See the legally free and online ebooks and other resources in aid of the observance of Great Lent that have been indexeded on following posts on the Project:
A partial list of websites that live-stream or upload videos of the Holy Mass or Holy Qurbono/Qurbana or Divine Liturgy, alphabetically grouped under the several Rites the one true Church;
Suggestions on other means of accessing Holy Mass online; and
Resources on exceptional means of observing the Sunday obligation.
This index of resources is offered for the benefit of the faithful who live in areas where authorities have suspended public celebration of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass due to the current pandemic, or who have themselves been quarantined, or who are otherwise unable to hear Holy Mass in person for just and grave reasons. Continue reading →
Select Treatises of St. Athanasius in Controversy with the Arians, 7th edition, freely translated, with an appendix [of annotations], by John Henry Cardinal Newman (London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green and Co., 1897). In 2 volumes.
Volume I, containing the translated treatises, may be read online, and is available in pdf, epub, mobi and other formats, is available at Internet Archive and Internet Archive (2nd copy).
Volume II, which contains “Annotations on Theological Subjects in the foregoing Treatises” is available at Internet Archive.
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, oh Lord, Thy grace into our hearts that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Your Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
“[T]he Angel Gabriel was sent from God… [t]o a virgin… and the name of the virgin was Mary. And the Angel… said to her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women… Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name, Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High… The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God… And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (St. Luke i, 26, 27, 28, 31-32, 35, 38, formatting supplied)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (St. John i, 1-3, 14, 16-18)
“Christ Jesus… being in the form of God, thought it not robbery, to be himself equal to God: But debased himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in shape found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above every name: That in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians ii, 5-11)
Lenten Thoughts; Drawn from the Gospel for Each Day of Lent, by Francis Kerril Amherst, Bishop of Northampton (London: R. Washbourne, 1873). May be read online, and available in pdf, epub, and mobi formats, at Internet Archive.
[Note: The cover page identifies the author as “the Bishop of Northampton”, and the Introduction is signed by “Francis Kerril Aucherst”. However, the editors at Internet Archive think the latter to be a printing error; and we agree, as Francis Kerril Amherst was the Catholic Bishop of Northampton in 1858-1879.]
“And in this Transfiguration the foremost object was to remove the offense of the cross from the disciple’s heart, and to prevent their faith being disturbed by the humiliation of His voluntary Passion by revealing to them the excellence of His hidden dignity. But with no less foresight, the foundation was laid of the Holy Church’s hope, that the whole body of Christ might realize the character of the change which it would have to receive, and that the members might promise themselves a share in that honour which had already shone forth in their Head…
“[T]he world could not be saved, except by Christ’s death, and by the Lord’s example the faithful were called upon to believe that, although there ought not to be any doubt about the promises of happiness, yet we should understand that amidst the trials of this life we must ask for the power of endurance rather than the glory, because the joyousness of reigning cannot precede the times of suffering…
“And so while He was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him… And when this voice was heard, the disciples fell upon their faces, and were sore afraid, trembling at the majesty, not only of the Father, but also of the Son: for they now had a deeper insight into the undivided Deity of Both: and in their fear they did not separate the One from the Other, because they doubted not in their faith…
“Hear Him, Who redeems the world by His blood, Who binds the devil, and carries off his chattels, Who destroys the bond of sin, and the compact of the transgression. Hear Him, Who opens the way to heaven, and by the punishment of the cross prepares for you the steps of ascent to the Kingdom? Why do you tremble at being redeemed? Why do you fear to be healed of your wounds? Let that happen which Christ wills and I will. Cast away all fleshly fear, and arm yourselves with faithful constancy; for it is unworthy that you should fear in the Saviour’s Passion what by His good gift you shall not have to fear even at your own end…
“These things, dearly-beloved, were said not for their profit only, who heard them with their own ears, but in these three Apostles the whole Church has learned all that their eyes saw and their ears heard. Let all men’s faith then be established, according to the preaching of the most holy Gospel, and let no one be ashamed of Christ’s cross, through which the world was redeemed.
“And let not any one fear to suffer for righteousness’ sake, or doubt of the fulfilment of the promises, for this reason, that through toil we pass to rest and through death to life; since all the weakness of our humility was assumed by Him, in Whom, if we abide in the acknowledgment and love of Him, we conquer as He conquered, and receive what he promised”. (Sermon LI of Pope Saint Leo the Great)
Apostolic Succession Explained; A Short Treatise in which Certain Theological Questions of the Day are Calmly Examined and Resolved, by a Priest of the Order of Charity (London, Dublin, Derby: Thomas Richardson and Son, 1850). Available at Google Play Books.
Spiritual Direction for the Use of Religious Communities, by the author of “Golden Sands”, translated by Ms. Ella McMahon (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1884). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in pdf, epub, and mobi formats, at Internet Archive. Available in pdf format at Wikimedia Commons.
[Note: We surmise that the translator is Ella J. MacMahon (year of decease unknown) and not the novelist Eleanor MacMahon (+1956), and thus likely to be in the public domain in jurisdictions that reckon copyright period based on year of death. If this assumption is incorrect, kindly inform us immediately. On the other hand, the Wikimedia Commons page states that the ebook it is in the public domain under US law.]
See also these texts and ebooks on the ministry of spiritual direction: Continue reading →
“Marriage: Passion, Friendship & Vocation”, by Gabriel M. Walz (2015). School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects. 11. Available in pdf format at University of St. Thomas, and at CORE.
Heaven’s Recent Wonders, or, The Work of Lourdes, by Dr. Boissarie, translated by Rev. C. Van Der Donckt (Ratisbon, Rome, New York, Cincinnati: Frederick Pustet & Co., 1909). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats, at Internet Archive with a 2nd copy at Internet Archive. Also available at Google Books.
[According to the text, the author, Dr. Prosper Gustave Boissarie, served as Chief Examiner of the Sick at Lourdes]
Pope John Paul II Writings on Young People: Sourcebook, collected by Fr. Roger J. Landry, September 14, 2002. Available in pdf format on this page of Catholic Preaching.
“Toward A Theology of Fund Raising”, by Most Rev. Thomas J. Murphy, S.T.D., D.D., Archbishop of Seattle. Paper presented on September 19, 1983 in Orlando, Florida. The text is available in pdf format at The Nonprofit Alliance.
Under the title “Theology of Fund Raising”, the text forms Chapter I of Stewardship for Mission: Where Development and Finance Meet, edited by Mary McFadden SSJ (Silver Spring, MD: National Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes; Hempstead, NY: National Catholic Development Conference, 2005), which is available in pdf format at The Nonprofit Alliance.
Catholic eBooks Project 