Guest Post: Rebinding the Catechism

One of my readers, Corey, sent this wonderful guest post in upon the rebinding of his Catechism.  Please enjoy the photos and his testimony on why it was important for him to rebind this book.  

-Matt

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Matt, thank you for asking me to do a write-up regarding my recent re-bind of my full-size copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (hardcover).  Note that I have linked the out-of-print (I think) hardcover version of the CCC.  I'll discuss why shortly.

For the reason that I have had wonderful prior experiences having Leonard's Book Restoration do my prior re-binding work, there was no reason for me to go elsewhere.  I have previously had an RSV-2CE New Testament and Psalms and an RSV-2CE (full Bible) rebound by Leonard's, and I continue to be very pleased.

The specs of this rebind are as follows:

• Leonard's "18th Century Revivalist Style (Softcover Version)" rebind.
• Genuine Calf-Skin (my prior Leonard's rebinds were all Goat - a little softer, but the calf feels more durable)
• Addition of 4, dark-brown, ribbons - a necessity I think for the CCC.
• Leonard's recommended using the imitation leather end-pages (versus the antique-paper) for durability.  I think Leonard's may start offering leather end pages (I say that only because solicited a survey on that topic on Facebook recently - along with other potential options - leather end pages "won" the survey I believe).
• I used a somewhat hard to find hardcover, green CCC because it has a "sewn" binding (versus the glued binding of the softcover green CCC).  That cost me about $45 on Amazon.com for a "like new" quality.
• Price with shipping:  $210 (excluding cost of the CCC)

I am extremely pleased with this product.  I can not say enough about the craftsmanship of Leonard's.  This is real, mom & pop shop, work done by good Christian people up in Indiana.  I have no idea how much time goes into the product, but I'm sure we're talking a number of hours.  That, combined with the quality of the materials, more than justifies the price.  We gave a few NT/Psalms (Ignatius) rebinds from my family to some close priest friends over Christmas and they loved them.  As expected, they have nothing like them.

I was asked "why have the CCC re-bound in not-inexpensive genuine calf-skin by Leonard's?"  The reason is simply this (for me):  After the Bible, the CCC is the most important document in my life.  It is arguably the quintessential document issued by the Catholic Magisterium (the teaching office of the Church).  But as we know well as Catholics, without Sacred Tradition, we (all Christians) have no way of knowing that the Bible, in all its parts, is exactly what it purports to be.  And it is only through the Magisterium that we have the necessarily infallible teaching of what is, and what is not, inspired and actually Sacred Tradition.  The Magisterium is the doctrinal glue.  (If we only rely on what "our heart tells us" is inspired and true, I think we know that the Canon of the New Testament would still be growing today.)

It is true that the CCC is merely a self-professed "compendium," but what a compendium it is!  Our Blessed John Paul the Great provided us the value of the document in the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (1992) (Deposit of Faith), where the saint explained (in pertinent part):

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved 25 June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church's faith and of Catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium. I declare it to be a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith. May it serve the renewal to which the Holy Spirit ceaselessly calls the Church of God, the Body of Christ, on her pilgrimage to the undiminished light of the kingdom!
...
Therefore, I ask the Church's Pastors and the Christian faithful to receive this catechism in a spirit of communion and to use it assiduously in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life. This catechism is given to them that it may be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms. It is also offered to all the faithful who wish to deepen their knowledge of the unfathomable riches of salvation (cf. Jn 8:32). It is meant to support ecumenical efforts that are moved by the holy desire for the unity of all Christians, showing carefully the content and wondrous harmony of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, lastly, is offered to every individual who asks us to give an account of the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) and who wants to know what the Catholic Church believes.

What a wonderful and powerful attestation to the importance of this Magisterial document in the lives of all Christians!  

We have all (hopefully) owned the Catechism for years.  But only recently I acquired a used hardcover copy of the Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The book is amazing. [Matt interjects: the companion IS amazing.  Buy one.]  Every single Bible verse, Church Document, Writing of the Saints, etc. that is reference/paraphrased, but not explicitly quoted, in the CCC is found in the Companion.  Merely reading the CCC reflects how soaked in Scripture is the entirety of Catholic doctrine (contrary to popular belief).  But if the Christian would simply crack open the Companion to the CCC, he or she would be amazed at the hundreds and hundreds of specific scriptural references there are in the CCC.  The CCC is truly a symphony of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.  What a blessing for all Christians.

