Books of Liturgical Interest from Os Justi Press

About ten years ago, I had been searching for a suitable “intermediate” missal that I could give to my children — something between a 24-page “See Father Go Up to the Altar” type of book and a 2,000-page Baronius Missal. At the time, as far as I could tell, there was nothing like this available, so I decided to create one. Once I had self-published copies for my own family, some friends saw them and asked for copies, too. It was at this point that I realized other families might find this intermediate missal helpful. That was when Os Justi Press was born, and its first product was A Missal for Young Catholics, which has been quite popular.

In the intervening years, I have brought out thirty volumes, mostly reprints of older works, falling broadly into the categories of theology, catechesis, devotions, and literature. A listing of all the titles, with descriptions, photographs, and reviews, can be found here, the closest thing to a website that this modest press can boast. I am terrible about advertising, so practically nobody knows Os Justi exists. That is why I thought it would be helpful to share with NLM readers the titles that are of particular liturgical interest. Each title is hyperlinked either to Amazon.com, where most Os Justi books are sold (available as well at Amazon affiliates around the world), or to Lulu.com.

John Henry Newman on Worship, Reverence, and Ritual, ed. Peter Kwasniewski

The life and thought of John Henry Newman were permeated with the ceremonies and hallowed texts of Christian liturgies, which he celebrated for over six decades. The “ordinances” of the Church, her rich panoply of rites handed down through the centuries, are, for Newman, doors or windows into the heavenly society for which we were created. As Newman says in a number of places, we are given our time on earth to begin to live, through personal prayer and corporate worship, the life of the blessed in heaven. This volume gathers over seventy texts from all periods of Newman’s long career. Forty-four of Newman’s incomparably great sermons are included in full. That Newman deserves his reputation as one of the finest spiritual writers of modern times and the greatest prose stylist of nineteenth-century England is abundantly demonstrated in these spirited and subtle reflections on the duty of reverence, the benefits of ritual, and the privilege of divine worship. (Read Jeremy Priest’s review in the Adoremus Bulletin of November 2020: “The Heart of John Henry Newman: Beating with the Spirit of the Liturgy.”)

The Mass: A Liturgical Commentary by Canon A. Croegaert (1958)

Vol. 1: The Mass of the Catechumens
Vol. 2: The Mass of the Faithful

In this two-volume work from the 1940s, Rev. Auguste Croegaert expounds the parts, ceremonies, and prayers of the Mass. His prefatory note explains the rationale: “Many priests express a desire for a deeper knowledge of the meaning and history of the rites and prayers of the holy sacrifice they celebrate every day, but have neither the leisure for research nor the sources, which are scattered through a great number of books, pamphlets and reviews. It has been our aim to provide a methodical and practical book for the clergy — one which will be useful both for their own instruction and in their apostolate. The order of the parts of the traditional Latin Mass has been followed throughout and each of the ceremonies is described separately. Each of the chapters provides a general intfoduction to its subject, a summary of the history of its origins and development and a description (where applicable) of the rite itself. The emphasis throughout is on the practical: on doctrine, history, liturgy and ascetic theology.”Although one may quibble with this or that point — especially the author’s gushing enthusiasm for versus populum as the truly ancient way of offering Mass, which more recent scholarship has refuted — Croegaert’s is nevertheless an excellent, thorough, and insightful commentary. The first volume is devoted to the Mass of the Catechumens, the second to the Mass of the Faithful.

The Breviary Explained by Pius Parsch (1952)

One of the most eminent members of the original Liturgical Movement, Parsch furnishes us in this book with an unmatched guide to the riches of the preconciliar Breviary of the Catholic Church. Quoting from Fr. Parsch himself will give one a sense of his appreciation of the Divine Office: “The Breviary is the official prayerbook of the Church. The Holy Ghost and the Church have been working on it for more than 3,000 years, and it has become the basic book of prayer, a precious common fund to which the great men of prayer from every age have contributed their thoughts and sentiments. The two chief objectives which the breviary fulfills are: 1. it is the prayer of the Church as a body and, 2. it is a guide to genuine spiritual growth for the individual soul…. The Church is praying through my mouth, I offer her my tongue to pray with her for all the great objectives of redemption, and for God’s honour and glory. We weep, too, or rather the Church weeps through our tears, together with those who weep, rejoices through our joys together with those who rejoice, does penance with the repentant. All the sentiments of Holy Mother Church find their echo in our heart. This gives a deeper content to our prayer; we spread out far beyond our own selves…. The individual, too, must grow; that is the subjective side of liturgical prayer. For the man who prays, the breviary needs to be staff and guide and way to heaven. ... But the most prominent feature of the breviary’s benefit lies in its wonderful arrangement of prayer in the sequence of canonical hours. Each day we are to make some further progress in building up the temple of grace within our soul…. One more thought: Breviary and Mass belong together; they form a unity, the liturgical day. We might compare the relationship to the sun and the planets. The Mass is the sun about which the planets, that is, the canonical hours, gravitate. The canonical hours prepare for the Mass, they surround the Mass, they try to realize and retain the fruits of the Mass, and spread them over the day.”

The Fullness of Sacrifice: Doctrinal and Devotional Synthesis on the Mass — Its Foretelling, Foreshadowing, and Fulfilling by A. M. Crofts, O.P. (1953)

We are witnesses of a growing desire to participate more devoutly in the traditional Latin Mass. The venerable prayers in the Missal, the dignity of the ceremonies, the concerted movement of priests and worshippers in supplication and love, have stirred the heart of the Catholic world. Many aspects of our act of worship — its setting, foreseen in prophecy and fashioned reverently in the course of time; the heart of it, the Eternal Priest offering Himself as Victim; the memorial in His daily return, as real as when He walked to death; our sharing in that ceaseless Eucharistic action whereby the Church offers herself in Christ to God; the inexhaustible riches of the Redeemer’s presence; the food of the soul on earth, with a pledge of eternal life — these are lucidly explained by Fr. Croft in this commentary, at once scriptural, devotional, and liturgical.

