How To Spot A Fake Catholic Book || Library Strategies That Work!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Have you ever run across a fake Catholic book? They are out there! We would love to hear about your experience.

[@clairestevens3194]

Richard Rohr?

[@PaulCox-vx1ex]

Watch out for Luisa Picarreta writings and teachings.

[@shadowlancer45]

Ma'am gud day, what if someone would say you are in a wrong church. It is paganic, satanic & , blah, blah, blah. How would u defend The Bride of The Son of Man?

[@vivrowe2763]

​@@PaulCox-vx1exActually you have been listening to fake priests or something. It's wonderful.

[@vivrowe2763]

John Leary I can't believe anyone would follow. He said everything was going to happen by 2000. He now mixes in other seers who have approval and is dangerous.

[@brandi8040]

That Angel book sounds like someone trying to get people to (unknowingly) meddle around with the demonic.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Or the author trying to earn a profit from promising something outlandish. Or both.

[@brandi8040]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Yes, probably that, too! There's been a big boom of angel stuff in the New Age world here lately. It's good to be diligent!

[@Joker22593]

Those who wear the Scapular of St. Michael the Archangel and pray the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel daily have 9 angels accompanying them (one from each choir) at mass and at the hour of death. There's no promise that they act like guardian angels outside of those circumstances. Angels can also be called upon to help you, but there are no specific promises for particular tasks that I know of, because we don't know the names or jobs of any angels besides the three named in the Bible. I don't believe that people can unknowingly consort with demons, because people can't unknowingly do evil, but people can put too much emphasis on the angels and saints, and that is something to be careful of.

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

Most of the angel books I encounter are New Age in nature, and usually from the 90’s- early 2000’s, when angels were super popular in the new age movement.

[@littleone1656]

​@Joker22593 u don't believe ppl can unknowingly consort with evil?... tell that to an exorcist

[@carmendevine7244]

I once purchased a copy of The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila, but something seemed off when I started reading. I went back and read the translators forward where she described how she purposely mistranslated certain terms to eliminate ideas such as sin. I threw it away and left a review on Amazon, but it was shocking that the publisher would market it as an authentic work by a saint when the basic meaning was altered by a translator.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Good grief! That is horrible. Do you by any chance remember the publisher? We have several copies of The Interior Castle in our church library by different translators.

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

Oh wow! How sneaky! I’d really like to know which version that is!

[@AnthonyHeaton-ih6rk]

There is a translation by a Jewish woman, which could be the one. It's some time since I read some of it & the absence of sin references was one thing that struck me as odd, as sin was a big thing in other older translations I've read.

[@Lucylou7070]

This is strange, especially that you warn us but don't tell us the publisher and the translator so that we can be careful.

[@SashaSteveBlair]

@@catholicmomanddaughterPretty sure it was Riverhead Books, translated by Mirabai Starr.

[@ruthpetit6815]

I'm Protestant, yet your attention to making sure that our church library is of sound doctrine is something that I'm now prompted to begin to attend to as a Pastor's wife. Thanks.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Ruth- I will be praying for you as you begin this task. It does take a lot of time, research , and prayer to go through the books. Decision making fatigue is real! But it is important work. God bless you for taking it on!

[@Undermarysmantleforever]

I hope your channel grows …every parish needs diligent Catholics like you 🙏🙏🙏🌟

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! We would love for our channel to grow; it is in God's hands, though, so we just take one day at a time. Happy New Year and God bless :)

[@KristynLorraine]

When I was studying Catholicism years back my guardian angel must have guided me to Sophia Press, TAN Books, and Ignatius Press. Years later I was given other "Catholic" publisher catalogs that sent up immediate red flags. I asked our priest and he said, "Yeah, I'd stay away from those." Later I ran across a few of the books in my public library and I was rather shocked by how left-leaning they were, with Our Lord's words being taken out of context. Marianne Williamson and her New Age "church" is well known here in the Detroit area. She was a recent presidential candidate as well.

[@lissyniña]

Omgosh!!! When I heard her name, I wondered if it was her so it was! I heard about her in the 1980s when I was in University of Steubenville, there were some students I knew who were into A Course in Miracles ( unfortunately), so her name really rang a bell for me

[@JimRPickens]

Marianne Williamson is a sweet lady with a good caring heart. Y'all need to pray for her to find the truth, she will get there with the help of all our prayers and God's grace. Please remember her in your prayers.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

What a beautiful reminder, Jim! Yes, we all need to pray for each other. We all make mistakes and need God's mercy

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

@@lissyniña I’m also associated with Franciscan University of Steubenville, I bet we have mutual acquaintances!

[@mfowler342]

Those are the best

[@faithfamilyandfuntech5062]

First easy clue if you find Fr. James Martin had any part of writing

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We can all pray for Fr. Martin!

[@martaacosta4415]

A long time ago (maybe around 2011 or 2012), read a book titled something like My Friends, the Saints, by a Father James Martin, SJ. At the time I had never heard of this author so,I read it and I thought it was fabulous. Each chapter was about a different saint and the author’s particular devotion to that saint during a failure, a disappointment, a loss, or other traumatic time in his life. Asking for that saint’s intercession proved critical for Martin. There was nothing about the LGBTQ issue in the book and I enjoyed it from the first page to the last. As time went on, Father James Martin became well-known as a promoter of gay rights and I realized this was the same priest who had written the book I remembered fondly. My point is that a Catholic reader could very well miss out on an enjoyable read if he relies solely on the reputation of the author. Even now, knowing who Father James Martin, SJ, is, I would recommend that early book of his without reserve. I wish I could recall the exact title of the book.

