TAN Reprints the Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture

I see that TAN has reprinted, in a hardbound edition, the fantastic Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture. It uses the Douay-Rheims Bible but in all honesty you can use it along with any version you are used to.

It isn't a regular concordance, its actually a topical index. If you are a student of scripture, a priest, a youth leader, teacher, or parent this book is worth the $45.

New TAN Books Website

TAN has upgraded their website to a beautiful new look. You can still get to the old website however, just in case!

Also, my diocese has done the same.

Review: Seven Lies About Catholic History

Diane Moczar has done us a good service by writing this book, Seven Lies About Catholic History. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Dr. Moczar takes us through just seven out of the millions (probably) of lies perennially told about the Church. She begins by first examining some reasons for the lies. Then she devotes a chapter to each of the ones selected. A overview (in a great biting tone btw) is provided for each one. Then she debunks the lie and goes about teaching us how to debunk it. This book is a good way to give the uninformed Catholic an easy way to answer some of the most vicious lies about Church history. Even for the student of history this book could serve as a refresher (or as a first step toward reality).

The lies covered between the covers are:

1. The Dark Ages

2. The Catholic Church, Enemy of Progress

3. A Crusade against the Truth

4. The Sinister Inquisition

5. Science on Trial: the Catholic Church vs. Galileo

6. A Church Corrupted to the Core

7. A Black and Expedient Legend.

There was one point in the book that I mildly disagreed with Dr. Moczar about. She seemed to defend the Church's relaxation of its usury laws, which I believe hasn't worked out for us so well. Our entire modern financial system is based on immoral usury and we have now seen the results. However I am not in the money-finance-CNBC business at all, so perhaps I'm wrong. Certainly the history is fuzzy to me.

The chapter I enjoyed the most was "A Black and Expedient Legend". The Black Legend is a bunch of (reformation period protestant) nonsense history that calumnied Catholic Spain during the 1500-1600s. It basically says that Catholic explorers and conquerors brutally treated, enslaved, and tortured wonderful native and noble savages while looking for gold in the New World. I learned a lot from that chapter I didn't know, such as the fact that captured Spaniards were sacrificed to the Aztec Gods and also that Cortes refused to eat the meat (because it might have been human!) when eating dinner with Montezuma.

This book was a lot of fun to read and so I recommend it! At about $12 it makes a good stocking stuffer. You can also get it for your Kindle or other eReader.

Here is the link.

Hungry Souls from TAN Books

November is the month in which we remember the dead and pray for them. This book, Hungry Souls, is put out by TAN. Here is their promo video.



Happy All Souls Day!

Review: Death of a Liturgist

When I originally saw this coming out from St. Benedict Press I was excited to read it. It had been a while since I had the time or motivation to read a fiction book but this one seemed right up my alley. For the most part, it was. At the parish where I play Saturday Vigil Mass we went from Gregorian Chant and greater solemnity to ... um ... not Gregorian Chant or (nearly any) solemnity in a matter of 5 minutes after the priest transfers, when I was told "never" with regards to the chant.

The story begins by us learning that St. Rita's parish will also be undergoing a pastor change. The long standing shepherd and his young assistant priest have for many years fostered a beautiful community with chant and more traditional forms of worship. When the new priest arrives he is inundated by people and duties. And so he hires someone, a liturgist, to handle some things for him. And the story really takes off from there. Eventually, as the title suggests, the liturgist ends up dead and the author, Lorraine Murray, leads us through the story with a full cast of interesting characters to suspect.

The character of the liturgist is obviously the antagonist of the book. He is the embodiment of evil. Chip is suave, charming, a tyrannic liberal, womanizing, and annoying to anyone who refuses to fall under his spell. He represents evil in a subtle and disturbing form: the kind which appears nice on the outside but is corrupt and mischievous on the inside.

The changes Chip Cambio make in the parish are things that have unfortunately happened in many places. But he doesn't just touch on liturgy - Chip goes after a whole lot more at St. Rita's. He tries to corrupt the women in the parish. What is it they say, that if you corrupt the women of a society the men will follow? (Just like Adam and Eve.) Chip goes after them in a big way and here I need to stop and say a little about issues of modesty.

