Bøger af Brother Hermenegild Tosf

THE Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the Rody and Blood of Jesus Christ, really present on the altar under the appearances of bread and wine, and offered to God for the living and the dead. It is one and the same sacrifice as that of the Cross, as in it the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are offered to God, to give Him supreme honour and glory, to thank Him for all His benefits, to obtain pardon for our sins, and to obtain all other graces and blessings. There are many ways of hearing Mass given by spiritual writers and contained in our manuals of devotion; of these, one may be singled out as the most instructive, the most devotional, and the most profitable, and that is to follow the Ordinary of the Mass, to say the prayers with the priest, and to meditate on the mysteries signified by the ceremonies and rites prescribed for the celebration of Mass. To do this well it is necessary to be instructed in these prayers and ceremonies, and for this purpose the explanations contained in this book have been undertaken, and are now published. The object of the work may therefore be said to be to promote and renew the faith in and the devotion of the faithful to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by the explanation of its prayers and ceremonies. The plan adopted for the work is simple and clear: (r) The text of the Ordinary of the Mass is given in Latin and English. (2) Explanatory notes are subjoined, divided into historical, liturgical, and exegetical; and no one need suppose that these terms imply that the work is either learned or critical, and this the reader will soon perceive. The term exegetical was selected for the purpose of including under one heading both the literal and mysticai sense of the prayers and ceremonies. (3) After treating of the Ordinary of the: Mass, four sections are devoted to the explanation of the prayers and the principal ceremonies peculiar to Solemn High Mass. (4) A final chapter is given in explanation of the ceremonies prescribed for Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

This is a fifteen volume set, which is being brought back into print for the edification of the Faithful. Anyone who wishes to appreciate the timeless Tridentine Mass and liturgy will find this set a valuable aid in that endeavor. Dom Gueranger has produced a most excellent work, which began the liturgical movement. We pray that this set of books will bring many more to a true appreciation of the Latin Mass and the Divine Office of the Catholic Church. At one time, under the impulse of that Spirit, which animated the admirable Psalmist and the Prophets, she takes the subject of her canticles from the Books of the Old Testament; at another, showing herself to be the daughter and sister of the holy Apostles, she intones the canticles written in the Books of the New Covenant; and finally, remembering that she, too, has had given to her the trumpet and harp, she at times gives way to the Spirit which animates her, and sings her own new canticle. From these three sources comes the divine element which we call the Liturgy. The Prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore the most efficacious of all prayers. Happy, then, is he who prays with the Church, and unites his own petitions with those of this Spouse, who is so dear to her Lord, that he gives her all she asks. It was for this reason that our Blessed Saviour taught us to say our Father, and not my Father; give us, forgive us, deliver us, and not give me, forgive me, deliver me. Hence, we find that, for upwards of a thousand years, the Church, who prays in her temples seven times in the day, and once again during the night, did not pray alone. The people kept her company, and fed themselves with delight on the manna which is hidden under the words and mysteries of the divine Liturgy. Thus initiated into the sacred Cycle of the mysteries of the Christian year, the faithful, attentive to the teachings of the Spirit, came to know the secrets of eternal life; and, without any further preparation, a Christian was not unfrequently chosen by the Bishops to be a Priest, or even a Bishop, that he might go and pour out on the people the treasures of wisdom and love, which he had drunk in at the very fountain-head. For whilst Prayer said in union with the Church is the light of the understanding, it is the fire of divine love for the heart. The Christian soul neither needs nor wishes to avoid the company of the Church, when she would converse with God, and praise his greatness and his mercy. She knows that the company of the Spouse of Christ could not be a distraction to her. Is not the soul herself a part of this Church, which is the Spouse? Has not Jesus Christ said: Father, may they be one, as we also are one? and, when many are gathered in his name, does not this same Saviour assure us that he is in the midst of them? The soul, therefore, may converse freely with her God, who tells her that he is so near her; she may sing praise, as David did, in the sight of the Angels, whose eternal prayer blends with the prayer which the Church utters in time.

Signs, Signals, Symbols seldom seen, science says sing silent songs of the glory of the maker of five hundred million suns. I. The Wonders of The Heavens. II. The Wonders of The Solar System. 111. The Wonders of 'l'he Earth. IV. The Wonders of Life. V. The. Wonders of Human Life. Go out at night, when the stars shine bright, and look up at the heavens. A ring of light at a vast height sweeps round amid the stars. A great half-circle it seems -in our northern latitude, its two ends lost below the horizon. Go south, below the equator, and you find it forms a mighty white cloudy ribbon, running round the whole heavens. It inclines at an angle of 63 degrees to the equinoctial, that imaginary plane where the sun is when days and nights are equal. From far-off days, when our race was young, men asked: What is it? Because of its whiteness, the Greeks called it the Galaxy, from gala, "milk," and we the Milky Way. Sweeping round the whole firmament, as a mighty ring, looking like a bright, 'long, white expanse with irregular borders, nowhere broken, it ever excited curiosity, and claimed the study of the world's greatest minds. All was guesswork till the telescope was invented. the two Herschels, Sir William and Sir John, father and son, using the most powerful instruments known in their -days, spent almost 'their whole lives in its study. The greatest astronomers of all ages, in every civilized country, tried to penetrate its mysteries, and in few words we will lay before the reader the sum total of their labors. How can we make the reader grasp the Wonders our instruments reveal, when so many learned men have spent their whole lives studying the heavens how, will we condense their discoveries into a few pages?

THIS series of Handbooks is designed to meet a need, which, the Editors believe, has been widely felt, and which results in great measure from the predominant importance attached to Dogmatic and Moral Theology in the studies preliminary to the Priesthood. That the first place must of necessity be given to these subjects will not be disputed. But there remains a large outlying field of professional knowledge which is always in danger of being crowded out in the years before ordination, and the practical utility of which may not be fully realised until some experience of the ministry has been gained. It will be the aim of the present series to offer the sort of help which is dictated by such experience, and its developments will be largely guided by the suggestions, past and future, of the Clergy themselves. To provide Textbooks for Dogmatic Treatises is not contemplated-at any rate not at the outset. On the other hand, the pastoral work of the missionary priests will be kept constantly in view, and the series will also deal with those historical and liturgical aspects of Catholic belief and practice which are every day being brought more into prominence. That the needs of English-speaking countries are, in these respects, exceptional, must be manifest to all. In point of treatment it seems desirable that the volumes should be popular rather than scholastic, but the Editors hope that by the selection of writers, fully competent in their special subjects, the information given may always be accurate and abreast of modern research. The kind approval of this scheme by His Grace the Archbishop of Westminster, in whose Diocese these manuals are edited, has suggested that the series should be introduced to the public under the general title of THE WESTMINSTER LIBRARY. It is hoped, however, that contributors may also be found among the distinguished Clergy of Ireland and America, and that the Westminster Library will be representative of Catholic scholarship in all English speaking countries. THIS book is intended to supply information about the history of the Roman liturgy. The dogmatic side of the Mass is discussed by the Bishop of Newport in the same series. The title shows that it is a study of the Roman rite. It is only in the Roman (or Gallican) rite that the Eucharistic service can correctly be called Mass. The chapter about other liturgies and the frequent references to them throughout are meant only to put our Roman Mass in its proper perspective and to illustrate its elements by comparison. In spite of the risk of repetition, the clearest plan seemed to be to discuss first the origin and development of the Mass in general; and then to go through the service as it stands now, adding notes to each prayer and ceremony. The present time is perhaps hardly the most convenient for attempting a history of the Mass. For never before have there been so many or so various theories as to its origin, as to the development of the Canon, the Epiklesis and so on. Where the best authorities differ so widely it would be absurd to pretend to offer a final solution. I have no pretence of supplying a new answer to any of these questions, or even of taking a side finally among theories already proposed. The only reasonable course seems to be to state the chief systems now defended and to leave the reader to make up his own mind. I have however shewn some preference for the main ideas of Dr. Drews and Dr. Baumstark and for certain points advanced by Dr. Buchwald.

