(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best catholic books

I think the key difference between Catholic and Lutheran soteriology is that Luther was an Ockhamist and thus you get forensic justification, whereas for the Catholic, it is the infusion of divine life. Because of this, Catholicism recognizes the necessity but insufficiency of works for salvation, but Lutheranism rejects even the necessity because of such a different understanding of the relationship between grace and nature. When I first read Luther, I thought he sounded basically Catholic, but the problem was his metaphysics were so different from my own that we really don't believe the same things.

St. Thérèse is a Doctor of the Church and anyway her key contribution was her articulation of "the Little Way", which (put simply) is her teaching that to be a saint doesn't mean accomplishing great works but rather that all of your works be animated by God's love. In her case, she lived a humble life in the convent never accomplishing anything of particular note but simply living the Gospel to its fullness

The key to her spirituality is the Act of Oblation to Merciful Love:

>O MY GOD! Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love you and make you Loved,
To work for the glory of the Holy Church
By saving souls on earth and by liberating those suffering in purgatory.
I desire to accomplish your will perfectly
And to reach the degree of glory that you have prepared for me in Your Kingdom.
I desire, in a word, to be Holy, but I feel my powerlessness
And I beg you, O my God! to be yourself my Holiness!

>You loved me so much that you gave me your only Son
To be my Savior and my Spouse.
The infinite treasures of his merits are mine.
I offer them to you with gladness.
Look on me through the Face of Jesus and in his Heart burning with Love.

>I offer you, too, all the merits of the saints in Heaven and on earth,
Their acts of Love, and those of the Holy Angels.

>Finally, I offer You, O Blessed Trinity!
The Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my cherished Mother.
To her, I entrust my offering completely, imploring her to present it to you.
Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, during his earthly life declared:
“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give to you!”
I am certain, therefore, that you will grant my desires; I know it, O my God!
The more you want to give, the more you make us desire.
I feel in my heart immense desires and
With confidence I ask you to come and take possession of my soul.
Ah! I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I desire,
But, Lord, are you not all-powerful?
Remain in me as in a tabernacle and never separate yourself from your little victim.

>I want to console you for the ingratitude of the wicked, and
I beg you to take my freedom to displease you away.
If through weakness I sometimes fall,
May your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately,
Consuming all my imperfections like fire that transforms everything into itself.

>I thank You, O my God! for all the graces that you have granted me,
Especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering.
With joy I shall contemplate you on the Last Day
Carrying the scepter of your Cross.
Since you have chosen to give me a share in this very precious Cross,
I hope in heaven to resemble you
and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of your Passion.

>After earth’s Exile, I hope to go and enjoy you in the Fatherland,
But I do not want to lay up merits for heaven.
I want to work for your Love Alone with the one purpose of pleasing you:
To console your Sacred Heart, and to save souls who will love you forever.

>In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands.
Lord, I do not ask you to count my works.
All our justice is stained in your eyes.
I wish, then, to be clothed in your own Justice
And by your Love to receive you as my eternal possession.
No other Throne, no other Crown do I want but you, my Beloved!

>Time is nothing in your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years.
You can, then, in an instant prepare me to appear before You.

>Finally, in order to live in an act of perfect Love,
I offer myself as a victim of holocaust to your Merciful Love.
I beg you to consume me incessantly.
Allow the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within you to overflow into my soul.
In this way, make me become a Martyr of your Love, O my God!

>In the end, after it has prepared me to appear before you, may this martyrdom make me die.
May my soul take its flight without delay
Into the eternal embrace of your Merciful Love.

>I want, O my Beloved, with each beat of my heart
to renew this offering to you an infinite number of times,
until the shadows are no more, and
I am able tell you of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face!

I would highly recommend giving Story of a Soul, her autobiography, a read.

(it's later)

First, it's good that you've recognized that you're having a hard time loving yourself, and want to change that so that you can love others.

Someone mentioned therapy, and that is worth looking into. I currently see a cognitive behavioral therapist (for clinical depression) - I spent a while in an environment where I was being told by someone I loved and trusted that I wasn't good enough, couldn't do minor tasks right, wasn't trustworthy, etc. I am a positive, optimistic, relatively confident person, but after a while that stuff gets into your head because of hearing it so much. So I had to do a little relearning to think that I am lovable, that I am able to do things. Our emotions call up thoughts that reinforce those emotions; our thoughts call up emotions that go with the thoughts; it makes a loop; if you get into a bad loop, there are techniques for getting out of it and for getting into a better pattern of thinking and feeling. You could find out a little about CBT and see if that sounds like it would help.

Second, I suggest reading either Story of a Soul or Time for God (take a look on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Story-Soul-Autobiography-Therese-Lisieux/dp/0935216588
https://www.amazon.com/Time-God-Jacques-Philippe/dp/1594170665
and go with whichever appeals to you more at the moment.)

Third, when saints love their neighbors it is as an overflow from loving God (we love God; we know God loves everyone and wants them to get to heaven; we want what God wants because when you love someone you like to please them; so we want everyone to get to heaven and we love them for God's sake). I do not think we start out by doing that... But in the long run you will want to ask God for a greater love of God, and in the short run also ask him to help you to be willing to let him love you (we love God because he loves us first. Our love is a response.)

This is a long post, so I'm putting this up front; if you read nothing else I've said, read this: Not talking about this with him is the wrong response. You absolutely must talk to him about this. Clear communication is crucial to a healthy marriage, much less a good sexual relationship.

Now, from what you say, there are probably issues for both of you here. I can't talk too much about his motivations, because we haven't heard from him, only from you--but I'll make an effort from my perspective as a husband in a moment.

First, let's take a quick look at what you've said: you find sex with your husband tedious and dirty. "Dirty" is a problem--a significant one--because marital sex is anything but dirty. To live chastely within marriage is to have marital sex. Marital sex is a reflection of Christ's love for the Church, and the love within the Godhead. It's a sacramental act of unity and life. You absolutely must abandon this notion that sex with your husband is dirty, but it won't be easy. Labeling sex as "dirty" is an easy way we repel our sexual desire when embracing it is sinful (e.g., as teenagers and when we're engaged). Forget that label. Sex isn't dirty. Extramarital sex is sinful; sex within marriage is a gift from God to express love and intimacy with our entire selves (body and soul).

The tedium of sex may be tied to several different issues. I do want to ask about the frequency of your intercourse: from what you say, it sounds like you're having sex regularly (daily a few months ago, several times per week now). Does that mean that you are not practicing NFP and periodic abstinence? Are you instead trying to have children now, or are you using artificial contraceptives?

I ask because artificial contraceptives, aside from being sinful, are known to have detrimental side effects in your sex life. Condoms reduce sensation for both parties. Hormonal contraceptives reduce your sex drive and (based on studies in other primates) may reduce your natural desirability to your mate. If this is the situation, it could contribute to his disinterest and your boredom.

Are you experiencing painful intercourse? My wife struggled with intercourse for our first year of marriage because she had conditions called vaginismus and vestibulodynia, which caused the whole experience to be excruciating rather than pleasant. We made a joint, sincere effort using multiple methods to reduce those conditions and improve her experience for months before we saw any real progress. That can be another factor.

What is your general attitude toward sex? Have you ever found it remotely pleasurable? If not, have you spoken to your husband about your experience in the bedroom? Or are you treating sex like a solemn duty you must perform so that he feels fulfilled? The entire process of human marital sex is for both husband and wife to enjoy it. In a technical sense, neither one of you "must" enjoy it in order for the other to do so, but it is more enjoyable for both of you if you both enjoy it. If you have ever felt pleasure during intercourse, talk to your husband about that--ask him to pursue that before satisfying himself. Satisfying him sexually is easy; satisfying you sexually probably takes a little work, and that should be a worthwhile pursuit.

Now, on to him for a moment. My guess is that he loves you. If he was unchaste before dating you, then he didn't marry you just to have sex with you (because he didn't have to get married to have sex); from what you have said, he remained chaste while dating you and engaged to you, too. Which means he does love you, but he may not know quite what that means (or should mean). Again, talk to him about his actions, about how you feel, about how he feels. Talk to him about your marriage, about your future together.

On the pornography: it almost definitely predates your marriage and your relationship and is absolutely never your fault. That's on him. You didn't hold a gun to his head and force him to do it, and even if you had, he still shouldn't have done it. Never blame yourself for this. I know that's difficult to accept, but it's the truth. He, and only he, is responsible for his sins. If you're the coldest wife in the world who refuses sex for twenty years straight, watching pornography and masturbating would still be his sins.

The most important thing here is for both of you to come to a real, clear understanding of what married life within the Church is. You need to read about the Theology of the Body. Here is a short, relatively easy book on the subject. Here is the longer book behind that book. Here is a tome with the religious and philosophical underpinnings of it all. Here is a short video and here is a long one. Others will hopefully post other resources (podcasts, videos, books, etc.). This is critical. It sounds like you and your husband both are lacking important information about how marriage works in the Catholic Church.

The second most important thing is for you to improve your communication with your husband. Here is a box set of short books that can help with that (these significantly improved communication between my wife and I). I've also seen these at a local library.

Your husband needs to commit to improving your marriage as much as you do. You must talk to him as soon as possible. Don't put it off. He should know that something is wrong, especially if he's choosing pornography over you.

More details will enable us to help you more, but nothing will help as much as clear communication with your husband and a dedication to building the best marriage possible.

God established his covenant with Abraham. The promise did not belong to Ishmael but to Isaac. But Ishmael would also become a great chieftain--the father of many nations. From Isaac, the promise passed Esau and went to Jacob, who, it should be noted, inherited Esau's blessing by deceit.

