Books Published by Sophia Institute Press

The Tragic Decline of Catholic Sacred In a world filled with disharmony, the topic of sacred music may seem less than relevant. But the need to restore authentic worship is more crucial than ever. We’ve all experienced it. As we prepare to enter into the silence of the sacred liturgy, banal music peals over the sound system, and we are barraged with irritating strains just as we are trying to quietly, peacefully worship the Lord. When the Harps Went Still, by Aurelio Porfiri, Athanasius Schne...

The most up-to-date "catechism" in print! For the first time in over fifty years, a Catholic bishop has published his own comprehensive presentation of the Faith--what to believe, how to live, and how to pray as Christ taught. Sure to be a classic for generations to come, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith offers a clear and readable summary of Catholicism as a whole, given in the pastoral style of the apostles. Using the simple and direct "Question-Answer" format so popular among instru...

Does your mind often wander when you recite the Holy Rosary? Spiritual master Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo― called “a saint” by Padre Pio― will teach you to deepen your powers of recollection as you reflect upon the sacred mysteries. Here is the Rosary companion that will help you develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by entering into the events of His life through the prism of your own. These brief, compelling reflections― written as conversations between Jesus and the soul― will move you...

Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls is the perfect book to introduce young ones to the immense love offered by Christ and His profound suffering. Through twelve of award-winning author Caryll Houselander's cherished stories, children can deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith while being thoroughly enchanted. Quirky illustrations from Renae George bring each story to life as young readers follow along on an exciting journey full of pirates and princesses, castles and kings. Instill in...

Here's an unabashedly Catholic history that documents scores of sustained and unprecedented assaults on our Catholic Faith these past five centuries and delineates our Church's brave response to each one. For five hundred years, from Luther to Marx, through Darwin, Hitler, and Rousseau, wave after wave of cynical anti-Catholic men and movements have wrought havoc even worse than that of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, leaving our once noble Christendom a ruined city, devastated politically a...

Ancient Rome's brutal culture exploited the weak and considered human life expendable. Women were used as property; unwanted children were left on the streets to die. Four centuries later, even ordinary men and women prospered in what had become a vigorous new Christian society; a society that served the vulnerable, exalted women, treasured virtue, and loved peace. Faith had triumphed. Truth was proclaimed. And on this rock-solid foundation, Christian society flourished in the West for the ne...

Discover the world of Francesca Cabrini in this moving book that not only educates children about a remarkable person in American history, but inspires them with stories of her compassion, courage, vision, and miracles. The first American citizen to be canonized, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini rescued forgotten children, even from the dark, damp sewers of New York City, and provided them with safe havens, loving comfort, and a quality education. Within these endearing pages, children will encount...

"Convert us, O God; and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved" (Psalm 80:3). Although many are familiar with the Holy Face Devotion, key fruits and wonders remain untold, and various of its most important spiritual treasures have yet to be discovered -- until now. In these extraordinary pages, Mary Jane Zuzolo unveils for you how this devotion is prefigured in the book of Job, complements Fátima and other Marian apparitions, encompasses the spirituality of St. Thérèse, crowns the insights o...

In concise, straightforward prose, author Dan Burke here provides an invaluable road map for spiritual growth, complete with signposts to help ensure that you remain on the right path. He guides you through the hazardous terrain that can threaten your spiritual health and shows you how to discern God's will daily and follow it in a meaningful way. Through intensive study of the major Catholic mystics, Dan has acquired the keys to developing a more meaningful relationship with Christ, which he...

Not long ago, veteran Youth Minister Everett Fritz counted the number of his former Youth Group members who were still practicing the Faith. The result? Almost all of them had left the Faith! Fritz learned that other parishes reported similar staggering losses, pointing to a grim truth: today's Youth Ministries simply do not form young people into lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. Not satisfied with these dismal results, Fritz devised a different way of forming young people in the Faith. It...

From the young St. Francis de Sales's heroic efforts to bring Calvinists back to the Faith comes this succinct, eloquent defense of the age-old Catholic practice of making the Sign of the Cross, which sixteenth-century Calvinists denounced as a Popish invention and many Protestants scorn even today. Embodying the zeal of youth and the wisdom of age, this gentle jewel of Catholic apologetics traces the origins of the Sign of the Cross back to the Fathers of the Church, to the Apostles before t...

What It Is and How to Get There Here is the one book you need to grasp the illimitable joys of Heaven - and to discover how to get there. You will learn here what Scripture unveils and what the Church's greatest saints have written about Heaven and its joys, as well as the reason you'll experience bliss, happiness, delights of every kind, satisfaction of all desires, joy unbounded, and pleasure in Heaven. While any true understanding or appreciation of the joys of Heaven is impossible to us, ...

One of the most diabolical lies of all time is that the devil doesn't exist. When we lose sight of the reality of the devil's existence, our souls are in peril because we become defenseless in a battle we don't even realize is being fought. The opposite view can also be insidious, as is increasingly clear in our age of rising obsession with the allurements of evil and the occult. In this preeminent collection of more than thirty historical, literary, philosophical, and psychological essays fr...

