The Price of Truth: Titus Brandsma, Carmelite

by Miguel Arrabas, O.Carm

A biography of Blessed Titus Brandsma who died in the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany in 1942 and is beatified as a martyr for the Catholic faith by St. Pope John Paul II in 1985. As president of the Catholic schools and assistant of the Union of Catholic Journalists in the Netherlands, Brandsma denounced the Nazi’s trampling of human and religious rights with prophetic courage. He defended the Jews, as well as worked tirelessly following the invasion of The Netherlands to maintain educational freedom as well as freedom of the Catholic press. Spoken of as “that dangerous little friar” by the Nazis, he was arrested and, after passing through five jails and concentration camps, was confined at Dachau. He was killed with an injection of carbolic acid on July 26, 1942.

This biography is based on the acts of the process of canonization as well as biographies in various languages. To better understand Brandsma’s spiritual journey, the author visited The Netherlands and Germany, in pilgrimage to the places of birth, life, and death of this “martyr for freedom of expression.”

331 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

> "Titus, citing Pope Pius XI, called the Catholic press arma veritatis (a weapon of truth); he added, “The press is our most powerful arm in our battle for truth.” He thus stated the principles on which he was to stand in the confrontations of 1941-1942. “Should the Catholic press abandon this ideal of being a weapon of truth, its very existence would make no sense either for us journalists, or for the Church. It would become worthless. Its steadfast witness to the truth alone constitutes its power and its glory.”

This was a man who gave his rosary to the woman who would murder him via lethal injection. She later testified about him and that she had "Killed a saint."

[Charles Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a brilliantly written book. However, it barely matters given the subject matter. Titus Brandsma was a true hero of the Second World War. The diminutive and frail priest refused to cooperate with the Nazis when they invaded his homeland. He stood up for Jews and refused to allow Dutch Caholic newspapers to reprint grotesque Nazi lies. He could have simply kept quiet but instead he ended up in Dachau where he was beaten, tortured and finally murdered. Recently Pope Francis declared that Blessed Titus would soon be canonized. With or wihtout the Church he was a great saint.