This is a 3 volumes set Volume 1 is the introduction with definition, scope, object, sources, methods, history and literature of Moral Theology Volume 2 is sin and the means of grace. Volume 3 is Man's duty to himself. Catholic Moral Theology, broadly speaking, is the scientific exposition of the ethical teaching of the Gospel or more definitely, that theological discipline which sets forth the laws, rules, and precepts man must know and obey in order to attain his supernatural destiny. Moral Theology must avoid two extremes: overemphasizing the ascetic point of view and resolving itself into mere casuistry. In the two preceding volumes of this Handbook we dealt with the general principles of Moral Theology (Theologia Moralis Generalis). We must now show how these general principles are to be applied to man's conduct as an individual and as a member of society (Theologia Moralis Specialis ). The will of God is the supreme and ultimate source of all obligation. Hence, strictly speaking, man has but one duty, namely, to obey the divine law. This law, according to St. Paul, "is charity, from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith." 1 St. Gregory the Great says: "The commandments one and all spring solely from love, and together constitute a single precept, because whatever is commanded, is founded upon charity." And St. Thomas Aquinas: "All the commandments are fulfilled in the one law of charity."

John Ogilvie lived in the late 1500's to early 1600's, a time of turmoil for Catholics in Scotland. Let us consider this from the end of his life: 'I am astonished at your behaviour. You forbid me to speak in my defence and then slander both my cause and me to the people with your lies. You are not fair to me when you pretend that I have anything against the King. I have neither said nor done any such thing. I only maintained that the Pope had spiritual jurisdiction in the King's realms and in the whole world over Christians and that he can excommunicate a heretic king. 'If I have said anything else let it be shown to the people for I have written and signed all my statements and am ready to die for them. But you reported falsely of me to the King and now you would persuade the people similarly. Another Scotsman and I [he said he meant Father Crichton] did more for his Majesty abroad than you and all the ministers of Scotland can do and I am ready to give my life for him. But now I am sent to my death for religion alone.' One of them asked him if he were not afraid to die. 'In so good a cause, ' he replied, 'I am not more afraid to die than you are of the dishes when you go to supper.' After this he was hanged for the Catholic Faith

This is a fifteen volume set, which is being brought back into print for the edification of the Faithful. Anyone who wishes to appreciate the timeless Tridentine Mass and liturgy will find this set a valuable aid in that endeavor. Dom Gueranger has produced a most excellent work, which began the liturgical movement. We pray that this set of books will bring many more to a true appreciation of the Latin Mass and the Divine Office of the Catholic Church. At one time, under the impulse of that Spirit, which animated the admirable Psalmist and the Prophets, she takes the subject of her canticles from the Books of the Old Testament; at another, showing herself to be the daughter and sister of the holy Apostles, she intones the canticles written in the Books of the New Covenant; and finally, remembering that she, too, has had given to her the trumpet and harp, she at times gives way to the Spirit which animates her, and sings her own new canticle. From these three sources comes the divine element which we call the Liturgy. The Prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore the most efficacious of all prayers. Happy, then, is he who prays with the Church, and unites his own petitions with those of this Spouse, who is so dear to her Lord, that he gives her all she asks. It was for this reason that our Blessed Saviour taught us to say our Father, and not my Father; give us, forgive us, deliver us, and not give me, forgive me, deliver me. Hence, we find that, for upwards of a thousand years, the Church, who prays in her temples seven times in the day, and once again during the night, did not pray alone. The people kept her company, and fed themselves with delight on the manna which is hidden under the words and mysteries of the divine Liturgy. Thus initiated into the sacred Cycle of the mysteries of the Christian year, the faithful, attentive to the teachings of the Spirit, came to know the secrets of eternal life; and, without any further preparation, a Christian was not unfrequently chosen by the Bishops to be a Priest, or even a Bishop, that he might go and pour out on the people the treasures of wisdom and love, which he had drunk in at the very fountain-head. For whilst Prayer said in union with the Church is the light of the understanding, it is the fire of divine love for the heart. The Christian soul neither needs nor wishes to avoid the company of the Church, when she would converse with God, and praise his greatness and his mercy. She knows that the company of the Spouse of Christ could not be a distraction to her. Is not the soul herself a part of this Church, which is the Spouse? Has not Jesus Christ said: Father, may they be one, as we also are one? and, when many are gathered in his name, does not this same Saviour assure us that he is in the midst of them? The soul, therefore, may converse freely with her God, who tells her that he is so near her; she may sing praise, as David did, in the sight of the Angels, whose eternal prayer blends with the prayer which the Church utters in time.

OUR holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to believe, that in the consecrated Host, Jesus Christ is really present under the species of bread. But we must also understand that He is thus present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces, and there to show us the love which He bears us, by being pleased to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us. It is well known that the Holy Church instituted the Festival of Corpus Christi with a solemn octave, and that she celebrates it with the many usual processions, and such frequent expositions of this Most Holy Sacrament, that men may thereby be moved gratefully to acknowledge and honour this loving presence and dwelling of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar, by their devotions, thanksgivings, and the tender affections of their souls. O God! how many insults and outrages has not this amiable Redeemer had, and has He not daily, to endure in this Sacrament on the part of those very men for whose love He remains upon their altars on earth! Of this He indeed conlplained to His dear servant Sister Margaret Alacoque, as the author of the Book of Devotion to the Heart of Jesus relates. One day, as she was in prayer before the Most Holy Sacrament, Jesus showed her His Heart on a throne of flames, crowned with thorns, and surmounted by a cross, and thus addressed her: "Behold that Heart, which has loved men so much, and which has spared Itself nothing; and has even gone so far as to consume Itself, thereby to show them Its love; but in return the greater part of men only show Me ingratitude, and this by the irreverences, tepidity, sacrileges, and contempt which they offer Me in this Sacrament of Love; and that which I feel the most acutely is, that they are hearts consecrated to Me." Jesus then expressed His wish, that the first Fridtty after the Octave of Corpus Christi should be dedicated as a particular festival in honour of His adorable Heart; and that on that day all souls who loved Him should endeavour, by their homage, and by the affections of their souls, to make amends for the insults which men have offered Him in this Sacrament of the Altar; and at the same time He promised abundant graces to all who should thus honour Him.

