We had posted this last week but found out that the link ended up broken. If you would like to help, you still can.

One of our local boy scouts is building a Marian grotto at a parish for his Eagle Scout Project. If you are interested in donating something to the project, you can through our Paypal account:

If you haven’t already filled out our survey telling us what you think of our company, now’s the time! The survey closes on the first day of September. Everyone who fills it out will be put in a drawing for a beautiful $100 statue of Our Lady of Fatima!

So what are you waiting for? Speak your mind!

Note: Before posting this we contacted both the editorial and sales departments of Pauline Book and Media asking for a comment on the problems with this book. That was a week ago and we have not received any reply.

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?
“Good Faith. Guaranteed.” This means a lot to us here at Aquinas and More. It is one of the guiding principles of our business.

This week we pulled from the shelves and discontinued selling one of our most popular titles related to the Year of St. Paul. Although we try very hard to evaluate all of our products, sometimes an item slips through and we only catch the problem after the item has arrived at our store - even worse, when we have already shipped the item to some of our customers.

We have contacted all our customers who purchased the book from us, informing them of the problem, and recommending that they return the item to us for an immediate and full refund.

Typically we rely on the expected good judgment of the publisher, and information in their catalog, when we decide to carry an item. We hope that Catholic publishers, at least the ones we have considered to be orthodox, have proper controls in place in their editorial departments to make certain they are publishing books that conform to the teachings of the Church.

The book in question is called “Paul: Least of the Apostles” and it is published by Pauline Books and Media, the publishing arm of a religious order, the Daughters of St. Paul.

Upon closer review of the book, here are just a few of the many problems we discovered - the author, Alain Decaux, states early on that St. Paul was “neurotic”. He quotes Remarius saying Paul “invented” Christianity. He quotes Neitzsche, the atheistic philosopher, saying Paul “imposed” his vision of Christianity on us. On page 106 of the book, the author states that James, not Peter, was the de facto leader of the Christian movement - denying, of course, the Petrine ministry. If one takes a look at the bibliography of the book, 11 of the 13 books listed are from Protestant sources, mostly Calvinists. Its no wonder the author denies the role of St. Peter in the Church. Mr. Decaux is a journalist and an historian in France. We don’t think he is qualified to write a book on Catholic theology or spiritual matters and certainly not one published by a Catholic publisher that purports to support the teaching of the Church as part of their mission. At the end of the book, the author includes a lengthy excerpt from something called “The Acts of Paul” - a work the Church considers to be non-canonical and apocryphal!

If one were to “google” the author, one discovers his background and his qualifications to write this book, presented as they are by Pauline Books, are problematic at best. Very disturbing, at least. Some sites claim he is a leftist/socialist with highly questionable academic judgment. You can find out more online about the author for yourself.

Last year we discontinued another book from Pauline in which the author of the text, a professor of Theology at the Boston University (a non-Catholic institution by the way), stated that some books of the Old Testament are “works of fiction.”

We call upon the Daughters of St. Paul to more carefully evaluate, prior to publication, all prospective titles and to be true to their mission to serve the Church in their media apostolate by insuring their publications are in conformity with Catholic teaching. Perhaps if just one or two people at Pauline Books and Media are involved in the review process, others should participate? In an age when the “Catholic” label gets slapped on all kinds of questionable and even herectical works, the stuff that typically packs the religion shelves at secular bookstores, we all need to be ever more vigilant.

Actually, no. The still from the You Tube video of thirteen pro-life protesters, including two priests, who did get arrested at the Democratic National Convention just happens to show our pastor, Fr. Tom in the midst of the group right before the arrests. He was actually giving them a blessing.

The police in Denver have mellowed since the days when my Aunt was in Operation Rescue. At one rally the police all took off their badges so you couldn’t file a complaint, used excessive force including choking my aunt and tossed her in jail after confiscating her asthma medicine. I sometimes wonder if the US bishops had stood united with the folks from Operation Rescue if the abortion debate would have been settled twenty years ago.

Fr. Tom had been a participant in the prayer vigil at the new Planned Parenthood abortuary in Denver that just opened the night before. The vigil featured Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King.

Since the DNC is still in town and Obama has been annointed as the nominee here are a couple of things to keep in mind about him:

• He is more rabidly pro-abortion than NARAL. Even NARAL didn’t oppose a law that would make it illegal for babies who survive an abortion to be left to die. Obama repeatedly voted down legislation meant to protect these poor babies and then lied about it repeatedly.
• Obama has promised Planned Parenthood that the FIRST thing he will sign into law upon becoming president is the “Freedom of Choice Act”, a law removing any restrictions on abortion.

