Arouca Press

30/06/2024

Are there any fluent French speakers who are willing to translate an essay by Gustave Thibon from the June 1970 issue of Itineraires pro bono?
Here are the first few sections of it in French.

Réflexions
sur la “pia fraus” dans l’Église
par Gustave Thibon

Louis SALLERON nous a apporté récemment de précieuses réflexions sur le problème du mensonge dans l’Église ( ). Je voudrais, sans la moindre prétention à épuiser ni à trancher le débat, mettre en lumière quelques nouveaux éléments de discussion. Et cela sur le plan de ce qu’on appelle aujourd’hui la « philosophie interrogative ».

Première question : dans quelle mesure une institution qui s’affirme divine dans son origine, et dans sa fin et nécessaire au salut des hommes, peutelle, en tant que phénomène humain et sociologique, accomplir sa mission sans recourir au mensonge ?

Je me hâte de préciser que ce mot recouvre dans ma pensée, non seulement le mensonge tel que le définit le dictionnaire (propos contraire à la vérité qu’on tient sciemment dans l’intention de tromper), mais une infinité de comportements moins tranchés comme par exemple l’affirmation de choses dont on n’est pas sûr qu’elles soient vraies ; la dissimulation de certaines vérités (celare verum, dicere falsum) ; la simplification excessive des faits et des problèmes ; le manque d’objectivité et d’impartialité dans les récits et les jugements, etc. Ces mensonges ou semimensonges ne portent pas, bien entendu, sur les grandes articulations de la foi (qui sont d’ailleurs incontrôlables) ou de la morale ;

ils ont tous un commun dénominateur : les exigences de la praxis, la recherche de l’efficacité sur le plan psychologique et social. Notons au passage qu’ils sont inspirés, dans leur immense majorité, soit par le souci de s’adapter aux structures mentales et affectives des hommes afin de les amener à Dieu par les chemins qu’on estime les plus courts et les plus faciles, soit par les nécessités du combat que l’Église mène, depuis sa naissance, contre des idéologies et des puissances adverses.

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30/06/2024

"First point. I was chatting recently with a young progressive cleric. What he had to say was an outpouring of indignant complaints about lies and hypocrisy in the Church - by which I mean the pre-Council Church, which, to hear him tell it, sounded like the kingdom of the Antichrist. Everything from the unfaithful translation of the Vulgate and devotion to St. Anthony of Padua, to the criminal indifference of Christians to social injustice and the misery of underdeveloped countries, including, appropriately enough, sexual morality, a source of inhibitions and neuroses, and the psychological equivocations of ecclesiastical celibacy. Elements of authentic truth and generosity danced like wrecks in this swollen flood of utopianism and bias. But as for the great truths of faith, the immutable axes of religion, not a word.

And as I pressed my interlocutor on the dogmas of divine transcendence, original sin, redemption, the last ends, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, he replied that these were notions that "no longer spoke" to contemporary man, and that the essential thing was to "incarnate" the Gospel by collaborating in everything that could promote individual fulfillment and social harmony. - And so, here we have Christians focusing all their attention on the temporal extensions of this evangelical truth, the foundations of which they allow to be shaken. They are indignant at the slightest fault in the water supply system, and they don't care if the source is forgotten, diverted or polluted. This contradiction is easy to explain: as man was made for absolute truth, those who do not find it where it is (in heaven and eternity) are condemned to seek it in vain where it is not and where it will never be: on earth and in time...

But where is the worst offense to truth? In the alteration or ignorance of historical, psychological, scientific truth, etc., that our purifiers so zealously denounce, or in indifference to theological and theological truth? Does the truth revealed by God deserve less consideration than truths that are made to measure for man - and imperfect, shifting, indefinitely subject to caution and revision like him? To all these clerics, so fastidious about means and so careless about principles and ends, we would ask the following questions. Do you still believe in these first and last truths of Christianity? If so, why don't you have the courage of your faith to preach them, in season and out of season as the Apostle says, in all their force and brilliance, and to defend them without fail against those who deny or distort them? And if not, why don't you have the courage of your unbelief by confessing it publicly and leaving the house whose foundations you deny. But, in either case, at least have the modesty not to flaunt your horror of hypocrisy..."