I highlight the intensely Scriptural nature of the CCC (further highlighted by the Companion) because I think that fact needs to, in turn, be related to our non-Catholic brethren, who simply believe the Catholic Faith is not scriptural, when the opposite is true.  The Catholic Church is "full(est) Gospel."  When the CCC was published it was labeled by some left-leaning theologians in the Church as "fundamentalist" because the Church had the audacity to affirm the historicity of the Gospels, including all miracles and prophecy. That sort of criticism of the CCC should actually tend to make many non-Catholics comfortable with picking up the CCC and reading it knowing that it affirms every letter of the (entire) Bible as inspired and inerrant.

As a Catechist myself at my parish, I owe much of my recent "continuing education" to Dr. Brant Pitre at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, La.  His seminarian and graduate level courses on CD (some DVD) are a gold mine for the faithful.  And they are intensely orthodox.  Dr. Pitre is a Catholic Bible scholar who gets his students to love scripture.  But he also bases all of his classes squarely within the authoritative Magisterial teaching found in the CCC - while frequently venturing outside of the confines of the CCC to the very documents referenced in the CCC footnotes.  For those of us who have ample time in the car (or even just a 15-20 minute ride to and from work), I highly recommend anything by Dr. Pitre.  He will lead you to the Bible every day.

Thank you for your patience reading.  The foregoing is why the Bible and the Catechism both justify such a nice rebind and place of prominence in our house before our children.

And may God Bless Pope Francis and you all.  Pax Christi.

Baronius to Release Knox Bible

Baronius Press is about to release its new edition of the Knox Bible.  This is a very exciting release and I encourage everyone to check out the site they have put up about it.  The Knox translation will be appreciated by those who want a solid version but is more readable than the Challoner-Rheims version.  It can be a little "free" at times, and I often think of it as a traditionalist's NLT.  It is a well respected edition and a lot of folks out there have been waiting for this.

I hope to show it to you on these pages when I can get a copy.

Benedictine Daily Prayer (and a new toy...)

In anticipation of the new Baronius Breviary, I've bought a new toy.  Here we see my first "test" of my just opened miniature photo studio.  I decided to show off a breviary that is very prevalent on the market: The Benedictine Daily Prayer.  A full post will hopefully be showing up here, but I will say a few things about it.

First lets take a look at the photo.  I did a little, very little, editing to take out the edges of the photo studio sides.  It was quick, but with more time it would be better.  The light is good.

The cover of the book is one of the best treatments for bonded leather I have every seen.  The burgundy color works well and makes for an attractive prayerbook.

The side lights on the studio provide the perfect amount of illumination, especially for my purposes.  Here we see the text of the breviary.  It is single column throughout with a standard serif font.  The text is moderately sized and well spaced.  Notice the hymn on the right...it is a translation of the Latin hymn for Epiphany.  The proper hymns are used throughout, not the like the ones in the Liturgy of the Hours.

The collects (example on the left page here) range from well done to ridiculous.  They are not the same old ICEL collects found in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Here is the texture of the cover.  You can also see the un-ironed floor of the photo studio, which were left on purpose for you to see.  I have some techniques to perfect.   

Here you see a comparison with Volume II of the Liturgy of the Hours.  It is shorter but about the same thickness.  

A couple more points about the BDP Breviary...

• The psalms are inclusive language version of the Grail psalms used in the LOTH.  Unless you know those well these don't really seem that bad.  I tend to dislike inclusive language used for its own sake.
• The antiphons are not new compositions from the 1970s, like the LOTH, but are translations of the traditional antiphons for the hours which go back in some cases to the first millennium of the Church.
• There are some readings at Vigils (Matins, Office of Readings) that come from magazine/journal articles and other sources.  No, I am not kidding, but it looks like they are alternate readings.  If you know how to avoid silliness you can.
• There are some feasts included that are "special" to non-Catholics.  This is meant to be ecumenical.
• This breviary is not approved for actual liturgy.

In short, there are many really really good things about the BDP.  With the exception of the non-Catholic and silly language problems, this is a better version of the hours than the LOTH.  The antiphons, hymns, and (some) of the collects are worlds better than the official version.  But because of the howlers and weirdness I cannot recommend it for everyone.  Catholics use with caution, if at all!