[@bluschke52]

​@@martaacosta4415 I would never read anything by father James Martin.

[@caricrook4633]

I'm reading Fr James Martin's most recent book, Come Forth, for Lent. It's actually wonderful and inspiring. I've read most of his books and have never once had to clutch my pearls in shock. I like to read a range of authors and don't agree with absolutely everything I read, but I'm a big girl now and like to make my own mind up about books and their authors.

[@faithfamilyandfuntech5062]

@@caricrook4633 if we're properly formed in conscience then heretics are not dangerous only those who don't know their faith have to avoid information that might mislead them to sin. That being said I think St. Paul warned us though to not associate with immoral men. Martins photo opp of blessing two men in homosexual union I would imagine falls under immoral men

[@maryoregan6770]

Proper Catholic books have, or used to have, an approval note called the Imprimatur and also Nihil Obstat, signifying ecclesiastical approval.

[@love2sing20101]

This is so needed. There are some HORRIBLE “Catholic” books out there with misinformation.

[@MFV77]

I had already appointed myself, the remover of all heretical books from our small exchange library in our parish. Always astonishes me the books that people think are appropriate. Interestingly, when wecleaned out and a massive old collection our pastor asked me if I’d be willing to do the purging. I admitted that I was going to confess anyway that I’d been throwing away terrible books and he applauded that. Some titles were not even pretending to Catholic. All kinds of books on Zen and Buddhism and such, and a dandy one about an angry lesbian bartender who swore like a sailor and considered herself a preacher. …

[@collielove]

Regarding the books you found, good grief! Good for you for tossing out the bad books. Do you have an opinion on the Catholic author Robert Able who wrote The Catholic Warrior, The Healing Power of Jesus, and other books? I’m suspect of them, and even my Protestant husband thinks they’re bad.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Oh, my goodness, Mary! Your story made me laugh... Catholic woman fesses up to secretly removing terrible books. But good for you! Yes- it is amazing how much crazy stuff is donated to our church library. We've had more than one copy of the Communist Manifesto donated... it's always an adventure!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I am not familiar with his books, but after looking at the Amazon reviews for The Healing Power of Jesus, I would say you are right to be extremely cautious. The notion that you have to say the right prayers to rebuke your illness does not sit right with me. Thanks for the heads up about this author!

[@collielove]

@@catholicmomanddaughter You’re welcome! I ended up tossing mine out. I’m glad I found your channel. 😀

[@shirleypatten6212]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Regarding the Communist Manifesto, it doesn't hurt to find out what the enemy is up to firsthand. Although I wouldn't put it in a Catholic library without alerting readers that the Catholic Church doesn't endorse CM's ideas.

[@alciraproenza-collazo]

Love it when something pops up on my feed and it's a blessing that i clicked on it. Great video. Thank you. Stay blessed.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! We are glad you enjoyed it. Hope it was helpful for you :)

[@LenaSheppard]

Thanks so much for doing this and for looking out for our souls. Some titles can be very deceiving. I was reading the csfs catholic book a while back & didn't realize. I'm so very grateful you're here for us !

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We didn't realize, either, Lena until recently. While researching a different author, we came upon the Chicken Soup information, and the more we looked into it, the darker it was. We had several CSFTS books in the library that we pulled out. Many of the contributors in the series are new age or Mormon writers. We keep learning here!

[@MargaretUIUC]

Good information. The screening tips are also helpful for vetting KZbin channels--I have put a lot of supposedly Catholic channels in my "do not recommend" list because of sketchy things like you described. I'll be referring to this video again!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- you are absolutely right! We should also definitely screen social media in the same way.

[@nursekate6772]

The Angelspeaks book is exceptionally sinister as people who have "spoken to angels" in recent past were actually conjuring demons which lead to the murder of a family.

[@terryhill5509]

Thank you so much for this. Reminds me of my mom and dad. They used to read a lot of books and whenever they read something that was doctrinally incorrect or non-catholic they would write HERETICAL on the side and keep it. Or daddy would write little comments in the margin and underline disturbing passages. I inherited all their many books and love it when i encounter one of their editorials

[@virromanus2918]

Nossa! Isso é incrível. Interessante. Vou fazer isso nos meus livros.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Oh, my- this made me smile, Terry. I think I would have loved to have known your parents. What spirit!

[@Jmjemmanual]

Thank you so much for your help and God bless you Catholic Mom ❤❤❤❤

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

You are very welcome. Have a great week!

[@eileen6780]

I retired a month ago and looking forward to spend more time reading catholic books. Your information will help me weed out fake catholic books. Thank you.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We hope you have many happy hours reading, Eileen :)

[@hopesonhigh]

Great work and very informative video for our Catholic family!! God bless you all!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! I'm so glad it was helpful for you :)

[@Sunshine-hn7ob]

New to your channel. I’m so glad to have found your channel and appreciate this information. Thanks!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

You are very welcome- glad to hear the video was helpful :)

[@annlink8265]

This was very informative. Have I told you that if my church has a library, I am not aware? There is a small bookshelf in the narthex with some books but I have no idea, how one goes about taking one. But I have so many books at home I need to read, I have not pursued asking about it. That should be on my Catholic list for 2024. Marianne Williamson was on Oprah years ago (when I still enjoyed the show. That was a LONG time ago.) I am pretty sure the Holy Spirit deterred me from her "wisdom" without me being very intentional about learning more about her. Thanks again for your tips. I might need to put this video in my saved list to refer back to later.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

It is so interesting that you mention the Holy Spirit, Ann. One of our librarians also mentioned recently that she thought the Holy Spirit had protected her from reading a suspect book. It's exciting to hear about grace in action like that!

