Torches Against the Abyss

N.B.: Paperback editions will ship circa September 25, with hardcover editions following circa October 1. eBooks are available for immediate download.

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.

“I commend to the faithful Fr. Perricone’s collected essays, which speak with a clarity and forthrightness so urgently required in our times, reminiscent of the voice of the Fathers in their unwavering fidelity to the deposit of faith. In an age that witnesses the eclipse of perennial truths, Fr. Perricone stands as a steadfast herald of Christ’s immutable doctrine and the luminous beauty of Sacred Tradition.” —✠Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Mary in Astana

“Father John A. Perricone is an international Roman Catholic treasure. Only a few contemporary scholar-priests have defended the teachings of Holy Mother Church with such total fidelity, tactical brilliance, and warm wit. Encyclopedic in its scope, fearless in its embrace of truth, and satisfying of the reader’s thirst for understanding, Torches Against the Abyss is his masterpiece.” —Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, NY Times best-selling author, TV commentator, host of Judging Freedom Podcast

“In Torches Against the Abyss, Fr. Perricone weaves history, theology, and lived experience into a powerful testament of hope. He confronts the cultural void of our times with the eternal truths of the Catholic religion, illuminating a path forward. If you have ever heard his speaking voice, you can almost hear him preaching the words off the page!” —Steve Cunningham, Sensus Fidelium

“Fr. John Perricone is a thinker unlike any other in our times: precise, penetrating, and pugilistic. He has a singular knack for diagnosing what our troubles are, while never failing to prescribe the exact remedy. Take, read, and see why Fr. Perricone is among today’s foremost Christian apologists.” —Pieter Vree, editor, New Oxford Review

“The words (rightly or wrongly) attributed to Tertullian may rightly be attributed to Father Perricone: ‘Hope is patience with the lamp lit.’ These essays are a light in the darkness, or, better said, a reflection of the Light Who is Christ, Who cannot be defeated by this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12).” —Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J., host of The Catholic Current and author of Christendom Lost and Found

“Fr. John Perricone is one of the most gifted Catholic essayists of our time. His writing is faithful to the Church, strikingly relevant, and expressed with luminous force. Torches Against the Abyss is not just a collection of essays, it’s a rallying cry for the Church on earth and for all who long to see her shine with the light of Christ.” —Mark Lambert, Catholic Unscripted