Books for a New Catholic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter zipperc98
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Z

zipperc98

Guest
Hello There!

I am looking for some good suggestions for good books for a new Catholic…

For me specifically. I find myself hungering for more ways to experience my new faith, and currently can only attend Mass once a week. I listen to a lot of catholic radio podcasts at work. But I really want some books! I am sort of limited in my funds, so I have to be careful in my choices.

A couple things I definitely am interested in:

-A study bible. While I have a bible given to me from RCIA, I find it even less user friendly than my old KJV bible from the LDS church, which has plenty of footnotes from the LDS church which I don’t want confusing my studying since there are many different views on what scripture is interpretated. As far as my Catholic given bible, I don’t necessarily want to just start in the begining (I often will start either in Genesis, or the begining of the New Testament but never get far). I want something that helps me really study the scriptures, comparing passages, etc.

-a really good manual that describes in detail the Mass, explains what it means, gives me the order, and really helps me know it more intimately.

-good books on history of the Church…in terms of the early church fathers. I am interested in The Fathers Know Best, but I was curious if there were other books people may think are even better.

-Perhaps any other books you think would be really good for a new Catholic to have?

Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut here!
 
I recently bought Mother Teresa: In My Own Words.

A short, humble, inspiring every day read.
 
zipperc98 said:
Hello There!

I am looking for some good suggestions for good books for a new Catholic…

For me specifically. I find myself hungering for more ways to experience my new faith, and currently can only attend Mass once a week. I listen to a lot of catholic radio podcasts at work. But I really want some books! I am sort of limited in my funds, so I have to be careful in my choices.

A couple things I definitely am interested in:

-A study bible. While I have a bible given to me from RCIA, I find it even less user friendly than my old KJV bible from the LDS church, which has plenty of footnotes from the LDS church which I don’t want confusing my studying since there are many different views on what scripture is interpretated. As far as my Catholic given bible, I don’t necessarily want to just start in the begining (I often will start either in Genesis, or the begining of the New Testament but never get far). I want something that helps me really study the scriptures, comparing passages, etc.

-a really good manual that describes in detail the Mass, explains what it means, gives me the order, and really helps me know it more intimately.

-good books on history of the Church…in terms of the early church fathers. I am interested in The Fathers Know Best, but I was curious if there were other books people may think are even better.

-Perhaps any other books you think would be really good for a new Catholic to have?

Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut here!
Click to expand...
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Any encyclicals by the Popes.

Go to these websites and look around:
www.papalencyclicals.net
www.vatican.va

God bless you,

I know of a lot more books as well. Ask me if you want any more suggestions after you read these ones.
Joshua
 
Hi Zipper,
Welcome Home! and Congatulations! Here are some that I would reccoment…

-**A study bible. **
The one that most people like is the Ignatius Study bible. It uses the RSV version and is considered really great by most people I know who have used it. The problem is that right now it only available for the New Testament. The whole study bible is still being compiled and I was told it won’t be out for at least a couple of years.

Other people recommend the *Navarre Bible study series *but you have to almost buy each book individually.

The one I have which is not to bad (although i really want the Ignatius one) is called The Catholic Study Bible which is a NAB version. It is decent but not the best.

-a** really good manual that describes in detail the Mass, explains what it means, gives me the order, and really helps me know it more intimately.**

I think the books* Mass Revision by Jimmy Akin or Catholic Mass for Dummies*. Both of which can be purchased on the Catholic.com website would be good to have.

I read Scott Hahn’s* The Lamb’s Supper*, which is a nice straightforward and quick read.

-good books on history of the Church…in terms of the early church fathers. I am interested in The Fathers Know Best, but I was curious if there were other books people may think are even better.

I think some of the best things tto do is to actually go to the primary source for the Early Church fathers and read them for yourself. To that effect,* Faith of the Early Father’s *by William Jurgens (sp?) can give you those and is really good.

If you want something less ambitious check out The Fathers of the Church: An introduction to the First Christian Teachers by Mike Aquilina for a stripped down summary (but still with lots of primary quotes) from the early Church fathers regarding early Christin faith. It is nice because the author also gives you back stories on the fathers themselves, regarding their temperments, martydom etc…

Perhaps any other books you think would be really good for a new Catholic to have?

I would reccomend
The Catechism of the Catholic Church. (really the definative source)

*Theology for Beginners *by Frank Sheed. This book takes really complex theological ideas and explains them so clearly and beautifully it is rediculous. In fact just about anything by Frank Sheed is gold in my opinion.

An eassay on the development of Doctrine and *Apologia Pro Vita Sua *by Cardinal Newman. (you can download these for free off the Barnes and Noble website if you have a nook. If not then just download the free nook program for your computer and then download the books to your computer.

Another book I would get is one on general apologetics like* A Biblical Defense of Catholicism *by Dave Armstrong or *Nuts and Bolts *by Tim Staples. I have found that sometimes the best way to learn about the faith is by reading defences of it. They really help cement certain teaching in your head and give you the confidence to KNOW that the Church always has an answer to any question. I have found that almost universially those answers make much more sense than the opposing view point.

