Ignatius Press

01/05/2025

Were the Three Kings, or Magi, who the Bible says traveled to Bethlehem in search of the Christ Child real, historical figures or simply the stuff of legend?

Turning to discoveries made by historians, scientists, and theologians, Polish author Grzegorz Górny answers these questions. With gorgeous four-color photographs on every page, he traces the mysteries of the Magi from the Gospel of Matthew to modern-day astronomy to revived Epiphany celebrations on the streets of secularized European capitals.

Check out “Three Kings, Ten Mysteries” at the link in the comments below.

01/05/2025

THE WISE MEN
By G.K. Chesterton

Step softly, under snow or rain,
To find the place where men can pray;
The way is all so very plain
That we may lose the way.

Oh we have learnt to peer and pore
On tortured puzzles from our youth,
We know all the labyrinthine lore,
We are the three wise men of yore,
And we know all things but truth.

We have gone round and round the hill
And lost the wood among the trees,
And learnt long names for every ill,
And serve the made gods, naming still
The furies the Eumenides.

The gods of violence took the veil
Of vision and philosophy,
The Serpent that brought all men bale,
He bites his own accursed tail,
And calls himself Eternity.

Go humbly ... it has hailed and snowed...
With voices low and lanterns lit;
So very simple is the road,
That we may stray from it.

The world grows terrible and white,
And blinding white the breaking day;
We walk bewildered in the light,
For something is too large for sight,
And something much too plain to say.

The Child that was ere worlds begun —
(... We need but walk a little way,
We need but see a latch undone...)
The Child that played with moon and sun
Is playing with a little hay.

The house from which the heavens are fed,
The old strange house that is our own,
Where trick of words are never said,
And Mercy is as plain as bread,
And Honour is as hard as stone.

Go humbly, humble are the skies,
And low and large and fierce the Star;
So very near the Manger lies
That we may travel far.

Hark! Laughter like a lion wakes
To roar to the resounding plain.
And the whole heaven shouts and shakes,
For God Himself is born again,
And we are little children walking
Through the snow and rain.

From the Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. X part 1: Collected Poetry, available at Ignatius.com.

Painting: The Magi by James Tissot, 1894.

01/01/2025

Happy New Year! 🎊 Today is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.

“She can lift the fear, because her foot crushed the serpent of evil; she can do away with dread, because she stood at the foot of the Cross when human guilt was washed away and we were reborn in Christ.”

— Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, from his book “The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God”

Image: “Mother of God of the Sign” by Michael D. O’Brien

#2025

12/30/2024

⭐️ As we come to the close of another year and look forward to the dawn of a new one, we invite you again to support our important work!⭐️ In 2024, we published 41 new titles from theological works to the best-selling Ignatius Catholic Study Bible to children’s books, issued 227 reprint orders, and released 4 new films on DVD. You have helped make this happen! ⭐️ PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO FROM FR. JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J., with an update on all our exciting projects. ⭐️ Link to donate is in the comments. We are grateful for your support!

12/29/2024

“The Holy Family of Nazareth is truly the ‘prototype’ of every Christian family which, united in the Sacrament of Marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the wonderful vocation and mission of being the living cell not only of society but also of the Church, a sign and instrument of unity for the entire human race.” – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, December 31, 2006

Image: “The Holy Family with the Little Bird” by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

12/28/2024

“The supreme adventure is being born. There we do walk suddenly into a splendid and startling trap. There we do see something of which we have not dreamed before. Our father and mother do lie in wait for us and leap out on us, like brigands from a bush. Our uncle is a surprise. Our aunt is, in the beautiful common expression, a bolt from the blue. When we step into the family, by the act of being born, we do step into a world which is incalculable, into a world which has its own strange laws, into a world which could do without us, into a world that we have not made. In other words, when we step into the family we step into a fairy-tale.”

—G.K. Chesterton, from his essay “On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family”.

Collected in the book “In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton.” Link in the comments.

12/26/2024

💥 A powerful quote from Fulton Sheen on this feast day of the first martyr, St. Stephen:

“How can all this hatred be stopped when one man is slapping another on the cheek? There is only one way, and that is by turning the other cheek, which means: ‘I forgive; I refuse to hate you. If I hate you, I will add my quota to the sum total of hate. This I refuse to do. I will kill your hate, I will drive it from the earth. I will love you.’

That was the way Stephen conquered the hate of those who killed him; namely, by praying: ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge’ (Acts 7:60). He was practically repeating the First Word from the Cross.

