The Parish Team Reading List

At Sunday Mass during lockdown, Fr Patrick promised to make recommendations for lockdown reading. Here, the Pastoral team list the books that they have been reading recently and those that have made and impact on them. They have made some difficult choices to narrow the number down to five each and they are in no particular order - happy reading!

Fr Patrick

THE JEWISH STUDY BIBLE
(Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler)

Fr Patrick says, "Reading the Old Testament is difficult and a lot of the time you really need someone to explain to you what you are reading and its significance. This is an excellent commentary which contains an introduction to each book of the bible and a page by page commentary. It is Jewish -so it doesn’t reference Jesus Christ. But I find it fascinating."

THE TEMPLE: ITS MINISTRY AND SERVICES
(Alfred Edersheim)

Fr Patrick says: "Edersheim was a nineteenth century Rabbi who converted to Christianity and became an Oxford Don. This is a description of the Jerusalem Temple and its liturgy at the time of Christ. It is absolutely fascinating and not difficult to read. It throws a great deal of light on the activity of Jesus in the Temple."

JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY
(Simon Sebag Montefiore)

Fr Patrick says: "This really is a page turner. It’s an easy to read history not just of Jerusalem – which is riveting enough - but of the People of Israel. Montefiore is not a Christian and so his treatment of the Christian part of the history of Jersualem is rather dismissive and not balanced. However it’s a very good read!"

INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY
(Joseph Ratzinger)

Fr Patrick says: "This is the collected lecture notes of the young Professor Ratzinger’s Introduction to Theology course at the University of Munster in the late 1960s. It is brilliant and insightful – but it is anything other than a light read. If you are interested in theology and want to learn more – this is a good place to start. But you will need to devote time and energy to this book. If you do – it will be very rewarding."

THE LORD
(Romano Guardini)

Fr Patrick says: "This is a classic text by the twentieth century German theologian Romano Guardini. In this text, he synthesises the four Gospels into a single biography of Jesus. It is deep, lovely and beautiful. It is a text to meditate over or to read a chapter at a time. Everyone should read this beautiful book!"

Fr Jamie

THE WAY
(St Josemaria Escriva)

Fr Jamie says: "A book that changed my life. It’s a collection of pithy points for meditation, written by a Spanish priest in the 1930s to encourage students and busy professionals to make time for personal prayer and grow in love for God. In his preface, the author describes the contents of the book as “things I whisper in your ear as a friend, as a brother, as a father, so that some thought may arise and strike you and so your life will improve and you will set out along the way of prayer and of Love.”

THIS TREMENDOUS LOVER
(Eugene Boylan)

Fr Jamie says: "What does it mean to be a saint? For Eugene Boylan, it means to be united to Christ in love. This book is an attempt “to outline the love story between God and man,” in which Christ is the “tremendous lover” of our souls. As well as giving an overview of salvation history, he gives practical advice on how this life of union with Christ is lived out concretely. Highly recommended!"

THE CREED IN SLOW MOTION
(Ronald Knox)

Fr Jamie says: "Ronald Knox was a brilliant, successful Anglican cleric who became a Catholic priest. Translator of the Bible and author of detective fiction in his spare time, he was Catholic chaplain at the University of Oxford from 1926-1939. This book (and its companion volume ‘The Mass in Slow Motion’) are a collection of talks he gave to evacuated school-girls during World War II. They are amusing, endearing and nonetheless profound."

THE EVERLASTING MAN
(G. K. Chesterton)

Fr Jamie says: "This is a sweeping overview of human history with Jesus Christ (‘The Everlasting Man’) at its centre. Exploring the fundamental question of what it means to be human with sparkling wit and profound wisdom, Chesterton explores humanity’s search for God and the uniqueness of Christian Revelation, a message “rushing through the ages as a winged thunderbolt of thought and everlasting enthusiasm; a thing without rival or resemblance, and still as new as it is old.”

THEOLOGY OF THE LITURGY: COLLECTED WORKS
(Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI)

Fr Jamie says: "This is a bit of a cheat, because it’s actually a single-volume collection of various books, articles and essays written by Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI on the Church’s liturgy. Why does the Second Vatican Council describe the celebration of the Eucharist as the “source and summit of the Christian life”? How do we participate in a deeper way at Mass? What do we mean when we say that Jesus is ‘truly present’ in the Blessed Sacrament? These questions (and very many more) are answered in these pages.

Sr Mary Simone

INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE
(St. Francis de Sales)

"Everything written by St. Francis de Sales is beautiful, practical and inspiring, and perhaps particularly so the Introduction to the Devout Life. St. Francis de Sales was an outstanding spiritual direction, and in this book he gives his directee advice for how to grow in love of God at the midst of her life at the court. If you have not already read it, don’t miss this great spiritual classic!"

LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY
(Karol Wojtyla)

"Before he was elected pope, St. John Paul II spent many years praying, studying and lecturing on the human person, her vocation and her flourishing. Through this work, he very much contributed to a deepening of the Church’s understanding not only of the human person, but also of marriage and family as interpersonal relationships. Although the book is written as an academic work by a brilliant philosopher, Wojtyla also frequently appeals to common human experience, which makes it readable, although requiring some concentration. It is very much recommended if you would like a much more true, genuine and profound understanding of the human person than the world around us can offer."