Pre-ordered

I submitted my pre-order today for the Baronius Breviary.  No doubt many of you have already seen Fr. Z's mini-review of the new set.  As promised, a larger and more robust review with many photos of the breviaries will appear on these pages.  When you google "Baronius Breviary" this blog shows up just under the Baronius site, so no doubt many will view this review.  Believe it or not, many folks still find this blog looking for TAN's Bibles and then stick around to view the other pages here.

One of the things I try to do here is to provide an accurate as possible testimony about important Catholic books on the market because I know money is tight for a lot of people.  Things have slowed a little because I am incredibly busy with my job.  Although, as some of you no doubt have read around the internet...that will soon be ending...

Your donations have helped defray some of the cost for me and I hope that will help you make a good buying decision.  Baronius Press worked hard and had many setbacks.  From the looks of things, they have put together a decent product.  I am looking forward to telling you about it as soon as possible.

Monastic Diurnal: Lancelot Andrewes -vs- St. Michaels Press

A reader writes:

I have a question about the Monastic Diurnal: Contents aside, which of the two editions out there is better quality as far as durability is concerned? (One thing that concerns me, for example, about the LA Press edition is its location of the Psalter - similar to the Anglican Breviary). I have read mixed reviews of both books on that subject and was wondering what your experience with each of them has been in that area. Thanks!

It is tough to discuss the two editions without touching on some of the content. There are folks out there that will purchase based on quality alone but be disappointed later on. I want them to have a better idea of what they might be purchasing but I'll try to keep it short.

Here are the two diurnals again, with a pen in front (my Red Pen of Doom, used to grade papers, mwuhaha) to give you some perspective on the size. The Lancelot Andrewes Press edition is noticeably thinner and slightly taller. However the thinness of the Andrewes edition means that it can easily fit in your back pocket. I have done this several times. Just try not to sit down on it because the cover takes a bit to get its shape back... The cover is the same material as the Anglican Breviary. It feels like a hard but flexible shell, not imitation leather.

I got my copy on eBay, so I don't know how long it has been in use. Nevertheless you can see here that because the Andrewes edition uses a stiff-shell material its end papers want to pull away from the cover . When this happens it reveals that the stiffness is not a result of undercover boards but the material itself. This is easy enough to glue for a quick fix. Yes it is a lesser quality than leather, but it adds to the durability because it isn't so delicate. This is a tough material.

Here we see the print in the Andrewes edition. The text is good size and bold. Keep in mind that both of these editions are reprints of revisions of books going back to the first half of the 20th Century. So the text formats in both represent that time period. Take a look at the collects here and you will three present for St. Luke. There is a fourth on the next page. This is pretty common and is done to accommodate Anglicans and Catholics of different stripes. The introduction to the book gives a good indication of how to tell the difference.



The Andrewes editions gives you the prayers before and after the Divine Office, as well as the Ave. Pater. Credo. previously said before each hour.

Here is the St. Michael's Abbey Press Monastic Diurnal. I bought mine some time ago. In fact is it one of the first books I ever mentioned on this blog. The cover is a flexible Moroccan Leather previously used by Baronius Press back in the day to clothe their Missals and Bibles. It is really nice and getting better with age. Hands down, this cover is more elegant than the Andrewes edition.   I tried to take a photo that would show you the quality, which I hope you can see. I hope they are still printing this book with the same material.

Here is the psalter. I like having the Latin and English. This is the Vulgate translation of the Psalms and a proprietary English. A benefit of this edition is that if you visit a traditional Benedictine monastery or convent then you can use this to participate. You can't do that with the Andrewes press, at least as a Catholic.  [I stand happily corrected!  Comment from Brian M:  Dear Matt, you may wish to note that the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, a former Anglican sisterhood in Catonsville, MD, which recently converted en masse to the Church and was established as a priory of Diocesan right, uses the Andrewes Press edition of the Diurnal for their daily office.] 



Here is the psalter, in the middle, where all breviary psalters should be placed.

Here is the Andrewes Press psalter placement. Up front. I find it a bit more confusing than the the St. Michael's edition. This photo also shows the shorter ribbons and the thinness of the cover material. I think the gilt edges are better on the Andrewes edition though.

The St. Michael's edition comes with cheater cards to help you find your way around the Office.

The Catholic St. Michael's edition has an updated table of moveable feasts until 2066.

I hope this helps. Quality wise I think this is a toss up. The Lancelot Andrewes edition is more of a workhorse. It is slightly more portable. Both versions have beautiful English. The Anglican one has the Coverdale Psalter. If it helps you to know which one I prefer, it is the Catholic St. Michael's Abbey edition because I appreciate having the Vulgate and English side by side.

