Online ebook: A Comparison of the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with St. Thomas Aquinas, by Thomas Petri

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online ebook:

• Locating a Spousal Meaning of the Body in the Summa Theologiae: A Comparison of a Central Idea Articulated in the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with the Mature Work of St. Thomas Aquinas (Dissertation), by Thomas Petri, S.T.D. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 2010). 452 pages. Copyright and All Rights Reserved by Thomas Petri. Available in pdf format (on this page) at the Catholic University of America University Libraries.

On the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite and of St. Agnes in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. See also our posts: “A Beginner’s Guide to Saint Thomas Aquinas” and “Free eBooks by (and about) Saint Thomas Aquinas“.

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Online ebook: “The Beauty and Truth of the Catholic Church”, volume 2, adapted and edited by the Rev. Edward Jones

See this online ebook:

• The Beauty and Truth of the Catholic Church, Volume II, sermons from the German, adapted and edited by the Rev. Edward Jones, with an Introduction by the Most Rev. John Ireland (St. Louis, London: B. Herder, 1913). With Imprimatur. Available at Internet Archive. [N.B., This volume collects sermons/discourses on the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist.]

See also these related texts and ebooks:

• Dogmatic Theology VII. Grace, Actual and Habitual: A Dogmatic Treatise, by Joseph Pohle, translated by Arthur Preuss (St. Louis, Mo.: Herder, 1919). With Imprimatur. Available in PDF, Full Text and DjVu at Internet Archive (Book contributor: University of Toronto). Another copy of the 1919 edition with Imprimatur is available in PDF, Full text, and EPUB formats at Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg (Book contributor: Project Gutenberg). [NB, These are the best PDF copies online]. Still another copy of the 1919 edition is available in mutiple formats at Open Library and Internet Archive (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: Kelly Library, University of Toronto). The 1915 edition with Imprimatur is available in various formats at Open Library and Internet Archive (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: New York Public Library).
• Dogmatic Theology VIII. The Sacraments: A Dogmatic Treatise. Volume 1. The Sacraments in General, Baptism, Confirmation, by Joseph Pohle, translated by Arthur Preuss (St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder, 1917) With Imprimatur. Available on multiple formats at Open Library and Internet Archive (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: Regis Library, University of Toronto).
• Illustrated Explanation of the Holy Sacraments: A Complete Exposition of the Sacraments and the Sacramentals of the Church, adapted from the original of Rev. Hermann Rolfus, with a reflection and practice on each sacrament, by Very Rev. Ferreol Girardey (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1898). With Imprimatur. Available in multiple formats at Internet Archive, with a second copy at Internet Archive and Open Library.
• Instruction on Infant Baptism “Pastoralis Actio”, by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by Pope St. John Paul II, October 20, 1980. May be read online at the Holy See, the EWTN Library and the Catholic Information Network.
• The King’s Highway: or, The Catholic Church the Way of Salvation as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures, 2^nd edition, by the Rev. Augustine F. Hewit, of the Congregation of St. Paul (New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1879). Available in various formats (pdf, epub, kindle/mobi, etc.) at Internet Archive; and also available at Google Books and HathiTrust Digital Library. The 3^rd edition (New York: Catholic Book Exchange, 1893) is available at Internet Archive; and it is also available (albeit with pages restricted to members) at Forgotten Books, with a second copy at Forgotten Books. The 1^st edition (New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1874) is available at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a second copy at Internet Archive; and it is also available at HathiTrust Digital Library, with another copy at HathiTrust Digital Library, as well as at Google Books.
• The Sacraments Explained According to the Teaching and Doctrine of the Catholic Church; With an Introductory Treatise on Grace, by Arthur Devine (London: R. & T. Washbourn, 1918). With Imprimatur. Available atOpen Library and Internet Archive (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: Kelly Library, University of Toronto).
• A Treatise on Baptism: also a Treatise on Confirmation, by Francis Patrick Kenrick, Archbishop of Baltimore (Baltimore: Hedian and O’Brien, 1852). May be read online, and available in various formats (pdf, mobi/kindle, epub, text, etc.), at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive and Open Library and a 3^rd copy at Internet Archive. Also available at HathiTrust and HathiTrust (2nd copy) through this page as indexed by the Online Books Page on Archbishop Kenrick.
• A Treatise on Baptism; with an Exhortation to Receive It, Translated from the Works of St. Basil the Great; to which is added, a Treatise on Confirmation, by Francis Patrick Kenrick, then Bishop of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: M. Fithian, 1843). Available at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive and Open Library, and a 3^rd copy at Internet Archive. Also available at Google Books, Google Books (2nd copy), and at HathiTrust (through this page as indexed by the Online Books Page on Archbishop Kenrick). An ebook edition of the 1843 imprint (Aeterna Press, 2015), which incorrectly attributes the authorship of the entire work to St. Basil, may also be purchased at Google Books.

