A Complete Listing of Os Justi Reprints: Theological, Catechetical, Devotional, Literary

Over the past couple of years at NLM, I’ve occasionally posted announcements of old classics that I’ve reprinted under the umbrella of Os Justi Press. These reprints are done through CreateSpace, which yields good quality and allows for low prices. Until recently, Os Justi Press did not have its own website. In fact, it still doesn’t; but at least now it has a dedicated page at my new personal website, where all titles are listed by category and hyperlinked to Amazon. Many titles also say more about the content of the book or point to where such information may be found. Since most of the books are germane to considerations taken up here at NLM, I wanted to alert readers to the new Os Justi page, as well as to list below all of the currently available reprints.

Note to retailers or booksellers: Please email me to discuss discounts for bookstores, parishes, reading groups, etc.

THEOLOGICAL

The Mass: A Liturgical Commentary (2 vols.). Canon A. Croegaert. Trans. J. Holland Smith. Vol. 1: The Mass of the Catechumens (x + 251 pp. $17.95); Vol. 2: The Mass of the Faithful (x + 311 pp. $18.95).

The Breviary Explained. Rev. Pius Parsch. Trans. William Nayden and Carl Hoegerl. First published in 1952 by Herder in St. Louis. Paperback, viii + 459 pp. $19.95.

A Manual of Catholic Theology, Based on Scheeben’s “Dogmatik.” Joseph Wilhelm, D.D., Ph.D., and Thomas B. Scannell, B.D., with a Preface by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning. Volume I: The Sources of Theological Knowledge; God; Creation and the Supernatural Order (508 pp. $24.95); Volume II: The Fall; Redemption; Grace; The Church and the Sacraments; The Last Things (566 pp. $29.95).

Nature and Grace. Matthias Scheeben. Trans. Cyril Vollert, S.J. 386 pp. $18.95.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Papers from the 1924 Summer School of Catholic Studies at Cambridge. Ed. Cuthbert Lattey. xii + 311 pp. $19.95.

The Incarnation: Papers from the 1925 Summer School of Catholic Studies at Cambridge. Ed. Cuthbert Lattey. xviii + 261 pp. $18.95.

God: His Knowability, Essence, and Attributes. Msgr. Joseph Pohle. 486pp. $19.95.

The Author of Nature and the Supernatural: Creation, Anthropology, and Angelology. Msgr. Joseph Pohle. 372 pp. $17.95.

CATECHETICAL

God in Me: Sanctifying Grace or the Mystery of God’s Life in Us. Rev. Matthew Swizdor. 160 pp. $12.79.

Sacred Signs. Romano Guardini. 58p. $7.00. [Newly typeset.]

The Life of Worship: Grace, Prayer, Sacraments, and the Sacred Liturgy. By a Seminary Professor. Originally published in French in 1895; this English version from 1920. xvi + 814 pp. $29.95.

Pageant of the Popes. John Farrow. $18.85.

DEVOTIONAL

Vocations. Fr. William Doyle, SJ. First published in 1913. vi + 48. Paperback, $7.00.

A Missal for Young Catholics. Peter Kwasniewski. 64 pp. $12.49 at Amazon; $18.87 at Lulu. The sole difference between these two is that Lulu’s features a thicker, glossier paper.

The Sacrifice of the Mass Worthily Celebrated. Rev. Pierre Chaignon, SJ. Trans. Most Rev. Louis de Goesbriand. With a preface and meditation aids by Dom Bede Babo, OSB. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1951. Repr. Os Justi Press, 2018. x + 214 pp. Paperback, $14.95.

Cantus Mariales. Ed. Dom Joseph Pothier. (The same with an alternative cover design here) 160 pp. $24.95. A color facsimile of the 1903 exemplar.

The True Vine and Its Branches. Rev. Edward Leen, S.J. 280 pp. $17.95.

Selections from “The Little Flowers of St. Francis.” Illustrated by Maximilian Liebenwein, 1921. Full color. Hardcover $29.95; paperback $14.95.

LITERARY

The King’s Achievement. Robert Hugh Benson. xiv + 368 pp. $16.95.

By What Authority? Robert Hugh Benson. x + 372 pp. $16.95.

Anthology of Catholic Poets: 200 Years of Catholic English Poetry. Ed. Joyce Kilmer. 422 pp. $18.49.

The Catholic Anthology: The World’s Great Catholic Poetry. Ed. Thomas Walsh. 602 pp. $25.95.

Latin in the Church: The History of Its Pronunciation. F. Brittain. 98 pp. Last edition 1954. $9.95.

