Good books to read by "old" Catholics

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Harpazo

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Sorry for the lack of creativity in the thread title. I’m out of school for the summer, so my thinking leaves a lot to be desired.😉

Anyways, I’m looking for some good Catholic books to read over the summer. Perhaps, books written by various Saints and such. I’m looking into “The Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila, and I heard “Guidance to Heaven” by Cardinal Giovanni Bona was another good read.

I’m trying to stay away from more of the heavier stuff like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, at least for right now. I have “City of God,” but it’s too deep for me at the moment.

So what do you all recommend as good spiritual reading? Thanks in advance.

In Pax Christi
Andrew
 
Ah, here is a sample of the small library I’ve built up:

- The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva
The essential spiritual work of the founder of Opus Dei. The wording is simple, yet extremely profound and provokes interior examination and mental prayer.

- The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis
A spiritual classic. Watch out for modern translations though, there are many that “tweak” the words of Kempis to be ecumenical or tone down the work. My version is from the 1890s.

- The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
Based on the visions of the Beati and compiled by the German poet Clemens Brentano, this magnificent work is a vivid and painful account of the Passion of Our Lord. Mel Gibson based much of his movie The Passion on the Emmerich’s account.

- The Golden Legend, Jacobus de Voragine
A medieval bestseller. The 13th century Bishop recounts the lives of various Saints and the origins of certain Feastdays. Many of the stories are fanciful, but alive with symbolism and medieval imagery.

- A Year With The Saints, translation from Italian
An excellent book with spiritual readings from some of the greatest Saints for every day of the year and a virtue for every month.

- True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Louis de Monfort
This is the book that inspired John Paul II with such devotion for the Blessed Virgin. I am currently starting it, and I must say it is quite beautiful.

- The Holy Mass, Dom Prosper Guéranger
If you are drawn to the Traditional Mass, this book is a must-read. The famous Abbot of Solesmes describes the prayers and actions of the Mass in historical and spiritual contexts.

- The Faith Explained, Fr. Leo J. Trese
Fr. Trese explains the fundamentals of the Catholic faith in an easy, but extremely enlightening way, using excellent analogies. He uses the Baltimore Catechism as the basis for the structure of his book.

- How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Thomas E. Woods Jr.
If you thought the Church spent much of it’s history as a bloated and corrupt institution surpressing science and culture, you were wrong! This book exposes the truth about the Church and scientific advancement, the roots of modern law in the Church’s Canon Law, the Galileo affair, and how the Dark Ages werent so dark after all.
 
In addition to those listed:

On Loving God–St. Bernard
Introduction to the Devout Life–St. Francis de Sales
Glories of Mary–St. Alphonsus Liguori
Uniformity with God’s Will–St. Alphonsus Liguori
Seven Words from the Cross–St. Robert Bellarmine
The Dialogue–St. Catherine of Siena

🙂
 
Harpazo said:
Anyways, I’m looking for some good Catholic books to read over the summer. Perhaps, books written by various Saints and such. I’m looking into “The Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila, and I heard “Guidance to Heaven” by Cardinal Giovanni Bona was another good read.

I’m trying to stay away from more of the heavier stuff like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, at least for right now. I have “City of God,” but it’s too deep for me at the moment.

So what do you all recommend as good spiritual reading? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Readable stuff:
The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius
The Cloud of Unknowing (anonymous) - written in English but get a modernised version.
The Praise of Folly, by Erasmus
 
I’m looking into “The Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila,
Click to expand...
If at all possible, don’t use the new “translation” by Mirabai Starr. It’s kind of the “Message Paraphrase of the Bible” of St Teresa.(I believe that the translator is a Jew who has converted to Buddhism (Hinduism?). Anyhow, she takes enormous liberties, inthe interest of “universality”
 
Most books by Chesterton or Belloc. They are not so much devotional or biographical but are good for apologetics and history.
 
Caesar said:
Ah, here is a sample of the small library I’ve built up:

- The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva
The essential spiritual work of the founder of Opus Dei. The wording is simple, yet extremely profound and provokes interior examination and mental prayer.

- The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis
A spiritual classic. Watch out for modern translations though, there are many that “tweak” the words of Kempis to be ecumenical or tone down the work. My version is from the 1890s.

- The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
Based on the visions of the Beati and compiled by the German poet Clemens Brentano, this magnificent work is a vivid and painful account of the Passion of Our Lord. Mel Gibson based much of his movie The Passion on the Emmerich’s account.

- The Golden Legend, Jacobus de Voragine
A medieval bestseller. The 13th century Bishop recounts the lives of various Saints and the origins of certain Feastdays. Many of the stories are fanciful, but alive with symbolism and medieval imagery.

- A Year With The Saints, translation from Italian
An excellent book with spiritual readings from some of the greatest Saints for every day of the year and a virtue for every month.

- True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Louis de Monfort
This is the book that inspired John Paul II with such devotion for the Blessed Virgin. I am currently starting it, and I must say it is quite beautiful.

- The Holy Mass, Dom Prosper Guéranger
If you are drawn to the Traditional Mass, this book is a must-read. The famous Abbot of Solesmes describes the prayers and actions of the Mass in historical and spiritual contexts.

- The Faith Explained, Fr. Leo J. Trese
Fr. Trese explains the fundamentals of the Catholic faith in an easy, but extremely enlightening way, using excellent analogies. He uses the Baltimore Catechism as the basis for the structure of his book.

- How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Thomas E. Woods Jr.
If you thought the Church spent much of it’s history as a bloated and corrupt institution surpressing science and culture, you were wrong! This book exposes the truth about the Church and scientific advancement, the roots of modern law in the Church’s Canon Law, the Galileo affair, and how the Dark Ages werent so dark after all.
Click to expand...
Excellent list:thumbsup: Thanks.

God bless.
 
Seven Story Mountain - Thomas Merton
Journal of a Soul - Pope St. John XXIII
The Long Loneliness - Dorothy Day
The Assumption of Mary - Father Killian Healy
The Question of Mary - Fr Rene Laurentin
 
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