Posted on the Feast of the Baptism of our divine Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Roman Rite; with prayer for the souls of the authors of the text, requiescant in pace. For other online and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“[T]herefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (St. Matthew xxviii, 19-20)

“[A] man cannot see the kingdom of God without being born anew…. [N]o man can enter into the kingdom of God unless birth comes to him from water, and from the Holy Spirit” (St. John iii, 3, 5)

“Christ shewed love to the Church when he gave himself up on its behalf. He would hallow it, purify it by bathing it in the water to which his word gave life” (Ephesians v, 25-26)

“Conversion to Christ is joined to Baptism not only because of the Church’s practice, but also by the will of Christ himself, who sent the apostles to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them… Baptism is… the sacrament which signifies and effects rebirth from the Spirit, establishes real and unbreakable bonds with the Blessed Trinity, and makes us members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church… (Pope St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio)

“[T]he Catholic Church keeps a careful balance… between recognising what is true and holy in other religions, and yet insisting on the importance of an explicit faith in Christ and membership of the Church through Baptism. Thus the promotion of dialogue has not diminished the necessity of proclaiming the Gospel and calling those who do not believe in Christ to conversion while fully respecting the liberty of each person… (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Meeting God in Friend & Stranger)

Online ebook: “A Treatise of Spiritual Life”, translated by D.A. Donovan

See this online ebook:

• A Treatise of Spiritual Life: Leading Man by an Easy and Clear Method from the Commencement of Conversion to the Very Summit of Sanctity, 2^nd revised edition,  translated from the Latin of Mgr. Charles Joseph Morrozo, by Rev. D. A. Donovan, O.Cist. (New York and Cincinnati, Fr. Pustet & Co., 1901). With Imprimatur. Available in various formats at Internet Archive and at the HathiTrust Digital Library. An earlier edition (Poplar Bluff, Mich.: published by the author, 1893) is available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive.
  • [N.B., Although the text attributes the Latin original of the work to the abbot and bishop Mgr. Charles Joseph Morrozo (Carlo Giuseppe Morozzi), HathiTrust Digital Library cites a scholar who states that the author of the work was Giovanni Bona, whom we assume to have been Giovanni Cardinal Bona.]

Posted on the Feast of Saint Angela of Foligno; with prayer for the souls of the author and translator, requiescant in pace. For other online and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

 

Free ebook: “The Creed Explained”, by Rev. Arthur Devine

See this legally free ebook:

• The Creed Explained; or, An Exposition of Catholic Doctrine According to the Creeds of Faith and the Constitutions and Definitions of the Church, 4th edition, by the Rev. Arthur Devine, 1849-1919 (London: R. & T. Washbourne; Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son; New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, 1903). With Imprimatur. Available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive and Open Library. The 2^nd edition (1897) is available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a second copy at Internet Archive.

On the Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For other online and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed: And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (St. John viii, 31-32)

“How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? And how can they preach, unless they be sent?… Faith then cometh by hearing: and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans x, 14-15, 17)

“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” (II Thessalonians ii, 13-15 KJV)

Online ebook & audiobook: “Mary”, by Peter Kreeft

See this online ebook and listen to online audiobook:

• Mary, by Peter Kreeft (New Haven: Connecticut: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2001). With Imprimatur. Part of the Luke E. Hart Series: Basic Elements of the Catholic Faith (General Editor, Father John A. Farren, O.P.). The audiobook may be listened to, and is available in mp3 format, and the ebook may be View Online and is available in pdf format, at the Catholic Information Service of the Knights of Columbus.