Holy Mass: Approaches to the Mystery by A.-M. Roguet (1951)

This fine little book studies the Mass, not from its origins or from theories about it, but from its fully-developed ritual acts. The Mass is a simple reality, yet at the same time rich and complex, as are all things that are concrete and alive. In order to understand it we must go around the mystery, see it from different angles, complete and correct one idea that one ceremony, or group of ceremonies suggests, by other ceremonies or by the same ones seen from another point of view. The Mass is an action, a movement, the work of a whole people gathered unto the altar; the Mass is also and always a mystery, that is to say, a reality that is infinitely beyond us and that our intellectual reasoning could never reduce to a convenient schedule. To get a glimpse of the mystery, to present it under various lights, to bring the Christian soul into contact with it, leaving him the possibility of penetrating further by his own efforts, such has been the author’s ambition.

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini (1911; English, 1956)

In this profound little work, Fr. Romano Guardini speaks with poetic wisdom about the fundamental language of symbols out of which the Sacred Liturgy is woven. When we speak this language fluently, we can offer ourselves, body and soul, more completely to the Lord. Once I had discovered this book, I’ve given it to every student and indeed every Catholic who wants to understand the liturgy. It’s one of the half-dozen or so indispensable readings.

The Life of Worship: Grace, Prayer, Sacraments, and the Sacred Liturgy by a Seminary Professor

After a robust preliminary section on grace, this comprehensive treatise on Christian worship, humbly attributed to “a seminary professor” of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in France in the late nineteenth century and first published in English in 1920, is divided into three sections. Section 1 treats of prayer, with commentaries on the Lord’s Prayer and the Angelic Salutation. Section 2 treats of the sacraments — first in general, then one by one — and sacramentals. Section 3 treats of the liturgy as well as all that is connected with it: churches, liturgical objects, vestments, ceremonies, the divine office, feasts, and devotions. Logically organized into questions and answers, rounded out with summaries, and ornamented with scholastic charts, the present book is a thorough and trustworthy guide to traditional Catholic doctrine on the most sublime mysteries of the Faith.

Fundamentals of Gregorian Chant by Dominic Keller, O.S.B. (1955)

This short and succinct guide to the Solesmes method of singing Gregorian chant is especially commendable as a pedagogical tool and a resource for choirs and scholas. Its principal virtues are the clarity of explanation, the excellent examples, and the exercises. 

Roman Martyrology: Pocket Edition (1962)

The Roman Martyrology commemorates all the saints officially recognized for public cultus by the Catholic Church. This edition is the preconciliar Martyrology, current through the pontificate of Pope Pius XII; it is therefore ideal for use with the traditional Latin Mass and Roman Breviary. This handy pocket edition, which I created for the purpose of traveling with the ingredients necessary for the Office of Prime — this was after having accidentally smashed my Kindle and deciding that I was better off without it — omits the prefatory material and the lengthy index of names and simply provides the daily readings, in English, from January 1st to December 31st.

Benedictine Martyrology (1922)

OJP’s newest release, announced here at NLM last week. This impressive volume, published in 1922 and long out of print, contains an English translation, augmented with new material, of Rev. Peter Lechner’s Ausführliches Martyrologium des Benedictiner-Ordens und Seiner Verzweigungen of 1855. The purpose is to gather in one place all Benedictine men and women with a reputation for heroic virtue and holiness, whether officially canonized or not, as a supplement to the Roman Martyrology. Unlike the latter, however, the Benedictine Martyrology offers a succinct biography of each figure. It is an impressive and moving testament to the enormous sanctity of the spiritual family of Benedict and Scholastica.

Vocations by Fr. William Doyle, S.J. (1913)

Fr. Willie Doyle’s brilliant little book for vocational questions has helped countless souls to follow God’s will. First published in 1913 despite few supporters, Fr. Willie hopped that it would encourage youth in need of assistance in following the religious vocation. By the time of his death, in 1917, the 9th edition (90,000 copies) was nearly exhausted, and by 1943, 160,000 copies in ten languages had been distributed. A few days before his death, Fr. Willie wrote to his father concerning Vocations: “It is consoling from time to time to receive letters from convents and religious houses, saying that some novice had come to them chiefly through reading Vocations; for undoubtedly, there are many splendid soldiers lost to Christ’s army for the want of a little help and encouragement…” 

A Missal for Young Catholics, ed. Peter Kwasniewski (2014)

This booklet is a Missal for the traditional Latin Mass (also known as the Extraordinary Form or the Tridentine Mass), intended for young Catholics who are ready for something more substantial than the tiny child missals (“See Father go to the altar: he is praying for us”) but not yet quite ready for a 2,000-page adult daily missal like the Baronius or Angelus Press. The book contains, in easy-to-read print, the full Ordinary of the Mass (the prayers that generally do not change from day to day) as well as clear indications of when the proper prayers and readings take place, so that young people can consult a parent or sibling next to them for the proper if they wish. Full color reproductions of over 40 beautiful works of art help a wandering mind focus on and ponder the mysteries of the Faith. The “Mass of the Ages” is a sign of order, beauty, sacredness, and holiness to children in the midst of our confused world. This booklet will help children to begin their quest of understanding the mysteries that the Church offers to them in her sacred rites. (An edition with thicker, glossier paper and a different cover is available from Lulu.)

