A collection of short sermons for children written by a Catholic priest. Each with a story woven in teaches a moral or virtue for that week.

I suppose thou wilt marvel that I trouble myself with so wild a generation as the people called Quakers are or that I trouble thee with a few hasty lines which I wrote on such an occasion. I'll truly tell thee the cause of both: They sent me five several papers, one of them containing the queries which I answer, and others of them almost nothing but a bundle of filthy railing words. They chose out one day, when it pleased God to confine me to my chamber by sickness to come into our assembly and after...

A collection of brief observations about the Christian ministry, grouped thematically. "On my first intercourse with Mr. Cecil, now upwards of fifteen years since, when in the full vigor of his mind, I was so struck with the wisdom and originality of his remarks, that I considered it my duty to record what seemed to me most likely to be useful to others. It should be observed that Mr. Cecil is made to speak often of himself: and, to persons who do not consider the circumstances of the case, there...

Richard Challoner was an English Roman Catholic bishop. He is perhaps most famous for his revision of the Douay–Rheims translation of the Bible. In this work he gives reflections on the general truths about the Christian religion for each day of the month. He also provides an introduction about how to meditate on them throughout the day. - Summary by ancientchristian

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 – 1890) was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages.Burton's best-known achievements include traveling in disguise to Mecca, The Book of One Thousand Nights and A Night, an...

Hooker resolved to investigate the position of the English Church, and to attempt to answer the question What is the basis upon which Church laws and Church government rest? And his magnum opus ‘The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity’ was the result. The Puritan system with which Richard Hooker found himself face to face, and which he so resolutely and courageously set himself the task of discrediting, speaking broadly, was based on the assumption that, in all matters affecting religious worship, discipline, and government, an unchangeable rule is laid down in Holy Scripture, and in Holy Scripture alone...

Richard Sibbes was a Puritan pastor and theologian in the 17th century. His best known work, The Bruised Reed, is based on a Scripture verse from Matt. 12:20: "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." Sibbes uses this text to respond to the despondent thoughts and fears that many Christians have. He draws a picture of Christ's gentleness and mercy for the Christians who feel themselves small and weak. The Bruised Reed is full of an amazing amount of soul-comfort...

The Faithful Covenanter in two sermons upon Genesis 17:7 by the late learned and reverend divine, Richard Sibbs, Doctor in divinity, master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge and sometimes preacher to the honourable society of Grayes-Inne. Nehemiah 1:5 O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him. - Summary from the Title Page

A sermon, preached after the cessation of the 1625-1626 plague in London, where "from above five thousand a week it is come to three persons". He expresses thankfulness "that there is free commerce and intercourse as before; that we can meet thus peaceably and quietly at God's ordinances, and about our ordinary callings". Sibbes' text is Psalm 107 verse 17: "Fools, because of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted" etc. "You know how God hath dealt of late with this city, and with ourselves indeed; for we are all of one body politic, and however God visited them, yet it was our sins also that provoked him...

Richard Wilson has taken tales from the two great Indian epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, as well as other early sources, and has retold them in English, in an effort to showcase to young English-speaking readers that 'oriental' stories share the same elements as tales they are used to. Love, hate, virtue, oppression, tenderness, bravery and resourcefulness and an ultimate desire to conquer evil. - Summary by Paraphrased from the Introduction

"I have been asked why I have opposed Christianity. I have several reasons, which shall appear in due course. At present I offer one. I oppose Christianity because it is not true. No honest man will ask for any other reason. But it may be asked why I say that Christianity is not true; and that is a very proper question, which I shall do my best to answer." Thus states the author in one of the first chapters of this book, and subsequently he lays down his apology, drawing his conclusions from numerous books published by believers and unbelievers alike, and, of course, from the bible itself.

Colonel Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran, American political leader and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his defense of atheism. This book is the first of two volumes collecting Ingersoll’s speeches.

“Mr. Benson sees the world, four or five generations hence, free at last from all minor quarrels, and ranged against itself in two camps, Humanitarianism for those who believe in no divinity but that of man, Catholicism for those who believe in no divinity but that of God.” This apocalyptic novel from the early 1900's is sometimes deemed one of the first modern dystopias.

