| A Catholic Reading List St. Peter instructs us to “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks of you a reason for the hope that is in you.” 1 Peter 3:15. To this end, we have put together the following Catholic reading list, which we hope will help others increase their understanding of the Faith and thereby become more prepared to defend the Faith and bring others to the Faith. As the Catholic intellectual and literary tradition covers countless volumes, few could do more than scratch the surface of this tradition even over an entire lifetime. Thus, the following list is merely a collection of items that we have found personally profitable on our path to Catholic self-education and spiritual growth. Practically all of the books listed below can be obtained from either TAN booksellers (www.tanbooks.com) or Ignatius Press (www.ignatius.com), and for those which may be hard to find I include publisher information. Doctrine / Theology One’s first concern as a Catholic should be to learn the basic teachings of the Church. For this purpose, we highly recommend The Baltimore Catechism No. 3. Originally intended for high school students, the Baltimore Catechism serves as an excellent introduction to, and refresher course in, the Catholic Faith. The Fr. Connell’s Confraternity Edition, 1949 (published by Seraphim Company, Inc.) is particularly good, in that it contains more detailed explanations and scriptural support. After a familiarity with the basics has been achieved, we recommend the official Catechism of the Catholic Church published in 1994, along with the Catechism of the Council of Trent, also known as the Catechism of St. Pius V. Both provide a comprehensive rendering of Catholic teaching. Once Church doctrine is understood, one may wish to deepen their understanding of the Faith by learning some Catholic theology. Whereas reading doctrine instructs a person as to what the Church teaches, theology helps explain why the Church teaches what it does. An excellent introduction to theology is provided by Dogmatic Theology for the Laity by Rev. Matthias Premm. A more advanced (and highly regarded) work on the subject is Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott. Apologetics Apologetics is the art of defending and explaining the Faith to detractors and other non-believers. We cannot stress enough how important it is today for Catholics to train themselves to engage in apologetics—indeed, the major impetus for preparing this reading list is to equip Catholics to defend and explain the Faith! Thus, we would suggest that once one has obtained a basic grasp of Catholic doctrine, one proceed to read at least one of the following three books: Catholic Apologetics Today by Fr. William G. Most (a short and simple book on apologetics); The Faith of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons (a fairly thorough, well-written classic in defense of the Faith); and Fundamentals of the Faith by Peter Kreeft (an excellent work, recommended for more advanced readers). If you have time for only one of these books, we recommend The Faith of Our Fathers. One follow-up observation on the subject of apologetics is in order. St. Francis of Assisi insightfully remarked "Preach the Gospel everywhere you go, and if necessary, use words." More people have been drawn to the Faith by action and example than by words and debate. Thus, as a prerequisite to the work of apologetics (and for other reasons as well!), Catholics must live exemplary lives. Nevertheless, a person’s movement toward or away from the Church can be influenced by the right words at the right time, and all of us should be ready and able to take advantage of such opportunities when presented with them. History The Church has an incredibly interesting history, with which Catholics ought to be familiar. Moreover, many attacks on the Church are aimed at its supposedly checkered past, and it is important that one know Church history in order to dispel the many malicious lies so often presented as fact. A comprehensive but very well written text on Church history is Church History by Fr. John Laux. This large volume does a magnificent job recounting the story of the Church, from the apostolic era to the middle of the twentieth century, and is very readable. Although not history books per se, two other works of a historical nature serve as excellent reference works (and interesting reading for the ambitious). These books are The Faith of the Early Fathers by W.A. Jurgens (The Liturgical Press, 1970), and The Sources of Catholic Dogma by Denzinger (published by Loreto Publications, phone no. 603-239-6671). The Faith of the Early Fathers is a three-volume collection of Christian writings from the first four centuries A.D. A review of these writings quickly demonstrates the fidelity of the Catholic Church (and only the Catholic Church) to the teachings of Christ as understood by those who were closest to him. The Sources of Catholic Dogma contains the infallible proclamations of Popes and Councils upon which Church teaching rests. Spirituality Although the purpose of this reading list is primarily to inform the mind and exercise the intellect, we could not bear to omit mention of the following three books, which are truly tonics for the soul: Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis; Man the Saint by Josemaria Escriva (Scepter, 1963); and The Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. Each of these books will inspire you to greater holiness. Other An excellent four volume set of books (each pocket-sized) that we highly recommend is A Course in Religion by Fr. John Laux. Geared toward high school students, but great for adults as well, this collection covers “Chief Truths of the Faith” (vol. 1), “Mass and the Sacraments” (vol. 2), “Catholic Morality” (vol. 3), and “Catholic Apologetics” (vol. 4). Lastly, allow a comment on the reading of Sacred Scripture. As a general rule, Catholics are woefully unfamiliar with the Bible, which sadly permits Protestant detractors to run circles around us when it comes to biblical support for this proposition or that. This state of affairs is also lamentable because it is spiritually good for us to read the Bible, as many Popes have repeatedly taught. However, parts of the Bible can be exceedingly confusing, and we would not recommend reading the Bible from cover-to-cover unless one already has a basic understanding of Catholic doctrine. Indeed, St. Peter warned that "Understanding this first, that no prophesy of scripture is made by private interpretation." 2 Peter 1:20. He warned again that "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own perdition." 2 Peter 3:16. In terms of which Bible to read, many (myself included) believe that the Douay-Rheims version is the most faithful English translation of the St. Jerome’s inerrant Latin Vulgate. A more readable version of the Bible, however, is the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, a fairly modern translation which does not sacrifice too much fidelity to the original texts. As indicated at the outset, we could not possible have included every quality Catholic book on this list. To the extent that we have left off material that anyone feels strongly ought to be recommended, please e-mail us at uvnj@att.net, and (space permitting), we’ll include an Addendum to this list. |