For over half of the twentieth century, across nearly half the globe, the Catholic Faith was repressed, restricted, or outright illegal. Since 1917, the atheistic, false messianic doctrine of communism found its expression in state powers, whose promises of "equality for all" routinely descended into totalitarianism, slavery, and slaughter. The Catholic Church was a principal target of these regimes. From secret Masses in the prisons of Cuba, to clandestine clergy in the catacombs of Bratisla...

After the "mountaintop experiences" of the spiritual life, we all need a way to make daily progress in our lives, while holding onto the thread of faith. Combining the sciences of positive psychology with timeless Christian traditions, The Saintmaker is a one-of-a-kind guided spiritual journal and life planning system to help you create the life you dream of, become a more fulfilled person, and deepen your faith.

With charming rhyming verses, the Benedictine Sisters present glimpses of their everyday life of joy, work, praise -- and fun! Experience the excitement of entering the unknown mystery and beginning a new life inside the hallowed walls of the convent. You will experience the Sisters' excitement about first receiving their habits, their delight in caring for the elderly Sisters (with wheelchair races!), and their joy in tending the frisky farm animals, singing for the Lord, and recording their...

When the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas addressed the best arguments against God in his masterwork, the Summa Theologica, he listed only two. The first was the problem of evil: How can God -- who is perfectly good -- exist alongside that which is against Him? His second: Is God really needed to explain the world? In this landmark work, Patrick Flynn presents the best arguments for God while also addressing the strongest objections. This book is destined to become the apologetic gold stand...

Conspiracies and secret societies exist because man, wounded by Original Sin, is inclined to evil and his social nature leads him to unite with other men in carrying out evil plans. With typical precision, historian Roberto de Mattei navigates us through this gloomy labyrinth of evil amid congiure, conspiracies, and plots -- terms often used as synonyms but which, through their semantic and conceptual differences, can each assist us in understanding better the hidden dimension of the history ...

Heaven's Currency: A Study of Love is the third book of Dr. Paul Chaloux's best-selling trilogy on the great mysteries of life (along with Why All People Suffer and Dying without Fear). This eye-opening work explains how the mysteries of love, suffering, and death are synergistic and critically important in leading us to God and Heaven. Dr. Chaloux shows us that the Church's teachings on the Four Last Things (death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell) and the last day gives us hope and the perspectiv...

Few families in history are as renowned as the Habsburgs, one of the principal sovereign dynasties of Europe from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. These enthralling pages provide glimpses into the lives of their esteemed members. The lessons that their lives teach will help guide your family in faith and will help you live in peaceful prosperity and grow in holiness. Their maxims could also provide a roadmap for healing the world we live in. You will read about the Imperial House of ...

"Be converted and do penance for all your iniquities, and iniquity shall not be your ruin," wrote the Holy Spirit by the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel. The Magdalena Prayer Book provides you with ways to practice conversion through perfect contrition -- in the footsteps of St. Mary Magdalene, "Queen of Penitents" -- and to unite yourself spiritually to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist as often as possible throughout the day to help you in your struggle against sin. In this powerful devotional, y...

Spiritual direction is a vital aspect of the priestly ministry. It launches souls on the road to Heaven and keeps them oriented as the pathway becomes narrow and steep. Everyone -- from the pope to the most innocent of children -- needs spiritual direction. In these rich pages, Msgr. Charles Hugo Doyle shares wisdom and practical advice on the process that holds rewards not only for priests but for lay faithful as well. As Fr. Edward J. Hogan of St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore observed when ...

Imagine if you were privileged enough to sit beside Our Lady and hear from her very lips the story of Jesus' birth and suffering. In these short, moving reflections, told from the perspective of the Blessed Mother to a child, readers young and old will experience a depth of love for God and closeness to Mary's tender heart such as they have never felt before. Patrick O' Hearn masterfully guides you through Our Lady's Seven Sorrows with brief Scripture passages, meditations, and prayers for ea...

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, known as "the Pope's Exorcist," exposes the reality of evil and lays out what our response should be in a time when the devil appears more powerful and cunningly alluring than ever. Our age, Fr. Amorth explains, is seduced by the wiles of the enemy -- either through fascination with the occult or through willful ignorance. There is, however, nothing to fear when we put on the armor of God. In these absorbing pages, Fr. Amorth offers ways to equip yourself and your loved o...

Love, honor, cherish ... and understand In their bestselling book, The Temperament God Gave You, authors Art and Laraine Bennett re-introduced the age-old concept of the four classic temperaments, and showed how to use them to understand yourself, get along with others, and grow closer to God. Now they're back with more temperament wisdom, designed specially for couples and guaranteed to improve your marital communication, intimacy, and happiness: The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse. In no o...

Humility: Wellspring of Virtue provides readers with potent tools to bring humility into our lives and rid ourselves of the perils of pride. A powerful read, it examines not only the many forms of pride in which we can easily become ensnared, but also the only virtue that has the power to break them all—humility. Through carefully explained concepts, this book allows us to gain insight into the independence and strength that true humility can bring.Readers will learn how humility breaks the b...

Whatever you're struggling with, you're not alone: there's a saint who is not only praying for you before the throne of God, but who went through the same thing you're going through. In Saintly Solutions, Fr. Joseph Esper introduces you to over 350 saints who suffered in ways that you and I suffer every day, and who will bring you, too, to peace! Fr. Esper considers over forty of life's common problems, showing how saints overcame these challenges and difficulties, and even grew holier as the...