[@insanemainstream3633]

Any book that Oprah recommends is most likely anti-catholic imo.

[@annlink8265]

@@insanemainstream3633, I agree. This was a long time ago before I understood such things.I am sure I haven't watched her show in the last two decades, and hopefully longer than that.

[@nancyjanzen5676]

The only way my parish lent books was Father Luis saying I think you should read this. A few of the quick answer to problems in the Church books by Bishop Barron wete passed around usually every Saturday at Confession.

[@nobigwhoopdawg]

Thank you! As a new Catholic, this video was very informative!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We're so glad it was helpful. Welcome to the Church!

[@suzannekuehl316]

Thank you so much! Such important advice! It’s wonderful that you and the other volunteers are taking the time to screen the reading material. God bless you and your efforts!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! We feel the weight of making sure that the books are not leading anyone astray. If you would say a prayer for us, that would be great! Thank you :)

[@padraicbrown6718]

One book I'd like to mention to you and any other Catholic librarian is the two volume set called "My Work With Necedah". It's two books, vols I & II and then vols III & IV. By Henry H. Swan. It is Marian blue has a lovely image of Our Lady on the front with a rosary. This book purports to be the collected visions or experiences or apparitions that Mary Ann van Hoof of Necedah, WI had back in the 1940s. The diocese of La Crosse ordered that the associated "Marian shrine" be shut down, but it is still in business, and people do visit, and the books are still printed. The bishop of the diocese saying that the visions were false is good enough for me. Many of the visions are really quite wild, such as Mary warning Americans against the pharmaceutical industry or the trade unions or calling Jews by bad names or speaking against ethnic "mongrelization".

[@femaleKCRoyalsFan]

Big pharma is bad...but Mary doesn't need to tell me that.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Wow- sounds like a good one to avoid. Thanks for the heads up!

[@mysteryoffaith3999]

The absolute best thing to find in any book is an imprimatur. However that tends to be more prayer books rather than the suggestions of types of books in this video.

[@Kjt853]

Off topic, I know, because this video focuses on fake Catholic books, but I’d like to recommend an authentic author whose books *should* be part of every Catholic library - Dom Anscar Vonier, a Benedictine abbot who died in 1938. He was an extraordinary, orthodox Catholic writer whose books deserve far better recognition than they currently receive. He was able to take even the most abstract theological ideas and explain them in a way that any serious Catholic reader would be able to understand. I can’t recommend him highly enough.

[@anthonypuccetti8779]

Thanks

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thanks for the recommendation- we will check him out!

[@debbieramsey8933]

Superlative presentation! Much needed- I wish all parishes did this.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you, Debbie! We appreciate your kind words :)

[@SurrenderNovena]

Thank you! This was very helpful and informative. Ave Maria! 🙏🌹

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Of course! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@veryhappy2681]

Wow ! Thank you your amazing!! I never knew!

[@Paul9443]

This is an extremely good topic to be aware! Great insight , I didn't know about "nihil obstat" and "imprimatur" , thank you! Also may I add , while I was exploring books for future purchases , I discovered that some study Bibles are not faithful and more "critical"/ anti-christian politics. God bless!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We're glad the video was helpful for you. God bless!

[@mfowler342]

There are various publishing houses you have to look for. Paulist Press, for example has put out some very weird Catholic stuff amid the good. Stick with the good houses like Ignatius. Any secular publisher is questionable. Like Scripture says, we must test everything and retain what is good.

[@alyssawatson9290]

The problem with the imprimatur is it is designed for Nonfiction books. Nil obstat covers fiction but if your priest is not educated in literary analysis they may not be able to critically analyze a catholic fiction work. It trully is a specialized skill set. If you have ever wondered what the point of a an english lit degree is-- this is it actually. Catholics need a person who is educated in both theology and literary analysis

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We would love to have an expert in both theology and literary analysis help us out at our library. That would so wonderful! Lol- could be a good consulting job for someone :)

[@arleencurry]

Thank you for this information.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Glad it was helpful, Arleen. We hope the New Year is going well for you. God bless!

[@donnaespiritu5920]

Thank you for creating this helpful video. We're about to embark on such a project at church.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- we will pray for you as you tackle this important work. Please pray for us as well!

[@angelalong6740]

Verry informative. There are a few books I better alert our Catholic Bookstore owner of. He's screening books for what to sale and what not to. Thank you.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Angela- Susan Brinkmann at EWTN is a wealth of information on this topic. Her blog would be a great resource for him. In a short video we did not have time to get into some other books we would have liked to address. Sarah Young's Jesus Calling books are not Catholic, but they are popular devotionals. We were shocked to learn that there were so many complaints about New Age references in the early editions that the publisher completely revamped them. Another one to watch out for!

[@MargaretUIUC]

@@catholicmomanddaughter I just checked out her blog site, and it is so comprehensive! I bookmarked it for further reading and reference. Thanks for recommending it!

[@brotherandrew3393]

For me the greatest problem is that people are not properly educated to be able to judge the content of a book by themselves.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- that is definitely a problem. We are all at different levels of knowledge/catechesis. Definitely we need the grace and wisdom of the Holy Spirit as we try to navigate all the books out there.

