Recommended Reading

  • Thread starter Thread starter alpslapper
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

alpslapper

Guest
I’m truely humbled and amazed at the depth of knowledge most of you here seem to have concerning the Catholic faith.

As someone returning to the Chuch, and wanting to get it right this time, I realise how very little I know about the Catholic faith, Liturgy, sacrements, etc etc.

I am now the proud owner of a Bible, and a daily prayer book.

But my question is what books would you recommend to someone like me to help me deepen my understanding of the Catholic faith, and catholic church; I’ve looked at stuff on various book sites but I couldn’t identify if the authors were Catholic or had catholic sympathies and wasn’t sure if some of the books had an agenda, or would be too complicated for me and just go right over my head.

You advice and help as always is greatly appreciated.
 
I would suggest James Martin, SJ’s My Life with the Saints. Fr. Martin was a corporate CEO before he became a priest. This book is a very interesting account of his spiritual growth as well as a fresh reading of the saints and their relevence today.
 
alpslapper said:
I’m truely humbled and amazed at the depth of knowledge most of you here seem to have concerning the Catholic faith.

As someone returning to the Chuch, and wanting to get it right this time, I realise how very little I know about the Catholic faith, Liturgy, sacrements, etc etc.

I am now the proud owner of a Bible, and a daily prayer book.

But my question is what books would you recommend to someone like me to help me deepen my understanding of the Catholic faith, and catholic church; I’ve looked at stuff on various book sites but I couldn’t identify if the authors were Catholic or had catholic sympathies and wasn’t sure if some of the books had an agenda, or would be too complicated for me and just go right over my head.

You advice and help as always is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma-Ludwig OTT
Sources of Catholic Dogma-Denzinger
Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent.

These books may go over your head, if your beginner but they are probably some of the best reference materials around and devoid of any liberal agenda!

Use them to complement your other reading.

God bless and welcome home.

Eric
 
I have a few recommendations.

1.) In addition to learning the faith (doctrines), we also need to learn about the spiritual life. There are a lot of very good books out there, but one of my favorites is called Guidance is Spiritual Direction. It is written by a Priest and for Priests. t easy to read, very instructive, and will teach you what you need to know about the three stages of the spiritual life, overcoming sins and faults, and growing in perfection. It is published by Roman Catholics Books. I’m sure you can locate it by doing a google search.

2.) There is a lot of concusion in the Church today due to liberalism. It came to the surface and has enveloped the Church since the 60’s. Due to that, it is best to purchase older Catholic books, written before the 60’s. TAN is a good publisher that you can trust. They reprint a lot of older books, and even their newer books are usually very solid.

3.) As far as learning the faith, I’d start out with the Baltimore Catechism #3, or the Penny Catechism of Pius X. Both are online, but I would try to purchase a copy in book form as well. Then you may want to get This is the Faith, by Canon Francis Ripley. It is published by TAN.
 
  • Catholicism for Dummies (don’t be offended by the title-- and the priests are totally in line with Church teaching) is a very clear, albeit basic, introduction (or re-introduction?) to the Faith
  • and of course, the Catechism (pretty serious level of detail) and the Compendium (Catechism distilled down very well, in q&a format) can be purchased, or read on-line.
Welcome home,

Margaret
 
ericcantona71 said:
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma-Ludwig OTT
Sources of Catholic Dogma-Denzinger
Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent.

These books may go over your head, if your beginner but they are probably some of the best reference materials around and devoid of any liberal agenda!

Use them to complement your other reading.

God bless and welcome home.

Eric
Click to expand...
my suggestion would be something much easier to read and digest, namely the US CAtholic Catechism for Adults, and keep a Catechism of the Catholic Church and bible handy to look up the topics and references.
 
I recommend the following books:

My Catholic Faith by Bp. Louis LaRavoire Morrow

The Faith of Millions by Fr. John Anthony O’Brien

Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed

This is the Faith by Canon William Ripley

The Catholic Catechism by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

and finally, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.
 
