Spiritual Reading and Gift-giving Ideas for the Easter Season

“He is not here. He is risen . . .”

 

St. Mary Magdalene Announces the Resurrection Icon

 “. . .  And on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, (the women) came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre. And going in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold, two men stood by them, in shining apparel. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their countenance towards the ground, they said unto them: Why seek you the living with the dead?He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee, Saying: The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. And going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. And it was Mary Magdalen, and Joanna, and Mary of James, and the other women that were with them, who told these things to the apostles.”

– The Holy Gospel According to St. Luke, 24: 1-10

Are you looking for spiritual reading ideas for the Easter Season?

To browse the complete selection of books in our Lent and Easter department, please click here

The King, Crucified and Risen: Meditations on the Passion and Glory of Christ Only $8.99 Author: Fr. Benedict Groechel	Life of the Good Thief A Moving, Spiritual Classic Only $14.95 Author: Msgr. Gaume
Rising In Christ Meditations on Living the Resurrection Only $11.95 Author: Pope John Paul II	The Week of Salvation: History and Traditions of Holy Week Only $21.95 Author: James Monti
Easter Meditations on the Resurrection Only $39.95 Author: Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., Preacher to the Papal Household	The Mystery of Easter Thoughts on the Meaning of the Paschal Mystery Only $13.95 Author: Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., Preacher to the Papal Household
Life Out of Death: A Thought a Day for the Easter Season Only $12.95 Author: Fr. Harold Beutow	A Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? DVD A Critical Examination of the Facts of the Resurrection Only $19.95 Contributors: Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Tim Gray and others
Easter Coloring Book A great way to introduce young children to the greatest feast in the Church! Only $2.00	Easter A Beautiful Picture Book for Children! Only $15.95 Author: Fiona French

The Divine Mercy novena begins on Good Friday, March 21, the nine days concluding on Divine Mercy Sunday, March 30. We carry a large selection of Divine Mercy resources, gift items and devotional items. To browse the complete selection in our Divine Mercy specialty store, please click here

 

 Chaplet of the Divine Mercy DVD

  

 The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.

Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

The truth of Jesus’ divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he.” The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly “I AM”, the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: “What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'” Christ’s Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God’s Son, and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s eternal plan.

The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.” We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.

Finally, Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment . In Christ, Christians “have tasted…the powers of the age to come”and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may “live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

 – Catechism of the Catholic Church, 651 – 655

 Selected Religious and Devotional Items for the Easter Season :

Alleluia Easter Greeting Card A beautiful new greeting card for this holy season. Only $2.95 each	The True Church Crucifix Features the Holy Trinity, Blessed Mother, Sts. Peter and Paul. Made in Italy. 12 in. Only $59.95
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic T-shirt Proudly proclaim your Catholic faith with this t-shirt. Only $16.95	Easter Triduum DVD A Powerful and Inspiring 3-part DVD Experience from Fr. John Corapi! Only $24.95

The Hope of Easter

“The Cross had asked the questions; the Resurrection had answered them…The Cross had asked: “Why does God permit evil and sin to nail justice to a tree?” The Resurrection answered: “That sin, having done its worst, might exhaust itself and thus be overcome by Love that is stronger than either sin or death.”

Thus there emerges the Easter lesson that the power of evil and the chaos of any one moment can be defied and conquered, for the basis of our hope is not in any construct of human power but in the power of God, who has given the evil of this earth its one mortal wound – an open tomb, a gaping sepulcher, an empty grave.” – Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 – from  Lent and Easter Wisdom from Fulton J. Sheen

First Holy Communion season is approaching quickly.

 To browse our complete selection of First Holy Communion resources and gift ideas, visit the Aquinas and More  First Holy Communion Specialty Store

To read our recently posted article about First Holy Communion traditions and practices, please click here

First Holy Communion Sterling Medal

This Lenten season, why not deepen your prayer life by praying the Rosary or praying it more often? To browse our complete selection of rosaries and chaplets, please  click here

Praying the Rosary with St. Alphonsus Liguori CD

To browse our Catholic art selection, including icons, pictures and prints, please click here

 

The Resurrection of the Lord Icon

A Novena Prayer for Easter:

“O Divine Saviour, who rose from the dead on that first glorious Easter morn, grant that I may rise from my sins and so live as to see You, glorious and immortal, in heaven. Lord, I am nothing, but, although nothing, I adore You. Amen.”