Centuries before the birth of Christ, there lived a proud and despotic ruler of an Eastern kingdom who, surrounded by power and splendor, forgot the Lord of heaven and earth, trusting exclusively in the wealth of his country and the strength of his people. The prophet Daniel warned him against his impious ways, and besought him to forsake his iniquities, and to acknowledge that " the Most High ruleth over the kingdoms of men." But the king thought himself safe in the enjoyment of his glory and strength, and strutting up and down his gorgeous palace, he said with sinful pride: "Is not this the great Babylon which I have built to be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of my power, and in the glory of my excellence?" Scarcely were these words out of his mouth, when the punishment of the Lord overtook him; he was degraded and cast out of the habitation of man, and likened to the brute beast of the field. Fortunately, his chastisement brought him to his senses. He now realized that all power and beauty came from above and that "all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing before their God." Many there are in our days and country who, Nabuchcx: lonosor-like, pride themselves on the achievements of modem times, despise the past, and look for unlimited prosperity and comfort in the future. Is not this the great country which we have set up as a model for all the nations? See it teeming with wealth and luxury. Every man is his own king and ruler, responsible to nobody, independent of everybody. Every man has it in his power to become rich and famous. Human genius and human labor have accomplished wonders. Man's own energy, independent of assistance from above, man "in the glory of his excellence," has produced a culture, refinement and happiness never known in the history of mankind. It is true there is a present lack of proportion between individual possessors: some have evidently more than they need, while others have not enough of what they need; the one has plenty of food and no digestion, the other a good digestion hut no food. A little enlightenment on the true philosophy of ownership will soon make it feasible to revise the charts of realities and give each man an equal share of the goods of this world. Such is the proud and senseless boast of many American demagogues. For what is the actual condition of things in which we are living? Whither does modem progress lead us? The pyramids of Egypt are everlasting monuments of art and skilful labor, but the grounds around them are strewn with the bodies of countless men and women who worked themselves to death in constructing them. Are our modem achievements not the result of human victims? Look at the machines the soulless antagonists of the workingmen; hear them whiping and clicking" humming and shriek ing like a legion of devils, let loose from the abode of eternal woe. Hearts are bleeding to death under the cruel horrors of the sweatshop; minds are rebelling against the infamous injustice of employers, and are growing desperate under the yoke of trusts and capitalists. The filthy condition of so many homes in our large cities, human dwellings without air and sunshine, should make us loath to sing the praises of our great civilization. How the beauties of nature are marred and blurred under the curse of industrial enterprise! Climb the wooded mountain that shelters the valley. Raise your eyes towards the azure sky above you and see the traces of divine magnificence. In the distance the river is flashing with silver and diamond

SOME persons asked me to write a book on the Eternal Maxims, for the use of those who desire to establish themselves in virtue and to advance in a spiritual life. Others requested me to prepare a collection of matter for the sermons of the missions and of the spiritual exercises. Not to multiply books, labor, and expense, I resolved to compose the work in the present form, with the hope that it might answer both purposes. To render it useful as a book of meditations for seculars, I have divided the considerations into three points. Each point will serve for one meditation, and therefore I have annexed to each point affections and prayers. I entreat my readers not to grow weary, if, in those prayers, they always find petitions for the grace of perseverance and of divine love. For us, these are the two graces most necessary for the attainment of eternal salvation. The grace of divine love is, according to St. Francis de Sales, the grace which contains in itself all graces: because the virtue of charity toward God brings with it all other virtues. Now all good things come to me together with her (Wisd. VII, II) He who loves God is humble, chaste, obedient, and mortified; in a word, he possesses all virtues. " Love," says St. Augustine, " and do what you wish" (Ama, et fac quod vis). They who love God labor to avoid whatever is offensive to him, and seek to please him in all things. The grace of perseverance is that grace by which we obtain the eternal crown. St. Bernard says that Paradise is promised to those who begin a good life, but is only given to those who persevere. " To beginners a reward is promised, but to him who perseveres it is given;." (De modo bene vivere, s. 6) But this gift of perseverance is, as the Fathers teach, given only to those who ask it. Hence St. Thomas asserts that to enter heaven continual prayer is necessary. And our Redeemer said: We ought always to pray, and not to faint. (Luke XIII, 1) It is because they do not pray for the gift of perseverance that so many miserable sinners, after having obtained pardon, lose again the grace of God. Their sins are forgiven; but because they afterward neglect to ask of God the grace of perseverance, particularly in the time of temptations, they relapse into sin. And although the grace of final perseverance is altogether gratuitous, and cannot be merited by good works; still Suarez teaches that it can be infallibly obtained by prayer: and according to St. Augustine, it may be merited by humble supplication.(De Dono persev. C. 6) This necessity of prayer I have demonstrated at length in another little work, entitled The Great Means of Prayer. This book, though small, has cost me a great deal of labor. I consider it to be of extreme utility to all sorts of persons; and I unhesitatingly assert that, among all spiritual treatises, there is none, and there can be none, more necessary than that which treats on prayer as a means of obtaining eternal salvation. To render these considerations useful to preachers who have but few books or little time for reading, I have furnished these considerations with texts of Scripture and passages from the Fathers, which are short, but strong and animated, as they ought to be in sermons. The three points of each consideration will supply matter for one sermon. I have endeavored to collect from many authors the sentiments which appeared to me best suited to move the will, and have inserted several of them expressed briefly, that the reader may select and extend at pleasure those that please him most. May all tend to the glory of God! I pray my reader to recommend me to Jesus Christ, whether I am living or dead (Now that St. Alphonsus Liguori is a canonized Saint we ask for his intercession); and I promise to do the same for all those who perform this act of charity toward me. Live Jesus, our love, and Mary, our hope! This work is excerpted from a larger work of Saint Alphonsus with the same name.