Come Rack! Come Rope! is a historical novel by the English priest and writer Robert Hugh Benson, a convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism. Set in Derbyshire at the time of the Elizabethan persecution of Catholics, when being or harboring a priest was considered treason and was punishable with death, it tells the story of two young lovers who give up their chance of happiness together, choosing instead to face imprisonment and martyrdom, so that "God's will" may be done.The book was written nearly nine years after Benson's reception into the Catholic Church...

Robert Hugh Benson was the youngest son of Edward White Benson, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his wife Mary. Benson was was a prolific and popular writer during his time, and in 1903 he became a prominent convert to the Roman Catholic Church from Anglicanism . In 1904 he was ordained a Catholic priest.This book is his personal story of his journey to the Catholic faith, containing comparisons between Catholicism and the Anglican religion.

Robert Hugh Benson, who was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, was ordained an Anglican priest in 1895 by his father, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Eight years later, after weighty consideration, Robert Benson converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1904 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and took up residence in Cambridge, where he ministered to Roman Catholic students as their unofficial chaplain. In 1911, he was made a monsignor. Despite the brevity of his earthly life, Benson...

In a former book, called "Lord of the World," I attempted to sketch the kind of developments a hundred years hence which, I thought, might reasonably be expected if the present lines of what is called "modern thought" were only prolonged far enough; and I was informed repeatedly that the effect of the book was exceedingly depressing and discouraging to optimistic Christians. In the present book I am attempting -- also in parable form -- not in the least to withdraw anything that I said in the former,...

This story surrounds a child waif, a young woman, a young gentleman doctor, and an elderly lady. This tale unfolds the story of a bond that brings these unlikely friends together and merges their separate paths of life into one common path. The bond is "Dumps", or "Pompey", the "doggie". With many twists, turns, and uncertainties, the ending may surprise the reader. All's well that ends well in this doggie "tail". (Introduction by Allyson Hester)

This story is set in the gold fields of Oregon, where Tom Brixton, and his best friend, Fred Westly, are digging gold to try to “make their pile”. Before leaving England, the steady and God-fearing Fred had promised Tom's mother that he would do his best to take care of his friend, but in spite of all his efforts, Tom had fallen in with bad companions and taken to gambling. He was convinced that he could make his fortune quicker by attempting to increase it at the dice or card table, and all his friend's attempts to make him see his errors were unavailing...

Young's Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young produced a "Revised Version" of the translation in 1887. After he died on October 14, 1888, the publisher in 1898 released a new Revised Edition.Young's Literal Translation in the 1898 Edition also consistently renders the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (divine name)...

This book is a testimony of how powerful prayer is, how God answers every prayer, even if it is not just how we want it answered. Rosalind Goforth was a missionary to China with her husband and children. She had many, many opportunities to prove God's faithfulness and he never failed her if she was willing to trust him and put her every problem and difficulty in his hands. Her life is a wonderful testimony of what prayer can do!

Rabbi Loeb creates a clay man to house a perfect soul that he hopes will not be blighted by human prejudices. The plan does not go as he hoped... This is one of many stories about the golem, all of which involve Rabbi Loeb , a 16th-century talmudic scholar known as The Maharal. Rodolf Lother was an Austrian writer. This story was published in the B'nai Brith journal The Menorah in 1896 and subsequently included in the author's German language book Der Golem: Phantasien und Historien . - Summary by Adrian Praetzellis

Rufus Matthew Jones was an American religious leader, writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Haverford Emergency Unit . One of the most influential Quakers of the 20th century, he was a Quaker historian and theologian as well as a philosopher. In 1917 he helped found the American Friends Service Committee. This work was delivered as a Swarthmore Lecture in August 1920 and was printed by the Swarthmore Press Ltd.

Text of famous inspirational lecture and biography of Russell Conwell, a Baptist minister and Temple University Founder

Twenty-three sermons where the truth to be taught is appended to a story as a Moral. Some of these sermons reflect the doctrines of infant baptism and transubstantiation.