~ Gustave Thibon, June 1970 issue (Itineraires)

27/06/2024

We now have available this fascinating book by a fellow Canadian author! The book is published by Cruachan Hill Press so US customers please purchase directly from them. We are making it available for Canadian customers. Limited quantities available.

https://aroucapress.com/eternally-one-eternally-three

𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑶𝒏𝒆, 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆: 𝑨 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑨𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚

by Matthew Aristone

$29.95 USD | hardcover edition only

In an age of relativism and materialism many of life’s most pertinent questions have been unceremoniously set aside in favor of the trivialities of leisure and entertainment. Notwithstanding, whereas many have sought to avoid the anxiety and despair that often go hand in hand with questions of life’s ultimate purpose, a recognition of our human frailty inevitably arises both in times of elation and gratitude and moments of travail and suffering. Subsequently, one invariably asks himself: Why am I here? Where am I going? Is there a purpose and consequence to my existence?

In Matthew Aristone's 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑶𝒏𝒆, 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆: 𝑨 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑨𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 , life’s most essential questions have been systematically broken down in a distinctly Trinitarian fashion:

1. The Father Almighty—Can a compelling case indeed be made for belief in the existence of God, or is it just nonsensical and naive superstition?
2. The Only Begotten Son—Is one the world’s religions more rational and compelling than its counterparts, or is each religion simply a similar path to an identical destination?
3. The Holy Spirit—Has a specific denomination been entrusted with the sovereignty to resolve disputes regarding faith and morals, or are all expressions of Christianity equally authoritative?

Whether you are atheist, agnostic, considering religious conversion, or simply seeking to bolster your Catholic faith, if you are truly seeking the answers to life’s most pertinent questions, this book will help you discover the beauty, richness, and depth of Catholicism.

Size: 6 x 9

334 pages

27/06/2024

These non-Arouca Press books are available only for 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 (helps with shipping costs!) but I am happy to have available the following books:

𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉: 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝑶𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅, by Peter Kwasniewski

𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, edited by Peter Kwasniewski

𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒊𝒕𝒆, by Michael Foley

𝑺𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕: 𝑨 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔, by Joseph Shaw

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒄 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, by Fr. Serafino Lanzetta

See the link below for the books we are offering for 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 . Limited quantities available! Choose the appropriate shipping option.

https://tinyurl.com/363jsryt

21/06/2024

We are pleased to announce that Volume 2 of Dr. John Rao's collected works (mainly his longer works and articles) is now available for purchase! (Featured in the image are Volume 1 and the companion volume.)

𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒓. 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏 𝑹𝒂𝒐: 𝑽𝒐𝒍. 2, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑩𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆

by Dr. John C. Rao

Size: 6 x 9
278 pages

ISBN: 978-1-990685-99-6 (pbk) | $22.95 USD
ISBN: 978-1-998492-00-8 (hc) | $32.95 USD [hc copies take additional time to arrive]

Purchase here:

https://aroucapress.com/for-the-whole-christ-2

https://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Body-March-Through-Time/dp/1990685994

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mystical-body-on-its-march-through-time-john-c-rao/1145810467