We hope your Easter season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

 – the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

 

Shop online at www.catholicchurchsupply.com for all your parish’s church supply needs –  including clergy shirts, vestments, altar linens, censers and boats, incense, candles, chalices, sanctuary lamps, altar breads, official liturgical books, lavabo sets, altar bells, and so much more!

We have one of the largest selections of Clergy Shirts available anywhere. To view our complete selection, please click here.

Its not too late to order, act soon!

An assortment of beautiful Paschal candles and

Easter Vigil candles for your parish is available now at Catholic Church Supply.

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Strengthen and Deepen Your Faith this Lent and Easter Season

The Aquinas and More Newsletter – your Trusted Source for the Best in Catholic Resources and Gifts

 

” . . . you will draw water from the fountain of Salvation . . . “

– Isaiah 12:3

  

“Compassion” print by William Bouguereau

“. . . in this sense it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains all of life. (Ephesians 2:12) Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God – God who has loved us and who continues to love us ‘to the end,’ until all ‘is accomplished.’ (John 13:1 and 19:30) Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what ‘life’ really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal rite: from faith I await ‘eternal life’ – the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life. Jesus, who said he had come that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance, has also explained to us what “life” means: ‘this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’ (John 17:3) Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live.”

 – Pope Benedict XVI in “Spe Salvi – Saved In Hope” his Encyclical Letter.

Are you looking for resources or devotional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here.

Prayer Primer Learn about prayer from the expert teacher and spiritual director! Only $12.95  Author: Fr. Thomas Dubay	Sources of Catholic Dogma This book should be in every Catholic’s library! Only $34.95 Author: Henry Denzinger
Introduction to Mary Learn more about what the Church teaches about Mary! Only $12.95 Author: Mark Miravalle	The Teachings of the Church Fathers Learn what the Early Fathers taught, read their writings! Only $21.95 Author: Fr. John Willis
Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices An excellent resource book for every Catholic! Only $39.95 Author: Ann Ball	Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church Read up on the 2000 year history of Christ’s Church! Only $17.95 Author: H. W. Crocker
A Biblical Defense of Catholicism Defend the True Faith to those who have fallen into error! Only $19.95 Author: Dave Armstrong	A Catholic Dictionary An invaluable addition to your Catholic library! Only $24.00 Author: Donald Attwater
Encyclopedia of Saints Inspiration and knowledge for every day of the year! Only $39.95 Author: Our Sunday Visitor	The Essential Catholic Handbook of the Sacraments Channels of Divine Grace, Signs of Life, God’s Love for us! Only $13.95

The Divine Mercy novena begins on Good Friday, March 21, the nine days concluding on Divine Mercy Sunday, March 30. We carry a large selection of Divine Mercy resources, gift items and devotional items. To browse the complete selection in our Divine Mercy specialty store, please click here.

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. If you are looking for last minute gift ideas, visit our St. Patrick’s Day specialty store by clicking here.

  

 

 “Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he ‘has come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.’ The Christian is not to ‘be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord.’ In situations that require witness to the faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of St. Paul before his judges. We must keep ‘a clear conscience toward God and toward men.’

The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.

All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on it Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation.”

 – Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2471 – 2472

 

“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”

 – St. Jerome, 4th century.

Selected Catholic Bible Study resources :

The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture An extraordinary series –  Bible Commentaries from the Early Church Fathers! Only $40.00 each	The Great Adventure Bible Study Program The most accessible, most dynamic Bible Study series available! Prices vary.
Oxford Bible Atlas Revised Fourth Edition Only $35.99	A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture An Excellent One-Volume Bible Commentary Only $39.95

To browse our complete selection of Catholic Bible Study resources – commentaries, dictionaries, concordances, atlases, etc – please click here

First Holy Communion season is approaching quickly.

