Books on Culture

There are many good and popular English books on the Mass. Some of them treat the subject after the manner of a Rationale, explaining the significance of the prayers and ceremonies of the Eucharistic rite; others are historical and antiquarian, and elucidate the origin and evolution of the ceremonial—while of devotional books there is no end. This book, however, is a treatise on the folklore and minor antiquities of the Mass; by which are meant the various aspects and the numerous details of ...

That sacred art scarcely exists today is all too clear. We can perhaps speak of a “religious,” but certainly not a sacred art. True sacred art is not sentimental or psychological, but ontological and cosmological in nature. Sacred art cannot be the result of the feelings, fantasies, or even “thought” of the artist—as with most modern art—but rather the translation of a reality largely surpassing the limits of human individuality. Sacred art is precisely a supra-human art. The temple of former...

New converts and cradle Catholics alike are often perplexed by the myriad of devotions, traditions, practices, and beliefs that the Catholic Church has accumulated over the past twenty centuries. Why pray to St. Anthony to find something lost? Why keep a St. Christopher medal in your car? Or why bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down! in your yard when selling your house? In Helen Hoffner's lovingly-illustrated, encyclopedic Catholic Traditions and Treasures, you'll find succinct and sometim...

Drinking with Saint Nick is a unique and delightful gift book that celebrates the traditional holiday season. Written by Michael Foley, author of Drinking with the Saints, this special book has something for everyone! From hot gin toddies and smoking rosemary old fashioneds to beer and cider selections, it is the perfect way to bring the spirit of Christmas into your home! Enjoy learning about Saint Nicholas and other saints while you sip on festive cocktails that will make your Christmas Eve...

How the Catechism Can Shape Our Common Life Rarely does a book come along that so succinctly explains the decline of modern culture, articulates a defense of the Church's teachings, and offers a hope-filled path for building a civilization grounded in Catholic truth. In these pages, Dr. Ryan Topping does all three, pulling back the curtain on the false philosophies of the secularists and showing that in the West today the most formidable threat to freedom is not failing economies or Islam, bu...

The Beer Option proposes a renewal of Catholic culture by attending to the small things of life and ordering them toward the glory of God and the good of the community. Beer has played a surprising role in the history of Catholic culture, spurred on by the prayer and work of brewing monks. As we confront the many challenges of our time, beer can play a role in refermenting a local and home economy, drawing people together in festivity and friendship in the warm beauty of lost traditions. Cons...

What is a good education? What is it for? To answer these questions, Stratford Caldecott shines a fresh light on the three arts of language, in a marvelous recasting of the Trivium whereby Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric are explored as Remembering, Thinking, and Communicating. These are the foundational steps every student must take towards conversion of heart and mind, so that a Catholic Faith can be lived out in unabashed pursuit of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. Beauty in the Wor...

Pub crawl your way through the sacred seasons with this entertaining and useful collection of cocktail recipes, distilled spirits, beer, and wine for virtually every occasion on the Catholic liturgical calendar. One part bartender's guide, one part spiritual manual, a dash of irreverence, and mixed with love: Drinking with the Saints is a work that both sinner and saint will savor.You may think you're savy on saintly drinking, but did you know: Beer may have been invented by the ancient Egyp...

This beautiful, hardcover cookbook features over 60 recipes to help your family celebrate the liturgical year and the life of the saints. Both a teaching and a cookbook, this resource offers triple nourishment of body, soul and mind that makes it so much more than a traditional cookbook. From approachable saints bios with an accompanying dish to full meals associated with Holy Days of Obligation, your family will enjoy these delicious, authentic, tested, and easy-to-cook recipes. Here you'll ...

Presented by the Pontifical Swiss Guard: 500 Years of Classic Recipes, Papal Tributes, and Exclusive Images of Life and Art at the Vatican The Vatican Cookbook, presented by the Pontifical Swiss Guard reveals for the first time the favorite dishes and personal menus of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and St. John Paul II. Enjoyed daily by Vatican dignitaries and guests from around the world, the more than 80 gourmet recipes included here range from the simple to the sublime, and from everyda...

Explore the vibrant and complex first thousand years of Christian culture with Popes, Emperors, and Elephants: The First Thousand Years of Christian Cult. This carefully researched book is written in an accessible style that adults and children alike can enjoy. Roy Peachey takes you on a journey from Athens to China, from Rome to Ethiopa and through ancient lands like Jerusalem and Iraq. You’ll learn about saints, popes, emperors, sailors —and yes, even the occasional elephant! It’s an eye-op...

Is man an isolated, voluntaristic, autonomous individual, as modernity would have him? Or is he subject to natural, social, and transcendent orders? Much has been written since Rerum Novarum in 1891 on the general outlines of Catholic social, economic, and political thought, but what Catholics need today is a sure guide to how to live out these principles in their daily lives. To this end, Brian McCall’s To Build the City of God responds with chapters on marriage and the family, dress, educat...

In a world that is ever-changing and increasingly full of challenges, it is more important than ever to have a strong foundation on which to build our lives. For centuries, the Rule of Saint Benedict has been a source of wisdom and guidance for those seeking to live a joy-filled and meaningful life.André Gushurst-Moore's book, Glory in All Things: St Benedict & Catholic Education Today, shows us how even in the 21st century, the ancient wisdom of Saint Benedict can be applied to our lives...

The Common Mind traces the theme of the sensus communis, inherited from the medievals, through the lives and writings of twelve literary figures in the modern age, ranging from Thomas More and Jonathan Swift to C. S. Lewis and Russell Kirk. It is this quality, argues the author, which, like natural law, serves as the bedrock of orthodoxy, of social and political order, and which, by its presence or absence, determines the nature of every society. The Common Mind is an altogether uncommon achi...

In Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. He identifies five characteristics of play: it is free; it is not “ordinary” or “real” life; it is distinct from “ordinary” life both as to locality and duration; it creates order; it is connected with no material interest, and from it no profit can be gained. With cross-cultural examples from the humanities, business, and politics, Huizinga examines play in all its diverse guises—as it relates to la...

Liturgy, Education, and Inspiration for Family, School, and College In The Way of Beauty, David Clayton describes how a true Catholic education is both a program of liturgical catechesis and an inculturation that aims for the supernatural transformation of the person so that he can in turn transfigure the whole culture through the divine beauty of his daily action. There is no human activity, no matter how mundane, that cannot be enhanced by this formation in beauty. Such enhanced activity th...

Nurturing the Bond Between Faith and Food "Know that even when you are in the kitchen, God moves amidst the pots and pans." --St. Teresa of Avila For over two thousand years, Catholics have been at the heart of the culinary arts. Perhaps this should come as no surprise considering the sacred feast of the Eucharist gives life to our faith. From this foretaste of the heavenly banquet, we return to our domestic churches to gather around the dinner table, where families share joy, laughter, and l...

My Quest to Liberate Africa's "Untouchables" In the West African country of Benin - the birthplace of Voodoo - witches, "healers," and charms are common and a way of life for many. Yet those who suffer from mental illness are nearly universally perceived as being possessed demonically and are thus objects of shame, disgust, and terror. In fact, most are chained to trees and treated like animals. One man, however, travels all over West Africa to find those "unclean" people who have been disown...