Need to expand my current library please help

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I was looking into expanding my library of books that I have and wanted to see what suggestions are there for any good solid Catholic books on spirituality, Church history, theology, etc. These are the ones I currently have and some that I have ordered and awaiting delivery, I also read Spanish, so if you have any suggestions on those it will help as well 🙂 :

RSV Bible
St Josephs Bible
Biblia Latino Americana
Biblia Nuevo Jerusalem
Catechism of the Catholic Church (English and Spanish)
A Textual Concordance of the Holy Scriptures by Fr. Thomas D. Williams (really excellent concordance btw!)
Liturgia de las Horas published by Libreria San Pablo

Faith of the Early Fathers 4 vol set
Early Church Fathers by Mike Aquilina
Story of a Soul (I feel in love with St. Therese when I read this!)
The Interior Castle
The Cloud of Unknowing (Being delivered)
The Confessions of St. Augustine (Being delivered)
Interview with an Exorcist by Fr. Jose A. Fortea
Jesus of Nazareth Vol 1 by Pope Benedict XVI(Being delivered)
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Being delivered)
The Crucified Rabbi by Taylor Marshall (Being delivered)
True Devotion to Mary with Preparation for Total Consecration (Being delivered)
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (Being delivered)
Divine Mercy in my Soul
The Rite by Matt Baglio
The Lambs Supper by Scott Hahn
Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn
Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carrol Cruz
The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H. W. Crocker
Upon this Rock by Steve Ray (Which is lost)
Pope Fiction (lent it, never came back)
Goodbye Good Men by Mike Rose
Where is that in the Bible by Patrick Madrid
Lord of the Rings, (Books and Movies)
Chief Truths of the Faith Rev. John Laux
Mass and the Sacraments Rev. John Laux
Catholic Morality Rev. John Laux
Catholic Apologetics Rev. John Laux
Julian the Apostate by Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti
Scripture Alone? by Joel Peters
The Good News About Sex and Marriage by Christopher West
An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth

I have some more in Spanish, but I cant recall the titles right now.
 
rivera01 said:
I was looking into expanding my library of books that I have and wanted to see what suggestions are there for any good solid Catholic books on spirituality, Church history, theology, etc. These are the ones I currently have and some that I have ordered and awaiting delivery, I also read Spanish, so if you have any suggestions on those it will help as well 🙂 :

RSV Bible
St Josephs Bible
Biblia Latino Americana
Biblia Nuevo Jerusalem
Catechism of the Catholic Church (English and Spanish)
A Textual Concordance of the Holy Scriptures by Fr. Thomas D. Williams (really excellent concordance btw!)
Liturgia de las Horas published by Libreria San Pablo

Faith of the Early Fathers 4 vol set
Early Church Fathers by Mike Aquilina
Story of a Soul (I feel in love with St. Therese when I read this!)
The Interior Castle
The Cloud of Unknowing (Being delivered)
The Confessions of St. Augustine (Being delivered)
Interview with an Exorcist by Fr. Jose A. Fortea
Jesus of Nazareth Vol 1 by Pope Benedict XVI(Being delivered)
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Being delivered)
The Crucified Rabbi by Taylor Marshall (Being delivered)
True Devotion to Mary with Preparation for Total Consecration (Being delivered)
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (Being delivered)
Divine Mercy in my Soul
The Rite by Matt Baglio
The Lambs Supper by Scott Hahn
Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn
Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carrol Cruz
The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H. W. Crocker
Upon this Rock by Steve Ray (Which is lost)
Pope Fiction (lent it, never came back)
Goodbye Good Men by Mike Rose
Where is that in the Bible by Patrick Madrid
Lord of the Rings, (Books and Movies)
Chief Truths of the Faith Rev. John Laux
Mass and the Sacraments Rev. John Laux
Catholic Morality Rev. John Laux
Catholic Apologetics Rev. John Laux
Julian the Apostate by Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti
Scripture Alone? by Joel Peters
The Good News About Sex and Marriage by Christopher West
An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth

I have some more in Spanish, but I cant recall the titles right now.
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WOW - did you just win the lottery or something:eek::bigyikes:? Good grief, I feel bad when I order just one book!!😉
Anyways, looks like you’re really into the modern stuff, so I think you have that covered…I’m not really into any modern writers very much, though I liked Scott Hahn’s takedown of Richard Dawkins in Dawkins Dismantled. Fr Amorth’s exorcist book is a very good read, very frightening.

