One criticism made for the past sixty or so years is that there was a dearth of solid teaching materials before the council, and that lay Catholics were poorly catechized. The first assertion is false, as I hope this Substack helps to prove. The second…has an element of truth. Talking to Catholics of my parents’ generation does reveal that they were often lacking in an understanding of the essentials. All the more so in that they were facing an increasingly corrosive culture.
Whatever the current situation is with military chaplains (and I’ve heard sad anecdotes from soldiers recently deployed in the Middle East), Catholic priests have a long history of selfless service in the front lines of our wars. Father Duffy’s Story by Fr. Francis P. Duffy (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing, 1919, cloth, includes maps and photos, no imprimatur) is a fine example, giving a detailed first-hand account of American soldiers during WWI.
The Catholic Encyclopedia was a superb accomplishment and still of use today. (See the New Advent site for links.) I don’t remember where I found this two-volume “Catholic Encyclopedia,” but it is bursting with useful information especially for American Catholics. They are large hardcovers, illustrated, and published by Office of Catholic Publications, NY, etc. The only dates are 1905/6. Between the covers there are sections on the liturgy, saints, Church teaching, all in the framework of showing how Catholicism can be integrated with living in America. My copies are somewhat scuffed and the bindings in a moderate state of looseness.
Also published by The Office of Catholic Publications is the “Pius X Library—Handy-Volume Series.” Here is Volume I:
The binding is holding, but just. It’s a hardcover dated 1905. Beginning with a brief biography of St. Pius X, it goes on to present some teaching of the saints, defense of the faith, and fundamental Church teaching. Illustrated.
The final book is, strictly speaking, not a “Catholic” book. However, The History of the City of Ogdensburg by Rt. Rev. P.S. Garand, D.D., V.G. (Ogdensburg, NY: Rev. Manuel Belleville, 1927, cloth, illustrated, no imprimatur) is written by a bishop about the diocesan seat for this part of New York and shows clearly the important role of Catholicism in the city and region’s development. Purchased at a garage sale on Rte. 11B.
Etc.: In an earlier post I included the novel Superstition Corner by Sheila Kaye-Smith.
I finished reading it, and can heartily recommend the book. There are many books (fiction and non-) about the persecution of Catholics in 16th century England. This one covers both familiar and unfamiliar terrain. The destruction of the Faith took many years in England. Catholicism was only partly replaced by Anglicanism; the vacuum was also filled with Protestantism and unbelief and materialism. The author uses some dialect of the era but it should not dissuade the reader. This post should appear on May 28, the Feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury, who brought the Faith to English shores at the direction of Pope St. Gregory the Great.