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of JESUS: (scanned; 1863 translation): books.google.com/books?id=XIcEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1&dq=croiset+1863#PPA264,M1

A review about the book: “The Bishop of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, discovered this tremendous treasure after it had disappeared for almost two centuries, thus fulfilling a prophecy made by St. Margaret Mary. She foretold that this inspired writing would be forgotten for a time, but then would come to light again. The author (Fr. Croiset) was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary and therefore was intimately familiar with every aspect of the revelations given by Our Lord to this famous saint; thus, the book is actually the “key” to understanding the importance and the centrality of the Sacred Heart devotion for our lives as true Catholics. This great work was actually commissioned by Our Lord Himself through St. Margaret Mary, and as Father Croiset neared completion of it, St. Margaret told him that Our Lord said it was so completely in accord with His wishes that it would never be necessary to make any change in it. Later she revealed that it was Our Lord Himself who had inspired him with the ideas in this book and that it was **so pleasing to Him that “none other but Himself could have arranged everything so much to His wishes.” **This magnificent work is a revelation to all just why so few of us become great saints and why so few, despite going frequently to the Sacraments, fail really to grow in the life of grace and make great progress in the spiritual order. The best there is on this important devotion!”
 
In addition to TAN, another good publisher is Ignatius Press, and Scepter Publishers are also very good, they print the Navarre Bible series and In Conversation with God both are awesome! God Bless.
 
Here’s a shortcut to increasing your knowledge of the faith:

Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Dictionaries.

amazon.com/Pocket-Catholic-Dictionary-John-Hardon/dp/0385232381

Both the Pocket sized and the larger Modern edition are great for looking up terms and just thumbing through for a quick lesson.

Give yourself a short, random lesson a day by just opening it up and reading the first item your eyes meet.

I would also recommend learning some of the vocabulary of scholastic philosophy. So many doors to understanding are opened up with just a few new words.

amazon.com/Hooked-Philosophy-Thomas-Aquinas-Made/dp/0818907401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206990551&sr=1-1
 
Amy Welborn’s “Prove It!” series is great, geared mostly toward teenagers, but easy to understand and fun to read.

Tim Staples’ “Nuts and Bolts” is also very good, written in anecdotal fashion.

Marcus Grodi’s “How Firm a Foundation” is a fictional account of a Protestant minister’s journey to Catholicism. It’s excellent!

Patrick Madrid’s “Surprised by Truth” series is also very good.

Baby steps, these are, but every step is good if it’s in the right direction!
 
alpslapper said:
I’m truely humbled and amazed at the depth of knowledge most of you here seem to have concerning the Catholic faith.

As someone returning to the Chuch, and wanting to get it right this time, I realise how very little I know about the Catholic faith, Liturgy, sacrements, etc etc.

I am now the proud owner of a Bible, and a daily prayer book.

But my question is what books would you recommend to someone like me to help me deepen my understanding of the Catholic faith, and catholic church; I’ve looked at stuff on various book sites but I couldn’t identify if the authors were Catholic or had catholic sympathies and wasn’t sure if some of the books had an agenda, or would be too complicated for me and just go right over my head.

You advice and help as always is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Tan Books is a Catholic Publishing Company, you can’t go wrong with them. Cotters Church supplies is another though I just stick with Tan myself. As for a book to start with I recommend Tradition and the Church.

Take care and God Bless
 
Do you know of any books that lay out proper ettiquette during mass ? Especially one that covers current abuses of the liberal church members and why they are wrong.
 
Califman831 said:
Do you know of any books that lay out proper ettiquette during mass ? Especially one that covers current abuses of the liberal church members and why they are wrong.
Click to expand...
First, I second the motion that Tan and Ignatius Press are safe sources; I would add the EWTN catalogue site. Using a secular bookstore is very risky because there is such a mixture, including some “unCatholic” material.

Regarding the above question - I have often recommended Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, Msgr. Elliott, and Mass Confusion, James Akins (from Catholic Answers).
 
puzzleannie said:
my suggestion would be something much easier to read and digest, namely the US CAtholic Catechism for Adults, and keep a Catechism of the Catholic Church and bible handy to look up the topics and references.
Click to expand...
Yes that’s why I said to use them as reference books only and to complement other reading!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top