Recommended Book List

A Few Books I Recommend to Anyone Looking to Learn More about the Faith

Hello, all who stumble upon this page!

Want to learn more about the faith, but can't get your kids to share the wealth of divine truths they are learning about in their Catholic schools? Want to learn more, but can't seem to get the TiVo to program EWTN correctly?

I came up with this list on my own for an inquirer once, and certainly there are a lot of books here. It's not a comprehensive list by any means, as I have many more books to discover! But any substantial reading of these excellent texts would unquestionably get one going in the right direction. Many of these are free and accessible online.

If you only read one on this list ...
Catechism of the Catholic Church - needs to be read by all Catholics cover to cover. Seriously? Well, did Jesus have one will or two? How did he grow in knowledge if he was God? If Jesus was fully human, can we say that Jesus was a human being? What do we believe about "the 1,000 years" mentioned in the book of Revelation? Cover to cover, read it in a year; trust me, you will be glad. (I hear the Harry Potter series is more than 3,000 pages.  The Catechism isn't even a fifth of that.)

Subject: Trinity, Christology and Theology
Catechism, Part I
Jesus of Nazareth, Part I, Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus of Nazareth, Part II, Pope Benedict XVI
God's Human Face, Cardinal Schonborn
Behold the Pierced One, Cardinal Ratzinger
Introduction to Christianity, Cardinal Ratzinger
Nature and Mission of Theology, Cardinal Ratzinger
Eschatology, Cardinal Ratzinger
Mysteries of Christianity, Matthias J. Scheeben
Nature and Grace, Scheeben

Subject: Mariology
Lumen Gentium, Ch. 8
Mother of the Saviour and Our Interior Life, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, ed. Miravalle
Introduction to Mary, Miravalle (text viewable online: http://www.fifthmariandogma.com/intro_to_mary.pdf)
With Jesus, Miravalle (text viewable online: http://www.fifthmariandogma.com/with_jesus.pdf)
Mary in the Mystery of the Covenant, Ignace de la Potterie (out of print, but can be found on bookfinder.com)
Admirable Heart of Mary, St. John Eudes
Biblical Mariology, Stefano Manelli, F.I.
Glories of Mary, Alphonsus Ligouri
True Devotion, De Montfort

Subject: Theology of the Church
Lumen Gentium, Vatican II document
Church, Ecumenism, and Politics, Cardinal Ratzinger
Loving the Church, Cardinal Schonborn
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, John Henry Cardinal Newman
Tradition, Congar

Subject: Sacred Scripture
Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI
Dei Verbum, Vatican II document
Providentissimus Deus, Leo XIII
Spiritus Paraclitus, Benedict XV
Divino Afflante Spiritu, Pius XII
Letter and Spirit, Scott Hahn
Understanding the Scriptures, ed. Hahn
Lovely Like Jerusalem, Aidan Nichols
Why Catholic Bibles are Bigger, Gary Michuta

Subject: Philosophy
Fides et Ratio, John Paul II
Introduction to Philosophy, Jacques Maritain
Degrees of Knowledge, Jacques Maritain
Summa of the Summa, Peter Kreeft
God and Philosophy, Etienne Gilson
Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Joseph Pieper

Subject: Moral Theology
Catechism, Part III
Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II document
Humanae Vitae, Paul VI, 1968
Dignitas Personae, CDF document of December '08
Evangelium Vitae, John Paul II
Love and Responsibility, Karol Wojtyla
Theology of the Body, John Paul II
Truth and Tolerance, Cardinal Ratzinger
Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII
The Four Cardinal Virtues, Joseph Pieper
Render Unto Caesar, Archbishop Charles Chaput

Subject: The Liturgy
Catechism, Part II
Summum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI
The Spirit of the Liturgy, Cardinal Ratzinger
The Spirit of the Liturgy, Romano Guardini
Looking at the Liturgy, Aidan Nichols
Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II document
The Bible and the Liturgy, Jean Cardinal Danielou
Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter with God, Edward Schillebeeckx (orthodox, unlike some of his later troublesome writings)
Mystery of the Temple, Congar

Subject: Prayer/Spirituality
Catechism, Part IV
Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila
Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross
Fire Within, Dubay
Story of a Soul, St. Therese of Lisieux
Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva

Important Texts by the Saints
Didache of the Twelve Apostles
Against Heresies, Irenaeus
On the Incarnation, Athanasius
Confessions, Augustine
City of God, Augustine
On Christian Doctrine, Augustine (and anything by Augustine)
Tome, Leo the Great
Moralia on Job, Gregory the Great
Proslogion, Anselm
Monologion, Anselm
Cur Deus Homo, Anselm
Mind's Journey to God, Bonaventure
Summa Theologica, Aquinas (and anything by Aquinas)
Dialogues, St. Catherine of Siena
The Idea of a University, Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman