Posts

Showing posts with the label books

Beautiful Libraries

Image
Thanks to @Londiniensis on Twitter for this wonderful link to the Curious Expeditions blog: Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries.

The photo above shows the Biblioteca Geral at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. They have included the old reading room of the British Library and the Duke Humfrey’s Library, at the Bodleian (Oxford University) though they missed the Radcliffe Camera which is another world-class venue for falling asleep after a good lunch - and reading scholarly books, of course. I only have a photo of the outside. (This reminds me to add some more Oxford photos to Flickr...)

Read more

Attacco a Ratzinger

Image
Two respected Vaticanisti, Paolo Rodari and Andrea Tornielli, have written a book analysing the various occasions during Pope Benedict's papacy when he has been subjected to fierce attack in the media: Attacco a Ratzinger: Accuse e scandali, profezie e complotti ("Attack on Ratzinger: Accusations and Scandals, Prophecies and Plots").

There is a lengthy review (in Italian) by Massimo Introvigne: I tre nemici del Papa (The three enemies of the Pope). I was reading this when a tweet came up with a link to an even longer review by John Allen: 'Attack on Ratzinger': Italian book assesses Benedict's papacy.

In addition to the main lines of the various stories which most Catholic blog readers will be familiar with, Attacco a Ratzinger has much material that has hitherto not been published. This is a valuable contribution since, as we know, the Italian Vaticanisti have proved time and again that they do have access to reliable inside information. John Allen quotes a …
Read more

Comic book of St Augustine's Confessions

Image
A few years ago, a young man from Tolentino, Fabrizio Cotogno, wrote a comic book version of the life of St Augustine as recounted in the Confessions. See: Agostino l'uomo. Click on "pagine" to see the pages. It would be good to see this in English (with perhaps a couple of alterations to one or two pictures...)
Read more

Fatherless - an important pro-life novel

Image
A priest friend has written to let me know of the book Fatherless, One More Soul by Brian J. Gail. A novel set in 1980s Philadelphia, it portrays the spiritual battles fought by Catholics within the Church, focussing on a priest who is led to conversion particularly through understanding the teaching of the Church on the transmission of human life.

Unfortunately, the book us currently only available on the UK Amazon site as a Kindle ebook. It can be purchased from the US Amazon site as a paperback.
Read more

Good First Communion book republished

Image
It was sad to hear that Family Publication had to cease trading. A resourceful priest bought up the copyright to several of their titles so as to facilitate republication. One important title is Dora Nash's "Jesus Comes to Me" which I mentioned when it was first published. Since many parishes use the book for their First Holy Communion course, it has been a cause of anxiety for some priests and catechists that it might now be out of print.

I am therefore happy to report that St Pauls are now publishing the book and it is available from them at £6.95.
Read more

Gherardini's book available from Carmel Books

Image
Fr Hunwicke, Rorate Caeli and many other blogs commented in April on the book The book entitled "The Ecumencial Vatican Council II - A much needed discussion" by Mgr Brunero Gherardini, a Canon of St Peter's in Rome, which is available in English translation. In England it is available at £14.25 from from

Carmel Books
45 Base Point
Yeoford Way
Exeter
EX2 8LB

email: enquiries@carmel-books.co.uk
Tel: 01392 824255

Carmel Books is a small supplier of good Catholic books; it would be worth having a copy of their catalogue.
Read more

New translation of Ignatius and Polycarp

Image
St Ignatius of Antioch was martyred at Rome under the Emperor Trajan. His letters were therefore written between 98 and 117 AD. (If Eusebius was correct, he was martyred in 108 AD.) St Polycarp was martyred around 156 AD: as a boy, he knew St John, and in later life, he was an influence on St Irenaeus. Consequently these two Fathers form a most important witness to the faith and life of the Church in the immediate post-apostolic period.