With many fearing the coming of Antichrist soon, a serious study of Catholic prophecy is in order. Culleton's two works on the subject are valuable in pursuing such a study. Originally written in the late 1940's this book is even more appropriate for those studying prophecy today. Any serious student of Catholic Prophecy should possess several books and this one is near the top of the list. They should also have 'The Apocalypse of Saint John' by E Sylvester Berry and 'The Book of Destiny' by Herman Bernard Kramer. Culleton's other work, 'The Prophets and Our Times', which serves as a prequel for this work is also very useful in carrying study forward. In the 19th century James Ratton wrote two books, 'Essays on the Apocalypse' and 'The Apocalypse of Saint John'. His works should also be consulted by the serious student of Catholic prophecy. Father Culleton wrote his first book THE PROPHETS AND OUR TIMES at the suggestion of Monsignor (later Bishop) Philip G. Scher, who was the pastor when he was an assistant at Monterey. The book itself was written somewhat later when father was pastor at Taft, California (1934- 1944). It was widely read having gene through three editions totaling 12,500 copies. Most purchasers who wrote the author complained that so many had borrowed their copies that the book was literally read to pieces. Father Gerald Culleton lost his life in an automobile accident, February 19, 1950. He was on his way to say Sunday Mass in his mission church when his car struck a truck in the thick fog. This was at the place called Traver on U. S. Highway 99. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Fresno, California. The manuscript for this book was pretty well completed when he died. The index and biblography only were missing. The manuscript passed by will to Father Culleton's Bishop, who passed it along for publication. The introductory chapter states: "The only point I am forced to make deals with an opinion now quite widespread, that the times of Antichrist are uponus. The only reason I speak is because I have found no one without preconceived ideas whom I can quote. "First: Several have told me that Antichrist is already born. One puts him in Pennsylvania, another in Illinois, a third in Iraq; a fourth has informed me that he already has temples in the four corners of the earth, one corner being Chicago and another Los Angeles. Christ has said, "If they say, 10, here is Christ or there, go ye not out to look." If I err not, this means we should not bother with these rumors.When Antichrist comes, the whole world will know him, the elect for what he is, the rest for what he is not. "Second: It is said that the times in which we live fit very well into those which will immediately precede the coming of Antichrist. This is not for me to judge. They are indeed evil times. They are more intensely and widespreadly evil than any that have existed since Constantine. They will, no doubt, get worse. The Church will suffer much more than She now suffers. But whether what we now see or may live to see is any more than one cf the numerous eras which are to precede Antichrist, I do not know. There are those quoted in this book who say we are near the times of Antichrist. "Who am I to say they are wrong? But on the other hand, who are they, that we are to believe them. We do not doubt their good faith. The value of their word we know not."

The Roman Breviary is full of inspirational material. This book gives the wonderful hymns from this sacred work. Also included are the sequences from the Missale Romanum (in translation), which are also wonderful. These hymns and sequences will provide much fruitful material for prayer and meditation. Not only are the more common hymns and sequences included, but several from proper Offices, such as Our Lady, Help of Christians and the Crown of Thorns.

This is a compilation of information from several older works, which have been brought together to explain this most important consideration in the spiritual life. We begin with a short consideration from Father Scaramelli, who died in 1752. He wrote a four volume work, Directorium Asceticum, which is an excellent treatise on the spiritual life. He touches on the four temperaments briefly. We will expand with the thoughts of Father John Henry Schagemann CSSR from his work, Manual of Self-Knowledge and Christian Perfection. This work is in two parts the first on the Four Temperaments and the balance is a excellent summary of the spiritual life. The first part of this 1913 work is reproduced here. The balance of this work is inspired by Konrad Hock, who wrote The Four Temperaments. There is a great deal of interest in self-examination in these days and the four temperaments are a great guide to understanding ourselves, our strengths and our weaknesses. Some misuse this information in order to find an excuse for sin, but there is no excuse for sin. Knowing our temperament, we can know where our strengths and weaknesses lie and with the help of God over come our weaknesses and build upon our strengths The four temperaments are based upon the four humors ancient philosophers believed exist in the human body: Melancholy, (Melancholic) Phlem, (Plegmatic) Blood (Sanguine) Choler (Choleric or Billious) We begin with a test to determine our temperament, so we can know where we stand entering into our study.

All who wear the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are called to be Carmelites, at least of the Third Order. The author explains: "Those who are not specially interested in our Carmelite Tertiaryship, but desire to obtain a knowledge of Carmelite spirituality, are advised to read from chapter xi to chapter xv of this book. By Carmelite spirituality we mean the methods and principles of prayer and the interior life which inspire the lives and counsels of the three great saints, Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross and Teresa of the Child Jesus. We trust readers will find in those pages in simple language all that is necessary to give them such an appreciation of the spirit of those saints as will make them resolve to take the means to acquire it. This book is devoted to the explanation of those means." Thus this book is dedicated to all of us who should have a Carmelite spirituality, following the great masters, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Teresa of Lisieux. Chapter 11 begins with this from the Third Order Rule, which applies al all sincere Christians: "Tertiaries, following the advice of St. Paul, should be sober and earnest in the practice of piety, and avail themselves of all means calculated to foster it in their souls." The author explains: "In the language of the Apostles the word 'sober' has not the restricted meaning it bears in the English language. It rather means a calm." The Apostle then exhorts us to be temperate, deliberate, prudent, gentle and calm in all our actions. Tertiaries can best follow the advice of St. Paul and of their Rule in being sober and earnest in the practice of piety by striving after that active purgation or purification of which we have written in dealing with mental prayer. They will "avail themselves of all means calculated to foster it in their souls" by the greatest fidelity to the various points of their holy Rule, to their vows, vocal and mental prayer, spiritual reading, examination of conscience, hearing of Holy Mass and the frequentation of the Sacraments." We pray this book will help all to acquire the true spirit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and her humble devotees.

Never in the whole course of history has the proverb that "Truth is stranger than fiction" been better exemplified than in the case of Nicholas Breakspeare, the only Englishman who ever occupied the Chair of St. Peter. The tale of the mythical Dick Whittington, romantic though it be, is quite commonplace in comparison with the true story of this other, vandering beggar-lad, who, by virtue of his own abilities, rose, as we hope to tell, from the extreme poverty of a vagrant scholar, through the various degrees of Canon, Abbot" Legate, and Cardinal, to the proud position of Supreme Pontiff. Nicholas did even more, for he became not only a Pope, but a very good and great Pope, and we are not half proud enough of this countryman of ours whose success was in large measure due to his eminently English characteristics. Unfortunately very little is known about his early life, and about that little historians are not always agreed.

WE all do err at times, and by God's grace may be raised up again and restored to newness of life. Yet is the Body of Christ Holy, and the aim of all its institutions is that its members may be sanctified through the truth. Thus even that machinery, which at first sight seems to have least to do with personal holiness, is found to be really most designed to promote that holiness. For as it is ever difficult in this world to fathom the heart and to gauge the moral guilt of sin in each particular case, so to do this generally (so far as that is possible) from a public or Church point of view is the hardest task of all. And this is the business of Canon Law, which not only seeks to regulate the organisation and the several duties of office within the Church, but also aims at controlling the administration thereof by distinguishing what is due to the individual and what is due to the Body as a whole. For as "we being many members are one Body and everyone members one of another, H so "if one member suffer, all the members suffer together," and if one member wilfully indulge in sin the type of holiness is lowered for all Moreover, sin is sometimes the outcome of general weakness in face of strong temptation, and requires the kindly help of others to be successfully overcome; whilst in other cases sin is wilful, and to tolerate it is to do harm to all the rest. Canon Law, which is the code of rules elaborated by the collective wisdom of the past under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, endeavours to show within the range of cases which come under its cognisance how truth may be elicited from the observed facts, and how justice may be combined with mercy, so that what is right and equal may be done between each individual member and the whole Body of the Church This work was written prior to the codification of Canon Law in 1917. It is valuable to the student of Canon Law, because Canon Law was not changed in 1917, but codified and brought into an organic whole. The interpretation and understanding of law relies on the traditional understanding throughout history.