The Sacrifice of the Mass Worthily Celebrated by Rev. Pierre Chaignon, S.J. (1951)

Very much has been written in more recent times about the Mass and the cooperation of the laity in it; comparatively little, however, has been written concerning the attitude of the priest towards this Holy Sacrifice. And yet, if St. Thomas Aquinas is right to say “every time we celebrate the memory of his Host, we exercise the work of our redemption” (Summa III.83.1), then so mighty a work requires the best preparation. Father Pierre Chaignon, S.J. (1791–1883) was a French Jesuit priest and spiritual writer who devoted his life to the spiritual direction of other priests, giving an estimated three hundred retreats to French clergy over the course of thirty years. His deep love for the clergy and his concern for their sanctification shines forth in this beautiful book, which helps the priest to prepare well for Mass, celebrate it well, and then make a good thanksgiving afterwards. To stress the importance of his theme, “the worthy celebration of Mass by the priest,” the author incorporates in his work the mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, the fervor of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the spirit of St. Charles Borromeo, and the zeal of St. Ignatius. Since its appearance, this work has been found very serviceable for meditation and spiritual reading. Father Chaignon’s clarity of thought and exactness of reasoning make the book well adapted to modern conditions under which priests also find themselves compelled to do things in a hurry.

Latin in Church: The History of Its Pronunciation by F. Brittain (1954)

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.

Cantus Mariales quos e fontibus antiquis eruit aut opere novo veterum instar concinnavit, ed. Dom Joseph Pothier, O.S.B. (1903)

A color facsimile edition of the exceptionally rare Cantus Mariales, containing a delightful selection of medieval and modern Gregorian chants in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, prepared by the famous chant maestro Dom Joseph Pothier, abbot of Wandrille, and published in Paris in 1903. A friend of mine, visiting Jerusalem, happened to explore the choir loft of a monastery called Saint-Pierre de Sion. There he found a stash of dusty old chant books and asked the proprietor if he could buy any of them. The proprietor said: “Go ahead and take the books, they’d probably just get thrown away otherwise.” This friend gave them to me in Austria. Once I began to sing the chants inside, I knew that I had stumbled on a goldmine. (The same book is also available with a different cover.)

Other Os Justi titles include dogmatic theology from Scheeben and Pohle, Thomistic papers edited by Cuthbert Lattey, a catechetical work on sanctifying grace by Fr. Swizdor, Fr. Leen’s The True Vine and Its Branches, a lavishly illustrated edition of selected Fioretti or Little Flowers of St. Francis, reprints of Benson’s The King’s Achievement and By What Authority?, and two anthologies of Catholic poetry. See this page for more information and links.

Benedictine Martyrology Back in Print after a Century

La Gloria di S.Benedetto by Pietro Annigoni (1979), showing the Patriarch surrounded by his multitudinous offspring.

I am excited to share with readers the latest reprint offered by my modest publishing enterprise Os Justi Press. (It has been awhile since we’ve added titles, as I’ve been busy with other projects, but don’t forget to have a look at the online catalogue—including the anthology John Henry Newman on Worship, Reverence, and Ritual, Parsch’s The Breviary Explained, Guardini’s Sacred Signs, Fr. Willie Doyle’s incomparable pamphlet Vocations, the illustrated Missal for Young Catholics, the best editions of Robert Hugh Benson’s The King’s Achivement and By What Authority?, the pocket edition Roman Martyrology, and many others!)

Speaking of martyrologies, many NLM readers will know that the great religious orders preserve records not only of all their members who have gone over to the eternal country, but also and in a more particular way of those who have died in the odor of sanctity and are venerated either universally or locally as models and intercessors.

For obvious reasons—it has been around for much longer, and its contemplative and liturgical way of life is entirely structured for prioritizing the pursuit of sanctity—the Benedictine Order numbers more saints, blesseds, venerables, and reputed holy men and women than any other in the Church, especially if we include the many later branches and reform movements that, called by various names, take Benedict’s Holy Rule as their own.

This is why it gives me extraordinary joy to announce the republication, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, of A Benedictine Martyrology. Published in 1922 and basically impossible to find on the used book market, this book is Alexius Hoffman’s English translation and adaptation of the Rev. Peter Lechner’s Ausführliches Martyrologium des Benedictiner-Ordens und Seiner Verzweigungen [Detailed Martyrology of the Benedictine Order and its Branches], published in Munich in 1855. The original was published in cloth; this reprint is paperback, but with a simple and formal cover design:

The volume is catholic in its criteria, containing not only the “classic” black monks but members of reforms and branches such as the Order of Citeaux, of Camaldoli, of Vallombrosa, of Monte Oliveto, of Monte Vergine, of Fiore, of Pulsano, and of La Trappe, the Celestines, the Humiliati, and the Congregations of Cava and Cluny, as well as military Orders and eminent benefactors. Weighing in at a substantial 350 pages, with over 1,500 entries, it is a worthy supplement to the Roman Martyrology, a moving testament to the greatness of the spiritual family inaugurated by the holy twins Benedict and Scholastica.

The book gathers succinct biographies of men and women who lived according to or in the ambit of the Rule of St. Benedict and who died with a reputation for heroic virtue and sanctity, including both those officially beatified or canonized and those who received local veneration. Note that, unlike the Roman Martyrology, which is little more than a list of names, places, and a salient fact or two, the Benedictine Martyrology devotes anywhere from one paragraph to a whole page to the life of each man or woman recorded. In that sense, it is a sort of “mean” between the Roman Martyrology’s pithiness and the multi-page treatments in The Golden Legend or Butler’s Lives. Each day has usually four or five entries, covering three quarters of a page to a little over a page. In this way, it would serve admirably for daily reading after the Office of Prime or at some other convenient moment.

The Benedictine Martyrology is available from Amazon.com (link) and its affiliates.

Here are the first three pages from the month of December:

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Four New Reprints from Os Justi Press — Including a Pocket Roman Martyrology

It’s been a long time since I’ve announced any new reprints from Os Justi Press, but now there are four to announce for the holiday season — and one of them is particularly momentous.

The traditional version of the Roman Martyrology was last published in English in 1962 by The Newman Press in Westminster, Maryland. Canon J. B. O’Connell’s translation brought to readers the editio typica of Benedict XV (1922) as augmented through its fourth edition in the pontificate of Pius XII (1956). Until now, this book has been available only in an expensive hardcover volume, sold by Angelus Press for $36.95. It is a handsome edition and the one that I always use at home after Prime in the mornings.

