Now available in softcover!
One of the most prolific ascetical writers of the seventeenth century, Saint John Eudes was an inexhaustible reservoir of holy wisdom and devotional fervor. Loreto Publications considers it a foremost priority to help make the spiritual doctrine of this great apostle of devotion to the Sacred and Admirable Hearts of Jesus and Mary more widely known. Perhaps no book of his better exemplifies that profoundly incarnational doctrine than The Admirable Heart of Mary. Eudes reveals to his disciples this most pure and maternal of all hearts both in its corporal and spiritual pulsations, while demonstrating with a dozen unforgettable natural and scriptural analogies, how this human heart was so inexhaustibly divinized by the one Divine Heart of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The Admirable Heart of Mary was given to us from the Cross by Jesus Christ. Truly this heart was the first-fruit of His Passion, given to all of Mary’s children, that it might be honored, cherished, invoked and, ultimately, with that of her Son, reproduced in them. This is the essence of the spirituality of Saint John Eudes.

In this age of doctrinal latitude and speculative innovation there is a pressing need for a comprehensive source book on authentic Catholic dogma that is magisterially anchored while at the same time both practical and non-voluminous. You have such a book in this English translation of Father Heinrich Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum. Since it was first published a century and a half ago, this handbook or collection (enchiridion) of articles (symbols) of faith and morals has enjoyed universal appeal and approbation since the pontificate of Blessed Pope Pius IX. The Enchiridion has been updated periodically; the edition being offered here by Loreto is that issued in 1957. The collection includes all articles and creeds of the Catholic Faith beginning with that of the twelve apostles, all dogmatic definitions stamped with the Petrine authority of the apostolic See (ex cathedra), decrees of the solemn magisterium, papal bulls, encyclicals and letters, as well as some of the more weighty decisions of the Holy Office prior to 1957. Although not every entry in this 653 page compendium of Church teaching is definitional (i.e. ex cathedra) it still should be considered the "locutus est" for every wayfaring Catholic whose patria, this side of heaven, is Roma. In addition to a general index there is a scriptural index plus an invaluable systematic or topical index making for very easy reference. Note, too, this edition comes with a one page Corrigenda which is a list of sixteen corrections that must be applied to errors (usually omissions) that escaped the eyes of editors in previous editions.

Leo Stelton has put to use his years of experience teaching Latin in compiling this concise reference book. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin includes approximately 17,000 words with the common meaning of Latin terms found in Church writings. Entries cover Scripture, Canon Law, the Liturgy, Vatican II, the early church fathers, and theological students, as well as for those seeking to improve their knowledge of Ecclesiastical Latin. An appendix also provides descriptions of ecclesiastical structures and explains technical terms from ecclesiastical law. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin has already been widely praised for its serviceability and indespensability in both academic and Church settings. Leo F. Stelten is Professor of Classical Languages at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

There is no dry theologizing in this spirited rebuttal, written in 1974, to defend the clear meaning of the thrice defined dogma: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is No Salvation). What you will read in this exposition is a hearty response, not laced with anything but the truth, as the supreme magisterium has already expounded it, concerning the visible whereabouts of the only means instituted by Jesus Christ for salvation.

For those who have enjoyed Sister Catherine’s Our Glorious Popes, this work is an equally worthy production from the pen of an historian gifted in the art of scholarly composition. Its theme is a song of gratitude to Our Savior Jesus Christ and to His Blessed Mother for so plentiful a redemption. The author exudes both her own joy in living the sacramental life within the Catholic Church, and her holy indignation over the fact that liberal Catholic clergymen in the United States were teaching that one’s personal sincerity of conscience was an acceptable substitute for the one and only means of salvation given by Christ. Sister Catherine demolishes all the ambiguous subterfuges that in her day (and far more so today) were undermining the doctrinal clarity that in centuries past left no doubt as to the whereabouts of the only way of salvation.

Composed by an Archbishop, this praiseworthy tribute to our Savior’s holy Mother was actually written the very same year that Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception. Beginning where all great works on Our Lady should, with her exalted office and dignity, the author educates the reader that he or she might see the congruity, even the necessity, of Mary’s divine prerogative in the eternal plan of redemption, and also see the Immaculata as the fulfillment of the highest possible degree of excellence God could establish in a creature, perfecting through her the crowning glory in the gradation of all being outside of God. Archbishop Ullathorne is not original, but masterful, in his explanation of Mary’s royal relationship with the angels as well as men, for she it was who gave the Incarnate God the flesh and blood by means of which all the elect achieved their salvation. A true gift of charity for a Protestant friend in search of truth!

