New book

John H. O'Leary, of Zacches Press (not to be confused with Fr. Joseph O'Leary), has just sent me a copy of the latest from Zacchaeus Press, a new translation of Blessed Columba Marmion's Christ, the Life of the Soul. He writes: "This was a very popular book among lay Catholics back in the 1920s and 30s, and has a great deal to offer still, I think. Marmion goes very deep. We're hopeful that the book will find an audience in its newly translated form."

Our readers may be interested to know what some of our Popes have said about Marmion's work:

• "An authentic treasury of spiritual truth" -- Pope John Paul II, speaking at Blessed Columba's Beatification Ceremony
• The works of Marmion are "outstanding in the accuracy of their doctrine, the clarity of their style, and the depth and richness of their thought." -- Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)
• "You have written a very beautiful book.... Read this -- it is the pure doctrine of the Church." -- Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922)

Fr. Benedict Groeschel describes the volume as an "invitation to laity, religious, and clergy to return to the pure waters of life and leave behind the murky creeks and polluted rivers that have engulfed us for much of the last half century," and Dom Raymond Thibaut says, of reading the book: "Always, at each of his pages, one is bathed in a spiritual atmosphere -- an atmosphere of prayer. Hence also light, security and peace."

Blessed Columba Marmion was born in Ireland and served for several years as a priest in Dublin before finding a vocation to the monastery. Eventually he became Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium and one of the foremost spiritual masters of the 20th century. His books have been translated into eleven languages and sold some 1.5 million copies. The back cover describes the work thus: "Firmly rooted in the Bible, the Liturgy, and the writings of the Saints and Doctors of the Church, Marmion explores every aspect of Catholic dogma -- with penetrating insight -- but his great emphasis is on the person o Christ, and the doctrine of Divine Adoption." Long out of print, this new crisp translation from the French original by Alan Bancroft is sure to please those that venture into the intricacies of this "how-to" guide to the Catholic spiritual life. The book, which is divided into two parts -- Book One: "The Divine Designs" and Book Two: "The Christian Life" -- comes with appendicies on Blessed Columba Marmion's Cause for Canonization, a chronology of his life, and introductory material from prior editions of this work.