The Word Incarnate,
“The Whole Christ,”
and the Drama of Truth

God's Creation and the men and women populating it cannot help but offer us a picture of unpredictable activity. For each and every new moment of its history is in many respects unique, and not some mere monotonous repetition of what has gone before it—especially given the reality of the free will possessed by each human person. This is even more true of the Mystical Body of Christ—what St. Augustine calls "the Whole Christ"—a Body marching through history with the incomparable regenerative and transforming power given it by supernatural revelation and grace, and yet all of the problems of a fallen mankind that that revelation and grace must be used to overcome until the end of time.
When looked at both as a whole, as well as in the actions of each and every one of its individual members, the history of this sole truly new and truly unique force in the life of the world since the first days of Creation inevitably provides its students with unpredictable developments. It provides those reading its tale with examples of a glorious, awe-inspiring growth in its self-knowledge and holy activity, but mixed—alas!—with all too many instances of the tragic self-deception, backsliding, and scandalous behavior that comes with the constant danger of individual human sinfulness.
May the tales of fall and recovery inspire those reading this volume to join in a holy crusade for a recovery and increased appreciation of the fullness of the Church's supernatural wisdom; for a renewed commitment to saintly work for transformation of all things in Christ in an era devastated more than ever before by diabolical disorientation.
===============

Endorsements for Volume 2

Dr. John Rao is an extraordinary figure within the contemporary traditionalist movement. This is due to the fact that he is someone who cultivates history philosophically. It is what allows him to evade the all too frequent errors of leniency, conservatism, and Americanism. Moreover, he is not only a profound intellectual but also an enthusiastic and effective systematizer of ideas. —Miguel Ayuso, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science and Constitutional Law, Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid

Professor Rao's learning, devotion to history, love of the Faith, eye for telling incident, and vivid writing are all on display in his multifaceted presentation of the struggles of the Church in the modern world. Readers will deepen their understanding of the current state of the Church, how it came about, its deep background, and how it can be bettered. —James Kalb, lawyer, writer, and Catholic convert

Soon after I first met John Rao, a highly respected priest commented to me that Dr. Rao was a man completely emancipated from the assumptions of Modernism and Americanism. Over the past decade or so that I’ve come to know him, I have found this remark to be entirely true. As this excellent volume reveals, Dr. Rao possesses a profoundly Catholic mind, steeped in history—all the more important in an age of civilisational amnesia, when debates corrupt into competing abstractions, unanchored from the historical process by which God’s salvation of mankind unfolds. In this work, Dr. Rao takes us on a journey through the dramas and controversies of Christendom’s history, and by so doing he roots us in the history that is ours, for which reason we are profoundly indebted to him. —Sebastian Morello, author of The World as God’s Icon and Conservatism and Grace: The Conservative Case for Religion by Establishment

Can the Catholic Church be reconciled with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization? An adequate response to such a question can only be given if we understand what modern civilization is, what the Church is, and what the results of various approaches of the later to the former have been. John Rao's wide ranging and profound writings are indispensable for coming to such an understanding. —Pater Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., lecturer in moral theology, Heiligenkreuz, Austria

Those who know him have long recognized that John Rao has an encyclopedic knowledge of European civilization and the history of Christendom, which he wears lightly. This new, welcome collection of essays, however, will finally introduce him to a new generation of readers. His intricate knowledge of episodes and events, people and places — which ranges from the Baroque spirit in Spain, to resistance to Garibaldi's revolutionary troops in Italy, to the challenges of the modern papacy — are sure to educate, enthrall, and inspire readers everywhere. —Alvino-Mario Fantini, editor-in-chief, The European Conservative, and director of the Centre Européen de Documentation et d'Information

21/06/2024

Dr. John Rao (Vol. 2 of Collected Works) - https://mailchi.mp/188b62609812/rao-vol2

20/06/2024

The Traditional Latin Mass is a treasure so let us pray that it is given full liberty as it deserves! Here is a book, small in length but powerful in content, we've republished. It was written by a Portuguese Benedictine, Br. Bernardo Vasconcelos.

Purchase here: https://aroucapress.com/mass-interior-life

Brief biography:
Bernardo Vaz Lobo Teixeira de Vasconcelos, born on July 7, 1902 at S. Romao de Corgo, Portugal, entered the Order of St. Benedict in 1924, made his profession on September 29, 1925, and received the minor orders on the 5th and 6th of January 1929. His greatest desire was to be ordained to the priesthood and offer the Holy Sacrifice. But this desire was never to see fulfilment. Instead, the young monk was to spend the last six years of his life constantly tortured by illness and great physical suffering. Several very painful operations left his body covered with wounds but could do little to alleviate the excruciating pain, which remained with him until his death on July 4, 1932. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 (A Missa e a Vida Interior) was partly written and partly dictated in the middle of this unrespited agony. In 2016 he was declared a Servant of God.