These should get you started. Have fun. Also, you can look up a lot of answers to questions on the Faith section of this website. They are often short and not that in depth but give you a nice starting point.

Enjoy! I tell you the more I read and learn about the Church the more I love it.
 
My suggestions are finding:

-The Lamb’s Supper, by Scott Hahn. It’s great for understanding the Mass, especially with regards to the Book of Revelation.

-The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. There are so many useful footnotes and explanations, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever owned. So far, I’m only aware of a New Testament version, but I’m under the impression that they’re developing an Old Testament Study Bible and have already released a few books of the Old Testament so far.

-A Short History of the Catholic Church, by Jose Orlandis It’s, as the title says, short, but very informative on the development of the Church.

-Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus of Nazareth Part Two: Holy Week by Pope Benedict XVI These are two amazing books which helped deepen my faith.

-The Faith Explained (Third Edition), by Leo J. Trese. Another great book which explains everything from the Mass, Confession, etc. It’s an awesome book for a new Catholic.

-Confessions, by St. Augustine. A great book which can help deepen your faith. Reading any book by a Saint is often a good idea.

-The Imitation of Christ and The Imitation of Mary, by Thomas A Kempis. An awesome pair of books which help us focus on our devotions to Jesus and to Mary. I’d suggest getting The Imitation of Christ first, just because of the richness of what is found there.

-Why is That in Tradition? and Where is That in the Bible? By Patrick Madrid Two little apologetics books which have quotes and sources from Church Fathers and Scripture quotes that I found to be great both for Apologetics and for a good reference guide as well.

-Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by Bl. Pope John Paul II. A great book that documents an interview with Blessed Pope John Paul the II, which includes several different topics.

These are just some of the many books which you should try to get. All of these are books I’ve either owned or rented from the local library. And I found them to be very edifying and useful.
 
I should state I do have a copy of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church…it’s the first book I picked up when I first started exploring Catholocism…not that I have picked it up in months. 😛

Good suggestions so far! I remember now hearing of the Ignatius Study Bible…anyone know the cost of that? (approx)…

As for Church fathers…I figure it’s probably best to go straight to the source, but honestly I don’t even know where to begin looking for those!

Keep 'em coming…
 
Oh yes, and I have a copy of the Life/teachings of St. Catherine of Genoa which I found free online…it’s quite thick and started to read it, but I find the language a bit tedious, so it’s hard to get through it…
 
zipperc98 said:
I should state I do have a copy of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church…it’s the first book I picked up when I first started exploring Catholocism…not that I have picked it up in months. 😛

Good suggestions so far! I remember now hearing of the Ignatius Study Bible…anyone know the cost of that? (approx)…

As for Church fathers…I figure it’s probably best to go straight to the source, but honestly I don’t even know where to begin looking for those!

Keep 'em coming…
Click to expand...
For the Church fathers you can get the e-book the Anti-Nicean Fathers by Philip Schaff for about $3.00 again it is an ebook so you would have to download the Nook app but that is free. In addition, the Jurgens book I suggested earlier, I think is still in print but you might be able to find it used. I like thriftbooks.com. They have a pretty good selection and most of their books are less than $4. You can also go to your local Catholic book store and make some inquires. I try to at least buy one or two books a month from my local Catholic book store to keep them supported.

As for the Ignatius study bible I think it costs about $25 dollars soft cover. You can order it through catholic.com website store.
 
The Catechism. No Catholic (or potential Catholic) should be without a copy. It’s very readable, and the cross referencing is great.

A Biblical Walk Through The Mass, by Dr. Edward Sri. This book does a great job of explaining the Biblical and traditional basis behind everything that is said and done at Mass. There is indeed much significance to every gesture and word. It will help you to appreciate the details of the Mass.

Catholicism For Dummies is a good book for the very basics. You can read about a topic in the Dummies book, then go deeper with the Catechism.

**The Fathers Know Best **by Jimmy Akin. The writings of the Church Fathers provide us with valuable insight and a strong testimony to what the earliest Christians believed and how they worshipped. Their writings are not inspired, of course, but they should bear considerable weight. These guys were close to the action, and there are reasons why they believed what they did. They definitely sound Catholic.

**Unabridged Christianity: Biblical Answers to Common Questions About the Roman Catholic Faith **by Fr. Mario P. Romero. This book does a good job of answering common objections to the Catholic Faith by explaining what the Church actually teaches. He uses Scripture and writings of the early Christians.

The Essential Catholic Survival Guide by the Catholic Answers Staff is a good book that offers a defense concerning a variety of misconceptions about our Church. It was compiled from the tracts on the web site. It’s organized in a question and answer formant by subject.

And there are many, many more…
 
Number one book next to the Holy Bible, The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis.
 
I’m also new (about to start RCIA) and this list is extremely helpful. Thanks!!! 👍
 
Great suggestions
One I would add,
The Catholic Source Book. It does read like a textbook because it takes you throughout the history of the Church. So unlike Scott Hahns book, The supper of the lamb it is not as entertaining. But none the less it is packed with information about history tradition etc.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top