Because Church Latin has never been in colloquial use, its standards are set in stone (or ink, if you will). It has never changed (except by the addition of new theological or canonical terms) since the Church adopted it. Many of the more gifted fathers and doctors have made use of the poetic beauty of classical Latin, but when one comes to the Latin of the Middle ages (and, pre-eminently, the Latin of Saint Thomas Aquinas), the beauty is far more prosaic; it has that angelic simplicity that comes with the clarity of ordered thought. Not that the “angelic doctor” never incorporates the genius of classical expression, for he does, but generally speaking, especially in the Summa Theologica, he avoids that.

The Summa was originally written somewhat in the line of lecture notes from which to teach his students at the university of Paris. In fact, his closest disciples edited the entire work under the saint’s direction, while finishing the uncompleted last section on the sacraments after his death. In order to understand the thought of Saint Thomas one must have a teacher who understands the thought of a Latin doctor of the thirteenth century. No one, even if he has more than a basic knowledge of Latin, can just pick up the Summa Theologica and presume that by reading the original language he will fully appreciate the mind of this doctor. No, one needs a teacher who has a command of the language’s philosophical and theological syntax and who can, not just translate the Latin text literally, but transmit the meaning of a phrase in its particular context. Even if one is a seminary student fortunate enough to have a good Latinist to help him through the Summa, one will not have that teacher at hand for more than a few semesters. To fully appreciate the thought of Saint Thomas, and utilize his wisdom throughout one’s life, one needs a ready guide that will help him understand the original text without having always to depend on someone else’s translation. That ready guide is Dr. Roy Deferrari’s twelve hundred page Lexicon of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Published in 1948, it is based on the greatest of the doctor communis’ works, the Summa Theologica, together with selected passages from other writings of the saint. There is a tremendous advantage in utilizing a lexicon for specific definitive information rather than a dictionary.

Lexicon is actually a Greek word meaning the same in its original use as our word dictionary, only it did not provide definitions for every word in the language. The term lexicon was used to describe a book that listed the meanings of words, or terms, dealing with a particular subject. For example, there are Greek and Hebrew lexicons for the bible. There are lexicons for theology, philosophy, medicine, etc. This kind of research book further distinguishes itself from a dictionary by providing examples of a word’s use in syntax, thereby demonstrating the variant uses that a word can take on in different kinds of sentences. Dr. Deferrari and his team (especially the Dominican scholars, Sister M. Inviolata and Ignatius McGuiness) took on an enormous task in compiling this monumental work for English speaking students. Every word of the Summa Theologica, as well as terms from other of the angelic doctor’s works, is analyzed. As the author says in his Foreward:

“Each word as it appears will be followed by the different English meanings with which it is used, followed in turn by some illustrations of its use in each meaning taken from the works of Saint Thomas.”

"This is an “epoch-making work,” wrote an exuberant Father Ignatius Smith, O.P., who penned the Preface to this lexicon. And, again, in an even more generous burst of enthusiasm, he added this commendation:

“In view of the emphasis placed by the Code of Canon Law [1947] on the study by seminarians of St. Thomas’ philosophy and theology in their Latin texts, this monumental work has brilliant significance.”

Loreto would also like to highlight what a worthy response this production is to Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Aeterni Patris, issued in 1880, on the “Restoration of Thomistic Philosophy.” Many seminaries and theologates are now coming to grips with the terrible effects on the unity of the Church (and its doctrine) that the abandonment of Latin has brought about. Just as the royal prophet lamented before God over the evils heaped upon him three thousand years ago, Usquequo, Domine? (How long, O Lord? — Psalm 12), faithful Catholics today keep repeating this same prayer in hope. One good sign is the fact that, though small in number, there is a vibrant new wave of serious priests and levites who want to restore the materna lingua ecclesiae. It is about time! Deo volente et Deo gratias. This lexicon is for all those who love the Summa, who love Saint Thomas, and who love the Church and her adopted tongue.

She has inspired the greatest artists, poets and composers for two-thousand years. Armies have fought under her banner, while entire cities and nations have placed themselves under her patronage and protection. Every day, she is called upon by countless men, women and children to help them in their necessities: "Hail Mary, Full of Grace." She is the Mother of Jesus Christ . . . The Mother of God.

