You know, the Lord certainly has quite a sense of humor.
Prior to my conversion back in September of 2006, the beginning of my junior year in college, I absolutely despised reading (except for Cosmopolitan, People, Glamour and other trashy magazines of the like). When I think back on the things I filled my heart, mind and soul with, I become disgusted and saddened by the filth I once consumed and I can't help but thank God for His tender mercies in bringing me out of that impurity; it is a humble reminder of the sinner I am and a vehicle of compassion for those who seek to fill the emptiness of their lives with such things. The Lord is so good to we who are so unworthy.
Anyway, the only memory I have of reading was when I had to (aka school book reports or to merely pass a test). I also do vividly remember relentlessly mocking my sister and calling her a nerd because she did like to read (I'm sorry again Nina!).
Then, enter God.
After my conversion, one of the graces the Lord gave me was a thirst, a love, for reading! Ha! Who would have thought??? It would have been the last grace I thought I'd receive! The Lord sure does have a sense of humor! :) From that point on, I desired to do nothing but read about the Catholic faith - anything and everything related to it. The TV I had in my apartment quickly ushered its way out of my room 2 or 3 months after my conversion because after that moment, I had no desire at all to watch it (unless it was EWTN, haha). I began to consume book after book to understand what I believe as a Catholic and more importantly, why. I began to encounter the saints and learn about Christian spirituality; thus began my journey with spiritual books. The Lord took away my desire to watch television and replaced it with a desire to read only the things that pretain to Christianity and my vocation (i.e. reading books my kids enjoy or books about educational philosophies that help me homeschool. Oh, and a cookbook ;) ). It was a very drastic and sharp change in my life with regards to that grace and it was all the work of God in my life. Also, this is not to say that reading anything else is wrong (unless it contains sinful and impure content); this is just simply the grace God gave me and I am to be faithful to that. Everyone is different and God works differently in different souls. Reading wholesome literature and things that increase our knowledge in various fields of study and so on are very good things. That was just the particular grace the Lord gave me at my conversion, so I am accountable before Him to be faithful to it.
The reason I share this is to not only testify that God has a sense of humor, but to also testify to the incredible impact spiritual reading can have on one's life.
In this post, I would like to encourage you to do a little spiritual reading each day, perhaps aiming for as little as 10 minutes. I will also share some recommendations in regards to reading that I hope will help you grow closer to the Lord, grow in your love for Him and help you understand a bit more about the spiritual life.
Saint Padre Pio's 5-Point Rule of Life
There was a great blog I came across a year ago that referenced 5 habits that St. Padre Pio believed all Catholics should practice:
1. Weekly Confession
2. Daily Communion (if possible)
3. Examination of Conscience every evening
4. Daily spiritual reading
5. Mental prayer, twice daily
His thoughts on spiritual reading:
“The harm that comes to souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder…. What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection.”
Strong and incredible words to ponder.
Fr. Bartunek explains spiritual reading as "reading something that explains some aspect of Catholic truth in an attractive, enriching way. Its function is to help reinforce and deepen our Christian view of ourselves and the world around us." It is either informative whereby we learns truths of our Faith or it is inspiring and refreshing.
On the spiritual book to choose
Before we choose a book, we must re-assess how we use our time. When I think of the useless time I spend browsing Facebook out of vain curiosity and idleness, it convicts me of the need to mortify these idle desires and direct them toward that which is profitable for my soul. Let's face it: We FILL our days with unimportant distractions and idleness - television, texting, video games, social media, and so on.
Fr. Faber in his book Growth in Holiness tells us that general indifference about the use of our time is a manifestation of our spiritual idleness. He says the worst feature of this spiritual idleness is its deceitfulness.
"No idle man believes himself to be idle, except in the lucid intervals of grace. No one will credit how strong the habit of losing time will rapidly become. To break away from it requires a vehemence and continuity of effort to which few are equal...The hourly accumulation of minute carelessness is clogging and hampering the soul."
It will be difficult to discipline ourselves in this way in the beginning, to slowly chip away at our idleness and direct it toward the profit of our souls, however the Holy Spirit may guide us. But it is a labor necessary for our sanctification. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord had a severe admonition for our idle words. You can imagine how that relates to our idle time and actions! St. Alphonsus Liguori made a solemn vow to never waste a moment of time. This should convict us in how we use our time and make us re-assess our priorities.
There are MANY great spiritual books out there. What to avoid? Anything New Age or non-Christian. These are based on paganism and satanic deceptions. Self-help books are futile in their attempt to direct the soul toward God and eternal salvation. It is vain and ultimately self-centered, though it may seem to help for a time. Self-help books are an empty substitute for who we really need help from: the Lord. Our own efforts will collapse in time.