You see, God established one people. One nation. "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named".

Even the twelve tribes were one people under a single leadership.

Joshua was ordained to succeed Moses, when Moses commissioned him by the laying on of hands.

To the crowds and to his disciples, Jesus said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you." There is one seat; one cathedra.

In the upper room before his Passion, when he was with the twelve, Jesus prayed, "Father...I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word...Sanctify them in the truth.

>I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.

After his resurrection, Jesus came among the twelve...

>On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This was something that Jesus gave to the twelve (at this point, the 11--yet Judas' "office" was vacant, and had to be filled).

But to one Jesus gave a special trust. To St. Peter, Jesus gave the Keys of the Kingdom, "and the gates of hell will never prevail against it". Whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven.

There's a great deal of special significance to the location Jesus chose to ask his disciples--the twelve--this question; "Who do you say that I am?"

He brought them to a temple erected by Herod in honor of Caesar, who fashioned himself "The Son of God". It was a temple in the side of an enormous rock. In the rock and in the temple was a pit that was literally said to be "the gates of hell", into which live sacrifice was thrown. And in various clefts of the rock were statues--idols--to the Greek god of sheep and shepherds, Pan.

So here was a false temple to a false Son of God, built upon a rock with a gate to hell, and all overseen by a false shepherd.

And Peter confessed, "You are the anointed one, the Son of the Living God".

To which Jesus replied, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven."

>And I tell you, you are Rock and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The note in the RSV-Catholic Edition, says:

>Peter has the key to the gates of the city of God. This power is exercised through the church. “Binding” and “loosing” are rabbinic terms referring to excommunication, then later to forbidding or allowing something. Not only can Peter admit to the kingdom; he also has power to make authoritative decisions in matters of faith or morals.

There's a reference implicit in Jesus' proclamation to Isaiah 22.

>Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him... I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The steward being referred to in the House of David--the office he held--was that of the "prime minister" or vizier. Joseph had this role in the court of Pharaoh.

>So Pharaoh said to Joseph: ...you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.

This was the power given to Peter. The context is [necessarily] entirely Jewish. And the disciples would have understood it as such.

>The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren—him you shall heed

And Peter said (in Acts 3):

>Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God gave to your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

The woman at the well, knowing her Torah, said to Jesus, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet."

>When the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Jesus is the prophet like Moses. He is the new Moses. Moses had a seat. Christ has a seat. The scribes and the pharisees sit on Moses' seat. And they were told to do whatever they told them.

Who sits on Jesus' seat--or throne? Yes, Jesus' throne is in heaven, but Jesus is not just a prophet but a king as well. And a king in the line of David. And he gave Peter the "keys of the kingdom", making Peter, Rocky, his prime minister. The prime ministry is an office, just as each of the twelve apostles held an office.

>In those days Peter stood up among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), and said, “Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David, concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry...For it is written in the book of Psalms,

‘Let his habitation become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it’;

and

‘His office let another take.’

An office, like the office of President of the United States, is something which allows of successors. The successors inherit, or assume the powers inherent in the office. The personal qualities of the man don't really matter. The office itself confers the power.

And what is the power? The power to bind and loose.

Abraham was one. Moses was one. Christ is one.

The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

How can the Church be one if she isn't united in communion to the office of he to whom our LORD gave the keys of the kingdom--he who has the authority of the king?

I once felt like you. That the Catholic claims were uncharitable and divisive. But if we're not one, how can we say that we're of Christ.

>Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

,,,

>The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

We are one if we are together in Christ. And we are together in Christ if we are in communion with the successor of Peter, who everyone acknowledges to be the Bishop of Rome.

And the gates of hell will never prevail.

The charism of Papal Infallibility is often misunderstood. All it means is that God will never permit the whole Church, in communion with the successor of Peter, to be led into error in matters of faith and morals.

That's all it means. Not that any Pope will be impeccable*. Or that any Pope will never make a mistake. Or that any Pope won't ever be a scoundrel or even a heretic. What matters is that the true successor of Peter will never commit the Church to any error in matters of faith and morals.

So we are one if we are united to the successor of Peter.

I'm almost out of space, so let me suggest some resources:

Former Pentecostal Pastor Alex Jones converted to the Catholic Church

Peter, the Rock, the Keys, and the Chair - Steve Ray

The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451

And finally, this was instrumental in my conversion to the Catholic Faith, so I can't recommend this enough:

Catechism of the Catholic Church

(Also here)

What I described is the perspective of Christian Mysticism, not my own philosophy. It is a real and important part of the Christian tradition that mainstream Christianity ignores. Therefore, it needs to be shared so that people can choose for themselves. If Christian Mysticism is a topic you're interested in, I recommend a book called The Mountain of Silence.

The Bible is a symbolic book and we can't read it literally. The mystical perspective is that real faith in Christ happens through the death and resurrection of Christ within us. Therefore, Jesus was demonstrating the drama of the Cosmic Christ, because his death and resurrection don't make a difference if they don't take place inside us. As the greatest example of this drama and the highest incarnation of the Christ, he is the Christ. However, his sacrifice means nothing if we don't have faith in it. Again, faith is not a belief in an idea.

>Also, belief in the right idea (truth) is of paramount importance, my friend. The fact you said otherwise is a huge red flag.

Come on, I never said it's not important. Belief is part of faith, but faith is a lot more than just belief. I can say I believe that cruelty to animals is not a good thing and really feel bad when I watch Sarah McLachlan commercials, but if I buy products that are tested on animals and eat meat from animals who live in cruel conditions, my faith doesn't mean much. I can say I believe that demonstrating the heart of God to humanity through love and compassion is good, but if I'm absorbed in career, family, etc., and I'm cold to everyone else, I'm just being a hypocrite. This is why Jesus says that we must love God with all our faculties. To do so requires self-knowledge because we are all asleep to what's really in our minds and hearts and we don't even know it. We don't love God, we're obsessed with ourselves. We're obsessed with work, with the news, with other people, with showing up to church on time, with feeling good in church, with banking on the right religion to be saved from hell, etc. So to be saved through faith doesn't mean believing in the right idea. It means to change our way of Being. It means to be in a state where we remember God at all times. Ceaseless prayer, if you will.

>You realize you're essentially saying, "Those other religions may not have Jesus - y'know, God's Son, the ONLY One with the power to save you - but that's okay, because they've got Christic values." -- Huh? You don't achieve salvation through adherence to values, principles, or rules -- that's part of what Jesus came to save us from.

You're rewording what I said. Let me see if I can explain myself better. All religions have the Christ, not Christic values. The Christ is not just a historical personality. The Christ is the part of God that descends into creation and suffers for its redemption. Christ is innocent but suffers in the process of saving us from our sinful nature. He can only save us if we have faith in him. Faith starts with belief in the particular Christ of our religious upbringing, but ends in action and a transformation of our heart. Faith is a process.

>Matthew 7:21-25 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."

Hi! Wow, well, it sounds like we've been in similar places. I was raised in a Reformed Protestant household; we were ostensibly Reformed Baptist, although we also attended an OPC congregation nearby. If you had told me a year ago that I would be a Catholic, I would've absolutely laughed at you; I was an obstinate Baptist! God gradually worked in my life over June-July 2018, preparing my heart for the Catholic Church.

My encouragement would be to take your time, to take each step in prayer, and be committed to searching for the truth. Ask lots of questions, especially the difficult ones. I sat down over coffee with a priest, explained where I was theologically, and then tried to ask the most difficult questions I could. It was incredibly helpful! And you know, he couldn't always answer the questions; sometimes, I'd contact a professor at a seminary or Catholic college, othertimes a Reformed convert to Catholicism, to track down the answers. One optional step is buying books; I probably bought far more than I actually needed, mainly because I wanted to find the best work on each topic or doctrine I could. I genuinely wanted to give Catholicism a fair shake, while asking the toughest questions I could muster up.

>Once saved always saved

Well, that's a Calvinist doctrine, as you might know. Not only has it not been the teaching of the universal Church, East and West, for 2,000 years, it's not even compatible with the teaching of Martin Luther! Here is a really solid reply to OSAS on Catholic.com, as well as a fascinating piece on Called to Communion titled, "Persevering Most Assuredly: One Reason To Prefer Luther Over Calvin".

>Praying through saints (i understand reveering them)

That's a really good question! There's several wonderful resources on the intercession of the saints, but off the top of my head, these are the ones I found most useful:

• "Do The Saints Pray For Us?"
  
• "Intercession of the Saints" over on Catholic.com
  
• "Saints" on FishEaters
  
  >Purgatory
  
  Oh boy, don't we all have problems with that! I think that it's probably one of the most difficult doctrines to grasp. Here's a couple of articles off of the top of my head. I'm expecting these to be starting points; when you have more specific questions about purgatory, I'd encourage you to feel free to DM me (full disclosure, I'm just a normal 21 year old, not seasoned apologist or anything), start a new thread here on r/Catholicism, ask a priest, or call in and ask Catholic Answers Live.
  
  
• "CS Lewis Believed in Purgatory" - this might seem an odd article (I mean, C.S. Lewis, the Protestant? Why would we bring him into a discussion on Purgatory?), but I think you'll find it a really interesting engagement of the Catholic doctrine.
  
• Lawrence Feingold on Purgatory - someone must have recently paid for a transcript of this, because I only remember finding the audio! This was wonderful, and really dug into the Jewish roots of the doctrine.
  