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is, perhaps, the most instantly recognizable manifestation of the Roman Catholic Faith. Those outside the Church are hard-pressed to explain it, and they too often view Marian devotion as either a "distraction" from the adoration due to Jesus Christ, or as something "acceptable," but only to a severely limited extent. In reality, the Church's Marian heritage is an integral part of the ancient Faith, and there can be no proper understanding of the Person of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, without a proper appreciation of, and respect for, the Catholic Church's Marian teachings.

"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," wrote St. John the Evangelist of the Son of Mary, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Incarnation, as an event to hope for if one were living before Christ, and as an event to be thankful for, (for those who live after), is the proper object of the virtue of faith. And the more we know of Mary — of her person, her place in the history of salvation, and her role in the Church founded by her Divine Son — the greater will be our knowledge of Jesus, and the closer will we be our assimilation to Him.

 Drawing from the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, the writings of saints, fathers, doctors and popes, the decrees of Church Councils, and the insights of theologians, The Beauty of Thy House offers the reader an "introduction" to the Mother of God which takes nothing for granted. This verbal portrait starts "from scratch"; and, as each chapter progresses, more and more is revealed of this unique woman — Mary — as, along the way, all the Catholic doctrines concerning her fall into place.

Over the centuries, innumerable works have been written on the Blessed Virgin Mary. These writings range from the poetic to the theological, from the language of the artist to that of the philosopher. The greatest minds of the Catholic Church have always considered Mary to be an object most worthy of scrutiny and — a study that never fails to reward. This cornucopia of knowledge and contemplation was produced primarily from the overflowing love of her devotees', out of their love for an individual, for a flesh and blood woman, for the Mother of God.

Why is this so? Why such an outpouring of love and esteem for the Mother of the Redeemer? The answer to this query makes for a most edifying journey into the history of God's relationship to Man.

Herein are delineated not only the standards, but also sound advice on how to maintain them and how to achieve, for the greatest possible glory of God, the heights of efficacy and sanctity possible through the sublime office of the priesthood. Primarily directed to the priest, this incomparable series of treatises and meditations should also be profitably read by all Catholics and even those non-Catholics who are interested to discover what the Church holds and teaches regarding the priesthood. Nothing but good can come from a wide dissemination and a thorough understanding of the principles and admonitions enunciated here by one of the great French priests of the 17th century.

Whether it be due to our own over-indulgences in abusing the varied and sundry goods of this earth, our own seemingly countless transgressions against God’s commandments, or the providentially paternal designs of our Creator and first Benefactor, we will have our lot of suffering in this life. There is no escaping that. The question is how to benefit from it individually unto our everlasting glory and happiness in heaven. Suffering and death are part of our debt due to original sin. Therefore, they are necessary for our good. We must suffer and, in the end, die. But, why such a debt as this? How can its acceptance be for our good? Father Remler provides fifteen reasons why we ought to embrace our trials and tribulations, be they physical or spiritual, for the priceless opportunity that every pain provides us in our vocation to be made conformable to our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. It would be hard to find a book like Father Remler’s that so wonderfully explains the value of penance in the light of the patient and enduring acceptance of the cross. Outside of grace, the author writes, our sins cast no shadow. They are committed in the darkness in which we chose to wallow, a darkness that will drag us into the pit of hell. Stepping out of that darkness, into the light of grace, we can come back to God Who is drawing us to Him through a sincere confession. Once the guilt of our sins has been remitted, however, their effects remain.

This is the shadow that follows us through life, because only if we are in the light of faith, living in hope and charity, can we see truly the sad effects of our sins, our shadow. The higher the light of Christ is in our lives, the more directly we let it shine upon us by our embrace of suffering, the more the shadow of past transgressions is reduced. Our goal, the will of God, is that this shadow disappear altogether. In some sense this is a very practical book, for it has a foolproof game plan that, if followed well, will cut short dramatically our time of purgation in the next life. But, it is much more than that. This magnificent analysis of suffering, as to its cause, its value, and its ultimate effect (i.e., conformity to Christ, the Man of Sorrows) will give us more strength to bear not only our own cross, but to willingly share in the suffering Jesus endured for all men by accepting, as joyful victims, crosses vicariously borne for sinners within our own family, for our wayward friends, for the crimes of our nation, and for those dear to us who are languishing in Purgatory.