New Reprints: Scheeben – Papal History – Latin Lore – Catholic Poetry

My little reprint enterprise, Os Justi Press (I do not have a website yet, but one is in progress), has brought out four new titles, reprints of older books either not available at all, or available only in ugly or overpriced editions. Links to Amazon.com may be found below, but the titles will be at the Amazon affiliates in the UK, Germany, etc.

A brief description of the books follows.

Matthias Scheeben, Nature and Grace. Trans. Cyril Vollert. xxiv + 361 pp. Originally published 1954. $18.95.

The exposition will be as profound and comprehensive as I can make it; nature and grace must furnish the basis for a reasonable chart of life and growth. My cherished aim is to bring out the supernatural character of the Christian economy of salvation in its full sublimity, beauty, and riches. The main task of our time, it seems to me, consists in propoupding and emphasizing the supernatural quality of Christianity, for the benefit of both science and life. Theoretical as well as practical naturalism and rationalism, which seek to throttle and destroy all that is specifically Christian, must be resolutely and energetically repudiated.

Thus writes the great 19th-century theologian Matthias Scheeben, a vibrant, original, and poetic author who re-opened the enchanting world of St. Thomas to new generations of Catholics in a period marred by the desiccated rationalism of the Enlightenment period in its last rays before the darkness of modernism. In the new Thomism that has emerged in recent decades as the superficial sloganeering of the postconciliar Church evaporates, Scheeben makes for essential reading.

John Farrow. Pageant of the Popes. 420pp. Originally published 1942. $18.85.

This history of the popes documents both the highs and lows of the Church. From St. Peter to early in the reign of Pius XII, this book provides historical, theological, and personal accounts of this rare group of mortals who have reigned as Vicars of Christ. Without inflationary praise or discrediting zeal, Farrow manages to convey something of the sweep and drama of papal history, bestowing praise where praise is due, while not shirking from unsavory periods. A fine book for our current times, when there is so much ignorance of the nature and limits of the papacy.

F. Brittain. Latin in the Church: The History of Its Pronunciation. 98 pp. Last edition 1954. $9.95.

A fascinating, obscure, and slightly eccentric book about the many different ways in which Latin has been pronounced and spelled over the centuries as it traveled from its ancient seat to far-flung regions of Europe and beyond. The author makes the case that we should not be too fussy or insistent on a "correct" way of pronouncing the language, given that every context has its own justification, and that even scholars are not always sure about their own theories. An entertaining read for Latin lovers.

Thomas Walsh. The Catholic Anthology: The World's Great Catholic Poetry. 602 pp. Last edition 1932. $25.95.

The Catholic Anthology is intended primarily as a selection of Catholic poems written by Catholics and bearing the impress of Catholic dogma, tradition, and life; so that the editor has purposely chosen the completely Catholic utterances of his poets in preference, sometimes, to their pieces of general aesthetical charm.

The purpose thus avowed by the editor is carried through in this massy volume with singular thoroughness. I do not know quite how many poems are packed into its pages (it is a vast number), but I can testify to countless hours spent paging through this book over the years, discovering quite a few gems—one of which was the first poem I ever set to music, "I See His Blood Upon the Rose" by Joseph Mary Plunkett:

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice—and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

I have lost the music, but not my affection for this and many other poems in Walsh's collection. It would make an excellent homeschool resource for literature and poetry memorization. The book also features detailed author and title indices, a biographical glossary of poets, and a wrap-around cover with stained glass images of the four evangelists.

New Reprint of a Renowned Summary of Thomistic Theology

A Manual of Catholic Theology, Based on Scheeben's "Dogmatik." By Joseph Wilhelm, D.D., Ph.D., and Thomas B. Scannell, B.D., with a Preface by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning. Volume I: The Sources of Theological Knowledge; God; Creation and the Supernatural Order. liii + 508 pp. $24.95. (CreateSpace; Amazon) Volume II: The Fall; Redemption; Grace; The Church and the Sacraments; The Last Things. x + 566 pp. $24.95. (CreateSpace; Amazon)

One of the greatest theologians of modern times, Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888), brought out a Handbuch der katholischen Dogmatik in 7 parts from 1873 to 1887. This tour de force of a refined, lofty, intensely religious scholasticism was conveniently distilled by Dr. Joseph Wilhelm and Fr. Thomas Scannell into a 2-volume English handbook entitled A Manual of Catholic Theology. I am happy to announce a new reprinting of this handbook, which was prepared using freshly-scanned pages of an original copy of the work, printed on cream-colored paper with a simple red cover.

