Fr. John Gerard was an English Jesuit priest who operated covertly in England during the Elizabethan era, during which the Catholic Church was subject to persecution. Gerard notably not only successfully hid from the English authorities for eight years before his capture but also endured extensive torture, escaped from the Tower of London, recovered and continued with his covert mission. After his escape to the Continent, he was instructed by his Jesuit superiors to write a book about his life...

This short treatise by St. Clement's is an exposition on the words of Jesus Christ to the young rich man, recounted in the gospels. In the account, the man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. First, Jesus advises the man to obey the commandments, then Jesus adds: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." However, when he heard this, "he became very sorrowful because he was very wealthy....

The subject of the treatise was suggested, as is plain from the text itself, as the result of a public, or at any rate semi-public, discussion with some person unknown in which St. Bernard, strongly commending the work of grace, had seemed to lay himself open to the charge of unduly minimizing the function of free will. There is about the treatise the fragrance of mystical theology; not the mystical theology of the esoteric, but that of the simple Christian living in the world. It is wonderful how this ascetic, this cloistered recluse, touches his subject with the hand of one who knows the pulsations of average humanity.

No one goes to hell by committing sin in the abstract, sin in general. Our character traits, talents and dispositions, our experiences — everything about us points out to us a particular road to hell — one of the seven that are called the capital sins. For us, this or that particular one is the fastest and easiest because of who we are, what we are, where we find ourselves. And the road sign will read either pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy or sloth. The seven capital sins are called capital because they are the sins of primary importance and inevitably spawn a whole litter of other sins...

Frank Boreham was a well known preacher who served in England, Australia, and New Zealand. He published dozens of books and thousands of editorials during his lifetime, with no sign of slowing down, even up until his death at age 88. He wrote with a distinctive style, seeming to be able to draw a spiritual lesson out of any conceivable topic.In this volume, Boreham invites us to enter his book and his thoughts as if we were honored guests entering his home, with an evening of hospitality and fellowship before us. - Summary by Devorah Allen

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

Brief Bible stories from the Old Testament, many accompanied by poems. - Summary by Larry Wilson

An exhaustive verse-by-verse study of Acts, integrating it with both the Gospels and the Old Testament, by one of the more unconventional theologians of his day. - Summary by Joanne Turner

The Catena Aurea presents the commentaries of the greatest theologians of the Church as if they were having a discussion on each verse of the Bible. St. Thomas Aquinas put this opus together from sermons and commentaries on the Gospels composed by over eighty early Church Fathers, providing their insights into each passage. The work shows his intimate acquaintance with the Early Fathers. The work was commissioned by Pope Urban IV, so that everyone could understand the established meaning of the Gospels from the teaching of the early Fathers.

Sermons 81 through 95 cover the Gospel According to Luke 11:19 to 12:59.

The Spirits' Book, published in French in 1857, is considered the most important book in the Spiritist philosophy. It contains the bases for that philosophy and all important points in its doctrine: the belief in God, reincarnation and the survival of the soul after death, the fact that it is through reincarnation that the soul learns and moves closer to perfection. The work is the first of a five book canon, and it is organized in the form of questions and answers, with commentary by the codifier, Allan Kardec, a pseudonym of Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail.

A poetic version of the Psalms by Sir Philip Sidney and his sister, Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke . "It is possible that the original Autograph manuscript of Sir Philip Sidney may still exist in the library at Wilton. It would have been desirable to have ascertained this, as it might prove which were versified by him, and which by his sister. This I have not been able to accomplish." Some of the Psalms may have been written by a third party. The Christian Remembrancer magazine for June, 1821 contains a paper by Dr...

Purgatory by FX Schouppe, SJ, a french Catholic theologian who died in November, 1904 details the place where saved souls go before Heaven. Think of it as a temporary cleaning or purging place for those who aren't going to Hell. Fire, burning and intense pain for various lengths of time make up the experience of Purgatory. The author details eyewitness accounts and blood chilling stories from the perspective of a number of saints who went through it. We can pray, give alms and have Masses said for the souls in Purgatory to shorten their and our time there. This book really turned me around! Purgatory will scare the Hell out of you!

Jung says in his subtitle that this work is a study of the transformations and symbolisms of the libido and a contribution to the history of the evolution of thought.

"And God tempted Abraham and said unto him: take Isaac, thine only son, whom thou lovest and go to the land Moriah and sacrifice him there on a mountain which I shall show thee. Genesis 22:1" Soren Kierkegaard wondered how Abraham made the movement of faith that made him the father of faith mentioned in the New Testament . Fear and Trembling is the product of his wonder. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling . One-third of "Fear and Trembling" was translated in 1923 by Lee Hollander in the University of Texas Bulliten. This book has already been read in parts in the Short Nonfiction Collection but I think some might be interested in listening to it as a complete reading.