[@irenelathrop8062]

The BEST way to determine if a book is published by a Catholic press if by looking for the the NIHIL OBSTAT and IMPRIMATUR by a Catholic Cleric. Near the front of the bookI was taught this in High School and later impressed upon us as instructors of Catholic doctrine.

[@janicewilliams2922]

That might have been true years ago, I not so sure it can be trusted today!!!!

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

That seems useful to know, if it’s still in force.

[@corinnecavanagh3047]

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are no longer required for Catholic books except when a book is to be used for catechetical purposes (such as a religious education program). So the lack of one is not necessarily an indication that anything is wrong with the book.

[@marymonroe7042]

I had been given the Catholic Chicken Soup book by someone who was clearing out their bookshelves a long time ago. I had maybe read one story out of it. Thank you for the heads up. I will share this on my fb page. God bless you! Now, a new subscriber to your channel.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I'm so glad the video was helpful for you :) The Chicken Soup books were very popular for so long; we had no idea here about the new age roots here until we started looking at all our library books more closely. Who knew? Thanks for sharing and subscribing!

[@marymonroe7042]

@@catholicmomanddaughter ♥️😊

[@gennarocirillo9608]

Wonderful video, loved it. Thank you for your work ! Keep it up !

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words!

[@clairet5636]

I think I accidentally bought a fake Catholic book at the used book sale at my Catholic college. (The library gets many book donations, and what they don't keep they sell for $1). It was called "Care of the Soul" by Thomas Moore (not the St., I came to realize, and the wrong spelling anyway) and was an old style bound book. But when I opened it it said something about drinking hot tea and taking a bath. So I guess it was "self-care" not Catholic spirituality. Lol!

[@Paule_LMS]

Haha. St. Thomas Aquinas recommended taking long hot baths. A bubble bath is my favourite place to read in the winter when I cannot enjoy the garden. Certainly, self-care is not something that Catholics need to avoid. We must be healthy to have the strength to care for others. But yes, a lot of self-care books take inspiration from Eastern or New Age spirituality. So I understand completely what you mean. We have to be cautious.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- that is a good way to put it!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Well, on the upside, at least the book did not have you sitting at your computer waiting for your angels to type out a message for you, lol. But still, it sounds like it was not quite what you were expecting. We've also been there and had that happen :)

[@maryandersen4020]

I manage a media center for my parish, too. Anything dealing with faith or morals MUST have an imprimatur or nihil obstat. That's canon law. I did not know of any problems with Janice Connell or the Chicken Soup series. Thanks for the tips! I am also very wary of Protestant-based fiction for throwing in false doctrines. One final tip: any publication that claims Mary was an unwed mother goes straight to the trash.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

That is a good tip! Thank you!

[@JohnParks-zc1pn]

The fact that a book does not have nihil obstat or imprimatur does not necessarily mean it is immoral. It may mean the author did not want to go through the rigamarole of getting it.

[@juliab826]

Great video! A while ago I found a book in the clearance section called Reluctant Saint: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto. I was excited to read about St Francis, but within the first chapter I knew something was off. The author seemed to not understand the terms he was using, and made some comment about how awful life was for women because they didn't have contraceptives yet. I decided to Google the author, and while he had a Catholic education, he turned out to be an openly gay man who mostly wrote about movie stars, and had also published a book called "The Hidden Jesus", which makes a number of heretical claims, denying the virgin birth, etc. Only book I have ever thrown in the garbage instead of donating!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thanks for this heads up! It sounds like there are definitely better choices out there for St. Francis biographies. It is always hard when a book you have high hopes for turns out to be so disappointing.... we've definitely been there!

[@mercedesaschenbrenner9352]

I wish my parish librarian was that careful with the books in the our library. Thank you for the tips so I can do the screening myself. 🙏🌷

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

You are very welcome! Happy reading and God bless :)

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

The best thing to do is see if you can get yourself in as a volunteer, and then recruit like-minded friends. It’s a friendly, quiet coup d’etat

[@kevinerose]

2:50 Angels Speak - It is important to note that the topic of this book has become a growing trend for women of the Protestant faith. I believe the main author of this heresy has recently died in 2023. I don't recall her name, but she has been promoting 'channeling' of spirits through journaling where angles or even God Himself would 'reveal' secrets to whoever does this journaling technique. She has written many books over the decades promoting this heresy. Most Protestant men don't even know about it but seems to be very popular with women. This book you have seems to be along the same heresy that was started by this other author. This seems to be a new way to promote eastern spiritualism ideas into the church.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

All involved definitely need our prayers.

[@ellieplantagenet9121]

It sounds like warmed over automatic writing from 19th Century Spiritualism.

[@federicobiondi431]

my biggest (and saddest) surprise was to find out a lot of catholic Bibles have notes and introductions that clearly contraddicts what the Church Fathers said, I'd suggest books by Francesco Spadafora, a well know italian biblist and a true catholic

[@MrBillBronx]

The very popular St. Joseph edition of the Bible has footnotes that are skeptical about the truth of Scripture.

[@federicobiondi431]

@@MrBillBronx never heared of it but the Jerusalem Bible is like this too

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

​@MrBillBronx More info please? The St Joseph edition is just a particular publisher's edition of the New American Bible, and to print the NAB, even the footnotes are copyrighted and must be included as is. So the problem would be with the NAB (which is the US bishop's promulgated translation, disappointingly) rather than the St Joseph edition's publisher

[@Catherine-1968]

Bless you for sharing this!!