On the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite; and on New Year’s Day, 2019. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject). Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus!

“And in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God… To 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. 

“And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb: and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.” (St. Luke I, 26, 27, 28, 31-32, 35, 38, 41-45, formatting supplied)

Free ebook: “New Practical Meditations for Every Day in the Year, on the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, by Father Bruno Vercruysse, S.J.

See this legally free ebook:

• New Practical Meditations for Every Day in the Year, on the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ; Chiefly Intended for the Use of Religious Communities, by the Rev. Father Bruno Vercruysse, S.J. (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1875). With approbation of bishops and religious superiors. Available at the HathiTrust Digital Library. Also available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive: Volume 1, January to June; and Volume 2, July to December.
  • [N.B., Although the text states that it is chiefly intended for religious communities, we submit that it would be a helpful spiritual aid for Christians and people of good will in all states of life.]

See also these related ebooks:

• The Manna of the Soul: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, 2nd edition, by Father Paolo Segneri (New York: Benziger Bros, 1892).
  • Volume 1 is available in various formats (mobi/kindle, pdf, epub, etc.) at Internet Archive, with a second copy at Internet Archive; and is also available at Google Books and HathiTrust Digital Library. The paperback of Volume 1 may be purchased at Amazon.com. With a second copy at Amazon.com.
  • Volume 2 is available at Internet Archive, with a second copy at Internet Archive, and a third copy at Internet Archive; and is also available at Google Books and HathiTrust Digital Library. The paperback of Volume 2 may be purchased at Amazon.com.
• Meditations for Every Day in the Year; Collected from Different Spiritual Writers, and Suited for the Practice Called “Quarter of an Hour’s Solitude”, edited by Rev. Roger Baxter, S.J., revised by Rev. P. Neale, S.J. (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1884). With ecclesiastical approbations. Available in various formats (mobi/kindle, pdf, epub, etc.) at Internet Archive and Open Library. A different imprint is also available at Internet Archive.
  • An earlier edition with older orthography, Meditations for Every Day in the Year; Collected from Different Spiritual Writers, first written in Latin by N.B., translated into English by E.M., in the year 1669, and now revised by Rev. R. Baxter (Georgetown, D.C.: Joseph Milligan, 1823), is available at Internet Archive and at HathiTrust Digital Library.

On New Year’s Eve in the Gregorian Calendar. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online text: “On Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity”, by the Vatican II Preparatory Commission

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online text:

• Draft of a Dogmatic Constitution on Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity, by the Preparatory Theological Commission for the Second Vatican Council, translated by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (2012). Available in pdf format (on this page) at In Verbo Veritatis.

On the Feast of St. Egwin of Evesham.

“To the unmarried, and to the widows, I would say that they will do well to remain in the same state as myself, but if they have not the gift of continence, let them marry; better to marry than to feel the heat of passion. For those who have married already, the precept holds which is the Lord’s precept, not mine; the wife is not to leave her husband, (if she has left him, she must either remain unmarried, or go back to her own husband again), and the husband is not to put away his wife.” (I Corinthians vii, 8-11)

Online text: Regensburg Address on “Faith, Reason and the University”, by Pope Benedict XVI

See this online text:

• “Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections” (also known as the Regensburg Lecture or the Regensburg Address), lecture delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at his meeting with the representatives of science at the University of Regensburg on 12 September 2006 (part of his Apostolic Journey to München, Altötting and Regensburg on 9-14 September 2006) (© 2006, Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
  • The text may be read online at the Holy See and available in pdf format at The Catholic Church of England and Wales and at The Catholic Church of England and Wales (catholicnews.org.uk).
• The text is also included in the collection:
  • Faith and Reason according to Benedict XVI: Six Key Texts: Subiaco, Regensburg, Paris, London, Berlin (Opus Dei Information Office, 2017). Available in ePub format and Mobi format, and may be downloaded at iTunes iBooks and Google Play Books, through Opus Dei. Also available at Google Books.

