What Would Your "Essential" Catholic Home Library Be?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Errham
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Errham

Guest
What books would you expect to find on a devout Catholic’s shelves?

For me it would be:
-A Bible (RSV-CE II would be my Bible of choice, but NAB, NJB, or NRSV would also make the cut)
-Ignatius New Testament Study Bible (I think the Navarre is a good choice as well, especially since it covers the OT too, but it’s way too expensive for a “basic” library)
-A Catechism (it’s debatable whether the US Catholic Catechism for Adults is an acceptable substitute, but personally I think that it’s not. It just leaves too much out, even if it does make for easier reading)
-The Liturgy of the Hours, or Christian Prayer (This may be too expensive for a “basic” library, but I personally feel that it’s well worth the investment)
-A Prayer Book (there are far too many out there to name, and I’m not familiar with most of them so I won’t pass judgment here)
-A Psalter - Reading the Psalms is one of the most basic and essential devotions in Christianity, yet it’s often overlooked, and when it is found, it’s often only as part of a liturgical setting. Devotional reading of the Psalms needs to make a serious comeback, and the problem with reading from your Bible is that most focus almost exclusively on accuracy in translation while overlooking literacy, making for a Psalter that is accurate but not quite excellent for devotional prayer. Personally, I’ve found the best translation to be “The Psalter According to the Seventy”, by Holy Transfiguration Monastery. It’s a Septuagint translation, but it is extremely beautiful, written in traditional English throughout but not in an overencumbering way, and still remains remarkably accurate. This is considered the Psalter par excellence in the Eastern Churches, used in almost every liturgical book published in English.
-Butler’s Lives of the Saints - Again, this is probably too expensive for inclusion in a “basic” Catholic library, but is well worth the money.
-The Imitation of Christ, Thomas A. Kempis - According to popular Catholic legend, this is the second best selling book in history after the Bible. It’s essentially a short, practical handbook on how to live out a Catholic lifestyle.
-The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola - A must have for anyone into Ignatian (imaginative) meditation
-Theology for Beginners, Frank Sheed - The best crash course in essential Catholic theology available. It feels a little intense at times, but it’s worth it.
-Life of Christ, Fulton J. Sheen - The most beautiful meditations on the Gospels that you’ll ever read
-The Secret of the Rosary, St. Louis de Montfort - essentially an explanation of how the Rosary is the second most perfect prayer that we have outside of the Mass
The Lamb’s Supper, Scott Hahn - You’ll look at Mass in a whole new way after reading this book
True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort - the par excellence handbook on Mariology

For those who can’t attend daily Mass:
-A Daily Missal. Especially important if reading scripture isn’t a part of your usual prayer rule. The best is the Our Sunday Visitor “Daily Roman Missal” - it includes a complete prayer book as well as the Missal and daily readings - but it’s also the most expensive.

For new Catechumens:
-Catholicism for Dummies. Yes, I know it sounds amusingly basic and simple, but it really is the best crash course on Catholicism that I’ve come across.

A few controversial wildcards that I’ll throw out there:

-The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross - There are two one-volume editions out there, both of which consist of The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, and assorted poetry. A must-have for anyone into contemplative/mystical theology.
-The Interior Castles, St. Teresa of Avila - Another must have for the more contemplative crowd
-The Sayings of the Desert Fathers - Short bits of ancient wisdom. The best compilation is that by Benedicta Ward.
-The Way, Josemaria Escriva - A modern-day Sayings of the Desert Fathers

What about you guys?
 
Anything by (especially) Augustine and the other writers of the early Church.

I’d love to see more people read Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, too.
 
beleg said:
Anything by (especially) Augustine and the other writers of the early Church.

I’d love to see more people read Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, too.
Click to expand...
I seriously considered including Augustine, but figured that he might be more advanced than bare-essentials. But I would still strongly recommend him as well. I’ve been reading The City of God recently, and it’s absolutely fascinating to read a defence against Greek/Roman paganism in a world where it still existed, and is addressed as such.
 
