Liturgical Law in the Midst of the Pandemic

When the bishops in the State of Minnesota decided to open their churches without accepting the state’s restrictions on public worship, concerned Catholics rejoiced at this defense of the rights of the Church against government interference.  The action of the Minnesota bishops followed the example of former papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who had called attention to similar interference by the Italian government with the Church’s authority, in violation of the Lateran Treaty.

While these recent developments in Church-State relations remind us of the proper role of the Church in society, there has been a parallel development within the Church herself, concerning the Church’s laws regarding the reception of Holy Communion during the coronavirus pandemic.. Read More.

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Coronavirus, Subsidiarity and Catholic Doctrine

Early in the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, which began shortly before the start of the Second World War, the Pontiff issued his first encyclical, Summi Pontificatus.  The doctrine of the encyclical has lost none of its significance today, when the Church and the world confront another crisis, different from World War II, but requiring the same principles to confront it.

Repeating the teaching of his predecessor Pius XI, who had established the Feast of Christ the King to emphasize mankind’s dependence on Our Lord Jesus Christ, Pius XII affirmed the need for the Church’s role in guiding the nations, while at the same time insisting that the Church does not interfere with the rightful authority of civil governments.  But while clarifying this relationship between Church and State, Pius XII warned against the attempt of governments to assume total control over society. Read More.

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The Message of Fatima and St. Robert Bellarmine

In the traditional Roman rite the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine has been celebrated on May 13.  It was on May 13, 1917, that Our Lady made her first apparition to the three children in Fatima.  Although St. Robert Bellarmine lived before the Fatima apparitions, there is a relationship between Fatima and the doctrine of Cardinal Bellarmine.  For just as Our Lord often spoke in parables, which by their very nature are symbolic, Our Lady provided a vision to the three children at Fatima in the Third Secret, which Sister Lucia described as a “symbolic revelation” (letter of May 12, 1982).  And St. Thomas Aquinas explained in the first Question of the Summa Theologica, article 9, the role that symbols play in the communication of revelation.  Three centuries after St. Thomas, and another three centuries before Fatima, Cardinal Bellarmine provided the explanation of the symbolism that Our Lady would use in the Third Secret. Read more.

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Two Spiritual Books on

the Passion

VIA DOLOROSA

A Contemplative Journey to Calvary

by E. Mary Christie

2011  93 pages  / paperback / approximately 6" x 9"

$14.00  #4907

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MEDITATION ON THE PASSION

By a Mistress of Novices

Member of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reprint of the 1922 edition

2017 305 pages, hardcover $16 #88185

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DOUAY-RHEIMS BIBLE

IDEAL GIFT FOR STUDENTS

$32.00

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Preserving Christian Publications

is proud to announce the release of

The Catholic Bibliographical Index

Comments on the CBI by Dr. Barbara Berfanger,
Former President of St. Mary’s College, Kansas:

Recently I learned about the release of the Catholic Bibliographical Index by Preserving Christian Publications. My experience in research and in teaching led me to recognize quickly and without doubt that this Index offers an immense, rich resource about works by Catholic authors. Read more...

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