16/06/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xagRTMJCKHI

George Farmer, the Oxford-educated investment banker, social media wizard and GB News board member, is our guest for this 80th episode of Merely Catholic, th...

14/06/2024

12/06/2024

Soon....

12/06/2024

This is a very challenging work.....

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 | Abbé Georges Michonneau
Parish Priest of Sacré Cœur de Colombes
(forthcoming from Arouca Press; originally published in English between 1949 & 1955)

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒚𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒄?

The idea appeals to us very much, even though these phrases are rather objectionable. This idea is founded on the undeniable truth that Christianity is static. It no longer causes any surprise or scandal or admiration or imitation; it has become classified, labeled and forgotten, just as any dull subject is dismissed. When it is discussed, the comment is about its ceremonies or diplomacy, and not about its meaning. It has become part of the order of things, exactly as teachers and judges and doctors have, and it has ceased to conflict with the lives of the mass of men. Christianity is here, but we can forget about it.

Why should this be so? Partly because our Christianity appears to the outside world only as a ritualistic system which does little or nothing to change the men and women who practice those rites; partly because we have ceased to be an influential community; partly because Christianity has reduced itself to attendance at Sunday Mass, without any evidence of the vital nature of Christ’s teachings. The modern pagans who notice us do not see in us the striking characteristics which caught and held the pagans of ancient Rome. They see only that we are not very different from themselves, and unfortunately, they are correct. We go to Mass, and they do not; that is the extent of the difference for most of us. Christianity has ceased to be “dangerous;” it involves no risks, no sacrifice, and it hardly causes a flurry in the affairs of the world.

Consequently, it is understandable why non-Catholics should not be interested in investigating the mystery of our Faith, for they see no evidence of it. Nor is it strange that they should be untouched by the burning love of Christ, since His professed followers fail to transmit the effects of His love. We are not obviously anxious to communicate his love, but rather appear to be satisfied with the untruth that each man’s religion is his own affair. We are content to leave the rest of the world in its unrealized misery, nor would we dream of startling them by the Cross of Christ, which we bear about in our bodies.

𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔?

Partly the people, because they should know better and should do better. The greater fault is ours, we priests, because we have substituted ritualism for the pentecostal flames. We do not demand enough of our people. That statement does not mean that we are too easy with individual weaknesses. We should be “too easy” with particular failings, just as Christ was before us. We mean rather that priests do not ask enough of the Christian community. Instead of transforming our parishioners into a living, united group, we feel that it is enough to get them to come to services. The more we have, the better we are satisfied, as if it were enough to have the name of Christian and nothing more. We administer the sacraments, but make no effort to instill into our parishioners a sacramental life. Like the thousands of sects, we want to increase the number of our adherents, while seeming to ignore that we must make God live in man. Even Catholics have lost the meaning of our rites and our outlook, and so people think of them as some sort of “hocus-pocus.”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏?

It is obvious. Think of how easy it is to become a Christian. We put a little water on a child’s head, and the parents go home to celebrate their offspring’s redemption with a pagan feast. Later on, the lad will come for a few years of catechism, ending in a touching ceremony, a sermon that makes all the mothers weep, and the inspiring sight of boys and girls going up to the altar rail for First Communion, the “church” part of the day is followed by a celebration long to be remembered. Still later, this typical Christian comes to arrange for marriage, and to pay the priest. After this ceremony a new Catholic family begins its existence, without a single distinguishing feature to set it off from the neo-pagan families around it. When the time comes to die, a Christian burial is a matter of course; with it ends the life-span of a “follower of Christ.”

There we see an ordinary example of Christianity—the religion which once turned the whole world upside down.
When we hear radio orators declaiming about our “struggle for Christianity,” we cannot help but wonder what that phrase means to our Catholics."