However, I travel a fair amount, and this book was too bulky to travel with me. I tried reading the Martyrology online but found the technology distracting in my prayer time. So I decided to produce a Roman Martyrology Pocket Edition that would consist only of the listings of saints for the days (i.e., not the front matter or the enormous index) and would measure only 4.25" x 6.25" and not quite 3/4ths of an inch thick. I have subsequently traveled with this many times and found it perfect for my needs. It would also serve well as a small reference book for those reading the Martyrology in Latin. Best of all, the price for this 286-page paperback is $12.95 (available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, etc.). It may be a good step for those wishing to add the Martyrology to their daily prayer routine, as a source of strength and inspiration.

Next, there is a helpful resource for learning and teaching chant: Dominic Keller, O.S.B., Fundamentals of Gregorian Chant (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1955); pbk. $9.95. This handy 80-page book, based on the classic Solesmes method, begins with general definitions and proceeds through such topics as notes and their names, the clef and the guide, barlines, intervals, pronunciation, syllabification, accentuation, phrasing, neums, rhythm, the ictus, rules for placing the ictus, chironomy, undulation, psalmody, and modes and their characteristics. For pedagogical purposes it includes a list of 100 terms to be reviewed and 30 questions to be answered. A fine tool for self-study or classroom use.

A third book: A. M. Crofts, O.P., The Fullness of Sacrifice: Doctrinal and Devotional Synthesis on the Mass — Its Foretelling, Foreshadowing, and Fulfilling (Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1953); pbk. $17.95. [From the book's description:] We are witnesses of a growing desire to participate more devoutly in the traditional Latin Mass. The venerable prayers in the Missal, the dignity of the ceremonies, the concerted movement of priests and worshippers in supplication and love, have stirred the heart of the Catholic world. Many aspects of our act of worship — its setting, foreseen in prophecy and fashioned reverently in the course of time; the heart of it, the Eternal Priest offering Himself as Victim; the memorial in His daily return, as real as when He walked to death; our sharing in that ceaseless Eucharistic action whereby the Church offers herself in Christ to God; the inexhaustible riches of the Redeemer’s presence; the food of the soul on earth, with a pledge of eternal life — these are lucidly explained by Fr. Croft in this commentary, at once scriptural, devotional, and liturgical. [The table of contents:]

Lastly, a perfect gem of a book by A.-M. Roguet, O.P., Holy Mass: Approaches to the Mystery (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1953); pbk. $12.95. Fr. Roguet was an important member of the Liturgical Movement and this book long predates his involvement with the destruction of the Roman Rite under Paul VI and Bugnini. Like early Merton, early Roguet has much to commend it. He writes with theological acumen and poetic flair. [From the book's decription:] This fine little book from 1951 studies the Mass, not from its origins or from theories about it, but from its fully-developed ritual acts. The Mass is a simple reality, yet at the same time rich and complex, as are all things that are concrete and alive. In order to understand it we must go around the mystery, see it from different angles, complete and correct one idea that one ceremony, or group of ceremonies suggests, by other ceremonies or by the same ones seen from another point of view. The Mass is an action, a movement, the work of a whole people assembled round the priest and the altar; the Mass is also and always a mystery, that is to say, a reality that is infinitely beyond us and that our intellectual reasoning could never reduce to a convenient schedule. To get a glimpse of the mystery, to present it under various lights, to bring the Christian soul into contact with it, leaving him the possibility of penetrating further by his own efforts, such has been the author’s ambition. [The table of contents:]

The photographs used for the covers of these books are taken from post-Summorum traditional Latin Masses, displaying the very same liturgy on which these older authors are commenting. The combination of preconciliar texts and recent images reminds us of a continuity that has never been lost, which more and more Catholics are finding anew.

Visit www.peterkwasniewski.com for articles, sacred music, and classics reprinted by Os Justi Press (e.g., Newman, Benson, Scheeben, Parsch, Guardini, Chaignon, Leen, Roguet, Croegaert).

Angelico Press Launches New Series “Catholic Traditionalist Classics” with Houghton’s Mitre and Crook

Fr Bryan Houghton (1911-1992)

It is with great joy that I share an important development in the world of publishing: the launch of a new series by Angelico Press, Catholic Traditionalist Classics, that will bring back into print — for the benefit especially of younger readers born after the apocalypse — many fine works from the early years of the traditional movement, and until now difficult or impossible to acquire. The series is inaugurated, appropriately enough, with a towering classic: Fr. Bryan Houghton’s deliciously witty novel Mitre and Crook of 1979.

When the publisher asked me for an endorsement, I wrote (without any back-cover hyperbole) that I had read Mitre and Crook on a lark years ago and instantly fell in love. Bryan Houghton was the Robert Hugh Benson of the postconciliar crisis. He brilliantly portrays a bishop, Edmund Forester, who with equal parts cleverness and courage orchestrates a complete restoration of Catholic tradition in his backwater diocese. The novel is written in the form of letters from Bishop Forester to his presbyterate and to various allies and enemies, local and abroad; the epistolary narration is suspenseful and gripping. Along the way we are treated to a scorching portrait of the souls of reformists, unbelievably narrow in mind and oblivious to spiritual realities.

Although Houghton’s book appeared exactly 40 years ago, his characters read as if we met them yesterday, or will meet them tomorrow, now that the Church has entered into a second winter under a second Paul VI, with who knows who or what will follow next. Indeed, at one point Bishop Forester writes:

You ask me what I think will be the future of the Church. My dear Father, I have not a clue. I am not a defeatist because I believe in God. On the other hand I am a great believer in failure because it gives Divine Providence a chance. It is because in this year of grace the Church has the appearance and odour of a dung-heap that God will use it to manure the most exquisite flowers, fragrant with the odour of sanctity.

If you have not read this exceptionally creative and insightful work, I encourage you to do so. You will find it a moving tale, exhilarating in its denouement, and breathtakingly relevant. It will take you to a new level in your appreciation of Catholic tradition — as a classic is supposed to do.