[@lizmonard]

The warning, Christine Watkins.. The book of truth.. Maria Divine Mercy aka Mary Carberry ..

[@Cationna]

First step is always looking for imprimatur. If it's there, it's definitely Catholic. If not, it might still be, but you have to do more research.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Well said!

[@jjwurtz]

Good info thanks.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching :)

[@davidlam6702]

Just found this channel. just subscribed

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We're so glad you found us! We hope you find our videos helpful. God bless!

[@mailabautista603]

I usually look for the nihil obstat and imprimatur.

[@merseabless8305]

Thank you so much for this information. Excellent review on fake catholic books that confuse Catholics that are ignorant of their faith.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We are learning all the time here- there are so many books, so many authors. It's a work in progress!

[@_Pia12]

Important video ❤

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you

[@auntyfluffy]

As a fairly recent returnee Home, love that you're doing this, I need help navigating. The only author I recognized is M. Williams, I found that ironic since I knew her work from before my conversion lol!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Lol- I think we all need help navigating. It is so good that we can help each other :)

[@hglundahl]

7:42 Ouch! Couch potatoes beware! Maybe could have been a warning to me, I would remain in or easily fall back into mortal sin, unless I exercise, but I don't think it applies to each couch potato (of which I am the chief).

[@jayconvo]

Thank you 🙏🌟

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Any time! Thanks for watching :)

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

One tip I would add: know your publishers. If it’s published by catholic answers, Sophia press, or ignatius press, Emmaeus Road, you won’t have to give them more attention than whether or not it’s in good condition! I’m personally a little iffy on TAN publications and Ave Maria Press, so I’ll usually give the book a cursory once over. If it’s a secular publisher, it almost always gets more scrutiny.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you for this good advice. I have also found that Ave Maria Press can at times be a little iffy. Glad to know I am not the only one who has thought so. Last year I read one of their devotionals about the Psalms and found the wording a little off.

[@owlobsidian6965]

What about TAN is concerning?

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

@@owlobsidian6965 I think my issue with TAN in general is that their older stuff is generally orthodox but irrelevant, and a lot of their newer stuff is, oh, for a lack of a better word, flighty? So it’s not so much a question of their orthodoxy, but more a question of value added. It really could just be my own perspective, and it’s partly from the perspective of a fellow church library volunteer (limited space and resources) so take that for what it’s worth. But it has been a while since I’ve given them a good look, (as they seemed to be in a slump for a while) maybe they’ve upped their game?

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Ave Maria Press is often mistakenly thought to be associated with Ave Maria University, and so a lot of people just end up trusting their content for that reason. They’re not affiliated. I *think* AMP is associated with St. Mary College in south bend, but I’d have to double check on that.

[@maillemacanaugh1841]

@@catholicmomanddaughter ohhhh! And one of the funniest experiences we have as our church library volunteers are the “Christian romance” books that get donated! We do have some literature (CS Lewis, Michael obrien, Tolkien. and Chesterton, for example), but we just feel so squishy and get a good laugh out of thinking of a section of romance in the church library. They get donated to the local used bookshop.

[@Elijahjmj]

Hi I just want you to talk about certain catholic channels that may not be fake, but do definitely frighten people or mislead

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I hear you, but that's a tough one. Books are something I know well and can comment on- and then only after researching them the best I can (and not always perfectly despite my best efforts). For the sake of charity, I will stick to them.

[@thehussarsjacobitess85]

I love your fortitude! People who accept correction graciously as you did are just too few.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I am definitely grateful when I can learn something new, even if the process can be a little painful at times. It is excellent for my humility!

[@pca1987]

This is pretty useful, actually.

[@Wanda-x1w]

It is important that we stay in line to the teachings of the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God. When we approach the Holy Spirit with an open heart to study the Word, the Holy Spirit will open our minds and our hearts. This is why I read the Bible and if I read any other books I make sure they give all glory and praise only to the Lord for He is and should be our only Lord and Saviour. God Bless

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Amen.

[@johnzielinski9951]

There are a number of biblical passages that contradict Catholic theology, Should the Bible be banned from your library?

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

​@@johnzielinski9951 no, there are not. Catholic theology lines up with Scripture perfectly, even if you do not believe that.

[@johnzielinski9951]

@@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal There are numerous passages that describe Jesus' brothers and sisters, and those words are not used metaphorically. The context and wording always make it clear that scripture is referring to his biological siblings. Therefore Mary was not a virgin forever.

[@michaelmicek]

​@@johnzielinski9951How so? A traditional solution to the problem is that Joseph was a widower, so any "brothers" who weren't more distant relatives were half brothers by adoption. I don't know that you have to resort to that, though. In any case, the claim that Church doctrine lines up perfectly with Scripture is irrefutable because the Church is the authoritative interpreter; the Bible means what the Church says it means.

[@lissyniña]

Thanks so much this is a great resource! Marianne Williamson! Eewwww! She started something called A Course in Miracles, very occult! Lot of Catholics into this unfortunately. A lot of Catholics also into the Enneagram I would pull that too, I've also heard a lot of questionable stuff about Richard Rohr. With material on the Blessed mother, anything by Mark Miravalle is good, he is an expert on our Blessed Mother and he is a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

[@user-bv4sj2gq7g]

Yes! Her course was offered in the Unitarian church too. Definitely not good Catholic reading.