And that prayer of forgiveness won over the heart of a young man named Saul who stood nearby, holding the garments of those who stoned him, and ‘consenting to his death.’ If Stephen had cursed Saul, Saul might never have become St. Paul. What a loss that would have been! But hate lost the day because Stephen forgave.”

—Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, from his book “Go To Heaven.”

Find this book on our website - link in the comments!

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas from all of us here at Ignatius Press!

H/T to for finding this beautiful painting, Adoration of the Shepherds triptych by Kazimierz Sichulski, 1938.

12/24/2024

“Christmas is not an event within history but is rather the invasion of time by eternity.” – Hans Urs von Balthasar, from his book “Light of the Word.”

12/24/2024

🎄It’s Christmas Eve! We hope that it is a time of peace and joy, despite the last minute baking, cooking, wrapping gifts, prepping Christmas outfits … and maybe even shopping?

🔗 For those of you who *might* still be looking for a last minute gift … we now have gift certificates available on our website! Link in the comments below. 🎁

Image: “Happy Christmas” by Viggo Johansen, 1891 from

12/22/2024

💥 What a powerful reminder from the great theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar!

💥 Find more gems like this in his book "You Crown the Year with Your Goodness: Sermons Throughout the Liturgical Year," on sale through 12/24 with code NEWYEAR2025 - link in the comments.

💥 Originally broadcast on the radio, the homilies in this volume span decades and represent some of the best of Father Hans Urs von Balthasar’s preaching. They are arranged to correspond with the Church’s liturgical calendar, and include homilies on major feast days of Christ, his Mother, and the liturgical seasons.

12/21/2024

⭐️ Are you on our email list? We share some great promotions and discounts there, like this coupon for 25% off our collections of daily meditations, perfect for prayerfully heading into 2025!

⭐️ We don’t usually share these on social media, but here’s a chance to take a look 👀 … swipe right to see the books included in this sale or check out the link in our stories today!

12/20/2024

📬Do you still send Christmas cards?

Fun fact: , the Creative Director for Marketing for Ignatius Press, makes his own linoleum block print Christmas cards. 🤯 Here is this year’s gorgeous card!

John also designs many of our beautiful book covers and is the editor of “The Catholic Home Gallery: Eighteen Works of Art by Contemporary Catholic Artists” - a fantastic gift anytime of year!

12/19/2024

📖 This past week, Ignatius Press celebrated the release Father Joseph Fessio’s new biography, “California Blackrobe,” with a very special event!

📖 The event took place at the beautiful St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA. This celebration included friends of Ignatius Press and Father Fessio’s students from the Ignatius Institute, many of whom are now doing amazing work for the Church all over the country. Father Fessio opened the evening by celebrating Mass.

📖 This was followed by talks, refreshments and a book signing with the author of “California Blackrobe” and fellow Jesuit, Father Cornelius Buckley.

🙏🏻 Please join is in thanking God for the life and service of Father Fessio! You can learn about his life and the history of Ignatius Press in his biography “California Blackrobe,” available at Ignatius.com.

12/18/2024

So many great books on this list! It's always fascinating to see what others have read and enjoyed this past year.

“The Best Books I Read in 2024”Catholic World Report contributors and editors share and reflect on their favorite reads from the year. December 13, 2024 CWR Staff Books, Features 11 Print (Image of books: Pavlo Semeniuk / Unsplash.com) Dear Readers, It seems fitting to introduce this 20th editio...

12/18/2024

⭐️ Ignatius Press is so grateful for YOU and all our amazing customers this year!

⭐️ Here are our TOP 10 new releases of 2024. We would love to know your favorite one - let us know in the comments! ⬇️

12/18/2024

🎁 Just in time for last minute Christmas shopping, GIFT CERTIFICATES are now available on our website!

🔗 Gift certificates are available here: https://ignatius.com/giftcertificates.php

12/17/2024

🍇 Did you know that Fr. Joseph Fessio, the founder of Ignatius Press, has been making wine for about 10 years? He works in his vineyard on the weekends in his "spare time" when he’s not reading manuscripts or handling Ignatius Press business. Here he is pictured, working hard - and still in his clerics, as usual.

🍷 While the wine is NOT available for sale, we are giving TWO bottles away, along with the new Ignatius Catholic Study Bible!

⬇️ To enter: simply follow us, like this post, and leave a comment below!*

* Beware of scammers - we will never contact you to ask for credit card information. Giveaway closes at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on 12/18/24. Winner will be chosen on 12/19/24 and contacted by DM.