This book would make an outstanding Christmas gift, especially for priests, whether already fully on board or moving in the right direction, and — dare one say? — for bishops, too. It’s about time that one of them, in flesh and blood, took this novel’s protagonist as a template.

Some quotations to whet the appetite . . .

The very volume of changes in the Church since Vatican II is sufficient to guarantee that most of them are for the worse. It is inconceivable that over the past two thousand years the Church has manifested and expressed the Faith so badly that any and every change must be for the better. If that were so, she would lose all credibility. What is conceivable, on the other band, is that some of the changes may have been for the better and some not. But this possibility is one which we are not allowed even to discuss. To do so is disloyal, divisive and conducive to schism. Every change is for the better; there has not been the least error, the slightest slip.

Now, in the revolution through which the Church is passing there is a victim which has suffered even more than the Mass. It is Confession, the Sacrament of Penance. The revolution claims to be a “renewal.” From the dawn of history there have been renewals and revivals. All have had the same message in a thousand forms: “Repent and do penance! God may yet relent and forgive.” The present renewal is unique: instead of repentance, permissiveness is preached, the Sacrament of Penance is neglected, and the confessionals abandoned.

How can anyone dare stamp on other people’s sentiments? Who has given them permission? “The hankering after the Old Mass is pure sentimentality.” Of course it is, and that is precisely why it is sacrosanct.

More harm is done by charity at the expense of others than by direct injustice. Even in civil life, a miscarriage of justice is less harmful to society than charity to hardened criminals.

I might be prepared to look at a new Mass form if it magnified God still more and exalted Him still higher; if it lowered man still further in the imagination of his heart; if the mysteries appeared more wondrous and the doctrines more luminous; if the language was more noble and the images grander. But look what we have been given: the exaltation of man and the humiliation of God; the evacuation of mystery, and ambiguity in doctrine; the flattest of images in pidgin vernacular.

It is clear enough that one of the reasons for the sharp rise in the number of communicants is the abolition of the Eucharistic fast. There is now no barrier other than sin to receiving Our Lord. Hence there is automatic social pressure in favour of receiving. The person who does not either lacks piety or is in a state of sin. No such presumption was possible when there was the barrier of fasting: those who did not receive had merely broken their fast and those who received had prepared themselves by keeping it. In fact the abolition of the Eucharistic fast, especially for children and youths, can be the cause of exerting unbearable pressure in favor of sacrilegious Communions.

You wish to exonerate the Pope and put the blame partly on his entourage but principally on the bishops. This position seemed perfectly tenable during and immediately after the Council; let us say, for the first five years of his reign, until 1968. But it is quite untenable now. No Pope in history has gone to such lengths to ensure an entourage and episcopate of his own choosing as Paul VI. The Cardinals lose the power to vote at the age of eighty so that only those of his own making will be able to vote for his successor. Bishops are made to retire at seventy-five so that the overwhelming majority of the episcopate is of his own appointment. Everything is his own, from the Mass he says to the bishops who say it. Incidentally, never in the history of the Church has the appointment of bishops been so absolutely dependent upon Rome. Of old, Concordats or custom allowed some interference from the State so that the Vatican was not always to blame. Today, it is only in Communist countries that interference is permitted. The result has been the appointment of eminently worthy bureaucrats unsuited to command. Hence the lack of independence among the bishops. There is not the personnel to offer opposition. Actually, my dear Father, if in the administration you try to divide the head from the members, it is the members which you will exonerate. I am more charitable to Paul VI than you.

The New religion is living off the capital of the Old. It has not had to provide churches, schools or institutions of any sort—and practically no priests. All was found. Even the cost of destroying the Old has been paid for out of the capital it had accumulated. Once this capital is spent, and it has not far to go, the institutional Church in this country will be bankrupt.

Therein lies the tragedy of the New Ordo. Although its theology is ambiguous and its liturgical theory abysmal, those are not what I hold principally against it. The real trouble is that the New Ordo is unprayable. For seven long years I have both celebrated and attended it. It presents itself as a human action, an event, requiring participation; instead of a divine action, The Event of the Sacrifice of God Incarnate, requiring adherence. On the one side you have self-effacement, recollection and adherence, on the other self-expression, self-commitment and participation; these are irreconcilable. And the New Ordo does not merely call for its specific attitudes, it enforces them. You cannot be recollected with a microphone blaring at you in your native tongue which you cannot help but understand. You cannot be self-effacing if you have got to stand up and answer up. You cannot adhere to God if you are busy shaking hands all round.

One can judge the competence of any government by the number of laws it makes. A good one will administer the laws at its disposal with the minimum of fuss and change. A bad one will constantly be legislating and throwing the administration out of gear. This is as true of civil as of ecclesiastical government. England is in chaos because of the mass production of laws. Our monetary inflation is the financial expression of our legislative inflation. It is exactly the same with the Church.

How strange! What you hurl at me as an insult I receive as a compliment: “you are a traditionalist at heart.”…. It is absolutely untrue to say that I am a bundle of sensations. In the first place I am a bundle of traditions. It is by my traditions that I judge the sensations of experience. Without them no sensation would have significance. The traditions form the warp and experience the woof of that wonderful tapestry we call the human person.

A full book description may be found at this page. To order, visit Amazon.com or affiliates.

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.

Back in Print: Two Classic Liturgical Commentaries, Benson’s Two Greatest Historical Novels, and the Bestselling Vocations Pamphlet of the 20th Century

Os Justi Press (my spare-time republishing entity, which still doesn't have its own website...) is pleased to announce new reprints of five works that should never have gone out of print in the first place. All are available from Amazon sites; the links are below.

Robert Hugh Benson. The King’s Achievement. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1957. Repr. Os Justi Press, 2018. xiv + 368 pp. Paperback, $16.95.

