This manual of devotion consists of a series of chapters or instructions upon important points of Christian teaching which Saint Alphonsus calls "Considerations". As the Saint describes, "These Considerations are written for the purpose of pricking or of wounding the conscience... that so it may be thoroughly aroused and awakened." The Considerations deal with such doctrines and facts as have a universal application, which admit of no dispute, and which are always confirmed by some passage from Holy Scripture. Preparation for Death is essentially a guide to prayer. It represents, from its beginning to its end, the continual outpouring of heart before God, an outpouring that is at times expressed in the very same words which imply a new phase of thought. Regarded as a Manual of Mental Prayer, each of these "Considerations" has a technical and special signification. They treat of life and death, the value of time, the mercy of God, the habit of sin, the general and particular judgments, the love of God, Holy Communion, and other subjects equally important.
In order, then, to attach ourselves to this great means of salvation, we must first of all consider how necessary it is to us, and how powerful it is to obtain for us all the graces that we can desire from God, if we know how to ask for them as we ought. Hence, in the first part, we will speak first of the necessity and power of prayer; and next, of the conditions necessary to make it efficacious with God. Then, in the second part, we will show that the grace of prayer is given to all; and there we will treat of the manner in which grace ordinarily operates. Aeterna Press
The 12 Steps to Holiness is compiled from the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori and is rated as one of the most beautiful and inspiring books by numerous TAN readers. St. Alphonsus develops, in the most simple language, yet with the greatest learning, the 12 key virtues necessary for salvation: faith, hope, love of God, love of neighbor, poverty, chastity, obedience, meekness or humility, mortification, recollection, prayer and self-denial or love of the cross. This book is written with such an encompassing view that its message is for all—religious or layman, the young or the old, the pious or the wayward. The reader will marvel at the balance, the simplicity, the learning, the interest, the calm and the holy unction that penetrate this work. And he will find himself repeatedly marking significant passage and returning to them again and again for instruction and edification. Here is a book, quite simply, for everyone who would save his soul.
The present volume is made up of choice selections from the various ascetical writings of the Saint. The order of virtues considered is that followed by the spiritual sons of St. Alphonsus in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. For each month of the year is assigned a particular virtue to which they are to devote their especial attention. This is a practice highly recommended by the masters of the spiritual life, and is fraught with the happiest results. It is hoped that the faithful will derive spiritual profit and pleasure from this course in “The School of Christian Perfection.” Aeterna Press
The German Mystic born in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, was privledged by Almighty God with sensory visions disclosing the earthly life of God Incarnate, of His Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary and of the progression of salvation history from Genesis to the Apocalypse. In this short book, the reader will find a carefully collated set of rosary meditations faithfully drawn from the texts of these visions. Meditations taken directly from our saint’s writings are provided for every bead of the rosary, allowing you to ponder at greater depth the secrets revealed to Blessed Anne Catherine and enable you to truly immerse yourself in the marvelous historical events which occurred in the life of Our Divine Redeemer and His Holy Mother. This work is a work of prayer and was revised multiple times in order to offer golden nuggets of contemplative material in every bead of Our Lady’s Psalter. For the benefit of the reader, meditations have also been offered, once again, drawn entirely from Our Saint’s writings, for the Mysteries of Light, which are popular among many Catholics, as well as five additional mysteries, entitled “the Hopeful Mysteries”, which cover events in Salvation History and in the life of Our Blessed Mother prior to the Incarnation. Blessed Anne offers a wealth of detail for each of these mysteries and these details have been collated for you in this short volume. “A Retreat in a Book”—Rev. Fr. Daniel Weatherley (Sub Dean of St. George’s Cathedral, Southwark) “I was very impressed with Fr Higgins’ collation of Blessed Anne’s writings, these Rosary Meditations are among the best I have come across, there is often enough contained in one bead’s meditation to cover the entire decade, and so it is a book one can return to again and again”—James Stubbs Esq. (Lay leader and Catholic Politician) “A great preaching resource for the Mysteries of the Rosary”—Rev. Fr James Cadman (International speaker and parish mission giver)