• "Purgatory: The Final Theosis" - sounds the title for a baller sci-fi film, but this was perhaps one of the most straight forward and helpful pieces on Purgatory that I found.
  
  >The Pope
  
  Woo boy! This has been the largest issue for me, and the main grappling point between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church for me. There is so much misinformation on this doctrine, even among Catholics! I'd encourage you to check out this book; it's inexpensive, and really worth your time. In fact, if you were to choose to buy one paperback, this would be what I'd suggest: The Early Papacy to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 by Adrian Fortesque. It sounds really dry, but it was honestly amazing; it really established for me the biblical nature of the Papacy, as well as its historicity. He also helpfully shaped the limits of the papal office!
  
  
• The articles over on CalledtoCommunion about the Papacy really helped answer a lot of the questions I had about the doctrine beyond what Fortesque addresses.
  
  
• "Was Peter the First Pope?" over on FishEaters
  
  --------
  
  I'll answer some more here if I can; this is just all off the top of my head, tbh, and I'm sure that everyone else will be helpful!

Evolution in nbd in the Catholic church so that's not an issue. The other two issues I'll try to address as best I can, but feel free to respond with more questions/clarifications if need be.

Confession - not sure what specifically you don't like about it so here we go

• this has a fairly in-depth answer about why we go to confession, but it's primarily meant to be a response to Protestants' inquiries regarding confession (not sure if that's where you are coming from)
  
  
• this is a better explanation if you're not coming to the table with a Protestant background or desires
  
  
• Over-all I would say the reason I go to confession is because I want to be back in union with God. Through sin I separate myself from Him and through Confession I am able to gain back this union. As human beings we want to have a tangible experience of forgiveness and going to confession provides us with this opportunity. We are able to bring everything in our heart to the table and leave it there. There are also the benefits of having someone (the priest) give you feedback on what to do so you don't commit certain sins again.
  
  So that's what I got on Confession.
  
  Ok so no premarital sex is complicated to explain, but very beautiful (in my opinion) once it is fully understood - but it's definitely not a sin you could ignore and be truly Catholic
  
  
• Your best bet if you want to understand what the Church teaches on premarital sex is to check out JPII's [Theology of the Body] (http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2TBIND.HTM). It's a fairly dense text so I would recommend this as a starter text to get some background on things. There is also this book with is essentially the same information in a Q&A format.
  
  
• If that's a little too over-whelming this website has some decent Q&A about the topic - my one warning with that is that it's meant for teenagers for the most part and sometimes they over-simplify things or focus more on the negatives of having sex before marriage rather than the positives of waiting until marriage which I think is an unproductive approach, but what can you do...
  
  Hope some of that was helpful! If you are interested in the Catholic faith you can always try contacting your local parish and setting up a meeting with a priest who could talk you through any questions you might have. Best of luck!

This is a good list. Quick suggestions...

As others are saying, Athanasius' On the Incarnation is a must-read if you're looking at the great theological works of the tradition. I have the edition from the Popular Patristics series sitting on my shelf. It's a good translation. You can also find it here online.

For Augustine, read his Confessions. It's the first autobiography in the West. That's pretty wild. I read the Oxford edition; that's what I usually see people point to. His City of God is also very important.

For Aquinas, his great work is the Summa. It's massive. And in order to really understand Aquinas, you should understand Aristotle first. Your reading list is getting quite long now—but there are abridgments and reading guides to Aquinas out there if you're interested. Peter Kreeft's Summa of the Summa has often been recommended to me.

John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion should be added. It's hard to overstate the significance of this work. Many would call this the greatest theological work that came out of the Reformation. The Battles edition of the Institutes is more expensive but far more readable than the older Beveridge edition.

Jonathan Edwards is one of the greatest minds in American history. He's certainly not as important as Calvin, but his End for which God Created the World and his Religious Affections are both very good works by, like I said, one of America's greatest minds.

God bless you if you can make it through 14 volumes of Barth's Church Dogmatics. They say Barth's exceedingly important, and I believe them—but frankly I'd put him at a much lower priority than anyone else here. Because Barth stands in the Reformed tradition, I doubt one is able to fully appreciate him without first reading Calvin anyway.

When someone asks about the greatest theological works, some will always recommend works by contemporary writers. Some very good stuff has been written by folks who are still alive; N. T. Wright comes to mind, though I think he's too verbose for his own good. But I'm of the opinion that we don't yet have the historical distance to discern whether works by contemporary authors ought to be placed among the undisputed greats of the tradition.

I'd suggest Jimmy Akins The Fathers Know Best which compiles quotes from the Church Fathers and Akins enumerates them based on subject. It's not comprehensive but it's a good start and touches on a lot of things such as doctrines and dogmas, teachings and long held Church belief like contraceptives. It's a great book if you just want to look up what the Fathers have said and it's a great apologetics tool if you want to back up your positions. Either way, I think the following three books might be more inline with what you're looking for.

• Reading the Early Church Fathers: From the Didache to Nicaea by Jim Papandrea.
  
  I haven't read this one, but I do know the author and it looks like it's right up your alley. Papandrea is a Catholic professor and this book covers important documents from the Early Church period and dissects the texts and explains them to you.
  
  
• [When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers] (https://www.amazon.com/When-Church-Was-Young-Fathers/dp/1616367776/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479111666&sr=8-3&keywords=church+fathers) by Marcellino D'Ambrosio
  
  Another book that is similar to Papandrea's book.
  
  
• Father's of the Church
  
  Similar in content to the last two. Worth checking out.
  
  And here's if you want to read the Church Fathers directly
  
  I've constantly heard that the Jurgens 3 volume set was one of the best physical sets to buy. It's pricey, but I do know that it's cheaper on ebay so might be worth looking for it on there. (That is assuming you're within the US)
  
  
• Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers Collection by Phillip Schaff.
  
  I suggest you buy it digitally for next to nothing, it's great on Kindle and works well as a more comprehensive resource for studying the Fathers. His set is also digitalized online if you'd like to read it there for free. Absolutely no difference in content. Word of caution though, Schaff translated this in the late 19th century and was a Protestant, so his commentary may not always be historically and theologically sound. He does provide an exhaustive amount of footnotes that maintain the citations the Fathers used which is a task of its own. A great resource but with certain limitations.

The necessary step to rejoining the Church in a juridical sense is to make a good confession. Start by reflecting on how you've lived since your teenage years with the aid of an examination of conscience. There is a good one published as a pamphlet by the Fathers of Mercy. When you are ready, do not feel limited to the regularly scheduled hours for confession. You can always call the rectory and ask for a priest to meet you in the confessional at a certain time.

A good reintroduction to the content of the faith is Father John Hardon's book The Catholic Catechism. It should refresh your memory of any important tenets of the faith you have forgotten, or were never taught. On the other hand, if you pretty well remember all the fundamentals of the faith and are asking how to learn more in a deeper sense, I recommend diving into the ancient writings of the Church Fathers. Two good books to start with are Augustine's Confessions and Athanasius' On the Incarnation.

For rekindling personal spiritual practice, Met. Anthony Bloom's book Beginning to Pray is a great book. And St Louis de Montfort's book The Secret of the Rosary is a good one on how to get the most out of a devotion commended to us by many great saints.

Dr. Edward Sri's Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love is probably the best introduction to John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It's very accessible, while also giving a thorough explanation. Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Mystery-Love-Responsibility/dp/0867168404

Augustine's autobiography, Confessions, is the great classic on finding forgiveness and allowing God to heal wounds. He's pretty theological about talking about his own life, though, which might be difficult for someone just getting in. Luckily, Louis de Wohl's The Restless Flame adapts the story into a modern novel, and it's super awesome. Here that is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Restless-Flame-Novel-about-Augustine/dp/0898706033/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509815450&sr=1-1

The lives of the saints is a fantastic way to get a better understanding of what a Catholic's life looks like. St. Therese's autobiography, Story of a Soul, ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/0935216588/sr=1-1-spons/qid=1509815650/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1509815650&sr=1-1-spons ) is probably the easiest modern autobiography of a saint to read. Some other great biographies include St. Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/1536859249/sr=1-1/qid=1509815706/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1509815706&sr=1-1 ), and G. K. Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi ( https://archive.org/details/francisofassisi00chesuoft ).

> Obviously both dogmas could be true, but my question is why are they assumed to be true, why is the church so sure that they are true, why is it so important that they must be true, that they are raised to the level of dogma.


First, for an in-depth treatment of this, I definitely recommend Behold Your Mother: A Biblical And Historical Defense Of The Marian Doctrines, by Tim Staples, and Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother Of God In The Word Of God, by Scott Hahn. Both relatively affordable if you choose the "used books" option on Amazon, and highly recommended.

To give a brief overview here... we first must recognize that every Marian dogma, and any title given to the Blessed Mother, is meant to magnify or point to some reality about Jesus Christ. The dogmas you referenced can be drawn out from the Catholic beliefs about Mary and certain biblical titles she holds - The New Eve, The Ark Of The New Covenant, The Queen Of Heaven.

If I may ask, are you able to go a bit more in depth on what specifically is challenging about each doctrine, apart from not seeing their connection with other important Christian doctrines? That might help me lend a bit more guidance apart from the books I recommended. Prayers your way!

I would suggest looking up the threads on the historical Jesus. There tends to be a lot of information about the first few centuries of Christianity in those.

As for the Nicene Creed, I'm sure it would be nice to believe that the absolute truth of Christianity was determined at that time, but that is pretty much impossible. There was plenty of political infighting between different parties of bishops mainly centered in the big cities: Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and (though really to a lesser degree) Rome.

