This is a review of "Butler’s Lives of the Saints on CD-Rom" produced by Harmony Media Inc and available from the Catholic Shopper . I purchased it from the Catholic Shopper on sale for $24.95. I personally feel it is well worth the price.
The CD-ROM includes:
*1 The complete 4 vol set of Butler's Lives of the Saints
*2 Lives of the Saints for Children, a single volume of heroic stories for children, illustrated and interactive
*3 Church History, the role of the saints in church and world history
*4 Wisdom of the Saints, key passages from writings of selected saints
*5 Historical time line
*6 The Saints and Us, selected theology of the importance of the saints in our lives
*7 Liturgical music, Gregorian chants and classical works
*8 Hundreds of hyperlinks, move from Butler's Lives of the Saints to selected writings
*9 Hundreds of color illustrations, enriched with classic paintings.
System requirements
Windows 386 or higher, 4MB RAM, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, SuperVGA
graphics card, monitor with 256 color and CD-ROM drive, sound card and
speakers needed for audio.
Macintosh LCll or higher, 4MB free RAM, system 7.0 or higher, color monitor
with 256 colors, CD-ROM drive
Produced by Harmony Media Inc
PO Box 138
Gervais OR 97026
503-982-7675
Harmony Media Inc has also produced the following CD-ROMs: Illustrated Catholic Bible, Welcome to the Catholic Church, and Light for Our Times (about Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II).
1. The complete 4 vol set of Butler's Lives of the Saints
This section can be accessed in three ways: By calendar date, by Patron Saints, and by Popular Saints. It is very easy to navigate.
Calendar Saints:
Select a month, then a date within that month. For example clicking on November 19th will give you the following choices: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St Pontian (Pope and martyr), and St Barlaam (martyr). When you click on one of these names it takes you to the article on that saint.
Patron Saints:
An Index of Devotions
The index that follows gives an alphabetical list of subjects, countries, places, professions, occupations, conditions medical and social, etc. and of the patron saints, often more than one, usually attached to them. The biographies of the saints, and a note on the background and occasion of their election, is given on the page numbers indicated.
Abandoned children Ivo of Kermartin and Jerome Emiliani
Abdominal pains Erasmus (Elmo)
Abortion, protection against Catherine of Sweden
Academies, Roman Catholic Thomas Aquinas
Accountants Matthew
Popular Saints are arranged in alphabetically order. Clicking on the name takes you to the article on them.
2. Lives of the Saints for Children, a single volume of heroic stories for children, illustrated and interactive
Saints & Heros Speak by Fr. Robert J. Fox. Includes forty-seven saints. All are written in first hand account as though the saint themselves wrote it. Each saint includes discussion questions and suggested actions. This is an example of the Children’s Saints section:
SAINTS & HEROES SPEAK
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
(July 22, 1647 _ Oct. 17, 1690)
Beginning of text on St Margaret Mary:
Over three hundred years ago I was chosen by God to spread devotion in the world to the Sacred Heart of His Son, Jesus Christ. It seemed so difficult to obtain His requests concerning the devotion to His Sacred Heart that when I placed before Him my humble petitions regarding those things that seemed so difficult, I heard these words: "Do you believe that I can do this? If you do believe, you shall behold the omnipotence of My Heart in the magnificence of My Love."
Our Lord told me that if He could have found a more lowly soul to carry out His mission of spreading devotion in the world to the His Sacred Heart, He would have chosen that soul. I never disagreed about my lowliness and my ignorance. All that I knew was that I loved the Heart of My Lord with all my heart and soul.
I was born of honorable parents in the Charolais district of Lower Burgundy, France, on July 22, 1647. I was baptized Margaret three days later. When I received the Sacrament of Confirmation I added Mary to my name.
Beginning of discussion questions:
1. Whom did God choose especially to guide and teach St. Margaret Mary in preparation for her great mission?
2. What relationship did Margaret Mary have to other children as she was growing up?
3. Why do you think heaven chose the Feast of St. John the Apostle in the lives of both St. Margaret Mary in the 17th Century and St. Gertrude in the 13th century to reveal the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
Suggested Actions:
Make the nine First Fridays. Place an image of the Sacred Heart and Christ the King in your home in a prominent place. . Influence a spiritual organization in your parish to start the Pilgrim Virgin program, which leads to family consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Read an entire book on Sacred Heart devotion and share the knowledge with others. Alert others in the community to abuses in pornography, movies, TV, etc., with a view to extending the reign of Christ the King. Take an interest in Right-to-Life groups as the rule of Christ the King is violated by the murder of the unborn. Instruct others in the real meaning of abortion, after you understand it yourself, so that they too will accept the reign of Christ the King in such important areas. e Carry an image of the Sacred Heart, such as a badge, on your person at all times, to remind you of your personal consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Visit and adore the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus in the tabernacle of your parish church. Comfort His wounded Heart, outraged by the sins of mankind.
