The Purgatorian Manual... and Read Me or Rue It

The Purgatorian Manual is a little handbook measuring only 3.75" x 5.75" and less than 3/4 inch thick, yet it contains over 300 pages.

Printed on inexpensive paper with a beautiful full colour cover, this book contains every prayer, meditation, novena, and Mass for the Holy Souls that you could imagine.

It is a treasure for those who love the Holy Souls.

Read Me or Rue It... How To Avoid Purgatory is a stirring little book by Father Paul O'Sullivan, O.P., explaining why we are obliged to intercede for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and the benefits of doing so.

This excellent little book is unfortunately no longer in print, and we only have a limited stock left.

Mary In Her Scapular Promise

From the Preface by Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen: 

"Mr. [John] Haffert has in a masterly way laid bare the solid foundations upon which this [Brown Scapular] devotion reposes. His case is so strikingly presented that to challenge this devotion is to challenge to some extent, the tradition and authority of the Church".

The Scapular Promise of Our Lady is: "Whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire". Pope Pius IX said, "this extraordinary gift of the Scapular brings its great usefulness not only to the Carmelite Family of Mary but also to all the rest of the faithful who wish, affiliated to that Family, to follow Mary with a very special devotion".

The book contains 15 chapters, including, The Origin of the Promise, Meaning of the Promise, Historicity of the Promise, How the Promise is Kept, Scapular Prayer and Communication of Benefits, and much more.

This is the most complete book on the subject we have seen. It gives many examples of the powerful protection one gets from the Scapular and that protection is in great need today.

Originally printed in 1940.

2015 Devotional Calendar - British and Irish Shrines

Some supplies of a worthy 2015 devotional calendar - Traditional Shrines of the British Isles & Ireland - have just arrived.

Produced to raise funds for St. Michael's School in Burghclere - which is situated just a few miles up the road from Carmel Books - the calendar illustrations are provided courtesy of the junior school pupils (with great artistic skill, it has to be said).

It follows the liturgical calendar of 1962 with special emphasis upon the particular saints and feast days of Britain and Ireland.

There is an edition of the calendar for the British Isles and an edition for Ireland. The two editions are identical apart from a change in emphasis on some of the featured saints' feasts.

Stocks of these calendars are limited at Carmel Books, so first come, first served.

The Spiritual Life of Cardinal Merry del Val

In the early part of the 21st century, because of the incessant and often strident media attention to the doings and mis-doings of many highly placed Churchmen, it is good to reflect upon how much good can be accomplished for the greater glory of God and the advancement of religion by even one man of deep holiness who has been placed in a position of great authority and responsibility in the Church.

Such a man was Raphael Cardinal Merry del Val. He was born into an aristocratic family of Irish, English, and Spanish parentage in the city of London. His parents were the Marquis Raphael Merry del Val and the Countess Josephine de Zuletta. Among the family of his forebears was a martyr of the Church, St. Domenguito del Val, a child of barely seven who was crucified to a wall in the Cathedral of Saragossa in 1250 by enemies of Christianity.

He is of course best known as the architect and executor of St. Pius X’s war against Modernism, in which great service to God he acquired numerous enemies in his lifetime, and for which we can be sure that he gained many friends in Heaven. But his life was not one of merely temporal greatness. He was a profoundly humble and virtuous man as well.

Saint Pius X had right by his side, as Secretary of State, a man who was eminently worth of his holy pontificate, as this biography of Cardinal Merry del Val by Reverend Jerome DalGal easily proves.

In 1931, a year after the death of this illustrious Cardinal, the famous French scholar René Bazin made the following observation: "Judgment was passed in many different ways on Cardinal Merry del Val while he was living. This was due largely to the part he played in the political and religious affairs of his time. But now that he is dead people are getting to know him better, for with death has come the unveiling of the well-guarded secret of his extraordinary spiritual life".

Social Wellsprings

Few Catholics truly understand the Social Doctrines of the Catholic Church. This may be in part because many of the best papal teachings on this subject have either been ignored or not widely read.

Father Joseph Husslein, S.J., tried very hard to remedy this situation with the publication of two books in 1940 dedicated to solving this problem. He gathered together all of the encyclicals by two popes, Leo XIII and Pius XI, who wrote much on the topic and made certain that the English translations were well organized, accurate, easily understandable and readable in translation.

He also made many notes that are helpful to the reader. The service he performed is treasured by all students of the Church's Social Doctrine and these two books, so long out of print, are now available again exactly as they were originally published.

If you have not read many of the encyclicals that were published before the Kantian and existentialist modernising of encyclical writing that took place after the Second Vatican Council you are in for a real treat! The brevity and clarity of the language will surprise you. Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI are no phenomenological exegetes. They speak the way one would expect a Vicar of Christ to speak, in clear, unambiguous, and manly language that is full of charity, pious unction and truth.