[@panoramicLight]

Marianne Williamson.....sweetness and falsehood.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Richard Rohr is also problematic for us. We have pulled his books based on this (and other) articles: www.catholic.com/qa/a-primer-on-richard-rohr

[@AnthonyHeaton-ih6rk]

Very wise.@@catholicmomanddaughter

[@AmberLee-ge7eh]

I was disheartened recently when I went in to my local Catholic gift shop and discovered an entire section devoted to the Jesus Calling books.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- we have read that the earlier editions had many new age and occult references and had to be revised by the publisher due to so many complaints. It is possible the gift shop employees just don't know this.

[@christiethomas6905]

Good to know! My daughter was gifted this book.

[@hglundahl]

3:09 Yeah, twelve legions of angels is more like for Our Lord or Our Lady or the Church Universal, not for an individual Catholic.

[@AnnacolleenEtters]

Thank you, and God Bless you for creating this video. One has to be particularly careful these days, as it is easy to be led astray.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

You are very welcome. We are definitely trying to keep our library here on the right track!

[@michellenelson11]

I first read that as "How to Spot a Fake Catholic." 😂 I was thinking what happened to Jennifer? Someone hacked her account. Thank you for the heads up on fake Catholic BOOKS.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Lol, Michelle- that is too funny!

[@riseandrosary]

Thank you! Can you make a video of how to spot a fake Miraculous medal? Or how to spot counterfeit Catholic items/rosaries/etc?

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- we have heard rumors about both of these, but have never seen one in person. It would make an intriguing video!

[@catherinepatterson4720]

Happy new year Jennifer. It’s been a while since I’ve commented. This was a very interesting and eye opening video. I first came across Anthony De Mello (Jesuit Priest) on a retreat in the late 90’s presented by two Catholic nuns. I must say I do remember it was an excellent retreat. I also recall they incorporated the (Buddhist) concept mindfulness into the retreat from the book Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (which I have to admit I did buy at the time, though no longer own). I must say the book did help me to be mindful and rush less when washing the dishes. I bought Anthony De Mello’s book Awareness and later down the track the book Well Springs (both of which I still own). It makes me wonder if there’s an Eastern religion influence with Anthony De Mello books and teachings. I don’t know enough about the Eastern Religions to say if he was influenced or not by them. Out of curiosity I’m going to look further into Anthony De Mello and Cardinal Ratzinger's decision. It goes to show that we even have to be careful of what priests and nuns tell us when it comes to the Catholic religion and faith. Thank you for showing the evidence you did. Thank you also for another insightful video. Hope 2024 is a wonderful year for you, Kate and your family 🙏🏻

[@Paule_LMS]

As a generalization, the Jesuit order is to be avoided. They suffer from indifferentism, universalism, syncretism, and moderism.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

It's always great to hear from you, Catherine! Yes, Anthony De Mello was influenced by Eastern religions according what we have read (we have the article links for you in our description box). You make an excellent point on how careful we have to be, and even then, sometimes we still make mistakes or wish we would have known more after the fact. I try to keep on learning here as much as I can. It has been a very humbling journey for me, definitely!

[@catherinepatterson4720]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Thank you kindly Jennifer for your understanding reply and for providing the link. I’ll have a read. I suppose we are all on a learning journey, even those who’ve given themselves to Christ. In my regular job, I look back and look at the errors I made, but if I’d known what I now know I wouldn’t have done what I did. I learned (well hopefully) from these mistakes. I may be making other unknown mistakes to this day, which I may not be aware of for another five years. As a perfectionist this is hard for me to accept. I suppose that’s why we not only need to ask God for forgiveness for ours errors, but we have to forgive ourselves for not being perfect in following the Catholic doctrine or doing our job perfectly even after a 110% effort has been given. Anyway, I’ll leave the topic here, but appreciated you bringing the contents of your video to our attention. It was thought provoking😊

[@rachaelarnold9240]

Great advice ! Thanks !

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Our pleasure!

[@NavigatingOurFaith]

Good stuff!

[@aisthpaoitht]

Thanks! I'm going to check out some of these books lol

[@christopherfleming7505]

Great video. Here in every book store I go to, in the "catholic" section there are books by Hans Küng, a former priest. He was banned from teaching in the catholic university for his heterodox ideas. For some reason he became really popular, but it's better to stay away from his writings. He tries to argue that most catholic doctrine is merely a misunderstanding of the original Gospel message. He's really some sort of hippy protestant pretending to be catholic.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thanks for this heads up; we will be on the watch for any of his books. So far we have not had any of them come through our library, but we do get many donations, so you never know.

[@pian0bs3ss3d]

Kung is a modernist

[@chiara1194]

What about “Jesus Calling,” “The Ragamuffin Gospel” or any book by McBrien or James Martin?

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- there are quite a few problematic authors out there. We removed the Jesus Calling books from the library based on what we read about the author's new age tendencies. We have not come across any of the McBrien books- thanks for the heads up about those!

[@fultoneth9869]

Brilliant woman. Call a spade by its name.

[@poetmaggie1]

I will suggest that Amizon is not too good at deciding who is a real Catholic Author or what is Catholic content, from my own experiences, it is a place to check but with caution. Your presentation was very good for me.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- the reviews there definitely factor in, but they are not the final word for us. We always try to check multiple sources and get other opinions

[@teehan3130]

Thank you.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

You're welcome! Hope it was helpful :)

[@mpasaa]

Interesting channel....good info to know. Thankfully, I usually only buy books recommended by EWTN bookmark or from my various Catholic newsletters or ones I know but you never know right ;-)

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

So true! You just never know....