Best Pocket Bible Ever: Confraternity NT

The Confraternity Bible is my favorite translation and has been for some time. It is traditional, accessible, and comes with limited faithful commentary. The pocket New Testament and I spend a lot of time together and this is my second copy. The first lasted several tough years of abuse and would still be used today if the washing machine didn't win out in the end.

The pocket New Testament is published by Scepter Publishers, the publishing arm of Opus Dei. It measures roughly 3x5" and fits perfectly in your back pocket. The cover is blue vinyl and has one black ribbon. This thing is tough as nails, will stand nearly any abuse you give it, and only costs around $10.

The page layout is single column with bold print. The font is small but because it has a heavy weight it reads well. It contains a daily reading plan that will take you through the New Testament twice in a year. This is a long way from being chained to the Bishop's desk and should satisfy those who wish we had more weekday readings for Mass in the traditional rite. (Yes I am kidding!) Additionally it comes with all of the standard Confraternity book introductions, excerpts from Divinu Affantu Spiritu by Pope Pius XII, and a preface. It even has a map of Palestine in the time of Christ.

The binding is sewn which adds to the durability. One of the best things about this is that even after continually sitting on it, the book never seems to lose its shape. Its still not bent. My first copy lost its shape after being dunked a sink full of water. But it was still usable and recovered nicely.

Purchase it here from Scepter Publishers for $9.95

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Review: Mundelein Psalter

I love this book. Here is the Mundelein Psalter, published by Hilenbrand Books, a pointed edition of Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer for the modern Liturgy of the Hours. I don't normally pray the modern Office but if I had the opportunity to sing it with this book I might consider doing so. It is extremely easy to use. I suspect a group of lay folk with minimal musical experience (or a family?) would be singing the office within minutes after cracking this open. When the Office is sung rather than merely read or spoken its character can be fully realized. What we do in the office is not just a duty but divine worship.





Because it is meant to be used in choir and not for personal use, the book is large. The psalm tones used are the "Meinrad Tones" written by Samuel Weber, OSB. They make the Grail Psalter not just tolerable but somewhat beautiful.

The layout is amazing. The text, font, and spacing choices are perfect.

You sing the antiphon using the psalm tone below, which I assume the cantor would do . Then everyone else can get the tone in their head to use for the entire psalm. The ease of use of the Mundelein Psalter and its simplicity in form is brilliant and highlights the proper function of the antiphons.

The book contains a hymnal of actual music and texts for the Liturgy of the Hours. These aren't the ecumenical hymns found in the Catholic Book Publishing 1975 edition. They are the real deal. The Te Lucis Ante for Compline uses the modern Latin edition but the side by side English is the old version. I found that interesting.

Having the hymns and their translations alone makes the book worth owning. Whatever hymns not included can be found in the Liber Hymnarius and using this book is recommended by the Mudelein Psalter.

I imagine the tones could get old quick, but it is far better than singing recto tono.

A table of the tones for responsories, intercessions, and collects.

Sewn binding. It could use another ribbon, frankly.

This book is awesome and should be owned by anyone who loves the Divine Office. I promise you will spend time with it just singing through the Psalms.

Retro-Review: Prayer of Christians Interim Breviary

"Prayer of Christians" was the quickly created response to the Pope Paul VI's revision to the Divine Office by "National Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commission". It represents the spirit of the age of changing things quickly but not really knowing where everything was going. Because of that, this edition of the Divine Office has some very traditional elements mixed in with some wacky novelties. Just a couple of points and then we'll just look at the pictures.

-The Psalter is not infamous Grail version, but the same as the 1964 Roman Breviary which I reviewed (rebound) here. It is a translation of the Pius XII Psalter.

-The hymns part of each hour is called the "song". The Office of Readings begins with a sentence from scripture. I suspect this was done for ecumenical reasons.

-Finding the prayers for Sunday is difficult. To my eyes, I cannot see a way to tell which week in the Psalter you should be using, as you can in the 1975 Liturgy of the Hours by look at the Sunday you just celebrated.

-Some of the prayers and Collects are laughable. They are worse than the current (now defunct) ICEL versions.

-The antiphons aren't the same as the ones in the current version.

-The Scripture lessons in morning and evening prayer are different, or sometimes longer than the current edition.

