Book Recommendation For Converts

[Laudate_Dominum]

Calvary and the Mass, by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

[Moneybags]

After consulting others I have added these items to the list:

John Henry Cardinal Newman: On the Development of Doctrine

Calvary and the Mass by Archbishop Sheen

I was also given this message when I consulted others:

[quote]I would take JPII's encyclicals off the list. They are extremely dense and hard to read, and are very ambiguous, to say the least. Sometimes they say things that can be interpreted in an orthodox way --but only if you try hard and know your stuff. Certainly, I wouldn't recommend a convert read them. The only writing of JPII's I can recommend is [i]Ordinatio Sacerdotalis[/i], against the idea of ordaining women as priests.

As far as Papal Encyclicals go, there are many very good ones, and some that are good, but not extremely relevant today, and therefore not really fitting for a convert's book list. I would recommend the following, as a summary of Church teaching on contested points today -off the top of my head:

Mirari Vox, Gregory XVI -condemns liberalism and revolution
Quanta Cura, Pius IX -more against liberalism
Syllabus of Errors, Pius IX -modern errors of various sorts, most of which are alive and well
Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII -Catholic economics
Testem Benevolentiae, Leo XIII -against Americanism
Pascendi Dominici Gregis, St. Pius X -very important, against modernism
Notre Charge Apostolique, St. Pius X -against ecumenical meetings
Mortalium Animos, Pius XI -against false ways of preaching the gospel
Casti Conubii, Pius XI -Catholic morality regarding marriage and its physical aspects
Mediator Dei, Pius XII -Catholic outlook on liturgy
Humanae Vitae, Paul VI -against birth control, which is said to be practiced by 90% of U.S. Catholics[/quote]

[Veritas]

[quote name='St. Benedict' post='1299674' date='Jun 21 2007, 10:58 PM']After consulting others I have added these items to the list:

John Henry Cardinal Newman: On the Development of Doctrine

Calvary and the Mass by Archbishop Sheen

I was also given this message when I consulted others:[/quote]

+

Wow. I'm a convert and JPII wasn't "over the head" -it was fantastic! The best reading I've done! Might depend on your audience. Is it someone, who enjoys philosophy and thinks a lot? If yes, they would probably really enjoy JPII -he's amazing. He'll be a doctor.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Veritas' post='1299707' date='Jun 21 2007, 11:37 PM']+

Wow. I'm a convert and JPII wasn't "over the head" -it was fantastic! The best reading I've done! Might depend on your audience. Is it someone, who enjoys philosophy and thinks a lot? If yes, they would probably really enjoy JPII -he's amazing. He'll be a doctor.[/quote]
I totally agree. It really depends on the encyclical too. As a new convert I had to read [i]Veritatis Splendor[/i] a couple of times before I felt like I really appreciated what he talking about, and even then my appreciation was minimal since I didn't have knowledge of the history and spectrum of issues the encyclical was designed to address. However, one of the first things I read as a practicing Catholic was [i]Fides et Ratio[/i], and I found it to be a very exciting read.
The Pope's encyclical on the rosary is another favorite, as is [i]Redemptoris Mater[/i].

[i]Casti Conubii[/i] is a sweet encyclical, but it seems like it would be complimented greatly by a reading of John Paul II's [i]Familiaris Consortio[/i].

[Moneybags]

So far, here's the list:

[url="http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/07/non-catholics-i-want-to-hear-from-you.html"]http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/07/...r-from-you.html[/url]

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Veritas' post='1299707' date='Jun 22 2007, 12:37 AM']+

Wow. I'm a convert and JPII wasn't "over the head" -it was fantastic! The best reading I've done! Might depend on your audience. Is it someone, who enjoys philosophy and thinks a lot? If yes, they would probably really enjoy JPII -he's amazing. He'll be a doctor.[/quote]
I agree. I'm pretty sure they were instrumental in my husband's conversion...


btw, who are these other people you consult with regarding our suggestions? Why not just consult with them, since whenever one of these "mystery people" disagrees with us, you knock our suggestion off the list....?

[Sojourner]

I'm with the other converts ... JPII was a huge part of my conversion, esp. the Theology of the Body. Loved it.

