Book Summaries

“Test everything; hold fast to what is good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21

“The harm that comes to souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder…. What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection.” – St. Padre Pio

CATHOLIC TEACHING

General Theology:

Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed

A Map of Life by Frank Sheed

Jesus Christ:

On the Incarnation of the Word of God by St. Athanasius

Scandal of the Incarnation: Irenaeus Against the Heresies by Hans Urs von Balthasar

Jesus-Shock by Peter Kreeft

The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI

The Passion of the Infant Christ by Caryll Houselander

The Cross and the Beatitudes by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

Holy Spirit:

On the Holy Spirit by St. Basil

The Sanctifier by Archbishop Luis M. Martinez

Sober Intoxication of the Spirit: Filled with the Fullness of God by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

The Action of the Holy Spirit: The Lord and Giver of Life by Frank J. Sheed

In the School of the Holy Spirit by Fr. Jacques Philippe

Mariology:

“Rosarium Virginis Mariae” by St. John Paul II

The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Fulton J. Sheen

The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort

Rediscover the Rosary: The Modern Power of an Ancient Prayer by Matthew Kelly

The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God by Scott Hahn

33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley

The Contemplative Rosary: With St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Avila by Dan Burke and Connie Rossini

Sacraments:

Ecclesia de Eucharistia by St. John Paul II

Sacramentum Caritatis by Pope Benedict XVI

Heart of the Christian Life: Thoughts on Holy Mass by Pope Benedict XVI

A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist by Dom Anscar Vonier

The Eucharist by Lawrence G. Lovasik

The Bishop of the Abandoned Tabernacle by St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia

7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn

7 Secrets of Confession by Vinny Flynn

Liturgy:

Dies Domini by St. John Paul II

The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI

The Wellspring of Worship by Jean Corbon, O.P.

The Lamb’s Supper – The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Scott Hahn

Preparing Yourself for Mass by Romano Guardini

If Your Mind Wanders at Mass by Thomas Howard

Ecclesiology:

Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today by Pope Benedict XVI

The Dimensions of the Church by Cardinal Avery Dulles

History:

The Spirit of Early Christian Thought by Robert Louis Wilken

Vatican II:

Dei Verbum (The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation)

Apostolicam Actuositatem (The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity)

Dignitatis Humanae ( The Declaration on Religious Freedom)

Ad Gentes (The Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church)

Presbyterorum Ordinis (The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests)

Gaudium et Spes (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)

Morality / Virtues / Theology of the Body:

Spes Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI

A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart by Josef Pieper

Christian Fasting: Disciplining the Body, Awakening the Spirit by Sr. Mary David Totah, OSB

Eat, Fast, Feast: Heal Your Body While Feeding Your Soul by Dr. Jay Richards

Victory over Vice by Fulton J. Sheen

On the Eight Deadly Sins by St. John Cassian

The Noonday Devil: Acedia, The Unnamed Evil of Our Times by Jean-Charles Nault, OSB

Humility by Andrew Murray

Happy Are You Poor by Fr. Thomas Dubay

Fit for Eternal Life by Kevin Vost

The Hidden Power of Kindness by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

Becoming Human by Jean Vanier

Man, The Saint by Jesus Urteaga

The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges

Moral Conversion and Resisting Temptation by Fr. Robert Spitzer

Born Only Once: The Miracle of Affirmation by Conrad Baars

Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing by Christopher West

Our Bodies Tell God’s Story by Christopher West

Making Gay Okay – How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything by Robert by Robert Reilly

Spiritual Warfare:

Spiritual Warfare and the Discernment of Spirits by Dan Burke

Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know by Charles Fraune

Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scupoli

Lukewarmness: The Devil in Disguise by Francisco Carvajal

Pastoral Care / Hospital Chaplaincy:

Life Promises Life: Pages from the Diary of a Hospital Chaplain by Fr. Vincent Nagle

Healing:

Healing: Bringing the Gift of God’s Mercy to the World by Dr. Mary Healy

12 Steps to Divine Healing by Eddie Russell

 “To get good from reading the lives of the saints and other spiritual books, we ought not to read out of curiosity, or skimmingly, but with pauses; and when we feel ourselves warmed, we ought not to pass on, but to stop and follow up the spirit which is stirring in us, and when we feel it no longer then to pursue our reading” ~ St. Phillip Neri

SPIRITUAL READING

St. Teresa of Avila:

• Interior Castle
• The Way of Perfection
• The Life of St. Teresa
• St. Teresa’s Manner of Prayer by Fr. Salvador Ros Garcia OCD

St. John of the Cross:

• The Dark Night of the Soul 
• The Mystic Ladder of Divine Love

St. Therese of Lisieux:

• I Believe in Love: A personal retreat based on the teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux by Fr. Jean C.J. D’Elbee
• St. Therese: A Treasured Love Story by Fulton Sheen
• The Way of Trust & Love: A Retreat Guided by St. Therese of Lisieux by Jacques Philippe

St. Francis de Sales:

• An Introduction to the Devout Life
• Finding God’s Will for You
• Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales’s Simple Approach to Holiness by Fr. Thomas Dailey

St. Faustina:

• Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul by St. Faustina
• 7 Secrets of Divine Mercy by Vinny Flynn
• 33 Days to Merciful Love by Fr. Michael Gaitley

St. Teresa of Calcutta:

• Mother Teresa’s Lessons of Love and Secrets of Sanctity by Susan Conroy
• Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge
• Come Be My Light: Mother Teresa by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C.
• No Greater Love – Collection of writings by Mother Teresa

Fr. Thomas Dubay:

• Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel – On Prayer
• Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer
• Prayer Primer: Igniting a Fire Within
• Saints: A Closer Look
• Happy Are You Poor
• And You Are Christ’s: The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life

Fr. Jacques Philippe:

• Searching for and Maintaining Peace
• Interior Freedom
• The Way of Trust & Love: A Retreat Guided by St. Therese of Lisieux
• Time for God
• Thirsting for Prayer
• Real Mercy
• In the School of the Holy Spirit

Fr. Thomas Green, SJ:

• Opening to God: A Guide to Prayer

C.S. Lewis

• Till We Have Faces
• The Great Divorce
• The Weight of Glory
• The Screwtape Letters
• A Grief Observed

Catherine Doherty:

• Soul of my Soul – Coming to the Heart of Prayer
• Dear Father
• Dear Seminarian
• Season of Mercy: Lent and Easter

Other authors:

The Rules for the Discernment of Spirits by St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

The Soul of the Apostolate by Fr. Jean-Baptiste Chautard

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Robert Cardinal Sarah

Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis

On Loving God by St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love by Fr. Thomas Acklin, OSB & Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love by Fr. Thomas Acklin, OSB & Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

“Prepare Your Heart to Pray” by Dom Augustin Guillerand

Into Your Hands, Father by Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen

Prayer for Beginners by Peter Kreeft

How to be Holy by Peter Kreeft

Surrender! by Fr. Larry Richards

Abba’s Heart by Neal Lozano

Experiencing Father’s Embrace by Jack Frost

Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship by Jack Frost

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

Fathered by God by John Eldredge

EPIC: The Story God is Telling by John Eldredge

Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge

The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen

Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

 “If your mind finds enough appeal, light, and fruit in any of them [the subject of the meditation or contemplation], remain with that point and do not go any further. Imitate the bees, who do not leave a flow as long as they can extract any honey out of it. But if you do not come on anything that appeals to you after you have examined and tried it out for a while, then go on to another, but proceed calmly and simply in this matter and do not rush yourself.” (St. Francis de Sales)

MEDITATION & PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE:

• Verbum Domini by Pope Benedict XVI
• Meditation and Contemplation: An Ignatian Guide to Praying with Scripture by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV
• Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina by Dr. Tim Gray
• Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina by Michael Casey
• A Guide to Christian Meditation by Fr. John Bartunek, LC
• Lectio Divina and the Practice of Teresian Prayer by Sam Anthony Morello, OCD
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