-It is expected that Morning Prayer is the first prayer of the day, not the Office of Readings. "O Lord Open my Lips..." and Psalm 95 are placed at Morning Prayer.

Those are just some of the changes that came in this edition. I don't think this was, although I could be wrong, an obligatory version of the office. This was printed before the Latin Liturgia Horarum was complete, and so I believe most clerics were still praying the 1962 edition in some cut down and modified way. Once this came out many probably switched over to this right away though.

Here is a photo of the layout. It looks shabbily done. All black text.

The 1975 version text layout is a vast improvement in every way. Here is a comparison.

Artwork is what you would expect.

Here is a comparison of both editions. They are the same size. Prayer of Christians lacks the ugly "Chi Rho" symbol used in the 1975 Liturgy of the Hours. The cover has more texture, and the color is more mute than the newer one. It also doesn't seem nearly as cheap. However if you compare sometime like this to Breviaries that came out just ten years early you will notice immediately that they were cheaper. The first edition of the Liturgy of the Hours was worse in some ways. The modern printings are slightly better. I think that is representative of how they treated Liturgy in general at the time. It was to be for the common people and so they made it cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. Gratefully we are correcting that nowadays.

The binding. Sewn.

The canticles and other common cards are "ecumenical" translations and are promoted as such in the preface. Just look at the end of the Our Father.

Review: Bad Bibles Edition

I have been meaning to do this for some time, but am just getting around to it now that the school year is over and I have a nifty new keyboard for my iPad. I can type anywhere and it makes things very easy.

I need to show you the rot so you can avoid the stench. Here are two really bad Bibles that you need to avoid. Gladly, they aren't all the easiest to come by.

Bad Bible #1: The Rainbow Catholic Study Bible
If it were just the Good News Translation I probably wouldn't mention it. The GNT is one that I used as a Presbyterian growing up in Sunday School and Youth Group but even then we all knew it was sort of lame. But this one is really lame. Every verse in it is color coded, by topic, except for the "Catholic" books. They left those alone. The color coding makes this Bible completely unusable. One gentleman in my Bible study uses this and sits next to me in class. I don't know how he does it. It is the stupidest gimmick out there.

It also comes with a CD (Windows 3.1 Compatible!) with a whole bunch of heresy on it.

Bad Bible #2: Catholic Community Bible
This is the most insidious and evil edition I have ever come across in my life. I bought it off Amazon a few months ago because I was intrigued with what I saw from its website. I read some of the PDFs available for download and the notes looked a whole lot more faithful than our NAB. The translation itself didn't see half bad at all either.

Boy was I wrong. If you think the NAB notes are bad, you haven't seen these. On nearly every page appears some sort of anti-Catholic screed. There are some really really good notes too but that doesn't help the cause of this Bible.

Here is an example from the Letter of James.

James 5:13 - 16
Are any among you sick? They should pray. Are any of you happy? They should sing songs to God. If anyone is sick, let him call on the elders of the Church, They shall pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. They prayer said in faith will save the sick person; the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Not horrible. Here is the note on this passage.

We know, through James' words, that the Church continued - and must continue today - Christ's ministry to the sick. Salvation includes both physical and spiritual health. [? I wonder if this was written by a liberation theologian.] The Gospel shows us that the latter is the most important and God always grants it. [He does?], although he does not always restore physical health.

In the Gospel, Jesus lays his hands on the sick and when he sends his missionaries, he asks them to lay their hands on the sick or to anoint them with oil (Mk 6:13 and 16:18). The laying on of hands is like communicating to another person the power which will heal him, in the name of Christ and with his authority. As to oil, it was used in those days as a remedy. The two signs - anointing and laying of hands - accompany prayer.

The elders are those in charge of Christian communities. They were lay people [FAIL] but had been charged with the direction of the community, the celebration of baptism, presiding at the eucharist. [this is downright evil. it goes on...]

When the Church speaks of the sacrament of the sick, it refers only to the anointing with oil done by someone who has officially received the power for this sacrament (up to now, only priests can administer this sacrament) [?!?] This in no way excludes leaders of Christian communities from praying, from anointing, and laying hands on the sick...[etc...you get the point]

The CCB is the main English Bible translation for Phillipines. Avoid this piece of garbage.

Guest Review: Kenyan Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Ramil E. Fajardo has sent in photos and a review of the (until now) mysterious Pauline Publications African Liturgy of the Hours. I am very grateful for his excellent contribution!

