Five Books for Catholics

Holy Week should be, insofar as possible, a time of recollection and prayer. To this end, reading one or other of the following books may be useful. It may help us enter more deeply into the mysteries we are celebrating and contemplating. Commentary on Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist: Homilies 48-88 by St. John Chrysostom What is Redemption? by Philippe de la Trinité Jesus and the Jewish Roo...

The books reviewed in this episode are: Hearing Bach's Passions by Daniel R. Melamed Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach's St. John Passion: With an Annotated Literal Translation of the Libretto by Michael Marissen Bach in Berlin. Nation and Culture in Mendelssohn's Revival of the St. Matthew Passion by Celia Applegate Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion. Genesis, Transmission, and Meaning by...

Genesis or Bereishis (“In the beginning”) is the first book of the Bible. It tells the story of creation and God’s covenants with the first men (1-11) and the patriarchs (12-50). It ends with the death of Joseph, who had brought to Egypt both his brothers and his father, Jacob. Many of the stories related in Genesis are amongst the most memorable ones in the Bible. They also constitute many of the...

The books recommended in this episode are: Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Person and His Work by Jean-Pierre Torrell OP Saint Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master by Jean-Pierre Torrell OP Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings edited and translated by Ralph McInerny Commentary on the Gospel of John ( vol. 1 ) ( vol. 2 ) ( vol. 3 ) by St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae : A Guide and Commentary...

The recordings recommended in this episode are of: Quatre Motets pour un temps de pénitence by François Poulenc Miserere by Henryk Górecki Triodion by Arvo Pärt Miserere and Videns Dominus by James MacMillan Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifying purchases made using the affiliate links to the books listed. At Christmas, Five Books f...

The books recommended in this episode are: Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making by Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher OMV The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living by Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher OMV Spiritual Consolation: An Ignatian Guide for Greater Discernment of Spirits by Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher OMV Discernment of Spirits in Marriage: Ignatian...

Here are this year's list of recommended readings for Lent. You can also check out last year’s list and the Message of Pope Francis for Lent 2024 . On Repentance and Almsgiving by St. John Chrysostom Encyclical Letter Dives in misericordia (Rich in Mercy) by St. John Paul II The Lord by Romano Guardini A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Five Books for...

The books recommended in this episode are: Arcanum and Casti connubii by Leo XIII and Pius XI The Social Teachings of Wilhelm Emmanuel Von Ketteler: Bishop of Mainz (1811-1877) edited by Rupert J. Ederer Catholic Social Teaching: A Volume of Scholarly Essays edited by Gerard V. Bradley and E. Christian Brugger The Teachings of Modern Roman Catholicism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature edited by J...

Simon P. Keefe recommends some books that can help us learn about Mozart’s music and penetrate it more deeply as we listen to it. The Letters of Mozart and his Family (3rd edition) edited by Emily Anderson Mozart: A Documentary Biography by Otto Erich Deutsch Mozart's Requiem: Reception, Work, Completion by Simon P. Keefe Mozart in Vienna: The Final Decade ( Kindle ) by Simon P. Keefe The Mozart F...

The books recommended in this interview are: Understanding Early Christian Art by Robin M. Jensen The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art by Thomas F. Mathews The Invisible God: The Earliest Christians on Art by Paul Corby Finney Likeness and Presence: A History of Art before the Era of Art by Hans Belting, trans. E. Jephcott T he Dawn of Christian Art: In Panel Paintings and...

The books recommended in this interview are: Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel through Literature by Holly Ordway Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination by Malcolm Guite Imaginative Apologetics: Theology, Philosophy, and the Catholic Tradition by Andrew Davison Spiritual Direction from Dante: vol. 1, Avoiding the Inferno ; vol. 2, Ascending Mount Purgatory ; vol. 3...

Dr. Thomas Scheck discusses Origen of Alexandria (185-253) and recommends the following books: Contra Celsum by Origen (edited by Henry Chadwick) Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (vol. 1) (vol. 2) by Origen (translated by Thomas P. Scheck) Homilies on Joshua by Origen (translated by Barbara J. Bruce) Homilies on Numbers by Origen (translated by Thomas P. Scheck) Apology for Origen by St. Pa...