For me, some of the most impacting books have been the following:
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers → if you could only get one, this would be it
The Way of a Pilgrim but this would be a contender - absolutely beautiful
Diary of St. Faustina
Origen - An Exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer, and Selected Works
Little Flowers of St. Francis
The Catholic Controversy by St. Francis de Sales
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
Turning the Heart to God by Theophan the Recluse
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas
Peace With God by Billy Graham
and of course Confessions of St. Augustine, but you’ve got that one listed already.
 
Your library is in dire need of some G.K. Chesterton! “The Everlasting Man” is pretty widely considered to be his best, so you can’t go wrong there.

Anything by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is great. His “Life of Christ” is an essential.

“Theology for Beginners” by Frank Sheed

“The City of God” by St. Augustine is the perfect desert island book, 'cause it might take the rest of your life to finish it! 😉

If you want something inspirational and down to earth, Fr. Cedric Pisegna has a good sense of humor and a very kind heart, and his writing is simple (in the best sense of the word. You don’t need to be a theologian or a mystic to enjoy it) He’s got quite a few books for sale on his website, www.frcedric.org

It’s not Catholic, but Francis Chan (an evangelical pastor) has a book called Crazy Love, which, if taken with a grain of salt (he advocates some rather extreme practices of charity), I find very inspirational.

Oh, and “Life After Death” by Dinesh D’Souza is pretty intriguing, thoughtful and faith building.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll post more if I think of any.
 
Lol with Thiedler, the books that are being delivered are used books from amazon, except for 2. Plus, I got a $100 visa gift card from work :).

I tried to get “life of Christ” but it was unavailable. G.K. Was in my sights, but I didn’t know where to start.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming.
 
Dear rivera,

One book which can help you better understand and appreciate many of the classics you already have (including Scripture) is a modern work by a Catholic layman entitled: The Ordinary Path to Holiness by R. Thomas Richard. I’ve read it more than once and have been blessed by it, each time. As Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR states in the Introduction which he wrote for this book:
…This is a book not to be taken lightly…This is a book to be chewed and digested…This is one of those rare books that is to be lived as well as read. But read it with your soul as well as your mind, and with your heart as well as your eyes.
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For more information on this small gem of a book, see HERE
 
The #1 book in my library is Revelations by St. Bridget of Sweden, one of the six patron saints of Europe. catholic-saints.net/saints/st-bridget/st-bridget-of-sweden.php 👍:eek::cool:Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque en.wikisource.org/wiki/Devotion_to_the_Sacred_Heart_of_Jesus is also recommended.

Revelations answers a lot of questions, i.e.
Book 5: The Book of Questions, Interrogation 16 *Third question. ”If your Holy Spirit has spoken through the evangelists, why is there so much variance in the Gospels?” *
”As to why, if the Holy Spirit has spoken through them, there is so much variance among the evangelists, I answer: It is written that the Holy Spirit is various in his operations in that he distributes his gifts to his chosen people in varied ways. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is like a man with a balance in his hand, measuring and balancing the scales until the balance reaches equilibrium and comes to rest. A balance is handled in different ways by a person who is used to it and by one who is unused to it, by one who is strong and by one who is weak.
So the Holy Spirit now rises like a balance in human hearts, and then sinks again. He rises when he uplifts the mind through keenness of understanding and through the soul’s devotion and through the inflaming of spiritual desire. He sinks when he allows the mind to fall into difficulties and to be anxious about trifling vanities and upset by tribulation.
Therefore, just as the balance cannot reach equilibrium unless the weights are adjusted, and it is controlled by a guiding hand, so too measure and a good life, a simple intention, and discretion in works and virtues are necessary for the operation of the Holy Spirit.
When I, the Son of God, visible in the flesh, preached different things in different places, I had different kinds of followers and listeners. Some followed me out of love,
others in order to have an occasion for fault finding or out of curiosity. Some of my followers had a keener intellect, others a simpler. Accordingly, I spoke simply to instruct the simple. I also spoke deeply to awaken the wonder of the wise. Sometimes I spoke darkly in parables, which gave some people an occasion for commenting. At other times I repeated things said earlier and sometimes added to or simplified them. So it is no wonder that those who arranged the gospel narrative recorded different but still true things, for some of them wrote it down word for word, others captured the sense but not the exact words. Some wrote things they had heard but not seen; others placed earlier events later; others wrote more about my divinity; yet all of them as the Spirit gave them to speak.
However, I want you to know that only those evangelists are to be accepted whom the church accepts. Many people attempted to write who had zeal but not in accordance with my knowledge. Recall what I said in today’s reading: ‘Destroy this temple and I shall rebuild it.’ Those who testified to what they heard were truthful regarding the words they heard, but they were false witnesses because they did not consider the sense of my words, for I spoke concerning my body. Likewise when I said: ‘Unless you eat my flesh, you shall not have life.’ Many hearers went away, because they did not consider the conclusion that I added: 'My words are spirit and life, that is, they have a spiritual meaning and force. It is not remarkable that they went astray, inasmuch as they did not follow me out of love. Thus the Holy Spirit rises in human hearts like a balance, at one time speaking corporeally, at another spiritually. And he sinks when the human heart is hardened against
God or falls into heresies or worldliness and is darkened.”
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It also is so reasonable that it convinced me logically to give deeper sacrifice to Christ and to appreciate him more and to understand how fair life is. It explains Hell and Purgatory. It helped me to examine my conscience more strictly.
 
