History is a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes or a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. In this category you will find our history books - general surveys of history and books related to specific periods of history in the Church such as the Patristic Era or the Middle Ages.

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life, and brings us tidings of antiquity." Cicero

Available Spring 2009 The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, and the Renaissance popes conjure in the imagination a corrupt Roman Catholic clergy hungry for wealth and power. In this insightful, well researched work, the Vatican’s chief historian, Fr. Walter Brandmuller, takes a thoughtful and understanding look at these and other important chapters in Church history. …

For more than thirty years the Church has been torn by a conflict that revolves around the question of the Liturgy. In this instructive and practical work, Denis Crouan has two purposes in mind. On the one hand, he analyzes the weight and validity of the arguments of the different liturgical factions in the Church. On the other hand, he makes accessible to everyone the instructions and …

Translated by Norman Russell, Introduction by Sister Benedicta Ward SLG Eyewitness accounts of the lives and teachings of the fourth-century Desert Fathers from the Historia monachorum in Aegypto. This book is a Cistercian publication. ". . . may make a good source for the historian; it may give some information and pleasure for the casual reader. But the spiritual man will never forget the …

Following up his best selling books Degenerate Moderns and Dionysos Rising, E. Michael Jones completes the trilogy as he reveals in this book how modern architecture arose out of disordered lives of its creators. Beginning with the simultaneous collapse of both his marriage and the Austro-Hungarian empire, Walter Gropius began to formulate an architectural rhetoric that he felt would speak to …

Scott Hahn Mike Aquilina There are no "self-made" success stories in the spiritual life. No do-it-yourself kits for aspiring saints. That's why Living the Mysteries is ideal for a family member, friend, or fellow parishioner who recently received the sacraments of initiation - baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist. That's why it's perfect for a lifelong Catholic, too. The early …

Drawing from his own pastoral experience as a priest and bishop before he became PopeJohn Paul II, Karol Wojtyla has produced a remarkably eloquent and resourceful defense of Catholic tradition in the sphere of family life and sexual morality. He writes in the conviction that science - biology, psychology, sociology - can provide valuable information on particular aspects of relations between …

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Elena Maria Vidal An historical novel on the French Revolutionary Age. This intriging story deals in particular with the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, and the search for her little, lost brother. All of the major characters were real people, and the situations are based on fact. Madame Royale was written as a response to readers of Trianon, who wanted to know “What happened to …

About this book - In this seminal work, described by the "Times Literary Supplement" as "impressive alike by the authority of its learning and the originality of its argument," Christopher Dawson concludes that the period of the fourth to the eleventh centuries commonly known as the Dark Ages is not a barren prelude to the creative energy of the medieval world. Instead, he …

By Pope Jo hn Paul II Translated and introduced by Michael M. Waldstein In this new critical translation of Pope John Paul II’s magnum opus, internationally renowned biblical scholar Michael Waldstein presents John Paul II’s magnificent vision of the human person with meticulous scholarship and profound insight. This is the classic compilation of texts which outline the Thoelogy of …

The remarkable life of Blessed Pier Frassati for young adults. A beguiling and moving biography of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a handsome, athletic and fun-loving young man from a rich, aristocratic Italian family in the 1920's who was recently beatified by Pope John Paul II. Pier Giorgio turned from a life of privilege to one devoted to working with the poor, and was a courageous witness of …

Marcus: A Novel Depicting the Lives of the Early Christians in Rome By Fr. Michael Giesler In second-century Rome, Marcus tries to resume his life as a student of philosophy at the Athenaeum.  His sister, Juania, had been executed in the Ampitheater for the crime of becoming a Christian.  A few weeks after her death, Marcus himself is saved from being run over by a reckless …

THE MARTYRS OF THE COLISEUM is a history of that famous arena in Rome, where thousands of early Christians met a cruel and bloody end, but much more than that, it is also the story of many well-known saints and heroes of Christ who went willingly to their deaths in testimony of the truth of the Catholic faith. In fact, it reads like a veritable lives of the early saints and martyrs. For here …

Father Luigi Gambero, internationally-known expert on early Christianity, presents an intriguing and comprehensive survey of the development of Marian doctrine and devotion during the first eight Christian centuries.  Focusing on the lives and works of over thirty of the most famous Church Fathers and early Christian writers, Fr. Gambero has produced a clear and readable summary of the …

Mary in the Middle Ages by Luigi Gambero In his book Mary and the Fathers of the Church, Fr. Luigi Gambero presented a comprehensive survey of Marian doctrine and devotion during the first eight Christian centuries. Mary in the Middle Ages continues this journey up to the end of the fifteenth century, surveying the growth of Marian doctrine and devotion during one of the most important eras of …

Mass Facing the People Michael Davies This booklet makes clear that Mass facing the people has never been demanded by the Church and that it was not so much as mentioned in a single document of the Second Vatican Council. In addition, there is no mandatory legislation from the Holy See requiring that Mass be said facing the people. The booklet notes the great pastoral insensitivity and …

In this remarkable book author Mike Aquilina reveals the Church's most ancient Eucharistic beliefs and practices. Using the words of the early Christians themselves - from many documents and inscriptions - Aquilina traces the Mass's history from Jesus' lifetime through the fourth century. The Mass stood at the center of the Church's life, evident in the Scriptures as well as the …

Elaine Stone "A story of the ordinary becoming the extraordinary, ... a story of faith in God's love, strength, and purpose." -A. E. P. Wall , journalist and former president International Federation of Catholic Journalists Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish friar who founded the Militia of the Immaculate and two monasteries and who wrote and published periodicals and newspapers, became a political …

This volume includes a translation of four spiritual treatises of Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662), plus an account of his trial. Included are The Four Hundred Chapters of Love, Commentary on the Lord's Prayer, Chapters on Knowledge, The Church's Mystagogy, and Trial of Maximus.  

This work has been translated and annotated by Polycarp Sherwood, OSB The Ascetic Life is a dialogue between a young novice and an old monk on how to achieve the Christian life. The Four Centuries is a collection of aphorisms. Maximus the Confessor (also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople) (c. 580 – 13 August 662) was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. …