 To browse our complete selection of First Holy Communion resources and gift ideas, visit the Aquinas and More  First Holy Communion Specialty Store

This Lenten season, why not deepen your prayer life by praying the Rosary or praying it more often? To browse our complete selection of rosaries and chaplets, please  click here

Blue Enamel Divine Mercy Rosary

To browse our Catholic art selection, including icons, pictures and prints, please click here

 

Jesus Washing the Disciples Feet Icon

 We offer a large selection of beautiful crucifixes and wall crosses. To browse our complete selection,

please click here

Antique Brass Crucifix

Prayer of Acclaim to the Suffering Christ

“O Lord, you received affronts without number from your blasphemers, yet each day you free captive souls from the grip of the ancient enemy.

You did not avert your face from the spittle of perfidy, yet you wash souls in saving waters.

You accepted your scourging without murmur, yet through your meditation you deliver us from endless chastisements.

You endured ill-treatment of all kinds, yet you want to give us a share in the choirs of angels in glory everlasting.

You did not refuse to be crowned with thorns, yet you save us from the wounds of sin.

In your thirst you accepted the bitterness of gall, yet you prepare yourself to fill us with eternal delights.

You kept silence under the derisive homage rendered you by your executioners, yet you petition the Father for us although you are his equal in divinity.

You came to taste death, yet you were the Life and had come to bring it to the dead.

Amen. ”

– composed by Pope St. Gregory the Great, 6th century

Divine Mercy – the Message and Devotion

” Divine Mercy – the Message and the Devotion “

“There is nothing a man needs more than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God. In this place, we become particularly aware of this. From here, in fact, went out the message of Divine Mercy that Christ Himself chose to pass on to our generation through St. Faustina.

And it is a message clear and understandable for everyone. Anyone can come here, look at this image of the merciful Jesus, His Heart radiating peace, and hear in the depths of his own soul what St. Faustina heard: Fear nothing; I am always with you. And if this person responds with a sincere heart, “Jesus I trust in You,” he will find comfort in all his anxieties and fears….

I come here to commend the concerns of the Church and of humanity to the merciful Christ. On the threshold of the third millennium, I come to entrust to Him once more my Petrine ministry – “Jesus, I trust in You!”

– Pope John Paul II at the tomb of St. Faustina in Poland, June 7, 1997

Are you looking for resources or devotional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here.

Divine Mercy: The Message and Devotion Larger Print Edition Only $6.95	Faustina: Apostle of Divine Mercy Only $9.95 Author: Catherine Odell
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul Only $15.95 paperback Author: St. Maria Faustina Kowalska	Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul Only $21.95 hardcover Author: St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
Praying with St. Maria Faustina A Treasury of Prayers Only $6.95	Mercy Minutes: Daily Gems of St. Faustina to Transform Your Prayer Life Only $12.95 Author: St. Faustina
Why Mercy Sunday? A Q&A Guide to Celebrating Mercy Sunday Only $3.95	Nursing With the Hands of Jesus: A Guide to Nurses for Divine Mercy Only $3.95
Jesus, I Trust in You! A Coloring Book for Kids Only $5.00	Revelations of Divine Mercy:Daily Readings Only $14.99

We carry a large selection of resources, gift items and devotional items in our Divine Mercy specialty store.

To browse our complete selection of Divine Mercy items in our specialty store, please click here.

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. If you are looking for last minute gift ideas, visit our St. Patrick’s Day specialty store by clicking here.

 

“Divine Mercy Sunday is now the title of the second Sunday of the Easter season. It was named by Pope John Paul II at the canonization of St. Maria Faustina on April 30, 2000, and then officially decreed by the Vatican. Pope John Paul II described Mercy Sunday “ “In a special way, it is the Sunday of Thanksgiving for all goodness that God has shown us in the whole Easter mystery.” Here he is underscoring the Church’s understanding that Divine Mercy Sunday as the Octave Day of Easter brings us the fullness of Christ’s resurrection- pointing back to the first day of our celebration on Easter Sunday, and now to it’s fullness on the eight day, the Octave.

