Eschatology; or, The Catholic Doctrine of the Last Things: A Dogmatic Treatise, by Rev. Joseph Pohle, Ph.D, D.D., translated by Arthur Preuss (St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder, 1918, c1917). With Imprimatur. Volume XII of Fr. Pohle’s Dogmatic Theology series. Available on multiple formats at Internet Archive and Open Library (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: Kelly Library, University of Toronto).
The Christian Directory, Guiding Men to Their Eternal Salvation. In Two Parts: the First Whereof Appertains to Resolution; the Second Treating of the Obstacles and Impediments Which Hinder It, and How They May Be Removed; to Which is Prefixed, a Better Method for Their Use, by the Rev. Robert Parsons, Priest of the Society of Jesus, carefully revised, corrected, and enlarged, with life of the author (Dublin, London: James Duffy, 1861). Available at Google Play Books, and in pdf format at the Bellarmine Forums (linked by this index of Free Traditional Catholic Books).
[Note: While the latter websites contain many valuable materials written before 1958, the more contemporary texts contain opinions on the Second Vatican Council that require correction with the hermeneutic of continuity and reform propounded by the faithful pontiff Benedict XVI. Readers are advised to approach the said texts with prayerful caution.]
“Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who enter by it. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way, which leadeth to life: and few there are who find it!
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you shall know them… Every tree that yieldeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.
“Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many wonderful works in thy name? And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
“Every one, therefore, that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
“And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.”
Will Many Be Saved?: What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization, by Professor Ralph Martin, S.T.D. [Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit] (Grand Rapids: Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2012). The ebook and/or the printed book may be purchased at Verbum and Amazon.
See also these related free or online texts/ebooks and media:
“Balthasar and Salvation: What Does He Really Teach?”, by Ralph Martin, Josephinum Journal of Theology, Vol 21, no. 2 (2014): pp. 1-29. Available in pdf format on this page of Renewal Ministries.
A Critical Examination of Key Claims Karl Rahner Makes About His Thesis of the Anonymous Christian, by Brantly C. Millegan (2015). School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects. 10. Available in pdf format on this page at University of St. Thomas Research Online.
Eschatology; or, The Catholic Doctrine of the Last Things: A Dogmatic Treatise, by Joseph Pohle, translated by Arthur Preuss (St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder, 1918, c1917). With Imprimatur. Volume XII of Fr. Pohle’s Dogmatic Theology series. Available on multiple formats at Internet Archive and Open Library (Digitizing sponsor: MSN, Book contributor: Kelly Library, University of Toronto).
“Fewness [of those saved]: One Hundred and One Texts”. A collection of quotes from the Sacred Scriptures and the Saints. May be read online on this page of Saints’ Quotes.
“Of the Small Number of Those that are Saved”, by Jean Croiset, May be read online on this page of Endeavoring Catholic Perfection, and at Wikisource. A different translation with Early Modern orthography may be read on pages 159–175 of A Spiritual Retreat for One Day in Every Month (1698?), the microfilm copy of which is available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive.
O radix Jesse qui stas in signum populórum, super quem continébunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabúntur: veni ad liberándum nos, jam noli tardáre. (Text from Divinum Officium)
“Holy Saturday and the Harrowing of Hell”, by Dr. Lawrence Feingold STD, Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri. (Saint Louis, MO: Association of Hebrew Catholics, 2010). This is Talk #7 of Series 6: Themes of the Incarnation, in the Association of Hebrew Catholics Lecture Series: The Mystery of Israel and the Church. The text of the lecture (in pdf format) and the audio of lecture (in mp3 format) together with the audio of questions and answers are available through this page of the Association of Hebrew Catholics.
See also these related texts and media on the mystery commemorated on Holy Saturday: Continue reading →
The hardbound copies of the books may be purchased at worth-it prices on this page of Loreto Publications, and the ebooks may be purchased at worth-it prices at Logos.
Links to the individual volumes are also indexed below: Continue reading →
Encyclical “Longinqua” on Catholicism in the United States, by Pope Leo XIII, 06 January 1895. May be read online at the Holy See.