[@johnaguila72]

There are some other books written by clergy that practice new age or are not faithful to catholic teaching. You should post those as well.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- there are definitely many books that are labeled as Catholic (or books your Catholic library might have that aren't really Catholic at all) that have major problems with doctrine and theology. Maybe in the future I will do a part 2!

[@hglundahl]

9:57 Great. I suggest you add some by Ken Ham and Jonathan Sarfati. Wonderful creation scientists, just be careful you don't pick one which endorses the Reformation (sorry, I know it's really with a D, but so many spell it with an R), which unfortunately they sometimes do!

[@Burt1038]

Lol although I never read any of her books, I could've told you the one by Marianne Williamson was going to be no good. She ran for US president in 2020 and her views on spirituality are...strange...to put it mildly. I did look her up just now and she is a Unitarian, which explains it pretty well.

[@taximartha]

This video was so helpful! We just found a copy of Mary's Message to the World in our parish library. Yikes! I think you mentioned a list of authors to avoid that is available on the EWTN website, but we're having trouble finding it. Would you mind sharing the link if such a list exists? Thanks so much!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- I am so glad the video was helpful for you! If you look in the description box of the video, there are several links that will take you to the articles about problem authors. They are scattered in different places on EWTN and Women of Grace. Hope that helps- good luck with your library😁

[@taximartha]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Thank you!

[@marianoapuya5664]

You are calling these books "fake catholic books". I think they are just merely crazy. I have great sympathy for your work. It is hard enough to get good catholic books let alone get trapped by crazy ones.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

It can be strangely difficult and time consuming to get to the heart of some books. I think crazy is the right word!

[@RedRiverMan]

This is interesting. Short of the pope and/or a group of bishops condemn a book based on doctrine or faith errors it is a tricky thing to individually condemn an author just because of some ideas that don't sit right or that we don't immediately understand. Galileo, a devout Catholic had his writings suppressed by the magisterium; now thankfully we know better. St. Joan of Arc, Athanasius and Columba had either their writings or their stories banned by some arm of the church. Now we treasure them. The Nihil Obstat is one of the best way to go but also knowing the authors and their lives. The Church grows and evolves in the way we understand revealed eternal truth.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Yes- we have to use both charity and caution, especially if the author is a priest in good standing with the Church. We try at our library to gather information in a variety of ways and seek the counsel of our clergy as well. Thank you for your thoughts!

[@MtHa-yu2sf]

Hi there. Interesting topic . Can you please recommend a good Catholic publisher ?

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

We especially like Ascension, TAN, and Sophia Institute Press, but there are many other good ones.

[@user-bv4sj2gq7g]

Ignatius press and Baronius press are also good.

[@MtHa-yu2sf]

@@catholicmomanddaughter thank you!

[@MtHa-yu2sf]

@@user-bv4sj2gq7g thank you!

[@chirpyfernandes9866]

Thank you for your recommendation, they're very useful tips. I'm curious on how do Catholics deal with Catholic books/Catholic authors such as Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez - He is the Head of Vatican's Doctrine of the Faith, but he wrote stuff that's probably not very allign with Catholic values / moral teaching by writing “The Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality," and " Heal Me With Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing." Those books are very scandalous.

[@delvingeorge2807]

He himself stoped the publication because how it could be scandalous. Pope knew about it. Cardinal Fernandez was asked about it and spoke about it in detail and mentioned works of St. John Paul II and St. Hildagard's that too might seem Scandalous without proper guidance.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you; well said

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

In addition to delvingeorge2807's comment, I have recently read the Cardinal's remarks that he would not write books like that now. We all have probably said and done things we regret, sometimes deeply. So we will continue to pray for him and for everyone involved.

[@10marina316]

Thank you for this. I sometimes forget about the wolf in sheeps clothing. The spiritual battle is so real.

[@thatemilygirl33]

I bought a fake Catholic book, a coffee table book on Catholic art but the writing is not reverent. It’s worth it to slow down when selecting a book

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I'm so sorry that happened! It is always hugely disappointing to buy a book and then find out it was not what you thought. Slowing down is great advice!

[@memieyu3195]

Just look for the “imprimatur” in the front of the book. In the Catholic Church an imprimatur is an official declaration by a Church authority that a printed work may be published; it is usually only granted to books on religious topics that are written from a Catholic perspective. Approval is given in line with canons 822 to 832 of the Code of Canon Law. The imprimatur is normally preceded by a favourable declaration (or nihil obstat) by a person who has the orthodoxy and prudence necessary for passing a judgement about anything they find in the work that would harm correct faith or good morals.

[@Montfortracing]

There are still a lot of very good Catholic books that don't have the imprimatur. Just look at the history books by Ignatius Press. The key is knowing how to discern which books are Catholic and are providing good Catholic thought and sensibilities.

[@hglundahl]

10:13 A nihil obstat, to the best of my knowledge, can be issued by a priest, perhaps even by a delegated layman, on behalf of the diocese. But an imprimatur or an imprimi postest are signed by the bishop. The difference is, "imprimatur" means the ones printing are obeying an order. "Imprimi potest" means, it's their initiative, but the bishop is totally greenlighting it.

[@sawsanmin8249]

Chuch- We do to Baptist church idea. God bless to you. and all.

[@LovedbyJesus23]

Great tips!❤

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you- hope they are helpful!

[@hglundahl]

6:36 I suppose The Glories of Mary are OK reading. You _have_ heard of St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori?

