"My priest is My other self; I love him, but he must be holy." Mother Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche (1868-1915), a Visitation sister, was commissioned first by Our Lord, then by her religious superiors to write THE SACRED HEART AND THE PRIESTHOOD based on her lifetime conversations with the Divine Master. Its purpose is to strengthen the souls of priests in the love of their sublime vocation and unite them more than ever to Jesus Christ, the eternal Priest and to give the faithful a Greater confidence in an more religious and filial respect for the orders of the sacred hierarchy. (p. xxxii) The Holy See has declared her writings to be in conformity with the teachings of the Church and has sanctioned the organization of priests, which she had drawn up under the name of The Priests Universal Union of the Friends of the Sacred Heart. A gift for seminarians, priests and anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of this vocation. Impr. 224 pgs. PB "To do My work, to extend the reign of love, priests must be full of it themselves, and it is to My Heart that they must come to draw it." Christ to Mother Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche

"......the hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of woman is being achieved in all its fullness..." as Vatican II affirmed. In this work, a woman speaks to women simply, warmly, humbly........ [from back cover.]

While dissolute bishops and priests around the world grab headlines for their untoward words and deeds, too many other unfruitful priests minister as little more than glad-handing bachelors doing social service work. Top and bottom, is this the Church that Christ intended? Are these the priests we need? “No!” cries author Kevin Wells in these compelling pages that showcase how heroic priests can faithfully tread the narrow path of holy self-sacrifice first blazed by the apostles themselves. From scores of insightful interviews with modern priests, exorcists, seminary formators, and even disillusioned laity, Wells here draws forth a blueprint for priestly holiness that can once again fill our Church with priests abounding with sincere, supernatural faith, on fire with God's love, and moved by the irresistible impulse to save souls, no matter the cost to themselves. Reading this book will deepen your own faith and help you understand what all priests, by their vocation, are consecrated and called to be. Giving a copy to your parish priest will help him – and encourage him – as he strives to become a member of the small but growing contingent of holy priests we need.

Intimate insights from the saint to whom Our Lord gave the Sacred Heart revelations. Includes Our Lord's own words to her and tells how she sought out suffering for the love for God. A very famous book and one of only six saint's autobiographies in existence.

Recommended to us as even better than The Imitation of Christ, and we think it is! Written for everyone, and everyone should own it. In this book Jesus is speaking to the reader -- through the author, of course -- in short, easy-to-understand chapters that are filled with wisdom. Thereafter the student of the spiritual life -- representing ourselves -- speaks to Jesus. Renders a unique and powerful effect upon the soul! One of the best spiritual books you can acquire; great for beginners as well as those advanced in the spiritual life. Impr. 734 pgs, PB

Far-reaching changes continue to take place in the American priesthood. Building on insights gained from four previous surveys, Same Call, Different Men uses fresh data from a 2009 survey-jointly implemented by the National Federation of Priest's Councils and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate-in which 900 priests shared attitudes and stories about their lives and ministry. Among topics covered are the challenges of ministry with fewer ordinations and larger parishes, ministering to an increasingly multicultural laity, collaboration with lay leaders, and personal reflections on the sexual abuse issue. It also relates the many satisfactions of being a priest, one who brings Christ to others and who is invited into many profound moments of individual lives.

"The Sacred Heart is, as Simeon prophesied of Jesus Himself, 'Signum cui contradicetur.' Like the title of His Blessed Mother, who is in very truth 'Mother of God, ' it has drawn to itself all the assaults of heresy. For it is a divine test of faith in the mystery of the Word made Flesh, 'ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes.' Those who have trusted with a yearning hope that the faith of Englishmen, in the Incarnation at least, was firm and clear were saddened and silenced when the pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial elicited from some of the highest sources of the established religion a profession of simple Nestorianism. It was then that the first fifty pages in this book were published. Having been out of print for some time, they are now reprinted, as the doctrinal foundation of all that follows. The devotion of the Sacred Heart has two aspects: the one as the centre of all dogma; the other as the source of the deepest devotion. In this latter aspect it reveals to us the personal love of our Divine Redeemer towards each and every one for whom He died. It is a manifestation of His pity, tenderness, compassion, and mercy to sinners and to penitents. Nevertheless, its chief characteristic and its dominant note is His disappointment at the returns we make to Him for His love, and above all, His divine displeasure at the faults and sins of those who are specially consecrated at His service. He seems to be sadly upbraiding us with the three doubting questions which He put to Peter, 'Lovest thou Me?' and to be looking upon us as He turned and looked on him, when he had thrice denied his Master. Into this part of the devotion of the Sacred Heart I have not ventured. It has already been treated so profusely by others, and by many of whom I have only to learn; it is in itself so deep and intimately related to the personal life and mind of each, that I have always felt it better to use but few suggestive words rather than to draw out devotional acts, which to the writer are no doubt spontaneous, natural, and real, but to the reader may be a burden like Saul's armour to David. In the following pages, therefore, I have intentionally confined myself to the dogmatic side of the devotion; and for the following reasons. I believe firmly that when divine truth is fully and duly apprehended it generates devotion; that one cause of shallowness in the spiritual life is a superficial apprehension of the dogma of the Incarnation; and that one divine purpose in the institution and diffusion of the devotion of the Sacred Heart, in these last times, is to reawaken in the minds of men the consciousness of their personal relation to a Divine Master. He has foretold the dimness and coldness of these latter days: 'The Son of Man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, faith on the earth? (S. Luke xviii. 8.)' 'Because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold (S. Matt. xxiv. 12).' In that day the disciples of the Sacred Heart at least will 'know whom they have believed.'"--

If you’re unhappy because the Mass has become for you routine – or even boring and tedious – these pages are for you. They teach you eight simple ways to make your every Mass a joyful time of piety and intense devotion. Explaining the spiritual meanings behind the signs and symbols, words and actions of the Mass, author Christopher Carstens teaches you spiritually-enriching ways to enter the church building, make the Sign of the Cross, pray the Opening Prayer, listen to the Readings, prepare your soul at the Offertory, participate in the Eucharistic Prayer, receive Communion, and even respond to the Dismissal. Soon – with the help of author Carstens wise suggestions – you will be surprised to find each Eucharistic Celebration a fountain of peace for you, a profound refreshment for your soul. Among other things you’ll learn from these pages: The meaning of the “sacramental principle”: if you don’t understand it, then Mass is almost surely flat for youHow each element of the Liturgy has a sacramental quality about it, and can be for you a grace-filled encounter with JesusHow to transform your prayers at Mass into a conversation with GodWhy silence – both within the liturgy and outside of it – is a necessary element of that conversation with GodThere’s a proper spiritual way to make the Sign of the Cross (do you know what it is?)How the Creed can be for you the highpoint of the Liturgy of the WordWhy, during the collection, you should also explicitly offer Christ your heartThe best way in the Mass to participate in Jesus’ saving work: do you know what it is?What you should desire in order to receive the Eucharist most efficaciously (and what that desire presupposes in you)Coming and going through the church doors: what, each time, it should mean for you spiritually Plus, at the end of each chapter, a list of action items for the next time you go to Mass, and much, much more to awaken in you the bright spirit of joyful devotion that we are all called to have at Mass.