Book suggestions for my faithless father

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So I feel very strongly that I need to get my father a book from our local Catholic bookstore for Christmas. Any advice?

Here’s what he’s like… cradle Catholic who’s recently been having faith troubles, and has stopped going to mass (went after much coaxing when I sang recently). But the other night after dinner I was reading from our advent book and he kept shoveling food in his mouth and never looking up, sort of like a little kid who doesn’t want to listen, and at the end I put a lot of emphasis on the part about conversion and trusting in God, and then after my mom and sister and I talked about it, re-emphasizing those points, and he sort of stormed off saying he’s worried about our sanity and minds. BTW he’s also not much of a reader, so it would have to be interesting.

I saw so many books, one about coming home to the Church, one about deliverance, one about marriage… I’m lost :confused: Any suggestions?
 
I would recommend Patrick Madrid’s Surprised by the Truth books. I think he has at least 2 out… Talks about conversion and reconversion stories from different people. Entertaining and inspirational. They tell their stories and what made them come back to the Church.
 
I don’t think you could go wrong with “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis. It helped open my eyes.
 
Nagging him–and what you described at dinner is nothing but nagging in fancy dress–will accomplish nothing.

This includes giving a book to a non-reader.
 
Get him a Sirius Satellite Radio for Christmas - and then suggest he listen to Lino At Large in the afternoons. That will get him hooked on Catholic radio
 
ljubim said:
So I feel very strongly that I need to get my father a book from our local Catholic bookstore for Christmas. Any advice?

Here’s what he’s like… cradle Catholic who’s recently been having faith troubles, and has stopped going to mass (went after much coaxing when I sang recently). But the other night after dinner I was reading from our advent book and he kept shoveling food in his mouth and never looking up, sort of like a little kid who doesn’t want to listen, and at the end I put a lot of emphasis on the part about conversion and trusting in God, and then after my mom and sister and I talked about it, re-emphasizing those points, and he sort of stormed off saying he’s worried about our sanity and minds. BTW he’s also not much of a reader, so it would have to be interesting.

I saw so many books, one about coming home to the Church, one about deliverance, one about marriage… I’m lost :confused: Any suggestions?
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catholicfreeshipping.com/Products/cfs_gensym-154.html
angelfire.com/ca3/rafaelmarie/ThePieta/athepieta.html
 
bpbasilphx said:
Nagging him–and what you described at dinner is nothing but nagging in fancy dress–will accomplish nothing.

This includes giving a book to a non-reader.
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I’ve got to say I agree with this.

Sometimes the best way that we can perceive God is through his reflection in the lives of others. This is why the saints really help bring us closer to God. Keeping that in mind, I would say to follow the advice of St Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words.”
 
A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn, $13.99
First Comes Love by Scott Hahn, $11.95
or
Understanding Scripture by Scott Hahn, $45.
HOWEVER, this last one is full of color and charts and is a textbook. It is one of the most beautiful, incredible books I’ve ever seen.
 
bpbasilphx said:
Nagging him–and what you described at dinner is nothing but nagging in fancy dress–will accomplish nothing.

This includes giving a book to a non-reader.
Click to expand...
The problem is that nagging is the only thing that has worked in getting him to at least act like a father; without nagging he’d vegetate in front of violent tv shows 24/7.

I do like the Sirius idea… he already has one actually 😃 and I can always get a nice card to listen to the Catholic Guy. You’re right, it may be a good idea to get him hooked to that!

Thanks for all the book suggestions guys. At the very least, I will get him a rosary or some kind of religious thing. At the very most, a book.🤷
 
I have HEARD that Catholicism for Dummies is pretty good, but check it out first…I haven’t read it. (I heard it on Catholic radio…)
 
Catholicism for Dummies IS very good. Might offend him with the title…

Champions of Faith DVD or Foot Prints of God DVDs
 
I tend to agree about the nagging. But I would also suggest C.S. Lewis, but maybe rather than Mere Christianity, try The Screwtape Letters or even The Great Divorce.
 
Dinesh D’souza’s What’s So Great About Christianity & his latest one Life After Death.
 
I ended up getting him a book of Catholic jokes. It’s sort of a halfway ground between the no-nagging and Catholic books 😃

I’m more interested in him having his mind on the Church in a positive light. Thank you all so much for your advice! It helped so much.

God bless and Merry Christmas!
 
ljubim said:
I ended up getting him a book of Catholic jokes. It’s sort of a halfway ground between the no-nagging and Catholic books 😃

I’m more interested in him having his mind on the Church in a positive light. Thank you all so much for your advice! It helped so much.

God bless and Merry Christmas!
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THat may actually be a really good idea. Sometimes when we get worked up about an issue it helps to have a good laugh, and maybe even a laugh at ourselves too.
 
ljubim said:
So I feel very strongly that I need to get my father a book from our local Catholic bookstore for Christmas. Any advice?

Here’s what he’s like… cradle Catholic who’s recently been having faith troubles, and has stopped going to mass (went after much coaxing when I sang recently). But the other night after dinner I was reading from our advent book and he kept shoveling food in his mouth and never looking up, sort of like a little kid who doesn’t want to listen, and at the end I put a lot of emphasis on the part about conversion and trusting in God, and then after my mom and sister and I talked about it, re-emphasizing those points, and he sort of stormed off saying he’s worried about our sanity and minds. BTW he’s also not much of a reader, so it would have to be interesting.

I saw so many books, one about coming home to the Church, one about deliverance, one about marriage… I’m lost :confused: Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
If your father is faithless but searching, I would reccomend Mere Christianity and or Orthodoxy. If your father would get a bit suspicious by religious books, I would recommend “Until We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis. I might also suggest you start of slow. Introduce to him certain religious concepts to open his heart like the beuty of sacrifice. Although these are children’s books, I would still reccomend: The Little Prince or The Velveteen Rabit. Both have an amazing message. Just make sure to follow up with the books and discuss their message.
 
\The problem is that nagging is the only thing that has worked in getting him to at least act like a father; without nagging he’d vegetate in front of violent tv shows 24/7.\

**Of course, you’ve not told us how old your father is, or if he’s retired or still working.

Or if there’s some medical condition.

It’s just possible he’s suffering from clinical depression, which would leave him with no energy or desire to do anything. I will say that a combination of faith troubles, lack of activity, and having to be coaxed to interact with the family suggests depression to me; I’ve seen this more than once. But I’m not a doctor or psychologist, so don’t take this as an official professional diagnosis. Merely something to consider.**
 
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