Mercy Sunday brings us Our Lord’s promise an “ocean of graces” for souls, “especially for poor sinners.” And each one of us, as a sinner, sorely needs these graces of the Risen Christ to wash away the misery of our sins. Even those who are striving for holiness need deeper conversion and renewal. “

– from Why Mercy Sunday? A Q&A Guide to Celebrating Mercy Sunday

 

Selected Divine Mercy resources and gift ideas:

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy An Audio CD from the National Shrine Only $15.95	The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy An Audio CD from EWTN Only $9.95
Fount of Mercy: A Pilgrimage to St. Faustina’s Homeland A DVD Presentation Only $29.95	St. Faustina: Divine Mercy in Our Souls A DVD Presentation Only $39.95

First Holy Communion season is approaching quickly.

To browse our complete selection of First Holy Communion resources and gift ideas, visit the Aquinas and More First Holy Communion Specialty Store. You will definitely want to take a look at the . we offer – a unique gift to commemorate this special occasion.

To browse our complete selection of Divine Mercy images – framed prints and pictures – please click here

Divine Mercy Framed Print from Poland

To browse our complete selection of Divine Mercy rosaries and chaplets, please click here.

Blue Enamel Divine Mercy Rosary

To browse our Divine Mercy jewelry selection, including medals and rings, please click here.

Jesus, I Trust In You 14kt Gold Ring

This Lenten season, why not deepen your prayer life by praying the Rosary or praying it more often? To browse our complete selection of rosaries and chaplets, please click here.

Sterling Silver Rosary with Genuine Tigereye

 

The Divine Mercy Novena

On Good Friday, 1937, Jesus requested that St. Faustina make a special novena before the Feast of Mercy, from Good Friday through the next Saturday, and dictated the intentions for each day:

First day – all mankind, especially sinners;

Second day – the souls of priests and religious;

Third day – all devout and faithful souls;

Fourth day – those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus;

Fifth day – the souls who have separated themselves from the Church;

Sixth day – the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children;

Seventh day – the souls who especially venerate and glorify His mercy;

Eighth day – the souls detained in purgatory; and

Ninth day – souls who have become lukewarm.

 

I fly to Your Mercy, Compassionate God, Who alone are good. Although my misery is great and my offenses are many, I trust in Your Mercy because You are the God of Mercy, and it has never been heard of in all ages, nor do Heaven or Earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your Mercy has been disappointed.- – –

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation.

You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts.

Amen

We hope your Lenten season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

– the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

Christ Died That You Might Have Life

” The Passion and Death of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ “

La Pieta Fine Art Print

“Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.’ The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied to him, ‘Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last.”

– from the Gospel of Saint Luke, 23: 39-46

Are you looking for resources or devotional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here.

Way of the Cross Prayers and Meditations Only $19.95 Author: Pope Benedict XVI	Step By Step To Calvary: Praying the Stations of the Cross Only $13.95  Author: Angela Burrin
The King, Crucified and Risen: Mediations on the Passion and Glory of Christ Only $8.99 Author: Fr. B. Groeschel	Characters of the Passion Only $9.95 Author: Archbishop Fulton Sheen
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Only $18.00 Author: Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich	On the Passion of Christ Only $12.95 Author: Thomas A’ Kempis
The Passion of the Christ DVD Feature Film Only $21.95	Meditation on the Passion of Christ DVD Feature Documentary Only $24.95
The Life of Christ – In the Mysteries of the Rosary Three DVD Set Only $26.95	The Easter Triduum DVD Presentation Only $24.95

We carry a large and wonderful selection of Catholic devotional art, like the painting “La Pieta” by William Bourguereau which is featured at the beginning of our newsletter today.

To browse our complete selection of beautiful Catholic paintings, prints, Florentine plaques and icons, please click here.

  

 

“It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas’ betrayal – so bitter to Jesus, Peter’s denial and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.”