I really liked the premise of the book. The story is timely and fast paced. But there were a few things I didn't like too. For instance Ms. Murray, being a woman, obviously writes from a female perspective. All of the men are physically described. Sometimes the women are described as well, in their upper parts. There is touching, cuddling, hand kissing (as a come-on), and woman-thoughts all over through the book. The words "erogenous zone" appear together in a sentence...which may upset some readers. Sometimes I would be reading along just fine and all of a sudden the realization would hit me that "I am inside a woman's head." So men reading this book, just a warning, you might feel a little odd at times. To the women, its not a romance novel but there is a good deal of romantic stuff between the covers. For-warned is for-armed as they say.

And just to finish up - I had solved the crime well before the end by piecing together the clues in the story. Ms. Murray actually did provide quite a few misleading paths during the book. It just so happens that I picked the right ones. But upon reaching the end that didn't bug me. I was actually pleased with myself for getting it so early.

Review: A Year With the Church Fathers

You've probably seen some advertisements for this book around the internet and in print. St. Benedict Press and Mike Aquilina have done a great job with this daily devotional.

I was just telling someone yesterday that I don't have much "need" for modern yet-to-be-approved private revelations because I haven't learned all I can from approved sources. The Church Fathers are one of those and this book is a great introduction to them.

Let's first of all judge it by the cover, which we are told never to do. We have here a very beautiful rendition of the highly flexible, soft, leather-feel, DuoTone/Ultrasoft material. It is comfortable to hold and the two-tone cover is a nice touch. If this were a Bible I would prefer a solid color.

The picture below shows its flexibility.

I don't know if this was intentional or not but the book has a near-semi-yapp cover on it. There is certainly a generous over hang. Intentional or not, it will help keep the guilt edges from getting marked up.

Below: Back cover.

The embossing on the cover is great as usual with S.B. Press. When I saw this book it reminded me of all those protestant devotionals you see when you walk into a book store. "God's Promises", "My Utmost..." "Purpose Driven Life" (etc) and now we have a decent looking Catholic one with some real meat to it.

Below: One thing I would change about the book construction is the thick pages. It seems they were going for completely opaque, and to do that you use thicker paper. But here it causes the book to be somewhat stiff. This will work itself out when you use it I suspect. Just go easy on it for a while.

I'm not a fan of glossy pages. I would also change this. But the page layout is good for a daily devotional. That's good advice on the page isn't it? And from St. John Chrysostom - the golden mouth!

You can see above there is a topic for the day, a short explanation, an excerpt from a Church Father, a short meditation, and a closing prayer. This may be a good way to begin the practice of mental prayer for ordinary Catholics. Not having read the whole thing yet, I can't vouch for all of the text but Mr. Aquilina is a well known and trusted apologist. I have his book "The Mass of the Early Christians" and enjoyed it.

You can purchase the book here.

New Books Arrival from St. Benedict Press

The great people at St. Benedict Press have sent me some new books to review. I received today A Year with the Church Fathers, Death of a Liturgist, Death Panels (a lot of death in the mail today, huh?), and Seven Lies About Catholic History.

The Year With the Church Fathers is beautiful btw. I'm going to look it over completely tonight and hopefully show it off tomorrow.

Review: The Three Marks of Manhood

Disclaimer: There are three appendixes at the end of the book. I haven't read them yet so I can't vouch for them. But the rest was outstanding.

I honestly meant to write a full book review on this title but I am busy preparing for something big this week and will going away next week. So there is a lot to do. However I believe I can do the book justice in short order.

This book is the answer. I loved it. In it G.C. Dilsaver presents to us the ideal of Christian Patriarchy, that a man is to be the priest, prophet, and king of his family. The book is very direct and extremely well written. Every man - married, engaged, or single should pick this one up today. It is particularly good for a young man starting out in life. I wish it had existed 10 or 15 years ago and that someone would have smacked me over the head with it and said "read this." But guys, a word of caution, if you are already married or engaged, it could be tough for you and especially your ladies. The results will be worth it though.

Mr. Dilsaver presents men as they should be and its refreshing. Everyone knows our society has been emasculated but nobody seems to know what to do about it. If you even suggest familial patriarchy today, you are ridiculed...even by other men.