Encyclical “Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae” concerning New Opinions, Virtue, Nature and Grace, with regard to Americanism, by Pope Leo XIII, January 22, 1899. May be read online at the on this page at the EWTNLibraries. [N.B., A commentary that views Americanism as a variant of false ecumenism or indifferentism is available at: “Evangelization and Americanism” (article) by Bradley Eli, and “Mic’d Up: Americanism” (podcast) at Church Militant.]
Letter to the Bishops of the United States, by Pope John Paul II, 3 April 1983. May be read online at the Holy See.
We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition, by John Courtney Murray, S.J. (Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward, 1960). May be read online at Woodstock Theological Library at Georgetown University. [N.B., We have assumed that this work was lawfully made available online by Georgetown University and that links to it may be lawfully made. Kindly advise us if this is incorrect.]
“The true revolution was not to defy one earthly power, but to declare principles that stand above every earthly power — the equality of each person before God, and the responsibility of government to secure the rights of all.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks at the Rededication of the National Archives)
[N.B., Various pages attribute the text to Bishop Melito of Sardis or St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus. Its source is cited by St. John Cantius Parish as PG (Patrologia Graeca) 43, 440A, 452C.]
See these texts relating to the liturgy of Holy Saturday:
Holy Saturday, excerpted from Mass and Vespers, with Gregorian Chant for Sundays and Holy Days: Latin and English Text, edited by the Benedictines of the Solesmes Congregation (Paris, Tournai, Rome, New York: Desclee & Co., 1957), with Imprimatur. Available in pdf format through the post “Rough PDF • Rubrics & Music, Holy Saturday (1962)”, 4 April 2015, at Corpus Christi Watershed. [N.B., This relates to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.] [N.B.2, We have assumed that the text was lawfully made available online. Please advise us if this is incorrect so we may remove the offending link(s) if necessary.]
“It was thus that Christ died as a ransom, paid once for all, on behalf of our sins, he the innocent for us the guilty, so as to present us in God’s sight. In his mortal nature he was done to death, but endowed with fresh life in his spirit, and it was in his spirit that he went and preached to the spirits who lay in prison… He sits, now, at the right hand of God, annihilating death, to make us heirs of eternal life; he has taken his journey to heaven, with all the angels and powers and princedoms made subject under his feet.” (1 Peter 3:17-19,22, formatting supplied)
The Unseen World: An Exposition of Catholic Theology in its Relation to Modern Spiritism, by Rev. Fr. Alexis M. Lépicier, O.S.M. [later, Cardinal Lépicier] (London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trubner, & Co., 1906). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in various formats (pdf, epub, kindle/mobi, text, etc.) at Internet Archive.
Another imprint (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger, 1906) may be read online, and is available in various formats, at Internet Archive; and it is also available at Forgotten Books, with some pages accessible by members alone. Chapter I of Part II, “The State of the Departed Soul” may be read online on this page of the EWTN Library.
Posted in view of the anniversary of the founding of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches in the United States.
“Time went on; the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; the rich man died too, and found his grave in hell. And there, in his suffering, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he said, with a loud cry, Father Abraham, take pity on me; send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, My son, remember that thou didst receive thy good fortune in thy life-time, and Lazarus, no less, his ill fortune; now he is in comfort, thou in torment. And, besides all this, there is a great gulf fixed between us and you, so that there is no passing from our side of it to you, no crossing over to us from yours.” (St. Luke xvi, 22-26, red lettering supplied)
The Last Judgment, by Giotto. Image from Wikimedia.
See this legally free ebook:
The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven, by Father Martin von Cochem, O.S.F.C. (New York, Concinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers). Available in various formats at Internet Archive and Open Library, and in pdf format at the University of Toronto Libraries; and may be read online at Catholic Tradition. It may also be found at Forgotten Books, but with some pages accessible only to members.
“Then the King will say to those who are on his right hand, Come, you that have received a blessing from my Father, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world… Then he will say to those who are on his left hand, in their turn, Go far from me, you that are accursed, into that eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels… And these shall pass on to eternal punishment, and the just to eternal life.” (St. Matthew xxv, 34, 41, 46)
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