Robert Hugh Benson. By What Authority? New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1957. Repr. Os Justi Press, 2018. x + 372 pp. Paperback, $16.95.

I will start with my two all-time favorite historical novels, both by Robert Hugh Benson: The King’s Achievement, set in the times of Henry VIII, St Thomas More, St John Fisher, and the dissolution of the English monasteries, and By What Authority?, set in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and St Edmund Campion. The words "suspenseful, poignant, lyrical, brutal, and triumphant" come to mind in describing this pair of novels, in which Benson vividly depicted a world vexed and torn by religious debates, intrigues, and violence.

Indeed, the author, who profoundly researched the Reformation period and, although the son of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, ended up converting to Roman Catholicism, knew what he was talking about both historically and personally. He writes with remarkable psychological penetration into the motives, the good and bad will, found on all sides, and convincingly portrays holiness, indifference, ambition, and evil. I found these novels illuminating about our contemporary situation, as well, since the Catholic Faith and fallen human nature never change.

The publisher's description of The King's Achievement:

One of the most coldly calculated acts of Henry VIII during the Reformations was the dissolution of the monasteries. Monks and nuns were driven from their cloisters; the abbeys were plundered and turned over to greedy courtiers. From these ignoble proceedings came Robert Hugh Benson's inspiration for this great historical novel, the story of a house divided against itself. The Torridon brothers are sworn to serve different masters; one is a monk, in love with the Mass and the Faith of Ages, the other an agent of Thomas Cromwell, in love with a protege of Sir Thomas More. Among the giant figures who move through the tale are those of St John Fisher and St Thomas More, the ruthless King Henry VIII, and the grasping Cromwell and Cranmer. Their actual deeds are carefully woven onto this harrowingly romantic tale of the attempted destruction and resilience of the Catholic Faith in England.

The publisher's description of By What Authority:

The fates of two young people caught in a conflict of ideals is the theme of this stirring and tragic novel, set in the England of Elizabeth I. At a time when to follow the Old Religion meant at the least heavy fines and at the worst death, Puritan-bred Anthony and Isabel Norris find themselves drawn to the Church of their forefathers. Monsignor Benson has peopled his story with characters who, while remaining staunchly themselves, nonetheless illustrate the tensions of the time: low intriguers, valiant men and women, heroic figures such as Edmund Campion and the inscrutable Queen Elizabeth. In a story which delves into the deepest reaches of the Catholic and Anglican dilemma, Benson's own life struggles shine forth, ultimately finding their solution in the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." 

These novels went out of print decades ago, and until now have been available only in the most disgracefully OCRed, typo-ridden, badly formatted versions. To remedy this problem, Os Justi has scanned and made available the novels as published in 1957 in New York. The covers on both sides have been ornamented with period portraits suggestive of the characters in the novels. (I have my son Julian to thank for these beautiful cover designs.)

Canon A. Croegaert, The Mass: A Liturgical Commentary. Vol. 1: The Mass of the Catechumens. Trans. J. Holland Smith. Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1958. x + 251 pp. Paperback, $17.95.

Canon A. Croegaert, The Mass: A Liturgical Commentary. Vol. 2: The Mass of the Faithful. Trans. J. Holland Smith. Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1959. x + 311 pp. Paperback, $18.95.

This pair of volumes, conveniently divided between the two parts of the Mass, is a testimony to the discriminating historical sense, robust theology, and fervent spirituality of the original Liturgical Movement in its healthy phase, and a melancholy reminder of what intelligent and sympathetic appreciation of Catholic tradition looked like on the eve of the Pauline revolution, before that tradition was swept away.

Now that the genuine Mass of the Roman Rite is returning to so many places, it is time that resources like these should be available again, not only for theoretical purposes but for a living and practical knowledge of the traditional rites of our religion, on the part of clergy who celebrate them, religious who live from them, and laity who assist at them.

The author, Canon Croegaert of Malines, follows a "conservative" line in the sense that he narrates how the liturgy developed over the centuries but instead of expressing skepticism or dismay about medieval and Baroque developments, he grasps the deep logic of their development and explains how they are beneficial. He occasionally points out abuses but is generally so entranced with the beauty of the liturgy as a whole and in all its parts that he is content to offer the history, make observations about elements that have fallen away or been modified, and point out ceremonial issues for the clergy. Here is the publisher's description:

Many priests express a desire for a deeper knowledge of the meaning and history of the rites and prayers of the holy sacrifice they celebrate every day, but have neither the leisure for research nor the sources, which are scattered through a great number of books, pamphlets and reviews. It has been our aim to provide a methodical and practical book for the clergy — one which will be useful both for their own instruction and in their apostolate. The order of the parts of the traditional Latin Mass has been followed throughout and each of the ceremonies is described separately. Each of the chapters provides a general introduction to its subject, a summary of the history of its origins and development and a description (where applicable) of the rite itself. The emphasis throughout is on the practical: on doctrine, history, liturgy and ascetic theology. 

Two short quotations from the work: "The Mass is the sacrifice of redemption itself, set before men, and made present in the midst of them, with all its power of glorification in honour of the Holy Trinity, with all its power of life and sanctification for us." And: "Christ has ordered the adoration of the Father by the Church in a definite pattern — through the sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments, the rites and ceremonies of which have been defined in every detail by the Church."

Rev. Pierre Chaignon, SJ. The Sacrifice of the Mass Worthily Celebrated. 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.

This work is a translation (by the late bishop of Burlington, Vermont, no less) of a work originally composed in the 19th century by a Jesuit who specialized in the spiritual direction of priests. The book belongs to that wonderful genre, alas nearly gone extinct after the asteroid impact of the Council, of liturgical spiritual reading for clergy to aid them in offering the holy mysteries digne, attente, devote (worthily, attentively, devoutly).