 – from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1851, 1992

Selected Lenten items for Children:

The Passion for Children A Bi-lingual Coloring Book Only $5.00	Stations of the Cross A Coloring Activity Book Only $1.95
Jesus For Kids  A DVD Presentation Only $14.95	The Miracle Maker A DVD Presentation Only $14.95

Are you looking for additional Children’s items?

To browse the complete selection in our Children’s book department please click here.

To browse the complete selection in our Children’s DVD/video department please click here.

First Holy Communion season is right around the corner.

 To browse our complete selection of First Holy Communion resources and gift ideas, visit the Aquinas and More  First Holy Communion Specialty Store.

To browse our complete selection of crucifixes and wall crosses, the constant reminder of the price paid for our salvation, please click here.

Black Wood and Pewter Crucifix

To browse our complete selection of icons, the ancient and beautiful devotional art of the Christian East,

please click here.

The Crucifixion Icon

Psalm 96 exhorts us to “Sing a new song unto the Lord. Sing to the Lord, all the earth!”  To browse our complete selection of music CDs, please click here.

Allegri Miserere CD

This Lenten season, why not deepen your prayer life by praying the Rosary or praying it more often? To browse our complete selection of rosaries and chaplets, please click here.

Sterling Silver Rosary with Genuine Tigereye

A meditation for this season:

“Being then in the flesh like others, He was crucified, but not for the like sins. For He was not led to death for covetousness, since He was a Teacher of poverty; nor was He condemned for concupiscence, for He Himself says plainly, Whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already; not for smiting or striking hastily, for He turned the other cheek also to the stutter: not for despising the Law, for He was the fulfiller of the Law; not for reviling a prophet, for it was Himself who was proclaimed by the Prophets; not for defrauding any of their hire, for He ministered without reward and freely; not for sinning in words, or deeds, or thoughts, He who did no sins, neither was ,guile found in His mouth; who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not; who came to His passion, not unwillingly, but willing; yea, if any dissuading Him say even now, Be it far from Thee, Lord, He will say again, Get thee behind Me, Satan.”

 – from Catechetical Lecture 13 of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315 – 386 A.D.)

A prayer for this holy season:

“Immortal God,

We contemplate the most profound experience of Your selfless love, the acceptance of death, the last and most formidable enemy of humankind. Yet “Through the hollow eyes of death, I see life peeping.” On the hideous deathbed, You extend to us the “right hand of fellowship,” the richest element of hope, incomparable intimacy with You. Through this, Your demise, teach us that death is but the crucible where all the Spirit’s gifts are finally refined, that it is the womb that, with the ecstasy of love, births the newborn into the light of endless day. Amen.”

– from the book “Where Joy and Sorrow Meet: A Way of the Cross“

We hope your Lenten season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

 – the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

First Holy Communion and Confirmation Gifts at Aquinas and More

” This is the season of First Sacraments “

Smith’s “After the First Holy Communion”

The season for celebrating Confirmation and First Holy Communion, two of the three sacraments of Christian initiation, is approaching. These, and all seven sacraments, are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification. While God can give man grace without external signs, without the use of ceremonies and symbols, it has pleased Him to do so. The necessity of the sacraments is the necessitas convenientiae, or the necessity of convenience. The Sacramental system does not exist because God is bound to it- He is not- but because it is the most appropriate when dealing with humans, who are both spiritual and material. The redemption of man was not invisible; the incarnation took place because God dealt with man in the way most suitable to his nature. And following, the Catholic Church was established by Christ to be a visible institution, therefore it should have external ceremonies and symbols of what is sacred. According to St. Thomas, it is the nature of man to be led by things physical and sense-perceivable to things spiritual and intelligible; that Divine Providence provides for everything in accordance with it’s nature, and therefore it is fitting that Divine Wisdom should provide means of salvation for man in the form of certain corporeal and sensible signs which are called sacraments.

– adapted from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The holy season of Lent is here – are you spiritually prepared?