[Moneybags]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1307415' date='Jun 30 2007, 11:55 PM']I agree. I'm pretty sure they were instrumental in my husband's conversion...
btw, who are these other people you consult with regarding our suggestions? Why not just consult with them, since whenever one of these "mystery people" disagrees with us, you knock our suggestion off the list....?[/quote]

These people who I consult with our fellow Traditional Catholics. I value their opinions and Phatmass as well.

[Moneybags]

I've added St. Louis de Montfort's [i]True Devotion[/i] to the list.

[Moneybags]

Has anyone read and/or know about St. Frances de Sales's work -- published as "The Catholic Controversy" by TAN.

Edit: Grammar

Edited July 5, 2007 by St. Benedict

[cmotherofpirl]

I would certainly never give this stuff to a convert:

D) The Great Facade. Chris Ferrara.

E) Iota Unum -an excellent, rather large study on the changes in the Catholic Church in the 20th century, from a traditional perspective. It's daunting at first, but not a hard read. Romano Amerio.

F) Marcel Lefebvre, the biography by Bp. Tissier de Mallerais. This is also an excellent book, and provides an essential overview of the bishop's life, and the struggle for Tradition. Even if you don't attend the SSPX Mass. (I know many who attend the Indult and have told me that this is a book that you shouldn't miss!)

Why don't you add Fulton Sheen instead and certainly "Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma" by Ott should be there. Any of the writings of Father Most on the Bible.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

I know a lot of converts or potential converts. Deo gratias. One thing I have learnt is to push away firmly my pet list of favourite Catholic books and look at the personality, education, and background of the individual convert before I give them anything to read. One of my best friends (a former Evangelical from a very anti-Catholic family) has significant neurological problems that affect her speech and language. She struggles to read. I gave her some little booklets from the Catholic Truth Society, but I realised that she was going nowhere fast with those. Remembering that she does have an extremely good visual memory (perhaps in compensation for the language trouble) I gave her a lavishly illustrated book on icons and church art instead. The pictures talked to her in a way that words couldn't. She didn't even need the commentary. Similarly, she can often barely understand the words at Mass (her brain gets them all jumbled) so she focuses on the physical actions. For this reason the first prayer I taught her was the rosary - tactile and repetitive. This is the best way to reach her.

Now that she has learnt something of the Faith in a way that makes sense to her, she feels ready to try some books. I gave her [i]Catholicism for Dummies[/i]. It's extremely good, as other people have already pointed out, and it also has a very user-friendly layout. It's the sort of book you can dip into as well as read from cover to cover. My one fear is that people might get offended by the title.

At the moment I'm talking to a friend from a Jewish background who has no reading difficulties except sheer fear. When she got interested in Christianity, I gave her two books that immediately got hidden in her sock drawer. We were at a deadlock for nearly a year. She wanted to learn more, but was terrified. Recently we hit on the idea of studying the [i]Song of Songs[/i] together. (This was because she happened to comment that she felt as though God was running away from her.) She's extremely enthusiastic about the study. I think this is going to be her breakthrough, in much the same way that the icon-book was for my other friend. I also have a suspicion that books by the Carmelite saints (especially Teresa of Avila) would be of great help to her.

For Evangelical friends who ask me about Catholicism, I normally resort to Scott Hahn. I don't think he's unorthodox in the slightest. He is a former Evangelical, and he comes to the Church from that culture and background. He is not an Evangelical-basher and he is not aggressively anti-Protestant, but I don't think you could accuse him of modernism on those grounds. I especially like [i]Hail Holy Queen[/i].

For atheist and agnostic friends who want to know about prayer (it is surprising how many of them ask me about prayer before they ask about God) I have [i]The Essence of Prayer[/i] and [i]To Believe in Jesus[/i], two beautiful books by a Carmelite nun in an English monastery. She writes under the pen-name of Ruth Burrows. [i]Sister Wendy on Prayer[/i] (a book by the hermit-nun Wendy Beckett) is also good.

For people who ask questions about Catholic ethics, I usually turn to [i]An Intelligent Person's Guide to Catholicism[/i] and [i]An Intelligent Person's Guide to Christian Ethics by Fr Alban McCoy[/i]. These are quite intellectual, though, so again it is a question of knowing your audience.