Need book advice on moral theology and saints

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Hello, hello. I’m a strong believer in the values of chastity and believe that it is immoral to look at anyone at all, that our gaze should never fix on someone, or custody of the eyes. So I know that some saints talk about it like St Gregory the Great, etc, but I haven’t read anything in depth. So I want to read books about it written from a viewpoint that supports the concept. Anyone know of any?

Also, I want to read Lives of Saints, and looked over the previous recommendations on the forums, but didn’t come out with a concrete idea of what I should read. I’m slightly interested in The Golden Legend by Voragine which I read was like one of the most famous books of Medieval times, second to the Bible, but I’m not clear whether it is dry or an enjoyable read. What I would like to read more though, is an in depth look on the philosophies various saints espoused, their thoughts and wisdom on everything. Is their a great book like that?

Thanks for the help.
 
“Confessions” and “City of God” by St. Augustine both come to mind. I read “Confessions” and loved it. It is not only his biography, but it also has a LOT of philosophy, theology, and simple thoughts on the nature of God and how St. Augustine interprets various scriptures and how he applies them in his life.
 
Why not read various books by the saints themselves to get an idea of each?

Some of the saints wrote lives of other saints. St. Athanasius of St. Anthony the Great, St. Bonaventure of St Francis of Assisi, and these works are available in English.

Another example of a compilation work however, would be the various collections of the sayings of the Desert Fathers. 🙂
 
Shin said:
Why not read various books by the saints themselves to get an idea of each?

Some of the saints wrote lives of other saints. St. Athanasius of St. Anthony the Great, St. Bonaventure of St Francis of Assisi, and these works are available in English.

Another example of a compilation work however, would be the various collections of the sayings of the Desert Fathers. 🙂
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I checked out a sample of the Sayings of Desert Fathers, by Benedicta Ward (penguin classics) and it looks pretty good! I’m going to buy one for kindle, by the way, which collection do you think is best to start with? Is Ward good enough? Thanks.
 
Couldn’t wait. Have gotten the Penguin edition for kindle. Hope it turns out good.
 
I think you’ll be quite happy! I can’t answer for the foreward, but the actual texts should be a great introduction to the sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Note however that while the book’s contents of their sayings should be a great introduction it’s only a small portion of the whole, if you find yourself eager for more, there are much larger more comprehensive compilations out there, some free but in older English, others easier to read and even larger but with a pricetag reflecting their size. 🙂

But then what price can be put on what’s priceless in the end?

…

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he said to his elder brother, ‘I should like to be free of all care, like the angels, who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God.’ So he took off his cloak and went away into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother. When he knocked on the door, he heard his brother say, ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘I am John, your brother.’ But he replied, ‘John has become an angel, and henceforth he is no longer among men.’ Then the other begged him saying, ‘It is I.’ However, his brother did not let him in, but left him there in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him, ‘You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat.’ Then John made a prostration before him, saying, ‘Forgive me.’
 
I found PDFs of all the volumes of Legenda Aurea and a complete Philokalia and was able to convert them to Kindle supported files with Calibre software and had to reduce line unwrap factor to get a decent copy. Saved a bunch of money.

They say that the Evergetinos is a good book but I found only one volume available, in paperback. Price is steep. Is this a good translation and buy? amazon.in/The-Evergetinos-Complete-Hieromonk-Patapios/dp/0911165487/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412245154&sr=8-1&keywords=evergetinos

But I want to know, are these acceptable to read as Catholics as I only found out about Philokalia and Evergetinos on Orthodox wbesites. Also wonder about the writing of Abba Isaac -
( credit - full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.in/2013/01/st-isaac-syrian-bishop-of-ninevah-and.html )
Elder Paisios, who would read the Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac beneath the icon of the Saint, would say of St. Isaac: “If anyone went to a psychiatric hospital and read to the patients Abba Isaac, all those who believed in God would get well, because they would recognize the deeper meaning of life.”
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He also said:
“First you must read the Gerontikon, Philotheos History, and Evergetinos. All these books are practical not theoretical. Their simple patristic spirit and holiness will help you remove secular logic from your mind. Next, you should read Abba Isaac, and this way you will not see him as a philosopher, but as a man illumined by God.”
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I hope no one minds if I bump this thread in the hopes that someone answers.
 
On chastity you can read Autobiography of St Anthony Mary Claret and read in depth about how he practiced mortifications and custody of the eyes.

You can find it here

saintsbooks.net/

I love reading that part over and over again. Just search for “mortification”
 
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