Are you looking for resources or devotional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here

Selected gifts for those receiving or preparing to receive their First Holy Communion:

Boy’s First Holy Communion Gift Set Only $27.75	Girl’s First Holy Communion Gift Set Only $32.50
Boy’s First Holy Communion Pewter Rosary Only $25.25	Girl’s First Holy Communion Heart Rosary Only $25.25
First Holy Communion Cross for Boys Made in Italy Only $22.95	First Holy Communion Cross for Girls Made in Italy Only $22.95
Little Child of God – Boy’s First Missal Made in Italy Only $10.00	Little Child of God – Girl’s First Missal Made in Italy Only $10.00
Marian Children’s Mass Book – Remembrance of My First Holy Communion Black Pearlized Cover Only $14.75	Marian Children’s Mass Book – Remembrance of My First Holy Communion White Pearlized Cover Only $14.75

Are you looking for a special gift for a First Holy Communion? Do you need some ideas to find the right, unique item?

We carry a wonderful selection of First Holy Communion missals, Bibles, rosaries, crucifixes, gift sets and First Holy Communion dresses.

To browse the complete selection in our First Holy Communion specialty store please click here.

We carry a large and wonderful selection of art, like the painting “After the First Holy Communion” which is shown at the beginning of our newsletter today.To browse our complete selection of beautiful Catholic paintings, prints, Florentine plaques and icons, please click here

  

 

“Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him “without measure.”

This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim “the mighty works of God,” and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.”

 – from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1285-1287

Selected gift items for those receiving the sacrament of Confirmation or for those going through the RCIA program:

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Cross Cherry cross with pewter overlay Only $26.95	RCIA Gift Cross Cherry cross with pewter overlay Only $30.00
The Seven Sacraments – A Young Catholic’s Sacrament Book Only $12.95	The Essential Catholic Handbook – A Summary of Beliefs, Practices and Prayers Only $11.95

Are you looking for a special gift for a Confirmation or for someone going through RCIA? Do you need some ideas to find the right, unique item?

We carry a wonderful gift selection in our Confirmation department.

 A Prayer to the Holy Spirit –

“I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Everyday for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the things of sense and your ears to all the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then in the sanctity of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:”

Oh Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul,…I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do…give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will.

“If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the gates of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.”

– words of  Joseph Cardinal Mercier

We hope your Lenten season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

 – the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

 

Shop online at www.catholicchurchsupply.com for all your parish’s church supply needs –  including clergy shirts, vestments, altar linens, censers and boats, incense, candles, chalices, sanctuary lamps, altar breads, official liturgical books, lavabo sets, altar bells, and so much more!

An assortment of beautiful Paschal candles and Easter Vigil candles for your parish is available now at Catholic Church Supply.

“Come, follow me” – Following in the footsteps of Our Lord

“The Way of the Cross”

The devotion of the Way of the Cross, followed in different ways and called by many names – the Stations of the Cross, Via Dolorosa, or Via Crucis – is not a modern devotion at all. In fact, early Christian tradition as well as visions received by mystics such as Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich bear witness that the earliest Christians and even the Blessed Virgin Mary visited the scenes of Christ’s Passion thus making this one of the oldest and most venerable of all Catholic devotions. The Via Dolorosa of Jerusalem became a goal of pious pilgrims from the time of Constantine and a desire to reproduce these holy places for those who were unable to travel to the actual sites became common at an early date. Over the centuries, different ways of practicing the devotion formed and the number of stations varied from 7 to 14, with the number of stations being officially fixed at 14 by Pope Clement XII in 1731.

Today, the two most popular methods of following the Way of the Cross, are those of St. Francis of Assisi and of St. Alphonsus Liguori. After St. Francis’ pilgirmages to the Holy Land in the early 1200’s, and his observing Christians following the Way of the Cross there, the devotion was spread across Europe by the saint and his friars minor. St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote of the devotion in 1761, “The pious exercise of the Way of the Cross represents the sorrowful journey that Christ made with the cross on His shoulders, to die on Calvary for the love of us. We should, therefore, practice this devotion with the greatest possible fervor, placing ourselves beside our savior as He walked this sorrowful way, uniting our tears with His, and offering to Him both our compassion and our gratitude.”

Ash Wednesday is February 6 – just one week away –

are you spiritually prepared for Lent?

