So glad to read this, Gertabelle, because very often I find a fear-based kneejerk from people who are afraid to read major Catholic thinkers and writers in case they absorb something unorthodox.** It is so important to read the sources themselves rather than opinions** about them or the cherrypicking of controversial or conservative quotations from their works.
Well, I simply don’t agree with your ideas on reading the sources rather than seeking opinions.
There are quite a few authors I’m not going to read, because life is finite, and I’m going to spend my limited time reading what I deem needful (whether that be St. John of the Cross or Bob Marzano) or enjoyable (whether that be Tolkein or Riordan) – and those decisions are often based on the opinions of others.
Good heavens, there’s not enough time in several lifetimes to read even just the back covers or table of contents in every book in order to choose which books to read! The opinions of others can be an extremely valuable tool, and not one I’m likely to shrug off because some stranger on the internet made insinuations against my character a few times when I didn’t agree with her opinion.
There is nothing wrong with reading more Traditional or conservative theologians, but I find it helpful to read those writers themselves rather than often polemical or glib commentaries on them. That said, many older papal encyclicals are hard to understand, as is the work of European theologians like Roman Guardini, Dom Gueranger or even Karl Adam. As was pointed out earlier in this thread, guidance may be needed in order to begin reading Teresa of Avila or St John of the Cross. But the rewards are so worth the effort.
Not sure I’m following your line of thought here. I suppose some guidance to understanding the Doctors of the Church could be very useful. Certainly a commentary on the Summa Theologica, for example, would help to map out the deeper meanings of the work, or gain a more cohesive understanding of it. On the other hand, I also have enjoyed reading it “cold” (i.e., without guidance) because, well, it’s the Summa!
Personally, I’ve found St. John of the Cross very accessible, as well as St. Teresa of Avila. But then, my years in the monastery may have inclined me to have a certain affinity with their meanings. Or maybe that’s just how God wants to speak to me, so He’s granted me the grace to understand.
Anyway, I’ve never really considered reading someone else’s commentaries on them… but I can certainly understand the benefit of doing so if someone feels so inclined.
God bless you!
Gertie
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