The books recommended in this episode are: Faith and Politics: Selected Writings by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI A New Song for the Lord: Faith in Christ and Liturgy Today by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger What is Christianity?: The Last Writings by Benedict XVI Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI The Nature and Mission of Theology: Approaches to Understanding Its R...

Prof. Dwight Lindley, the Barbara Longway Briggs Chair in English Literature at Hillsdale College, discusses some of the best of Dickens’s novels and of the studies on them. He recommends: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens Chesterton on Dickens (Ignatius Press Collected Works of G.K. Chestert...

The works recommended are: Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Ralph Vaugh Williams Lauda per la Natività del Signore by Otterino Resphighi Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël by François Poulenc Retablo de Navidad by Joaquín Rodrigo Having beheld a strange Nativity (Canticles and Prayers II) by Georgy Sviridov Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifying purchases made using the...

The books recommended in this episode are: Christ the Educator by Clement of Alexandria Catechism of the Catholic Church by John Paul II Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism by Card. Joseph Ratzinger The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of Catechesis by Pierre de Cointet, Barbara Morgan and Petroc Willey Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission fr...

The books recommended in this episode are: Jesus of Nazareth, Volume 3: The Infancy Narratives by Benedict XVI The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales: For Advent and Christmas by St. Francis de Sales The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season by Michael Barber The Nativity Scene by Eduardo de Filippo Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance...

The books recommended in this episode are: The Elements (alternative edition, Books I-VI with coloured diagrams ) by Euclid Almagest by Ptolemy Timaeus by Plato On order ( De ordine ) ( alternative edition ) by St. Augustine To Save the Phenomena: An Essay on the Idea of Physical Theory from Plato to Galileo by Pierre Duhem Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifying purchase...

Here is a selection of five books that can help us unpack the mystery of Christ’s kingship and live the solemnity more deeply. Quas Primas: Encyclical on the Institution of the Feast of Christ the King by Pius XI The Church Speaks to the Modern World: The Social Encyclicals of Leo XIII edited by Étienne Gilson The Metamorphoses of the City of God by Étienne Gilson Pro Rege ( vol. 1 ) ( vol. 2 ) (...

This episode's recommended books are: The Solzhenitsyn Reader: New and Essential Writings, 1947-2005 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, edited by Edward E. Ericson Jr. and Daniel J. Mahoney The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Criticism (Abridged) (Vintage Edition) (Complete 3 Volume Edition) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Apricot Jam and Other Stories...

This episode's recommended books are: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (also available for Kindle ) edited by Curtis Mitch and Scott Hahn Kingship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to God's Saving Promises by Scott Hahn The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire: A Theological Commentary on 1-2 Chronicles (also available for Kindle ) by Scott Hahn Jesus of Nazareth (3 volumes) (also available for Kindle...

In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey L. Morrow will explain the Church’s principles of biblical interpretation and take us through some of the best books on them. Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum Second Vatican Council Verbum Domini :Post-Synodal Exhortation on The Word of God in the Life and Ministry of the Church by Benedict XVI Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in...

The books recommended in this episode are: Collected Poems: 1943-2004 by Richard Wilbur A Journey of the Mind: Collected Poems of Helen Pinkerton, 1945-2016 by Helen Pinkerton And after All: Poems by Rhina P. Espaillat Deaths And Transfigurations: Poems by Robert Mariani The Gods of Winter by Dana Gioia ...and as a supplementary recommendation... All The Fun’s In How You Say A Thing: An Explanatio...

In part one of this this interview, Aidan Hart discussed his top five books on icons. In this second part, he considers some further recommended readings. Festal Icons History and Meaning by Aidan Hart The Icon, Image of the Invisible: Elements of Theology, Aesthetics and Tecnique by Egon Sendler The Meaning of Icons by Leonid Ouspenksy and Vladimir Lossky Five Books for Catholics may receive a co...

The books discussed in this episode are: Thomas More: A Short Biography by James McConica Thomas More: A Portrait in Courage by Gerard Wegemer Thomas More (Classic Thinkers) by Joanne Paul The Life and Illustrious History of Sir Thomas More by Thomas Stapleton The Sadness of Christ by St. Thomas More Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifying purchases made using the affilia...