Step By Step To Calvary: Praying Through the Stations of the Cross Only $13.95 Author: Angela Burrin	The Way of the Cross Only $19.95 Author: Pope Benedict XVI
The Way of the Cross Reprint of a classic work! Only $11.95 Author: Caryll Houselander	My Imitation of Christ Only $8.00 Author: The Confraternity of the Precious Blood
Behold the Pierced One Only $10.95 Author: Pope Benedict XVI	The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Only $18.00 Author: Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
The King, Crucified and Risen: Meditations on the Passion and Glory of Christ Only $8.99 Author: Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.	Stations of the Cross A Poster Kit for Children Only $19.95 Author: Daughters of St. Paul
The Cross and the Beatitudes: Lessons on Love and Foregiveness Only $9.95 Author: Fulton Sheen	Seven Words of Jesus and Mary: Lessons on Cana and Calvary Only $9.95 Author: Fulton Sheen

When was your last Confession?

Lent is the traditional season when the Church teaches us to turn our thoughts towards Reconciliation and Penance – strengthening our relationship with the Lord.

To browse our complete selection of books on the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) please click here.

Are you looking for additional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here

We carry an extensive selection of beautiful crucifixes and wall crosses, many hand-made in Italy. These act as a constant reminder to us of what Our Lord did for love.

To browse our complete selection of wall crosses and crucifixes, please click here

To browse our complete selection of beautiful Catholic paintings, prints and icons, please click here

 

Some thoughts on following Our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by the admission of faults to one’s brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.”

“In Jesus Christ, the whole of God’s truth has been made manifest. ‘Full of grace and truth,’ he came as the ‘light of the world,’ he is the Truth. ‘Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.’ The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know ‘the truth that will make you free’ and that sanctifies. To follow Jesus is to live in ‘the Spirit of truth’ whom the Father sends in his name and who leads ‘into all the truth.’ To his disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth: ‘Let what you say be simply ‘yes or no.’

– from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1435 and 2466

Selected items for the Lenten Season:

Crucifix in Burnished Brass Made in Italy Only $29.95	Cimabue Crucifix in Bronzed Alabaster Made in Italy Only $146.95
Sorrowful Mother Icon 8 Inches Wide Only $32.95	The Crucifixion Icon 8 Inches Wide Only $32.95

Are you looking for Latin Mass resources? Would you like to learn more about the Tridentine Mass? To browse the extensive selection we are offering in our Tridentine Mass Specialty store, please click here.

Are you looking for a Catholic calendar for the New Year?

We have wall calendars, desk calendars and perpetual calendars (good from year to year) available now!

To browse our complete selection of calendars, click here.

“No devotion is more richly endowed … or enables us more literally to obey Our Lord’s injunction to take up our cross and follow Him”

– The Catholic Encyclopedia on the Way of the Cross

“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

– from the Way of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori

We hope your Lenten season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

– the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

Magnificat Lenten Companion Special

We put in an order for several hundred Magnificat Lenten Companions this year. The order was large enough to prompt a call from our supplier asking us if we really meant to place an order that large.

Each issue costs $3.95. We have decided to run a special offer for people interested in the magazine. Here is how this works:

If you are the purchaser of the last copy of the magazine we are capable of shipping, whether in our physical store or on the web,  your entire order that includes that copy will be free up to $200.

There is a little twist: We don’t actually know how many we can ship because it is anyone’s guess when Magnificat will run out of copies. We might be able to ship 200 more. We may be able to ship 500 more. No one knows.

Even if you don’t get the last issue, you will still have a great resource for daily Lenten reading that will help you on your spiritual journey to Easter.

Here’s the fine print:

1. The winning order will be the most recent order placed that gets a copy of the Magnificat Lenten Companion in its shipment.
2. The winning order can contain more than one Companion and may possibly only get a partial shipment if no more are available.
3. The winning order can be for an amount greater than $200 but only $200 of the order will be free.
4. If the winning order is less than $200 including shipping and tax then the entire order will be free including shipping and tax.
5. Canceled or partially canceled orders will not be eligible for the prize.
6. Final determination of the winner will be solely at the discretion of Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.