Charles a Coulombe

Empress Zita of Austria (1892--1989) was declared a Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI. But who is she? What is it about her life and spirituality that inspired the Church to open the investigation into her beatification? Zita's life and her integral role within the House of Habsburg during the tumultuous 20th century are not well known. In Zita: Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, Charles Coulombe takes readers through Zita's lineage and the political climate she was born into, Bl. Charles and Zita's marriage, her support of Bl. Charles amid the destruction of the Catholic Monarchy, and much more. Bl. Charles and Zita's story is one of hope, perseverance, and great faith. Through this couple's devotion to the Sacred Heart, they inspired their children and their peoples to a greater love of God and country, despite the many trials they faced. As we similarly live in a society that denies God and attacks the family, we can turn to the example of this saintly couple. Journey with Zita to learn how she persevered after Charles's death, which left her in exile with their seven children and an eighth on the way, and how she kept the hope of a restored House of Habsburg alive, even under the threat of Nazism.

Tom desperately tries to battle his doubts and fears about death, abandonment, and loneliness while struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, acute anxiety, and crippling depression. He writes prose and poetry in his journal as an attempt to cope. And he tries, unsuccessfully, to keep this internal conflict from becoming known to his family and friends by trying to keep up appearances. But the tiny thread keeping his hope alive inevitably snaps. And he becomes in desperate turmoil. Imagine if the glue that keeps everything dear to you comes loose, threatening your destruction. Wouldn't you desperately try all you could to put your life back together? When this happens to the young Obsessive-Compulsive Tom Jolmen, he clings to his last hope. Tormented by a shadowy presence, Tom runs away to find his Christmas hero, St Nicholas. Join him, his sports-loving brother, Nate, and their new-found companions: the conflicted Brendan and antagonistic Paul on their quest. The adventure goes amiss. But with the aid of their guardian angels this failed attempt helps resolve their doubts and strengthen their faith as they discover the real truth about themselves.

Tom desperately tries to battle his doubts and fears about death, abandonment, and loneliness while struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, acute anxiety, and crippling depression. He writes prose and poetry in his journal as an attempt to cope. And he tries, unsuccessfully, to keep this internal conflict from becoming known to his family and friends by trying to keep up appearances. But the tiny thread keeping his hope alive inevitably snaps. And he becomes in desperate turmoil. Imagine if the glue that keeps everything dear to you comes loose, threatening your destruction. Wouldn't you desperately try all you could to put your life back together? When this happens to the young Obsessive-Compulsive Tom Jolmen, he clings to his last hope. Tormented by a shadowy presence, Tom runs away to find his Christmas hero, St Nicholas. Join him, his sports-loving brother, Nate, and their new-found companions: the conflicted Brendan and antagonistic Paul on their quest. The adventure goes amiss. But with the aid of their guardian angels this failed attempt helps resolve their doubts and strengthen their faith as they discover the real truth about themselves.

Most people would agree that democracy throughout the world is in deep trouble. From the polarizing politics of the United States to the endless refugee crisis in Europe to the rise in radical Islam, there is a widespread feeling that our way of life--political, cultural, and social--is under siege. But what if democracy itself is to blame? What if the current threats are not distortions of but inherent to democracy? What if the solution to our present ills is not "fixing" the system, but junking it entirely? Christophe Buffin de Chosal asks these forbidden questions, and answers them unarguably with Gallic wit and glittering style. If you read only one book on politics this year, let this be it

The object of this book is to collect instances of ghosts, apparitions, and messages from the other twilight world which have come under Catholic cognizance or suggest Catholic interpretations. This small collection is intended to illustrate occasions between the Catholic Church and the ghostly. They are not necessarily spiritual and even less spiritualistic. Religion colours most of these stories, but some merely have occurred to Catholics or in Catholic surroundings. Whatever prohibitions mark Catholic life, the faithful are not forbidden to see ghosts or to believe in them "Shane Leslie's Ghost Book provides what so many of us for so long have been looking for: a book of true ghost stories and supernatural experiences in accord with Catholic orthodoxy." - T. F. Sloan, CatholicReads.com "This is a fantastic book to read... just don't read it at night " - Christine Niles, Church Militant