The biggest issue settled at the Council of Nicea dealt with the followers of Arius who believed that the Son (Jesus, obviously) was created by God before existence and that he was therefore less than God. This is all horribly simplified, I'm afraid. The bishops were using scripture and established practice to argue their sides and each side believed they were right. Eventually the Arians were anathematized and cast out from the Church.

When I was studying this area in school my professor recommended Early Christian Doctrines by JND Kelly and I also looked up The First Seven Ecumenical Councils by Leo D. Davis for additional information.

At the end of the Council, from reading accounts from people like Basil of Caesarea you get the idea that no one was ecstatic about the Nicene Creed, but they would live with it since Constantine had thrown his weight behind it.

The subsequent ecumenical councils, though they all stated that Nicea was the best ecumenical council ever (I'm paraphrasing, of course) pretty much all tacked on additional doctrine to the Nicene Creed. There was a council that didn't add to the Creed, but I can't remember which one off the top of my head.

Just as a note, I approach this as an historian and I'm not religious so I try to respect the beliefs of those who were acting at the time, but I don't personally ascribe anything to divine truth.

I think you are a little off. Love, even sexual love, is a gift given to us that allows married couples to imitate (imperfectly) the perfect love of Christ for the church.

When you say that sex is a near occasion of sin I suppose you are right because it is (unfortunately) normal to be lustful. That is not what we were made for though! Our desire should always be to "will the good of the other" as Fr. Barron is fond of saying. That is a true love. What lust does is take something good (sexual love) and twist/pervert it for our own desires.

Take the time to read the "Theology of the Body for Beginners" book. It's an easy read, just over 200 pages. I think you will find that as a married person you are called to heroic virtue and you shouldn't shy away from it!

https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Body-Beginners-Introduction-Revolution/dp/1934217859/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RJVE9RJP5688H71KRJVG

A nice small volume is the Youth Catechism (YOUCAT). It's really directed to young adults, so maybe too young depending on your preference or learning style.

If you're OK with a little more depth, but still very high-level, try the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Best part about this book is its Q&A format. Of course, you may need to do deeper diving as you'd like, but this is great for reacquainting yourself with the basic questions and teachings! The Compendium is also available free online, but the book is pretty cheap and easier on the eyes than the Vatican website.

Welcome home! Good luck with your recovery!

It's hard to comprehend how much God loves us. He can do nothing but love us. A mother's love is the closest you could get to understanding the amount of love God has for us. Still some mothers can abandon their children but Jesus said "Even if your mother forgets her son, I would not forget you". I am definitely not an example and most Christians are not. If you are able to keep God's will as your main goal and love others with the love God has given you, you would probably become a saint. All these questions were answered by reading a book I received from my teacher called Youcat. It has around 500 questions that most people have like - why does God allow evil? why is the Genesis so innacurate? what do childless couples do? etc. It will take very long to explain so I'll link a copy that you can buy https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1586175165/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521260398&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=youcat&dpPl=1&dpID=31ybs9z9ZDL&ref=plSrch
I really want to thank you for letting me vent some things I keep thinking about all the time.

One of the most important things to remember is the God meets us where we are, as long as we're open to Him and we take even the smallest step.

You've probably heard the story of the Prodigal Son. Consider this line, which is easy to overlook:

> So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. - Luke 15:20

The Father ran out to the son while the son was still far off. His Father met him where he was, and afterwards they headed home together.

I can't tell you for sure what path you'll take home, or even how long it will take you to get there. The Prodigal Son story doesn't go into that level of detail. That mustn't have been so important.

I will take a stab at answering your questions...
> Do I have to go to church?

This is really important to me. The sense of community helps me a lot. I think you'll find it helps you, when you're ready and in the right place.

> How do I pray, do I pray out loud or do I do it silently? Where do I pray?

Where and how God moves you to pray. This will develop over time as you grow in faith. This and this are two of my favorite books on the topic.

> Also, I'm gay, does God still love me?

I know this one: "Yes"

My wife too came from a charismatic non-denominational church background. The process for her took a bit of time, and I think it was mostly accomplished through introduction to and then love of the liturgy. In college, we attended a non-denom church that did communion every week and did passing of the peace every week. After college, we were at a Presbyterian church for 7 years that had weekly communion, passing of the peace, confession of sin, and an OT reading. These were steps in a liturgical direction, which made the transition easier.

Have you guys been to mass yet? That definitely would be a good thing to do. I would read up about what goes on at the mass so you'll know what to expect, and then don't hesitate to participate (everything that's said and done is orthodox). Most of the responses should be in the front cover of the missal in the back of the pews. The order of the mass is also in the Missal, so you can follow along.

In terms of books, my wife loved Evangelical is Not Enough. She also liked Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic. Both of those books really helped her overcome the Catholic prejudices she had from growing up (Catholics worship Mary, etc).

I've also heard good things, but have not read, Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future. The author, Elizabeth Esther, comes from a very fundamentalist upbringing. She also has a blog you might be interested in checking out.

Can't recommend any videos, but I've heard Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism series is good - but expensive. Maybe your local Catholic church has a DVD you could check out? Here a preview.

Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions! I did a ton of research and would be happy to point you toward resources I found helpful.

1 There's heaps but a good example is Pope St. Celestine's deputization of St. Cyril (easterner) so he could judge Nestorius in his place. Check out Fortescue's The Early Papacy (pdf link) and Dom John Chapman's Studies on the Early Papacy for good discussions of the early papacy.

2 Strictly, no. You could make an argument that it was not prudent from a fraternal POV for Rome to follow certain other western churches and add it to the creed. You could definitely also make the arugment that Photius and Michael Cerularius (important Patriarchs of Constantinople) made their big fusses about it for political reasons rather than out of noble love for orthodoxy. Either way the filioque is true and it was legitimate for Rome to add it to the creed.

3/4 I don't think these questions are really relevant to the religious question but we definitely don't think it was "necessary" to sack Constantinople, just like EOs wouldn't think the Massacre of the Latins was necessary (I hope).

5 I actually don't know that much about this topic, sorry.

6 Yes, it bothers some but not all, especially now that many Catholics are not even familiar with the old liturgy (I prefer the old rite even though I'm a young guy and a convert). There has always been groups that have been opposed to the new liturgy and remained attached to the old rite, though. See Marcel Lefebvre , the Ottaviani Intervention, the Una Voce International Federation, etc. as examples. Thanks to Pope Benedict's Summorum Pontificum I'm hoping the usus antiquior will become increasingly popular as time goes on, enough so that perhaps eventually the Novus Ordo will become unnecessary.

7 I don't really know. Honestly, I converted after the scandals had already hit their hardest.

My first try didn't seem to go through, so here's a second.

Amazon reviews are an okay place to start. A lot of people offer helpful comments. But, as you said, getting into thinkers that appeal to other audiences outside of just philosophers gets a bit sticky. I wouldn't be so quick to denounce or dismiss the religious aspect. Keep in mind if you want to read Augustine you'll be reading a religious thinker, so he has to be translated as such. For example, you could get a more technical translation of the Confessions, or you could find one operating more in the poetic spirit of Augustine, but regardless you're going to be reading a deeply religious text. Both are good translations, and both capture something of Augustine that the other probably misses. In the end, you have to ask yourself what you want more and what fits your purposes more. Also with regard to religious thinkers, it's important to try to read them on their own terms without having made up your mind before getting into the book. Allow yourself to agree with the thinker as much as you can--get inside their heads, travel with them, dwell with them. At the end, you can make a judgement, but give them a fair trial. This is also where translations can help. Some are simply more engaging, even if they're not "word-for-word" translations. A great example of this is Coleman Barks' "translations" of the poems of Muslim mystic Rumi. He actually completely fails (intentionally so) to translate Rumi word-for-word. Instead, he tries to write a poem in English that captures the language, feeling, and ideas of Rumi himself. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's a lot nicer than just reading a book of translated poems full of footnotes and technicalities. If I'm going to write a deeply researched paper on Rumi, perhaps I should find another translation, but if I want to really learn Rumi and try to gain from his knowledge, I might want to begin with Barks.

As for other reviews, you can often find them simply by Googling. For example, here's a review on Hannay's translation of a book by Kierkegaard that is done in a professional, scholarly way. I found it on the first page of Google searching "alastair hannay translation review."

It sounds like hard work, and it is, but it's worth it.

Also, if it makes you feel any better we used Penguin editions for many of my undergraduate classes as text books.

I too grew up (80s, 90s) with some pretty lousy CCD; it was a little better after switching to a Catholic high school, but I still went into college with surprisingly little knowledge about the content of Catholic doctrine.

In trying to rectify the current crisis in catechesis, I've seen plenty of people advocate for a return to pre-Vatican II CCD, i.e. the Baltimore Catechism for children and even dogmatic manuals (e.g. Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Dogma) for adults. After all, such sources are chock full of content, which is precisely what has been missing in much of the empty catechesis that has been going on for the past few decades.

However, I'd strongly advise against reverting to these sources. While they may have plenty of content, it's content that misses out on many of the wonderful developments and insights at and since Vatican II. E.g., they treat "revelation" as a propositional body of truths, rather than more fundamentally as God's relational self-disclosure to us (cf. Dei Verbum). It's for reasons like this that an entire generation of the 20th century's greatest theologians (e.g. Ratzinger, de Lubac, Rahner, von Balthasar) had major reservations about the manual-style theology that produced the Baltimore Catechism, etc.