Kenneth J Howell, Director and Senior Fellow of the St John Institute of Catholic Thought, has made a fresh translation of the letters of St Ignatius and Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians, together with the later work The Martyrdom of Polycarp. A sensible and helpful note on the translation explains his interaction with existing translations and the occasional differences of interpretation.

Throughout the text, there are notes on both the language and the interpretation, making this a most useful text for the student. Also of great value are the…
Read more

Book: Catholic Priest, Image of Christ

Image
Gracewing, together with a number of other European publishers, is marking the Year of the Priest with a number of titles. On Saturday 13 February at St Wilfrid's Hall (London Oratory) the most prestigious of these will be launched: Catholic Priest, Image of Christ. Through Fifteen Centuries of Art. The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest collaborated in the book, and Mgr Wach, the Founder and Prior General, will celebrate Mass in the Little Oratory before the book launch, at 11.30am

Here is the publisher's information about the book:
The editor of The Catholic Priest, Image of Christ, Steen Heidemann presents 560 images of the priesthood, from masterpieces of art across fifteen centuries, which vividly illustrate the vocation, call to sanctity, apostolic work, spirituality and liturgical activity of priests. Accompanying the illustrations are profound expositions of the priestly life from major figures of the Church: His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Antonio …
Read more

Book: Reflections of Pope Benedict XVI on the Eucharist

Image
"Behold the Lamb of God" is a collection of extracts from the speeches and writings of Pope Benedict on the Eucharist, selected by Fr Gerard Skinner. Most of the extracts are about three or four pages long.

Back in the day, most people had to wait several weeks for the text of papal speeches. Enthusiasts would subscribe to the weekly English edition of L'Osservatore Romano and be ahead of the game. Now, if you are keen, you can go to the Vatican News service at about 11am and keep hitting the refresh button. Keen bloggers and readers might think that a book of extracts is not necessary for them because they saw it all when it first came out, we might assume that such a collection is really only for people who do not have access to the internet.

I'm not so sure. Many of us try to take in impossibly vast amounts of information and end up reading a lot but in a superficial way. Some of what we read would reward closer and more careful attention. "Behold the Lamb of…
Read more

"The English Vicars Apostolic"

Image
Shortly before Christmas, I received the splendid new book from Family Publications: "The English vicars Apostolic 1688-1850" by Fathers Nicholas Schofield and Gerard Skinner. The book gives short biographies of each of the Vicars Apostolic, arranged chronologically within each district.

A Vicar Apostolic is in bishop's orders but exercises his authority in the name of the Pope, rather than in his own name as bishop of a diocese. In the excellent introduction to the book, Fr Nicholas Schofield quotes Ronald Knox who described the English vicars as:
"emissaries from Rome, personally responsible to the Holy See - as if this island had been some newly discovered territory in the Pacific, whose inhabitants were mere beginners in the faith."
The most outstanding of the Vicars Apostolic was the saintly Richard Challoner, though there is also an increasing knowledge of Bishop Giffard. The period was marked by controversy, especially dissension between the secular clergy…
Read more

Catena Aurea from Baronius Press

Image
Baronius Press have published a newly typeset edition in four volumes of St Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea, as translated into English by the Venerable John Henry Newman. I was very excited to receive a copy of this recently.

"Catena Aurea" means "golden chain" and the work consists of a running commentary on the four gospels, taken from the Fathers of the Church. It thus provides a sure guide to the spiritual sense of the gospels and the apostolic tradition in relation to their interpretation.

The intrinsic quality of the work is remarkable: the theological genius of St Thomas Aquinas is applied to the selection of quotations from the Fathers, and summaries of their teaching. He was commissioned to compile the commentary by Pope Urban IV. There could scarcely be a better translator than Newman, a highly competent classicist in his own right, and a master of the use of the English language.

