The Psalter Of The Blessed Virgin Mary by Saint Bonaventure

About the book: Author's Preface: "Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her. She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee with a noble crown." (Proverbs 4:8-9.) 

Glory be to God on high, and thanksgiving, and the voice of praise, who at one time by the mysteries of prophecy, at another by oracles from Heaven, again by the reading of the Gospel, and now by the mouth of preachers, in many ways and by divers channels, most sincerely urges and invites us to honour the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and of the Angels; that by her holy merits, most worthy of all acceptance, we, being delivered from the depths of hell, may be inscribed by her in the ranks of the angels. 

Wherefore, although Solomon spoke the aforesaid words of Wisdom, nevertheless the Holy Spirit, by a mystical application, intends them to be understood of the most excellent Virgin Mary. 

By means of these words, dearly beloved, He is drawing you to His love, and by various promises is attracting and softening your hearts, that you may enjoy His divine embraces. 

His meaning is that you will obtain four wonderful gifts, if this glorious Virgin is joined to you by a spiritual bond, and is embraced by you in the arms of fervent desire, with great reverence and devotion. 

First, she will bring you exaltation; and she shall exalt thee; secondly, glorification; and thou shalt be glorified by her; thirdly, the abundance of graces; she shall give to thy head increase of graces; fourthly, the unfading crown of perpetual glory, and protect thee with a noble crown. 

Therefore I beseech thee, dearly beloved and most desired, do not repel so noble and so beautiful a virgin; do not make little of so admirable and revered a queen as the Virgin Mary: lest, if she should see herself despised by you, you will be, I will not say, deprived of such great favours, but, which God forbid, you will incur perpetual evils. 

Expand the bosom of your mind to serve her, prepare your heart to praise and glorify her, lose your tongue, and with swift service hasten to please her. 

For there is no doubt that from her nearness to you, you will become more devout, from contact with her you will grow more pure, from her embrace you will abound more in grace and be more resplendent in purity. 

That I may give you an occasion of obtaining such great gifts, I send you the Psalter of this most Holy Virgin (published in 1852), put together and composed indeed by my feeble intelligence, but with her grace and help; by means of it you will praise with divers hymns, now her virginity and chastity, now her fecundity and sanctity, now her clemency and bounty. 

You will be able to salute her as full of all grace, or as filled with all knowledge, or as illumined by all understanding and wisdom. 

There you will bless the Fruit of her glorious womb, the members of His holy body, and the prerogatives of His soul, bestowing all sanctity. 

There you will invoke the aid of all the choirs of angels to praise her, and of all the multitudes of holy men, the isles of the nations, the heavens, the beauty of all luminaries and of the whole world. 

There you will beseech her to destroy the power of your spiritual enemies, to obtain for you pardon of all your sins, that she may render the great Judge propitious to you, that she may illumine your deathbed by her gracious presence, and obtain for you joy without end. 

Therefore, O dearly beloved souls, graciously receive this little gift which I offer you, and strive to draw fruit there from; by means of it frequently praise the Mother of God; and thus perchance she will turn to you her gracious countenance, receiving you to her love, refreshing your soul in the present, and placing upon your head a crown of precious stones in the world to come.

About the author: Saint Bonaventure OFM (1221-1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he also served for a time as Bishop of Albano. He was canonised on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" (Latin: Doctor Seraphicus). His feast day is 15 July. Many writings believed in the Middle Ages to be his are now collected under the name Pseudo-Bonaventure (Wikipedia).

Every Morning, I Have Woken Up Knowing

The Reader

Memento Mori

The Stable

Lockdown With The Devil by Kennedy Hall

About the book: The 2020 worldwide lockdown unleashed a fog of confusion and uncertainty into the world. Times like these are fertile breeding grounds for demonic activity in the family. 

In Lockdown with the Devil (2020), Kennedy Hall explores the ways the demons attack the family in a fictional account of diabolically coordinated attacks on a modern family. The book follows a typical family of four - mother, father, son and daughter - as they navigate through the hardships many families have faced during the worst parts of the pandemic. 

This story gives insight into how the diabolical entities use our circumstances in order to rip apart the most fundamental institution of society: the family.

“Part thriller, part documentary and part Catholic catechism, Hall has woven the three elements together in a hoot of a read that has its ‘eureka, I knew it!’ and on the flip-side, sorrowful ‘really bad things happen to good people’ moments. A worthy contribution in the tradition of Screwtape during the era of the COVID lockdown.” - Mike Church, Radio & TV Host of The Mike Church Show.

About the author: Kennedy Hall is a contributing editor for OnePeterFive. He is the author Terror of Demons: Reclaiming Traditional Catholic Masculinity and Lockdown with the Devil, a novel published by Our Lady of Victory Press. He is a writer at Catholic Family News, LifeSiteNews and and has a growing YouTube channel where he hosts The Kennedy Report. He is married with six children and lives in Ontario, Canada.

