Contains three Catholic parish histories: St. Mary's, New Salem; Visitation, North Dorr; and the combined parish of St. Mary's Visitation, located in New Salem, Michigan. This tells the story of German Catholic immigrant families who pioneered in Allegan, Kent, and Ottawa Counties of West Michigan. Family stories, a Civil War diary, hundreds of photos, and two music compositions are included.

What it means to be a man or a woman is questioned today like never before. While traditional gender roles have been eroding for decades, now the very categories of male and female are being discarded with reckless abandon. How does one act like a gentleman in such confusing times? The Catholic Gentleman is a solid and practical guide to virtuous manhood. It turns to the timeless wisdom of the Catholic Church to answer the important questions men are currently asking. In short, easy- to-read chapters, the author offers pithy insights on a variety of topics, including • How to know you are an authentic man • Why our bodies matter • The value of tradition • The purpose of courtesy • What real holiness is and how to achieve it • How to deal with failure in the spiritual life

Along the bayous of south Louisiana, with its majestic oak trees draped in Spanish moss, open prairies teeming with wildlife, and lush primeval forest, the Chitimacha lived long before the first white settlers arrived in the Attakapas District around 1746. The newcomers would travel by oxcart and boat along waterways lined in flowering magnolias, pecan trees, and grapevines to establish new homesteads. In April 1811, a territorial act that divided Attakapas County created St. Mary Parish. Sugarcane plantations with idyllic names such as Idlewild and Shady Side were established, and timber, trapping, fishing, and agriculture prospered. Later, oil and gas with its many support industries became part of the rich heritage of south Louisiana. The first settlers endured many hardships: floods, storms, outbreaks of yellow fever, and the challenges of the Civil War. St. Mary Parish has seen its share of changes over the centuries, but the tenacity, resourcefulness, and pride of the people remain as constant and endless as the slowly flowing waters of the bayous to the Gulf of Mexico.

54 Day Spiritual training and Novena