Those seeking to deepen their spiritual lives by visiting monasteries rarely have enough time to absorb as much as they would like. In this book, an experienced spiritual master provides an intensive directed retreat that relies heavily on the rich Cistercian spiritual tradition. Readers may read and digest at their own pace, savoring the author's contagious enthusiasm for the monastic way and the medieval monks who formed this distinctive contemplative tradition.

Educated at the abbeys of Bonnevaux and Cluny and at the court of his kinsman, Conrad of Hohenstaufen, Amadeus became a monk of Clairvaux in 1125, just about the time its abbot, Bernard, began to be noticed by the Church at large. After twenty years in the cloister, Amadeus became bishop of the troubled diocese of Lausanne. Reform and renewal did not come easily. In one of his letters, he tells how his vestments once ran red with the blood of a man murdered while the bishop tried unsuccessfully to protect him.
 

Two more stories of animals that encountered saints...told from the animals' points of view! Stories include: "The Lion Who Lost His Appetite" Rex the Lion has it made. A bloody persecution is being raged against the Christians of Antioch, and it's Rex's job, along with his wife Leonie the Lioness, to meet the helpless prisoners thrown into the Colosseum. Rex can hardly wait! After all, what more could a lion want than a tasty man for breakfast every morning? Sure, he misses his home in the jungle and detests his cage, but the delectable menu makes it well worth it. Then one day a beautiful young lady named Thecla is thrown into the arena to be killed, and things will never be the same for Rex and Leonie again. A delightful tale of a saint's unwavering trust and God's infinite power, told from the lion's point of view! "Cuthbert for Breakfast" Chester the Gosling would give anything to be like his big brother Cuthbert. Cuthbert has it all – sleek handsome feathers, strong graceful wings, a winning personality, and a whole gaggle of friends. In fact, Cuthbert is the most popular gander around. He and his buddies have all the fun, while poor little Chester with his downy feathers can only paddle around the pond with his best friend Delmer, learning to swim. When Cuthbert and the Goose Gang plan a raid on a cornfield, Chester begs his brother to let him and Delmer come. Little do they know, as they fly off on their first great adventure, that things are about to go terribly wrong. When the geese are captured and his brother killed, Chester knows all is lost. Enter Saint Werburga, the owner of the cornfield, and a breathtaking miracle is performed. An endearing story of brotherly love and God's unfailing mercy, told from the little goose's point of view!

The 281 letters of Zélie and the 16 letters of Louis Martin reproduced in these pages provide us with a treasury of rich insights into the lives and spirituality of these two individuals who the Church beatified on October 19, 2008, at the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux, France. We are given here a series of snapshots revealing the tone and texture of the lives of these two saintly, and in many ways, very ordinary people. The incidents described in these pages give us access to the honesty and intimacy of the lives of the parents of St. Therese never meant for the general public. They greatly enrich our understanding of this charismatic couple who radiated holiness and brought to life the greatest saint of the modern age. They underscore the fact that sainthood is a family project of parents and children immersed in the God of love. They call us to a deeper love for God, for each other, and for the poor in our midst and invite us to accept whatever the will of God be for us in our lives, however confusing and painful that may be, and to have total trust and confidence in Him. The anguish of losing four of their nine children, the economic reverses that threatened their businesses, Zélie's losing about with breast cancer, and the Alzheimer's disease suffered by Louis are all brought vividly to light in these letters as is the undying love of this model couple for one another. As St. Therese wrote: "God has given me a father and mother more worthy of heaven than of earth." The present volume has been invaluably by Dr. Fran Renda through a large number of expanded footnotes and other introductory material explaining the background, the times, and the customs that prevailed in France during the years in which these letters were written. Guy Gaucher, Auxiliary Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux, and the Sisters of Lisieux are responsible for the preface, the notes, and the overall presentation of the text which has been flawlessly translated into English by Ann C. Hess.

During his military service, Muhammad, a young Muslim Iraqi from a leading Shiite family, discovers to his dismay that his roommate is a Christian. Muhammad tries to convert his roommate, but he is the one who is converted.

In Islam changing one's religion is a crime, and Muhammad's family does everything possible to make him renounce his new faith in Christ. After threats and blows come prison and torture. Muhammad, who has become Joseph by his baptism, experiences a long Calvary but does not give in. Finally, he is taken from prison by relatives who threaten to kill him if he does not resubmit to Islam. They shoot him and leave him for dead.

The Price to Pay is the true story of Joseph Fadelle's conversion to Catholicism. He risks everything, friends, his inheritance and home, and even his life to follow Christ. In a dramatic and personal narrative style, Fadelle reveals the horrible persecution endured by Christians living in a violent and hostile Muslim world.

