Things Every Catholic Should Own?

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saribee

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What would you add to this list:
-Bible
-Catechism
-Rosary

I’m going to start RCIA as soon as possible and I’m going to spend the day at a Basilica tomorrow where they have a fantastic store full of Catholic stuff 🙂
 
I think it depends on you personally… if you feel a particular devotion to our Blessed Mother, for example, you might want a medal or a small statue. The same for any other objects that represent the faith. Nothing is truly necessary, but you might find that there are things you would like to have as reminders of your faith.

It took me many years to realize that there are several translations of the Catholic Bible-- I always thought there was just one for us. :o I have different ones and I read different translations at different times… one is in more everyday language, one more formal. You might look at different editions of the Bible if you are doing a lot of reading/studying and see which one suits you.
 
a crucifix should be on the wall at the entrance of your house, or in your bedroom

a prayer book, missal, liturgy of the hours, anything that helps you pray

I am trying to pare it down and simplify so I have one icon or statue in my prayer corner for each season, rather than a multiplicity as I used to.
 
I think all the answers you’ve gotten so far are excellent. As a starting point you definitely want to have a good Catholic Bible, a Catechism and a rosary. For your home a crucifix, holy water and perhaps a statue of a favorite saint or Mary.

After a while though you’ll want more perhaps prayer books, Liturgy of the Hours and commentaries or other spiritual books. An excellent publisher to go to is Ignatius Press, they have tons of great titles.

ChadS
 
A crucifix in the home. We have one over the front door and in each bedroom.

Whatever helps you with devotions or prayer time. As a new Catholic, a book of traditional prayers litanies, and novenas might be helpful as you learn these wonderful traditions.

Any other devotional items that you are drawn to – statue of Our Lady or Miraculous medal, scapular or Sacred Heart or a particular saint.

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is gorgeous and the gift shops (2!) are indeed a treasure trove.
 
The Bible, The Imitation of Christ, and a good book or books on the lives of the saints.
and if you want to buy books from a Catholic store, i would recommend TAN books, Angelus Press books, books from here - www.fraternitypublications.com

a good book of prayers like this - tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/706

A good crucifix and statue of The Blessed Mother,

but the best things you can obtain as a Catholic are - The virtues, devotion or Our Lady, and child-like faith in God.
in which case, i would also recommend a good spiritual director, especially one from the FSSP if you have one nearby - fssp.org/en/coordonnees.htm
 
saribee said:
What would you add to this list:
-Bible
-Catechism
-Rosary

I’m going to start RCIA as soon as possible and I’m going to spend the day at a Basilica tomorrow where they have a fantastic store full of Catholic stuff 🙂
Click to expand...
Great list. It shows that you are on the right track. When I read this I thought that it was a sufficient answer to your own question, but after reading others’ responses I agree that a crucifix in the home is on the “must” list.

Apart from that, there are other devotions which will come over the years (eg. Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Divine Mercy), but I would recommend that you just wait till they come up in their own time, rather than recommending them as something you “should” do.

I would also recommend a computer, with the internet, and a filter for innapropriate content. I rate this as very important for growing in the faith. It can be used to find Mass times when travelling, get Parish announcements, and find Catholic teaching and information on anything you are unsure of. In my 10 years with the internet I have learned much more, practically, than in the previous 20. I encounter very devout, daily Mass goers, who are of the pre-internet generation, and who make mistakes which could be easily avoided if they checked them on the internet. You can also save our overworked priests a lot of trouble by avoiding phone calls for information which is already published on Parish sites, and by working out answers to many of your questions here in CAF, rather than in the confessional.
 
saribee said:
What would you add to this list:
-Bible
-Catechism
-Rosary

I’m going to start RCIA as soon as possible and I’m going to spend the day at a Basilica tomorrow where they have a fantastic store full of Catholic stuff 🙂
Click to expand...
I would add to this a Crucifix, a prayer book, and a Sunday Missal. Welcome! 🙂
 
saribee said:
What would you add to this list:
-Bible
-Catechism
-Rosary

I’m going to start RCIA as soon as possible and I’m going to spend the day at a Basilica tomorrow where they have a fantastic store full of Catholic stuff 🙂
Click to expand...
Greetings Saribee,