THE LIFE OF CHRIST
(Fulton Sheen)

"This book is very much the result of all the years that Archbishop Sheen has spent in prayer and meditation on the life of Jesus. It’s simply beautiful, and a very good help to read the Gospels with fresh eyes and come to know and love Christ more."

FIRE WITHIN: ST. TERESA OF AVILA, ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS, AND THE GOSPEL, ON PRAYER
(Thomas Dubay)

"This is one of those books that you read and realise how deep and extraordinary the saints’ relationship with God can be. But rather than being discouraging, it is very practical, helpful and inspiring if you would like to really grow in your relationship with God, which is ultimately your life of prayer."

THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

"Recently, I have once again come to realise what a treasure the Catechism is. In such short and concise ways, it shows the depth, width and beauty of our faith, reminds us of what is most important and encourages one to truly let one’s faith shine forth in every aspect of one’s life. And there is always so much more to learn and discover!"

Deacon Peter

EARLY CHRISTIAN PRAYER
(Adelbert Hamman)

"Sadly out of print, my 1961 translation from the original french cost 35 shillings net. I paid a fifty pence for it when I discovered it at a jumble sale in Glasgow. I was researching some early prayers written on broken pottery (ostraca) when I came across it. It has provided me ever since with wonderful insights into the early prayers of the Church. It begins with prayers from the first few generations of Christians, through the Greek and Latin Fathers in some of these prayers we hear echoes of the very earliest liturgies in both the eastern and western Churches. I go back to it time and time again and in never fails to inspire me."

WISDOM SHALL ENTER
(Leo Trese)

Deacon Peter says: "I suppose this falls into the category of an apologetic in that it sets out in a very easy fashion the Church’s teaching on key elements of theology. Written over 70 years ago its language is slightly dated but inspirational none the less. I like to read the chapter “The voice of holiness” because it reminds me of the call to holiness which Christ makes to us all. The book is a series of short essays on God, Man, Truth, Holiness, Miracles, the Church and so on. At 144 pages it is an easy read in 8/9 page chapters and it will help you as St Peter said to “ always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence."

EARLY CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES
(JND Kelly)

"Covering the first five centuries from the end of the Apostolic era to the middle of the fifth century. It really does set the context in which many of our doctrines evolved. It spans the development of the Church in the east and west and how it dealt with the evolving theology on the Trinity, Christ, Grace and The sacraments and much much more. Its very well written and one that I find myself constantly pulling off the bookshelf."

MARY, MOTHER OF THE LORD
(Karl Rahner)

"Many people will warn you about reading Karl Rahner but I found this book to be a delightful clear and concise exposition of what is often called Mariology. This month of May, I re-read his lecture “A Short Introduction of the Teaching of Faith about Mary” It was originally one of eight individual lectures which Rahner himself collated and re-edited and at 106 pages is very easily digested and one which it is easy to pick up and re-read again and again."

THE CHURCH OF GOD
(Louis Bouyer)

"I suppose this one is a history of the Church through a series of reflections down through the centuries, from patristic beginnings through medieval scholasticism, reformation, counter reformation and on into the 20th century. At just under 600 pages its not one for the beach but it certainly gets you thinking about what is Church and its one of my “Go to” texts when I want to look behind many of the texts of the Second Vatican Council on the life of the Church."

FR Martin Eckersley

WHEN THE CHURCH WAS YOUNG
(Marcellino D'Ambrosio)

"If the word trinity isn't in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith? And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway? The Church Fathers provide the answers. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. D'Ambrosio dusts off the dry theology and brings you the exciting stories and great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Jerome. This page-turner will inspire and challenge you with the lives and insights of these seminal teachers from when the Church was young."

FATHER ELIJAH: AN APOCALYPSE
(Michael O'Brien)

"A thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schafer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroils him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church. In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God."

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
(C. S. Lewis)

"A milestone in the history of popular theology, ‘The Screwtape Letters’ is an iconic classic on spiritual warfare and the power of the devil. This profound and striking narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ‘lost’ to the young devil."

THE POWER AND THE GLORY
(Graham Greene)

"In a poor, remote section of Southern Mexico, the paramilitary group, the Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest is on the run. Too human for heroism, too humble for martyrdom, the nameless little worldly “whiskey priest” is nevertheless impelled toward his squalid Calvary as much by his own compassion for humanity as by the efforts of his pursuers."

SIMPLE PRAYER
(John Dalrymple)

"John Dalrymple wrote many spiritual classics, all stemming from his conviction that prayer is the most important element in Christian living. In Simple Prayer, he writes explicitly on prayer, teaching that the simple silent prayer of contemplation is attainable for anyone who seeks to try. What unfolds is a mature yet accessible consideration of all aspects of prayer and how it connects with politics, liberation, poverty, spiritual reading and the experience of the Dark Night"