Augustine, Aquinas, and for more modern authors, G. K. Chesterton and Peter Kreeft. 👍
 
I can’t believe I forgot Aquinas! Sure the Summa is a huge tome, but it’s a great reference book for arguments and debates.
 
beleg said:
I can’t believe I forgot Aquinas! Sure the Summa is a huge tome, but it’s a great reference book for arguments and debates.
Click to expand...
There are actually quite a number of shorter catechisms of Aquinas’s works that make for easier reading. I own “The One-Minute Aquinas”, which has taught me a lot. I haven’t read any of the others though, so I can’t compare it.
 
I think one of the things I would like in my library, and I am adding them a little at a time, are really good Catholic (and some non-Catholic) commentary’s. I add the non-Catholic ones to this as well as some are really well written. You just have to be careful and read them understanding that some of the information may not be following our Catholic teachings. As our deacon told me, read them is like eating a turkey leg… there are lots of bones and tendons, so you just have to eat around them.

I think another fine addition if one could afford it would be the Early Church Fathers (38 vols?) by Hendrickson Publishers. I just love reading some of the older writings and having this set, although expensive, would really be a nice to have.
 
KD8TZC said:
I think one of the things I would like in my library, and I am adding them a little at a time, are really good Catholic (and some non-Catholic) commentary’s. I add the non-Catholic ones to this as well as some are really well written. You just have to be careful and read them understanding that some of the information may not be following our Catholic teachings. As our deacon told me, read them is like eating a turkey leg… there are lots of bones and tendons, so you just have to eat around them.

I think another fine addition if one could afford it would be the Early Church Fathers (38 vols?) by Hendrickson Publishers. I just love reading some of the older writings and having this set, although expensive, would really be a nice to have.
Click to expand...
I think a book you might like would be “The Bible and Holy Fathers for Orthodox”. It’s an Eastern daily lectionary with Patristic commentary for each reading. Very heavy on the Chrysostom.

Personally, I feel that Western and Eastern theologies are meant to consolidate, not contradict each other, and for that reason I do read quite a bit of Eastern reading as well. It’s proven very enlightening, you just need to know how to pick out the odd bits when they come around. Vladimir Lossky’s The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church and John Meyendorff’s Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes are two must-reads for anyone who’s interested in advanced theology.
 
KD8TZC said:
I think one of the things I would like in my library, and I am adding them a little at a time, are really good Catholic (and some non-Catholic) commentary’s. I add the non-Catholic ones to this as well as some are really well written. You just have to be careful and read them understanding that some of the information may not be following our Catholic teachings. As our deacon told me, read them is like eating a turkey leg… there are lots of bones and tendons, so you just have to eat around them.

I think another fine addition if one could afford it would be the Early Church Fathers (38 vols?) by Hendrickson Publishers. I just love reading some of the older writings and having this set, although expensive, would really be a nice to have.
Click to expand...
Is that the same ECF set that is on newadvent.org?
 
Bible (Jerusalem Bible, RSV-CE, NRSV-CE, NABRE)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kemphis
The Way by St Josemaria Escriva
Our Lady of Fatima by Thomas A Walsh.
God sent His son by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn
Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating
Why Catholicism matters by William Donahue
 
On a practical level I don’t know many people who can really afford an extensive library at home unless it be someone in a religious order or with a religious background. Something to think about is that my library has all of these books online with a valid library card.
 
I have many Bishop Fulton Sheen books and Eugene Kennedy. Also Father Benedict Groeschel and Peter Kreeft.
I find these authors easy to read. They are not heavy reading.
 
I posted a link to a Catholic Web site with books I buy, but now I’m wondering if I may have broken the rules of promoting a business. Message deleted.
 
As a new Catholic I just wanted to say thanks to the OP for the post. I do have some of these books but added some to my wishlist for future reading.
 
