Letter VI: Foundational Spiritual Books

There's a plethora of spiritual reading that Catholics can take advantage of. But reading the wrong one, at the wrong time, could be detrimental. Which are best for laying a spiritual foundation?

My Dear Children,

There are so many good spiritual books to help you follow Christ. But sometimes, if you read the right book, but at the wrong time, it can do more harm than good. Let me tell you a true, funny story to illustrate my point.

When I became Catholic, I did not have a mentor or spiritual director to help me. I had converted as a result of research I had done on my own, so I didn’t have anyone to really guide me as I began my journey as a Catholic. Nevertheless, I was on fire with the love of God and zealous for the truth of His Church, so I consumed as much of the lives and writings of the Saints and the Church as I could get my hands on.

Leaning on the lives and writings of the Saints is, of course, a very good thing and even the recommended path for spiritual growth. However, if you don’t know which writings to start with, or how to weigh them against each other, you can get yourself into trouble. I didn’t know what to start with, so I began with The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Saint Bonaventure, and the Life of Antony by Saint Athanasius.

One thing that these two Saints have in common is that they are incredibly austere and received many supernatural graces that are not God’s will for every single person to have. I, however, being new to the Church, did not understand that some of the graces God gives to the Saints are meant only for them, to encourage the faithful. “If the Saints can do it, then I should be doing it! Otherwise I’m just not trying hard enough,” I naively thought. I assumed that we should be trying to imitate them exactly. Good thing I didn’t read about St. Joseph Cupertino first and try to fly!

The austerity of these Saint’s was obviously not a good fit for my state of life as a college student in San Diego who had been raised in anything but an austere environment. One of my earliest gaffes was deciding to do a 40-day fast on only bread and water after reading about how Saint Francis of Assisi once went a whole 40-days on just half a loaf of bread.

This did not end well. In fact, it barely started. I made it three whole days before my body rebelled against this violent change, and I sulkily made my way to In-N-Out to scarf down a double-double. No lemonade, thank you, I’m a Man of God on a very strict fast. Then, because I had an outsized view of the importance of ascetical practices in the life of holiness, I actually went straight to confession to repent of breaking my fast. The priest had trouble even understanding what I was trying to confess. “What? This is just a fast you came up with on your own, not imposed by the Church?” He basically laughed me out of the confessional after informing me that breaking overly ambitious self-imposed bread and water fasts is not a sin, but kindly gave me absolution anyway to calm my malformed and troubled conscience.

On another occasion, while spending the summer at your Mimi and Baba’s¹ house, I sat them down to have a serious conversation to tell them how I was giving up all these worldly comforts, and they should expect me to be eating a lot less and (literally) sleeping outside in the back yard under the bushes, and that really, if they truly loved God, they would understand and probably do the same. I’m sure the Angels were laughing at me, if they weren’t too busy being frustrated at what a terrible and uncharitable witness I was to my Episcopalian parents.

My poorly catechized spirit was willing, but my flesh was weak, so the Lord kept me humble by watching me repeatedly cycle through brief phases of extreme austerity, followed by inevitable failure resulting in a run to the nearest fast food joint or comfy bed, followed by a small increase in humility and understanding, and then finally the cycle continued with a re-commitment to some austerity or another. Lord, have mercy, you are so patient with me!

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is so much wisdom in the lives of Francis and Antony, and I have since profited greatly from re-reading them (more than once) but, because I didn’t have a good spiritual foundation, I read them in the wrong context and took away the wrong lessons.

I made these mistakes so that you don’t have to. It’s much better to learn from someone else’s mistakes than your own, and that is why I want to give you a list of books that I think should make up your spiritual foundation. There are many, many other good ones, including the Life of Antony. But if you read the Life of Antony after having the foundation of, say, Introduction to the Devout Life, you will be better able to draw out the proper lessons and apply them much more prudently and effectively. Start with these, then read others in light of what you learn from them. Then you will have a very strong foundation to build on and be much less likely to go astray on your way to Heaven.

The List

The six books I would have you use as a foundation for your spiritual life are:

1. The Holy Scriptures

2. Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales

3. Story of a Soul by Saint Therese

4. The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin

5. True Devotion by Saint Louis de Montfort

6. Various books by C. S. Lewis²

I will say a word about why I recommend each of these books in turn.