11/06/2024

"Gustave Thibon is an unclassifiable author, a member of no political or religious movement. A sincere Catholic, non-conformist, solitary, keeping away from fashions and influences, he was led to the faith by philosophy."

06/06/2024

05/06/2024

Almost ready!

Design by LORD JIM - Oficina gráfica & Casa de artes

30/05/2024

A chapter from a forthcoming book (The Theology of the Layman, Vol. 3)

Lights and Shadows
A consideration of the roots and effects of sin
(Summa Theologiae, I-II, qq. 84-87)

THEOPHANE O’BRIEN, O.P.

INTRODUCTION

G. K. Chesterton once told this story of a young friend of his art school days, a mere stripling who fell from the straight and narrow paths of moral living. Both were in his rooms at Slade School when the incident took place. “It was strange,” he related, “that I liked his dirty, drunken society; stranger still, perhaps, than he liked mine . . . I shall never forget the half-hour in which he and I argued about real things for the first and last time. He had a horrible fairness of intellect that made me despair of his soul. A common, harmless atheist would have denied that religion produced humility or humility a simple joy; but he admitted both. He only said, 'But shall I not find in evil a life of its own?’ ”
“ ‘Do you see the fire?’ I asked. ‘If we had a real fighting democracy, someone would burn you in it; like the devil worshipper that you are.’
“ ‘Perhaps,’ he said. ‘Only what you call evil I call good.’
“He went down the steps alone, and I felt as if I wanted the steps cleaned and swept. I followed later, and as I went to find my hat in the low dark passage where it hung, I suddenly heard his voice again, but the words were inaudible. I stopped, startled; but the I heard the voice of one of his vilest companions saying, ‘Nobody can possibly know.’ And then I heard those two or three words which I remember in every syllable and cannot forget. I heard (the devil worshipper) say, ‘I tell you that I have done everything else. If I do that I shan’t know the difference between right and wrong.’ I rushed out without daring to pause; and as I passed the fire I did not know whether it was hell or the furious love of God.”
“I have heard since that he died . . . a su***de . . . I think; though he did it with tools of pleasure, not with tools of pain. God help him, I know the road he went; but I have never known or even dared to think what was the place at which he stopped and refrained.”
There could be no more startling proof of the truth to be exposed in this study than Chesterton’s account of the evil life of his erstwhile friend. In every avenue of life, we continually find one thing leading to another. This is especially true in our moral life. In the account above, one thing led to another with a vengeance. The disheartening fact is that one sin led to another and another until a life of evil was capped with one of the greatest sins, su***de. If we consider the matter thoughtfully, we will see how this follows.
Sin causes sin. When he sins man accentuates the negative, for sin is an evil act. And, evil by nature is negative, the lack of good. But, sin also is something positive. It consists in placing an action although this act be contrary to right reason. This positive element of sin, action, is the fundament, the foundation, if you will, for sin’s own proper causal power. One sin may be the cause of another sin or chain of sins, as one human act is the cause of another, namely, as a material, efficient, final, formal cause. Let us study how this causal power operates."

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22/05/2024

Modern life is often difficult for the believer. Here is an essay (and really there are so many good ones out there) that I thought to be of help. It was written by Phillip Campbell, a good friend, who happily allowed us to publish many of his essays from the Unam Sanctam Catholic blog. This was published in our book, The Way of Life, which collects many of these essays.

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https://aroucapress.com/blog/2024/05/22/the-dark-mirror-of-faith-by-phillip-campbell/

"I often come across Catholics who are “wrestling” with something. They are trying to understand how God’s benevolence can be reconciled with the evils in the world. They struggle sorting out what they believe on questions pertaining to evolution and the origin of things. They want to affirm the Church’s claims about itself but are put off by the vices of the clergy. Living in a modern secular world, they try to delineate exactly how the Catholic faith should be lived out in terms of dress, habits, hobbies, etc. They agonize over what liturgy they should be attending. They struggle to find adequate political and economic expression of their beliefs within the current system. They labor to find meaning in the twists, turns, and disasters of their own lives. And so long as they cannot resolve these conflicts, they do not feel peace. They often experience a sense of disquiet; part of their faith seems incomplete, or on “hold” until they can resolve these intellectual struggles. They feel profoundly that they must “settle” these matters to attain tranquility.