Thankfully, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was a big step in communicating content of the Catholic tradition in a non-manualist sort of way, taking into account many of the rich developments which occurred at and after Vatican II. However, it's so voluminous that using it as a "textbook" for catechesis, even for adults, is pretty impractical.

I'd steer you toward using Card. Schönborn's YouCat, a simplified youth catechism based on the CCC, as a textual resource for teaching CCD. It has many of the advantages of the Baltimore Catechism (succinctness, Q&A format, content!) without the outmoded theology.

TL;DR - As far as textual resources for catechesis, rather the trying to slog through the voluminous CCC or reverting to the (clear but outdated) Baltimore Catechism, look into using YouCat.

What a great desire! I heartily fifth the recommendation to pray the rosary daily! Here is a video (I think I saw it posted here somewhat recently, but in case you didn't see it...) on the rosary by Fr. Don Calloway, MIC. It's a good video.

I recently finished total consecration to Jesus through Mary and I cannot recommend it enough. This is a link to St. Louis de Montfort's method for consecration. It also includes links to parts of True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary written by that saint which can be read for free on that site. (If you like physical books, you can also find it cheaply on Amazon)

I used 33 Days to Morning Glory for my consecration preparation. Use whichever you want.

You can also consider reading the Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics. A short compilation of several Catholic mystics relaying Mary's life as told by Mary when those mystics had visions of Mary. I was quite skeptical about this book, but my mom lent it to me and I decided to give it a try. It brought me closer to Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. I have found this book helped me tremendously with meditating on the mysteries while praying the rosary.

>No doubt there's a historical precedent -- maybe we can thank our friend Constantine for that. As far as theological precedent (and here's a great time to point out that I'm not a theologian), I think the onus is on those who make the extraordinary claim (i.e., Rome). What support is there for the papacy in scripture, other than that single, not unambiguous line in Matthew?


I am a theologian, unfortunately. A historical theologian at that. And I work on the Fathers.

Firstly, the idea that Constantine has anything to do with the Roman Bishop's primacy is absurd. We're verging into Dan Brown territory here.

Secondly, a book I always recommend as a good primer on the historical issue is Adrian Fortescue's The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451. There's also a very good article by Fr. Brian Daley, SJ in Journal of Theological Studies, but if you aren't a theologian, you probably don't have access to it.

I agree with you that if Rome is going to make certain claims, she ought to back them up. The fact is, however, that she has. Convincingly. The history and theology is on the Catholic Church's side, I think.

>Well, maybe, but I've also heard that fascism makes the trains run on time...

The Constantine reference plus comparing us to fascists wins you best Protestant polemic of the day award.

I am confused what 'fallen in'' means and what your grandparents have to do with your question about your step-brother (or brother?).

Regarding your question, it seems that since your brother(s) is already 16, it is too late to have your mom make them get the sacraments. The spiritual life is now something that he needs to take ownership. Obviously, the love and guidance of you and your mom may help him in this endeavor.

In any case, I would encourage you to live and love the faith. Nothing changes hearts better than example (with God's grace, of course).
It seems that your mother is not the spiritual type. Evangelizing one's own family is a very difficult thing to do. I would talk with your mother about the spiritual life. Help her see that while she may have provided things like food and shelter (which are very good things), that isn't enough. Tell her that you realize in your own life, that need more than just physical life, but spiritual life too. You can tactfully extend this to your brothers whom you love. Over the course of some time, along with your own example and prayers, maybe she will see her responsibility to nourish her children's spiritual lives. You can also lovingly talk to your brothers. Also some books might help, they helped me when I first starting thinking about the spiritual life. My Daily Bread, The Faith Explained, Story of a Soul

Well, it depends on how much these kids can handle.

Every Catholic should read The Imitation of Christ

The Lamb's Supper really gives a fantastic understanding of the Mass. You'll never look at it the same again. There's even a study guide for it!

I stumbled across Aquinas in middle school and I thank God every day. He's the reason I stayed a Catholic. I understand the Summa Theologica is hard to read, but perhaps Peter Kreeft's A Shorter Summa will do.

For the younger guys, I think Patrick Madrid is an ok choice. I think his classical Where's that in the Bible? will do.

For your older middle school kids (7th to 9th grade), please, please read Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Here's a beginner version. Teenagers are teenagers, ya know? They need to be aware of these things if their parents aren't discussing it with them. We live in a sex-driven society and we need to make sure they don't get off track :)

Good luck with your classes!

That would be interesting to read. I bet it has heaps to do with Aquinas. I know Feser affirms a Natural Law Theory of Morality which is very Catholic and so might be a part of it. Generally, it's no surprise to me. I think any careful and rational inquirer who comes to believe the Nicene Creed will be lead to either the Orthodox or Catholic faith. And I think of those two the weight of the evidence is slightly but appreciably in favour of Catholicism.

It's catholicity better satisfies the Great Commission; I think a better case for continuity of aim and organisation back to the Apostolic Church (subject to certain qualifications) can be made; the Filoque is in my view needed to make sense of the Trinity; add to this good evidence for apparent miraculous confirmation in modern times by Marian apparitions at Fatima and Lordes etc.; and pretty good a priori arguments for the necessity of a living voice and so a papacy. To this last point one might add the historical argument for the primacy of Peter though that might be a bit controversial!

We are here to support you on your journey home, brother/sister.

First, you should know that the Canon of Scripture (the Bible) is not meant to be read from cover-to-cover as a coherent, linear story. Scripture is a collection of books, some of which contain poetry, some song, some pre-history myth, some parable, some wisdom sayings, some history, and some letters to a distinct audience.

One resource I have heard good reviews about is the Quick Journey through the Bible series by Ascension Press. It is intended as a course of study with a group, though.

Other good resources for reading Scripture are:

• Bible Basics for Catholics by Dr. John Bergsma
  
  
• You Can Understand The Bible: A Practical And Illuminating Guide To Each Book In The Bible by Peter Kreeft
  
  
• The Lamb's Supper
  
  For other good resources on returning to Catholicism, I recommend the following:
  
  
• Rome Sweet Home
  
  
• Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic
  
  
• Reasons to Believe
  
  
• Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
  
  Do not be afraid to go to study groups. As someone who has led study groups, my favorite people are those who come in eager for Truth and ready to ask questions.

>Anything you advise or any prayer(s)/prayer books?

There's the Rosary, of course. I find it helps to visualize the event associated with each decade before beginning it. If you were standing there, what would you say to Mary? This Irish priest walks you through the prayers, and gives some framing to each decade. You might find other versions of the Rosary on YouTube that you like, too. You never have to pray it alone.

I'm not sure what books are available to you. This is one of the best books I've read about the Rosary. Along more classical lines, you might like this book about Mary, or this one.

>thinking and praying for the intercession of the Holy Family brings me a lot of comfort. My favorite icons are the ones with the Holy Family or of the Theotokos holding Baby Jesus.

You might like some other images, e.g., L'innocence, by Bouguereau; Adoration Of The Child by Correggio. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to surround yourself with too much good Catholic art. :-)

Encyclicals are solid resources but without proper theological backing you might have a hard time grasping them.

Probably the greatest book for discernment is "To Save a Thousand Souls" by Fr. Brett Brannen

Definitely check it out, it's a great resource.

http://www.amazon.com/Save-Thousand-Souls-Discerning-Priesthood/dp/0615345514

I also found that the Rule of St. Benedict is a helpful resource as well.

What Archdiocese or Order are you thinking of joining?

33 days to Morning Glory is an excellent book that takes a look at Marian consecration from the view of 4 great Saints. This author has also written a few other amazing books. The journaling you do with this program is life-changing. The website is pretty great too, the last I checked (a few years ago).

And then of course there is the Montefort classic True Devotion to Mary which is what many many people from laypersons to popes have used to consecrate themselves.

Give either book a read through and talk with your local priest. Also lots of prayer. Like, LOTS of prayer. Also I've been slowly feeling a call back to Catholicism and back to my Consecration, so thank you for your post.

This site has the basic information. You can find a nice devotional for the preparation as well as de Montfort's "True Devotion" on Amazon here. As for me, the day I chose didn't allow for a full 33 days of preparation, so I intend to repeat the consecration next year with the full 33 days of prayer, though I know many Catholics renew their consecration with an abbreviated prep formula. After the consecration, it is a good idea to be enrolled in the brown scapular and wear a miraculous medal if you don't already as a reminder of your special devotion to Our Lady.

Hope this helps!

This volume by Owen Chadwick may fit your bill in terms of page range.

Hillerbrand's a big name in Reformation studies. He wrote this ~500p. volume on the 16th century. His anthology of writings from the era is also very useful.

Diarmaid MacCulloch's the Reformation exceeds your page range (~800) but is very entertaining and gives a good overview of the world leading up to it. I think it's conceptually ambitious because it discusses the Reformation's effects on early Modernity in the 18th century.

On the other extreme of the page range (< 200 p.) is this Oxford Very Short Introduction by Peter Marshall. I like this series quite a bit, and I liked Marshall's emphasis on placing the Reformation in its political and social context.

If you want to focus on doctrine and theology, Jaroslav Pelikan's volume (~500pp) is highly acclaimed (along with his entire Christian Tradition series.)

I've got both the OSB and the CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible. The commentary in the CBS one is very good, however there are problems withe the CSB translation itself. The CSB has a pretty clear low church congregationalist bias.

My advice: get both! The OSB has a more Orthodox friendly translation (and the commentary is good, but as you say is certainly coming from an Orthodox perspective). Then just use the CSB one for the commentary.

