When I was younger I wasn’t an ardent reader, I only read or studied when necessary. It was until I embraced traditional Catholicism, and met some good traditional priests who inspired my family to read and recommended us good Catholic books. I was already in my mid-thirties then.
The first book that got me inspired to read more was a novel about St. Francis Xavier : Set all on Fire by Louis de Wohl. The book was a fascinating story which takes us into the mind and heart of this great saint and missionary who was sent by order of St. Ignatius of Loyola to set all afire in the Orient. Following Xavier's life from student days in Paris, through his meeting with St. Ignatius, his reluctant conversion, and his travels as one of the first Jesuits from Europe to Goa, India, Malaysia, Japan, and finally, to an island off the coast of China, where he was exiled and died alone. It also captured the dramatic struggles and inspiring zeal of this remarkable saint. Gradually, I read more and realized how beautiful and vast is the knowledge of the Catholic Church and her history, and landed up with a small library of Catholic books.
Eventually, I read more spiritual books written by the saints like St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Thomas Aquinas, the Popes and so on. As my knowledge grew as I got older, I realize what a great grace to be in the Catholic faith, learning to truly live a Catholic life, loving and serving God according to His will.
Reading, as I found out is good for you because it improves brain connectivity, increases your vocabulary and comprehension, empowers you to empathize with other people, aids in sleep readiness, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, fights depression symptoms, and prevents cognitive decline as you age.
So should we begin reading more and read good Catholic books? I certainly encourage it. Well, it really depends on each individual on what one wants to achieve. Whatever it is reading will certainly gain you more knowledge. By reading recommended Catholic books, we will be able to learn how to increase our love for God and to know His Holy will. How to love Our Lady, the Holy Family and the Saints. It is only through knowledge of someone that we learn to love that someone and to be able to do new things. Where else can we learn what it means to do God’s Holy Will? The Saints are in heaven so how do we learn to imitate the Saints, to be holy like them, if not from books? Of course we can attend conferences or listen to good sermons but books are more easily accessible. Of course nowadays we could easily access the information online (but we need to ensure that they are from recommended reliable sources since misinformation is also easily available online). Since what was written by the great thinkers, and great saints are often available only in books, the mind-expanding benefits are enormous. Imagine the wealth of information that could be accumulated by reading instead of the 30-40 hours weekly, an average adult spends in front of the TV or on their mobile devices. Build up your reading capacity from a page a day or a chapter a day and you will be finishing a book in a month in no time. Reading is obviously low-cost affordability and can even be a free stress-reliever. When deeply reading one can be in a tranquil oasis where one escapes the stresses of life. Difficulty falling asleep at night, read a few pages and you’ll be yawning in no time.
And why should Catholics read books on our religion? There is the well known saying: “knowledge is power.” Knowledge sharpens our skills like reasoning and problem-solving. A strong base of knowledge helps brains function more smoothly and effectively. We become smarter with the power of knowledge and solve problems more easily.
Similarly, the spirituality from books written by the Saints or of them are the food for our souls. It is the “power” for our souls, the fervour for our faith. The fervour that will enable us to serve God better and help merit us heaven. It is all about getting to where we want to be. If we are to really benefit from our faith, we must not only know the Catholic beliefs thoroughly, and not just the minimal outlines we learned from catechism classes, but much more. We can understand the Catholic faith easily in its simplest form, but knowing all that it contains in its incredible richness and beauty and her history, can be discovered only by reading about it. Reading also teaches us how to think and not to just blindly accept what others say about our faith. Especially to be able to defend our faith against the increasing persecution that Christians face today. For those intimidated by intellectual, academic, and often difficult to understand writing on religion, there are many books that are very readable presentations of the fullness of the Catholic faith. There are books, both solid and orthodox, that clearly explain the basic teachings of the Church, especially by showing the scriptural and logical basis for those teachings. Recommended books to read - resources for your souls.
By reading we discover what others, by their perception and investigation of the faith, find that is deep, precise and illuminating. We discover things about ourselves in the personalities and habits of the great Saints who have gone before us. We can learn from the experiences of others sometimes more easily than we can from our own experiences. We can relate to our own situation in the lives of others. We are encouraged in our own faith journey, knowing how human the saints really were.
There are many contentious issues in the Church today that relate to morality. Catholicism is under attack on an international scale, as is morality. To understand why there are such attacks and where they are coming from? Without the right knowledge, can we defend these attacks? Are we well enough informed? Are we sufficiently knowledgeable to withstand the contemporary attacks on conscience, natural law, and other foundations of morality? If we don’t read, to gain the necessary knowledge, how can we be critical thinkers? Without the right knowledge we can’t be analytical. If we do not have the Catholic knowledge that holds true to Catholic Tradition, how are we to fend off the increasing modernists and liberal ideology that have infested the Church, our schools and libraries, in fact the world, since the late ‘60s? How can we protect our families? How can we help our neighbours to convert to the true faith if we lack the necessary knowledge to answer questions about our faith, about the way of life we live? Isn’t it good to be better prepared for such opportunities?
But more than all this, we need to read because we discover, in the grandest way possible, why we are what we are; how well we know Christ; what our relationship with him is. And most of all, how truly and deeply we can love him and serve Him, to do His holy will in all things; to feed our souls enabling us fervently thriving for heaven, our true home. Our sole responsibility is to save our own souls, is it not then our duty to read?
Recommended books to read - resources for your souls.
Prayers for your intentions.
St. Thomas Aquinas’s prayer for wisdom: Give me, Lord God, a watchful heart that no stray thought might distract me from you. Give me a noble heart that no unworthy affection might pull me down. Give me a just heart that will not be divided by any dark intention. Give me a strong heart that will not be broken by any tribulation. Give me a free heart that will not follow any violent desire. Give me, Lord God, a mind to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a life to please you, perseverance to wait faithfully for you and the trust that will finally embrace you…Amen. Saint George is renowned worldwide as a legendary figure who offers valuable lessons on religious integrity and commitment to faith against all opposition. St. George is most notably the patron saint of reading and books, lepers, and leprosy. He is also the patron saint of knights, armorers, equestrians, Crusaders, shepherds, soldiers, and archers. Prayer for St. George’s intercession: Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of Saint George and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son. Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saving, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen. St. Francis de Sales St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers and journalists. St. Francis’s vocation was confirmed when, after falling from a horse three different times, his sword and its scabbard fell into the shape of a cross. Francis became a priest and the head of the Diocese of Geneva. Francis went on to convert 60,000 Calvinists to Catholicism. To further spread Catholicism, he wrote of the religion on papers and slid them underneath doors of homes. “May the Lord guide me and all those who write. Through your prayers, St. Frances de Sales, I ask for your intercession as I attempt to bring the written word to the world. Let us pray that God takes me in the palm of His hand and inspires my creativity and inspires my success. St. Francis de Sales, you understand the dedication required. Pray for God to inspire and allow ideas to flow. In His name, let my words reflect my faith for others to read. Amen.” Other sources for recommended Catholic books and information: T A N publications Christianbook.com Sunrise Marian Distribution ABEBOOKS Fisheaters.com Free Traditional Catholic Books Comments are closed.
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AuthorAn artist, entrepreneur, a loving family man, 30 years a Catholic traditionalist upholding traditions for the love of God. Shop for Catholic giftsArchives
January 2024
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