O glorious Apostle of the Gentiles, Saint Paul, who with such zeal didst busy thyself in destroying at Ephesus those books which thou knewest well would have perverted the minds of the faithful: turn upon us thy gracious eyes also at this present day. Thou seest how an unbelieving and licentious press is attempting to rob our hearts of the precious treasure of faith and spotless morals. Enlighten, we beseech Thee, O holy Apostle, the minds of so many perverted writers, that they may cease once for all to do harm to souls with their evil doctrines and lying insinuations; move their hearts to hate the evil that they have done and are doing to the chosen flock of Jesus Christ. For us, too, obtain the grace of being ever docile to the voice of the Holy Ghost, that so we may never allow ourselves to indulge in the reading of bad books, but may seek instead to read and, so far as it is given to us, to diffuse those books which by their salutary doctrine shall assist all of us to promote the greater glory of God, the exaltation of His Church and the salvation of souls. Amen.
Source: The Raccolta (Or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers & Good Works).
An indulgence of 300 days once a day. (S.C. of the Holy Office Dec. 10 1908 and Jan. 23, 1909; S. P. Ap., March 4, 1931).
Pope Leo XIII said that “The early days of the Church witnessed the earnest zeal of St. Paul, when the Christians at Ephesus brought together all the superstitious books they had in their possession and burned them publicly. The Church, whose office it is to watch over the integrity of faith and morals, has ever striven, as far as in her power lay, to restrain the faithful from the reading of bad books as from a deadly poison.”
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum – List of Prohibited Books is a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, and Catholics are forbidden to read them without permission.
When buying books on religious and spiritual matters, seek out those books written before Vatican II and which have the “Imprimatur”, or those books which are known to be written by solidly orthodox traditional Catholics.
Related: Why Did the Catholic Church Prevent Vernacular Bible Translations?
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1962 Roman Catholic Daily MissalUS$ 72.00 -
The Reign of Christ the King by Michael DaviesUS$ 5.75 -
THE RACCOLTA (Or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers & Good Works)US$ 45.00 -
The Limits of Papal Authority over the LiturgyUS$ 27.00 -
The Canons and Decrees of Trent and Vatican I (In English and Latin)US$ 19.00 -
The Popes Against Modern Errors: 16 Papal DocumentsUS$ 24.00
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