Torches Against the Abyss: The Complete Essays of Rev. John A. Perricone

by John Perricone

In an age of confusion, one priest lights the way. In this thunderous collection of essays penned between 1996 and 2025, Rev. John A. Perricone, Ph.D. confronts the spiritual collapse of our times with razor-sharp prose and an unwavering fidelity to Catholic tradition. Father Perricone challenges the fashionable heresies of modernity, dismantles sentimental distortions of truth and love, and rekindles the brilliance shed upon the world by saints, philosophers, and martyrs. Whether taking aim at the cult of the “inner god,” the rise of “recreational Catholicism,” or the eclipse of Thomistic wisdom, these writings are both a battle cry and a balm, awakening slumbering souls and summoning the faithful to heroic fidelity. This is not a book for the faint of heart; it is a torch raised aloft for those willing to see and to fight.

594 pages, Paperback

Published September 4, 2025

Reviews

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This marvellous collection of articles by the inimitable Catholic priest and academic Fr John Perricone, of New Jersey, USA, is a rallying cry for all the faithful to take their faith seriously and become, as the title suggests, ‘torches against the abyss’ that is the modern secular world.

Covering everything from the importance of preserving Catholic traditions such as the Latin Mass and receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the proper way (on the tongue, with due reverence), to the perils of the church adopting modernist policies and modes of worship, Perricone is a fierce warrior cleric for the church, albeit sadly a rarity for his generation: something he’s talked about at length in various interviews including recently on Pints with Aquinas with podcaster Matt Fradd.

While this book is certainly geared towards an American audience with its dedication to their legendary bishop Blessed Fulton Sheen and many references to people and events in the US, which was at times hard for me to follow as someone not from that country, I would also like to put it in the hands of any Catholic across the world who’s stuck in a rut and needs some inspiration, a wake-up call, a shot in the arm. Ultimately there’s a lot of that here and a lot to enjoy.