Your Favorite Classic Devotional Works

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I am always looking for good devotional books. I confess, I am not much of a mystic, so works like The Interior Castle by St. Teresa or Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross just don’t do anything for me. I’m much, much simpler than that. Here are some of my favorites:
  • Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
  • Soul of the Apostolate, Dom Jean-Baptist Chautard
  • This Tremendous Lover, Fr. Eugene Boylan
  • The Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation, St. Alphonsus Liguori.
  • Story of a Soul, St. Therese of Lisieux.
Any others you would recommend?

P.S. To the moderators, I would very much appreciate if this thread could be kept in the Traditional Catholicism forum. Thank you.
 
I like "The Cloud of Unknowing by “Unknown” and “The Spirtual Combat” by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. There are various translations around: Tan Publishing is a good source to check them out.
 
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis is considered a classic in this genre. It’s not difficult at all.
 
There’s a daily meditation book that I like: My Daily Bread by Fr. Anthony Paone, S.J., published by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood. It follows the three-fold way of purgation, illumination, and union.
 
I also like The Imitation of Christ especially in the translation by Msgr. Ronald A. Knox, one of the most famous British preachers of the twentieth century. I found it much easier to read than the old Imitation that my father gave me. I was advised in confession once to read a chapter a day, and I have tried to do this for quite a while now. It never gets boring.
 
DavidPalm said:
I am always looking for good devotional books. I confess, I am not much of a mystic, so works like The Interior Castle by St. Teresa or Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross just don’t do anything for me. I’m much, much simpler than that. Here are some of my favorites:
  • Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
  • Soul of the Apostolate, Dom Jean-Baptist Chautard
  • This Tremendous Lover, Fr. Eugene Boylan
  • The Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation, St. Alphonsus Liguori.
  • Story of a Soul, St. Therese of Lisieux.
Any others you would recommend?

P.S. To the moderators, I would very much appreciate if this thread could be kept in the Traditional Catholicism forum. Thank you.
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My most favorite is, “True Devotion to Mary” by St. Louis De Montfort and translated by Fr. Frederick Faber
This book teaches you devotion to Mary. Let me give you an excerpt:
"We renounce, as is expressed in the formula of consecration, the devil, the world, sin and self; and we give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ by the hands of Mary: Nay, we even do something more; for in Baptism, we ordinarily speak by the mouth of another, our godfather or godmother, and so we give ourselves to Jesus Christ not by ourselves but through another. But in this devotion we do it by ourselves, voluntarily, knowing what we are doing. Moreover, in holy Baptism we do not give ourselves to Jesus by the hands of Mary, at least not in an explicit manner, and we do not give Him the value of our good actions. We remain entirely free after Baptism, either to apply them to whom we please or to keep them for ourselves. But by this devotion we give ourselves to Our Lord explicitly by the hands of Mary, and we consecrate to Him the value of all our actions.
Men, says St. Thomas, make a vow at their Baptism to renounce the devil and all his pomps. This vow, says St. Augustine, is the greatest and most indipensable of all vows…"yet who has kept this…who faithfully performs the promises of holy Baptism…
this can be done in a perfect manner , by this devotion and consecration of ourselves to Our Lord through His holy Mother, because in thus consecrating ourselves to Him, we make use of the most perfect of all means, namely, the Bless Virgin.
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The Bible
The Soul of the Apostolate
The Imitation of Christ
Story of a Soul
The Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius
Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina
The Catholic Girl’s Guide, Fr. Lasance (I’d assume The Young Men’s Guide would also be good)
The Gift of Self to God, Fr. N. Grou, S.J.
Heliotropium, Fr. J. Drexelius, S.J.
The School of Jesus Crucified, Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus
The Perfect Joy of St. Francis, Felix Timmermans
The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa of Avila
 
I very much like to hear the songs from “The Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation”. It gives me all the needed rest.
 
This list covers more than just devotional works, but since every one of your suggestions is on it, some of the other titles may appeal to you as well…
 
I read a chapter from *My Daily Bread *by Fr Paone every day. It was published in the 1950’s and so the language is a little outdated but the ideas are wonderful. Some years later Fr Paone S.J. wrote another book which is has all the Catholicism stripped out of it; it is just a generic self help book.

I also read a chapter every day from *In Conversation With God *by Fr Francis Fernandez. This work is in 5 or 7 pocket-sized volumes and contains a meditation on the scripture of the day. In one year you would get through the 5 volumes and the 2 extra are for Saints’ Days or special novenas e.g. Corpus Christi I have been reading these books for seven years now and I never fail to get something new out of them.
 
Divine Intimacy – Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene, OCD

(The one volume edition based on the traditional calendar.)
 
Imitation of Christ. Since I first read it as a Protestant, over 30 years ago, to today, as I prepare to swim the Tiber, it has been a guide and friend. I look forward to thanking Thomas à Kempis in person, for this most excellent volume.

Paul
 
You know I suspect Mother Angelica could be a mystic

She was healed by the efforts of one, and had a couple of paranormal experiences herself with the Divino Nino

I would recommend Raymond Arroyo’s bio of her. I couldn’t put it down…This isn’t exactly what you are looking for but I can’t resist plugging it
 
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