An accounting of the need, purpose and events surrounding the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ though the Prophet Joseph Smith. - Summary by Wayne Cooke

A question and answer format catechism that was the standard catechetical text in Great Britain throughout most of the 20th century. Popularly called the Penny Catechism, as the original version only cost one penny. Various editions of the Penny Catechism were issued through the century and changes were made to the text, particularly following Vatican II. This edition is the pre-Vatican II edition. - Summary by Wikipedia, modified by David Oderberg

Fiction, or fact? The narrator asserts it's fact. The narrator is an author, whom her little nieces call "Auntie Belle". There's also an "Auntie Dule" , Grandpa and Grandma, Mama and Papa, and eventually an Uncle Ross . The book is made up of vignettes of the funny sayings or doings of little Minnie and little Gracie, and how these lead to Grandpa's wise lessons for both the little ones and the adults. - Summary by TriciaG

An English translation that holds as closely as was possible to the original languages and idioms. - Summary by KevinS

The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, written by Paul to the believers in Rome. It is perhaps the best epistle for outlining the basic foundations of Christian faith, from man's depravity and need for a savior, to salvation given through faith in Christ, to how believers should live in consequence of such a salvation. - Summary by TriciaG

In 1918 over 2,000 Roman Catholic nuns left their convents in the Philadelphia area to nurse the sick and dying of the influenza epidemic. Twenty-three of the sisters died because of their ministrations. This is an account of their heroic work published in the American Catholic Historical Society Of Philadelphia, 1919. “Gathered and arranged from reports of personal experiences of the sisters and contributed by request of the compiler.” The compiler/author was an academic/priest at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Since there are no chapter headings, this recording uses the section headings of the book. - Summary by David Wales and book's subtitle

The Abbe Pierre Froment, after his experiences in Lourdes, has written a book expressing a vision of a new enlightened papacy. He visits Rome to defend this book against condemnation and seeks audience with the Pope. He is introduced to aristocratic and ecclesiastical society, and during his three months' stay has the opportunity to reflect on the historical position of the "Eternal City", as well as its future and that of the Roman Catholic Church, reflections imbued with Zola's deep skepticism and his modernistic views...

Sermons 27 through 38 cover the Gospel of St Luke 6:20 - 7:28. - Summary by the Reader

This short treatise was accounted by some of the Fathers as next to Holy Scripture. It was rediscovered in 1873 by a Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Nicomedia, in the codex from which, in 1875, he had published the full text of the Epistles of St. Clement. An old Latin translation was found in 1900. For convenience the contents may be divided into three parts: the first is the "Two Ways", the Way of Life and the Way of Death; the second part is a rituale dealing with baptism, fasting, and Holy Communion; the third speaks of the ministry...

This is a series of sermons that were given in Hanson Place Methodist Episcopal Church in January 1895. They are here collected together by the author and presented "with the earnest prayer that they may bring comfort and inspiration to the friends of Christ wherever they may go." - Summary by Devorah Allen

Amongst the vast correspondence of the longest-reigning pontiff since St. Peter, Pope Pius IX wrote upwards of forty Encyclicals during his thirty-two year pontificate . Twenty-six of these are included in this collection.

Sermons 39 - 46 cover the Gospel According to Saint Luke 7:31 - 8:56. - Summary by the Reader

John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, delivered these three homilies, most likely at Antioch, about the role of demons in our life. The summary for each one follows: 1) Against those who say that demons govern human affairs, and who are displeased at the chastisement of God, and are offended at the prosperity of the wicked and the hardships of the just. 2) Against those who object because the devil has not been put out of the world: and to prove that his wickedness does no harm to us—if we take heed: and concerning repentance...

The prayers and meditations of Samuel Johnson, published posthumously by George Strahan to whom Johnson had entrusted the manuscripts. Johnson had been writing these down for over forty years. They often show him at his most repentant, melancholy and fragile -- and the book was controversial because of it -- but they also show the goodness, sense and strength which has always characterised this great man. - Summary by Steven Watson

“In many ways we are still living in the spiritual momentum that was created during the Great Awakening…and in the midst of the Great Awakening there was one man that was most singularly used by God…that man was the great evangelist, George Whitefield.” Published in 1677, The Life of God in the Soul of Man was originally penned in 1676 as a private letter to a friend by 26 year-old Henry Scougal, professor of divinity at King’s College, University of Aberdeen. Less than a century later,...

Jovinianus, had published at Rome a treatise containing the following opinions: "That a virgin is no better as such than a wife in the sight of God. Abstinence is no better than a thankful partaking of food. A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. All sins are equal. There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state." Also he held the birth of our Lord to have been natural, rather than that Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as His Resurrection body afterwards did out of the tomb...

Timothy was one of the disciples of the Apostle Paul, who had a deep affection for him, writing, "You know the proof of him, that as a son with a father, he has served with me in the Gospel." Philippians 2:22 Also to the Corinthians he writes: "I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord. In this set of homilies St. John Chrysostom , the Archbishop of Constantinople and one of the most famous preachers of the Eastern world, expounds upon Paul's first letter to Timothy.