If no one has pointed it out to you already, there is another great resource for source material from the Church Fathers. The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Collection contains pretty much every work written by every Church Father and Doctor of the Church, East and West. It's also dirt cheap for the Kindle version. The only problem is this material is not curated in any way: you are literally getting all of it. It can feel like drinking from the firehose. In hardback it is something like 37 volumes? It's huge. My suggestion would be to start with the particular works you are interested in rather than reading it front to back.

I was in a similar situation.

For about a year, I went every Sunday to Mass by myself AND to an evangelical church with my wife and three kids. My wife, thank God, has since converted, but I met a man while I was going through RCIA who attended two services every Sunday for a good two decades and his wife never converted. Glancing through the comments, it looks like this is a fairly common experience.

Mary was a sticking point for me as well, but the way I came to understand her and develop a devotion to her was simply by beginning to pray the rosary. What I discovered (through a kind of Ignatian discernment) was that this devotion to Mary brought me closer to Jesus than any spiritual practice that I had learned as a Protestant. And this is what Marian devotion, properly ordered, will always do. And there is only one Spirit that can acclaim Jesus is Lord and bring you close to him.

If you're looking for more book recommendations, I'll add Thomas Howard's Evangelical is not Enough. He has a winsome, CS Lewis-like style, and he is also a convert from evangelical Christianity.

Perhaps read St. Louis de Monfort's book for help.

Don't give up on Our Lady or on the rosary, many important spiritual benefits await you when you have devotion to the Blessed Mother. You can even ask Her for help to understand Her role.

But yes, I understand wanting to start with things you are comfortable with. That is also how I started, since not all of the devotions were understandable to me to begin with.

I’m glad to hear you’re genuinely discerning. Not enough Catholic men are. I highly recommend the book To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Brett Brannen. One of my favorite books on discernment.

https://www.amazon.com/Save-Thousand-Souls-Discerning-Priesthood/dp/0615345514/ref=nodl_

I was in a similar situation as you a few years ago. I desired both the priesthood and family life. This book, along with much prayer, helped discern my true vocation. Now I’m happily married with a 4 month baby boy. Couldn’t be at more peace. My brother also read the same book and went through a similar discernment process, he was ordained in June.

1- Bible: Any Bible with the word "Catholic" on the front (and without words like "Story", "Picture", "For Little Ones", etc) will suit your purposes. Your best bet is either the NRSV-CE or the New American Bible. Beyond that, it's completely up to you - different editions have different features. Just go to a Catholic bookstore and see which one you like best. This blog has some information on the different editions.

For the NRSV-CE, take a look at the Ignatius Bible

For New American, take a look at a St Joseph edition. I've also heard a recommendation for the Fireside editions.

Either one of those might fit the bill for "quintessential"

2 - For learning the prayers of the Mass, get a St Joseph Sunday Missal. Any edition will have the basic prayers. If you get the inexpensive paperback "2015" book, it will have the prayers of the Mass, but the Bible readings won't pick up until the new Church year starts in late November.

For learning more about the whys and wherefores of the Mass, the Catechism has a good start on this information. You might also like to check out Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper

3- printed Catechism - Get this one. If it looks intimidating, get one of its little sisters, the Compendium or even the YouCat

4 - Philosophy - The Catechism itself will have references. I like Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed

Hope this is helpful! Welcome aboard!

You can always try more "spiritual" Christian texts... For instance, you can slowly ease your way into those type of texts by reading more Pentecostal mystics. Here's an order to probably read texts in:

• How to Experience God by a Wesleyan Pentecostal named John Boruff
  
  
• Celebration of Discipline by a Conservative Quaker named Richard J. Foster (I read this book for a class, I highly recommend it).
  
  
• The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality by Catholic layman Carl McColman. I recommend this next because it's a nice overview of Christian Mysticism from its inception to roughly the 20th century.
  
  
• Anything by the Catholic monk Thomas Merton. He's an all-star for modern Christian Mysticism
  
  
• The Sayings of the Desert Fathers which is a collection of sayings and stories by some of the earliest Christian hermits. The Eastern Orthodox Church will quote these Fathers and Mothers much more than the Western (Catholic and Protestant) churches
  
  
• Not Of This World: A Treasury of Christian Mysticism edited by Orthodox theologian James S. Cutsinger. This book is an anthology of Christian Mysticism from Saints to (I believe) C.S. Lewis. I just finished this one last night and it was crazy good. I saved this one for last because there are some things in it that don't fit too well in the scheme of Evangelical Christianity (though there is one or two evangelicals sampled in here).
  
  
• Of course, you can't forget whole texts from authors of Meister Eckhart, St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Athanasius, Julian of Norwich, St. Ignatius, and Brother Lawrence.
  
  
• For some heterodox people look at Jacob Bohme and Emanuel Swedenborg.
  
  I hope this list helps you a little bit! It's not extensive nor anywhere complete. I tried to order the books from "easiest" for a Charismatic/Pentecostal believer (I was raised Assemblies of God, so I come from that background) to "hardest" for an Charismatic/Pentecostal believer. If you have any further questions, or what not, don't hesitate to ask!
  
  I pray that God lights your path a little bit more each day.
  

Sure! Most of what I learned wasn't in a class. College/seminary is super overrated outside of something to put on a resume imo (unless you want to get ordained).

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years REALLY good overview book.

The Early Church is really good. Might be a bit dry? But good information.

Christianizing the Roman Empire was pretty interesting and helpful.

Popular Religion in Late Saxon England is as cool as it sounds. My main complaint is that after chapter 3, she essentially just keeps repeating her thesis was more, similar, examples. Very good first 3 chapters tho!

Sayings of the Desert Fathers is good. Sometimes very odd, but at the least interesting.

Augustine's Confessions a must read for many reasons.

On the Holy Spirit can be dry and repetitive at points, but is really good.

Essentially any primary source (i.e. something an author actually wrote, not what someone wrote about them) is great to read. Look for stuff by Augustine, Jerome, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil, Maximus the Confessor, Aquinas, Lombard, Vermigli, Luther, Calvin, etc.

Similar journey here, except I started as a Southern Baptist (actually not super different than Pentecostalism). My first major step toward the Church was to observe Lent "like a Catholic". I went to a Catholic Ash Wednesday prayer service -- this is not a Mass, but just a service where anyone can come, listen to the homily/sermon, and have ashes put on their heads in the Catholic tradition. It was there at that service, seeing how serious Catholics take the command to "repent and believe in the Gospel", that I knew I was moving in the right direction. I followed the Catholic observances of Lent for 40 days through Easter and it was transformative for me. It comes early this year (Ash Wednesday = February 10) so you might want to start looking around for churches you can attend if this is something you think you might do.

If you are not sure what "repent and believe in the Gospel" even means anymore, then grab the priest afterwards and ask.

From there it was reading a lot of the books you see recommended in this thread. Rome Sweet Home was the most influential. I started reading it one night thinking I'd just check it out, then found myself in the story so much that I ended up staying up all night reading it. I knew things were getting serious at that point.

Also be sure to hang out here on /r/Catholicism because I learned a ton about the Church by reading these posts.

Finally in addition to the stuff that's recommended here, I really learned a lot from Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard (http://amzn.com/0898702216).

Short version of the rest of the story: Started attending Mass shortly after Lent ended, then my family started attending with me, then RCIA in October 2014, then confirmation and reception into the Church last April. Best thing ever.

I don't know whether a catechism is the best kind of resource to provide. He should contact the priest nearest to him and establish a relationship - let the priest guide him. One way or another, he will need a spiritual father.

Depending on your friend's disposition, I might be more inclined to recommend Elder Cleopas' The Truth of Our Faith. Personally, I would definitely not recommend any of Clark Carleton's books. They are not inaccurate - I just think they are too polemical.

I would also strongly recommend Everyday Saints. The book is not any kind of catechism, but it gives a very strong sense of what an Orthodox life feels like, even though it is written from a Russian monastic perspective. The same holds true for Mountain of Silence, which is from the perspective of a Greek layperson.

I stayed at a monastery for the Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives for quite some time discerning.

It was wonderful. I loved all the friars, priests, and sisters that I met. I love working with children, and they were connected to a school which we visited on a few occasions to teach the very young children biblical stories. I enjoyed morning and evening prayer, and on Saturdays they would sing the Salve in community. I loved that they wore their habits, and the charisms of the Order. There was so many aspects to enjoy.

Though I loved it, I never took it further since I had a few hang-ups. The monastery was too loud and busy, I am drawn to something a little more contemplative, or at least with that as a partial focus. I also feel I may have a calling for fatherhood, so that had to be weighed in. The Order also celebrated the Ordinary Form in the monastery itself. I was drawn to the Mercedarians because of their more traditional aspects and the fact that they celebrated the Extraordinary Form at their nearby parish. The daily Mass in the monastery left me feeling profoundly sad and spiritually drained. I decided these factors were enough to discontinue my stay and discernment there.

Books I have found helpful in discernment:

• Divine Intimacy
  
  
• A Year With the Church Fathers
  
  
• My Imitation of Christ
  
  
• Story of a Soul
  
  And books I could not live without:
  
  
• My Daily Missal
  
  
• Monastic Dirunal
  
  
• The Blessed Sacrament Prayer Book
  
  Books that have helped me come to a deeper understanding of the faith, and help me, not only grow as a Catholic, but orient my mind as one living in the modern world:
  
  
• The Mass
  
  
• The Holy Mass Explained
  
  
• Turning Toward the Lord

A good intro book is this. An author that might interest you is Philo, a 1st century Jewish philosopher, who tried to integrate Judaism and Platonism. The same book also has a section on early Jewish philosophy and talks about Philo.