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

Of course The Glories of Mary is ok. What's that got to do with the book she's referring to at that time stamp?

[@hglundahl]

Just noting that I did not get my Mariology from the book she held, but more from ... Glories of Mary. Some guys seem to imagine I get my Catholic info from the weirdest sources and that basically exclusively.

[@Navygrl58]

How about Bibles? Good grief, there are so many variations out now that when my CCD students, who are required to bring in a Bible, come with these different versions I don’t know how to decipher whether they’re Catholic or not.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- there is a quick way to tell if your Bible is Catholic. Check in front for the Imprimatur and the Nihil Obstat. A Protestant Bible will not have these. I also have my students check for the book of Maccabees ( I and II) in the table of contents as an alternate screening tool. Lol- it is not so easy to remember Latin terms, but they can usually remember Big Mac. Again, a nonCatholic Bible will not have those. Hope that helps!

[@Navygrl58]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Thank you so much!

[@CCisRight]

Did I miss the links to EWTN and Catholic Answers books lists? I will admit that I was following "Queen of Peace Media" on KZbin for several years until i really thought about their end times obsessions and then promoted Fr. Michel. Thing is, I still like the Consecration to our Lady of Guadalupe. "Mary's Mantle Consecration" I unfollowed them a few years back. Well, I'm off to peruse and possibly edit my own library. Thank you! Edit: i just went back and changed the channel name because I was mistaken. I was thinking of the channel with the 2 Christines, one of which is Christine Watkins.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- there are a few links in the description box if you scroll down a bit. Yes, Fr. Michel Rodrigue is problematic at best, and I recently read this article from Catholic Answers about the Countdown to the Kingdom website: www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-is-countdown-to-the-kingdom. Fr. Michel predicated end time events that would occur in October 2020, including WWIII and the death of Pope Francis. Obviously these never happened, so it does make you wonder about the credibly of Queen of Peace media as a whole. Hmm....

[@clairestevens3194]

I’d like to see you review books by Richard Rohr I’ve looked at one or two of his books and they seemed subtly not Catholic. My sister in law loves his writings but they seem to make her feel comfortable about not returning to the church. She meditates every morning but it doesn’t seem like how Catholics view meditation. Is he a priest in good standing?

[@siennamargeaux8413]

Richard Roth?Or Richard Rohr? Trent Horn of Catholic Answers has a video on his KZbin channel discussing Richard Rohr: "The False Christ of Richard Rohr." I guess that already answers your question. 🙂

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Claire- As far as I know, yes. Richard Rohr is still a priest in good standing in the Church. And, yes- his writing is known to have many dubious aspects. We definitely need to pray for him. There is more information about him here: www.womenofgrace.com/search?term=richard+rohr

[@clairestevens3194]

@@catholicmomanddaughter That is a very good article. I wish it was shareable so I could send it to my sister in law.

[@toomanymarys7355]

....subtly? What is subtle????

[@hglundahl]

3:42 I looked up Paul Wilkes on wikipedia. _"The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed, nonfiction (New York: Ballantine, 1996)"_ Yeah, it's the same exact person. So, I wouldn't read this guy. Except perhaps, to verify whether Catholicism survived in his parish during Vatican II. This one: _"A practicing Catholic for much of his life, Wilkes wrote about epochal changes in the lives of Catholics and the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965. His book, “In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest,” which began as a New Yorker profile, won a Christopher Award in 1990."_

[@just_norma7]

Oh dear, I just bought a book. Has anyone heard of Understanding Catholicism by Hugh Murray? I wish I’d seen this first. Great video and very much needed 🙏🏻😊

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Norma- I have not seen any of his books in person, but maybe another viewer will chime in. I'm glad you enjoyed the video- thanks for watching!

[@jennifercollardwilliams600]

What do you know about Fr. Richard Rohr? I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on him and some of the things I have heard he has written about give me great pause. I tend to steer friends who are non-Catholics wanting to read Catholics away from him. But I haven’t done a ton of research on him, so was curious what you guys knew.

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

Youve come to the correct conclusion. He may say some correct things from time to time but a lot is outright wrong, basically heretical

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Jennifer- yesterday at the church library we came across a copy of his book, The Universal Christ, and I was able to look through it. What I read was definitely confusing (some if it didn't even make much sense to me or seemed so vague I wasn't even sure what he was trying to say). Other parts definitely seemed pretty out there- ex. start with loving rocks and elements before you move on to people and God. I would say there are definitely better choices out there and just to steer clear. I found this about him at Catholic Answers: www.catholic.com/qa/a-primer-on-richard-rohr Hope that helps!

[@CybermanKing]

The first book is *technically* Catholic. I haven’t read it, but Paul Wilkes has other books published by the Paulist Press which is a reputable Catholic publisher.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Interesting! I have not seen any of his other books, but this is good to know. Thank you!

[@IrishAnnie]

I went to get my eyebrows done, waiting in the lobby were “Angel” cards. Demonic I guess the “angel” was the lure to these cards

[@OSB911]

This is a nice start, but Scott Hahn has theological problems, Ignatius Press publishes heresy among good books, and TAN books had a few years where they were letting things slide and some garbage got in. Does the author have an "St." before their name? If not, there is no automatic green light without more research. Any modern writing is an automatic red flag as well.

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

You are accusing some of the best of the best of today's publishing world of heresy.......without any specifics at all. Out of charity it would be best to be more specific or to retract your statement