See also the commentaries on and responses to the address that may be read through this page of Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI; as well as the following essays:

• Ratzinger’s Logos Theology and the Healing of Human Rights: A Critical Engagement with the Regensburg Lecture (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Birmingham), by Francis Mohan (March 2016). 389 pages. Available in pdf format (here) at the University of Birmingham eTheses Repository.
• “Logos and Dia-Logos: Faith, Reason, (and Love) According to Joseph Ratzinger”, by Pablo Blanco Sarto, Anglican Theological Review, vol. 92, no. 3 (Summer 2010) pp. 499-509. Available in pdf format at the Anglican Theological Review [N.B., Although this is a non-Catholic publication, an online search indicates that the author is a professor at the University of Navarra/Navarre, a Catholic Christian institution directed by the Opus Dei Prelature.]
• Joseph Ratzinger’s Theology of the Word: The Dialogical Structure of His Thought (Dissertation, Boston College), by Rev. Christopher Collins, S.J. (© Christopher Stephen Collins, 2012). Available in pdf format (here) at eScholarship@BC.

On the Feast of Saint John the Apostle; and on the anniversary  of the inauguration of the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts… The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made… I was with him forming all things… Blessed are they that keep my ways… He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord. But he that shall sin against me shall hurt his own soul…. Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you… The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is prudence.” (Proverbs viii, 12, 22-23, 30, 32. 35-36, ix, 5, 10)

“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. In him was life, and the life was the light of men… [A]s many as received him, he gave to them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name…. 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… 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, 1-4, 12, 14, 17-18)

“The Everlasting Man”, by G.K. Chesterton: online ebook, audiobook, worth-it book

See this online ebook, audiobook, and worth-it book: 

• The Everlasting Man, by G.K. Chesterton (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925). The 1928 reprint is available in pdf, mobi, epub, and other formats at Internet Archive. The 1926 reprint is available at Hathitrust Digital Library.
  • The ebook may be also read online in html format and in text format (which may be downloaded in a zipfile) and available in pdf format at K. Chesterton’s Works on the Web. It is also available in pdf format at Free Catholic eBooks, and it may also read in text format at Project Gutenberg Australia.
• The worth-it book may be purchased on this page of Ignatius Press, and on this page of the EWTN Religious Catalogue.
• The audiobook is available at Internet Archive; in 2 parts, Part 1 of 2 and Part 2 of 2 (both posted 22 October 2017), at the Classic Catholic Audiobooks Youtube channel; in 13 parts at The Priory Librarian Youtube channel; and in 14 parts, starting with this video at David Grizzly Smith’s Youtube channel.
• Quotes from the work are available at Wikiquote.

See also:

• The article “The Ale-Drinker’s Answer to Hegel: Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man“, by John Zmirak, September 16, 2008, at Crisis Magazine.
• S. Lewis’ praise for the book at G. K. Chesterton’s Works on the Web.

On the Feast of the Birth of our divine Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the one true Church. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen…

“For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.

“His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom: to establish it, and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever” (Isaias ix, 2, 6-7)

Online ebook: “Confraternity Bible: New Testament and Supplemental Commentary”

See this online ebook:

• Confraternity Bible: New Testament and Supplemental Commentary; featuring The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: a Revision of the Challoner-Rheims Version (1941), also known as The New Testament, Confraternity Edition, and its companion work by the Catholic Biblical Association, A Commentary on the New Testament (1942). May be read online on this page of Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (28 December 2017 snapshot of the sadly defunct website Confraternity Bible), which states: “This transcription was made with the understanding that the original copyrights for these two works were not renewed and that they have since entered the Public Domain.”
  • [N.B., Although there are other editions of the Confraternity Bible online, we have not indexed links to them as we are uncertain of their copyright status.]

On the Feast of Pope St. Damasus I in the Roman Rite. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“Then there are other assailants of Holy Scripture who misuse principles… in order to overturn the fundamental truth of the Bible and thus destroy Catholic teaching handed down by the Fathers… They refuse to allow that the things which Christ said or did have come down to us unchanged and entire through witnesses who carefully committed to writing what they themselves had seen or heard…; yet of it one wrote: “He who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he tells the truth, and you also may believe” (Jn. 19:35).” (Pope Benedict XV, Encyclical “Spiritus Paraclitus”, 26-27)

“Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (…), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution “Dei Verbum”, 11)