The main thing about the Pre-Socratics is that they were for the most part materialists and tried to explain efficient causality in materialistic terms. Such a notion is entirely antithetical to the Judeo-Christian tradition since God created from nothing and cannot be identified with creation.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Apostles were not educated in general. John was an exception since he belonged to the priesthood. A lot of them probably didn't adopt Platonism precisely because they never learned about Plato. They were busy being tax collectors and fishermen. On the one hand, one can say the Apostles never held Platonism, but this is true even if they were ignorant of Platonism. The real question is whether there are tenants of Platonism which are compatible with Christianity; the Church Fathers answered affirmatively. Some parts are not, such as the neo-Platonic view of creation as emanation. St. Augustine is a good guide on this, since he adopts a lot of Platonism, especially from Plotinus (especially in the Confessions), while remaining highly critical of Platonism in City of God, like Apuleius and Porphyry. Some tenants of Platonism has even showed up in St. Thomas Aquinas with his use notions of exemplary forms, exemplarism, and participation.


St. Justin the Martyr is also a good resource to look into since he was a trained philosopher who converted.

Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed

Don't let the "for beginners" fool you. This is a very deep book. It covers subjects like what is a soul, what is the trinity, etc.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper by Brant Pitre

I have not read a better explanation of the Pascal mystery than the one in this book. It's a good book if you like history.

Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Jacques Philippe

This is a great book on Christian spirituality.

I think I'd suggest something like The Mountain of Silence. It isn't an apologetics work per se, but I think it goes a fair ways into the "why bother?" question. One of the things that really bugs me about a lot of Christianity these days is that it treats the Faith as a set of intellectual propositions that must be evaluated and assented to, but otherwise has little overall impact beyond that. This book documents the experience of a secular sociology professor who comes to realize the value of all this religion stuff beyond that rationalist approach to faith.

Youcat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church and YOUCAT Bible It's filled with engaging photos, clever and fun illustrations, insightful sidebar quotes from great thinkers, Catholic saints and leaders, past and present, and young people living their faith today. It includes helpful introductions to the books of the Bible and short, easy-to-understand commentaries by some of today's top Bible teachers.

Hi, u/Atrum_Lux_Lucis!

This is admittedly, not particularly my area of interest so I won't even try to directly respond to some of your questions as some others have. I have enjoyed reading them though!

I am responding because I remember a person mentioning a similar dilemma and I believe they found their answers in a book called the "Early Church Fathers" or something like that. Here's a link to what I hope is the right book: Early Church Fathers

Good luck and God bless!

Church Fathers

• St. John Chrysostom - On Wealth and Poverty or On Marriage and Family Life
  
  
• St. Athanasius - On the Incarnation is fantastic
  
  
• St. Augustine - Confessions is the obvious choice.
  
  
• St. Basil - On Social Justice is great and he also has works on ethics, doctrine and practice, and the Holy Spirit
  
  Free Resources
  
  
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library
  
  
• Early Christian Writings
  
  
• New Advent
  
  Other Resources
  
  
• The Complete Ante-Nicene & Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Collection for $2.99 on Kindle. It's a breathtaking amount of content for the price. Warning: very dated English.
  
  
• Popular Patristics are modern language translations of the Fathers, albeit they are more expensive. C.S. Lewis wrote the introduction for On the Incarnation. I personally love these editions.
  
  

Looking around for syllabus from this class. Guess I never saved it. There are many good ones out there. And it really depends on what angle you would like to approach it from.

As far as places to start with. It probably would help to start with secondary sources:

A former Professor and friend has written this biography on Luther: https://www.amazon.com/Luther-Christian-Life-Cross-Freedom/dp/143352502X

His approach is generally very balanced.

Diarmaid MacCulloch’s is the academic standard: https://www.amazon.com/Reformation-History-Diarmaid-MacCulloch/dp/014303538X?keywords=the+reformation&qid=1537931698&sr=8-2&ref=mp_s_a_1_2

He is much more interested in the history than why it matters.

As far as checking out original sources, the big three are Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. My personal hero is Calvin. I’ve read most of his works.

It may be helpful to read up on the process of Discernment. I'm sure there are good guides on the internet, and I think the methods outlined in The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, which is excellent on a number of levels, are very helpful and very easy for a beginner to grasp.

We all have our short-comings and limitation. Also we have our uniqueness. We must look at things that we do right. Where we have a flow. We must seek knowledge and wisdom. Philosophy. These things makes us better. Rather they reveal the best parts of us.

Here are some books that have helped me:

• Stephen Covey 7 habits
  
  
• The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle
  
  
• The Art of Power- Thich Nhat Hanh
  
  
• Listen to Alan Watts & Jiddu Krishnamurti
  
  
• The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything
  
  Here are some things I have saved that I read on and off
  
  "What you need now to do is, to check how much you are on the feeling level and how much on the thought level. Most are, and naturally, on the thought level because that is our comfort zone. We have to act on that level. It is the functional level. We need it to study, operate, plan, achieve and so many other things like research, analysis, But we need the feeling level to relate to others. Sadly this is much neglected and we use our thought level to deal with others. we are not in touch with our feelings. To be a sensitive person we need our feelings. We will even rationalize away our feelings. So this is the beginning. "
  
  "Feed your head." -Grace Slick
  
  Where you are headed is more important than how fast you're going, yet people are consumed with speed rather than direction.
  
  Concentrate every minute on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can, if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable. You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that's all even the gods can ask of you.
  -- Marcus Aurelius
  
  Check /r/Stoicism or r/meditation
  
  The bad things, don't do them.
  The good things, try to do them.
  Try to purify, subdue your mind.
  That is teaching of all buddhas.
  
  "If you are becoming a more patient, kinder, and less violent person, you are truly learning life's lessons."
  
  Be a Wanderer and find the inner master that lies dormant within you.
  
  

Pretty great! A Catholic friend suggested a companion book (When the Church Was Young) that's been super helpful. It's got a pretty obvious Roman Catholic slant, but the historical context it gives is awesome

Oooooh, I'm actually not all that familiar with Early Modern Germany, but I think I've found a few books that may help you with the religious, political and military aspects. Some of these books are pretty expensive, so I'd recommend finding a good library or seeing if your local library does inter-library loans with larger libraries. Usually you have to read the books pretty quick, but it saves paying $150 for a book if you're not in a position to do that. Just be sure to take plenty of notes!

I'd also be willing to look at what you've got but, like I said, I may not be as useful as I first thought.

The Reformation: A History

The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy

The Rise of Modern Warfare: 1618-1815

The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe

The Witchcraft Sourcebook

Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume I

Society and Economy in Germany, 1300-1600

Flesh and Spirit: Private Life in Early Modern Germany

Panaceia's Daughters: Noblewomen as Healers in Early Modern Germany

Ecology, Economy and State Formation in Early Modern Germany

Crime and Culture in Early Modern Germany

The Martial Ethic in Early Modern Germany: Civic Duty and the Right of Arms

He Is the Sun, She Is the Moon: Women in Early Modern Germany

The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe: Culture, Cognition and Everyday Life

The Lesser Key of Solomon

The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570

Because the why of the law is still enforced. That is what Christ meant when He said He didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. The precepts are still there. Don't worship other gods. Don't fornicate. Respect your elders. Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't commit adultery. Follow God's intentions for you and trust Him.

For example, the wearing of mixed fabrics. Why were they not allowed to wear mixed fabrics? Because there were pagan gods which used mixed fabrics in ritual. That rule was to keep Israel from sacrificing to that pagan god by outlawing the ritual. The heart of that law was "don't worship pagan gods." Even though we don't have the prohibition on mixed fabrics anymore, we are still bound to not worship pagan gods.

With respect to homosexual acts, we not only have the Mosaic Law, but we have many other references in the OT that refer to God's plan for the family and sexuality. We also have passages in the NT which shed light on God's intentions for the sexual act. All of this points to a theology based in the natural moral law of how we are to conduct ourselves in these matters.

If you really want to understand how deep this goes, I would suggest that your read a book on the Theology of the Body. I wouldn't recommend diving straight into JPII opus as it is very deep. There are plenty of books which try to make it more accessible (such as this one). It isn't explicitly about homosexuality, but more about how God wants us to use our bodies.

I also want to mention something else. You didn't bring it up, but I wanted to mention it because it is a difficult concept for most people. Christian moral theology distinguishes between a person and their actions. Society today might think that a person that does evil things may be evil. However Christian's look at it differently. A person that does evil things simply does evil things and is not intrinsically evil themselves. All people have the potential for good and are good to the extent they have reached that potential. Therefore, all people are to be loved and treated with dignity and respect regardless of their actions.

This is how we can say the a person who simply have same sex attraction is not evil. That person is not damned. That person is an intrinsically good person. If that person chooses to sin, and we all do, that does not make them unworthy of love and respect. That just makes them a sinner. Christians are simply sinners who believe in the Lord and aspire to live by His example and to cooperate with his grace to build us up and take us away from our sinful tendencies.

All this is a long winded way of saying, contrary to what many non-Christians say about us, it is not our teaching to say homosexuals are evil or are going to hell. Homosexuals are just sinners like the rest of us and the only difference between a homosexual and a heterosexual is the type of sin they struggle with.

Edit: Spelling

I'm not Roman - but I would very much recommend, as a starting place, reading two books by Thomas Howard: Evangelical Is Not Enough and On Being Catholic. Tom is from the premier family in the Evangelical world (his sister is Elizabeth Elliott, widow of missionary Jim Elliott). He was a fervent, strong and committed Evangelical who discovered the Catholic tradition and made the transition. His insights and story are very worthwhile, especially for someone from an Evangelical tradition seeking to really understand where Catholics are coming from.