LOTH - Liturgy of the Hours - 4 Volume set
Catechism of the Council of Trent
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma
Books about your favourite saints
Crucifix in every room in the house [not necessary, but I have them in every room and it is a blessing]
Statue of our Blessed Lady
Picture or statue of St. Micheal
Roman Daily Missal
God Bless.
Anathama Sit*
 
saribee said:
What would you add to this list:
-Bible
-Catechism
-Rosary

I’m going to start RCIA as soon as possible and I’m going to spend the day at a Basilica tomorrow where they have a fantastic store full of Catholic stuff 🙂
Click to expand...
Liturgy of the Hours
Crucifix
Sick Call kit
Holy Water
More Holy Water
Crucifix
Sunday Missal
Picture of the Holy Father
Picture of Blessed Mother
Picture of Sacred Heart/Divine Mercy
“God Alone” The collected writings of Saint Louis De Montfort
Any different chaplet guides/beads (Divine Mercy, Michael the Archangel, Philomena, Therese, etc.)

Just a little list off the top of my head.

~ Pius :knight1:
 
I just bought the Compendium of the CCC. Does anyone know if there’s a PDF of the CCC readily available?
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I just bought the Compendium of the CCC. Does anyone know if there’s a PDF of the CCC readily available?
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I am not aware of a PDF, but someone with sufficient patience could easily make one from the many web sites that already exist. If it were for personal use and not for sale, I’m sure it would be fine, since it’s public information anyway.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I just bought the Compendium of the CCC. Does anyone know if there’s a PDF of the CCC readily available?
Click to expand...
way too big and would clog up your computer, much easier to access and research on line

note you do not have to “purchase” any of these things to be Catholic. The bible also is available on line as is liturgy of the hours, daily Mass readings, lives of the saints, the prayers, etc. Most parishes will give you a free rosary and sometimes a bible and catechism if you ask, and the rosary has a crucifix on it, as well as a Marian medal in the middle.
 
I disagree that a PDF of the catechism would clog up your computer. After all, I DO happen to have a 3000+ page PDF of the collected works of Aristotle. 😛

But I do want to get a paper copy of the catechism. I tend to get distracted far too easily on my computer.

On the original topic:
-A rosary
-At least one Bible (I personally don’t find reading the bible online to be as spiritually edifying as reading the word of God on paper)
-A Catechism(optional, because of the online versions available. For some reason, I don’t mind reading this one online as much)
-Crucifix(es)
-Maybe a computer to access this site?😃

I also advocate paper over digital editions of the Catechism/Bible because you never know when your computer will break, and you’ll be waiting for replacement parts, service, etc. for a week.
 
Thanks so much!

Several of you mentioned Holy Water. I’m a college student living in a dorm-like situation. How do you go about getting holy water and are some things more appropriate if I’m actually living in a house? Like, I can’t hang anything on the walls, so I can’t have a crucifix. I know many people have prayer stations in their house with icons and statues and stuff, but again, I can’t have that since I have roommates and a very tiny bedroom 🙂
 
saribee said:
Thanks so much!

Several of you mentioned Holy Water. I’m a college student living in a dorm-like situation. How do you go about getting holy water and are some things more appropriate if I’m actually living in a house? Like, I can’t hang anything on the walls, so I can’t have a crucifix. I know many people have prayer stations in their house with icons and statues and stuff, but again, I can’t have that since I have roommates and a very tiny bedroom 🙂
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Greetings Saribee,

You can purchase Holy Water containers at your local Catholic store and then go to the Church and fill them up. These containers are small and do not take up much room and they are reasonable in price.

Do now what works for you. In Undergraduate school I could not get a Crucifix either, so I put one on my desktop or my screensaver of my computer. I had Catholic artwork as my screensaver for years until I could get my own home.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
The Catechism is also extremely affordable, even for college students on a rather slim budget. I think most copies of the Catechism I’ve seen in bookstores are between $10 and $14. The copy of the Catechism I own I got from an online bookstore for about $6. So a rather modest outlay of cash you can have a treasury of great spiritual significance.

Could you go without Starbucks for a day or two or perhaps eat in one meal instead of out with some friends to afford the Catechism?

ChadS
 
 
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