The Glories of Mary is a classic book in the field of Roman Catholic Mariology, written during the 18th century by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church. The book was written at a time when some Jansenists (which were declared heretical by the Pope) were criticizing Marian devotions, and was written in part as a defense of Marian devotion. The book combines numerous citations in favor of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church with Saint Alphonsus' own personal views on Marian veneration and includes a number of Marian prayers and practices.

This work is entitled, ABRIDGED SERMONS FOR ALL THE SUNDAYS IN THE YEAR. They are called Abridged Sermons, because, although each contains abundant matter for a sermon, the sentiments are briefly expressed—not, however, so briefly as to render the sense obscure. Hence the work may be used for spiritual lectures. Diffuseness has been purposely avoided, that the preacher may extend the subject treated in the way which may appear best to him. A preacher will scarce ever deliver, with zeal and warmth, sentiments which he has not made in some manner his own...

These are the sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori, who was an Italian Catholic bishop, and theologian. He is famous for founding the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer , and for his writings, which are among the most widely read in the Catholic world. His best-known works are The Glories of Mary and The Way of the Cross . He was canonized in 1839 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1871. The preface to these sermons : This work is entitled, ABRIDGED SERMONS FOR ALL THE SUNDAYS IN THE YEAR...

Aurelius Ambrosius was a fourth century cleric who rose to become the Archbishop of Milan in 374 AD. His father was a powerful Roman general and the prefect of Gaul. His brother and sister were also consecrated as saints by the Catholic Church. As an infant, a swarm of bees settled over his face and flew away without harming the baby, but left behind a drop of honey and this was seen as a sign of his future eloquence and bees are often painted in his portraits as his symbols. Ambrosius (or Ambrose as he is referred to in English) was a highly learned man, well versed in Latin and Greek, theology and many other subjects...

Concerning Virgins (De Virginibus) is a series of letters, compiled into three “books,” St. Ambrose wrote to his sister, Manellia, These, perhaps Ambrose’s earliest writings, were written in 377 CE. Written in a rather light-handed non-technical style they appear as ethical guides to women who are contemplating entering nunneries. More importantly, they set the tone for Ambrose’s later writing on ethics. Concerning Virgins was referred to by other patristic writers including St. Jerome, St Augustine and Cassian, and are now included in the extra-biblical cannon of the early church fathers.

The Enchiridion, Manual, or Handbook of Augustine of Hippo is alternatively titled, “Faith, Hope, and Love”. The Enchiridion is a compact treatise on Christian piety, written in response to a request by an otherwise unknown person, named Laurentis, shortly after the death of Saint Jerome in 420. It is intended as a model for Christian instruction or catechesis. – As the title indicates, the work is organized according to the three graces necessary for the Christian worship of God: Faith, Hope and Love...

St. Augustine wrote in his Retractions 2:23: "After I had written 'on the Good of Marriage,' it was expected that I should write on Holy Virginity; and I did not delay to do so: and that it is God's gift, and how great a gift, and with what humility to be guarded, so far as I was able I set forth in one volume. This book begins," etc. - Summary by St. Augustine

De doctrina Christiana, On Christian Doctrine, is a famous treatise by Augustine of Hippo, consisting of four books that describe how to interpret and teach the Scriptures. The first three books, published in 397, set three tasks for Christian teachers and preachers: to discover the truth in the contents of the Scriptures, to teach the truth from the Scriptures, and to defend scriptural truth when it was attacked. It is believed that the last part of book three and the totality of book four were added much later, in 426. The fourth book is especially quoted for being the first treatment of the relation between Christianity and Ancient Rhetoric. Summary by Leni.

As regards the plan of the Epistle, it has been often asserted till lately that it was supposed to be but fragmentary, a series of aphorisms. Augustine, however, without formally announcing a plan as discovered by him in the Epistle, not only frequently affirms in his exposition that charity or love is the Apostle’s main theme, but so conducts the discussion, gathering his arguments and illustrations around this central thought, as to render it evident that in his view the purpose and plan of the Apostle is to set forth love in its essence and its scope, and that he intends to make this thought dominant in every part. - Summary by Philip Schaff

The Book of Psalms is commonly known as the Psalms or the Psalter, and is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". Most if not all are thought be composed by King David. The Psalms have always been an integral part of the prayers of the Christian church and especially among monks, who would generally chant all psalms in a week-long cycle...