Have you ever heard someone joke that once you get married you find out who really wears the pants in the family? Usually the person in pants turns out to the be overbearing wife who constantly chastises the lazy husband who continues in perpetual state of adolescence. I have also just described to you nearly every sitcom on television. That is what this book addresses. And it addresses it in a way that I believe will frankly reverse course most if not all of the problems facing the Church today.

There are too many interesting points in the book to go over here. But I'll bring one up which I found interesting. In discussing chastity in marriage Mr. Dilsaver says that it is necessary for a man to be chaste in his marriage because otherwise he becomes essentially enslaved to his wife. Living in an unchaste marriage actually hurts a man's patriarchal status. He also discusses how to educate and bring up sons to become their Christian patriarchs themselves.

However strong the book is in many ways, I found the last chapter a bit deflating. The chapter titled "The Heart of the Home" is all about the ideal wife. Men, if you buy this, do not let your wife or fiancee read this chapter until you have implemented everything else in the book. (I jest.) Single guys wait until you have quite literally rescued your true love from her castle. That woman probably won't mind either way. To give you a small hint: One of the footnotes in it suggests that women should not leave the house and presume her husbands consent to do so. ... I know, I know. The women reading this just recoiled. But see thats because you haven't read the rest of the book...

...which you should do. And frankly, women, if your husband is not living up to his patriarchal Christian duties, take this book and smack him over the head with it.

.

I hope to write more on this book soon.

New RSV-CE Reference Bible Coming Soon!

I heard some news today. A new RSV-CE reference Bible will be coming this fall. It will have commentary, maps, pictures, a topical index, is associated with Catholic Scripture Study International and will be published by St. Benedict Press.

This is the whole Bible, not just the New Testament. Its not quite a study Bible but much more than a text edition. I understand this is meant to be used in the context of Bible studies or just for regular home use. It will, unlike the ICSB, have ribbons.

The motto of CSSI is "Tradition - Scripture - Magisterium" so that should make for a welcome new edition.

Hopefully more information will be coming soon.

Review: The Judas Syndrome by Thomas Colyandro

Since finishing this book last week I have mulled over this review for quite a while. There isn't much for me to say but I'd like to cover a few things I liked about it and a few things I didn't. There are also two points in the book I found to be, at best, ambiguous.

The idea behind the Judas Syndrome is that old heresies have once again reared their ugly heads to attack the Church again. That is absolutely true. It is called the "Judas Syndrome" by the author because its perpetrators have exchanged the truth for something else. (In Judas' case, it was money.)

Thomas Colyandro has covered the bases here by talking about:

• Gnosticism/Docetism (Scientologists)
  
• Arianism (Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians)
  
• Pelagianism (American individualistic society)
  
• Iconoclasm (society taking down Christmas displays, churches that don't look like churches)
  
• Macedonianism (New Age Movement)
  
• Origenism (Modern secularism)
  
• Messalianism (Buddhists, Quakers, Pentecostals)
  

When I opened the book I expected to read a lot about these new incarnations of old heresies. I wanted to know the ins and outs of Jehovah's Witnesses and their Arianism. I wanted to read examples of modernist iconoclasts. But what I got was page after page of review material about the original errors, their founders, and Church teaching against them. Near the end of each chapter there is a page or two about the new version of the heresy. But the brunt of the text deals with the Church teaching against the original heresy. I struggled to get through the book because the application of the premise frustrated me.

But its not a bad book. It just wasn't for me. If someone out there has perchance heard of these heresies but doesn't know anything about them then it provides a great overview of seven major problem areas in the early Church. The information is good and thorough but not heady at all which means the average layman can pick up the book with ease. The language used is very plain spoken and conversational in style. I also like the idea of expounding on Church teaching by pointing out the errors of her wayward children.

Scripture verses and Church Father commentary are provided throughout. I skipped a lot (almost all) of the Scripture references completely because they were very familiar to me. For the beginner, especially a lay Catholic who doesn't know the Bible very well at all, having them along with the text is a plus. Let's face it, many Catholics simply do not know the Bible well no matter how many times we're told the 3 year Lectionary cycle at Mass is infinitely superior to the traditional one. Being a bit more knowledgeable, I would have been much happier with just simple footnotes. A good compromise would be an appendix with the verses written out.

