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Thanks to reader Andrew for sharing this with all of us. Is there really any better combination, right now, than a Baronius Press book with a rebinding job done by Leonard's? Enjoy!
If your looking for a classic of Catholic spirituality in the Carmelite tradition look no further than Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D's "Divine Intimacy".
This book has reflections for every day of the liturgical year. Each day's entry has two brief reflections and a prayer to lead one into deeper contemplation. The reflections are very readable and accessible whilst being profound and drenched in Carmelite wisdom.
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Baronius Press has re-released this volume and they have done an excellent job with it. The Baronius edition is very well produced with sewn binding (making it a good candidate for rebinding). The paper is also of a high quality and the fext is printed in a highly readable font.
This book follows the 1962 calendar, but not to fear, it is very easy to use and is completely useable for those who follow the Novus Ordo calendar.
I have used this book for a few years now. In fact, I loved it so much that I bought a new copy and sent it off to Leonard's Book Restoration in Indiana to get the deluxe treatment. I figured that since I will use this book for life it would be worth it. The whole project cost around $190. 
The good people at Leonard's were able to accommodate my request for burgundy end pages and they came up with the great idea of saving the marbled fly leaves that were originally part of the Baronius binding. They replaced the flimsy ribbons that came with the Baronius binding with two high quality silk ribbons (brown and gold). The lettering on the spine was done in gold and stamped into the leather. The font is the standard font that comes with the soft-cover Parson's. .JPG)
I can't recommend this book and Leonard's enough. They are very professional and do top quality work at a reasonable price. Most importantly, the content of this book is truly a pearl of great price that will help any Catholic grow in prayer and deepen his relationship with Christ, His blessed Mother and the saints (especially those of Carmel)! Get it! You won't be sorry! ;) 
22 comments:
I had been considering buying this book for a while. You may have swayed me...
Erica,
If you are looking for a daily devotional, this one is pretty amazing.
THIS has been one of my dream rebinds of late. Way to go!
Erica, I will add more later, but DI is probably the devotionals of all devotionals. The only caveat is that one really needs to already have at least one solid, uninterrupted, 30 minutes of devotional time set aside daily to properly approach the material. And that is a minimum.
You people are dangerous. As if I need more excuses to put another book on my shelf...
Great book to have for sure.. not sure I see the need for such an expensive rebind though!!! Dang!
Erica...
Danger is my middle name.
David, when is there ever a "need" for an expensive rebind? When is there a need to question somebody's choice to honor such an exquisite devotional aid? And how much did you pay for professional sports team playoff tickets last year? (amazing where our priorities are nowadays, eh?)
As I thought, Andrew went with the 17th Century "Parson" Historical Style. http://www.leonardsbooks.com/what-we-can-do/bible-care-pages/leonards-specialty-rebinding-styles/the-17th-century-country-parson-style/
Excellent choice. Bravo on your devotion to the devotion.
Erica, if you need more of a nudge...
"This book of meditations is meant for all priests, seminarians, religious, the devout laity, all who aspire to greater union with God: that is, to divine intimacy."
Pope Saint John XXIII
Stop it! It doesn't help that my dear Patroness Thérèse is a Carmelite. I may become a Third Order Carmelite, since its obvious I'm not Sister material. (I tried, I really did.) Guess I'll be heading to Amazon. Goodness, this blog is not good for me. I've already purchased two loose-leaf NOABs...
Help me, Dearest Jesus... And I so want my copy of the Imitation rebound by Leonard's. You people and your goatskin. I'll be absolved for coveting next.
You're welcome! ;)
Deep South...
Calm down man...sheeeez....
If someone is going to post something like this, they need to expect some raised eye brows. It's only natural.
By 'need' I meant that the book is already bound well so I wasn't sure I understood the expensive rebind. I understand rebinds when a great text block is buried between a cruddy hard cover or lousy bonded leather covers. But the Baronius Divine Itimacy is already bound in a solid leather cover. Follow? Besides, I wrote 'dang' after it! I was obviously having some fun.
As far as sports... How can you out of one side of your face give me static for "questioning someone's choice" while out of the other side of your face you are (wrongly) questioning the purchases of playoff tickets and accusing me of doing so?? And what kind of connection is that anyway?