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Hi Matt,

I thought you might want to see a set of the 2009 Liturgy of the Hours issued by the bishops of Kenya, using the 2008 translation of the Grail Psalter from Conception Abbey.

It’s a good start – given the changes that are still to come regarding ICEL translations of the texts which are due to be addressed at some point now that the missal is approaching completion. At best, this set is a tiny foreshadowing or glimpse of what a future US Liturgy of the Hours might look like.

As you can see, it was authorized with the permission of Cardinal Llovera Prefect, and Arbp. Ranjith Secretary.

Some interesting things:

1) new translation of the Confiteor

2) addition of the 3 cycle Sunday antiphons for the Benedictus and Magnificat

3) removal of the Psalm-prayers

4) no artwork at all (and this is good since the only art was ‘bad’ art in the US Liturgy of the Hours/Christian Prayer) and

5) "Glory be to the Father” at the end of each Psalm, instead of "Glory to the Father"

The cover is a firm plastic, with end sheets in a cream-colored firm card-stock. This is very similar to the first editions of the Liturgy of the Hours and Christian Prayer published by Catholic Book Publishing Company during the 1970s. It is also similar to many books you would find in Rome (in fact, the set was produced in Italy). The books have square-edged pages as opposed to rounded corners.

The actual pages are rather thin and translucent, closer (it seems) just a tad bit to ‘tissue’ as opposed to ‘bible or missal paper’. The paper seems rather delicate and I wonder how it will hold up to finger oils and page-turning.

A drawback of this set is that each book has only three very soft woven ribbons and which seem to be fraying rather easily already. You can purchase the set for only $100 in Kenya, though it may get pricey when you include shipping to the USA. I bought mine on eBay.

See it here: http://www.paulinesafrica.org/liturgy_hours.html

Thought you’d like to see it!

Sincerely,

Fr. Ramil E. Fajardo

PHOTOS:

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Matt's afterthought: If I were looking for a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, I would buy this one and use it until the new ICEL translation comes out...since that will probably be a while. The ribbon issue can be solved easily with a trip to your local Catholic book store to buy LOTH Ribbon inserts (and a pair of scissors). Also, for clerics, I am not sure what Canon Law says about using editions approved by other bishops' conferences. Could American priests use this instead of the US version?

Plug: WDTPRS Review of '62 Missals

Here is a review done by Fr. Z (like he needs the plug!) which I could never do. Nor would I have any business doing it since these books are not usable by me other than perhaps something to look nice on my shelf.

REVIEW: New Editions of 1962 Altar Missals

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/01/review-new-editions-of-1962-altar-missals/

I have reviewed some PCP Books here before:

Blessed Be God (Original)

Blessed Be God (Deluxe)

Diurnale Romanum

And check out Maximus' review over at ChurchLatin.com

Advent Reading: Lord of the World

I just finished the Lord of the World. Wow, what an incredible book. I was glued to the Kindle clicking through the pages at break-neck speed and soaking up all the dystopia goodness I could. If you want some Advent reading this is it.

Msgr. Benson did an excellent job predicting the future and course the world would take in the hundred years after he wrote. Its kind of frightening in a way all of the things that have come true (or are slowly coming true). Euthanasia is not quite as culturally acceptable as he predicted but it might be getting there.

It was just an enjoyable a read for me as The Man Who Was Thursday which quickly became a personal favorite. At some point I'll get to Come Rack! Come Rope! but not until after the Holidays. In the meantime I am in the middle of Death Panels.

Lord of the World from Baronius Press

Lord of the World Kindle Edition

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.

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.

Busy Busy...

I just realized that I have no days off during the week. Sunday I have two Masses, Monday-Wednesday I do my regular routine of work. Tuesday is also Bible study night. Thursday and Friday I now teach, have Mass with the schola, and rehearse with my other schola. Saturdays are taken up two weeks out of the month by the Knights of Columbus and the M.I.M. which I am working my way to joining. Also, Saturday evenings I play a vigil Mass.

And so I am trying to get these books I received recently from St. Benedict Press finished. I have already finished Death of a Liturgist and am now on my way to completing Seven Lies About Catholic History, which I am enjoying a great deal.

I plan on writing my review of Death of a Liturgist as soon as I get some time. For the most part I liked it, but there are some things about it that I didn't. If you are on the fence about purchasing it don't base your decision on that one sentence btw! Give me a chance to do the write up.

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.