Recommended books for Catholic Spiritual Reading

Having read through several catholic authors and their book recommendations for Spiritual reading I thought I would write out the Authors and their book recommendations for others to read.

Eugene Boylan in "This Tremendoue Lover" recommends the following:
1. Read scripture especially the Gospels
2. Read lives of Christ
3. Read something on Church teaching/doctrine/theology
He recommends the following from the two volume "Teaching of The Church" edited by George Smith Some of these can be found here: http://www.marys-touch.com/teaching.htm
A. Outline of Catholic teaching
B.The fall of Man
C. The Mystical body of Christ
D. The Supernatural Virtues
E. Sanctifying Grace
F. Actual Grace
G. The Holy Ghost
4. Read the lives of the saints
5. Blosius- A book of spiritual Instruction



Jonathan Robinson in "The Spiritual Combat Revisited" Recommends the following:
1. The Bible
2. The Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours
3. The Missal readings for Sunday/weekday
4. The Imitation of Christ



Jean Daujat in "The Faith Applied" recommends:
1. The Old and Partucularly the New Testament
2. The Missal readings- Sunday/daily
3. Writings of the Saints
4. The Imitation of Christ



Fr. John Kearney in "My Spiritual Exercises" recommends:
1. Holy Scripture- Old Testament and New- especially
a. A Harmony of The Gospel
b. Lives of Christ
c. Scripture readings in the Missal
d. and the use of a concordance to look up a word and then read all the passages that contain that word and compare them.
2. Lives of the Saints
3. Ascetical works-works on living the spiritual life
a. The Spiritual Combat- Scupoli/Robinson
b. Introduction to the Devout Life- De Sales
c. Guidance in Spiritual Direction- Charles Hugo Doyle



Raphael Simon in Hammer and Fire recommends:
1. New Testament- especially Johns Gospel
a. The Sermon on the Mount-Matt 5,6,7
b. The Last Supper Discourse- John 13-17
c. Acts of the Apostles/Epistles
2. Old Testament
a. Sapiential Books-Wisdom, Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiates
b. The Psalms
c. Isiah-especially chapter 49 to the end
3. Lives of Christ by
a. Alban Goodier
b. fulton Sheen
c. Frank Sheed
d. Guisseppe Ricciotti
4. Lives of Saints



Robert Eiten, S.J. in "A Laymans way of Perfection" recommends:
1. Sacred Scripture
2. The imitation of Christ
3. Introduction to the Devout life
4. Writings of Alban goodier; Abbot Marmion; Raoul Plus; Edward Leen, Adolphe Tanguerey
5. Writings of St Augustine- St. Bernard- St. Bonaventura



Andre Perret in "Holiness of Life" recommends:
1. The Gospels
2. Acts of the Apostles
3. Epistles of Paul


As a side note when I was reading a Biography of The Cure of Ars Its aid that St. Joseph Benedict Labre, who visited the Cire's grandfathers house always carried a breviary, the Imitation of Christ and a book of the Gospels.

My own recommendations for Spiritual reading would be the following:
1. Introduction to the Devout Life- De Sales
2. The Spiritual combat Revisited- Johnathan Robinson
3. Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen
4. Christ in the Gospel by Fr. Frey which is available from Tan books
5. My daily Psalm book also avaiable from Tan
6. The Everyday Catholic by Martin Harrison
7. The readings from the Missal
8. Lives of the Saints- especially St. Augustine; St. Francis De Sales; St. John Vianney; St. Joan of Arc by Beevers; Blessed Charles de Foucauld; St. Louis King of France.

Love is all we need?

God is love, Love is not God. God is an actual divine person and Love is God’s action toward us. God is not a mysterious impersonal force, but a person-God is “I Am” He who is. He is a Self existent being. Agape or Caritas or Love as it is sometimes translated today is not a feeling, it is a being, God, and an action, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Love is willing the good of the other person, it contains within it self-sacrifice, obedience and truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus continually did the will of his father, “Not my will but thine be done.” “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us.” Jesus says, “Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. What are these commandments? “A lawyer asked him, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1. I am the Lord thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 3. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day. 4. Honor thy father and thy mother. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

William and Kate Royal wedding Anglican Church

I don't know about you but as I watched the William and Kate exchanging vows and then hearing Rowan Williams pronounce "What God has Joined together let no man put asunder," I couldn't help but snort. It just reminded me that the Anglican church was founded on divorce. Henry VIII severed his link with the Catholic Church and dragged most of England with him into schism, founding the Church of England. And all because he wanted a divorce from his wife so he could go after another woman. To hear the Anglican church pronounce those words in their wedding ceremony is just a mockery of marriage.

Spiritual combat

I want to recommend an excellent book By Jonathan Robinson titled "The Spiritual Combat Revisited". It is a renewing of the Catholic classic Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. A book carried and consulted frequently by St. Francis de Sales. I can say that it is a tremendously useful commentary on Scupoli's book and Treats of sin and methods for its correction in your life.

Poor, Poor Kung.

This is a link to an excellent article by George Weigel skewering Hans Kungs view of Catholicism.

www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/04/an-open-letter-to-hans-kung

Newmans thoughts

John Cardinal Henry Newman offers a "Short road to perfection" for Catholics living in the world. It offers some useful advice.

www.newmanreader.org/works/meditations/meditations8.html