In his preface to the 1841 edition, Newman wrote:[...] it is impossible to r…
Read more

2006 CIEL papers

Image
Thanks to Shawn Tribe on NLM for news of the publication of the papers given at the 2006 CIEL Colloquium at Oxford. I was only able to get to part of the conference but heard the papers given by Claude Barthe and Alcuin Reid (both excellent). I look forward to reading the other papers. Fr Uwe Michael Lang's work on the origins and early development of Latin as a liturgical language is particularly important as it tackles the widespread misconception that the Latin of the Roman Liturgy was introduced as "the vernacular".

The volume is called "The Genius of the Roman Rite: Historical, Theological and Pastoral Perspectives on Catholic Liturgy" and the editor is Fr Uwe Michael Lang. It is published by Liturgy Training Publications and available in the UK from Gracewing, priced £17.99
Read more

Book launch for "English Catholic Heroines"

The book launch for "English Catholic Heroines" the other evening was a great opportunity to catch up with some friends, as well as being a well-deserved promotion for the new book which consists of 22 short lives of women who can certainly qualify as Catholic, and can reasonably be listed as both heroines and English (the introduction discusses the criteria.)

I have been reading some of the chapters, including a very good piece by Fr Anthony Conlon on Queen Mary Tudor, and an outstanding opening chapter by Sr Etheldreda Hession OSB on Sts Hilda and Etheldreda.

Many of the contributors are "linkable" so here are some examples. The Editor is Auntie Joanna (who also wrote the chapters on Caroline Chisolm and Elinor Brent-Dyer.) Other contributors include Fiorella Nash (Elizabeth Cellier), Mac McLernon (St Anne Line), Simon Caldwell (M Riccarda Hambrough) of the Catholic Herald, Leonie Caldecott (Caryll Houselander) of Second Spring, Dora Nash (Frences Wootten), author …
Read more

APGL day: moral philosophy, SRE and a new book

Image
Today's conference for the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life was quite a full day with a good number of priests taking part. Our principal speaker was Professor Thomas Pink from King's College London who gave a lecture on Morality and Human Nature in which he examined different meanings of freedom and showed how the metaphysical understanding of free will was fundamental to the freedom we expect to be guaranteed by law, and freedom as a condition. He also explained how the refusal to accept such metaphysical freedom made talk of human rights and freedom in society utterly incoherent. As he pointed out, you cannot defend someone's freedom to act in a certain way if you do not accept that they have the capacity to determine how they act.

Before lunch, there was a brief presentation of the new programme "This is my Body" for sex and relationships education prepared jointly by SPUC and Lancaster Diocese. The programme follows the teaching of The Truth and …
Read more

New book - "Praying the Mass. The Prayers of the People"

Image
"Praying the Mass. The Prayers of the People", by Jeffrey Pinyan, is a guide to the new English translation of the Mass. There further information about the book at the blog: Praying the Mass. Jeff has very kindly mentioned Fr Zuhlsdorf and myself in the acknowledgements and I have followed the progress of the book for some time in its preparation.

The book goes through all the texts that are spoken by the people during the newer form of the Mass. (A second book is planned on the prayers of the priest.) The texts are given in Latin and in the new ICEL version with a catechetical commentary that is deeply versed in the sacred scriptures. The introductory chapter includes a refreshingly sound and balanced understanding of participation in the Sacred Liturgy and the whole book could justifiably be regarded as a significant contribution to the genuine renewal of the Liturgy promoted by Pope Benedict.

"Praying the Mass" is a valuable guide for Catholics who want to unders…
Read more

"The Cross and the Third Reich" - new book

Image
Family Publications have come up with yet another first-rate book. "The Cross and the Third Reich" by John Frain looks at the opposition to Nazism from Catholics and other Christians. The focus of the book is principally on Catholic opposition (which was in fact stronger) but he does not ignore the heroic Christians of other Churches who stood up for the truth.

Frain includes a detailed examination of the Concordat, of Mit Brennender Sorge, the currency" and "immorality" trials staged by the Nazis and the propaganda campaign which used them in an attempt to discredit the Church.