As a Thomist, theologian, and teacher, I find this manual invaluable: it is arguably the single most successful presentation of traditional scholastic theology available, if one is looking not for a mere historical overview of one set of opinions after another (the typical approach in scholarship nowadays) but an actual theological exposition, where the focus is on articulating and defending the rei veritas, the truth of things. Scheeben is thoroughly steeped in Aquinas's works as well as in the Scriptures, the Fathers, the Councils, and the wealth of scholasticism across the centuries, and writes his account in a measured, precise, and fervent manner, logical and yet poetic, satisfying to the intellect but always open to the ineffable divine mystery that lies behind and beyond the truths to which God, in His mercy, has granted us access.

I would not hesitate to say that a serious student of Catholic theology should begin his or her study of a given topic by finding the appropriate chapter in the Manual (see table of contents below) and reading it carefully before moving into other literature. In any case, the fact that a nearly unbroken line of popes for 700 years has sent us to the wisdom of Aquinas ought to be reason enough to consult a book like this mini-Scheeben when working on any major topic, since Scheeben performs for us the welcome task of drawing together in synoptic form the full range of Thomas's thinking, which would otherwise be a daunting project. (I speak from experience, since I wrote my doctoral dissertation on "The Ecstasy of Love in St. Thomas Aquinas," and had to pursue his doctrine of love across the full range of the opera omnia. It took me a few laborious years to get the job done!) Here is how Cardinal Manning praises the Manual in his Preface of 1899:

The Dogmatik of Scheeben is a profuse exposition of the deep things of faith in the light of intelligence guided by the illumination of the Church. ... The great value of Scheeben's work is in its scientific method, its terminology, definitions, procedure, and unity. It requires not only reading but study; and study with patient care and conscientious desire to understand. 

This Manual will assist and inspire a new generation of theologians, historians, liturgists, and pastors who are striving to rediscover and faithfully transmit the glories of traditional Catholic theology. Just a few examples, chosen almost at random, of the great relevance of this Manual for our own times: the chapter in vol. 1 on ecclesiastical tradition, or the chapters in vol. 2 on the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, furnish abundant material for reflection and preaching.

VOLUME ONE

Book I. The Sources of Theological Knowledge

Part I. The Objective Principles of Theological Knowledge
Chap. 1: Divine Revelation
Chap. 2: The Transmission of Revelation
Chap. 3: The Apostolic Deposit of Revelation
Chap. 4: Ecclesiastical Tradition
Chap. 5: The Rule of Faith

Part II. Theological Knowledge Considered In Itself, or Subjectively
Chap. 1: Faith
Chap. 2: Faith and Understanding

Book II. God

Part I. God Considered as One in Substance
Chap. 1: Our Knowledge of God
Chap. 2: The Essence and Attributes of God, Considered Generally
Chap. 3: The Negative Attributes of God
Chap. 4: The Positive Attributes of God
Chap. 5: The Divine Life

Part II. The Divine Trinity
Chap. 1: The Dogma
Chap. 2: The Trinity in Scripture
Chap. 3: The Trinity in Tradition
Chap. 4: The Evolution of the Trinity from the Fecundity of the Divine Life

Book III. Creation and the Supernatural Order

Part I. Creation
Chap. 1: The Universe Created by God
Chap. 2: The Universe Created for God
Chap. 3: The Angels
Chap. 4: The Material Universe
Chap. 5: Man

Part II. The Supernatural Order
Chap. 1: General Theory of the Supernatural and of Grace
Chap. 2: Theory of the Absolutely Supernatural
Chap. 3: Theory of the Relatively Supernatural
Chap. 4: Concrete Realization of the Supernatural Order

VOLUME TWO

Book IV. The Fall

Chap. 1: Sin
Chap. 2: The Fall of the Angels
Chap. 3: The Fall of Man

Book V. Redemption

Part I. Preliminary Conditions and Preparation for Redemption
Chap. 1: The Conditions of Redemption
Chap. 2: The Preparation for Redemption

Part II. The Redeemer
Chap. 1: The Dogma
Chap. 2: The Constitution of Christ; or, the Hypostatic Union in the Light of Theological Science
Chap. 3: The Attributes of Christ

Part III. Work and Functions of the Redeemer
Chap. 1: Work of the Redeemer
Chap. 2: Functions of the Redeemer

Part IV: The Mother of the Redeemer

Book VI. Grace

Chap. 1: Grace, the Principle of Regeneration
Chap. 2: Justification
Chap. 3: Order and Economy of Grace in God's Providence

Book VII. The Church and the Sacraments

Part I. The Church
Chap. 1: The Preparation for the Church
Chap. 2: The Institution and Constitution of the Church
Chap. 3: The Primacy of St. Peter
Chap. 4: The Primacy of the Roman Pontiff
Chap. 5: The Properties and Marks of the Church

Part II. The Sacraments
Chap. 1: The Sacraments Generally
Chap. 2: Baptism
Chap. 3: Confirmation
Chap. 4: The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
Chap. 5: The Mass
Chap. 6: Penance
Chap. 7: Extreme Unction
Chap. 8: Holy Order
Chap. 9: Matrimony

Book VIII. The Last Things

What is a Mystery?: Epiphany or the Manifestation of the Divine

At the beginning of every Mass in the Ordinary Form, the priest says: “Let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.” The sacra mysteria.