READINGS FOR LITURGICAL SEASONS:

Advent and Christmas:

• The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI
• The Passion of the Infant Christ by Caryll Houselander
• The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander
• Joy to the World by Scott Hahn
• The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren
• Donkey Bells: Advent and Christmas Stories, Traditions and Meditations by Catherine Doherty

Lent & Easter:

• The Lenten Spring by Fr. Thomas Hopko
• Victory over Vice by Fulton J. Sheen
• The Cross and the Beatitudes by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
• “See How the Cross of the Lord Stands Revealed as a Tree of Life” by Richard Conlin (Scripture Paper for Seminary)
• Season of Mercy: Lent and Easter by Catherine Doherty
• The Risen Christ: The Forty Days After the Resurrection by Caryll Houselander

THE PRIESTHOOD, CELIBACY, AND DISCERNMENT:

The Priest is Not His Own by Bl. Fulton J. Sheen

On the Priesthood by St. John Chrysostom

“From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church” by Pope Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah

Priestly Spirituality by Hans Urs von Balthasar

In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart – The Journal of a Priest at Prayer by A Benedictine Monk

The Grace of Ars by Fr. Frederick Miller

Dear Father by Catherine Doherty

Dear Seminarian by Catherine Doherty

And You Are Christ’s: The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life by Fr. Thomas Dubay

Virginity: A Positive Approach to Celibacy for the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven by Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Finding God’s Will for You by St. Francis de Sales

God’s Voice Within by Mark Thibodeaux, SJ

Why Preach by Fr. Peter John Cameron

EVANGELIZATION, CATECHESIS, AND APOLOGETICS:

Evangelii Nuntiandi by Pope St. Paul VI

Catechesi Tradendae by St. John Paul II

Evangelii Gaudium by Pope Francis

Gaudete et Exsultate by Pope Francis

Christus Vivit by Pope Francis

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton

Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age by Msgr. James Shea

Good News, Bad News: Evangelization, Conversion and the Crisis of Faith by Fr. John McCloskey III and Russell Shaw

Reasons to Believe by Scott Hahn

Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid

Do Monkeys Go to Heaven? Finding God in All Creation by Fr. John McCarthy, SJ

The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity by Matthew Kelly (great book on how holiness is actually possible through Holy Moments)

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION:

Growing an Engaged Church by Albert Winseman

Living Your Strengths by Albert Winseman, Clifton, Liesveld

A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen

Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley

BIOGRAPHIES:

The Life of Anthony by St. Athanasius

The Curé d’Ars by Abbé Francis Trochu

A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe the “Saint of Auschwitz” by Patricia Treece

Carlo Acutis: A Millennial in Paradise by Fr. Will Conquer

Race with the Devil by Joseph Pearce

St. Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton

A Man of the Beatitudes: Pier Giorgio Frassati by Luciana Frassati

Pier Giorgio Frassati by Robert Claude

Benedict XVI: Last Testament in his own words with Peter Seewald

PUBLIC SPEAKING:

Give Your Speech, Change the World by Nick Morgan

Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie

Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones

MEMORIZATION AND LEARNING:

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

Read More Books Now by Brandon Vogt

HABIT FORMATION:

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Superhuman by Habit by Tynan

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Mini Habits by Stephen Guise

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

BUSINESS & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:

To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink

The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

Off Balance by Matthew Kelly

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Built to Last by Jim Collins

Act Now by Kevin Harrington

Driven by Robert Herjavec

Google Marketing by Aaron Goldman

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Market Mind Games by Denise Shull

Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson

Rework by Fried and Hansson

The 1 Minute Manager by Blanchard and Johnson

The Frog and Prince by Darcy Rezac

The Greatest Networker in the World by John Fogg

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Trade Off by Jim Collins

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

Zag by Marty Neuiemer

The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

ECONOMICS & FINANCE:

Crisis Economics by Nouriel Roubini

Currency Wars by James Rickards

Fault Lines by Raghuram Rajan

How an economy grows & why it crashes by Peter Schiff

Investing and the Irrational Mind by Robert Koppel