The Graces of Interior Prayer

The Journey of Prayer The classic manual on prayer, mysticism, and spiritual direction, this edition has been retypeset and reprinted. It is a roadmap of the signs and stages of contemplative prayer. How do I know if I am progressing in prayer? How should I conduct myself in each stage? What difficulties and trials may I encounter along the way? What are the experiences of the mystic saints, and the principles outlined by theologians throughout Church history? These questions, and many others, the Jesuit Father Augustin Poulain addresses in this edifying book, The Graces of Interior Prayer. First published in 1901 and given an approbation by Pope St. Pius X, it was reprinted by popular demand in many subsequent editions and languages. Fr. Poulain had a talent for making accessible to ordinary people, the delicate and often misunderstood subject of contemplative prayer. Systematically addressing the stages of growth in prayer, and filled with references and extracts from saints and theologians throughout the 2,000 year history of the Roman Catholic Church, it is an impressive, scholarly work. Especially suited to inform and help spiritual directors with discernment in guiding souls along the path to full union with God, it delineates and distinguishes between many of the experiences that at one point may be confused for those of another point; and between those that are genuine with those that are imagination, fantasy, or diabolical illusion. This book can be a source of clarity and consolation for many who cannot see the path before them.

Religion & Spirituality

Poulain SJ, Fr. Augustin

Christian Books & Bibles

Caritas Publishing

The Journey of Prayer The classic manual on prayer, mysticism, and spiritual direction, this edition has been retypeset and reprinted. It is a roadmap of the signs and stages of contemplative prayer. How do I know if I am progressing in prayer? How should I conduct myself in each stage? What difficulties and trials may I encounter along the way? What are the experiences of the mystic saints, and the principles outlined by theologians throughout Church history? These questions, and many others, the Jesuit Father Augustin Poulain addresses in this edifying book, The Graces of Interior Prayer. First published in 1901 and given an approbation by Pope St. Pius X, it was reprinted by popular demand in many subsequent editions and languages. Fr. Poulain had a talent for making accessible to ordinary people, the delicate and often misunderstood subject of contemplative prayer. Systematically addressing the stages of growth in prayer, and filled with references and extracts from saints and theologians throughout the 2,000 year history of the Roman Catholic Church, it is an impressive, scholarly work. Especially suited to inform and help spiritual directors with discernment in guiding souls along the path to full union with God, it delineates and distinguishes between many of the experiences that at one point may be confused for those of another point; and between those that are genuine with those that are imagination, fantasy, or diabolical illusion. This book can be a source of clarity and consolation for many who cannot see the path before them.

God's Plan for the Present Time The first book, Mary Crushes the Serpent, is the author's account of his 30 years' experience as an exorcist. He writes: "I will first state what the demons said about the present state of the Church, and then I will relate the diabolical plans which they, according to their own admission, are keeping under cover... The object of this document is to show the maternal solicitude of the Blessed Virgin for the Church of her Divine Son, as also to publish the plan Mary seems to have adopted to come to the aid of the Church in her present plight." The second book, Begone Satan!, is a soul-stirring account of diabolical possession in Earling, Iowa in 1928, in which a woman cursed by her own father was possessed from her 14th year until her 40th year, the year of the exorcism. From the Conclusion to the first book: "'I cannot help but come to the conclusion that an untold number of events of our time, many of the inexplicable crimes, the general moral breakdown of human society, the contempt for and the denial of religious truths and laws are, to a great extent, to be attributed to demoniacal influences and machinations. It would be a rather hard task to convince the present world of this and to scare its people out of this sensuality. This world is returning to paganism with giant strides.' (Godfrey Raupert, Christ and the Spirits of Darkness)... It almost seems that the millennium mentioned in Apocalypse 20, 7, is at hand: 'Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth.' That is the truth about the great dragon, the old serpent, which will seduce the entire world (Apoc. 12, 9), the murderer of men from the beginning, the liar, the father of lies (John 8, 44). One must be blind not to recognize him by his works. "Holy Mother Church has fought unceasingly against the father of lies and deception by spreading the truth through her teaching office, by removing sin and increasing the life of grace through the Holy Priesthood and through the Blood of the Lamb of God upon her altars ascending to the gates of heaven. The Church guides her faithful through the Episcopacy. Would that the faithful would listen to them instead of to the false shepherds in wolves clothing! As a gift of her Divine Master the Church gives to her priests the power to expel devils and to confer blessings. The more violent the attacks of the netherworld, and the more articulate the demons become by their actions, the more diligently should these powers given by the Church be made use of. The exorcist narrates how at one time the Savior reprimanded him for becoming inactive in carrying out the tiresome process of exorcism: 'If you love Me, why do you not give more direct battle against my bitterest enemy?' Christ spoke to the Apostles with an authoritative voice: 'Drive out the demons.' (Mt. 10). "Christ gained the victory over the prince of this world, Satan. But man, to share in that victory, must cooperate with the living mystical Christ. But when the modern world is ignoring, nay even persecuting, Christ, need we be surprised that Satan is coming into his own again and this more boldly within very recent years? The facts contained in these books should make us more conscious that 'Satan goeth around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.' 'Watch and pray that you will not enter into temptation.' With Christ alone can we gain the victory."

