An Eclectic Catholic Reading List
- Introduction to This Reading List
- Before commenting on this reading list, I want to mention Fr. John Hardon’s book, “The Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan.” I don’t own the book but I have perused it; the book provides an excellent plan for a lifetime of reading, so it’s worth taking a look at for a list of good reading material. Fr. Hardon (who will probably be known as St. John sometime in the future) was a truly great and orthodox Catholic theologian. Pope Paul VI, seeing the collapse in authentic Catholic teaching that started in the mid-1960s, asked Fr. Hardon to write a catechism so as to make available to the world a contemporary catechism that stated the faith accurately. The result was the publication of “The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church” in 1975. It too is an excellent work.
- Now, as for my reading list, it represents many of the quality books that I have read over the years. There are certainly other great books besides those on this list, but if I haven’t read them, they didn’t make the list; I can’t recommend what I haven’t read. All of the books in this list meet my high standard for quality content and orthodoxy. I have included brief comments for a good number of these books, but not all of them due to lack of time. I will continue to add descriptions as time permits.
- Each book in this list is rated relative to the degree of difficulty that I think the average high school reader would experience. This is obviously a subjective reading level scale, but one has to start somewhere. Each item will have either a (E), (C) or (D) to indicate it is “easy” reading, moderately “challenging” reading, or “difficult” reading with respect to a typical high school senior’s reading level.
- Note that (E) does not mean the content of the book is simple, but only that it can be read and comprehended without difficulty, and, on the other end of the spectrum, (D) simply means the book will likely be a slow read with some effort involved in comprehending what the author is saying. On this scale, I rate Theology and Sanity in the middle at (C).
- Each of these ratings has a fairly wide range, and they can certainly overlap with the next higher or lower rating, depending on what the reader brings to the table. If you discover errors in any of what follows below, please let me know so I can make the necessary corrections.
- Fathers of the Church
- (C) Catena Aurea, Thomas Aquinas (4 volumes). In this four-volume set, one volume for each Gospel, Aquinas draws on the Church Fathers for line by line commentary on the Gospels. This is an excellent resource for studying Scripture. The language is a bit archaic, since it was translated from Latin to English in the late 1800’s by a group of English scholars headed by Blessed John Henry Newman.
- (C) Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth, translator. This short book contains the writings of Pope St. Clement (third successor of Peter, d. 90’s), St. Ignatius of Antioch (who was the first to use the word “catholic” to describe the Church), a few letters by other authors, and the Didache (the Church’s first extra-Biblical teaching document). Blessed John Henry Newman said of the Ignatian letters that in them one finds the entire “Catholic system,” at least in outline form, and in some places completely filled up. Ignatius died around 115, hence, his letters are a powerful witness to the fact that the Church we have today is the same Church in which this great martyr was a Bishop.
- (E) Church Fathers, Pope Benedict. This book is a biographical survey of the Fathers of the Church, by a renowned expert on the Church Fathers.
- (E) The Mass of the Early Christians, Mike Aquilina. This book draws from the Early Church Fathers to show how the Mass we have today is essentially identical in form to the Mass of the early Christians.
- (C) Confessions, St. Augustine. This is Augustine’s autobiography of his conversion to Christianity. After living an immoral lifestyle for nearly two decades, this brilliant man, inspired by St. Ambrose of Milan, turned his life around and became one of the greatest theologians the Church has known.
- (C) The Faith of the Early Fathers, Fr. William A. Jurgens (3 volumes). This three-volume set contains samples of the writings of many of the Church Fathers. It has three different indexes (names, places and topics; Scripture, doctrine) that make it easy to find key passages in the writings of the Fathers that support and expound the doctrines the Church has taught throughout its history. The references from the Fathers are in chronological order.
- (C) Mary and the Fathers of the Church, (C) Mary in the Middle Ages, Fr. Luigi Gambero. This two-volume set is a chronological collection of many of the references to the various teachings we hold about the Virgin Mary.
- (E) Our Lady and the Church (also listed under Mariology), Fr. Hugo Rahner. The Church Fathers regularly identified the Virgin Mary with the Church, seeing them, in a sense, as one and the same. That is, they saw the Virgin Mary as the archetype of the Church. She is the human personification of the Church. Rahner shows how the major Marian doctrines each reflect a particular reality in the Church. Pope Benedict called this “marvelous work” of Hugo Rahner one of the “most important theological rediscoveries of the twentieth century.”
