Basil Moreau: Essential Writings

by Blessed Basil Moreau

Publisher:

Ave Maria Press

This definitive introduction to the life and vision of Blessed Basil Moreau is the first book to gather together the essential spiritual, pastoral, and educational writings of the nineteenth-century French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross, which is the religious order that founded the University of Notre Dame in 1842.

Basil Moreau: Essential Writings is an anthology of all the important published and previously unpublished writings of Basil Moreau, who was beatified in 2007 by the Catholic Church. This anthology provides generous selections from Moreau’s sermons, pastoral letters, educational treatises, and spiritual reflections, which reveal a figure who was no stranger to difficulty and conflict but also a man deeply committed to a hope that can only emerge from Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.

Key Features

• Offers valuable insights into the life of the remarkable founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross
• Provides the religious of Holy Cross and their colleagues profound content for study and spiritual reading
• Integrates the academic, spiritual, liturgical, and apostolic dimensions of a great pastor and thinker

Contents

Introduction

• Moreau's Context: Two French Revolution Sketches
• Moreau's Intellectual Formation
• Moreau as Scholar and Teacher
• Intellectual and Spiritual Influences on Moreau
• The Early Developments of Holy Cross
• Moreau's Leadership and Development of Holy Cross
• Moreau from 1860 to 1866
• Moreau's Resignation and Last Years
• Moreau's Spiritual Emphases
• Conclusion

Chapter one: Sermons

• Meditation
• Community Spirit
• Confession
• Holy Communion
• Renewal of the Vows
• The Sacred Heart of Jesus
• The Immaculate Heart of Mary
• St. Joseph
• Reception of the Habit for Carmelite Sisters

Chapter two: Spiritual Exercises

• Second Week: The Illuminative Way
• Meditations for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
• Fourth Week: The Unitive Way

Chapter three: Christian Meditations

• Epiphany: Meditation on the Mystery
• Third Sunday after Epiphany: Meditation on the Leprosy of Sin
• Sixth Sunday after Epiphany: Meditation on the Minor Virtues
• Sexagesima Sunday: Meditation on the Word of God
• Friday after the Third Sunday of Lent: Meditation on the Mystery of the Five Wounds of Our Lord
• Fourth Sunday of Lent: Meditation on the Behavior of Jesus Christ and of the People in the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes
• Friday after Passion Sunday: Meditation on the Mystery of the Transfixion or Compassion of the Blessed Virgin
• Quasimodo Sunday: Meditation on Interior Peace and Exterior Peace
• Fourth Sunday after Easter: Meditation on Silence
• Fifth Sunday after Easter: Meditation on Mental Prayer
• Sixth Sunday after Easter: Meditation on Preparing for the Holy Spirit
• Pentecost: Meditation on the Mystery
• First Sunday after Pentecost: Meditation on the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
• Thursday after the Most Holy Trinity: Meditation on the Procession of the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament or of the Most Holy Body of Christ

Chapter four: Christian Education

• Preface
• Introduction
• Part One: On Teachers and Students
• Part Three: On the Formation of School Children in the Christian Life and the Means to Ensure Their Perseverance

Chapter five: Circular Letters

• Circular Letter 14 (September 1, 1841)
• Circular Letter 23 (January 4, 1845)
• Circular Letter 25 (January 5, 1846)
• Circular Letter 34 (June 19, 1848)
• Circular Letter 36 (April 15, 1849)
• Circular Letter 79 (January 1, 1857)
• Circular Letter 96 (June 16, 1858)
• Circular Letter 137 (January 3, 1861)
• Circular Letter 179 (January 10, 1865)
• Circular Letter 8 to the Sisters (January 22, 1858)
• Circular Letter 16 to the Sisters (January 2, 1859)

Endorsements

In this era of the New Evangelization, we can learn much from the inspiring example and writings of Blessed Basil Moreau, a holy priest who embraced with passionate zeal the mission of the new evangelization in nineteenth-century France, facing challenges not unlike our own. This wonderful collection of his writings provides rich material for spiritual reflection. Moreau's spirituality, focused on the imitation of Christ, trust in divine providence, and hope in the victory of the cross, reveals to us the necessary foundation for all our evangelizing endeavors: prayer and friendship with Christ.

Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

This much-anticipated and brilliantly compiled volume responds to the need for an English-language anthology of the writings of Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For students of history and religion, as well as for anyone seeking to understand and benefit personally from the profound spirituality of Father Moreau, this book is an absolute treasure.

Most Reverend Charles J. Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland

Blessed Basil Moreau had a singular ability to address problems with a combination of intellectual acuity, spiritual wisdom, and practicality. His thoughts on Catholic education and the virtues of teachers are especially noteworthy. We would do well to reread them at the beginning of each academic year. Grove and Gawrych have assembled a wonderful introduction to the mind and character of the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

John Garvey, President, The Catholic University of America

Product Details

• Title: Basil Moreau: Essential Writings
• Author: Blessed Basil Moreau
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Pages: 544
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9780870612831, 9780870612848, 9780870612886, 0870612832, 0870612840, 0870612883
• Resource ID: LLS:BASILMOREAU
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:10:43Z