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Fr. Edward Looney finishes reading the introduction to volume 2 and reflects on Mary&#39;s prayer to God as an individual and for us.

Year 2, Day 93: Volume 2, Book 3, Introduction, Paragraphs 22-32

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 3 of book 8 and then comments on our love for God, people, and things, and also on the evil seeds planted in our hearts. &nbsp;

Year 3, Day 325: Volume 4, Book 8, Chapter 3, Paragraphs 413-421

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 3 of book 7 and then comments on the age of Mary.

Year 2, Day 282: Volume 4, Book 7, Chapter 3, Paragraphs 32-38

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 19 of book 6 and reflects on Mary&#39;s forgiveness and our lukewarmness.

Year 3, Day 252: Volume 3, Book 6, Chapter 19, Paragraphs 618-623

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 1 of book 7 and then comments on the gift of Mary to the Church.

Year 2, Day 278: Volume 4, Book 7, Chapter 1, Paragraphs 6-9

This Advent Season, let the great and prolific Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori, guide you on a daily prayerful pilgrimage from the start of Advent through the birth of our Lord to the Epiphany. Drawing on Sacred Scripture and his profound saintly counsel, St. Alphonsus takes you into the details of Christ’s birth for prayerful reflection that will have your imagination placing you at the feet of our infant Lord. With meditations on the poverty of our Lord becoming man to Jesus weeping as a baby and lying on straw, St. Alphonsus will bring a humble intensity to your Advent prayer life. The contents of these meditations are marked by both joy for the birth of our Lord and sorrow for what we know He will suffer for our salvation.Few saints have written with such passion, depth, and simplicity on the incarnation and nativity of Christ as Saint Alphonsus Liguori. TAN Books is pleased to present this little work for the first time to join several other TAN works by St. Alphonsus, such as The Glories of Mary, Preparation for Death, and Visits to the Blessed Sacrament. This book, The Road to Bethlehem: Daily Meditations for Advent and Christmas, is taken from the original book entitled The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy or the Mysteries of the Faith.

The Road to Bethlehem: Daily Meditations for Advent and Christmas

01 - Opening Credits

02 - Opening Quote

03 - Preface

04 - Introduction

05 - Author's Protestation

06 - Title Page

07 - Author's Introduction

08 - Chapter One

09 - Chapter Two

10 - Chapter Three

11 - Chapter Four

12 - Chapter Five

13 - Chapter Six

14 - Chapter Seven

15 - Chapter Eight

16 - Chapter Nine

17 - Chapter Ten

18 - Chapter Eleven

19 - Chapter Twelve

20 - Chapter Thirteen

21 - Chapter Fourteen

22 - Chapter Fifteen

23 - Chapter Sixteen

24 - Chapter Seventeen

25 - Chapter Eighteen

26 - Chapter Nineteen

27 - Chapter Twenty

28 - Chapter Twenty-One

29 - Chapter Twenty-Two

30 - Chapter Twenty-Three

31 - Chapter Twenty-Four

32 - Chapter Twenty-Five

33 - Chapter Twenty-Six

34 - Chapter Twenty-Seven

35 - Chapter Twenty-Eight

36 - Chapter Twenty-Nine

37 - Chapter Thirty

38 - Chapter Thirty-One

39 - Chapter Thirty-Two

40 - Chapter Thirty-Three

41 - Chapter Thirty-Four

42 - Chapter Thirty-Five

43 - Chapter Thirty-Six

44 - Chapter Thirty-Seven

45 - Chapter Thirty-Eight

46 - Chapter Thirty-Nine

47 - Chapter Forty

48 - Chapter Forty-One

49 - Chapter Forty-Two

50 - Closing Credits

“What the Fathers of the Church taught withoutsystem and confusedly, this virgin, Teresa, hasreduced with such mastery and elegance to a body ofdoctrine.”&#160;—Pope St. Pius XSaint Teresa of Ávila, mystic, Carmelite reformer, and Doctor of the Church, is one of the greatest people to ever walk the face of the Earth—and even one of the greatest saints. Her position as a spiritual master is uncontested and, as her&#160;Way of Perfection&#160;will attest, her method of prayer was simple: through astounding sanctity and humility, as well as intensive recollection, we may approach God through meditation and come to know Him intimately. And He always rewards us more than we deserve.Born to a pious family in 1515, Teresa grew up fascinated with the faith. A popular anecdote from her youth tells of an impromptu escapade with her brother: they attempted to flee to Africa to be martyred by Moors, only to be brought back from the city walls by their uncle. Teresa later joined the Carmelites at 20, but found their practices to be lacking in austerity. She herself was zealous in mortification, and frequently exerted herself to the point of illness. Upon recovery after a particularly long convalescence, she began to experience religious ecstasies, which continued throughout her life. She experienced interior visions (i.e. without sensory manifestation) of Our Lord, levitations, and other graces, including the famous transverberation, where her heart was mystically pierced by a lance borne by a seraph. &#160;But Teresa's principle work in life was to reform the Carmelites; she traveled all about Spain establishing new convents and, with St. John of the Cross, men's monasteries. Throughout all of her reform work, her attitude was joyful, saintly, and profoundly charismatic.From this saintly life developed a method of prayer, a veritable method of growing in perfection, that includes such insights as this:<ul><li>Prayer must never be self-indulgent.</li><li>Only solitude and interior quietude are necessary for meditative prayer.</li><li>Vocal prayer is of extreme use and must be said humbly and attentively.</li><li>Meditation is necessary to grow in virtue.</li><li>Recollection of one's nothingness before prayer is essential.</li><li>Humility and perseverance are necessary for prayer.</li><li>And so much more . . .</li></ul>The Way of Perfection&#160;is an astounding work by an astounding saint, a highly detailed and immensely useful guide to approaching the Lord through higher and higher degrees of meditative prayer and contemplation, written by the queen among the saints of meditation, beyond compare in mystical wisdom. Let that wisdom pierce your heart too, through the words of these pages.