- (E) The History of the Church, Eusebius. This superb work gives us a history of the Church from its inception to the time of Emperor Constantine, who’s famous Edict of Milan, in 313 AD, ended 249 years of official state persecution of the Church. Eusebius was an admirer and friend of Constantine.
- Spirituality
- (E) Introduction to the Devout Life, St Francis de Sales. There is no better guide to how one should put into practice the counsels of the spiritual life found in Scripture than St. Francis de Sales. He guides the reader, whom he assumes to be a beginner in the practice of an authentic prayer life, through the essential elements of Christian Meditation. He then teaches the reader how one should practice the virtues in his daily life. His exposition of the virtues and how they should be practiced is extraordinary. Even one who is long practiced in the spiritual life can gain much from this part of the book. The development of one’s prayer life begins with the practice of meditation and grows naturally, in the course of some period of time, perhaps several years, into contemplative prayer. St. Francis does not speak of the eventual transition from meditation to contemplation in this book, but he gives the reader everything he needs to be led to that point of transition. After reading the Introduction, one should consider reading Fr. Dubay’s “Fire Within” to get an understanding of the transition from meditation to contemplation, and to get an understanding of the advanced spiritual life to which everyone is called.
- (E) Prayer Primer, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (E) Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, Fr. J. P. de Caussade
- (E) Seeking Spiritual Direction, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (E) Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (C) Fire Within, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (C) Imitation of Christ, Thomas á Kempis (Confraternity of the Precious Blood edition)
- (C) Collected Works of Teresa of Avila (Institute of Carmelite Studies)
- (C) Collected Works of St. John of the Cross (Institute of Carmelite Studies)
- (E) Story of a Soul, St. Therese of Lisieux
- (E) The Spiritual Combat, Dom Lorenzo Scupoli
- (C) The Spiritual Life, Rev Adolphe Tanquerey
- (C) The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an unnamed English Catholic monk
- (E) The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
- (E) The Sinner’s Guide, Venerable Louis of Grenada
- (C) True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort
- Christology
- (C) Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict (3 volumes)
- (E) The Sacred Passion, Luis de la Palma
- (C) A Doctor at Calvary, Dr. Pierre Barbet
- (E) Life of Christ, Fulton J. Sheen. An excellent exposition of the public life of Jesus. Sheen has a delightful poetic touch in much of his writing. This book covers many of the same events that are covered in Sheed’s “To Know Christ Jesus” (see below), but it does so from a different perspective and, thus, brings out things that Sheed doesn’t mention (obviously, it’s not possible for one author to bring out all that could be said of Jesus – Jn 21:25 ).
- (E) To Know Christ Jesus, Frank J. Sheed. An excellent exposition of the public life of Jesus. It’s less demanding than Theology and Sanity, because it’s not primarily a work of theology, though you will see Theology and Sanity shining through in places. As noted above, this book covers many of the same events that are covered in Sheen’s “Life of Christ,” but from a different perspective.
- Christianity
- (C) The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton
- (C) Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton
- (E) The Catholic Controversy, St. Francis de Sales
- (D) An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Blessed John Henry Newman
- Mariology
- (E) Mary, Mother of the Son, Mark Shea (3 volumes)
- (E) The World’s First Love, Bishop Sheen
- (C) Mariology, Mark Miravalle, editor
- (C) Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, Juan Luis Bastero
- (C) Mother of the Savior, Fr. Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange
- (C) The Knowledge of Mary, Rev J de Concilio
- (E) Theotokos, St John Paul II
- (E) Our Lady and the Church (also listed under Fathers of the Church), Fr. Hugo Rahner
- Lives of the Saints
- (E) Bernadette Soubirous, Abbe François Trochu
- (E) Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Fr. Leo Maasburg
- (E) Mother Teresa, Kathryn Spink
- (E) The Saints: A Closer Look, Fr. Thomas Dubay. This is an easy read. Rather than being a biography of a particular saint, this is an expert description of what it means to be a saint. Fr. Dubay gives many examples from the lives of a variety of saints that show how the saints start out just like we do, with all our faults and weaknesses, but are transformed through grace and their own determined efforts to live according to the Gospel.
- (C) Fire Within, Fr. Thomas Dubay. “This book is a gold mine for any Christian intent on making progress in prayer,” according to Fr. Benedict Groeschell. In the book, Fr. Dubay synthesizes the writings of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, both of whom are Doctors of the Church in the area of spirituality. The book is an excellent introduction to the seven Teresian mansions, which describe the full spectrum of spiritual growth. Teresa describes the experiences of the soul as one advances in the spiritual life, whereas John speaks of the same subject from the point of view of a wise spiritual director providing guidance to one journeying through the seven mansions. This book is essential reading for anyone who is serious about the spiritual life.