There is hardly any character in history that rouses such feeling as the character of Saint Thomas of Canterbury. On one side there are those who say that he was a tiresome fanatic-a fanatic because he glorified Church against State, and tiresome because he did this with regard to a number of trifling details involving no particular principle. On the other side there is the verdict of the Catholic Church that he lived a saint and died a martyr. Now it is perfectly natural, especially in these days, that there should be these two opinions, for there was scarcely ever a time when the State was more glorified at the expense of the Church. We are informed by thousands of voices that the State is the true" Church," that citizenship is the whole duty of man, and that all interests that conflict with patriotism or the service of "Humanity" are contemptible and treacherous. This movement, in England at least, began in the sixteenth century, when the country was separated from allegiance to Rome, and religion itself became more or less a department of the State; it is reaching its maturity now in the position that the State is all, and that religion, if it is in any sense "established," must conform utterly to the will of its protector. This view of the State has affected, as we know, even those who cling to Christianity. We have heard lately a chorus of English voices, from the throats of professing Christians, acclaiming recent events in France, and declaring that Pius X, through his selfassertive mediaevalism, is the sole cause of his own troubles. If he had only recognised the sanctity of the State and allowed his spiritual children to conform to its requirements in the matter of appeals and associations, all this anti-clericalism would have disappeared long ago! Now here is almost the precise quarrel in which Thomas laid down his life. If Erastianism is right, certainly Saint Thomas was wrong. If it is proper that Edward VII should be even the nominal head-and by law he is much more-of an institution claiming to be Christ's Church; and that M. Fallieres should be the ultimate arbitrator between French priests and people; then it was equally proper for Henry II to insist upon the "Constitutions of Clarendon" and the" royal customs," and highly improper, as well as absurd, for St. Thomas to resist them. Certainly some of these constitutions and customs seem very trifling matters if they are judged by worldly standards. But Catholics believe that Christ's Kingdom is not of this world, and therefore cannot possibly, in the matter of her own constitution, be subject to secular control. They can no more, in the things of ecclesiastical government, consent to the substitution of appeals to a Privy Council, or any secular court, for appeals to the Holy Father, than they can consent to the supplanting of the Apostles' Creed by the syllabus of the London County Council. These things are very far from being trifling details to those who are seriously convinced that Jesus Christ founded one Church, of which they themselves are members, a Church with a divinely appointed hierarchy and a divinely revealed system of belief. The opposite view is, of course, perfectly natural for those who believe nothing of the kind. St. Thomas therefore will always stand as a symbol of the unceasing conflict between the world and the Church; and the fact that some of the principles for which he contended do appear even to some Catholics to be on the very borderline between "dogma" and "opinion," makes him all the more significant. It is one more illustration of his significance that it was he whom Henry VIII selected to attack, from all the saints of Catholic England, summoning him to appear, four centuries after his death, to answer to the charge of hightreason and disloyalty.

After the Priesthood, the life of the monk or nun, the brightest ornament of the Church of Jesus Christ. We may say of it what one of the Fathers in the first ages of Christianity said of virginity: "It is the fairest, most glorious fruit of divine grace; a work perfect and unblemished, worthy to be extolled and magnified, a mirror in which the holiness of God is reflected here below, the most glorious gift of Christ to His flock, the joy of the Church." No wonder, then, that so lovely and attractive a theme should have inspired the pen of a great number of writers. How delightful it is to work for the souls whom Our Lord loves with a special predilection! How exalted a task to promote the sanctification of those favored ones who, provided they correspond to the wondrous grace vouchsafed to them, afford abundant consolation to the heart of their divine Spouse, and abundant edification to holy Church, their Mother, whose most illustrious children they are! It is to Father Rodriguez, S.J., that we owe the first comprehensive treatise on the religious life, the first and foremost in every respect. His admirable work is and always will be the one most highly esteemed by religious communities. We, in our turn, have attempted to be of service to them in the work of their sanctification, a work of such vital importance. The treatise we now lay before the reader treats of the religious state from the special point of view of the victim's self-surrender. We employ the word victim here, although on the title page of this work we have preferred to speak of the life of sacrifice. The sense is the same in both, but we thought it best to make use of the latter term lest our announcement might seem to suggest some singularity of doctrine and practice. It will, however, be seen that the standpoint we have chosen is anything but a fanciful or unauthorized one. The view we take of the religious life is, in fact, by no means new; every author who has selected this beautiful subject as his theme points it out, butwithout enlarging upon it; whereas what we propose to consider in the religious state is preeminently the life of the monk or nun as a victim. The essential point is that every soul whom the divine Spouse has deigned to call to the signal honor of this celestial union with Himself should endeavor, by the use of every attainable means, to correspond to His merciful designs. The times in which we live are evil, and we may well say with St. Paul: "Redeeming the time because the days are evil" (Eph. v. 16). The spirit of seduction is so powerful! Who can say whether there are not within the vast fold of the Church of God some Communities which, under pretexts more or less plausible, have allowed the spirit of the world to find its way into their midst, and effect the deterioration of that grand and holy life of religion which constituted the strength and the glory of their institute at the outset? And who can say whether days of trial, of tribulation, of persecution, are not in store for us? 1 If so, what will then become of the tepid Religious, of the Community in which laxity prevails? Let us then lose no time, but set to work without delay, and by renewing our zeal, no longer render the sublime, the inestimable grace of our vocation void and illusory.

With a Novena to the Holy Ghost and devotions for Mass, Holy Communion, etc. THE use of this book is fourfold: 1. It serves for short visits to Our Lord in the tabernacle. 2. It is designed to sene still better for long visits to the Blessed Sacrament. By means of it, half-hours and hours of adoration may be spent before the Tabernacle in the most fruitful and interesting manner; hence the sub-title has been affixed. It is indeed specially intended as a vade mecum for those pious souls who, as members of Eucharistic Leagues and Confraternities, are accustomed to keep the weekly or monthly Hour of Adoration. 3. It tends to inculcate and to foster devotion to the Holy Ghost, in connection with devotions to the Holy Eucharist. 4. It is finally a Prayer-Book for all ordinary occasions and devotions, especially for Mass and Holy Communion. Our little book follows the suggestions of Pere Eymard-the venerated and zealous Apostle of the Holy Eucharist- for making the hour of adoration. The pious adorer is never permitted to lose sight of the four ends of sacrifice or of the obligations we have to God, as our almighty Creator and supreme Master, viz.: 1. Adoration; 2. Thanksgiving; 3. Reparation; and 4. Prayer.