The life of faith will bring forth many such struggles, and this is unavoidable. But God wants us to have peace, even in the midst of struggle. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). His peace is meant to be an abiding peace; not a peace “as the world gives” that is taken away as soon as conflict emerges. We are meant to have peace, even amid the “wrestling” that is inherent in faith. What kind of peace would Christ offer if we were thrown into turmoil every time we encountered something we couldn’t reconcile? Clearly, our Lord means for the peace of our faith to be maintained even during uncertainty. But how can we accomplish this?

To do this, remember that you do not need to resolve your difficulties in order to maintain faith."

Read the rest here:

https://aroucapress.com/blog/2024/05/22/the-dark-mirror-of-faith-by-phillip-campbell/

21/05/2024

We are happy to announce that this 1909 classic on the Dominican Order is now available for purchase. It was translated by Bede Jarrett, O.P. It is published in cooperation with The O.P. Prayer Apostolate a wonderful project promoting the Dominican Order.

(as a side note: we named our son after the founder, St. Dominic Guzman...what a great saint!)

https://aroucapress.com/the-dominicans

https://www.amazon.com/Dominicans-Letters-Young-Dominican-Order/dp/1990685986

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dominicans-o-p-paul-duchaussoy/1145580411

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This edition is published in cooperation with The O.P. Prayer Apostolate.

Originally published in 1909, the following pages on St. Dominic and his spirit, as embodied in the Order which he founded, were written in the form of letters-and there are ten of them-to an inquiring young friend, by the Very Rev. Père Duchaussoy, O.P. With his kind permission, they have been translated from the French, in which they were originally written, by the Rev. Fr. Bede Jarrett , B.A., S.T.L., of the same Order.

To these letters another-as an appendix-has been added, at my suggestion, by the pen of a Sister of the Congregation of Siena, whose motherhouse is at Stone, on the life, spirit, and work of the nuns of the Second and Third Orders, the first-born children of St. Dominic. A Chapter will also be found on Tertiaries living in the world.

A few editorial notes have also been added. It is hoped that this brochure will meet a long felt want in the Dominican literature of the three English-speaking Provinces, answering, as it does, briefly and succinctly, certain questions often put to the members of the Order of both sexes in the three countries in which the English tongue prevails. —Foreword by Fr. John Procter, O.P.

Size: 5.25 x 8

96 pages

ISBN: 978-1-990685-98-9 | $10.95

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Endorsements

Père Paul Duchaussoy here answers the fundamental questions that young men have asked about Saint Dominic’s Order of Preachers for over 800 years. Virtually all things Dominican—the saints, prayer, study, contemplation, and preaching—are summarized in these pages with wise and charming simplicity. This small book, thus, explains the transformation that follows upon a man’s religious consecration to the truth. Sincere readers cannot help but finish this book with the precious realization: God is worth a life. —Cajetan Cuddy, O.P., Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.

I welcome the re-publication of The Dominicans. It offers a concise, enthusiastic and inspiring account of both the Order's history and of the perennial Dominican ideal, as well as interesting insights into the condition of the English-speaking provinces a century ago. —Thomas Crean, O.P., St Dominic's Priory, London

21/05/2024

Republication of a Dominican classic (1909) - https://mailchi.mp/a1b089f69004/the-dominicans

21/05/2024

Forgive me for quoting such a long passage but hopefully these will be helpful. Please share them if you'd like (copy and paste please).
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𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚
Is God weak because He is merciful? Is a man a coward and weakling because he does not bully, brow-beat, and persecute those who need his help and ask for it? To identify manliness with strength and lack of pity would ultimately lead to the destruction of hospitals, centers of education, churches and all society. In less time than it takes to tell, dispensaries of mercy would be objects of official disapproval, and the only approved surgeons would be those who preferred brass-knuckles to scalpels. No, mercy is not for sissies. Mercy demands a strong and human heart, along with a human soul overflowing with perfections that can be of help to others. A merciful man is one who has something to give.