- (E) The Cure of Ars, Fr. Francis Trochu. This is the definitive biography of St. John Vianney. Fr. Trochu based this biography largely, and perhaps exclusively, on the written record of Vianney’s canonization process. The saint was not known for his intellectual abilities, in fact, when first ordained he was not allowed to hear confessions. However, he eventually became the “confessor of Europe”; his confession lines were sometimes up to eight days long, despite the fact that he spent anywhere from 10 to 18 hours a day hearing confessions, which averaged a mere three or four minutes each.
- (E) Joan of Arc, Mark Twain. It may be hard to believe that an American humorist who may have had a bit of an anti-Catholic bias could write a good biography of a saint, but the erudite Fr. George Rutler gives this book high marks. The first two chapters are a bit odd, but the rest of the book is well worth reading. He draws heavily from the actual written records of her trial for the last third of the book.
- (C) The Story of Her Life, St. Teresa of Avila. Writing under obedience, St. Teresa gives an account of the first fifty years of her life (she lived to be 67). She was a remarkable woman with a natural personality that was irresistible. Royalty would call her out of the convent just to have her come and converse with them! She was the first woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church, in 1970. Her writing style is sometimes hard to follow due to her many digressions, but she is a delight to read. Her incredible sense of humor often shines forth. She provides a great amount of down to earth spiritual direction in this work, as well as all of her other works.
- (E) The Life of St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Raymond of Capua
- (E) Dominic Savio, Peter Lappin.
- (E) Various titles by Louis de Wohl. Sixteen of the author’s books about the saints have been made into films. He has typically written about the saints that have been most prominent in the history of the Church. His lives of the saints are novels in which he takes the facts that are known about each saint and weaves them into an historical novel that reflects the saint’s era. The result is an interesting read that reflects both the life of the saint as well as the political, social, and ecclesiastical life of each particular saint’s era. Being novels, one should not expect these books to be A1 biographies of their subjects, but they are definitely worth reading.
- Doctrine
- (D) Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma
- (C) Catechism of the Catholic Church
- (C) The Catechism of the Council of Trent
- (E) The Faith of Our Fathers, Cardinal James Gibbons
- (E) Fire of Love, St. Catherine of Genoa
- Church History
- (C) Church History, Fr. John Laux
- (C) A History of Christendom, Warren Carroll (6 volumes)
- (E) The Great Heresies, Hilaire Belloc
- (E) How the Reformation Happened, Hilaire Belloc
- Philosophy
- (E) A First Glance at Thomas Aquinas: A Handbook for Peeping Thomists, Ralph McInerny.
- (C) An Introduction to Philosophy, Daniel J. Sullivan. Ed Feser speaks of this book as being an inch deep and a mile wide. That is, it covers a lot of philosophical ground and, for that reason, it can’t get to deep into any of it. Nevertheless, it is an excellent introduction to realist philosophy.
- (C) The Last Superstition, Edward Feser. This is a good follow-on to An Introduction to Philosophy. It’s subtitle is “A Refutation of the New Atheism,” but it is far more than that. It demonstrates the logical soundness of realist philosophy and the absolute incoherence of scientism, the “science” of the New Atheists.”
- (D) Reality, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Garrigou-Lagrange is a master philosopher and theologian. This work is a combination of both disciplines. It has a review of basic metaphysics and philosophy early in the book, and then uses these concepts in his explanations of various major teachings of the Church. He is a devout Thomist, which is a very good thing.
- (D) Scholastic Metaphysics, Edward Feser. I still haven’t read this one, though I have scanned it. I’m expecting it to provide an excellent exposition on the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas.
- Theology
- (C) Theology for Beginners, Frank J. Sheed. This is, in a sense, a condensed version of Theology and Sanity, and it is less demanding of the reader than Theology and Sanity.
- (C) Theology and Sanity, Frank J. Sheed. Well, you know about this one.
- (D) Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas
- (D) Essence and Being, St. Thomas Aquinas
- Miscellaneous
- (E) The Lamb’s Supper, Scott Hahn
- (E) How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Thomas Woods
- (E) A Father Who Keeps His Promises, Scott Hahn
- (C) Faith and Certitude, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (E) Happy Are You Poor, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (E) The Restoration of Christian Culture, John Senior
- (E) The Evidential Power of Beauty, Fr. Thomas Dubay
- (E) An Exorcist Tells His Story, Gabriele Amorth
Theology and Sanity 