There were two sections in this book which gave me pause. Here is the first:

"When the believer faithfully follows Jesus Christ, the fearful experience of evil and sin is transformed into acts of love and obedience. In this way, the believer may look forward to death. In addition however, we believe that our prayers for the dead are effective in God's eternity. Even though we do not believe people can willingly change after death, we do believe our prayers assist sinners before the judgment seat of Christ. In this way, we believers have the confidence that even unbelievers will have hope in death."

Page 111 - Chapter 7: Origenism Ignoring the Last Judgment

We do? I read that last sentence when I was in the adoration chapel. I read it several times but I could not square it with Catholic doctrine. There is nowhere in Church doctrine which I know of that says we can pray non-believers into heaven after they have died. If an unbeliever dies without the state of grace they cannot possibly have hope in death. Also there is no "hope" in heaven since there is no need and there is no "hope" in hell because those there know they aren't getting out. The only place after death that hope may be possible is in purgatory (and I'm not sure how to put that theologically). Our prayers for those souls go to repay their debt not put them in a state of grace - which they are already in.

Perhaps though there is an orthodox reading of the text. I cannot imagine this author, who seems otherwise orthodox, meant to put an error in his book about heresy. If by "hope in death" he means that our prayers can lessen their punishments or torments in hell then I think its possible. The reason I mention this is that just below his paragraph, Mr. Colyandro quotes St. John Crysostom who does not say we can save the sinner (rather that we weep for him) but that maybe our prayers can do a little good for them.

The other line that made me wince was right at the end. In the chapter Liturgy - The Antidote to the Judas Syndrome, Mr. Colyandro writes that the "ancient Eucharistic Churches have maintained the true faith since the time of Christ." Its just not true. The heresies he just wrote about were almost all Eastern and sometimes, if not often, were led by their Patriarchs. We in fact as Catholics do not believe the Orthodox even today to have the "true faith". Otherwise we would be in communion.

Other than these two very small parts of the book I think it is a good introduction to the old heresies which have indeed returned and always will. I would be interested to see what else the author has in store in the future.

SBP Bibles on Amazon - "Look inside!"

St. Benedict Press' sacramental Bibles are now "searchable" over at Amazon, which means you can take a closer look at the inside via their "Look Inside!" function.

Also, kind readers, do take a moment and leave your own review there if you have bought one. The reason I ask this is because there is *rather unfortunate* review written about these Douay-Rheims Bibles under the item listing. If nothing else, go respond to this "review".

Here it is:

This Bible translation is not appropriate for a young child as it is the translation from the Latin in the late 1500s, even though the copyright is 2009 (this refers to the notes). It is not an approved translation; hasn't been for decades. Later translations take advantage of biblical studies and other research over the past 500 years as well. Currently the New American Bible is the only translation authorized for use in the USA by the Vatican for liturgy. If you're going to give the child a Bible get the New American translation. Though a book of Bible stories might be more age appropriate as the Bible is not written on a second grader's level.

The (Challoner) Douay-Rheims Bible isn't an approved translation? ROFL. When was it condemned may I ask?

Review: Sacramental Douay-Rheims Bibles - St. Benedict Press

Well this is embarrassing. The camera was on the photo printer. Right in the open. Who would have looked there? Without further ado...



I present St. Benedict Press' sacramental Douay-Rheims Bibles. On top is the First Communion, on the bottom is the Confirmation Bible. In short, these are great gifts for any Catholic receiving these sacraments. They are also good for anyone who just wants a hardcover Douay-Rheims Bible. Let's dive right in.


Above is a photo of the spine and the gold embossed text. I personally would have liked the stamping to have some depth to it. But they did a nice looking job with what we have here. Its unlikely your 6 or 13 year old will care.


Both books lay flat nicely. That makes them great for personal use and especially Bible study.


In the First Communion edition, there are children saints profiled; and in the Confirmation edition we have the patron saints of young men and women. Here we see the Patron Saint of Altar Boys, St. Tarcisius, from the First Communion edition. A lot of the very nice art in these books are from stained glass windows. I suspect this will help the kids grow up appreciating fine artwork in their parishes. Wouldn't that be a nice thing?