No one who reads these most important social encyclicals will come away confused. Be warned however; their brevity is deceptive. They are overflowing with profound insights and exhortations, therefore, small doses properly savored and meditated upon is the best way to imbibe the true wisdom and sound doctrine found within these two volumes.

Christ the King

As far as we know the DVD of High Mass for the Feast of Christ the King, celebrated on Sunday 28th October, 1990, at the Church of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet, in Paris, is the last public recording of the saintly Archbishop Lefebvre celebrating the Holy Sacrifice before he went to his eternal reward.

Disc 1 ends with the Archbishop's sermon - with English subtitles.

Disc 2 contains the addition of six photo galleries.

DVD - 2 discs, 1 hour and 35 minutes.

The War in La Vendée and the Little Chouannerie

Few histories grip the heart and stir the soul like tales of faithful Catholics rising up in arms to throw off the tyranny of anti-Catholic oppressors.

Such is the story of The War in La Vendee and such is the courage of youth displayed by the teenage scholars of Vannes in the tale of the Little Chouannerie.

The satanic explosion of hatred of Christ, of His Church, and of what remained decent in decaying Catholic France - an explosion known to history as The French Revolution - was valiantly opposed in the west of France by a peasant army in both Brittany and in La Vendee.

George J. Hill, M.A., tells their story.

A drama telling the tale of The War of The Vendee is also available on DVD.

This film is a multi-award-winning historical drama telling the story of the rising of the Vendean Martyrs against the military forces of the French Revolution.

In 1793, after enduring three and a half years of mounting persecution of the Church by the architects of the French Revolution, a small band of faithful peasants and nobles began a Catholic counter-revolution.

This is the largely unknown story of the valiant, six year struggle of the people of a small section of western France, to restore their Holy Religion and their King to the throne. Steeped in the influence of St. Louis de Montfort, and wearing their rosaries and emblems of the Sacred Heart, their sacrifices resulted in countless souls winning their martyrdom to Heaven.

Full Colour. Dolby Audio. 90 minutes

Distributism For Dorothy

"Distributism is not an economic means or a method, rather, the term is meant to be a description or a measurement of a state of affairs in human society.

The term 'Distributism' was coined in order to facilitate an assessment of whether or not any sort of economic system is working according to Catholic morality. If real property and the means of production are widely owned (distributed) among the population and the majority of men are economically independent and are not dependent upon either the State, large Capitalist concerns, a minimum wage, or other men for their daily bread and the means of providing the necessities of life for themselves and their families, then, you have Distributism.

In short, Distributism is a way of life based upon the Gospels and the principles of morality. It is so much more than a mere economic system.

Distributism is not something that is to be enacted by any State or political entity, although they can and must do what is possible to facilitate its accomplishment. Distributism is a way of living and this way of living must be protected and nourished by society and its organs, i.e. families, societies, and governments. The responsibility therefore lies primarily with families to begin to live the distributist way of life. Distributism is the living out of the Gospel in our daily lives and it will bring in its wake, peace, joy, and true freedom such as can be found only among the subjects of Christ the King.

Father Lawrence Smith explains it all so well in Distributism for Dorothy: The Economy of Salvation and Other Exhortations to Dethrone the Great God Mammon".

St. Ursula

"A number of Christian families had entrusted the education of their children to the care of the pious Ursula, and some persons of the world had in like manner placed themselves under her direction.

England being then harassed by the Saxons, Ursula deemed that she ought, after the example of many of her compatriots, to seek an asylum in Gaul.

She met with an abiding-place on the borders of the Rhine, not far from Cologne, where she hoped to find undisturbed repose; but a horde of Huns having invaded the country, she was exposed, together with all those who were under her guardianship, to the most shameful outrages..

Without wavering, they preferred one and all to meet death rather than incur shame. Ursula herself gave the example, and was, together with her companions, cruelly massacred in the year 453. The name of St. Ursula has from remote ages been held in great honour throughout the Church; she has always been regarded as the patroness of young persons and the model of teachers".

A Letter to A Fallen-Away Catholic

Letter to A Fallen-Away Catholic is an excellent defence of the Catholic Church.

It's a terrific response to 'Evangelicals', to every non-Catholic who claims to follow Christ, and especially to all of our relatives, friends and neighbours who have stopped practicing the Catholic Faith.

Letter to A Fallen-Away Catholic answers a myriad of questions regarding salvation and challenges the liberal hardly-Catholic education and training that moderns have received. It answers with a solid, charitable and easy-to-read logic that's mixed with clear, strong, irrefutable doses of Scriptural Truth and teachings from the popes, councils and saints. It's a powerful help in restoring unity in Christ and His Catholic Church and an useful resource for settling religious disputes and difficulties with those we care about.

A Letter to My Non-Catholic Friend

Without a doubt, Letter to My Non-Catholic Friend is one of the best presentations of the Catholic Faith to non-Catholics available anywhere today.

Not only is it a terrific help in sharing the Catholic Faith with others, it contains so much important information that it's a perfect brush-up course for Catholics as well.