Also, be weary of books labeled as Christian but are based on New Age or non-Christian practices (like "centering prayer" borrowed from eastern religions). Here's a link on how to avoid any New Age-influences in spiritual books. There's much to be cautious of but definitely a wealth of great books out there too.
You cannot go wrong with spiritual classics of the Church - any spiritual treatises the saints have written or books about the lives of the saints. These are my favorites to read!
Anyway, here's a list of my favorites that have had a profound impact on my spiritual life. I hope you will be lead to them by these recommendations so that you will draw closer to the Heart of Christ through them. I will also include links to my favorite audio files and podcasts as well as a couple blogs I find helpful and spiritually edifying.
Books:
**A note on reading. The point isn't to rush through the book. It's sufficient to set aside 10 minutes a day and read a small chunk (a paragraph or page or whatever you "find your honey" in). The purpose is to "chew" on what you read and reflect more deeply on it so that it permeates your soul and aids your journey toward holiness.
Scripture (of course!)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo
Growth in Holiness by Father Faber
Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
The Complete Spiritual Doctrine of St. Therese of Lisieux by Rev. Francois Jamart
Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli
Union with God by Blessed Columba Marmion
True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis Marie de Montfort
The Ways of Mental Prayer by Rt. Rev. Donm Vitalis Lehodey
Of more recent authors:
Navigating the Interior Life by Daniel Burke
The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin
Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael Gaitley
Fatima for Today by Fr. Andrew Apostoli
Happy are You Poor by Fr. Thomas Dubay
Also, anything by Fr. Timothy Gallagher (who writes a lot about Ignatian prayer), Fr. Jacques Philippe, Fr. Thomas Dubay, Fr. John Hardon, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, Daniel Burke, Ralph Martin and Anthony Lilles (focusing on Carmelite spirituality).
On the Saints:
Saint John Paul the Great by Jason Evert
Mother Teresa's Secret Fire by Joseph Langford, M.C.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in the Shadow of our Lady by Joseph Langford, M.C.
Diary of Saint Faustina by St. Faustina
The Life of Saint Catherine of Sienna by Blessed Raymond of Capua (her spiritual director)
St. Teresa of Avila by John Beever (fantastic and lively biographical sketch of this saint! Got it through our local library system too!)
A Man of the Beatitudes, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati by Luciana Frassait
Podcasts/Audio
Below is a list of audio sources I frequently listen to; depending on the talk you choose, it could be anywhere from 8 minutes to an hour long. They're great to listen to while folding laundry, doing dishes or making dinner, or in car rides. I find this particularly convenient in continuing to nourish the spiritual life when sitting down to read isn't always possible.
Divine Intimacy radio - A weekly podcast about the spiritual life. (I consider listening to it like a mini-retreat).
Romans10seventeen - Solid, Catholic sermons (I can't tell you how much Bill and I enjoy listening to this priest preach!)
Regina Prophetarum - More Catholic sermons from priests today
Luke1128 - More solid Catholic sermons for today
Sensus Fidelium - A channel on Youtube that provides speakers and priests who convey Catholic truths
EWTN Audio Library - Here you'll find an endless resource of Catholic audio from previous EWTN TV series, conversion stories, and many great priests like Fr. Benedict Groschel, Fr. Thomas Dubay and so on. You are able to even download them to put them on your IPOD or put them on a CD.
Discerning Hearts Catholic podcast - A great podcast on the Christian spiritual life; they host an array of guests. I highly recommend the series done with Fr. Timothy Gallagher! This site too has an immense archive of spiritual podcasts that are great food for the soul.
Blogs
Spiritual Direction - A Catholic spiritual direction site which offers great articles on everything pretaining to the spiritual life from prayer to spiritual warfare and so on. (But nothing replaces a real spiritual director, in which this site offers advice on finding one).
Contemplative Homeschool - A little blog by a woman named Connie Rossini who focuses on Carmelite spirituality and prayer and raising children in a contemplative life. I find her incredibly inspiring.
The Divine Antidote - A blog site dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, living her Consecration and striving for holiness. It's an outreach of the Flame of Love movement which has been Church-approved.
Sites to order/download books
TAN books publishing has almost every classic Catholic book you could want.
SanctePater has a HUGE amount of Catholic books you can download on PDF. You can also search at archive.org since these books are all free to download on a Kindle, PDF, etc...
There are also many other sites such as EWTN Religious Catalog, Catholic Answers, and Ignatius Press that publish great books too that are more recent.
Remember, resolve to make this a priority in your life, just like prayer. Re-assess the use of your time and cut away at those things which are idle and vain. May the Holy Spirit touch your heart as you endeavor on your spiritual reading. Let us lift our souls from low and earthly things, upwards towards the heavens!
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above..."
~ Colossians 3:1
Queen of the Angels by William Adolphe Bouguereau