Charles II: The Last Rally by Hilaire Belloc, 1939 (2003). 223pp. I’ve actually never read a history book by Belloc before. Economic essays and children’s poems, yes, but not any of the history that was his trade and legacy. From what I knew of his reputation, I assumed he would be a very good Catholic…
This photo is a page from a delightful book called An Alphabet of Saints, by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson, Reginald Balfour, S.C. Ritchie, and illustrated by L. D. Symington. I made this happy discovery when searching for available scanned versions of Msgr. Benson’s fiction books (Lord of the World is probably his best-known work). Immediately…
A Short History of England by G. K. Chesterton (1917) In my opinion, this book is wrongly-titled: it should be called A Short Commentary on How the History of England Is So Badly Taught. Chesterton put his pen to paper for this book in order to combat the many errors in early 20th Century England’s…
Ever since I reviewed the fantastic exposé of modern ways of presenting “the Middle Ages”, Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths by French historian and archivist Regine Pernoud, I have wished for more. Where could I find a history of this most glorious era of human civilization that got it right, from the beginning? …
How’s your evening routine every day? Is it peaceful and recollected, with your thoughts tending toward heaven as you head to bed each night? Well, it can be that way–that is what the prayer of Compline is for.
I love books. I love writing and graphic design. And I especially love being Catholic. If you are like that too, then making mini-books is definitely a project for you. All you do is take a regular piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper, fold it in half both ways and the long halves in half again, until you have eight equal sections. Then after you cut at the middle fold, you fold it together inwards and–voila!–a tiny book with a front and back cover and six inner pages.
Catholic churches—how should we build them in this enlightened and sophisticated 21st century? Actually, it’s no mystery. And it’s not up to subjective interpretation: there are principles and plenty of precedent for the construction of Catholic church buildings. Well, if you want to know how we should construct a Catholic church (and perhaps more importantly,…
In pursuit of a writing project I have recently started, the other day I decided to read the Book of Acts in one afternoon. And then, since I just happened to have it sitting around, the next day I read Marigold Hunt’s The First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children, just to be…
For Christmas last year my husband bought me the huge (684 pages, weighs 3 lbs!) and beautiful book A Sense of the Sacred: Roman Catholic Worship in the Middle Ages by James Monti. I had wanted it badly. This book is somewhat like an encyclopedia, only one that provides a live, guided tour of the rites…
We just enjoyed the feast of St. Michael and the Archangels three days ago, and now we remember the tireless, loving work of our Guardian Angels in this feast today. Today is a great day to have angel food cake for dessert! Although most Catholics know the simple prayer to our Guardian Angels (“Angel of…
St. Catherine Catholic Culture Center 