I often wonder what people understand by the word “mystery.” In the wide world, I suspect that the term only comes up in connection with novels, where the “mystery,” that is, the initially unexplained murder, has to be figured out, deciphered, accounted for, by a brilliant detective, who, as we say, “solves the mystery.” In this way, the term means exclusively a set of circumstances that are temporarily obscure due to lack of data and intellectual acumen. It is something that can be solved—the mystery is something you intend to get rid of. Another place where you find the word in common use is the David Attenborough-type nature programs, whose narrator will say: “The brown-crested billy-bong bird’s predilection for a diet of poisonous purple fungus is a mystery to ornithologists to this day”—implying that they just haven’t figured out the answer yet.

I sometimes ask my students in theology class what we mean when we say that, for example, the Blessed Trinity or the Incarnation of the Word is a mystery, and they usually say: “A mystery is something you can’t understand, something you don’t see and can’t explain, a secret or a puzzle or a paradox. But maybe it will all get cleared up in the next life: God’s a mystery to us here below, but surely, He’s plain as day in the world to come?”

It is a moment of special joy to be able to say in response: “Actually, no—God is an infinite mystery that can never be fathomed or comprehended. He will be a mystery to us forever in heaven, indeed more than he is now.” But this response nearly compels one to say more in order not to be a tease. Fortunately, the heavy lifting has been done by one of the most brilliant theologians of modern times, Matthias Scheeben, whose masterpiece The Mysteries of Christianity is a must-read for anyone eager to do a serious study of the Catholic Faith.

As we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany or Theophany, we can profit from reflecting on a few choice excerpts from this book’s introduction, where Scheeben is taking up precisely the question at hand.

        Christianity entered the world as a religion replete with mysteries. It was proclaimed as the mystery of Christ (Rom 16:25-27, Col 1:25-27), as the “mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mk 4:11; Lk 8:10). Its ideas and doctrines were unknown, unprecedented; and they were to remain inscrutable and unfathomable. The mysterious character of Christianity, which was sufficiently intelligible in its simplest fundamentals, was foolishness to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews; and since Christianity in the course of time never relinquished and could never relinquish this character of mystery without belying its nature, it remained ever a foolishness, a stumbling block to all those who, like the Gentiles, looked upon it with unconsecrated eyes or, like the Jews, encountered it with uncircumcised heart.
        The greater, the more sublime, and the more divine Christianity is, the more inexhaustible, inscrutable, unfathomable, and mysterious its subject matter must be. If its teaching is worthy of the only-begotten Son of God, if the Son of God had to descend from the bosom of His Father to initiate us into this teaching, could we expect anything else than the revelation of the deepest mysteries locked up in God’s heart? Could we expect anything else than disclosures concerning a higher, invisible world, about divine and heavenly things, which “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,” and which could not enter into the heart of any man (cf. 1 Cor 2:9)?
        Mysteries must in themselves be lucid, glorious truths. The darkness can be only on our side, so far as our eyes are turned away from the mysteries, or at any rate are not keen enough to confront them and see through them. There must be truths that baffle our scrutiny not because of their intrinsic darkness and confusion, but because of their excessive brilliance, sublimity, and beauty, which not even the sturdiest human eye can encounter without going blind.
        Only God’s cognition excludes all mysteries, because it springs from an infinite Light which with infinite power penetrates and illuminates the innermost depths of everything that exists.
        Mysteries become luminous and appear in their true nature, their entire grandeur and beauty, only when we definitely recognize that they are mysteries, and clearly perceive how high they stand above our own orbit, how completely they are distinct from all objects within our natural ken. And when, supported by the all-powerful word of divine revelation, we soar upon the wings of faith over the chasm dividing us from them and mount up to them, they temper themselves to our eyes in the light of faith which is supernatural, as they themselves are; then they display themselves to us in their true form, in their heavenly, divine nature. The moment we perceive the depth of the darkness with which heaven veils its mysteries from our minds, they will shine over us in the light of faith like brilliant stars mutually illuminating, supporting, and emphasizing one another; like stars that form themselves into a marvelous system and that can be known in their full power and magnificence only in this system.