Forgot to mention Peace of Soul by Fulton Sheen - classic.
 
rivera01 said:
Thanks for the suggestions, my wish list is growing :rolleyes:
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To add to it 😉 . .anything by the late Cdl. Jean Danielou, S.J., and by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Which translation of Story of a Soul did you purchase?
 
Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints- Schouppe

The Dogma of Hell: Illustrated by Facts Taken from Profane and Sacred History-Schouppe

Unicorn in the Sanctuary- England

Douay-Rheims Bible

A Man for All Seasons- Bolt

With God in Russia-Ciszek

Lives of the Saints- Butler

The Practice of the Presence of God- Lawrence

Imitation of Christ- Kempis

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ- Emmerich

Eugenics and Other Evils- Chesterton

Dark Night of the Soul- St. John of the Cross
 
FCEGM said:
Good! Fr. Clarke’s translation is the best.
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Yes, I feel in love with St. Therese while reading the Story of a Soul :D. I lent it to a friend, but I want it back already to re-read it.

I received the Cloud of Unknowing today, the rest should arrive throughout the week.

I started a wish list at Amazon to keep track of the recommendations!
 
rivera01 said:
Yes, I feel in love with St. Therese while reading the Story of a Soul :D. I lent it to a friend, but I want it back already to re-read it.

I received the Cloud of Unknowing today, the rest should arrive throughout the week.

I started a wish list at Amazon to keep track of the recommendations!
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🙂 An excellent book about St. Therese is The Whole World Will Love Me, by Dorothy Scallan. This presents the Saint’s own explanation for her understanding of devotion to the Holy Face which figured so much in her spiritual life.
 
rivera01 said:
Any recommendations about the Liturgy?
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Dear rivera,

I would repeat my recommendation that you read The Ordinary Path to Holiness If you have not checked out the link, please note that if you scroll down to the table of contents for this book, you will see chapters specifically dealing with the Mass and the Sacraments. If you have not ordered your copy yet, I hope you will.
 
MariaChristi said:
Dear rivera,

I would repeat my recommendation that you read The Ordinary Path to Holiness If you have not checked out the link, please note that if you scroll down to the table of contents for this book, you will see chapters specifically dealing with the Mass and the Sacraments. If you have not ordered your copy yet, I hope you will.
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Thanks, I took a look at it, not very thoroughly though, but it is in my wish list.
 
rivera01 said:
Thanks, I took a look at it, not very thoroughly though, but it is in my wish list.
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Dear rivera,

Thanks for your reply. I hope that you turn your “wish” into reading the Ordinary Path to Holiness 🙂

If you look at the recommendations listed on the link I gave, you’ll see I’m not alone in recommending this book. Part of its uniqueness is that it is written by a layman for lay persons, especially, although not exclusively. Anyone who has read Scripture and the spiritual classics of the Catholic Church will appreciate this book, because it shows how all of us, clergy, religious, and laity are all called to holiness and are given all we need to fulfill our vocation.

Maybe you could begin a new thread, if and when you read this book. I’d be very interested in your comments. Thanks again for your reply.
 
rivera01 said:
Any recommendations about the Liturgy?
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For a deep insight into the Liturgy, try the Holy Father’s The Spirit of the Liturgy, also Dietrich Von Hildebrand’s Liturgy and Personality. Another helpful book on the Liturgy, especially in the area of apologetics, is Thomas Howard’s Evangelical Is Not Enough.
 
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