THIS little volume contains the translation from the Spanish of a few spiritual letters of Blessed John of Avila. The author is probably not much known to English readers; certainly he is not as well known as he deserves to be both for his own merits as a writer and because in his own time, the sixteenth century, and even beyond the limits of his own country, Spain, he was a man of great renown. He was recognised everywhere as a special servant of God, and as a a true director of all souls desiring to walk the higher paths of perfection, or of those who needed help and encouragement to serve God in the humbler walks of life. He was also a preacher of exceptional power. St. Francis of Sales in his Practice of the Love of God speaks of him as the learned and saintly preacher of Andalusia, St. Francis Borgia as "the Great Master," and he was popularly known as the Apostle of Andalusia from the wonderful change which his preaching wrought in that district of Spain. His discourses were likened to fishermen's nets gathering in fishes of all sorts whenever and wheresoever he cast them, so plentiful was the harvest of souls which followed his expositions of the Christian teaching. It may perhaps seem somewhat strange that one endowed by God with such personal holiness and who had been called to guide the souls of St. John of God, St. Francis Borgia, St. Peter of Alcantara and St. Teresa, should have had to wait so long a time before being raised to the ranks of the formally beatified servants of God. It is fortunately not in any way necessary for us to explain such apparent neglect; but it was only on the 12th of November 1893, some three centuries and a half after his death, that Pope Leo XII!., of happy memory, decreed his Beatification, and the faithful were invited to invoke his protection and aid under the title of Blessed John of Avila. The writings of the great servant of God have hitherto been little known, at least in England, and it is with the confident expectation that those, who will read the letters here printed, will find in them spiritual comfort and solid christian teaching, that they have been translated from the Spanish. For the sake of those into whose hands this little volume may fall, who are unacquainted with the life of Blessed John of Avila, it may be useful to give a brief outline of his career. Letters and other writings of anyone wholly unknown to us do not as a rule interest us as much as when we have at least a general knowledge of their author and of the circumstances under which they were written. From a contemporary historian we learn that our author was born on 6th January 1500, at Almodovar del Campo, a town in the diocese of Toledo and in the kingdom of New Castile. Spain was then under the rule of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Church was governed by Pope Alexander VI.

The Roman Breviary is full of inspirational prayers and lessons. These lessons are compiled from the lessons of Matins. On Sundays and greater feasts Matins consists of three nocturns. Each nocturn consists of three psalms and three lessons. The first nocturn has lessons from Sacred Scripture. Since the Bible is readily available, this is omitted from this work. The second nocturn on the feast of saints gives their life story. It is these stories, which are most instructive. On Sundays, these lessons are an explanation either of the current Scripture or some other inspirational instruction and these are included here. The third nocturn is on the day's Gospel. The first lesson begins with a short quote from the Gospel of the day, followed by the beginning of the instruction. These are included here. On smaller feasts and ferial days, there is only one nocturn of nine psalms and three lessons. In Lent, these lessons are on the day's Gospel, while on other ferial days they are from Scripture. On minor feast days, the first two are from Scripture, the third on the day's feast. In Lent there are forty different Gospels read, and the lessons on these form the bulk of this work. The lessons in the Breviary come from the Fathers of the Church and are quite instructive. This work would serve as a good companion to Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, as it covers material not contained in this other excellent work. The Fathers of the Church bring out points we may not have considered in our meditations on the daily Gospels. We pray all find these instructions as fruitful as I have. We have included the instructions for the three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday, Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, as they form a remote preparation for the commemoration of the mysteries of our Redemption at the end of Holy Week.

Originally written in the early 1940's this book is even more appropriate for those studying prophecy today. Any serious student of Catholic Prophecy should possess several books and this one is near the top of the list. They should also have 'The Apocalypse of Saint John' by E Sylvester Berry and 'The Book of Destiny' by Herman Bernard Kramer. Culleton's other work, 'The Reign of Antichrist' is also very useful in carrying study forward. In the 19th century James Ratton wrote two books, 'Essays on the Apocalypse' and 'The Apocalypse of Saint John'. His works should also be consulted by the serious student of Catholic prophecy. Father Culleton begins with an overview of the prophecies and his prophetic time line. He then proceeds to the prophecies in chronological order with very few comments, which are easily recognizable. Culleton has gathered together a sizable number of prophecies. His conclusions may be out of date, but the prophecies themselves are more important today than they were in the middle of the last century when Culleton compiled them. He discusses the Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor. He also touches on Antichrist. In fact he subtitles this book 'Signs that Precede the Antichrist'. Culleton reports the following prayer from a priest in Rome in 1936: "O Jesus, Divine Saviour! Be merciful, be merciful to us and to the whole world. Amen. Powerful God! Holy God! Immortal God! Have compassion upon us and upon the whole world. Amen. Eternal Father, show us mercy, in the name of the Precious Blood of Thy Only Son, show us mercy we implore Thee. Amen." Although he does not mention Sister Faustina one can easily see the tie in with the devotion to the Divine Mercy she was led by Almighty God to promote. Culleton reports a Franciscan Father in Arizona as stating: ""Don Bosco's prophecy 'The Pope will die and live again' refers to the peculiar circumstances surrounding Pius XI and Pius XII: when the former died, 'Fides Intrepida' died, but when Pius Xll, his Secretary of State, was elected, 'Fides Intrepida' lived again." Pius XII according to this would not be the Pastor Angelicus, at least not the one who would rule with the Great Monarch."" With the speculation about Saint Malachy's prophecies of the popes this students of Catholic Prophecy may wish to investigate this and two other prophets, Saint John Capistrano and the Monk of Padua, that Culleton quotes as describing the last Popes in history.

THIS is an age when every good and Christian writer who can" get himself read," as Carlyle would say, should print and publish as much as he can. For as evil writings do incalculably more harm than evil speech, so good writings are indefinitely more efficacious than mere spoken addresses. Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII., has exhorted us to oppose writing to writing-" scripta scriptis,"-to use the press to fight against the press. It is consoling, therefore, to welcome a new book by a writer who can securely count on a large number of readers. It would be a mistake to call these essays of Monsignor Vaughan by the name of sermons. They have neither the sermon form nor the sermon tone. It is true that the greater part of the book deals with religious Subjects. It is true, also, that in some places the writer takes the opportunity of enforcing a moral point. But they are essays, not sermons. The difference lies chiefly in the attitude of the author. A sermon supposes a preacher-and a preacher is an official personage, standing in the sanctuary, and clad in ministerial robes. The essayist claims no official position, and speaks as one man to another. His audience is not his flock; but individual men and women, with faculties that can understand, and important interests to think about. There is no reason why such topics as God and God's love, the Blessed Sacrament, and the Last Things should not be calmly and earnestly discussed, without strong appeals to the feelings, or that assumption of authority which is so useful and so necessary on fitting occasions. This book contains some twenty papers, most of which have already appeared in print.! They are distributed in three divisions and tnay be said to fall under three heads. First we have five essays on God and the Holy Trinity. The "Love" of God, the" N atu re " of God, the "Wisdom" of God, make up three of the titles found in this first part. Without being abstruse or scholastic, the treatment is solid, interesting and suggestive. The two essays on the "Blessed Trinity," first, as Reflected in Man and next as traceable in the Irrational Creature, are good examples of that kind of" apologetic" work which does not pretend to be demonstration, but is valuable as showing how the mind might reasonably expect some such stupendous revelation as the Trinity. The second division of the book opens with two very interesting disquisitions on the Blessed Sacrament. These are followed by two on the subject of Purgatory-showing the reasonableness of the Catholic doctrine, and the nature of purgatorial suffering. Then we have other two on that Divine quality and stimulus of the soul which are called supernatural grace, and the manner in which, through grace, a human being may be united to God. The third division is more miscellaneous. In the" Riddle of Human Life" we find a useful exposition of the end and purpose of mortal life. "Dust to Dust" unmistakably indicates a lesson to be learnt from death. "Man a Microcosm" is a study on the difference between man and the beast, leading up to the consideration of those supernatural motives which man has the power to see, if he will. " Pain as a Motive" explains itself. "Heroes: True and False" is an examination of the state of mind which prevents most men from becoming saints. The paper that follows, entitled "The Inconsistency of our Faith and Practice," pursues this subject still further, and insists on the view that what is required is not so much to know more than we do know, but (like a St. Francis Borgia contemplating the dead queen) to realise what we know already. Then follow two useful controversial papers on Protestantism. The last essay in the book is on "Vivisection"