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

I have also written a Book on Lying, which though it takes some pains to understand, contains much that is useful for the exercise of the mind, and more that is profitable to morals, in inculcating the love of speaking the truth. This also I was minded to remove from my works, because it seemed to me obscure, and intricate, and altogether troublesome, for which reason I had not sent it abroad. - Summary by Augustine

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

There are some persons who suppose that the freedom of the will is denied whenever God's grace is maintained, and who on their side defend their liberty of will so peremptorily as to deny the grace of God. This grace, as they assert, is bestowed according to our own merits. It is in consequence of their opinions that I wrote the book entitled On Grace and Free Will. This work I addressed to the monks of Adrumetum, in whose monastry first arose the controversy on that subject, and that in such a manner that some of them were obliged to consult me thereon. The work begins with these words: "With reference to those persons who so preach the liberty of the human will."

Wherein the truth of predestination and grace is defended against the semi-Pelagians — those people to wit, who by no means withdraw altogether from the Pelagian heresy, in that they contend that the beginning of salvation and of faith is of ourselves; so that in virtue, as it were, of this precedent merit, the other good gifts of God are attained. Augustine shows that not only the increase, but the very beginning also of faith is in God's gift. On this matter he does not disavow that he once thought differently, and that in some small works, written before his episcopate, he was in error, as in that exposition, which they object to him, of propositions from the epistle to the Romans...

One named Pollentius having written to him upon the question of separation in case of adultery, engaged him to write the books "On Adulterous Marriages". Pollentius maintained that the wife who separated from her husband, upon account of adultery on his side, might marry again; and what St. Paul says to the contrary he interpreted of her who marries again for any other reason. St. Augustine maintains that this prohibition regards her who has left her husband for the cause of adultery. Pollentius maintained also, that married persons who were believers, could not leave the unbelieving party; and St...

The Tribune Marcellinus having received the books ''On the Merit of Sins," wrote to St. Augustine that he was surprised at what he had there said, that man could be without sin if he would, with the help of God: and that, nevertheless, none in this world had been, was, or would be for the time to come, so perfect. "How," said he, ''can you say that a thing is possible, of which there is no example?" To answer this question, St. Augustine wrote the book, "On the Spirit and the Letter," where he explains the passage of the Apostle, "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life...

Seeing himself as "unequal to so great a task", St. Bonaventure nevertheless endeavored to introduce his readers to the practice of "the most beneficial of all devout exercises, and that which is most capable of leading [them] to the summit of Christian perfection": the contemplation of the life of Our Lord. By "frequent and habitual meditations on that divine subject" even "very illiterate persons" have been raised to such "familiarity, confidence, and love of him" that they have become "profoundly versed in the most sublime mysteries of God"...

Saint Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, born Genoa 1447 – 15 September 1510) is an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor. She was a member of the noble Fieschi family, and spent most of her life and her means serving the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. She died in that city in 1510.In 1551, 41 years after her death, a book about her life and teaching was published, entitled Libro de la vita mirabile et dottrina santa de la Beata Caterinetta de Genoa...

This short treatise by St. Clement's is an exposition on the words of Jesus Christ to the young rich man, recounted in the gospels. In the account, the man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. First, Jesus advises the man to obey the commandments, then Jesus adds: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." However, when he heard this, "he became very sorrowful because he was very wealthy....

Little is known of the early history of Thascius Cyprian until the period of his intimacy with the Carthaginian presbyter Cæcilius, which led to his conversion A.D. 246. That he was born of respectable parentage, and highly educated for the profession of a rhetorician, is all that can be said with any degree of certainty. At his baptism he assumed the name of his friend Cæcilius, and devoted him self, with all the energies of an ardent and vigorous mind, to the study and practice of Christianity...

Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva from 1602, was a renowned spiritual director who produced two classic guidebooks for earthly wayfarers on their spiritual journey to God: Introduction a la vie devote (Introduction to the Devout Life, 1609) and Traite' de l'amour de Dieu (Treatise on the Love of God, or Of the Love of God, 1616). In the Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis shows how anyone, whatever his or her calling or station in life, can strive for and achieve a life a piety and devotion to God...

First published in the early 17th century, it has proven its value as a daily spiritual guide and helpful reference for living an authentic Christian life. Written specifically for laymen, it began as letters from Saint Francis to a married woman who was seeking holiness amidst the distractions of her life of wealth and status. It contains treasures of wisdom for every reader, from eager beginner to lifelong Christian. Summary by Wikipedia and Phil Chenevert.

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal is a Roman Catholic Saint, who founded The Congregation of the Visitation after the death of her husband. St. Francis de Sales was her Spiritual Director and a close friend. After St. Francis de Sales died, St. Vincent de Paul became her spiritual director. These letters, which date from a range of 1611-1641, were written to her saintly spiritual directors, her children and relatives, other nuns and religious, as well many others.

Jovinianus, had published at Rome a treatise containing the following opinions: "That a virgin is no better as such than a wife in the sight of God. Abstinence is no better than a thankful partaking of food. A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. All sins are equal. There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state." Also he held the birth of our Lord to have been natural, rather than that Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as His Resurrection body afterwards did out of the tomb...

St. Jerome composed this essay against Helvidius, who stated that because the gospels mentioned Christ as having “sisters” and “brethren” the Virgin Mary must have had more children from Joseph her husband. In response Jerome asserts three propositions against Helvidius: 1) That Joseph was only putatively, not really, the husband of Mary. 2) That the “brethren” of the Lord were his cousins, not his own brethren. 3) That virginity is better than the married state. - Summary from the preface

St. Jerome's most famous letter , written to St. Eustochium, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the Roman widow St. Paula. St. Jerome exhorts St. Eustochium to embrace virginity and teaches her the proper conduct of a young woman. It contains his: 1. view that God, though omnipotent, cannot restore a fallen virgin 2. vivid description of fasting and temptation 3. view of abortion, that it is murder 4. term superbiam sanctam, virginity a "holy pride" 5. praise of wedlock, that it gives him virgins 6...

The Orthodox Faith is the classic epitome of the Early Greek Fathers. Writing just before the last of the truly Ecumenical Councils (787), he remains to this day, the last of the Eastern theologians whole-heartedly received by the West. This work, then, is an ecumenical touchstone that remains authoritative in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism (through Peter Lombard's Sentances) and in all Reformation Churches interested in purging late medieval accretions and returning to the developed orthodoxy of Creedal Christianity.

Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God.

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is one of the timeless classics of Christian contemplation, radical in its time and deeply influential in the world today. St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila worked together to reform the Carmelite Order in the Roman Catholic Church, in which he is honored as one of the Doctors of the Church. An active priest and teacher in his lifetime, this work is considered primary source material the training of Spiritual Directors, and an essential set of guidelines for all students of Revelation through Divine Love.

The Obscure Night of the Soul, better know today as The Dark Night of the Soul, is the distilled teaching of St John of the Cross, who reintroduced and revolutionized Christian Contemplation in the 16th Century. The text remains in print until this day, and has been an inspiration to seekers for centuries. St John's method is known as the Via Negativa, defined in Wikipedia as "a type of theological thinking that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God...

The purpose of the Apology is to prove to the emperors, renowned as upright and philosophical men, the injustice of the persecution of the Christians, who are the representatives of true philosophy … Christians are the true worshipers of God, the Creator of all things; they offer him the only sacrifices worthy of him, those of prayer and thanksgiving, and are taught by his Son, to whom they assign a place next in honor to him. This teaching leads them to perfect morality, as shown in their teacher’s words and their own lives, and founded on their belief in the resurrection.

A defense of the Christian faith delivered by St. Justin Martyr to the Roman Senate in the second century AD