Spiritual Reading

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I try to spend a little time each day doing some spiritual reading. Sometimes it is a reading from Holy Scripture, sometimes a book by or about a saint, other times an encyclical or something from the Catechism. I really enjoy doing it during a Holy Hour, for maybe 15-20 minutes after the Rosary and then spending some time before the Blessed Sacrament meditating on the reading.

Currently, I am reading, The Passion of Therese of Lisieux by Guy Gaucher. A very powerful telling of the last months of such a holy woman and Doctor of the Church.

A few saints quotes on Spiritual Reading:

*St. Augustine of Hippo, considered one of the greatest Fathers of the Church, converted to the Catholic Church upon hearing a boy tell him" “Take, read; take, read.” He recounted that “I took (the epistles of Paul the Apostle), I opened, I read in silence; it was as though the darkness of all my doubting was driven away by the light of peace which had entered my soul.”

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of what is considered as the largest religious order in Catholicism, decided to live a saintly life, after reading a volume of the lives of the saints which he accidentally took up while he was in a hospital bed.

St. Edith Stein, Patron of Europe, converted to Catholicism after reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila on a holiday in Göttingen in 1921, at the age of 29. One evening Edith picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and read this book all night. “When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth.” She went out the next day to buy a missal and a copy of the Catholic catechism.

Thomas Merton, a known spiritual writer, read a book by Étienne Gilson, on “The Elements of Christian Philosophy,” and decided to study Catholicism. He later converted and became a Trappist monk.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_reading

Is Spiritual Reading part of your prayer life? If so, what are you reading now?
 
Love your examples from the lives of St. Augustine, St. Edith Stein, and St. Ignatius.

I actually think I might do too much spiritual reading. Currently I just finished tonight a very touching book on the life of Blessed Margaret of Castello.

Here is a link to Amazon describing the book:

amazon.com/Life-Blessed-Margaret-Castello-1287-1320/dp/0895552132

You can also read a very brief description of her story on the Priests for Life website:

priestsforlife.org/testimony/castello.html

I’m also trying to find an in-depth biography on the life of St. Martin de Porres.
Any help welcome!
 
Very important subject! 😃

I must say that reading the early Epistle of Pope St. Clement I to the Corinthian Church puts me in a calm, faithful mood. This very long letter gives me shivers for the prayers it contains, and for all the charity therein. The pope admonishes the arrogance of the Corinthians in A.D. 96, telling them that they were once the most charitable and Christian of the churches, but had since fallen into quarrels and pettiness. He blesses them regardless, and begs that they repair their unconcerned sinfulness. It is a powerful letter, believe me!

Here is a very good translation from New Advent:

newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm
 
GloriousOrder,

Thanks for introducing me to the Epistle of Pope St. Clement I to the Corinthian Church.
Very cool. 🙂
 
This is a great topic! I do some reading every day, but it’s not as structured as it could (should?) be. I have a stack of books on prayer and a stack on the Blessed Virgin, and I read a chapter or so most days (often after the Rosary). I have some great books that need more attention (eg, Transformation in Christ), and that’s where I think more structure would help.
 
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