If you are interested in the circus that Nancy Pelosi has become, American Papist has the goods.

Since so much effort is being devoted to distorting the Faith and trying to convince Catholics that abortion is really just a little issue, it’s time to arm yourself with some rational thoughts on the matter:

• Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (USCCB)
• Render Unto Caesar (Archbishop Charles Chaput)
• Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics (Catholic Answers)
• Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church

St. Augustine and His Mother St. Monica

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Monica, the virtuous mother of the great convert Augustine of Hippo, who was saved through the prayers and persistence of his mother. Tomorrow the Church remembers St. Augustine himself. These two saints give much hope to many people - those who are praying for a family member who has fallen away from the Church or has not yet discovered the faith, and those who have been (as we all are) great sinners and now see how wrong living like that is. St. Augustine’s example is one that shows that anyone can turn his or her life around completely, no matter what happened in the past.

St. Monica was born in 333 and married early to a pagan official of Tagaste, North Africa. She had three children with her husband Patricius, and because of his temper and habits her life with him was less than happy. Despite his disagreements with it, Patricius could not help but hold her in some awe because of her virtue, prayer, and almsgiving. However, he did not allow her to get their children baptized, which caused her a great deal of sadness. When Augustine, who was born in 354, grew ill as a child, Monica sought Patricius to let him be baptized, but when Augustine recovered Patricius continued to deny consent. Monica focused much of her energy on Augustine from this point on, seeing that he was more prone to laziness and negative habits than was good for him and the faith she hoped to share with him. Although she would have years of sorrow because of Augustine’s wayward and hedonistic lifestyle, she did receive some comfort and joy when her husband converted to Christianity shortly before his death.

While studying in Carthage, Augustine became caught up in the heresy of Manichaeism and started letting pleasures control his actions. He began a relationship with a woman that would last many years, despite knowing the hurt it caused his mother. He was a great scholar and teacher, which would later help lead him away from heresy and into Christianity. Eventually he saw the errors of Manichaeism and traveled to Italy, where Monica followed him and where Augustine began to study more deeply the faith of his mother. He continued to struggle against the teachings of Christianity for a few years, but through the reading of Scripture he began to accept them, intellectually if not yet entirely in his heart. Through continued prayers of his mother and the example of St. Ambrose, Augustine was able to give his life over fully to Christianity, in part because of his love of philosophy that he found to be so tied with Christian doctrines. He was baptized a Christian in 387 by St. Ambrose, and Monica died a few months later, after finally getting the joy of seeing her beloved son accept and embrace the teachings that were so dear to her.

Augustine continued his journey into Christianity, and was ordained to the priesthood in 391. He fought heresies including Manichaeism, Donatism, Pelagianism, and others, and continued to do so successfully throughout his time as Bishop of Hippo from 396-430. Because of his great philosophical understanding and explanation of Church teachings, Augustine was eventually named a Doctor of the Church. He is still today considered one of the greatest Doctors of the Church, despite his rocky beginnings and disagreements with the Church. His writings on a number of issues relating to the Church are still often referenced and used today.

It wasn’t until the 13^th century that a cult began to spread for St. Monica, which was firmly established by the 15^th century. Many mothers who have children fallen away from the faith, or who have not yet discovered the Church, pray for the intercession of St. Monica that their children will find the faith as Augustine eventually did. Her patience and perseverance are beautiful examples for anyone praying for a loved one to convert or rediscover the faith. These two saints together have (arguably) one of the most touching conversion stories in Christianity, especially for mothers who struggle with the choices their children make.

The lives of St. Monica and St. Augustine are both much more beautiful than I can do them justice here, but to learn more about them, there are many books available that go into a great deal more depth, including Augustine’s life in his own words - The Confessions. The book St. Monica: The Power of a Mother’s Love also details wonderfully the influence of Monica on Augustine’s life, through excerpts from Augustine himself.

…seems to have affected a lot of people, including The One, Barrack Obama, who seems to think that the Chinese transportation infrastructure is far superior to the U.S.A.’s. I guess that as long as you only look at the things in Beijing upgraded for the Olympics he may have a point but I’m sure he wouldn’t enjoy the dirt roads and lack of basic water supplies in other parts of the country.

