Bishop Schneider reestablishes what Catholics have known for centuries but have largely forgotten today: the Mass is the highest form of Christian prayer, which enables us to express with exterior worship our interior belief. He describes how saints such as Padre Pio and John Vianney helped the faithful enter into a profound spiritual experience during Mass, and why the Mass should serve as a means to lift our hearts to God so we can surrender to His will.
This important work by the renowned Joseph Cardinal Siri was long out of print until Sophia Institute Press brought it back in a newly typeset edition. Gethsemane: The Origins and Rise of the Intellectual Revolution in the Church corrects the erroneous teaching of controversial twentieth-century theologians. Here is the clarity you need in an age of “linguistic acrobatics” that has attempted to change the meaning of sacred truths. Theological misinterpretations and free thinking have sparked a revolution that has redefined “love” and “knowledge.” The “reconstitution of history” has reduced Christ to simply a great man and the absence of objective truth has yielded “perpetual existential instability.” If you're fed up with the prevalence of errant philosophies, especially in today’s Rome, this book is for you.
From the brief “penny” catechisms of the Counter-Reformation to catechisms of the twentieth century, scores of faithful priests, bishops, popes, saints, and even Church Councils have published succinct, reliable summaries of our Church's perennial teachings. In them, readers have encountered Catholic doctrine presented in refreshingly clear and even elegant language, often accompanied by handsome woodcuts. Now, for the first time, dozens of historic catechisms are being unearthed and painstakingly restored in Tradivox, a matching twenty-volume, cross-indexed collection. In an age of catechetical confusion (even from the highest levels), these witnesses to the infallible universal ordinary Magisterium of the Church are invaluable tools for studying and teaching the Holy Faith. (To read more about this series, go to my fuller review here.)
A treasure trove of riches is available to us in the ancient Roman liturgy of the Church. Its feasts and fasts, Ember Days, Rogation Days, and octaves make for a “rising and falling” motion consistent with that of Gregorian chant. Yet we have forgotten so much of this dense fabric of sacralized time, and recovering these precious traditions in our busy age is challenging. To help families—especially children—see sacred time illuminated in a beautiful and appealing way, Michaela Harrison and her family created a set of exquisitely illustrated calendars that bring to life the traditional liturgical calendar. Featured are Saints, feasts, and ferias, with the commemorated saints featured in niches or coves. Themes from the breviary and from Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year are woven throughout. All of the information contained in the divinely inspired genius of the traditional liturgy is there for you to see at a glance. The images of the saints are taken from medieval and classical art traditions. These powerful Catholic calendars are wonderful teaching tools for use in homes, schools, anywhere the faith is taught and lived. Receive three 18 x 24 fully colored and illustrated liturgical calendar posters for the current liturgical season here or subscribe to receive a set of posters throughout the year here. (To see more examples of the art in the calendars, go here.)
Here is the daily planner you’ve long wanted. The creators of the Illustrated Liturgical Calendars have designed this Traditional Planner with illustrations for every feast, large paintings for each month’s dedication, a prayer-of-the-month, scripture verses, and quotes from the saints. Your basic weekly planner has now married the beauty and richness of the Liturgical Year! It puts everything you need right at your fingertips, including the primary feast for each day according to the traditional Roman calendar, days of fasting, and much more. With a monthly goal-setting page, a spread for daily planning each week, weekly to-do lists, habit trackers, flex pages, and ample space for notes. There are two size options (full 8.5 x 11 inches) or compact size 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist has declined drastically over the past fifty years. For the love of the Lord and the good of souls, how can we help reverse this trend? Whether you are a believer or struggling, this book will help you develop a personal relationship with Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. In these pages, Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP, looks afresh at traditional Church teaching on the Holy Eucharist. He demonstrates that it is concretely expressed with precision, strength, and beauty in the time-tested Traditional Latin Mass. Replete with real-life stories, modern-day references, and cultural and historical reflections, Ego Eimi will inspire you to worship the Real Presence as an ardent believer, orient you to the invisible realities occurring, and foster a greater love for our Eucharistic Lord in your heart. You will learn to treasure the Holy Eucharist more deeply—the ultimate expression of God’s gratuitous love for us, to nourish our love in return.