The Holy Scriptures

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

— 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I am writing you letters so that, even when you can’t speak with me face-to-face, you can receive my love, encouragement, and instruction. The Holy Scriptures are God the Father’s letters to you for the same purpose. Cherish and trust the Word of God. Love it and read it often, as our Mother the Church forcefully exhorts us to do.

Start with the New Testament, and have a good resource to read with. I would recommend the following commentaries:

• Haydock Commentary (available free digitally at the time of writing)

  • This provides a synthesis of many of the early Church Fathers’ teachings on the scripture passages.

• Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

  • A good, faithful modern biblical commentary.

• Walking with God by Jeff Cavins

  • A book that helps you understand the overarching story and narrative of the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.

When we read books, we often find ourselves thinking in the same style and tone of the author who we have been reading. Read scripture every day and it will begin to conform your thoughts into the image of Christ. I will write an entire letter just on the Scriptures later; in the meantime try to read at least a little bit every day and don’t be troubled by anyone who tries to undermine your confidence in them: they are free from all error.

Introduction to the Devout Life

There is no better compendium for lay people on the Catholic spiritual life than this. It is easy to read, edifying, and covers all the basics. If I could only give you one book to read (besides the Bible), it would probably be this one.

St. Francis starts by giving some meditations on what it means to be devout, and encouraging you to commit to what he calls the “devout life.” He goes on to explain all the facets of living as a disciple of Christ: how to receive the sacraments, how to pray, when to pray, how often to pray, how to deal with various social situations, how to deal with sadness and sorrow in the spiritual life, and so much more.

What makes this especially helpful is that it is written for lay people. Some writings and advice from the Saints can be difficult to apply to your life if you’re not a monk or nun, because they’re often writing as such to others in their state in life. In this book you get a very strong foundation on living devout life as a lay person, and guard rails to prevent you from trying anything crazy like I did.

Story of a Soul

Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’

— Matthew 9:13

Saint Francis de Sales will give you the right direction to go, and Therese will give you the wings of trust and love with which to fly straight up to God. Therese also read about all the austere Saints that I read about, but she was much more humble and trusting than me, so she simply offered what little she could. Her offerings to God were her little, everyday sacrifices and absolute trust in God. Now she is lifted up as one of the greatest Saints and Doctors of the Church.

Imitate Therese. She will help you. Most of all imitate her trust in God. She was no less determined than Saint Francis or Saint Antony, but she knew that she needed to use that fierce determination and love of God in accordance with the circumstances in which He had placed her. Follow her little way. I imagine that her little way is probably very much like the path Our Lady took.

True Devotion

I recommend this book to help foster your devotion to our Blessed Mother, which is essential. No one will do a better job of helping you with that than St. Louis de Montfort.

This book explains the graces God has given Mary and her role in our spiritual lives. Then he explains how to make the “Total Consecration to Mary,” which I made myself on the Feast of the Visitation in 2012 after reading this for the first time. I highly recommend you make the consecration as well, and that you use this book to make it rather than any modern popular one. I think it’s best to stick with the source. I will write a whole letter on the Total Consecration at a future date.

The Fulfillment of All Desire

This is really a compendium of the teaching of Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint John of the Cross, and Saint Theresa of Avila on prayer. It faithfully compiles and shares their teaching on prayer in a way that is easy to understand, while quoting from the primary sources extensively. I highly recommend you use this book as you grow in your prayer life.

It also begins by talking about the eternal perspective of the Saints, which I think is a helpful foundation for shaping a Christian worldview.

Various Books by C. S. Lewis

Even though Lewis is not Catholic, I believe the Holy Spirit has worked through him to provide invaluable spiritual wisdom for our time. I put Lewis on this list specifically to help shape your worldview and speak against many of the errors that are unique to our time. There are a confluence of terrible ideas in our time: materialism, relativism, progressivism—the list goes on and on. Many of these ideas can be very difficult to refute. Additionally, many of the premises of these philosophies are taken for granted in our culture and are therefore often accepted without ever being questioned. Lewis (along with one other I’ll mention) is a master at refuting these errors and at shining light on some of the premises that we take for granted, so that we can question those as well.

