Incredible List of Catholic Books....Many Classical Spiritual Books

Check out the complete over at Vivificat.

Mahalo Teófilo de Jesús

H/T to Patrick Madrid

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis - Guido Reni

He is one of our beloved and popular saints! In honor of his feast day, I recommend reading The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi. It can be found online at EWTN Library.

I remember reading this little treasure in my late teens. I had a deep impact on me. I still remember with fondness, the time I read that book.

Christ in the Home

The complete book by Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J. can be found at the EWTN library

A HOME ruled by the spirit of Christ is a happy home. It is also a school of virtue directed to spiritual transformation in Christ.

But Christ does not force His entry into a home. He enters only by invitation. He remains only when evidently welcome.

It is the wise bride and groom who let Him know by their spiritual preparation for marriage that they want Him to accompany them from the altar of their vows into the home they are about to establish. It is the wise husband and wife who let Him know they want Him always present by striving to put on His mind and to establish their family according to
His principles.

In such a home, husband and wife and children will enjoy gladness of heart, happiness in the fulfillment of duty, and intense union of souls.

The strength and honor of the family come above all from within, from union with Christ which gives power to manifest in daily living the beautiful family virtues of patience, energy, generosity, forbearance, cheerfulness, and mutual reverence with their consequent effect of peace and contentment.

This book is an invitation to the married or those about to marry, to spend the interior effort required to unite them solidly in Christ and to make them worthy transmitters of the Christ-life to their family. It is an invitation to fulfill the high purpose of their marriage which is to help each other to
sanctity and to rear saints for heaven; to possess Christ themselves as completely as possible and to give Christ to their children.

Now sanctity is the result of personal cooperation with grace. It is no passive attainment. Equally true is it that spiritual truths and principles merely known but not realized are of little force in stimulating spiritual energy and effort. Consequently this book of spiritual readings makes no
attempt to present fully developed meditations. It is not to be a substitute for personal reflection and prayer. Its various topics are presented as points of departure into deeper realms of thought and prayer; by the personal following through of the ideas offered, conviction and realization will
be achieved and lives transformed. A stronger bond of communication will be established between the soul and God resulting in real prayer and not prayers said. The affections made will be the outpouring of the individual's response to God and not someone else's pre-planned expression of what
that response ought to be.

The essential thing is to talk over the subjects with God. It is important then to enter into His Presence before each reading by a reverent act of recollection; to beg His light to see the truth and His strength to act on conviction and realization. It is important to see; it is more important to will.

The points offered for prayerful consideration are not meant to carry the reader into the clouds of elevated speculation and theory but rather to direct the soul to study prayerfully the daily, common, routine elements of his life in order to lift them out of possible monotony and deadening repetition into the challenging and absorbing adventure of making them
divine.

This book in no way presumes to replace what should be for all Christians the two essential meditation books--the Gospels and the Missal. In fact, it presupposes that its readers are Christians accustomed to live in the spirit of Our Lord's life according to the rhythm of the liturgy. It endeavors to
provide variety and to bring into practical application some of the lessons hidden in the Gospels or the Missal.

Of vital importance is it, no matter what the meditation book, to draw from the little that one reads a maximum of nourishment for the soul. That is not impossible. All one need do is to beg God for His grace and to co-operate with the grace that He gives.

Such a manifestation of good will is a sincere invitation to Christ and a convincing proof that He is welcome in your life.

CHRIST WILL ENTER YOUR HOME
HE WILL REMAIN TO DWELL WITH YOU

Shared by Sue

Online Book - Handbook for Altar Guild

When I posted on caring for the Altar Linens people left comments requesting information on making altar linens. That is how I found the following online book. It is a complete handbook and should be a valued resource for parish churches, sacristans, altar servers, etc.

Handbook for Altar Guild Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi

Painting by Raphael

Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace

Based on a prayer by St. Francis

Make me a channel of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love,
Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord,
And where there's doubt, true faith in You

Make me a channel of your peace,
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness - only light,
And where there's sadness, ever joy

Oh Master, grant that I may never seek,
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of your peace,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
In giving to all men that we recieve,
And in dying that we're born to eternal life

Source: This site

Happy Feast Day to all the Friars that have been friends of our family over the years!

Recommended book which is available online:

God's Troubadour: The Story of St. Francis of Assisi by Sophie Jewett

And lest we forget our animals, Easter shared the following with our Catholic homeschooling group.

Franciscan Pet Blessing


Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures.

You inspired St. Francis to call all animals his brothers and sister

We ask you to bless this animal. By the power of your love,

enable it to live according to your plan. Amen.

Read Children's Prolife Book Online

The lovely little book written by Regina Doman is now available online. Angel in the Water

I must admit that this is the first time I have read it and it made me cry. I was surprised by my reaction since it is not a sad book. Then I realized it reminded me of when my Joey was born. He didn't have a mother's loving arms to hold him. My poor baby and I would not be brought together until 5 years later! But all in all, our family is grateful that his birth mother chose life for our son.

Please consider ordering this book for yourself or as a gift. You in turn will be helping out Sophia Institute Press known for their quality Catholic books.

Free Catholic E-Books

H/T to Un-Muted Mumblings, a new blog I found today.

CLICK HERE for a great collection of Catholic works. You'd be surprised at what you can find there. I know I was. I will be permanently posting their link on my sidebar.

For You St. Therese "Fans" - Free Online Book

Every day, I try to read my favorite blogs. Sometimes, I don't have time to read or visit their blogs as thoroughly as I'd like to. That happened with one blog in particular. Well, yesterday, I took my time visiting Margaret Mary Myers's Blog and I am sure glad I did. I never noticed that she wrote the sweetest little book on St. Therese the Little Flower. And, better still, she is kind enough to offer it free in pdf form.

It has a question and answer format which is perfect for the little ones in the family to learn more about this very popular young saint.

CLICK HERE

BTW, while you are there, check out the other book written by Margaret Mary, Chats with God's Little Ones. It looks like a must-read for Catholic children.

Mahalo nui loa Margaret Mary!