I don’t know that you would need a psalter. That’s basically duplicating what you already have in the LOTH. For many years I did simply depend on Christian Prayer for praying the LOTH. I kept a A Shorter Christian PrayerDaily Roman Missal
As for Bibles, I have both the NAB and RSV.
These are both personal sized so that I can carry them with me. The RSV is from Ignatius Press.
I like the Catholic Answers Bible. This was recommended by the priest who taught Bible Study while I was overseas.
Do get both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.
Butler’s Lives of the Saints is a classic.
I often refer to the Catholic Source Book by Rev. Peter Klein
As mentioned there are many different prayer books and devotionals available. I have a simple Catholic Devotional from one of my old parishes as well as The Pieta Prayer Book. It is also nice to have a small book on the rosary. I had one that I picked up while on retreat in Conyers, GA from the Trappists there. It had scriptural passages that could be used at the beginning of each decade or with each Hail Mary.
I do have a few other books not included on this list. Mine is the most basic of libraries, and easily portable for traveling or those who may be transferred as a result of jobs or other reasons.
 
DebChris said:
I don’t know that you would need a psalter. That’s basically duplicating what you already have in the LOTH. For many years I did simply depend on Christian Prayer for praying the LOTH. I kept a A Shorter Christian PrayerDaily Roman Missal
Click to expand...
As for Bibles, I have both the NAB and RSV.
These are both personal sized so that I can carry them with me. The RSV is from Ignatius Press.
I like the Catholic Answers Bible. This was recommended by the priest who taught Bible Study while I was overseas.
Do get both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.
Butler’s Lives of the Saints is a classic.
I often refer to the Catholic Source Book by Rev. Peter Klein
As mentioned there are many different prayer books and devotionals available. I have a simple Catholic Devotional from one of my old parishes as well as The Pieta Prayer Book. It is also nice to have a small book on the rosary. I had one that I picked up while on retreat in Conyers, GA from the Trappists there. It had scriptural passages that could be used at the beginning of each decade or with each Hail Mary.
I do have a few other books not included on this list. Mine is the most basic of libraries, and easily portable for traveling or those who may be transferred as a result of jobs or other reasons.

You missed the point on the Psalter. What I was trying to say is that devotional reading of the Psalms not in the context of any liturgy needs to come back ie. Just like a rosary being performed at home, people should more often read the Psalms at home.

Also, any liturgical Psalters (including that of the LOTH) should not be recommended because of the missing Psalms.
 
Errham said:
You missed the point on the Psalter. What I was trying to say is that devotional reading of the Psalms not in the context of any liturgy needs to come back ie. Just like a rosary being performed at home, people should more often read the Psalms at home.

Also, any liturgical Psalters (including that of the LOTH) should not be recommended because of the missing Psalms.
Click to expand...
I read the Psalms from the Bible.
Most of the Psalters that I have seen in Catholic book stores have simply been duplicates of what one would find within the LOTH. I know many who subscribe to Magnificat and other popular devotional magazines which helps with their prayer life, which includes some psalms as part of the daily prayer. It is not something I would invest in since I already have a missal and am praying the LOTH.

When my brother died, I discovered The Christian Almanac in his library. The authors are not Catholic, however, it has much useful information. It is basically a history of Christianity, giving information of what happened on a particular date in history. Across the top of each page is a reading guide for reading the Bible in one year. There will be an inspirational quote of the day. Each day’s entry has 2 pages. The first page is generally a short biography or focus on a particular event. The second page is just what happened on this date in history. The first page also lists the saints being celebrated, and if it is a special day, ie. Philippine National Day, somewhere in the world.
 
Errham said:
You missed the point on the Psalter. What I was trying to say is that devotional reading of the Psalms not in the context of any liturgy needs to come back ie. Just like a rosary being performed at home, people should more often read the Psalms at home.

Also, any liturgical Psalters (including that of the LOTH) should not be recommended because of the missing Psalms.
Click to expand...
Many people have a pocket copy of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. Another pious practice, on any month with 31 days, is to read a chapter a day of Proverbs.

One of my latest additions is the Divine Comedy by Dante. I have not read the Inferno since High School. The Divine Comedy was recommended reading for the upcoming Year of Mercy by Pope Francis.

Imitation of Christ, St. Augustine’s Confessions, and the other books recommended by the other posters are all good recommendations to a growing Catholic library.
 
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top