There is a rich chapter on individual opposition to Nazism, looking at figures such as Edith Stein and Cardinal Clemens von Galen, as well as those who are less well-known: Alfred Delp SJ, and key protestants who opposed the regime's injustices.

One of the important sources for the book is "The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the Third Reich - Facts and Documents" publ…
Read more

"Beauty for Truth's Sake"

Image
Stratford Caldecott has excelled himself in his latest book "Beauty for Truth's Sake. On the Re-enchantment of Education." (Brazos Press, Michigan) It is quite concise at 156 pages but ambitious in attempting to sketch out a manifesto for overcoming the fragmentary and fractured nature of modern education, split up into disciplines or subjects from which people choose - according to their enthusiasm, or a passing whim very often.

Caldecott invites us to return to the wisdom of the ancients but takes us further than the customary terminus a quo, pointing out that "before Socrates there was Pythagoras." Since the fragmentation of education is a denial of ultimate meaning, we need to be "re-enchanted" by having our eyes opened to the meaning and beauty of the cosmos. We have gained great power over created things but we have lost our confidence in the ability of the human mind to know the truth and to understand what it is that we control.

The chapter &quo…
Read more

Iconoclasm at Parkminster

Image
Not that the holy monks and hermits are smashing statues or anything: today in my theology class, we discussed iconoclasm and the second council of Nicea among other things such as the devotion to the Sacred Heart as and application of the doctrine of the hypostatic union, and Christ possessing the beatific vision.

Above is a picture from the Long Walk in 2006, with the Novice Master leading the way. I learnt today that the Long Walk is distinct from another long walk, the Prior's Walk, which takes place during August. With their solidly healthy diet, regular rule of life and substantial complement of manual labour in each day, the monks remain very fit well on into old age and the walk would be a challenge to many younger men.

I am currently reading Stratford Caldecott's new book Beauty for Truth's Sake: On the Re-enchantment of Education which has just been published by Brazos Press. I have been very impressed by the book and recommended it to the Novice Master for the stu…
Read more

Would Jesus go to Stringfellows?

Image
Stringfellows is a well-known London strip club ... sorry, did I say that? I meant "high-class entertainment venue" which, in addition to "a mouth watering range of dishes from our A La Carte menu", offers:Hundreds of beautiful Angels - fully nude, dancing alongside your table, and at the various stages dotted around the club.Actually, I just checked the mouth watering range of dishes - the range of main courses under "meat" is: Lamb, rib-eye steak, sirloin steak, fillet steak, butterfly steak or ribeye steak with lobster (that's for if yer goin' real posh.)

Now you might perfectly well ask why I should be writing about a strip club. Primarily it is in order to answer the assertion of Fr David Gilmore, Anglican priest in Soho who recently got up on stage "(next to the "pole") and told the punters:"if Jesus was alive today he would be at Stingfellows bar having a drink and chatting to the girls"It all sounds like a vintage s…
Read more

"The Shack"

Image
The Shack is a novel written by William P Young. It got to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list by word of mouth and buzz on the internet among evangelical Christians. (Wikipedia article about the book.)

There doesn't seem to be much Catholic comment on this book yet (I'd be grateful for any links) but there is a helpful review by Julie D. at Catholic Media Reviews. Here is her brief summary of the plot:Essentially, The Shack is the story of a family that has suffered the tragedy of having their six-year-old daughter kidnapped and murdered by a serial killer. They are suffering from all the reactions one can imagine, from intense sadness and guilt to extreme anger with God for allowing this to happen. Mack, the father, finds a mysterious card in the mailbox one day. It appears to be from God and invites him to come to the shack where the last evidence was found of his daughter, a blood-stained dress. When Mack gets there he encounters the Trinity in a Narnia-style adv…
Read more

Popular posts from this blog

Overcoming temptations with Christ

Image
The temptations of Our Lord by the devil in the wilderness are contemptible. The devil fails to understand who Christ is, and appeals to greed and pride. It is ludicrous for the devil to ask Our Lord to worship him, because Our Lord is truly God. It is stupid to offer Christ all the kingdoms of the world – Christ is the creator of the universe. Even His human nature, being sinless, is not vulnerable to temptations to greed and pride.

