Welcome to Living the Catholic Life

We hope you’ll find the contents of this page to be a source of information and INSPIRATION to you and your family as you strive to truly LIVE the life of a faith-filled Catholic Christian.

A Prayer before Mass
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me to salvation. May I receive the sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You for ever.
Amen.

Suggested Reading List

Must have
Catholic Bible – either the RSV Catholic Edition or the New American Bible (NAB)
Catechism of the Catholic Church

Foundational/Beginner Spiritual Reading
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Made for More – Martin
Because God is Real – Kreeft
Rediscovering Catholicism – Kelly
Blessed are the Bored in Spirit – Hart
Rome Sweet Home – Hahn

Great Catholic Narratives
Lord of the Rings – Tolkien
Ana Karenina – Tolstoy
St. Thomas Aquinas – Chesterton
Joan of Arc – Mark Twain
Island of the World – O’Brien

Spiritual Readings/Holy Men and Women
Cure of Ars – Trochu
Witness to Hope – Weigel
Soul of Apostolate – Chautard
Abandonment to Divine Providence – Caussaude
Introduction to Devout Life – de Sales
Treatise on the Love of God – de Sales
Three Ages of Interior Life, I – Garrigou-Lagrange
Three Ages of Interior Life, II – Garrigou-Lagrange
12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation – Liguori
The Practice of the Love of God – Liguori
True Devotion to the Holy Spirit – Martinez
True Devotion – Montfort
Spiritual Combat – Scupoli
Theology for Beginners – Sheed
Life of Christ – Sheen
Spiritual Life – Tanqueray
Rediscovering Catholicism – Kelly
The Imitation of Christ – Kempis
Seven Storey Mountain – Merton
Something Beautiful for God – Muggeridge
Happy Are You Poor: The Simple Life and Spiritual Freedom – Thomas Dubay

Spiritual Classics
Confessions of St. Augustine – Augustine
Little Talks with God (modernized version of “The Dialogues”) – St. Catherine
Everlasting Man – Chesterton
Mere Christianity – Lewis
Screwtape Letters – Lewis
Way of Perfection – Teresa of Avila
Story of a Soul – St. Therese of Lisieux
John XXIII – Journal of a Soul
The Little Way of St. Theresa of Liseux: Readings for Prayer and Meditation
The Lord – Guardini
Transformation – Hildebrand

The Blessed Virgin Mary
The World’s First Love – Fulton Sheen
The Rosary: Chain of Hope – Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.
Catholic Christianity – Peter Kreeft

The Existence of God (and what we do with it)
Fundamentals of the Faith – Peter Kreeft
Summa Theologica – St. Thomas Aquinas
Theology and Sanity – Frank Sheed
The Little Way of St. Theresa of Liseux: Readings for Prayer and Meditation
A Map of Life – Frank Sheed
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Theology for Beginners – Frank Sheed
The Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck
Blessed are the Bored in Spirit – Mark Hart
Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl

Salvation
A Father Who Keeps His Promises – Scott Hahn
Heaven, the Heart’s Deepest Longing – Peter Kreeft
A Map of Life – Frank Sheed
Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic – David Currie
Theology and Sanity – Frank Sheed

The Papacy
Authenticity: A Biblical Theology of Discernment – Thomas Dubay
The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers – Mike Aquilina
Rise Let Us Be On Our Way – Pope John Paul II
Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy – Patrick Madrid
Jesus, Peter & the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy – Scott Butler
Women and the Priesthood – Peter Kreeft and Alice von Hildebrand

Church Teaching(s)
A Compact History of the Catholic Church – Alan Schreck
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church – H.W. Crocker
Fundamentals of the Faith – Peter Kreeft
A Man for All Seasons – Robert Bolt
Vatican II in Plain English – Bill Huebsch
Nothing But the Truth – Karl Keating
Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions – Pope Benedict XVI
Catholic and Christian – Alan Schreck
The Four Cardinal Virtues – Pieper
Catholicism Project – Barron
Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations – ed. Austin Flannery
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church – Crocker
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church – Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Love of Learning and the Desire for God -Leclercq
Catholic Matters – Neuhaus

Scriptures
A Father Who Keeps His Promises – Scott Hahn
You Can Understand the Bible – Peter Kreeft
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
To Know Christ Jesus – Frank Sheed
Ask the Bible Geek – Mark Hart
Ask the Bible Geek 2 – Mark Hart
Walking with God – Gray/Cavins
Bible Basics for Catholics – Bergsma
Making Senses Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible As the First Christians Did – Mark Shea
Where We Got the Bible – Henry G. Graham
Unabridged Christianity: Biblical Answers to Common Questions About the Roman Catholic Faith – Fr. Mario P. Romero

Apologetics/Defending the Faith
The Essential Catholic Survival Guide – the staff of Catholic Answers

Sacraments
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
Lord, Have Mercy – Scott Hahn
Love and Responsibility – Pope John Paul II
A Theology of the Body – Pope John Paul II
The Good News about Sex and Marriage – Christopher West
Catholic for a Reason I, II – ed. Scott Hahn
The Seven Sacraments – Caldecott

The Mass
Images of Hope – Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed are the Bored in Spirit – Mark Hart
The Lamb’s Supper – Scott Hahn

Prayer
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Visions of the Children – Janice T. Connell
The Little Way of St. Theresa of Liseux: Readings for Prayer and Meditation
The Dark Night of the Soul – St. John of the Cross
The Simple Path – Mother Teresa
Introduction to the Devout Life – St. Francis de Sales
Prayer for Beginners – Peter Kreeft
The “R” Father – Mark Hart

Morality
Back to Virtue – Peter Kreeft
CoCommon Sense 101 – Ahlquist
Adam & Eve After the Pill – Mary Eberstadt
How to Win a Culture War – Kreeft
Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
Unprotected – MD Anonymous
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief – Francis S. Collins
Refutation of Moral Relativism – Peter Kreeft
Homosexuality and Hope – Catholic Medical Association
Three Approaches to Abortion: A Thoughtful and Compassionate Guide to Today’s Most Controversial Issue – Peter Kreeft
Humanae Vitae – Pope Paul VI
Theology and Sanity – Frank Sheed
Theology of the Body for Beginners – Christopher West
Theology of the Body for Teens – Brian Butler, Jason and Crystalina Evert
Interview With an Exorcist: An Insider’s Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance – Fr. Jose Fortea
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Christianity for Modern Pagans – Kreeft
Humanae Vitae – Pope Paul VI