Catholic books to read

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pulchraesamicamea

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Good morning friends!
So, as my faith grows, I want to read books that are more in-depth, especially written by saints.
Would you be able to suggest some for me?
If it is not written by saints, other Catholic books work too!
I do not have a preference about the scope of books. So please feel free to suggest anything that comes into your mind.

Thank you!

Deo gratias!
 
St. Teresa of Jesus’ Way of Perfection. If you’ve already read that, move on to Interior Castle.
The autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux.
 
And another from the great Carmelites, I’m a fan of “Ascent of Mt. Carmel” by St John of the Cross.
 
I’d probably suggest something like St. Therese of Lisieux’s “Story of a Soul” as a good starting point. Anything by St. Teresa of Avila is good. Also, St. Francis De Sales’ “Introduction to the Devout Life.”
 
Any Friend of God is a Friend of Mine by Patrick Madrid
 
Both are Carmelites, if I may ask do you have a special interest in Carmelite spirituality if I may ask? From reading those books, what do you consider Carmelite Spirituality to be like?
 
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Have you read _The Diary of St. Faustina ?

Maybe you would be interested in reading Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae or JPII’s Theology of the Body
 
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Fr Jacques Philippe has written some very good books. Simple to read and a page or so to digest at a time. Really good before bedtime. Interior Freedom, Time For God and Searching For and Maintaining Peace are just three of them. There are more but I haven’t read them yet.

Abbot Christopher Jamison has written Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life and Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life.
 
I highly recommend Brant Pitre’s Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist.
 
RCIAGraduate said:
Both are Carmelites, if I may ask do you have a special interest in Carmelite spirituality if I may ask? From reading those books, what do you consider Carmelite Spirituality to be like?
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Yes, I do have a special interest. Carmelite spirituality is very much focused on contemplative prayer, and how to make ourselves ready to receive that great gift.
One of the things I love most is that it is very sensible. The first Rule, the Rule of St. Albert, ends with this: “See that the bounds of common sense are not exceeded, however, for common sense is the guide of the virtues.”
 
St. Augustine’s Confessions is amazing, and beautiful in both its eloquence (while still speaking plainly) and, at times, pain.
Also, not a saint (not yet anyway(?)), But Cardinal Robert Sarah’s The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise is also good. Reading that right now. And for any formerly Protestant converts out there, Dr. Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Home and Steve Ray’s Crossing the Tiber are good too!
 
What? No The Imitation of Christ by Thomas á Kempis? Classic.

Like daily chunks of spirituality? Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen. Absolute masterpiece - also Carmelite.

Any of the compact books by Fr. Jacques Philippe, a retreat master.
 
Yes, this is an excellent book. Very approachable for today’s reader and draws almost completely, far as I recall, from the wisdom of some of the greatest doctors and saints of the Church as to how to progress in the spiritual life.

I have the audible audo version on my phone and like to listen to it while driving.
 
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I agree - Imitation of Christ. By a Kempis.
That’s my TOP book - ever - buy Large Print edition.

My other favorite
“ Abandonment to Divine Providence “
( book are actual notes by nuns in 1600’s )
 
I would recommend two books by a Catholic Layman, which are excellent and especially for someone looking to grow in the Catholic Faith:
  1. "The Ordinary Path to Holiness" by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
    This book presents the traditional Catholic spirituality that has been tested and proven in the lives of the saints. Our spiritual life develops and grows in a way not unlike our physical, emotional and intellectual lives. There are stages of human growth, stages common to our growth both in natural human life and in supernatural spiritual life. We have an “interior” life ordered to our calling to true, personal communion with God the Holy Trinity. That interior life is intended to grow, develop and mature. And if we will follow Truth, we will find all that we seek. This book is offered to help the sincere seeker find, and grow, toward the “all” He created us for: beatitude in Him.
  2. “The Interior LIturgy of the Our Father” - by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
    This book is almost a sequel to the “Ordinary Path to Holiness” since it continues to show how one grows spiritually. The Our Father reveals, in its brief form, correspondence with the holy wisdom of traditional Catholic spirituality. This traditional spirituality has been followed for centuries in the Church by her saints, and is known as the “Three Ways” - the Purgative, the Illuminative and the Unitive stages of the interior life. The spiritual insights of Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, and many other saints are found enclosed in this simple prayer. The structure of the Our Father is seen to correspond with the structure of our Holy Mass - the very “source and summit of the Christian life.” The Our Father reveals the will and the work of God in us - and as His divine work, inviting us to a saving participation and cooperation with Him, it is rightly called “a liturgy” - an Interior Liturgy at work in the soul.
Descriptions above are taken from the Amazon website. I am presently re-reading the “Interior LIturgy of the Our Father” and finding in it more than I did in my previous reading. I highly recommend both books.
 
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If you feel like reading something less intense, I recommend In This House of Brede, by Rummer Godden. (It’s also a movie, but I have never seen it.)

And of course, GK Chesterton.

My problem is I can not get away from the habit of reading a lot of intense material all at once and then needing to “relax” a bit.
 
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