3. Church History, the role of the saints in church and world history
Very well organized. Covers 50 AD until 1975 AD. Linked to other sections of CD. When clicking on blue texts in saints article it will take you to the corresponding section in Church History.
A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
by Paul Johnson
Contents
Prologue
PART ONE The Rise and Rescue of the Jesus Sect (50 BC-AD 250)
PART TWO From Martyrs to Inquisitors (AD 250-450)
PART THREE Mitred Lords and Crowned Ikons (450-1054)
PART FOUR The Total Society and its Enemies (1054-1500)
PART FIVE The Third Force (1500-1648)
PART SIX Faith, Reason and Unreason (1648-1870)
PART SEVEN Almost Chosen Peoples (1500-1910)
PART EIGHT The Nadir of Triumphalism (1870-1975)
Epilogue
Select Bibliography
4. Wisdom of the Saints, key passages from writings of selected saints
Arranged under "Meditations with the Saints" and "Daily Counsel". Meditations is arranged under 80 topics such as Purgatory, On Anger, and On the Will of God. Clicking on one of these topics will take you to an article that contains different Saints writings on that subject. Again there are blue texts that are links either to the Church History or Saints articles sections. Daily counsel is set up on the calendar. Select a month, than a date. Clicking on the date brings up a small text box with a Saints writing for that day. Using November 19th as an example you would find: "It avails nothing to subdue the body, if the mind allows itself to be controlled by anger. - St Gregory the Great". The saint’s name is in blue text. Clicking on it will take you to the article about him or her.
5. Historical time line
Covers 14 AD until 1974 AD. List events in political, date and Religious columns. Very easy to follow and understand. The example is the very beginning of the Time Line:
CHRONOLOGY OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS
Political Date Religious
Death of Augustus. Tiberius emperor 14
(Julio-Claudian dynasty, 14-68).
Pilate procurator of Judea.
27-9 Preaching of John the Baptist
c. 30 Death and resurrection of Christ
Pontius Pilate leaves Judea 36
36-7 Martyrdom of Stephen
6. The Saints and Us, selected theology of the importance of the saints in our lives
This takes you to the Section of Butler's Lives of the Saints where you could access information by "Popular Saints" or "Patron Saints".
7. Liturgical music, Gregorian chants and classical works
There is some music scattered through the CD, mostly at the title pages of sections. There is not constant music. The music that is there is very nice and sounds wonderful. It is just not as much music as I had hoped.
8. Hundreds of hyperlinks, move from Butler's Lives of the Saints to selected writings
The hyperlinks in this CD are incredible. My husband referred to it as "browser technology". The entire Cd is very easy to navigate. The Help is very well done and easy to follow. There is section entitled "Getting Started" on the title page which introduces the Help and how to navigate the CD. It is very helpful and again very easy to understand.
The index feature is extremely useful. It is a button at the top of the screen. You can search three different indexes: Church History, Butlers Lives of Saints or Children’s Saints. The index is alphabetical. When you find the listing you wanted , simply click OK and you will go to that article or section. This is really a simple CD to use and navigate. The search feature is also very good.
"The spelling of some saint names may not correlate with their name in the calendar. This is because the spellings in the stories are from the original text." The only bug I have found thus far is when you select the link to discussion questions or suggested actions for St Margaret Mary Alacoque you end up at the corresponding section for the Venerable Jacinto Marto. It is still possible to reach the discussion and action section for St Margaret mary using the index feature. So it is not really a huge bug or problem.
9. Hundreds of color illustrations, enriched with classic paintings.
The illustrations are beautiful. The ones included within the Saints sections are really incredible. For example in the Children’s section for Blessed Kateri, there is a photograph of a statue of her that is beautiful. In Butler's Lives of the Saints sections that article on St Leo the Great has a beautiful painting of him that has a Byzantine flavor. The artwork is really top notch.