In both editions the extras are tailored to the audience. The following photos are from the Confirmation edition and focus on discerning your vocation.


Apologies for the spotty light. I work with what I have at the moment. Below is a close-up of the art in these sections.


These books also include short catechetical works. In the First Communion Bible there is an explanation of the Seven Sacraments, and in the Confirmation Bible we have a question and answer section on frequent questions asked by young people.

Sacrament section in the First Communion Bible.

And here is the frequent questions section in the Confirmation Bible. It also contains a Latin/English prayers section.

There is much more in these Bibles than I have time to write about. The inside text by the way, is identical to the paperback edition which I reviewed here. I think it is safe to say that these make great gifts or even personal editions for any Catholic. If you are looking for a hardback Douay-Rheims this is a good choice.

Buy them here:
Douay-Rheims First Communion Bible
Douay-Rheims Confirmation Bible

Review: Rule of St. Benedict from St. Benedict Press

Last week I received several titles in the mail for review. One of them was the new edition of the Rule of St. Benedict from St. Benedict Press. The book itself is very straightforward. This is a simple text edition of the Rule. I have a small booklet edition of the "1980 Rule" and this edition is superior.

The scripture quotes are taken from the New American Bible. The text is large print and easy to read.



Technically, the book does lay flat. (I know, a knee slapper right?) The Rule is a small devotional book and it fits nicely into a bag or a large pocket.

The real gem on this little book is the cover. It is extremely pleasant to the touch. St. Benedict Press has used the same material from the "Ultrasoft" Bible editions and put it over semi-flexible boards. This makes for a great cover and I would frankly like to see this application on many other titles. Prayerbooks, Missals, Bibles, and even regular books would benefit greatly from this treatment. Hopefully we'll see it in the future again.



I stylized this photo a bit in iPhoto but its here so you can see the size. Underneath the Rule is the Ultrasoft RSV from St. Benedict Press.



The Rule of St. Benedict in Premium Ultrasoft.
The Rule of St. Benedict is available in paperback also.

(More) New Editions Coming Soon

I got word today from St. Benedict Press that their First Communion and Confirmation Bibles are coming out soon. They are supposed to be high quality and beautiful like the ones we recently saw. Also coming are their new line of NAB Bibles with the same bindings as their RSV and Douay-Rheims editions.

In addition to that, a new printing of the Rule of St. Benedict with their Ultrasoft material over a hard cover. It should be pretty nice.

Corrections on RSV Reviews from St. Benedict Press

Lauren from St. Benedict Press sent me an email today asking me to correct some information I wrote on their new line of RSV Bibles. I have happily changed my previous review.

Here are the corrections:

I must request a retraction of your statement regarding our Genuine Leather covers. These are Genuine Leather – not Bonded Leather. They are purchased from Cromwell Leather Group and are complete, whole hides – not manufactured. We pride ourselves on selecting true leathers for our bibles.

Ok, so I will say it too: These are actual leather covers. They are not bonded leather. Bonded leather is like particle board. These are whole hides, as she said.

This next one isn't really a correction but the information is very nice to have:

I’d also like to mention that the glue we use in our bindings will not crack as many older glues have in the past. Our binderies use a glue that will stand the test of time and will not crack or allow pages to fall out. (I am told the only way pages from a book bound in this way could come out is if you physically ripped them out yourself.)

Thank you Lauren for the corrections. For my error, I will gladly don the Microsoft Office Clipart DUNCE HAT!

Review: St. Benedict Press RSV-CE

At long last, I am finally ready to show you St. Benedict Press' new release of the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition. Above you can see both the Ultrasoft and Genuine Leather versions. I have a favorite of the two which won't come as a surprise. However I'll just say from the start that when put toe to toe (ribbons to ribbons?)they compare very favorably to each other.

Do you read your Bible mostly in your home and occasionally take it to the Adoration Chapel, Church, or Bible study? Does the way a Bible feels in your hands matter to you? Do you want a soft leather bible that flops around but can't afford to rebind your old one in calfskin or goatskin? Then let me show you the Ultrasoft RSV.



The Ultrasoft version, like its Large Print Douay cousin feels great in your hands. It opens flat after an initial out-of-box workout. You will have to gently flip all of the pages and bend it around a few times. Do not mind the creaking noises. But don't be hasty or rough with it. After all, you've just dropped $40 on a new Bible.