THE Church has taught for ages that between the truths of revelation and the truths of science there can be no conflict. The Vatican Council has solemnly repeated this teaching. On the other hand some men famed for scientific learning and some famed for unscientific bluster proclaim that between faith and science no reconciliation is possible. Educated Catholics may well ask, How are such assertions possible? Still it is not hard to find the explanation. If we could ascertain at once what are the truths of science and what are the truths of revelation their comparison would end the controversy. But what are the truths of science? Science has no infallible mouthpiece. The ablest and sincerest men of science may be mistaken. Generations of scientists have fought in defence of error. For hundreds of years they taught that the sun moves and the earth is at rest. For centuries they spoke of heat and light as imponderable substances. Linnaeus taught that species were immutable; Lamarck, the contrary. Cuvier, Von Baer. and Agassiz returned to the teaching of Linnaeus, and now Darwin and Haeckel, reviving the views of Lamarck, proclaim the mutability of species. Who is right? Linnareus or Lamarck? Cuvier or Haeckel When does a scientific theory become a scientific theorem, a scientific truth? Can one great name safeguard us against error? There is not a distinguished scientist alive who will say in cold blood, "I cannot err." Is the consensus of all men of science a guarantee that their teaching is scientific truth? The history of Ptolemy's theory bids us be prudent in our answer. Surely it is more than hazardous to maintain that a theory or view against which are raised some of the weightiest voices in science is, without possibility of error, the scientific truth. And what are the truths of revelation? Some scientific oracles, not content with defining the truths of science, insist upon defining for us the truths of religion. No doubt they are very kind; but really we must decline their Grecian gifts. We look to the Church to tell us what are revealed truths. Reasonable men will find this reasonable. When the Church has spoken, we know what revealed truth is. But there are hundreds of opinions on dogma and morals which the Church has neither approved nor condemned; there are thousands of Biblical texts the meaning of which she has not defined. To be sure, we have the opinions of theologians, we have what is called the received interpretation of the Scriptures, which is often but another word for theological opinion. But the views of theologians, however learned and holy, are not, of necessity, revealed truths. For scholars, who are not controversial scientists, it is not always easy to decide what are the truths of revelation. Since, then, it is neither easy to find the truths of science nor to find the truths of revelation in every case, it follows that it is difficult to compare them with each other. The prudent scholar, therefore, will not commit himself hastily to the proposition that there is between them an irrepressible conflict. Where religion and science seem to be at variance and during the past half century scientists (not science) have propounded many views seemingly at variance with Scripture-he will first ascertain whether the dicta of scientists are the truths of science, and next whether the assumed meaning of the Bible has been officially set forth by the Church. The former he will ascertain by inquiring whether the views in question are unanimously held by all reputable authorities in science or whether weighty voices are raised in contradiction; the latter he will easily ascertain by an appeal to Church History. If he finds that the Church has defined nothing in the premises, he may examine what is the most probable and the best supported theological opinion.

Bishop Hedley says: The question, Who is Jesus Christ? requires very many words to answer it completely. But there is a. short answer which may serve us for the present. Jesus Christ is He in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth corporally." Jesus Christ is the Gad-man. He is man, having body and soul, senses and organs, like other men. He is God-God in the flesh, God possessing a human dwelling, God not restricted nor localised, yet capable of being seen by the eye and pointed to with the finger. This is our subject. It is a matter which is vital to the world; for the revelation of 'Jesus Christ' is the central truth of God's dispensation for man's eternal well-being. To deny it is to cut oneself away from the shelter of the harbour, and to drift out into the measureless ocean." Of Antichrists Hedley says: "They began to speculate and teach before the New Testament was complete. They aggravated the troubles of the Church in the days of the heathen persecutions. They were the chief occasion of her first great Council. They disturbed the times of her early triumph, and desolated wide territories that she had once called her own. In the religious convulsions of later times they have always hovered near, and now, in the days in which we are, they are an army, and they have a discipline, and it would seem as if they were the advanced guard of the great and final Anti-Christ, whose fatal triumph it will be, for a brief space, to drive the worship and the love of Jesus from the earth. It will be our object in the remarks which follow to make use of the 'contradictions' of gainsayers in order to grasp more firmly what the Incarnation is." Monsignor has the following to say on sanctification: "it is true, nevertheless, that the Rationalistic criticism which is now so common has had a great effect even on the multitudes of those who consider themselves believers. Belief which does not rest on definite teaching cannot be very steady. Those who profess that they take their religion from the Scripture alone, really take it from the preachers, the writers, the newspapers, who comment on the Scripture; and as the Scripture cannot speak and contradict those who put their own interpretations on the Scripture, it is evident that the talk of clever and plausible men will have its effect by degrees. You can hardly note when the autumn begins; but when the leaves begin to fall by twos and threes, and the tree to look dry and unlovely, you know that the first great blast that comes to herald the winter will strew the ground with wreck and leave the forest bare. So, it is to be feared, religious opinion in this country is not so far from a denial of Jesus Christ as it was thirty years ago. And one proof of this is the undoubted fact that Jesus Christ is coming to be looked upon more and more as a past event and not as a living fact. We reverence Him; we speculatively admit His claims to Divine worship; we write plaintive books about Him; we travel to the Holy Land and sketch the cities or the spots where He lived and suffered; but do we pray to Him? Do we study His life with a view to imitation? Do we weep over His Passion? Do we believe in the existence of .. Grace, actually at our hands, and really efficacious through His Headship? An Eastern people possess, or possessed till lately, a sovereign secluded in a palace, powerless, without influence on the nation, but reverenced with almost God-like honour. And the tone of popular Christianity in Protestant countries is-to say everything reverent and honourable about our Lord, to speak of Him with the vague magniloquence with which one speaks of heroic ages and mythical heroes, and all the time to live as if His memory were all He had left behind, and His example all that He had given to man."