Translated between the years 1582 and 1610 and revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, this is the most accurate English translation of the Bible available today. It was the only Catholic translation of Scripture commonly in use for over 200 years and we maintain that it is still the best and safest version of the Bible in English. Translated with profound respect for every word, the beautiful style of the Douay-Rheims Bible will instill in the reader a deeper understanding of the Word of God. Annotations, references, and a historical and chronological index make it convenient for study as well as meditation. Includes updated full-color New Testament maps, and beautiful pictures depicting the life of Christ. Complete with Family record and Presentation pages. This beautiful Bible is available in a durable burgundy leather-soft cover, with gold edges and a ribbon marker.

Includes words of Christ in red.

THE book on devotion to the Sacred Heart! Commissioned by Our Lord Himself through St. Margaret Mary and received, through her, His endorsement. Responsible for the early, rapid spread of the Sacred Heart devotion. Contains the Saint's life, her prayers to the Sacred Heart, the Sacred Heart Promises (far more than the famous "12 Promises"), and much, much more! Great!

Letters to and from St. Therese of Lisieux from September 1890 (Novitiate period as a Carmelite Nun) to September 1897 (death). Includes 4 pages of facsimiles of Therese's letters, plus a general and biblical index to both volumes.

This sequel to volume 1 contains all of Therese's letters from the end of September 1890 (during her novitiate) until she died in 1897, as well as many letters written to or about her. Here the mature Saint Therese shows the path of her growth as a religious and as a deep spiritual writer. The reader learns much about all of her correspondents, including her two "missionary brothers," and gains familiarity with the development of her thoughts and messages. Fifty pages of complementary documents give us useful tools for studying the texts.

Translated from the critical edition by John Clarke, OCD

Letters to and from St. Therese of Lisieux from April 1877 (Childhood) to September 1890 (Novitiate period as a Carmelite Nun). Letter writing at the end of the nineteenth century was an important activity for the people of France. Those who received letters from family and friends alike usually kept the hand-written texts sent to them as precious gifts. That is why this collection of letters by and to one of the greatest saints of modern times is so interesting to us today. No mere notes slapped together in distracted haste, the missives found in this volume reveal communications of warm personal sentiment along with expressions of lively spiritual development.Therese's efforts as a fifteen-year-old to enter Carmel before reaching the required age appear in revealing detail. This "tortuous course of a very subtle diplomacy" is set out not only by the letters of Therese herself, but also by those of so many others who shared her hopes and eventual victory.

The translator-editor gives us 75 pages of introductory remarks to Therese's letters. This volume also includes 4 pages of facsimiles of Therese's letters.

Translated from the critical edition by John Clarke, OCD

The second volume continues where the first left off in Our Lord's life and continues the same original commentary and discussion all the way to Passion Week. The wonderful thing about Bishop Goodier's narrative is that it does not make use of secondary sources or copious quotes, rather he simply quotes the Scriptures and organizes the teaching of the Gospels into the sequential occurrence of events. If you want to know more about our Lord and understand the places he is going to, what he is doing, and why, this is the perfect work. The new edition includes wonderful depictions of events from Renaissance art.

The Public Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by bishop Goodier, takes the subject of Christ's life from the coming of John the Baptist until his last day before Palm Sunday and the beginning of His passion.

In this work, Goodier sets out not merely to write another life of Christ or follow the mold of a devotional work or a scientific analysis but to transcend both to apply logic and reason combined with Catholic faith to understand who Jesus was, and what was the impact of his public life, what was it like for those there, what did his disciples and enemies think?

Goodier's text is descriptive, lucid, and original, not being loaded up with quotes from other authors. Moreover, it is entirely faithful to the text of the Gospels and harmonizes the four narratives into one account spanning the three years of Christ's public life before His passion.

In this text, you will find Bishop Goodier faithful to the Gospel narrative unlike many writers in his time who applied the historical-critical method to such lengths that they had rejected the gospels themselves as witnesses. Goodier notes in his introduction: "Hence in a work of this kind it has not seemed necessary to introduce any discussion concerning the four Evangelists, the authenticity of their work, or the special characteristics of each. These have been examined and proved by writers far more skilled and learned than the author and he is content to accept their decision referring readers who would examine these sources to them. On the other hand, when accepting the Gospels, he accepts them wholly and entirely. It seems to him a futile attitude of mind to take a source as authentic, and then, almost entirely from internal evidence, to proceed to whittle it away. For instance, let us take the miracles. Not only do the four Evangelists record them, but they record them as an essential part of their evidence; so essential, in every case, that if they are eliminated their whole concept of Jesus tumbles to ruins. There is scarcely any miracle that may be canceled without involving in its fall many other portions of the Gospel; eliminate them all and there is virtually nothing left. Far more fair to the facts, even from the point of view of the rationalist historian, does it seem to the author to take the evidence as he finds it, make of it the best he can, put faith in those whom he professes to acknowledge as his only safe guides, build up his picture of Jesus as they have built it up and with the same material. If he accepts some evidence and rejects the rest, this at least he must confess: that the conclusion he draws, whether true or not, cannot possibly be the picture drawn by the four Evangelists. In the present work, the four Gospels have been taken simply as they are given to us; the question has been simply asked: What is the Jesus of the four Evangelists like?" (From the Introduction)