Too often the notion of God's justice is associated only with the words: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the fire that was prepared for Satan and his angels." Justice ordinarily wears a stern face. But we have seen that in God justice is never alone, but is always accompanied by mercy. These two are as it were the two arms of God, preventing any successful flouting of the divine plan, on the one hand, and, on the other, tempering the severity of absolute justice.

Stock objection number one: God must be unmerciful and cruel, since He condemns to eternal fire all those who die in the state of mortal sin. Can He send to hell a poor, weak human being who found the call of revenge, or pride, or lust, too strong for his fallen human nature? Can God be merciful in inflicting perpetual suffering upon such an one?

In the first place, note that God does not send people to hell. The only people who are in hell are those who deliberately chose to go there. One mortal sin can do this; it is a turning away from God and toward creatures; it implies at least confusedly a deliberate choice of this creature in preference to the friendship of God. If a person in this condition, God with all His omnipotence cannot save him from hell. And since death cuts short all chances of changing one's mind, for all eternity those who are in hell want to stay there. They have made their bed and must lie in it.

𝑷𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
But it is a crude mistake to picture God as gloating over the horrible sufferings of the halls of hell. God does not gloat over suffering. He is actually merciful even to those who are condemned to hate Him for all eternity, for these enemies of God are not punished nearly as much as they could be, and should be. Mercy tempers divine justice even in the damnation of the reprobate, says St. Thomas, not because it remits but because it lessens somewhat the punishment due to them, as God punishes them less than they deserve. "When thou art angry, O Lord, thou wilt remember mercy."

The problem of harmonizing God's justice with His mercy is sometimes exceedingly painful. When death snatches a child from the arms of his parents, when married people have to put up with worthless partners, or when war strips a nation of its youth and home life and all sanity, when the innocent are shamefully robbed, tricked, and exploited by unscrupulous politicians or businessmen—then, especially if these things happen to us, we feel surging up from rebellious hearts the mighty complaint; God cannot be just, He cannot be merciful. If He were just He would not permit His laws to be so lightly set aside and abused; if He were merciful He would not permit these things to happen to me.

These are dangerous thoughts. Despite the racking grief and savage resentment such events arouse, we must always remember the truths about God: He is just, merciful, and loving. Once let go of these truths, and cynicism, pessimism, despair let loose their dark floods into the soul.

𝑯𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒉
The fact that we suffer cruelly does not mean that all our suffering is just an accident, a painful interlude which must be terminated at once at all costs. It is possible that God deliberately permits suffering to walk a few steps with us. We certainly are not His step-children; He loves us, and permits these things to happen to us, much as a loving, just, and merciful father will permit some slight inconveniences to touch his children.

God who is all-merciful and all-just permits us to suffer for two reasons. Suffering serves as a flame which purges away from our souls all those light faults which are the inevitable result of human living. Suffering also serves the excellent purpose of making a man fall on his knees in humble supplication before the throne of God.

When we suffer, we pray, we admit we need His help; and this we do in the conviction that God not only can but will help us, if it is for our own good.

Love, justice, and mercy, like three lovely sisters, lend grace and beauty to the life of us all. Banish them from our minds and hearts, and life at once becomes a barren desert, a cynical, brutal, dreary trail leading to darkness and despair.

Fortunately for us all, love, justice, and mercy cannot be banished from human living, because all three exist irrevocably, eternally, in God. They exist because God has a will. Indispensable to God, they are a necessity for men and women of every age and time. They are the first-fruits of God's will.

~ Fr. Richard Murphy, O.P., 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒂𝒏, Vol. 1, "When Mercy Seasons Justice" (forthcoming from Arouca Press)

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