However the devil returns later “at the appointed time” to torment Our Lord with the weight of all the sins of the human race. This is at the time of the passion of Christ, beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In His infinite love for us, Christ is overwhelmed by the disaster of evil as it has afflicted his beloved children. The anguish of this is even greater than the physical torture of the passion. St Luke tells us that Our Lord sweated blood, a graphic detail which shows the psychological and spiritual agony to which He was subjected. We sometimes …
Read more

Bishop Budd on Summorum Pontificum

Fr Z has text and comments on the statement issued by Bishop Christopher Budd of the Plymouth Diocese.

I agree with Fr Z's comments and would add that Bishop Budd is a fair-minded man. I liked the last part of his statement:May I urge you to celebrate the present liturgy (the ordinary rite) of all the sacraments of the Church ‘attente et devote’. The quality of the parish celebration of the renewed liturgy is an important context for the permitted use of the rite now designated `Extraordinary’.The use of the older form of the rite should help and encourage priests in the proper celebration of the newer form. In fact, as Dr Hemming pointed out at the Merton Conference, the older form provides a necessary anchor for the newer form.
Read more

Linacre Ethics Forum on post-abortion syndrome

Image
The Linacre Ethics Forum offers chance for junior healthcare professionals and students to explore and discuss Catholic healthcare ethics. Each month a senior practitioner or other expert is invited to give a 30 minute presentation, followed by discussion. The aim will be to understand the Church’s teaching, and explore ways in which we can present it sympathetically to patients, colleagues and managers. Medics, nurses, pharmacists etc. are all welcome.

This Tuesday (3 March) Dr Pravin Thevathasan will be talking on Post Abortion Syndrome. Tea and coffee are available at 6.30pm for a prompt 7pm start. The Forum meets at Vaughan House, Francis Street, SW1P 1QN (behind Westminster Cathedral, near Victoria tube station). For those who are interested, there is Mass at Westminster Cathedral at 5.30pm, before the talk

For more information please email Stephen Barrie.
Read more

Bournemouth Oratory Appeal

Image
Over the past year, during the time that I have been recovering from illness, the Bournemouth Oratory-in-Formation has generously welcomed me to celebrate Mass in the beautiful Church of the Sacred Heart every day, and have become good friends in what is sometimes an isolated existence while I wait for accommodation in my own Archdiocese. They have recently launched an appeal which I am keen to pass on to you in case you may be able to help.

Bishop Philip Egan, a sound and courageous Bishop, has encouraged the Oratory, not only by giving them the Sacred Heart Church as a permanent home, but in supporting them in an ambitious plan to develop their work and become:
A powerhouse of prayerA focus for formation in the faithA hub for the community in the heart of Bournemouth The Community has increased the availability of daily Mass and provides regular daily times for confession, twice-weekly times for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, as well as “Oratory”, the twice daily time of silent…
Read more

How to make an act of perfect contrition

Image
How can you go from imperfect to perfect contrition? Gabriella D from Australia asked me this on Twitter today and I want to give an answer because I think that many people misunderstand what we mean when we talk about “perfect contrition.”

Perfect contrition is sorrow and detestation of sin arising out of the love of God. One way of exciting this contrition in our hearts is by considering the passion of Jesus Christ and making acts of love for Him. We can also think of the infinite love which God has for us, and express sorrow in our heart in the presence of this great love which we have offended.

Imperfect contrition is sorrow and detestation for sin arising from a consideration of the ugliness of sin or out of the fear of hell. Disgust at the ugliness of sin is more common today than fear of hell. That is because we do not preach enough, or with sufficient conviction about the four last things.

If a person commits an act of impurity, for example, perhaps by deliberately looking at a…
Read more