The Olympics also temporarily drowned out the ongoing persecution of Christians, political protestors and Tibet. I did notice a few news reports of people getting arrested during the festivities and today comes news that 74-year-old Catholic Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo has been arrested for the twelfth time in four years. His current whearabouts are unknown. It is especially strange that he would be arrested since he has been under house arrest since 2007 so it isn’t likely he got himself into more trouble during that time.

Again, I have to ask: Why are you buying Catholic products from a country that has a governmental policy of religious persecution?

This week we are pleased to tell you about a new one-hour introductory program to Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. The program is called The Gift: Your Call to Greatness and it is available in a one hour CD or one hour DVD. The program also comes with a leader’s guide and a student workbook - perfect for group study in a parish, school, or in a small group setting.

This week we also added a  new line of gift items - single sided desk plaques which are a perfect sign and reminder of your Catholic faith. They come with a small round stand.

Finally, we are pleased to feature some beautiful new Christmas ornaments, which are made from hand-blown glass and imported from Poland.

As always, we hope you have a wonderful week. God bless.

Courtesy of Black Forest Musings:

As we continue our monthly saint movies, I am deviating a little bit because of the two upcoming political conventions at the end of August. As we watch the conventions and are preparing to vote in November, it might be helpful to ground ourselves and our own convictions with the memorable story of St. Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons. St. Thomas More chose to die for what was right and true rather than capitulate in the conflict with his friend King Henry VIII over the king’s divorce from Ann Boleyn and his refusal to swear the Oath of Supremacy which would declare the king as the head of the Church in England. A wonderful family man, a loyal servant, Thomas More said of himself…”The king’s good servant, but God’s first.” For a wonderful teaching about this holy martyr of conscience, read the first page of the bulletin from Holy Ghost Church in Denver.

During the month of September, the Church puts Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and St. Pio of Pietrelcina before us.

Blessed Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1999, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 2003. Because Mother Teresa lived in our day, there are volumes written about her life and many are first-hand accounts by people who knew her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity to work among the poor and dying in the streets of Calcutta. Her work drew the attention of the world’s leaders and among other honors, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her fame did not affect her, however, and she boldly talked about the culture of life versus the culture of death in the presence of the rich and powerful. She believed in the inherent dignity and worth of every human being and lived her life serving others.

Mother Teresa is considered the definitive story of her life. This film, shot in ten countries, was five years in the making. It shows how Mother Teresa was able to do her work without getting entangled in the political, religious and social barriers which could have discouraged a less determined missionary.

Mother Teresa: The Legacy was the official film for the beatification of Mother Teresa. It contains interviews with Mother Teresa and chronicles her legacy.

My favorite pick for a Mother Teresa movie is Mother Teresa: Her Heart Found the Forgotten, Her Faith Found a Way, which stars Olivia Hussey whom we first met in Romeo and Juliet years ago. More recently she has performed in Jesus of Nazareth and The Jeweler’s Shop. In this film, Olivia Hussey portrays the fearless missionary with a vision, the holy nun, and the servant of the poor.

A different format is an animated film called The Fifth Word: Mother Teresa of Calcutta. This film is a documentary in the “Giants of Peace” collection and was nominated for the Mother Teresa International Film Festival in Calcutta.

Padre Pio’s feast day is September 23. Francesco was born into a shepherd’s family and entered the Capuchin novitiate at the age of 15. This holy priest received the stigmata at the age of 30 while praying before a crucifix. He was a gifted confessor, and it was said that he could read hearts. It was reported that some people would deliberately conceal their sins or confess false sins and Padre Pio would admonish them to tell the truth and repent. Padre Pio endured excruciating physical suffering coupled with great joy and persecution during his life. He died in 1968 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. There are numerous documentaries about this contemporary saint and a couple of dramatizations as well. In the award-winning film, Padre Pio, Miracle Man, the viewer meets the young boy and follows him throughout his life up to the time of his death. The Night of the Prophet is told through the eyes of a journalist who while seeking a story, discovered in Padre Pio a man who lived Christian purity and charity to the utmost. Even skeptics were moved by this saint, and countless thousands were privileged to confess to him and receive his blessing.

If you haven’t already filled out our survey telling us what you think of our company, now’s the time! The survey closes on the first day of September. Everyone who fills it out will be put in a drawing for a beautiful $100 statue of Our Lady of Fatima!

So what are you waiting for? Speak your mind!

Once again, modern researchers discover anew what everyone who doesn’t have a graduate degree took for granted - boys and girls are wired differently! It’s not just societal pressures!

Aren’t you glad there are people spending money to tell us the obvious?