Books published by St. Augustine Academy Press

It is said that when Mozart died at the age of 35, he had written over 600 complete pieces of music, and left several more unfinished. And while Mother Mary Loyola had considerably more years than this in which to work, when we take the number of her published works and add it to those which were never published, including a Church History, several papers on education, journal articles, and the mountains of correspondence which she is said to have carried on right up until her last days, it seems as if she must have been continuously writing from the time she began in the late 1880s until her death in 1930. This despite her duties as the Mistress of Novices for the Bar Convent during those same years.Twenty full-length books were published in her name during this span of years, and to the extent of our knowledge, another 14 shorter works were printed by such apostolates as the Catholic Truth Society, the Catholic Evidence Guild, The Convert's Aid Society and others. Many of these publications included no author's name, nor has any record of their authorship survived to this day, and thus there may be numerous works penned by her which we will never know.Thirteen of those fourteen known shorter works are contained in this volume, making this the first and most complete collection of Mother Loyola's briefer writings. As these ephemeral booklets disappear more and more quickly from collections around the world, it is our fond hope that by assembling them here, they may be preserved to future generations.

"Il était une fois un Roi qui habitait un pays où s'épanouissaient toujour les plus belles fleurs. Son Palais d'ivoir s'élevait au milieu d'une Cité à travers laquelle coulait une rivière aussi limpide que le cristal."Ainsi commence ce récit bien-aimé de Mère Marie-Loyola, qui relate la formation morale d'un jeune au pays de l'exil. Remplie de conseils spirituels inestimables, cette histoire a résisté à l'épreuve du temps pour son attrait pour tous les âges.Bien que destiné initialement à aider les enfants à se préparer à la première communion, nous vous recommandons vivement de lire cette histoire une fois par an - même pour les adultes!-en particulier pendant les saisons du Carême et de l'Avent. En partageant les mêmes défis et chagrins, chacun de nous peut espérer partager les mêmes triomphes et la même récompense éternelle.

This Benziger Brothers classic from 1925 is a delightful collection of rhymes, each beginning with a successive letter of the alphabet, which tell the story of the Alpha and Omega from A to Z. Full of color illustrations and designed for young readers, this book is the perfect gift for little Catholics!

Follow Tom and Ann as they learn about the Sacraments from their Uncle John. What is grace, and how do we get it? And how do the Sacraments help us? What are the outward signs of each Sacrament? Find the answers to these questions and more in Our Sacraments.

Given the superabundance of poetry collections available, one might justly ask, "why another?"Yet this volume has such an excellent selection of classic poems--with study questions for each--and for the Catholic student, there is the benefit of knowing that this collection was assembled by Sister Anna Louise of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1929, and received an imprimatur. From Father Tabb, Francis Thompson and John Henry Newman to Shakespeare, Longfellow and Wordsworth, this is a collection worth making room for on your shelf!

Among the many brave Jesuit missionaries who explored the early American Southwest, one star shines brightly: Padre Eusebio Franciso Kino, a native of the Italian Tiröl. Though he dreamed of following St. Francis Xavier to China, obedience led him instead to Mexico, and his patience and kindness led him to be beloved by all. Here is his story, written by Ann Nolan Clark in 1963 for the Vision Series.

God's Hour in the Nursery is a pair of books for teacher and student that are designed to introduce the youngest children to the first lessons of the Baltimore Catechism--namely, those related to creation and the life of the soul.  Through a series of stories and rhymes interspersed with coloring pages, the child learns to recognize the difference between plant life and animal life, and the difference between animal life and human life.  Along the way, he also begins to gain an understanding of God, the Church, The Commandments, the Sacraments and Prayer.Please note: This Guidance Book contains all the instruction material for God's Hour in the Nursery; however, an Activity Book (sold separately) is needed for each student.

God's Hour in the Nursery is a pair of books for teacher and student that are designed to introduce the youngest children to the first lessons of the Baltimore Catechism--namely, those related to creation and the life of the soul. Through a series of stories and rhymes interspersed with coloring pages, the child learns to recognize the difference between plant life and animal life, and the difference between animal life and human life. Along the way, he also begins to gain an understanding of God, the Church, The Commandments, the Sacraments and Prayer.Please note: This Activity Book contains only the student's portion of the lessons. The Guidance Book contains all the instruction material and is required in order to use this Activity Book.

This pocket-size volume contains a wealth of spiritual guidance through daily devotions to the saint or feast of the day. Originally written in 1931 for upper grade school children by a pair of Notre Dame School Sisters, this book was later updated to align with the General Roman Calendar of 1954. Beginning with a brief introduction to the saint of the day, augmented by excerpts from the Imitation of Christ and from the Mass for the day, as well as an ideal to ponder and an "action item", this is a wonderful way to focus on the virtues of each of the saints, and thereby to make our lives an imitation of theirs.