And for the record... It is the competitive spirit of humankind that has driven us to some of the greatest discoveries. When we don't compete, we slip into complacency and laziness. People are so quick to denounce sports as 'worthless entertainment' when in fact what we see in sports are human beings accomplishing and displaying feats of talent that very, very few human beings can actually do. Do you balk at an orchestra who flawlessly plays the most complicated Mozart pieces as being 'show offs' or 'worthless entertainment'? Or does it make our spirits soar when we hear it? Sports can be viewed the same way - for some, it makes their spirits soar to see human being accomplishing the near impossible on a daily/weekly basis. So don't 'judge' someone else's priorities my friend.
So again, calm down and turn the mirror.
Can I make a recommendation to everyone? Divine Intimacy is a wonderful book. If you're looking for a fantastic daily devotional/meditation book - according to the old calendar like the Baronius edition of Divine Intimacy - and a book that is one-fourth the physical size of Divine Intimacy please look for a copy of Fr. Mathias Goossens, With the Church: Meditations on the Missal and the Breviary, (Leather Bound, 1962). 868 pages WITH AN INDEX! Yes, 868 pages and still much smaller than Divine Intimacy!
YOU WILL THANK ME... unfortunately for all of you I just bought the last copy at Amazon (at least that I found in English). They still have copies in French. This is the fourth copy I have purchased in the last 5 or 6 years.
vladimir998
I think DSR was just trying to make the point that a somewhat expensive rebind isn't any different than any other expensive purchase—it's just where your priorities lie. Some of us want sports tickets, and some of us (me included) fantasize about a library chock-full of leather-covered Christian and secular literary classics. Just leave me in there with my tea and a nice wingback chair...
Erica,
While I understand what you are trying to convey (and I too love nice books), the issue with those kinds of statements is that it was a judgmentally smug statement for DSR to make. It wasn't 'just' about people having different priorities. It was definitely a statement of 'leather bound religious books should be a higher priority than something as worthless as sports'. It's very obvious that that was the point.
I take this personally because sports have been the foundation of a beautiful relationship with my sons. We experience them together - live or on tv - and they are moments I wouldn't trade for anything , even for 'expensive leather bound religious books'. I have coached their teams since they were 4 years old and we have had the deepest conversations in my car doing to and from events. These are memories that will last a lifetime and beyond. When my sons are young men, they will look back and remember the quality time we spent together rallied around sports and won't give a hoot about my leather-bound book collection.
So for me to have shelves lined with leather bound religious books when I could have spent that money on experiences with my sons (including playoff tickets if we wanted or could afford them), I'll take the sports experiences with my sons any day.
So you see... the 'priorities' argument cuts both ways.
Ok, let's re-focus the discussion on this wonderful post that Andrew has shared with us. Thanks.
Hey Tim,
My DEEPEST apologies my friend. You are right. This was not the forum for this and I deeply apologize. This is a touchy subject for me. :( I won't allow that to happen again!
Dave
Erica,
If you get a chance, send me an email: mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com. I have a question for you regarding the Douay from Baronius.
I've created a calendar for those who get confused by the differences between the Novus Ordo calendar and the older calendar that Divine Intimacy follows. It is available at http://divineintimacy.larmour.us/ - enjoy!
Chris,
Thank you for the site you created. I have been there before and indeed it is quite helpful!
I'm a little late to respond….
David, when you originally posted "not sure I see the need for such an expensive rebind though", I'm immediately placed in the same state of mind I find myself when anybody invariably feels the need to provide their negative opinion regarding somebody choosing to rebind a book. Just don't make the the comment.
The choice to rebind a bonded leather devotional book in beautiful leather deserves a "bravo" and not a Debbie Downer-esque "not sure I see the need to for such an expensive rebind though" ("waaa waaaa waaaaaaa" - trombone).
The sporting reference? We are regularly shocked….shocked…..at how people find no problem in spending extreme amounts of money on leisure activities in our wonderful first world America (something I don't necessarily disagree with)……but then those same people reflexively feel compelled to implicitely criticize somebody who chooses to spend $100+ on a lifetime devotional. It is a microcosm of where we are nowadays with our priorities. Sure spend $300+ on a single ticket to watch the gladiators…….but then LAUD…..LAUD…..people who beautify their home with solid religious purchases.
Hello All
I know this thread is a little old but can anyone tell me why the Divine Intimacy Book has two ribbons?
@ Bill. Divine Intimacy needs two ribbons because there is a section in the back of the book for the various immovable feasts of the Church Year.
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