Thanks for all the suggestions. I came across a book titled The Jesuits by Malachi Martin and was wondering if anyone read it, what they think and their thoughts on the author. There seems to be lots of controversy surrounding him.
Thanks.
I have read it. I tend to believe most of it. I thought the Jesuits was the dryest of his books.
I usually enjoy reading him but I don’t particularly respect most of Martin’s work. Windswept House was a great read, but it must be read as fiction and he includes speculations that some of his readers seem to accept as factual. In his histories, he doesn’t support his assertions with reference material but with hearsay and he tends towards sensationalism. I seem to recall there were some questionable scenes that would probably trouble me more now than when I was less sensitive about ten years ago. I would positively discourage anyone from reading his material on exorcism as it contains explicit descriptions of extremely lewd and depraved behaviors.
Are you looking for literature, history, theology, philosophy, fantasy, or something else? Hardly anyone is looking for everything.
For science fiction I would have to recommend Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller who eventually left the Church.
I think Warren Carroll is a good historian who unashamedly presents the Catholic faith with great love and fervor. I am not sure how he knows about Queen Isabell’s flaming eyes and her hair blowing gloriously behind her as with perfect feminine grace she rides her beautfiul steed, but I still think he does great work. I like Belloc a lot, but he has some of the same problems as Martin…not with dirt or sensationalism…but lack of references for assertions. There are some secular historians that are doing good in matters touching Catholic history. Henry Kamen is a Spanish historian who has done wonderful work in dispelling myths about the Spanish Inquisition. He has also written a very balanced and judicious work on King Philip II.
I can only recommend Peter Kreeft and other more popular writers for a touch of philosophy. Other stuff is over my head. John Senior was a professor at the University of Kansas whose works are accessible and while not being strictly philosophical all the time, you get some good thinking. Joseph Pieper is understandable too. I stay away from Maritain and and this other guy whose books I have and have read, but can’t quite ever remember what he said afterward! Dietrich von Hildebrand is great too and understandable to a trucker.
For theology, Ludwig Ott, Fr. Reginald Garigou-Lagrange, and Fr. Matthias Scheeben are 19th and 20th Century giants, in my opinion, that are readable. Of course the Fathers are Catholic. And the Summa Theologica was by a Catholic, St. Thomas Aquinas. I think John Henry Newman is really important for our day and age too.
For literature, I honestly don’t look for Catholics. Since I speak only English, I want English lieterature and that means Protestants. Plantaganet Palliser (my nickname sake) was a favorite character created by Anthony Trollope who was not unsympathetic with Catholics, especially in Ireland. His series, the Barchester Chronicles mirrors some of the upheaval going on in the Church of England during the time of John Henry Newman. The heroes were always “high church” guys who I understood to be motivated by the principles of the Oxford Movement, which of course led to Newman’s eventual conversion.
Allesandro Manzoni was a 19th Century Italian who wrote a beautiful story called The Betrothed. Of course I have only read it in translation. It is very uplifting but only after a lot of darkness. A little bit like Lent before Easter. Of course I can’t fail to mention Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
John Senior talked about how we English speaking Catholics shouldn’t fail to read non-Catholic English literature. The best in English is virtually dominated by non-Catholics like Hardy, Dickens, and Gaskill. I even like a few Americans such as Fitzgerald. The very most wonderful description I have ever read in lierature of the mystery of the Eucharist was penned by M. Somerset Maugham in a book that was disappointing in many other ways, The Razor’s Edge. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskill is a wonderful story about stark poverty, oppression, murder, and forgiveness. I would recommend all of these authors before I would Graham Greene or Flannery O’Connor who happen to be Catholic. I like Evelyn Waugh’s later work. Brideshead Revisited is a must for any Catholic interested in English Lit. It is a must for ANYONE interested in English Lit.
I don’t think we should read junk just because its written by a Catholic, nor should we fail to read beautiful literature because it is written by a Protestant. Art is in the natural order and that means that without grace, non-Catholics can paint, write, sculpt, and compose art that is uplifting and worthwhile.
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