Mary Crushes the Serpent and Begone Satan!: Two Books in One

Anonymous Exorcist, Priest

Vogel, Fr. Carl

God’s Plan for the Present Time
The first book, Mary Crushes the Serpent, is the author’s account of his 30 years’ experience as an exorcist. He writes: “I will first state what the demons said about the present state of the Church, and then I will relate the diabolical plans which they, according to their own admission, are keeping under cover... The object of this document is to show the maternal solicitude of the Blessed Virgin for the Church of her Divine Son, as also to publish the plan Mary seems to have adopted to come to the aid of the Church in her present plight.”
The second book, Begone Satan!, is a soul-stirring account of diabolical possession in Earling, Iowa in 1928, in which a woman cursed by her own father was possessed from her 14th year until her 40th year, the year of the exorcism.
From the Conclusion to the first book: “‘I cannot help but come to the conclusion that an untold number of events of our time, many of the inexplicable crimes, the general moral breakdown of human society, the contempt for and the denial of religious truths and laws are, to a great extent, to be attributed to demoniacal influences and machinations. It would be a rather hard task to convince the present world of this and to scare its people out of this sensuality. This world is returning to paganism with giant strides.’ (Godfrey Raupert, Christ and the Spirits of Darkness)... It almost seems that the millennium mentioned in Apocalypse 20, 7, is at hand: ‘Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth.’ That is the truth about the great dragon, the old serpent, which will seduce the entire world (Apoc. 12, 9), the murderer of men from the beginning, the liar, the father of lies (John 8, 44). One must be blind not to recognize him by his works.
“Holy Mother Church has fought unceasingly against the father of lies and deception by spreading the truth through her teaching office, by removing sin and increasing the life of grace through the Holy Priesthood and through the Blood of the Lamb of God upon her altars ascending to the gates of heaven. The Church guides her faithful through the Episcopacy. Would that the faithful would listen to them instead of to the false shepherds in wolves clothing! As a gift of her Divine Master the Church gives to her priests the power to expel devils and to confer blessings. The more violent the attacks of the netherworld, and the more articulate the demons become by their actions, the more diligently should these powers given by the Church be made use of. The exorcist narrates how at one time the Savior reprimanded him for becoming inactive in carrying out the tiresome process of exorcism: ‘If you love Me, why do you not give more direct battle against my bitterest enemy?’ Christ spoke to the Apostles with an authoritative voice: ‘Drive out the demons.’ (Mt. 10).
“Christ gained the victory over the prince of this world, Satan. But man, to share in that victory, must cooperate with the living mystical Christ. But when the modern world is ignoring, nay even persecuting, Christ, need we be surprised that Satan is coming into his own again and this more boldly within very recent years? The facts contained in these books should make us more conscious that ‘Satan goeth around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.’ ‘Watch and pray that you will not enter into temptation.’ With Christ alone can we gain the victory.”