Rating: 5/5

Jólabókaflóðið (Icelandic Yule Book Flood)

The Art of Divine Love Or Berthe Petit

About the book: "The Heart of My Mother has the right to the title of Sorrowful, and I wish it placed before that of Immaculate, because she herself has acquired it." (The Words of Our Lord to Berthe Petit, 8 September 1911)

In India, Devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary began in 1952 through the instrumentality of Father Louis M Shouriah, SJ. He was miraculously cured from grave heart trouble by Our Lady in circumstances that are not without interest. When he asked the Blessed Virgin Mary how he could best show his gratitude for this unsolicited favour, the response was, "Spread the Devotion to my Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart in your country." 

The Reverend Louis M Shouriah adapted the writings of Reverend I Duffner MSC and added his own research and thoughts in this unique book on the Messages from the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, which also includes a short biography of His messenger, Berthe Petit (1870-1943), a Franciscan Tertiary.

Jesus tells Berthe Petit, "Universal recourse to my Mother under the title I wish for her universally, is the last aid God gives to the world before the end of time." (2 July 1940)

This little book is presented to the public in the fervent hope that it will inspire the faithful to a deeper devotion and urge them to make known to others the message contained therein. Its pages, so appropriate to our times, will be read with profit; they will make Our Lady better known and loved; they will bring into prominence the ardent desire of Our Lord to save the world through the most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His beloved Mother. Our hearts will be moved to gratitude and urged to prayer and penance, so that by the fulfilment of the conditions so mercifully offered by the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the salvation and peace of the world may fully be realized.

The Art of Divine Love or Berthe Petit (1955, 2003 (republished), 2005 (revised)) is adapted from the French by Reverend Louis M Shouriah. The front cover is a photograph of Berthe Petit at the age of 39.

Chinese Homestyle: Recipes For The Modern Kitchen by Flo Lum

About the book: With almost 400,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, Flo Lum has years of experience creating simple and delicious recipes that have helped and inspired thousands of viewers.

"I am so excited to share this cookbook with you. It is filled with many childhood favourites and dishes I’ve recreated over the years that were influenced by my Chinese heritage and using modern cooking techniques.

Each recipe has been created using the best tool for the job. Sometimes it is a wok, an electric pressure cooker, air fryer or the humble stove. When possible, I have included alternative cooking methods.

I hope these recipes will evoke some feelings of nostalgia and I hope they become some of your family favourites as well." - Flo Lum

Chinese Homestyle: Recipes For The Modern Kitchen (2021) is almost 200 pages, complete with beautiful full-page photos for almost every recipe. Flo Lum's recipes are simple and never fussy or complicated. With the basic Asian sauces in your pantry, you will be able to handle all the recipes in this cookbook.

Her latest cookbook, published on 1 February 2023, is Daily Special: Chinese Restaurant Favourites.

About the author: Flo Lum is a wife and mom who loves to laugh, cook and eat. She shares her family’s journey to live a Simple, Ordinary & Joyful life on her YouTube channel, Instagram and Patreon, ranging from fantastic family-friendly recipes, travel, to Vlogs, about their perfectly imperfect lives in Vancouver, Canada and beyond.

Writings Of Elder Cleopas Volumes 1-5 St by George Monastery

About the book: Writings of Elder Cleopas Volumes 1-5 (2020) is translated from the Romanian by Anna Skoubourdis and published by Virgin Mary of Australia and Oceania. 

The following writings are in this volume: 

Volume 1: On the Types of Witchcraft 

Volume 2: About Creation, the Fall of Man and Heaven and Hell 

Volume 3: About Faith, Hope, Love and Grace 

Volume 4: About Prayer and the Divine Liturgy 

Volume 5: About Sin, Confession and Holy Communion

About Elder Cleopas/Cleopa: Elder Cleopas/Cleopa (1912-1998) was an abbot of the Sihastria Monastery. He was a well-known spiritual representative of the Romanian Orthodox Church. 

When No Friends Were Around

That Kind Of Day

Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf

About the book: Our Souls at Night (2017), Kent Haruf's exquisite final novel, is a deeply affecting love story, adapted into a film starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.

This is a love story.

A story about growing old with grace.

Addie Moore and Louis Waters have been neighbours for years. 

Now they both live alone, their houses empty of family, their quiet nights solitary. 

Then one evening Addie pays Louis a visit.

Their brave adventures form the beating heart of Our Souls at Night.

"Simple, low-key and absolutely beautiful." - The Times

About the author: Kent Haruf is the author of six novels (and, with the photographer Peter Brown, West of Last Chance). His honours include a Whiting Foundation Writers' Award, the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award, the Wallace Stegner Award, and a special citation from the PEN/Hemingway Foundation; he was also a finalist for the National Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and The New Yorker Book Award. Benediction (2014) was shortlisted for the Folio Prize. He died in November 2014, at the age of seventy-one.

I'm A Classic, Man