Few would argue that the Catholic Church has been under significant spiritual attack over the past 50 years. The books in this section provide a wide variety of Catholic priests and apologist’s views of what has happened, what we face today and what we might do about it with great hope.
Recommended Books:
Saint John Paul The Great: His Five Loves, Jason Evert, Totus Tutus Press, 2014
This is just a terrific book about the life of St. John Paul II. You won’t be able to put it down. Buy it in bulk and give it to your friends.
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The Confessions (St. Augustine), Aquinas Press 2017
One of the greatest Catholic classics of all times. Augustine tells his entire life story from his early academic successes to his pursuits of knowledge of many religions to his life of freedom and ill repute to his meeting St. Ambrose and his eventual conversion. Filled with so many classic lines, most known is “my heart is restless until it rests in you”. As his mother, St. Monica traveled the world in prayerful pursuit of her son, never knowing the great plans that God had for St. Augustine. An absolute gem.
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The Guillotine and the Cross, Warren H. Carroll, Christendom Press, 1991
A concise and gripping story of the French Revolution – its heroes and villains and the heroism of the Church. 40,000 Catholics were executed just for holding fast to their faith. The persistent myths of the French Revolution—that the destruction of the old order brought unrivaled freedom and happiness for Europe—are shattered in this rousing study of the political violence and social turmoil that struck France in the late 18th century. In the midst of the terrors which unfettered Enlightenment ideology unleashed on the West, Christian hope arose anew to bring true light to one of history’s darkest hours.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness, Warren H. Carroll, Christendom Press, 2004
“Standard histories on the Age of Colonization tell a sad story of the ills inflicted on indigenous peoples by exploitative Western powers. This book offers a realistic corrective. The Spanish conquest of the New World is shown vividly—in its fervor and exuberance, but most importantly, with its central evangelical and civilizing impulse that transformed the Americas from savagery into a central part of Christendom.” An incredible and fascinating story of bravery and rescue blessed by Our Lady in 1531.
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Kolbe, Saint of the Immaculata, Franciscans of the Immaculate, 2001
There are many great books about St. Maximilian Kolbe but this one features our spiritual director, Fr. James McCurry who wrote some of the key chapters. “The most in-depth book yet on the life and work of the great modern martyr of charity and Marian Saint, Maximilian Kolbe, whom Pope John Paul II called "The Saint of our difficult century". Over ten authors, including foremost Mariologists Fr. Peter Fehler, Fr. James McCurry, Fr. Jerzy Domanski, and Mark Miravalle have contributed insightful and inspiring chapters that plumb the depths of Kolbe's multi-faceted life, holiness and profound Marian spirituality.”
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Carlo Acutis: The first Millennial Saint, Nicola Gori, Our Sunday Visitor, 2021
Carlo is now the “patron saint” of the Malvern Retreat House where his US Shrine is hosted.. He will shepherd many young people to their eternal salvation. Carlo Acutis, born May 3, 1991, fully embraced the gift of life. Known as a computer whiz, he also liked to play soccer, video games, and the saxophone. Yet Carlo was a little “different” at school, in the pizzerias, and on the soccer field. What set Carlo apart was his constant pursuit of holiness. In addition to his fun hobbies, he spent time teaching catechism classes and serving in soup kitchens. Carlo loved to attend daily Mass and frequent Eucharistic adoration. The Word of God and the Eucharist were the center of his life. Carlo died from a sudden and violent illness in 2006 at the age of fifteen. In less than a decade, his story spread across Italy and around the world.
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St. Margaret Clitherow, Margaret Monro, Tan Books, 2009
Her husband said she was the best and most Catholic wife in all England, but she invited Catholic priests into her home to say Mass. For this, she was executed in a barbaric manner by Elizabeth I. A fascinating story of a heroic wife, mother and martyr! There are so many great books about the English martyrs put to death by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, but only two or three of the martyrs were women. Find out why Margaret was one of them in this short biography. You’ll never forget it
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39 New Saints You Should Know, Brian O’Neel, Servant Books, 2023
A great collection of short stories of the saints written by one of our Knights of the Immaculata. Pope John Paul II canonized or beatified such a staggering number of people―well over fifteen hundred―that many of them remain as obscure after receiving their new title as they were before. If you have never heard of Bartolo Longo, the former satanic priest, you are not alone. And what about Enrico Rebuschini, who battled depression? Or the happily married Luigi and Maria Beltrame-Quattrocchi? In lively detail, Brian O'Neel tells the stories of these and more, a number of who are our near-contemporaries and coped with such horrors as Nazism (Jakob Gapp, Maria Restituta Kafka), slavery (Josephine Bakhita) or the Spanish Civil War (Vincente David Vilar)
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