A Child's True Story of Jesus is not merely a coloring book, or the usual activity book with mazes, word searches and other puzzles. This is an activity book in the truest sense of the word.First created in 1928 by Sister Mary Ambrose, a Dominican Sister who was a Demonstration Teacher at the Loyola University Model School in the 20's and 30s's, this workbook found its genesis in the Montessorian principle of learning by doing. Here, rather than merely hearing each lesson, the child is encouraged to reinforce what he or she has learned, first by using a picture to repeat the lesson in his or her own words, then by coloring, cutting and assembling the lesson to be finally pasted in the book.In this newly edited version, we have enhanced the activity portion of this book with lesson material for the teacher which the original lacked. Text supplied for the 57 lessons within has been adapted from works by Mother Mary Loyola (author of The King of the Golden City) and Rev. Joseph A. Dunney. These begin with the Life of Christ and His Sacrifice on Calvary, then proceed to Confession and Communion, and finally cover the parts of the Mass. All of these attributes make A Child's True Story of Jesus an ideal resource in preparation for the sacraments of First Confession and First Communion.

This first volume in the Madonna Series of study readers was intended for the third grade. Here we find stories from the early portions of the Old and New Testaments, beginning with Genesis and Exodus, and continuing through the Birth of Jesus to his early days of preaching. The volume closes with a selection of stories about the saints. In the second volume in the Madonna Series, Wonder Stories of God's People, the stories of the Old and New Testament are carried on with Jacob, Joseph, Samson and David, and the Miracles, Passion and Death of Our Lord, finishing once again with select stories of the saints. Then in the last of the three volumes, Heroes of God's Church, are found exclusively stories of the saints.

This fifth grade volume in the Madonna Series is intended as a study in virtue using the stories of the Saints. Each one is presented, not merely as a two-dimensional figure for admiration, or a miracle worker, but as a real human in real-world situations, having to make tough decisions in order to become the Heroes of God's Church.

The Magnificat Readers are a collection of excerpts from nearly a dozen vintage Catholic school readers, dating from the late 1800s to the early 1930s. For the most part, the selections found within are those prescribed by the Religion in Life Curriculum, created by the Marquette University Institute of Catechetical Research in the 1930s. We have carefully assembled as many of the suggested readings from this curriculum as were still findable, and have augmented these with illustrations, as well as additional stories and poems of interest, found in those same readers. The result might fairly be considered a compendium of the best material published for Catholic school children over a period of nearly fifty years. And so we have given these readers the name Magnificat, in honor of Our Lady and her song of praise and thanksgiving to Him that "hath done great things to me...and holy is His Name."This second reader corresponds to the second year of studies in the Religion in Life Curriculum and the Second Grade text in the Highway to Heaven series, The Life of My Savior.

The Bible Story is the first in a trilogy of books written for Benziger Brothers by the team of Rev. George Johnson, Rev. Jerome Hannan and Sister Mary Dominica--the other two being the well-loved Bible History and The Story of the Church. While these others are respectively intended for the intermediate and upper grades, this little volume seeks to introduce younger students to the "greatest book in all the world." Using the best pedagogical methods of the time, they sought to center the narrative on the characters themselves, as a way of drawing in the attention of little ones who love stories. And yet to the extent possible, the phraseology of scripture is used. Study questions and suggested activities for learning reinforcement are also provided at the back of the book. Best of all, dozens of beautiful, full-color illustrations help cement the reality and beauty of the message of salvation in the young mind.

Imagine going back in time and asking a group of the best Catholic Teachers for some of their most successful methods for teaching the Faith to little ones...This is just what the authors of this book have in effect done! In the late 1920's, Father Felix Kirsch was among the leaders of a renewal in Catholic education, prompted by new pedagogical methods such as those pioneered by Maria Montessori. He and Sister Mary Aurelia sent questionnaires to many of the most successful teachers in the Catholic world, asking "what methods or devices work best for you?" They then compiled the answers they received into the present volume.Inside you will find these gems divided into two sections: Morning Exercises, with stories, talks and suggestions for how to help children practice the virtues; and Classroom Projects, which include classroom calendars for keeping track of the Feasts of the Church, Sand Table Projects, Sections on Dramatizations and Music, and various crafts to keep little hands busy.

Mother Mary Salome wrote a volume of meditations called The Feasts of Mother Church in 1904, covering many of the most important feasts of the Liturgical Year. In 1913, she followed up with Saints and Festivals, adapting portions of her earlier work for a younger audience. In addition to Christmas, Easter and the stories of well-beloved saints, children will also discover the stories of lesser-known heroes of the Church such as St. Chad, St. Serapion, St. John the Dwarf and St. Hilda of Whitby. Even St. John Cantius finds a home in these pages. Peppered throughout with the imaginative illustrations of Gabriel Pippet, this volume makes a wonderful resource for children to take part in the yearly cycle of the Church.

