St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the saintly founder of the Redemptorist Congregation, is famed for his romantic and beautiful descriptions of the lives of Our Lord and His Holy Mother. Drawing from the Fathers, the Mystics and from his own wealth of piety, St. Alphonsus famously wrote in a manner designed to cut straight to the heart, and to provoke a response of deeper conversion and contrition in the soul of the reader. In this work, for the first time, the collected meditations of this great saint have been attached to the individual mysteries of the Holy Rosary, indeed, to the individual beads of each mystery of the Holy Rosary. In this treasure trove of contemplative material, you will find hundreds of carefully selected passages to aid you and your family in the devout recitation of Our Lady’s Holy Rosary. The book covers both the 15 Traditional Mysteries of the Rosary as well as the Mysteries of Light. An additional set of mysteries, the Hopeful Mysteries, is also included, as a means of contemplating the events in the life of Our Lady prior to the Annunciation and her prophetic foreshadowing.
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)
This collection of rosary meditations taken from the writings of the Fathers of the Church allows the reader, for the first time, to bring the insights of Sacred Tradition into the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary. We know well, as true sons and daughters of Holy Mother Church, that the Truths of the Catholic Faith come to us both through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, indeed, St. Paul writes, “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter” (2 Thess. 2:15). How little time, alas, do we give to the sayings of the ancient fathers, how little attention towards their words of reflection, and yet, what riches can be found in their insights, as they ponder upon the events of salvation history, and share from the Fountain of Wisdom that, in one manner, was so much closer to their lips than it is to ours. Drawing from diverse authors, both those canonically held as ‘Fathers’, but also other ancient writers of the First Millennium of Christianity, this book will serve as a faithful companion to any committed Catholic who is desirous of ‘going deeper’ in contemplation of the Holy Rosary, and to do so in a manner which seeks neither novelty nor the theological fashions of today, but the wisdom of the earliest saints of our Holy Religion. You will find here hundreds of carefully selected paragraphs of meditation, chosen in and through prayer. You will find points for every bead of the traditional rosary, as well as the additional mysteries proposed by Pope John Paul II and The Hopeful Mysteries, introduced in an earlier work by the same author, which bring to the faithful’s consideration events concerning Our Lady and Salvation History prior to the Annunciation. This is a book to be kept alongside your rosary beads, to be brought out at adoration, to be carried on retreat, to be shared with your children in family prayers and to be passed on to those who wish to grow in prayer, and in the greatest of all the prayers of popular piety, the Holy Rosary. “The book is a wonderful composition of devotional meditations that lead the reader through a deeply meaningful and intimate journey in prayer and inspiration”—Holly Rodriguez (Illustrator, poet and founder of Beatific Artworks) About the Author: Fr. Mark Higgins is a priest of the Archdiocese of Southwark, England. He is also the editor of The Holy Rosary, through the Visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.
BIOGRAPHERS have already told us much about St. Louis De Montfort and the Rosary; now, with this first English edition of THE SECRET OF THE ROSARY, we can listen to Montfort speaking for himself. Drawing upon his own experience as well as upon the experience of others, he endeavors to bring home to the reader, “in a simple and straightforward manner,” as he himself tells us, the authentic message of the Rosary; namely, that it is a veritable school of Christian life. He sees it as including essentially the meditation of the mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus and Mary, with a view not only to honoring but especially imitating their virtues as held up to our consideration in each mystery. Aeterna Press
St. Bridget of Sweden, whilst still in her girlhood, was seized in ecstasy with a vision of her Blessed Saviour hanging upon the wood of the cross. This was the first of thousands of visions and dialogues between our saint and the heavenly court. This volume, for the first time, brings before the reader the most profound and insightful experiences of this medieval mystic and collates them according to the mysteries of the rosary. For each bead of the rosary, you will find a choicely selected point of meditation to ponder over, and an opportunity to join St. Bridget of Sweden as she illuminates the familiar scenes of the mysteries with details unrecorded in the Sacred Scriptures. As in the previously edited volumes in this series, in addition to the Fifteen traditional mysteries, meditations are also included for Pope John Paul II's Mysteries of Light, as well as the Hopeful Mysteries; which feature the central events of the plan of redemption prior to the Annunciation. Those wishing to establish a deeper source of contemplative material for the daily rosary will find this book, and St. Bridget of Sweden, their ideal companion on the road to True Devotion.
THE SCHOOL OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION SAINT ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI — A Catholic Classic! — Includes original Religious Illustrations — Includes an Active Index, Table of Contents and NCX Navigation Publisher: Available in Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1-78379-262-7 In the ascetical writings of the holy Bishop and Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, there is a characteristic charm and an irresistible attraction. Whoever reads them with the proper dispositions will discover in them an indefinable something that appeals to the heart and stirs it to its very depths. We imagine we see the loving personality of the holy Bishop before us, and hear the words of eternal life from his very lips. 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.” PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING
This rich classic passed out of common usage years ago, but here we find it restored for the first time to the benefit of the English reader. St. Alphonsus transformed the landscape of the experience of this Reconciliation, and our confessional experience would be unthinkable without his saintly, intellectual, and pastoral prowess. While the cultural and historical context is amazingly fascinating, it necessitates peeling back those layers to see the glimmering treasure within. For that reason, this edition provides an introductory essay that steps lightly to take note of these difference for a fruitful reception of the saint's genius. May all readers benefit for the greater glory of God.