It does Bible yoga moderately well. The flexibility is tempered only by the size of the book and its glued binding. Tall form factor Bibles do the yoga much better because of their shape. This however is a good showing for a hand sized bible.



It lays flat and stays open...most times. But when you are in the beginning of the Old Testament or the end of the New it will not. This is an issue with the glued binding. The day it lays flat when opened to Revelation chapter 21 is the day you need to purchase a new one because the binding has probably split. Just sayin'.

[Lauren at St. Benedict Press wrote this in an email to me:

"I’d also like to mention that the glue we use in our bindings will not crack as many older glues have in the past. Our binderies use a glue that will stand the test of time and will not crack or allow pages to fall out. (I am told the only way pages from a book bound in this way could come out is if you physically ripped them out yourself.) "

Good to know. This makes me feel even better about these editions.]

I really like the feeling of this Bible and can say that it is worth the $40 you will pay for it. It is probably the nicest of the RSV-CEs on the market.

On the other hand...

Do you take your Bible everywhere you go? Do you make a daily holy hour or read your Bible on breaks at work? Maybe you are a traveler or a truck driver. Things fall on your Bible or you have a messy house. You are prone to spills or knocking things over?



Let me introduce you to the Genuine Leather version. Originally I believed this was bonded leather, but it is fact NOT bonded leather. Lauren wrote this in the same email from above:

"These are Genuine Leather – not Bonded Leather. They are purchased from Cromwell Leather Group and are complete, whole hides – not manufactured. We pride ourselves on selecting true leathers for our bibles."

So yes this is a tougher feeling leather but it is REAL. So feel good about paying more for a Bible with a real leather cover on it. I also assume this could soften with time, given the oils from your hands will have an effect on the cover of any book.

It is also less flexible. The GL would have stood upright on its spine with no problem until I gently flattened it out with my hands for about a minute or so. Do that slowly. A little creaking noise is ok. It will lay flat once you have finished.



The results are a pretty nice Bible for someone who tends to be a little rough on their things. It also looks good too. The cover makes the book feel less expensive than its lower priced Ultrasoft counterpart but its strength is that you really can't nick this one or dent it.



Yikes! Bible yoga fail! The more durable cover has its natural consequences.

On all editions from St. Benedict/TAN Books the gilt edges are nice and shiny. I hope they hold up this way because it really makes for a great looking book.



The leather edition has nicer end papers, btw. They are some sort of leather or leather-like material.




The insides.

Of course the covers and physical aspects of the Bible are not the most important but the since Bibles are a dime a dozen these days they certainly factor in our purchasing decisions. Nevertheless the text is penultimate.

St. Benedict Press has done a nice job here. This is a straightforward text edition with notes in the back. The print is readable and relatively easy on the eyes. The poetry sections are set apart. (not paragraphed)





You will notice a moderate amount of ghosting. Just a quick note here; Ghosting is not "bleed through." Bleed through is what your highlighter does, when the ink actually comes through the page. Ghosting is when text on another page appears due to thin paper. Ghosting is a problem for Bible publishers because while we all want thin Bibles we also want readable text. Most Bibles these days have moderate ghosting. Sometimes it can get really bad with the ultra-thin editions.

As a Bible reader, it is nice to have the notes in the back. As a Bible student it is not. Personally I would have like the notes to be with the text. I also would have liked the notes to be in a larger font. This is the only potential draw back of this edition. ... besides the missing cross references.

The plot thickens.

I loved this email from the publicist. My comments and emphasis.

Our translation is the original version kept by the National Council of Churches. I have followed your and other’s blogging about the confusion over the different RSV-CEs available. It has been quite confusing to us as well. The version we have is the only version licensed by the National Council of Churches, [NOT the RSV-2CE apparently...] through HarperOne (a division of HarperCollins).
...

The history of the RSV is very convoluted. The cross-references, for example, are not part of the original RSV licensed by the NCC. I do know that already some customers have been disappointed to find them missing in our version, but we have been unable to determine where they originated. We are continuing to investigate this matter and hope to find the source. If we do, we will consider purchasing the rights to those cross-references for use in future printings.