Thus, Part I is about due preparation, and speaks of the excellence of the sacrifice of our altars, the holiness required by the altar, the particular virtues foremost at the altar, the power of sanctification made available to the priest at the altar, and immediate preparation, while Part II concerns the aims and methods a priest may use during the very celebration of the Mass to increase his concentration, fervor, and benefit, together with the obligation and the blessings of making a good thanksgiving. (As a layman, I also found its contents applicable by analogy to those who are striving to make the most out of their time in church during divine worship.)

Here is the publisher's summary:

Very much has been written in more recent times about the Mass and the cooperation of the laity in it; comparatively little, however, has been written concerning the attitude of the priest towards this Holy Sacrifice. And yet, if St. Thomas Aquinas is right to say “every time we celebrate the memory of his Host, we exercise the work of our redemption” (Summa III.83.1), then so mighty a work requires the best preparation. Father Pierre Chaignon, S.J. (1791–1883) was a French Jesuit priest and spiritual writer who devoted his life to the spiritual direction of other priests, giving an estimated three hundred retreats to French clergy over the course of thirty years. His deep love for the clergy and his concern for their sanctification shines forth in this beautiful book, which helps the priest to prepare well for Mass, celebrate it well, and then make a good thanksgiving afterwards. To stress the importance of his theme, “the worthy celebration of Mass by the priest,” the author incorporates in his work the mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, the fervor of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the spirit of St. Charles Borromeo, and the zeal of St. Ignatius. Since its appearance, this work has been found very serviceable for meditation and spiritual reading. Father Chaignon’s clarity of thought and exactness of reasoning make the book well adapted to modern conditions under which priests also find themselves compelled to do things in a hurry.

Fr. William Doyle, SJ. Vocations. First published in 1913. Many editions in Ireland and beyond. Repr. Os Justi Press, 2018. vi + 48. Paperback, $7.00.

This classic from 1913, written by the lovable and heroic Fr. Willie Doyle who has been receiving a great deal more attention in recent years (including being the subject of a docudrama at EWTN), became an instant bestseller when it was first released, and was sold in the hundreds of thousands, in at least ten languages. Scores of clergy and religious told Fr Doyle later on that it was instrumental in awakening them to their vocations. I am not at all surprised, as it is probably the most clear-talking, inspiring, inviting, and positive booklet about priestly and religious vocations ever written.

In a letter to his father in 1917, shortly before his death on the battlefield as a World War I chaplain, Fr. Willie wrote: "After my ordination ... I was struck by the fact that there was nothing one could put into the hands of boys and girls to help them to a decision except ponderous volumes, which they could scarcely read." This little booklet is different: it gets right to the point, basing itself squarely on the sayings of Our Lord and the examples of His saints. Some of the chapters include "What is a vocation?," "Signs of a vocation," "Motives for entering religion [i.e., religious life]," "Trying a vocation," "Importance of following a vocation," "Opposition," "Objections," "Advantages of religious life."

If you are discerning a vocation; if you know people who are; if you are a parent who hopes and prays for vocations; if you are a priest or religious encouraging vocations; if you are working with children or young adults and are looking for good reading to give to them — I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of this, give it a read, and see what you think. Fr. Willie's powerful little book (less than 50 pages) deserves to reach a great readership.

(For those who'd like to read more about Fr Willie, my daughter Genevieve published a short biography of him with choice quotations at OnePeterFive, on the exact 100th anniversary of his brave death on August 16, 1917.)

Announcing Several Excellent New Books and Reprints

I have been remiss in reviewing good books sent to me by publishers. In fact, I am remiss even in announcing books that I have reprinted myself! So I will take some time now to recommend these works to NLM readers.

Ludwig Ott. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Trans. Patrick Lynch. Ed. James Canon Bastible. Revised and updated by Robert Fastiggi. N.p.: Baronius Press, 2018. Hardcover, with gold ribbon, 568 + xxii pp. $59.95.

I shall begin with what is certainly one of the most impressive books to appear in a long time, and something that should be on everyone's shelf: a beautifully printed new edition of the classic Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott, published by Baronius Press with the same exceptional quality that we have come to expect from all of their books.

Many will already be familiar with this brilliant summary of dogmatic theology, first published in 1952. It has a special place in my heart because it was the first book of serious theology ever placed into my hands in high school, at a time when I was awakening to my Catholic faith for the first time, and looking for meaty explanations, which I had never heard or seen in 16+ years of mainstream Catholicism. A teacher put me on to Ott, and I was riveted to it. I even prepared handouts from it for my youth group, not realizing that the text and the audience did not quite match up. But enough of reminiscing. The point is that Ott is the best comprehensive guide to Catholic dogma ever produced, laying out the Scriptural, patristic, liturgical, and magisterial sources of each Catholic doctrine, and indicating the level of authority attaching to it. This latter feature is particularly helpful, in that one can quickly see whether a teaching is de fide or is held with a greater or less certitude by the Church.

An indication of the usefulness, completeness, and reliability of Ott is the fact that the monastery of Le Barroux (and perhaps others, too, unbeknownst to me) has all of its monks studying for the priesthood read Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma in its entirety, chapter by chapter, as they proceed through their program of formation. Really, any Catholic who wants to know the actual content of the Catholic Faith, as well as which doctrines are matters of opinion or dispute (and to what degree), should consult Ott on a regular basis.

The original English translation of Ott by Dr Patrick Lynch, while it helped countless readers, was afflicted with numerous errors of translation. There has been an "errata sheet" floating around for a long time. The Baronius edition has been compared page for page to the definitive German edition (Bonn: nova & vetera, 2010) and corrected in hundreds of details by Dr Robert Fastiggi. The formatting is cleaner and easier to follow, and of course, being newly typeset and printed in hardcover with a sewn binding, is much nicer on the eyes and much more durable than the old TAN glued paperbacks that would split if you just looked at them too intently.

This edition features an eloquent little foreword by Bishop Athanasius Schneider and a preface by Dr Fastiggi giving examples of how the translation has been improved.

I simply cannot recommend this book and this new edition of it highly enough. If you do not have Ott, wait not a moment longer. If you already have an old Ott, replace it with the new Ott, which is handsomer and better translated. To order, visit its Baronius Press page.