In the current book, Msgr. Philip Hughes does not repeat the work of others, important as it has been. Using the Reformation as a jumping-off point, in Rome and the Counter-Reformation in England he focuses on the ultimately unsuccessful attempts by both the Holy See and local Catholics to bring England back to the One True Faith. Ending with reigns of Kings James I and Charles I, he paints a picture that is of utmost importance to English-speaking Catholics today. Read this book carefully; let us forget our 20/20 hindsight, and remember that the issues that were so confusing to our truly brave and noble forbears were as bewildering and threatening to them as the ones that face us now are to us. When we disagree over tactics in facing them with our brother Catholics, let us remember that the man or woman, with whom we may differ, may be holier than we ourselves-something of which none of us this side of the grave tend to be great judges. -Charles A. Coulombe.

For 240 years, most Americans have identified our country with its government as the embodiment of

The Pope of Rome is the best known and most influential moral and religious leader in the world. Pick up the paper, turn on the T. V., and there he is. Every government in the world has to deal with him somehow. Love him or hate him, there is no denying his importance. It's this way today, and it's been this way since Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the 4th century. In all that time, there have been wonder-working saints, lecherous murderers, and many, many mediocrities on the Papal throne - every kind of human being imaginable. Historically, the lives of Popes have been anything but dull and uneventful. Formosus was so hated by his successor, the corrupt Stephen VI, that his rotting corpse was disinterred and subjected to a court trial. St. Leo the Great frightened Attila the Hun into sparing Rome, while St. Gregory the Great banished the plague from the Eternal City by holding a procession. St. Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor by surprise on Christmas Day, but John XII (himself the son of a Pope) was killed by his mistress' lover, and died in her arms. John Paul II raised the popularity of the Papacy to incredible heights, played a huge role in bringing down Communism - and exorcised the Devil from a girl during a public audience. Most books about the Popes have either tried to whitewash every sin any Pope has committed, or else have made them all out to be all out to be anti-Christs. On this emotional topic, writers seem to have left very little middle ground. But the truth is that there have obviously been good and obviously evil Popes, controversial Popes and forgotten Popes. In this book, they will all have their day in court. One by one, each Pope will be profiled, and their rich history, with all its pageantry, intrigue, holiness, and crime, will be unveiled. This is the ultimate reference book on the popes

With Arthurian grandeur the Papal Zouaves marched into Italy in the mid-nineteenth century, summoned by the Pope under siege as the Wars of the Risorgimento raged. Motivated by wanderlust, a sense of duty and the call of faith, some 20,000 Catholic men from around the world rallied to Vatican City to defend her gates against Sardinian marauders. Volunteers came from France, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Austria, and many other countries, including the United States. The battles that ensued lasted over 10 years, among a shifting array of allies and enemies and are among history's most fascinating yet largely overlooked episodes. Napoleon, Pius IX, and Bismarck all make appearances in the story, but at the center were the Zouaves - steeped in a knightly code of honor, and unflinching in battle as any modern warrior - as the Church they vowed to defend to the death teetered at the brink of destruction.

History is the key to understanding men-whether as nations, families, or individuals. For Catholics, history has an even higher purpose beside. For them, history is the unfolding of God's Will in time, and the attempts of men either to conform themselves to or to resist that Will. But American Catholic historians have generally refrained from exploring their own national history with these principles, preferring instead to adopt the analysis of their non-Catholic colleagues, save when looking at purely Catholic topics (and sometimes not then). It is vital then, for Catholics, especially young Catholics, to have a good and proper understanding of their country's history. To exercise their patriotism, they must work for the conversion of the United States; to do this effectively, they must understand the forces and events which brought forth not only the religion of Americanism and the country itself, but also the sort of Catholicism which, in 300 years, failed so dismally to bring this conversion about. This book attempts to reinterpret the better known episodes of our history in accordance with the Faith, and to point up lesser-known details which will give factual proof of the truth of this reinterpretation.