Mary Crushes the Serpent AND Begone Satan!: Two Books in One

“Jesus Christ has made priests, as it were, his co-cooperators in procuring the honor of his eternal Father and the salvation of souls, and therefore when he ascended into heaven, he declared that he left them to hold his place, and to continue the work of redemption which he had undertaken and consummated. ‘He made them,’ says St. Ambrose, ‘the vicars of his love.’” From The Dignity and Duties of the Priest by St. Alphonsus Liguori. This book is a collection of traditional prayers to stir the heart of God on behalf of our priests, including prayers by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Catherine of Siena, and other saints and prelates. It also includes a Way of the Cross with supplemental prayers for priests.

Prayers for Priests: Let Us Stir the Heart of God on Behalf of Our Priests

Various, Saints and Prelates

The Life and Times of Saint Bernard

A GIANT OF HIS TIMES THE LAST CHURCH FATHER Saint Bernard of Clairvaux lived in times of great ferment and division. Heresies were proliferating; the Holy See was threatened by schism; inveterate evils destroyed public morals; the Saracens menaced Christendom while Christian princes provoked each another to endless and sanguinary combats. Into these troublous times God sent Bernard, as a help and remedy. A man of astonishing holiness and charisma, dissolute and unruly kings, princes, and devils trembled before him; popes and bishops sought his counsel; heretics could not withstand his wisdom; multitudes thronged to hear his sermons where obstinate hearts melted like wax, dissolved in tears, and were set afire with love for Jesus. The astounding profusion of miracles with which God graced St. Bernard’s words and deeds are, as those of his Lord Jesus, too numerous to recount, but many appreciable ones are related in this book. “There is, perhaps, in the annals of the Church no more remarkable instance of the power of an individual over the men of his age than in St. Bernard. A solitary religious, in the state of poverty, without office, or rank, or worldly control, or even the ecclesiastical dignities which command the obedience of others, he acquired and wielded a sway over, not his own brethren of the cloister alone, but over people of every character, rank, and state—over the priesthood, over the episcopate, over princes, kingdoms, nations, and pontiffs. The means and appliances for this vast and sustained superiority of the individual over his age were all contained within the four walls of his cell; or, more truly, within the one great heart, inflamed with the love of God; the solitary intelligence, illuminated by the light of faith; and the single will, energetic in itself, and made inflexible by union with the Divine. There seems to have been in this one mind an inexhaustible abundance, variety, and versatility of gifts. Without ever ceasing to be the holy and mortified religious, St. Bernard appears to be the ruling will of his time. He stands forth as pastor, preacher, mystical writer, controversialist, reformer, pacificator, mediator, arbiter, diplomatist, and statesman. He appears in the schools, at the altar, in the preacher’s chair, in councils of the Church, in councils of the State, amid the factions of cities, the negotiations of princes, and the contests of antipopes. And whence came this wondrous power of dealing with affairs and with men? Not from the training and schooling of this world, but from the instincts, simplicity, and penetration of a mind profoundly immersed in God, and from a will of which the fervor and singleness of aim were supernatural.” ~ From the Preface. Born in France in 1090, Bernard entered the Abbey of Citeaux as a young man. So charismatic was he, thirty of his relatives entered with him, including five of his brothers. He was canonized in 1174, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1830 by Pope Pius VII. He is called “Doctor Mellifluous” and the “cithara of Mary” for his eloquence, and is considered the last of the Fathers of the Church.

Biographies & Memoirs

Ratisbonne, Fr. Théodore

Historical

A GIANT OF HIS TIMES
THE LAST CHURCH FATHER
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux lived in times of great ferment and division. Heresieswere proliferating; the Holy See was threatened by schism; inveterate evilsdestroyed public morals; the Saracens menaced Christendom while Christianprinces provoked each another to endless and sanguinary combats. Into thesetroublous times God sent Bernard, as a help and remedy. A man of astonishingholiness and charisma, dissolute and unruly kings, princes, and devils trembledbefore him; popes and bishops sought his counsel; heretics could not withstandhis wisdom; multitudes thronged to hear his sermons where obstinate heartsmelted like wax, dissolved in tears, and were set afire with love for Jesus.The astounding profusion of miracles with which God graced St. Bernard’s wordsand deeds are, as those of his LordJesus, too numerous to recount, but many appreciable ones are related in this book.
“There is, perhaps, in the annals of the Church no more remarkable instance of thepower of an individual over the men of his age than in St. Bernard. A solitaryreligious, in the state of poverty, without office, or rank, or worldlycontrol, or even the ecclesiastical dignities which command the obedience ofothers, he acquired and wielded a sway over, not his own brethren of thecloister alone, but over people of every character, rank, and state—over thepriesthood, over the episcopate, over princes, kingdoms, nations, and pontiffs.The means and appliances for this vast and sustained superiority of theindividual over his age were all contained within the four walls of his cell;or, more truly, within the one great heart, inflamed with the love of God; thesolitary intelligence, illuminated by the light of faith; and the single will,energetic in itself, and made inflexible by union with the Divine. There seemsto have been in this one mind an inexhaustible abundance, variety, andversatility of gifts. Without ever ceasing to be the holy and mortifiedreligious, St. Bernard appears to be the ruling will of his time. He standsforth as pastor, preacher, mystical writer, controversialist, reformer,pacificator, mediator, arbiter, diplomatist, and statesman. He appears in theschools, at the altar, in the preacher’s chair, in councils of the Church, incouncils of the State, amid the factions of cities, the negotiations ofprinces, and the contests of antipopes. And whence came this wondrous power ofdealing with affairs and with men? Not from the training and schooling of thisworld, but from the instincts, simplicity, and penetration of a mind profoundlyimmersed in God, and from a will of which the fervor and singleness of aim weresupernatural.” ~From the Preface.
Born in France in 1090, Bernard entered the Abbey of Citeaux as a young man. Socharismatic was he, thirty of his relatives entered with him, including five ofhis brothers. He was canonized in 1174, and declared a Doctor of the Church in1830 by Pope Pius VII. He is called “Doctor Mellifluous” and the “cithara ofMary” for his eloquence, and is considered the last of the Fathers of theChurch.

This booklet is intended to be given to fallen-away Catholics, or anyone who is afflicted, suffering, or needs to return to faith. It is a collection of consoling, traditional meditations and prayers. A Mass is celebrated each month for the recipients of this book, as well as for those who pray from it.

Come to Me. . .

VARIOUS

Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory, by Sister M. de L.C. Treatise on Purgatory, by St. Catherine of Genoa The kindness of God provides us with all the grace and knowledge we need to arrive at that eternal Beatitude to which he calls each one of us. Occasionally, he even bestows extraordinary apprehensions on certain holy mystics, in order to give us a glimpse of realities beyond our everyday perceptions, thereby inspiriting us to run in the paths of his goodness toward our perfect fulfillment . . . The first book was published in French as Manuscript on Purgatory by Sister M. de L. C. The second book is by St. Catherine of Genoa, Treatise on Purgatory. At the end is a Note about Revelation vs. Spiritism, which includes a quotation by Fr. Gabriele Amorth, world-renowned exorcist, on the dangers of spiritism. Both of these manuscripts are private revelations and hence are not binding on the faithful, but both of these documents have been examined by theological experts and found to be free of doctrinal error.

Manuscripts on Purgatory: As Seen by Two Mystics

of Genoa, St. Catherine

de la Croix, Sr. Marie

Beautifully retypeset, this is a treasured collection - raccolta - of two thousand years of the Church's most powerful and sublime devotions. They may be prayed to immense benefit, using the very words of Saints, immersed in the deepest dynamics of the Holy Trinity, the Redemptive Sacrifice, the Communion of Saints. They not only teach us how to pray, but they help to remake our modern, malformed interior dispositions in accordance with that which is most pleasing to God.

The Raccolta - Vademecum Size

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See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Caritas Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Graces of Interior Prayer

The Graces of Interior Prayer

Mary Crushes the Serpent and Begone Satan!: Two Books in One

Mary Crushes the Serpent AND Begone Satan!: Two Books in One

Prayers for Priests: Let Us Stir the Heart of God on Behalf of Our Priests

The Life and Times of Saint Bernard

The Life and Times of Saint Bernard

Come to Me. . .

Manuscripts on Purgatory: As Seen by Two Mystics

The Raccolta - Vademecum Size