Scores of shell-shocked Catholics fled back to the Tridentine Mass, which had been proscribed, or just stayed home to pray the Rosary that Sister scorned.
Anger and disappointment blinded many even to good things happening: in late 1979 when I suggested to a middle-aged friend that the newly-elected John Paul II would turn things around, her jaw tightened, she stepped suddenly forward, put her angry face close to mine, and hissed at me, "He's a Communist!"
Be grateful if you don't
remember those days.
*
But I was young,
a recent convert, full of energy, determination, and hope --- just the kind of fellow I thought John Paul was seeking to help him recover what could be recovered.
![JPII]()
I borrowed a thousand dollars and an old electric typewriter, bought a lamp and a beat-up desk, and in my tiny, dark basement set up Sophia Institute Press to bring back into print the venerable classics of our Faith which had, like so much else in our Church, been cast aside for Bette Midler and Bozo the Clown.
![Stack of books]()
That was 27 years
and
two-and-a-half million books ago:
two-and-a-half million solid Catholic
books that helped change the face of Catholicism in America. (Stacked one on another, they'd reach 28 miles higher than the Pope's solid gold throne!)
To the left and right of these words, you can see I've put links to some of those books. They include:
• Scores of works on the Bible
• Dozens of apologetics works
• Catholic books for housewives and businessfolk, tired parents, teens, and toddlers
• Books on Heaven, Hell, Confession, Communion, Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit and the holy Rosary, the saints and the sacraments, the popes and prayer, philosophy, theology, the temperaments, morality, and a dozen or so works of solid Catholic fiction and great Catholic humor
• And, just two weeks ago, the #1 Catholic book at Amazon.com: The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life, the book which prompted Thérèse of Lisieux's entrance into the convent.
![Amazon]()
Today, Sophia Institute Press, is the world's preeminent advertiser of Catholic books on the internet, bringing the perennial truths of our Catholic faith to the attention of almost
six million souls each week.
*
Now, all of this is at risk . . .
. . . not because of Bette Midler and Bozo the Clown: long ago, John Paul II banished them to the wings.
Today our Faith must compete with other things that distract us from the salvation Christ won for us by His death: YouTube, Facebook, Xbox, Netflix, Twitter, Ipods, Ipads, and more.
Gadgets and gizmos waste our time, squander our spirits, leave us shallower and numb, and ever more deaf to the Word of God.
The same Sophia Institute Press I established to compete with Bozo and Bette now has to face off with billion-dollar entertainment goliaths manned by brilliant engineers and clever marketers.
Sure, now at Sophia we are six people instead of just one --- six ordinary souls who do everything it takes to discover, design, create, and market our Catholic books; to receive orders by email, snail mail, phone, and fax; pack the books, maintain the computers, pay the bills, change the lightbulbs, clean the toilet, and sweep the floors.
With such a small staff up against giants in the industry, I remain ever amazed that we can place our books before six million souls each week, and even manage to have one of them become the #1 Catholic book on Amazon.
It takes its toll, mentally, physically, and financially. Right now, I'm exhausted and my staff is stressed, worried about what the future will bring.
![Pile of bills]()
For although our accomplishments are great, it's never easy; and now the annual summer sales doldrums are hard upon us.
We've fallen two weeks overdue on a critical $11,000 loan payment that it's dangerous for us to miss. Our printer has called a number of times seeking payment of $20,000 in invoices that are now seven weeks overdue. We are fending off other vendors.
To conserve cash for water, electricity, phones, and rent, I've placed on hold the printing of all 13 of our forthcoming books (see the list below) while I reach out to good folks like you for help.
I've explained many of the things we are doing and listed here lots of our fine Catholic books. Will you join us in this important apostolic work --- for the sake of yourself, your loved ones, and all those who seek to know and love our Lord?
Will you use this Paypal button to make a tax-deductible contribution of $50 to our work today so that I can keep these books in print and send off to the printer the ones listed below?
It only takes a minute.
![This link takes you to our website's paypal donation page.]()
If you can't afford $50, can you send $25? Or even $10. You won't miss $10 (it's likely less than what you'll spend on entertainment this weekend); but if we fail, you and millions of others will miss the great spiritual good that is being done across America and throughout the world by the fine Catholic books we produce.
Please help.
Even if only by buying a book or two, for yourself or to give to friends and relatives who could benefit from them.
Were every recipient of this email to donate $5 or even just buy one book, our bills would be paid, and next week I could send off to the printer the good Catholic books listed below.
![This link takes you to our website's paypal donation page.]()
Finally, whether you can contribute or not, please pray for me, for my faithful staff, and for our Church. For my part, and regardless of whether we receive the help we need, I will continue to remember you in my prayers.
![John Barger, Publisher]()
John Barger, Publisher
Sophia Institute Press
![Click here to view our online catalog]()
Sophia Institute Press
1-800-888-9344
Box
5284, Manchester, NH
03108 USA 1-603-641-9344
Books on Hold
for Lack of Funds
God Will Provide
Patricia Treece
The Good Galilean
Lessons in Living from
the Son of Man Himself
Archbishop Alban Goodier
The Truth about Thérèse
Lisieux, the Little Flower, and the Little Way
Henri Gheon
How to Read the Bible
Abbé Roger Poelman
The Book of Miracles
Zsolt Aradi
The Bones of St. Peter
John E. Walsh
The Read-Aloud
Book of Bible Stories
Amy Steedman
Most Beloved Woman
Edward F. Garesché, S.J.
The Little Book of the
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Raoul Plus, S.J.
St. Thomas Aquinas
and His Work
A.G. Sertillanges, O.P.
The Catholic Church
and the Bible
Basil Christopher Butler
David and His Songs
A Story of the Psalms
Mary Fabyan Windeatt
![This link takes you to our website's paypal donation page.]()
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