littleflower+JMJ Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 i know many read books that really effect them and bring them home to the Catholic Faith... can you share what books, etc. made an impact on your journey home? i have heard that many who read "Surprised by Truth" by Patrick Madrid and "Rome Sweet Home" are winners... i would be very much interested in your experiences... God bless. +JMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dUSt Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Catholicism vs Fundamentalism by Karl Keating made me embrace my faith. I think it's the perfect book for cradle Catholics living in the Bible Belt who are constantly being told that their beliefs are wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaustinaVianney Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court. I read this book because I had to defend what I was doing. The lil country families dont know anything about Catholicism. A little red book that I believe is called Understanding the Mass helped lots. I devoured so many books in one summer that I don't know where to begin. I did a lot of spirituality reading. I didn't have to have the Faith 'proven' intellectually to me, but more spiritually. I only read apologetics to defend the Faith to others that were questioning me and I had a lot telling me how 'wrong' Catholicism was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 [quote name='FaustinaVianney' date='Apr 12 2004, 05:14 PM'] I devoured so many books in one summer that I don't know where to begin. [/quote] Yeah ... One of the first books I read was "Rome Sweet Home" ... it was a great introduction, because it really whetted my appetite for more. I was intrigued by what I read, but Scott Hahn didn't go into enough depth in that book. The same was true with the "Surprised by Truth" books -- I really needed a more in-depth, intellectual approach than those took, although I do find personal conversion stories interesting. I later read some other books by Hahn, notable among them are "The Lamb's Supper" and "Hail Holy Queen"; these were great, straightforward explanations of the Eucharist and the role of Mary that really helped. I think Scott Hahn was important for me to read because he had been a Presbyterian, which was the background I'd mainly come from. I read snippets of Hillaire Belloc's "Characters of the Reformation," which was fascinating, as well as parts a couple of church history books my dad had, which weren't that great. I also read tons of stuff online dealing with church-history-type things. I also read a summary of John Calvin's "Institutes" in order to review the background I was considering leaving, as well as bits of the "Westminster Confession of Faith." I read parts of "Apologia pro vita sua" by John Henry Cardinal Newman; parts of "The Catholic Controversy," a collection of the writings of St. Francis de Sales; "Catholic Christianity" by Peter Kreeft; "Five Great Catholic Ideas" by Fr. Edward Wm. Clark; selections from St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine; re-read "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton; and "Creed or Chaos" by Dorothy Sayers. And of course I read a ton o' stuff from the Catechism, and got a companion book to it that contains all the texts referenced in the Catechism, which has been useful on a couple of occasions. I think that's mainly it ... in retrospect, I would have done better to dig more into the history of things, but I didn't at the time really know where to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 (edited) This is a little later in my journey, after I'd started RCIA, but I started listening to/reading Christopher West's stuff on the "Theology of the Body." I have to say I think this is one of the most amazing areas of theology I've ever delved into. I'd actually bought the collection of the Pope's talks, and tried reading them, but they didn't come alive for me until I heard Christopher West speak at a parish mission at the beginning of Lent. Since then, I have been [i]on fire[/i] with this stuff. It has really begun revolutionizing how I think about the purpose of existence, and helped me understand a lot more about the "whys" of the Church's teachings in several areas. I've been sharing it with just about everyone I know, Catholics and Protestants alike, and so many people are having positive reactions to it, it's really phenomenal. I feel almost evangelistic about it ... which is a little scary. But it really unfolds the truth of Catholic teaching in a really beautiful way. So anyway, there's that, too. Edited April 13, 2004 by Sojourner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessinoelw Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 We read a ton of books. The Catechism of the Catholic Church by John Hardon was, by far, the best. My husband liked Crossing the Tiber. I forget who wrote that one. --Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.SIGGA Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 [u]Story of a Soul[/u] by St. Therese, [u]Surprised by Truth[/u] by Pat Madrid, and [u]Catholic Pocket Evangelist[/u] by Fr. Mario Romero brought me back home. Later on, [u]His Last Days[/u] and [u]Man of the Beatitudes [/u](on Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati), and [u]Journal of a Soul[/u] by Bl. Pope John XXIII have made me a better Christian... and of course the Holy Bible (NAB St. Joe's ed.) ... and btw Christopher West is my new hero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 [u]Story of a Soul[/u] by St. Therese. Also the [u]Dialogue[/u] of St. Catherine of Siena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Oh, also writings by G.K. Chesterton and Pope John Paul II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yiannii Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed I started reading this out of interest and couldn't put it down. It answered so many questions I had about God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marielapin Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Divine Mercy in My Soul by Saint Faustina Not a book on the Church per se, but it's the book that lead me into studying the Catholic Church indepth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassionistF Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Let's see ... At first, joining RCIA was thought to be adequate. After about oh, one meeting, I sought out books by Scott Hahn after hearing him on Catholic radio. I've read Hail Holy Queen and the Lamb's Supper by Hahn. I've also sompleted a few correspondence courses available through [url="http://www.amm.org/chss.htm"]CHSS.[/url] And of course, I wouldn't be caught dead without my [url="http://www.magnificat.net/"]Magnificat daily readings.[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellenita Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 I devoured Rome Sweet Home in one sitting - I couldn't put it down! I'd recommend it to anyone coming from an informed protestant background as it's very grounded in scripture. I also found Surprised by the Truth and Catholicism for Dummies really useful - good general books for anyone! For feminists, Prodigal Daughters by Donna Steichen is very good - lots of individual stories from feminist women who have returned to the church. The whole range of feminist thought is unraveled and it's written in a really intelligent style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn_H Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 'The Seven Story Mountain' by Thomas Merton. Its the true autobiographical story of Merton's conversion to Catholicism and then his journey to becoming a Trappist monk. That book, and the 'Dutch Catechism' which I also read at the same time were the books that inspired me and convinved me the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiat_Voluntas_Tua Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 "Catholic Christianity" and the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" in the other hand... The best thing that helped me was...daily Mass, and daily Rosary. Seeing Christ become trully present before your eyes is something that will make you want to become Catholic. Pax et Agape per Maria, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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