Wow. Pretty interesting eh? They didn't put cross references in because nobody knows who owns them.

A new feature in this edition is the Calendar of Readings for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This is nice to have if this is your normally attended liturgy, especially if you can't make it to daily Mass. Many protestant Bibles these days come with a yearly reading plan. This is the Catholic answer, and its a good one.

Is that your final answer?

If you purchase this edition I hope you really enjoy it. St. Benedict Press has put together a nice Bible for every day use. In fact I haven't seen one I didn't like yet. If you put the Genuine Leather side by side with the Ultrasoft...I would go with the Ultrasoft. I showed it to some people after Mass on Sunday and they universally thought it was high quality leather until I told them it was a chemical concoction. But again, you might be rougher on your Bible than I.

Here's the link. Have at it!

All my reviews of the St. Benedict/TAN Bibles:

Paperback Douay Rheims

Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay Rheims

RSV Genuine Leather and Ultrasoft Editions

Beautiful: Large Print Douay-Rheims Ultrasoft from TAN

Yesterday the UPS man arrived with a package for me from TAN/St. Benedict Press. I was puzzled because my order had just been processed that morning for a new RSV Burgundy Ultrasoft. When I opened it I was pleasantly surprised to find a Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims and the normal hand sized RSV Black Genuine Leather Bible.

I opened the Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims first. It was love at first sight. In fact there is only one thing I would change about this edition which I will get to in a minute. But everything else about this particular Bible is perfect. If I would have seen this in a store it would have been immediately picked it up and taken it to the counter for purchase. It is that nice.



Regarding the old maxim of never judging a book by its cover...throw that one out. The cover on this is gorgeous. It is soft and supple, flexible and comfortable as any genuine calfskin you'll encounter. Granted, this is not calfskin and yes you can tell the difference. But for most consumers this Ultrasoft imitation leather is the next best thing.

When I first saw the advertisements for the large print edition I remember thinking "I'd never have any use for that." My general thoughts were that large print editions are usually not stellar and the print looks like a children's book. But that is not the case with this bible. The traditional Douay format really shines with the larger print and does indeed make the -eths, thees, thous, and thines easier to read. It is also good for low light, which my house is plagued with. In fact the large print is so well transferred in this edition that I am tempted to encourage you to skip the hand sized edition and opt for this one.

Lays flat easily after a few opens.

As for the size of the book, it is just a little taller than the Ignatius RSV-2CE Leather. But tall and thin Bibles are all the rage these days and this one is right up there with the rest of them. The print is larger but not giant. Its just right.

The bible opens flat pretty much right out of the box. I had to open and close it a few times to get it where I wanted it. But here we get to the one feature I would like changed: the binding is glued. Now, I have been assured by the publisher that it is durable, made of PVC glue, and doesn't "require the use of sewing". Well...OK. But sewn binding is typically a hallmark of quality. Nevertheless most readers are not binding snobs like me so we can look past this one.

I keep thinking this bible would be great for street preaching...if we did that sort of thing. It easily flops in your hand while reading. You can fold it back around itself for one-handed holding. The gilt edging is nice and shiny. It comes with a ribbon for place-marking.

Bible Yoga Success.

The results.

The embossing on the cover is magnificently done. I like it better than the gold stamping on the more expensive versions which doesn't quite work as well with the type font.

Cover embossing

Spine embossing: perfect.

If you have the money to spend and you really want a nice Catholic Bible, splurge for the Large Print Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims from Tan/St. Benedict. You will not be sorry.

Again, I do these reviews to help others make purchases. TAN/St. Benedict sent me this complimentary copy for review purposes. This is a service I do for my fellow Catholics. If you buy this and hate it, well, you can always return it. I suspect you won't want to do that in this case.

You can see my review of the paperback edition here.


UPDATE 12/9/09: Added Photos for more detail.

A stack: standard Liturgy of the Hours on top, hand sized RSV Black Genuine Leather in the middle, and the Large Print Douay on the bottom.

By request, a penny next to the text to show the size and type font.

All my reviews of the St. Benedict/TAN Bibles:

Paperback Douay Rheims

Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay Rheims

RSV Genuine Leather and Ultrasoft Editions