This work contains several examinations of conscience from Catholic classic books. It also contains Saint Alphonsus' instruction on Confession from his Catechism. Further notes are contained on modern sins and on conversion. One examination of conscience distinguishes between mortal and venial sins. In preparing for the Sacrament of Confession it is easy to get into a rut, using the same examination of conscience for every Confession. These examinations are from various sources and are provided to help us shake up our spiritual life. By varying our routine, we can more easily identify our sins and bring them to the tribunal of Penance where we can present them before the Divine Physician and His human representative, the duly authorized priest. In this way our confessor can prescribe the remedies for our sins, so that we can heed the advice of Jesus: "Go now and sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to you." (John 5:14)Since these come from timeless older works, they have been updated by this author to include the sins that are so easily committed with modern technology, such as radio, television, moves, the computer and the internet. We hope all will benefit from the sage advice contained in this book.

Baltimore Catechisms one through four are a progressive presentation of the basics of the Catholic Faith. We are happy to be reproducing the original Baltimore Catechism series as prepared in the late 1800's. This is a textual reproduction of the original. No changes have been made, although a note on a relaxation of the Communion fast is placed in the appropriate section, while the original question and answer are retained unchanged from the original. It should be remembered that a catechism prepared in this manner represents part of the ordinary magisterium or teaching authority of the Church, emanating as it does with the approval of the Bishops.By order of the Second Council of Baltimore, a catechism was prepared for use in Catholic Churches in the United States. This was done by Father Kinkead and issued in four volumes for the various levels of study as the Baltimore Catechism. No. 1 for First Communion classes.No. 2 for Confirmation classes.No. 3 for two years' course for Post-Confirmation classes.No. 4 for Teachers and Teachers' Training classes. This is also known as An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism and is numbered in harmony with Baltimore Catechism number 2. A chart of the 1950's fast laws has been added to the end of Baltimore number 4.

The Fathers of the Council of Trent showed at a very early date that they were satisfied with none of the existing works, and that they were fully alive to the need and necessity of preparing an authoritative Catechism. The realisation of their desire, however, was retarded for several years by events over which they had little control; and when the work was finally taken in hand another idea prevailed, resulting in the publication of a manual for the use of the clergy, and not, as originally suggested, a Catechism for children and uninstructed adults.Of the countless Catechisms that continued to appear, two - those of Bellarmine and Canisius - have steadily held their ground ever since, and to a large extent have served as the models of nearly an subsequent compilations of the kind. The influence of Canisius, however, has on the whole been limited to Germany; whereas Bellarmine's Catechism, which was written by command of Pope Clement VIII in 1597, has been copied in almost every other country in the world. At an early date it was translated into Arabic, Latin, Modern Greek, French, Spanish, German, English, and Polish. It had the warm approbation of Clement VIII, who prescribed it for use in the Papal States; of Urban VIII, who directed it to be adopted in all the Eastern missions; of Innocent XIII and Benedict XIV; particularly of the very important Council of all Italy, held at Rome, in 1725, which made it obligatory in all the dioceses of the peninsula; and finally of the Vatican Council which indicated it as the model for a proposed universal Catechism.Though Bellarmine's Catechism was largely followed as a model all over the world, yet, owing to the modifications introduced in diocesan editions, it came to pass in the course of time that almost every diocese had its own Catechism, differing in many respects from the Catechisms of other dioceses.The obvious inconvenience of this bewildering multiplicity of Catechisms occupied the attention of the Fathers of the Vatican Council, the great majority of whom were agreed as to the desirability of having a uniform small Catechism for the faithful all over the world. Early during the sittings of the Council, forty-one of the assembled Fathers devoted six sessions (February 10 to February 22) to an examination of the question; and the report which they drew up occupied the attention of the whole Council during the sittings of April 29 and 30. The question being put to a vote on May 4, an immense majority was found to be in favour of the compilation of a small uniform Catechism, to be compiled in Latin, translated into every language, and made obligatory in every diocese. But the approach of the Italian troops towards the walls of Rome brought the Council to an untimely end and there was no time to promulgate the constitution on the proposed uniform Catechism, so that it has not the force of law.The idea, however, has never been lost sight of. During the sitting of the first Catechetical Congress in 1880, the then Bishop of Mantua (later St. Pius X) proposed that the Holy Father be petitioned to arrange for the compilation of a simple, plain, brief, and popular Catechism for uniform use all over the world. Shortly after his elevation to the Chair of Peter, Pius X at once set about realising, within certain limits, his own proposal of 1880, by prescribing a uniform Catechism - the Compendium of Christian Doctrine - for use in the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Rome, at the same time indicating that it was his earnest desire to have the same manual adopted all over Italy. The text selected was, with slight modifications, that which had been adopted for some years by the united hierarchy of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia, and Tuscany.

Originally published in 1913, these hymns are just as valuable today for traditional Catholics.

To describe the Spirit of an Order is a task of no little difficulty: it is to explain that which is neither palpable, tangible, nor visible; it is to picture the unseen. No one but a member of an Order can understand, much less reveal to others, the Order's Spirit; it presupposes not book-learning but practical life-study, it is a .. drawing from life." "What man knoweth the things of a man but the spirit of a man that is in him?" The late Archbishop Ullathome was accustomed to say that "to understand is to stand wIder." To Wlderstand the spirit of a life one must stand or live under it. To explain that spirit to an outsider, it must be embodied in the life of the Founder or in the lives of its most illustrious members. The daily life, the daily practices, the daily work, the daily devotions, the daily following of traditional as well as constitutional exercises, the daily association with those who have borne the yoke from their youth and have grown old in the service-these alone can reveal what we mean by the spirit of an Order, these alone can make known to us the inner self of a religious life. The writer of the following pages, having herself imbibed the spirit of the Dominican Order in her Dominican home, saw the wisdom of embodying its spirit in the living instances of some of its sainted members. From her graceful and prolific pen we have the Dominican spirit revealed in the Life of the Founder of the Order; then she manifests that spirit in his best known and most illustrious daughter, the seraph Saint of Siena; now she shows us the likeness of the Father and the reflection of his spirit in many others, his spiritual children. The title of the present work suggests its scope and object: "The Spirit of the Dominican Order illustrated in the Lives of its Saints." The spirit is explained not so much in words as by the more emphatic teaching of example. The book is an object lesson in Dominican life. It is a Dominican gallery containing pictures familiar and pictures new. It is a mirror reflecting Dominican ways; a photograph portraying the lines, the lineaments, the expression of the Dominican face; a phonograph reproducing Dominican words and sayings coming from the abundance of the Dominican heart and therefore revealing the Dominican spirit. Every Order has its own peculiar spirit, different in some degree at least from the spirit of every other Order, hence its raison d' etre. If all were alike one would suffice for the different characters of men and the varying needs of Christian society. All are not alike, they agree in the first broad principles of religious life; in all else they agree too-but they agree to differ-to differ that is in their mode of carrying out these principles among men. As flower differs from flower, and leaf from leaf, and as every man has his own identity, so with Orders; yet all work with the same great aim.