One last example of how Lewis speaks uniquely against errors specific to our time is that of “aliens.” The idea of aliens from other planets has grown in the last century, and there was a very strong fear early on that aliens being discovered would somehow disprove the Faith. Obviously it would not, but that wasn’t so apparent for the average person who was also inundated with lots of other propaganda that was warping their worldview and making them susceptible to this fear. This was not much of a problem in previous generations, so you would look in vain for in-depth writings about this specific problem in most of the writings of the Saints. Lewis, however, has an essay called “Religion and Rocketry” specifically addressing this question, and a whole fiction series called “The Space Trilogy” that also considers the question in light of the Faith.

If ever you are tempted with doubts against faith, or confused by relativist or secular arguments, spend lots of time reading Lewis (in addition to praying more, making lots of acts of faith, and devoutly receiving the Eucharist). Here are a few of the books, essays, and speeches that I recommend, although I have read almost every single published work of his more than once and you really can’t go wrong with any of it:

• The Great Divorce — this book is actually what prompted my conversion.

• The Screwtape Letters.

• The Weight of Glory — a speech, but it’s also the title of a collection of his works I’d recommend.

• The Inner Ring — another speech. Featured in “The Weight of Glory” collection.

• Mere Christianity — while I disagree with the title (Catholicism is mere Christianity), the contents of the book are an apologetic against many of the errors of our time and are very well stated.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention G. K. Chesterton (who is Catholic). He serves the same purpose as Lewis, but can be difficult to read. If you read only one thing of his, I would suggest The Everlasting Man. If you like it, there are plenty of Chesterton fans that can give you more recommendations.

Build on Your Foundation

I can’t resist giving you a list of other very good spiritual reads I would also recommend. Here are some you should certainly take the time to read, after you read the others, of course.

• The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

• The Life of Antony by Saint Athanasius

• The Desert Fathers by Helen Waddell

• The Life of Saint Francis by Saint Bonaventure

• Any of Saint John Chrysostom’s homilies, but some of my favorites are:

  • Three Homilies on the Devil

  • Two Letters to Theodore After His Fall

  • No One Can Harm the Man Who Does Not Injure Himself

  • First Homily on Eutropius

  • His homilies on the Gospels

• Our Lady of Fatima by William T. Walsh

• Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli

  • This is more of a reference to help you when someone poses difficult arguments against the faith.

• Any of Peter Kreeft’s books

• The Man Called Montfort by E. C. Bolger

• The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis de Montfort

• Basically any writing by a Saint, especially those the Church holds up to us as Doctors of the Church.

How to Read Spiritual Books

“Knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him.

— 1 Cor 8:1-3

Lastly, I want to give you a quick word on how to read spiritual books. The Imitation of Christ says, “I would rather have compunction than be able to define it.” This should be your attitude when doing any spiritual reading—we want to truly be Christians, not just to know a lot about Christianity. Who cares if we “know” a lot about Christianity if we displease Christ in the process? The purpose of our spiritual reading is to know, love, and serve God better. Any other reason is vanity. It would be much better to be illiterate and holy, than well-read and prideful.

So read these books with all humility, seeking first the Kingdom of God and it’s righteousness, and reading always to apply it to your own life. I think my previous advice to you on how to prepare the soil of your hearts and receive the Eucharist might be helpful for you in this regard.

Concluding Remarks

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

-Hebrews 12:1-2

I love you very much and, whether I am with you in person or in Heaven, when you read these books please talk to me about them as you go! And don’t forget especially to talk to the Saints as you read their writings and biographies.

I felt very alone after my conversion and didn’t know where to start. I was also plagued by certain difficult questions regarding the Scriptures and couldn’t find someone to answer them. John Chrysostom quickly took me under his wing. I providentially stumbled upon his homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, and they were exactly what I needed to hear at the time. I would go to the library, print off his homilies, and spend hours reading them for weeks. To this day he is a spiritual father to me.

Always ask the Saints to pray for you before you pick up their books, and thank them afterwards. They are near to you, and rejoice to help you on your journey to God. The relationships you establish with them now are as real as any, and they will last and grow for eternity.

With all my love in Christ,

Dad

---

If you liked this letter, check out:

Preface: Spiritual Life Insurance

Letter I: Introduction

Letter II: Love One Another

Letter III: The Eucharist

1. The nicknames for their grandparents (my parents).

2. 🤔Surprised to see a non-Catholic on a list of foundational spiritual reads for Catholics? Read on to understand why. 😉 Also, I understand that number six is actually several books by two authors. Just ignore that fact. 😁