This reprint from the 1944 edition has been made faithful to the original in every detail, retaining UK spelling standards found in the original. The only changes made are the correction of errata in the original text.

Additionally, artwork from the Renaissance and Baroque periods has been added which is not in the original to aid the reader.

"Mary's Troubadour" is the way most people remember St. Bernard of Clairvaux, so refined was his tremendous devotion to the Mother of God. On the eighth centenary of his death, Pope Pius XII dubbed him the "Mellifluous Doctor," thus paying tribute to the sweet accents of his flowing prose. This "Last of the Fathers of the Church" has never ceased to inspire his readers with a deeper love of the Lord. His pursuit of charity, his zeal for the purity of the monastic lifestyle, his fidelity to the Faith, and his promotion of contemplative prayer have endeared him to generations of the faithful down through the ages. In this collection of his writings, emphasis has been placed on abridging his better-known works and letters with the hope that, as a sampler, more people may be inspired to read them in their entirety. This book will serve as an introduction to a great saint whose message is, if anything, more timely today than it ever was.

Author: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

The story of "Terisita" Quevedo (1930-50), the Catholic beauty who wanted to become a saint.
 

The always eloquent Bernard of Clairvaux preaches on the joys and spiritual opportunities of summertime festivals: Rogationtide, Ascension Day, the Pentecost season, and the feasts of Saint John the Baptist and SS Peter and Paul. From a world still in touch with the seasons of nature and a lifestyle integrating prayer and physical work, he speaks to moderns with insight and calm sanity.

Translated by Beverly Kienzle with James Jarzembowski
 

The greatest Spanish monarch, King of Castile and Leon, St. Fernando III was born in the year 1199 - exactly 100 years after the death of his illustrious ancestor, El Cid. In him would be combined the soul of a knight dedicated entirely to God, the irresistible power of the Cid, and due to his royal heritage, the authority to marshal the might of an entire kingdom against the enemies of Christ. Personally leading his armies into battle, he took back more territory from Islam than any other king in history. First cousin of St. Louis IX of France, he died a saintly death in the year 1252. His incorrupt body can still be seen in the Cathedral of Seville, and his feast day, May 30th, is a holy day of obligation in Spain.

Elizabeth of the Trinity (Elizabeth Catez) was a young French woman who became a Discalced Carmelite in the Carmel of Dijon. She was just twenty-one when she died in 1906. But those few years were enough for her to develop and deepen a distinctive approach to God, one that has since inspired countless people in their quest for a deeper relationship with the indwelling God.

By Marie Vincent Bernadot, O.P.

From the Eucharist to the Trinity is the culminating work of Fr. Marie Vincent Bernadot’s reflection on the practice of receiving the Eucharist. In the Introduction to this new edition, Sr. Maria of the Angels writes, “The basic idea, as the title suggests, is that ardent reception of the Eucharist makes possible the indwelling of the entire Trinity; through Holy Communion, each divine Person is increasingly present in the soul and active according to the particular properties of each.” The Introduction highlights how Fr. Bernadot saw the written word as a fruitful way of communicating God’s desire to dwell within us. Bernadot engages the wisdom of the saints and offers practical advice about how to maintain union with the Trinity in work and suffering. From the Eucharist to the Trinity is a wonderful book for those hoping to deepen their desire for the Eucharist and let the Trinity take root in their hearts.

“The Sacrament of the Altar...[is]...the Sacrament in which all the rest receive their consummation and crown.”

Marie Vincent Bernadot, O.P. (1883–1941) was ordained a priest in 1906 and entered the Order of Preachers in 1912. He founded the weekly magazine Sept, a journal, La Vie spirituelle, and a Parisian publishing house, Les Éditions du Cerf. He founded another journal, La Vie Intellectuelle, with the help of Jacques Maritain. Fr. Bernadot preached retreats, and wrote and translated numerous works with a desire to enrich the intellectual and spiritual lives of the faithful.

Summarizes the Fatima messages as a return to a life of prayer, to the traditional prayer life of the Catholic Church, especially to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Great on the value of Holy Hours a forgotten secret spiritual weapon.

Personal prayer according to the teaching of St. Teresa of Avila.