The Way Of Perfection

Fr. Edward Looney finishes reading chapter 1 of book 3 and reflects on Mary&#39;s knowledge of creation given to her on this first day of preparation for the Annunciation.

Year 3, Day 95: Volume 2, Book 3, Chapter 1, Paragraphs 9-15

;Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'; (Luke 1:34-35).The beautiful and spiritually enriching practice of devotion to the Sorrowful Mother will be illuminated for you in this powerfully written, pocket-sized booklet. Although many Catholics today have forgotten about the great sorrows of Our Lady, her role as sorrowing mother grows ever more important with the increasing evils of the modern world. This booklet explains more about Our Ladys sorrows than most Catholics will ever know. It shows you that being devoted to Mary is to grow in love for her and to obtain many special blessings for ourselves in this life and in the next—particularly, the graces that will be bestowed at the hour of our death, as we pray in the Hail Mary every day. Based on Sacred Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the writings of the saints, this booklet outlines the four special favors promised to those who meditate on Our Ladys tears and sorrows. Included to enrich your prayer life and deepen your devotion are many relevant prayers:The Stabat MaterThe Litany of the Sorrowful MotherSeven prayers for the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed VirginAnd many more!As you will read in the pages of this booklet, ;Mary leaves nothing unrewarded that is done in her honor.; With this knowledge, you will be able to turn confidently to the Sorrowful Mother, weeping with her over the many sins of the world and the suffering of Our Lord. With this booklet in hand, you will continue to grow in love of the Sorrowful Mother and receive the many graces due to those who mourn with her and comfort her. ;Stabat Mater dolorosaIuxta crucem lacrimosaDum pendebat Filius.;;At the Cross her Station keeping,Stood the mournful Mother weeping,Close to Jesus to the last.;

Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 23 of book 6 and then comments on the ways the devil tries to distract us. &nbsp;

Day 265: Volume 3, Book 6, Chapter 23, Paragraphs 718-724

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 23 of book 6 and then comments on knowing the ploys of the evil one. &nbsp;

Day 264: Volume 3, Book 6, Chapter 23, Paragraphs 711-717

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 16 of book 6 and then comments on transference of evil and judgement.&nbsp;

Day 244: Volume 3, Book 6, Chapter 16, Paragraphs 557-564

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 5 of book 8 and then comments on St. Peter's request for Mary to visit, the titles used by the Church for Mary, and the way of life for the women who surround themselves around Mary. &nbsp;

Day 330: Volume 4, Book 8, Chapter 5, Paragraphs 456-463

The Sexual Revolution and the breakdown of the Family have brought misery to billions. In The Sexual State Jennifer Roback Morse shows that the Sexual Revolution did not just ;happen; like a force of nature. Rather, it was deliberately created by ;elites,; harnessing the power of the State, allowing them to inflict three false and calamitous ideologies—contraception, divorce, and gender ideology—that have led to widespread and profound unhappiness and worse.The ideas of the Sexual Revolution did not emerge from the lived experiences of ordinary people; the government has been imposing the morality of an out-of-touch elite class on the rest of us for decades.The Sexual State turns the now conventional "wisdom" on its head to reveal how:The Sexual Revolution is and always has been a creation of the StateSocial issues are unified and can be understood as the outgrowth of a few simple (but gravely flawed) principlesChildren have identity and relational rights with respect to their parents; the Sexual State denies children these rightsSocially conservative ideas and traditional Catholic morality are getting clobbered. And the dirty secret that no one wants to acknowledge (until now!) is that the progressive social elites have rigged the system. Most people dont love abortion, or divorce, or single-parent families! Thankfully, Dr. Morse (and the Catholic Church) has the answer. It is vital that those who would change the culture understand how we got here; otherwise, the countering tactics will remain important. In this masterful take-down of the Sexual Revolution and its promoters, Morse calls for a widespread adherence to the principles of the Church. Only then will our society recover from the misrule of ;the elites; and the ;managerial class.;

The Sexual State

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 15 of book 7 and then comments on spiritual warfare and the development of doctrine.&nbsp;

Day 310: Volume 4, Book 7, Chapter 15, Paragraphs 277-283

Fr. Edward Looney reads from chapter 9 of book 4 and offers a reflection on the first events of Christmas day.

Year 2, Day 150: Volume 2, Book 4, Chapter 9, Paragraphs 462-467