Uwe Michael Lang, ed. Authentic Liturgical Renewal in Contemporary Perspective. Proceedings of the Sacra Liturgia Conference, London, 5-8  July 2016. London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. Paper, xii + 197 pp. $26.95.

I'm not sure why it is the case that this third Sacra Liturgia volume has been somewhat neglected or even forgotten in the world of liturgical studies and renewal. One might speculate that after two substantial volumes of Sacra Liturgia proceedings (both of which have been reviewed at NLM: the first here, the second here), there may be a market saturation phenomenon; but I think that this is not true, or at least not the main explanation. I believe that people are just not aware of this book and how valuable its contents are, and that the general ecclesial mayhem swirling around us, with seems to worsen with each passing year or even each passing month, is not a congenial atmosphere for the study of scholarly literature.

Yet this third volume is no less worthy than its predecessors of our careful attention. The book includes, needless to say, the definitive edition of Cardinal Sarah's plenary lecture in which he made his now-controversial recommendation that priests should begin celebrating the Ordinary Form ad orientem in Advent. This was not the first time the Cardinal had made this proposal, but it was the first time that he attracted the notice of hostile powers in high places. But the other papers in the volume, less notorious, are more intriguing: for example, Dom Charbel Pazat de Lys on "The Public Nature of Catholic Liturgy"; Stephen Bullivant on how confusion about the evangelistic needs of modern man not only dictated the liturgical reform but now require its reversal; Fr Uwe Michael Lang's precise and detailed account of the Tridentine liturgical reform, which nicely complements the study of the same subject by Anthony Chadwick in the T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy; and Alcuin Reid's fascinating account of the conciliar debate over what became article 50 of Sacrosanctum Concilium, namely, the demand that the Order of Mass be revised.

In short, if you have benefited from the earlier volumes, you will undoubtedly benefit from this one as well. The series, which I hope will soon be joined by a fourth containing the proceedings from Sacra Liturgia in Milan, truly sets a benchmark for current liturgical studies, which are submitting decades of ruling assumptions to penetrating critique and contributing to the recovery of lost elements of Catholic tradition.

Emile Mersch, S.J. The Whole Christ. The Historical Development of the Doctrine of the Mystical Body in Scripture and Tradition. Trans. John R. Kelly. First published 1938. N.p.: Ex Fontibus Company, 2018. Paperback, xvi + 623 pp. $21.77.

Emile Mersch was once among the most appreciated theologians, especially in regard to ecclesiology. Then the Second Vatican Council hit, and someone who is customarily depicted with cloven hoofs and a pointed tail pressed the "delete" button. Today, vast swaths of magnificent preconciliar theological work is totally forgotten. It would be more accurate to speak of "the Chernobyl" than of "the Council."

Happily, this is beginning to change as some of the old classics are rediscovered and reprinted. Ex Fontibus has played a vital role in this process, as one can see from consulting their now-extensive catalogue. The latest addition is Mersch's extraordinarily rich and illuminating study of the concept and reality of the Church as Mystical Body of Christ, as it was prefigured in the Old Testament, clearly shown forth in the New Testament (he has many chapters on St. Paul and St. John), powerfully proclaimed by the Greek Fathers (chapters on St Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, St Athanasius, St Hilary of Poitiers, St Gregory Nazianzen and St Gregory of Nyssa, St John Chrysostom, and St Cyril of Alexandria), and fully articulated in the Western tradition (chapters on Tertullian, St Cyprian, St Augustine, the early Middle Ages, the Scholastics, and the French school).

When I taught ecclesiology at the International Theological Institute, I always assigned the chapters on St Cyril of Alexandria and St Augustine out of this book, as there is no better synthesis of their theology of the Church. In general, I would place it in the top ten books on ecclesiology for any serious reader's shelf. The quality of the reprint is fine.

The last two books featured today are reprinted under my own reprint service, Os Justi Press. I do not yet have a website, but posts about other titles may be found here, here, here, and here.

Pius Parsch, The Breviary Explained. Trans. William Nayden and Carl Hoegerl. First published in 1952 by Herder in St. Louis. Reprinted by Os Justi Press, 2018. Paperback, viii + 459 pp. $19.95.

Does Pius Parsch require any introduction? Although one can see occasional touches of pastoralism and antiquarianism in his work, Parsch was in fact one of the finest writers of the original Liturgical Movement and his commentaries on the Mass and the Divine Office always make for worthwhile reading. His insights are copious and his style sparkles with his strong love of the Church's daily round of public worship.

This book is a particular masterpiece, and it surprises me greatly that it has been out of print for so long. The contents spell out the scope of the work: Fundamental Notions (e.g., Why pray the breviary?); The Constituent Parts (psalms, lessons, orations, verse and versicle, antiphons, responsory, hymns); The Spirit of the Breviary (structure, cursus, seasonal variations). It is, in fact, a compendious introduction to the Roman Breviary in Pius X's revision, and will immensely enhance the understanding and devotion of anyone, cleric or layman, who uses this edition of the breviary, which would be the vast majority of members of the traditionalist movement.

Anthology of Catholic Poets: 200 Years of Catholic Poetry in English. Compiled by Joyce Kilmer. First published in 1917; last edition 1939. Reprinted by Os Justi Press, 2018. Paperback, xxx + 389 pp. $19.95.

It has always been my intention to bring this fine anthology by Joyce Kilmer back into print, alongside a similar sort of volume (also from 1939) by Thomas Walsh, The Catholic Anthology: The World's Great Catholic Poetry. The difference is simply that Walsh's much larger book contains translations from all major languages and spans many more centuries, while Kilmer's focuses on English poets only, from the start of the 18th century onwards. As one would expect, it includes selections from such literary lights as Belloc, Benson, Faber, Hopkins, Lionel Johnson, Maynard, Meynell, Newman, Patmore, Thompson, and Wilde.