Good Books for new convert

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I’ve been attending RICA since December, and will be confirmed on Holy Saturday, and I couldn’t be happier. I was protestant for 40 years, and I feel like I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for most all of my life.
I want to understand how to live my life as a Catholic…daily, all day. Are there any good books that anyone would recommend that I could learn from? I’ve learned a tremendous amount from the classes, but I feel like I need something to help me put it all together, to give me and idea of what this looks like day in and day out.
I know everyone’s experience is different, but for me being a protestant was very much presented as what you do part-time,and Catholicism seems to me to be very much full-time, and I’m just eager to learn how to live this new life.
Any suggestions or advice appreciated.
 
There’s a book called Catholicism & Reason by Hayes, Hayes, and Drummey. It’s fantastic. It uses logic and reason, starting with why it makes sense to believe in God at all, and eventually builds up to more specific things within the Church. I have started doubting my faith before and turned to this book to help things make sense again.
 
Spiritual Progress by Thomas D. Williams. Just finished it myself.
 
A couple of books which have been important to me:

This Book of Psalms. The translation is lovely, and the illustrations profound. It is arranged to cover all 150 psalms in the course of a week (with Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, etc.), but I usually just dip in, only reading one or two at a time. In the 25 years I’ve been reading it many lines have become precious to me, and are never far from my consciousness.

Revelations of Divine Mercy: Daily Readings from the Diary of Blessed Faustina Kowalska. Have you heard of the Divine Mercy devotion yet? It is quite recent in the Church but has rapidly become very important. This book has short daily readings from Sister Faustina’s diary. I read it almost daily for a couple of years and came to understand our Lord’s Divine Mercy in a way I had never dreamed of before.

We are just coming up to Good Friday and the Divine Mercy Novena. Like all devotions, it is optional, but if you can start with it this year then I think you’ll be glad you did, even if you haven’t read much about the devotion yet. You will be well prepared to celebrate your first Divine Mercy Sunday as a Catholic!
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
Click to expand...
 
I’ve been a Catholic all my life (39 years); however, the births of my children have made my faith stronger. I recently read “Fatima for Today” by Fr. Andrew Apostoli. This book has significantly strengthened my views on both daily prayer and going to confession regularly. Welcome to the Church!
 
David DesOrmeaux’s Mass Appeal is my favorite recommendation for new converts.

FWIW, I reviewed it here.
 
“The Fulfillment of All Desire,” by Ralph Martin, is the best book on Catholic spirituality I know. He gives a road map for the journey towards God based on the writings and lives of seven great saints. This is deep, wonderful stuff.

amazon.com/Fulfillment-All-Desire-Guidebook-Journey/dp/1931018383

Scott Hahn’s “The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth” is a great book for learning to appreciate the Mass:

amazon.com/The-Lambs-Supper-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591

And, of course, I have to recommend St. Augustine’s “Confessions.” I recommend them to everyone. 😃 This is the best translation out there:

amazon.com/gp/product/1565481542/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1565480848&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1XX6MN3HADX91DP5MMCF
 
thank you for all of the great suggestions…this will keep me busy for a while!
 
KristinVT said:
“The Fulfillment of All Desire,” by Ralph Martin, is the best book on Catholic spirituality I know. He gives a road map for the journey towards God based on the writings and lives of seven great saints. This is deep, wonderful stuff.]
Click to expand...
👍 I totally agree . It’s a great book . I got after someone on the Journey Home programme was talking about it .
 
I highly recommend “Living Faith”, Daily Catholic Devotions. The little booklet has daily reflections based on a Scripture passage from the daily Mass, also, the readings from daily Mass are listed. The reflections are written by a variety of people: laypeople, clergy and the religious. I start my day with the reflection, then read the Scriptures. It really helps me pray and meditate.

One year’s subscription is $11, not too bad on a budget.

Living Faith
 
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