In simple, easy-to-understand, language this wonderful work describes the founding of the Church by Christ, the appointment of Peter as Chief Shepherd on earth, how the Church came to be called 'Catholic', the Protestant rebellion and its causes, the history and proper position of the authority of the Bible, Martin Luther's teachings and the founding of various Protestant sects, the infallibility of the Church and the times and conditions of the infallibility of the Pope, heresies in the Church, good and bad popes, and the conditions of salvation.

Why not give a copy of this book to a non-Catholic friend or relative, or maybe even one friend every month, and watch the fruit of sharing God's greatest gift to us - the Catholic Faith - grow?

Montini Canonised? .... Never!

The book, 'Paul VI…Beatified?', was the result of Father Luigi Villa answering the call of Cardinal Ruini, Vicar of the Pope for the city of Rome, who had issued an Edict, appearing in the diocesan weekly Roma Sette on 13th May, 1992, which, "invited every single faithful to communicate to us directly … any information" which, in any way, may argue against the reputation of sanctity of the said 'Servant of God'.

In writing this book. Father Villa, playing a 'Devil’s Advocate' (as was the universally acknowledged requirement in the process for beatification), based it on the critical study of thousands of pages of encyclicals, speeches, Conciliar documents, historical journals, commentaries and magazines.

Father Villa waited several years - waiting for others - that were more prominent in the Church to speak out. As all who should have spoken fell silent - Father Villa then felt the urgency to write this book that eventually, although temporarily, stopped the alleged 'beatification' of Paul VI.

Truly shocking information..... and now, after his alleged 'beatification', his so-called 'canonisation'? Only, just like the false 'beatification', possible for a counterfeit Conciliar Church.

For the Catholic Church?

Never!

St. Michael

" 'Mi-ca-el,' or 'Who is like to God?'

Such was the cry of the greatest Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as 'Michael,' the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil.

Thus he appears in Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One.

And since Christ's coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of Purgatory to the realms of holy light.

Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is St. Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool".

Sts. Cyprian and Justina

The detestable superstition of St. Cyprian's idolatrous parents devoted him from his infancy to the Devil, and
he was brought up in all the impious mysteries of idolatry, astrology and the black art. When Cyprian had learned all the extravagances of these schools of error and delusion, he hesitated at no crimes, blasphemed Christ, and committed secret murders.

There lived at Antioch a young Christian lady called Justina, of high birth and great beauty.

A pagan nobleman fell deeply in love with her, and finding her modesty inaccessible, and her resolution invincible, he applied to Cyprian for assistance. Cyprian, no less smitten with the lady, tried every secret with which he was acquainted to conquer her resolution.

Justina, perceiving herself vigorously attacked, studied to arm herself by prayer, watchfulness, and mortification against all his artifices and the power of his spells.

Cyprian, finding himself worsted by a superior power, began to consider the weakness of the infernal spirits, and resolved to quit their service and become a Christian. Agladius, who had been the first suitor to the holy virgin, was likewise converted and baptised.

The persecution of Diocletian breaking out, Cyprian and Justina were seized, and presented to the same judge. She was inhumanly scourged, and Cyprian was torn with iron hooks. After this they were both sent in iron chains to Diocletian, who commanded their heads be struck off, which sentence was executed.

Reflection - If the errors and disorders of St. Cyprian show the degeneracy of human nature corrupted by sin and enslaved to vice, his conversion displays the power of grace and virtue to repair it. Let us beg of God to send us grace to resist temptation, and to do His holy Will in all things.

St. Dominic and The Lives of the Brethren

Two newly-stocked titles at Carmel Books.

Life of Saint Dominic

The figure of Saint Dominic was one that inspired a legion of followers throughout the ages.

The Black and White habit of his Order clothed Saints Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Albert the Great and Pius V, to name but a few.

Fr. Henri Lacordaire brings to us an introduction to the life of his own spiritual father, and does so with the simplicity and erudition of a true Friar Preacher.

Fr. Henri-Dominique Lacordaire was perhaps the most well-known Dominican in France in the nineteenth century. It was he who greatly aided the restoration of the Dominican Order in a country that had destroyed all trace of it in the throes of the Revolution. he was a great preacher, but also a man of liberal ideas - a penitent sinner but an impenitent liberal as he called himself.

This biography of Saint Dominic was a tribute by the great preacher to the Father of all Friars Preachers. It is not a long tome, but rather a simple book designed to introduce the figure of Saint Dominic to the faithful of his day.

A liberal in politics, he did not allow this liberalism to destroy his faith in the great saint that was such a foe of heresy and such a lover of the Truth and the Blessed Saviour.

This book deserves to be found again by a world in which Liberalism finally decayed into Modernism and a denial of the supernatural.

Lives of the Brethren of the Order of Preachers
This book, written by Gerard de Frachet, O.P., is the earliest written history of the Dominican Order.

Much as the Fioretti described Saint Francis and the beginning of his Order, the Lives of the Brethren describes the life of Saint Dominic and the fervour of the early Dominicans.