Why do we wear our best clothes on Sunday? What was the Holy Ghost Hole in medieval churches? How did a Belgian nun originate the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament? Where did the Halloween mask and the jack-o'-lantern come from? Learn the answer to these questions, as well as the history behind our traditional celebration of Thanksgiving, in this gem of a book by Father Weiser.

As early as 1924, when Edward A. Fitzpatrick came to Marquette University as a professor of education, he began preparing to build an entirely new curriculum in elementary-level religious education, based on the best pedagogical methods. He and his collaborators, many of whom were religious school sisters, eventually formed the Catechetical Institute of Marquette University. Together they collected the best available resources for both teacher and student, and began laying out the grade school curriculum in its entirety. Then, over the course of the next 8 years, they tested their ideas in the classroom and continued to improve them until they were ready to publish.The final result of this monumental effort was the Highway to Heaven Series of religion textbooks, and the accompanying Religion in Life Curriculum Teacher Manuals. But along the way, in 1931, they published the objectives and planned resources for each of the grades in this book, A Curriculum in Religion. These objectives, along with an overview of the unified scope for all 8 grades, are helpful to the teacher who wishes to implement the Religion in Life Curriculum in the classroom, especially at the 6th grade level, for which a Teacher's Manual was never published.

Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities.This Fifth Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual includes the aims and preparation for the lessons contained in the Fifth Grade text, The Vine and the Branches, along with suggestions for their practical application, answers to review questions and unit tests, and recommended resources for the teacher. Recommended reading for the students is listed in the student text and will be reprinted in a new anthology to accompany the series: The Magnificat Readers.This reprinted edition is an exact reproduction of the original manual, with the addition of material from the original 1931 curriculum overview volume, entitled A Curriculum in Religion, as well as a newly compiled appendix, listing all of the recommended supplementary texts.

Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities.This Fourth Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual includes presentation material for the lessons contained in the Fourth Grade text, Before Christ Came, along with answers to review questions, unit tests, and recommended resources for the teacher. Recommended reading for the students is listed in the student text and will be reprinted in a new anthology to accompany the series: The Magnificat Readers.This reprinted edition is an exact reproduction of the original manual, with the addition of material from the original 1931 curriculum overview volume, entitled A Curriculum in Religion, as well as a newly compiled appendix, listing all of the recommended supplementary texts.

Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities. This Second Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual includes presentation material for the lessons contained in the First Grade text, The Life of My Savior, along with recommended reading and activities for student and teacher. Though many of these readings were taken from contemporary school readers now long out of print, these have been painstakingly collected and will be reprinted in a new anthology to accompany the series: The Magnificat Readers.The lesson material for the Sacraments of First Confession and First Communion is not contained in this Second Grade Manual; it is found in the First Grade Manual.This reprinted edition is an exact reproduction of the original manual, with the addition of material from the original 1931 curriculum overview volume, entitled A Curriculum in Religion, as well as a newly compiled appendix, listing all of the recommended supplementary texts.

Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities. This Third Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual includes presentation and development material for the lessons contained in the Third Grade text, The Life of the Soul, along with recommended reading and activities for student and teacher. Though many of these readings were taken from contemporary school readers now long out of print, these have been painstakingly collected and will be reprinted in a new anthology to accompany the series: The Magnificat Readers.This reprinted edition is an exact reproduction of the original manual, with the addition of material from the original 1931 curriculum overview volume, entitled A Curriculum in Religion, as well as a newly compiled appendix, listing all of the recommended supplementary texts.

Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities. This First Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual includes presentation material for the lessons contained in the First Grade text, The Book of the Holy Child, along with recommended reading and activities for student and teacher. Though many of these readings were taken from contemporary school readers now long out of print, these have been painstakingly collected and will be reprinted in a new anthology to accompany the series: The Magnificat Readers.The lesson material for the Sacraments of First Confession and First Communion is contained in this First Grade Manual (not Second Grade).This reprinted edition is an exact reproduction of the original manual, with the addition of material from the original 1931 curriculum overview volume, entitled A Curriculum in Religion, as well as a newly compiled appendix, listing all of the recommended supplementary texts.

If you enjoyed learning about holiday traditions in The Christmas Book, you are sure to love its sequel, The Easter Book. Father Weiser has here applied his winning formula to an explanation of the fasts and feasts of the Lenten and Easter seasons with equally fascinating results.

Jesus Comes is the 2nd grade textbook in the Our Holy Faith series. It is based on the First Communion Catechism Confraternity Edition.This is the Teacher's Manual and Course of Study for the Second Grade. Complete daily lesson plans are provided in a chart format. As the majority of instruction at this level is intended to be presented orally, this manual is indispensable to the teaching of the Second Grade coursework.Our Holy Faith is a series of religion textbooks produced in the late 1950s, based on the Baltimore Catechism. Each grade level is well-written for its intended age group and is thorough and orthodox in its presentation of the faith. These texts have stood the test of time and are still being used by families today. Now this series can be purchased in economical softcover versions, or more durable hardcovers--depending on your family's budget!