Last week, I wrote about some of the “official” documents of the Church. Specifically, I was referring to some of the heavy hitters that provide definitive Church teaching on faith and morals. In that article, I promised to provide a description of those “Catholic” writings that provide the window dressing, so to speak, of Catholic reading. These texts contain valuable information on the faith, or inspiration, but aren’t necessarily presenting doctrine or dogma, per se. The titles that I’m providing are taken right from the books on my shelves. They are those that I like to keep on hand for easy reference.
- For a guide to reading scripture, pick up a book like, Dr. Edward Sri’s, The Bible Compass. It gives some good rules of thumb that can guide your reading if you are a bit newer to reading, The Holy Bible.
- For background and life connections on the Sunday readings, the most user friendly book that I have found is the new series by Mark Hart, entitled, One Sunday at a Time: Preparing Your Heart for Weekly Mass.” There are three books in the series. You would purchase the one that corresponds with our liturgical year. This year, our cycle of readings is referred to as “Cycle B,” so that is the book that you’d get. Beginning in Advent of 2024, you’d need to purchase a “Cycle C” text,with “Cycle A” beginning in the following year. That three-year rotation provides the full list of Sunday readings so you’d be able to use the books over and over again as we cycle through the readings. Honestly, as far as approachability goes, these are a favorite of mine!
- If you are a trivia lover, or the kind of person that likes books like the New Farmer’s Almanac, consider getting your hands on, The Catholic Source Book, or The Scripture Sourcebook for Catholics, both by Rev. Peter Klein. They probably aren’t the kind of book that you’d pick up and read from front to back. In a sense, they are reference books that also provide interesting facts that answer those questions that you might not have known that you had! They are fun to flip through when you just want to spend a few minutes reading – keeping them available to do that over, and over, again.
- Another kind of book that is similar, in that they are a pick up often for a quick read type of thing, are books where you’ll find short quotations or inspirational writing for each day. For example, 365 Devotions for Catholics: Daily Moments with God, compiled by Terence Hegarty and Paul Pennick, or an older one, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith, by Henri J. M. Nouwen. This type of book can provide a spark for your prayer time, or be just the right thing for reading before going to sleep each night.
- For deeper spiritual reading, you might want to consider something like Thomas Groome’s, What Makes Us Catholic?, or Timothy Radcliffe’s What is the Point of Being a Christian? These are the kind of books that cause us to dig deeper into the roots of our faith. I don’t know that I’d recommend them to someone who is new to the faith, but for those that are ready, they can be just what the Spirit ordered!
There are so many other kinds worth mentioning, like the biographies of saints, stories of Marian apparitions, Eucharistic miracles, or theological reflections on any number of topics, just to name a few! The point is, a great deal of information and inspiration can be found in the pages of books written by Catholic authors for a Catholic audience. They might not be doctrine, but they can provide very worthwhile reading. What if you aren’t inclined to make the time for reading? Tune in next week!