Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Resources for the Latter Days

I've had reason, recently, frequently to recommend a book that I've kept to hand for many years. I'm not sure how well it's known so I'm including this post just in case it helps anybody passing by this blog. Now the title The Complete Catholic Handbook for the Latter Days sounds rather daunting if not in theme then in it's potential size. Actually it's only 281 pages long and whilst the typeface might be rather small it is legible. More importantly the volume is pretty comprehensive for the basics. Not the higher eschelons of philosophy or moral theology, mind you, but for what was once referred to as 'the good oil'.

All the major devotions are included and the Mass Ordinary and Proper for all Sundays and the major feasts. What was known in England as the Penny Catechism, in its 1921 edition, is included with footnotes added from later clarifications and some material, it would seem, from the Baltimore Catechism. All this under one cover! I keep a copy of this on my desk together with a copy of Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. The later is very useful not only because it gives abundant references, and an introduction to the levels of certainty, but it also gives details of exactly why and when the major heresies were condemned. Very useful as most of them are still around indeed in vogue.

The publisher-distributor, Carmel Books, is working on a website at the moment which may be 'up' by September. It may be safer to use old fashion 'snail mail', or the electric telephone for that matter, for immediate enquiries.

CARMEL BOOKS. Yeoford Way Marsh Barton Trading Estate EXETER Devon EX2 8LB.  Tel: 01392 824255
Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. GORJune 2, 2010 at 2:56 AM

    Yes, that sounds like a great resource, Father. Given the amount of questionable literature on Faith and Morals in recent decades, I find myself referring more and more to the earlier works (when Imprimaturs and Nihil Obstat’s still meant something…) whose orthodoxy is unquestionable. In addition to Ott, I have Jone’s Moral Theology, Canon Ripley’s This is the Faith, Bishop Knecht’s A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, the Baltimore Catechism and, of course, Denzinger.

    While some of the works could use updating to account for changes in Liturgy, discipline and practice - not to mention new questions that have arisen, especially in Ethics – they remain solid sources for anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of the Faith.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AdulioJune 2, 2010 at 2:52 PM

    While some of the works could use updating to account for changes in Liturgy, discipline and practice...

    I think the reason why the aforementioned book is recommended for "The Latter Days" is precisely because of the above changes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SPWangJune 2, 2010 at 3:18 PM

    Wow. That Nun looks like someone I know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. jangojingoJune 3, 2010 at 1:31 PM

    We wish we could see this book online.

    Pax

    Paul and Jack

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)