Two books that I can personally vouch for:

• Christianity: The First 3000 Years (warning: super long and super detailed). Covers Christianity on every corner of the globe. Great book.
  
  
• The Reformation (same author) - reading about the Reformation actually pushed me away from Protestantism. Weird...
  
  You may also enjoy the AskHistorians Book List
  
  

>You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today ...

I'm sure you've read this but a big part of early spiritual development is working on that cycle of repentance and return.

As you get older and are able to do more, you will also have the chance to grow. Don't worry about not being able to stick to a schedule now - perhaps simplify it at first?

If you've not read Augustine's Confessions I highly recommend it. This is a good guide to it. If you can't buy them/find them at your library, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

As you are still at home, perhaps the single largest thing you can do in your situation is love your parents and obey them dutifully. Study them, recognize their faults, and ask yourself, "What can I do to help them with their failings? What can I do to make their lives easier?" This doesn't mean lecturing them, but helping. For example, if your mom is always complaining that your dad forgets to take out the trash, do it for him.

These things sound so small, but they are the small steps on the path to holiness. We don't all start by hugging lepers.

I have a four-way tie for best mariology.

In no particular order:

Marian Mystery by Denis Farkasfalvy

Queen Mother by Ted Sri

Daughter Zion by Joseph Ratzinger

Mariology by Matthias Joseph Scheeben



If you're looking for books directed at a more popular audience (i.e. if you're not a theologian), then the following are very good:

Behold your Mother by Tim Staples

Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn




EDIT: Here's a great bibliography my professor made for a mariology course.


EDIT: Just as a caveat, my interest in mariology is mostly biblical. Apparitions aren't a huge interest of mine. So the above reflects that. Though there's plenty on dogmatic/systematic mariology there too.

Frederick Copleston's history of philosophy is one of the most reputable histories of philosophy available, and the first volume covers ancient Greek philosophy.

I have a word of advice about this particular history of philosophy. I started off buying just the volume on the ancient Greeks, thinking that that would be all I needed. Well, over time, I gradually bought more and more volumes, each time thinking it would be nice to have this or that volume.

Long story short, I ended up buying each volume individually, which was more expensive than if I had just bought the newer editions which each contain three volumes in one book. I'm referring to these:

Book 1, Volumes 1-3

Book 2, Volumes 4-6

Book 3, Volumes 7-9

So, if you're the sort of person who buys a lot of philosophy books, like I am, you should probably just buy those three now and save yourself a bunch of money.

If you're sure you'll only buy the one book, on the other hand, you can go ahead and buy this, which will be cheaper in that case:

Volume 1: Greece and Rome

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi. Your questions were exactly my questions, only 3+ years ago. I came from being raised in the Orthodox Church, and began to think about St. Peter's headship after listening to an Orthodox Podcast by Fr. Thomas Hopko.

What I will say is that there is an abundance of Grace available in both Churches. That being said, I eventually decided that I needed to be in communion with the See of Peter and so converted to Roman Catholicism.

You might want to check out this book. I read it, among many other things, though I'll have to dig out my stuff to see what else there was.

I spent time reading information about the Great Schism. As well, I became aware of the Photian Schism as well.

I'd ask you to consider the position of each Church with regard to the reception of the Eucharist by members of the opposite confession. I found that the Roman position was much more charitable toward what they consider their sister Church (or the other lung of the Church), as opposed to the Orthodox position which essentially considers Rome heretical, without outright saying so.

There is no question that Apostolic Succession resides in both Churches, so for me the Orthodox position comes off a bit "protestant" if you will. Thus, I have come to view them as the first Protestants.

I'll be glad to have more discussion with you if you come up with some questions you want to talk about.

You could get a free ebook copy, skim it and decide. Alternatively you could do that and just read the entire thing without dropping that much cash on it - or use the cash on a Kindle and read the free ebook on there, and walk away with spare cash, a Kindle, and a whole rabbit hole worth of Christian literature potential.

There ... is a lot of Christian writing available for free, or very cheap, and the Kindle is a great way to read it, in my opinion. Exhibit A.

Best thing to do:

Speak to a priest at a local Roman Catholic Church.

Highly recommend reading:

• Lee Strobels A Case For Faith, Case For Creator and A Case For Christ
  
• To get a brief idea of what the Catholic Faith believes in...the YouCat.
  
  I say talk to a priest first though :)

I just remember talking to you in Imgur. Respect for deleting your account. Best of luck as a lay ascetic. I'm trying similar things in order to strengthen my faith, though I am still in school.
http://www.amazon.com/Sayings-Desert-Fathers-Cistercian-studies/dp/0879079592
I recently got this book--pretty amazing what the ancients used to be able to do and how similar the temptations were then to today, despite the ages' differences.

It starts with why you are interested in philosophy. Begin with your personal areas of interest (looks like you have a head-start there).

• Route 1: I like Routledge and Cambridge stuff for general surveys, which is really where most folks should start before moving on to heavy-duty original text, imho.
  
  
• Route 2: Chronological study is ok too, getting a history of philosophy book or series of them, learning what the canon is and then knocking out original texts from era to era, it's just not for everyone.
  
  Perhaps a mix of both...
  
  While true that there is no substitute for original texts, a little mediation to provide context and framework (which you can later disregard if you so choose) isn't so bad. In fact, that's what you're doing by coming to Reddit!

I'll emphatically second the recommendation of Tom Howard's excellent Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament.

The title might sound as if it's going to bash evangelicalism. But what he does is look at the pietistic and sometimes dualistic assumptions that underlie what modern evangelicals call worship, while contrasting that with the worship of the apostles and first-century Christians.

If you're already a liturgical type, you may not see anything new here. But for me as an evangelical mission pastor years ago, this book confirmed some suspicions I'd had regarding modern worship and opened up excellent new questions I hadn't thought of yet. There's a lot of good common sense here that's been overlooked in the development of modern "worship."

Howard wrote this book after becoming Anglican (and afterward he became Catholic); I read it and ended up Orthodox.

Christopher West’s book “Theology of the Body for Beginners” is an excellent place to begin to piece together the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality. In the book, he describes the creation of man in Genesis as a sort of divine analogy of the Holy Trinity. In the Trinity, the love between the Father and Son is so real, so tangible (if you will) that a third being exists—the Holy Spirit. Similarly, we were created in “the image and likeness of God.” When a husband and wife come together in the marital embrace (sex), the love between them is so real, and so tangible that a third being can be created (a baby)!

As other posters have mentioned, this is why sex is intended for marriage (between a man and a woman) and for the purpose of procreation AND unification (aka fun!).

With this view in mind, one can see where a violation of this intent (by homosexual or heterosexual means) is a “slap in the face” to Creation as God intended.

I intend this response with nothing but Charity and will pray for you. I will respond to this with a link to West’s book, a phenomenal read for any Christian!

Link to the book! Theology of the Body for Beginners: A Basic Introduction to Pope John Paul II's Sexual Revolution, Revised Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1934217859/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MwQiDbWKNXXVG

You deny the Primacy of Peter, that's fine. However, I'll stick to the apostolic tradition as recognized by both Catholics and Orthodox. If you agree with the opinion of our Orthodox brethren, that the Pope's function is merely honorary (first among equals), okay. If you want to delve into the Catholic Church's argument that Peter's Primacy is not merely honorific, but rather has jurisdiction over all churches, read the books I have quoted (here, here and here). They treat the subject with far more propriety than a layman like me. God bless you.

Thanks! Will check it out. I was reading The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life and it has lots of gems. Specifically the part of contemplation and using your imagination to see life of Jesus. As a friend. The paradigm shifts were amazing to say the least. Stoicism too has some good stuff.

Whether it would work for you as a "beginner" probably depends on your temperament. It's very much in the style of a textbook or reference book. It's arranged topically, and will give a basic summary of the topic in question, along with notation of the strength of the teaching (whether it be dogma, doctrine, the general consensus, etc.) and references to primary sources.

As to the references, it typically refers you to Denzinger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, and I share the popular opinion that the two books are best read together.

As far as I know, seminaries don't do that anyway. In the book To Save a Thousand Souls, Fr. Brennan devotes an entire section discussing common sins and struggles that a discerning seminarian has. He reinforces the statement that simply having same-sex attraction is not enough to ban someone from the priesthood. Rather it is the degree to which they act on that attraction, or support the lifestyle associated with it, that would determine if a man is eligible or not. This can only be determined through prayerful consideration and personal discussion between the seminarian and spiritual director.

I definitely recommend Fortescue’s The Early Papacy for a great overview of the Catholic position on the Papacy and its support from the Fathers, etc.

Off the top of my head, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Also,
How the Irish Saved Civilization is a great read, though not about Rome.
If you're into church history, The Early Church by Chadwick and The Reformation by Macchulloch are well-written and interesting

For an intro to the Fathers, definitely recommend the 3-volume Faith of the Early Fathers by William Jurgens.

Faith of the Early Fathers: Three-Volume Set
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0814610250/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Qo.0AbD48WTXZ

As far as Church documents, Denzinger is a standard reference (Ignatius has a nice copy on sale for $40 on Amazon), but it’s arranged chronologically which can make it harder for study. For a bit less, you can pick up a copy of The Christian Faith compiled by Jacques Dupuis, which orders everything by topic. This volume is not as comprehensive as Denzinger, but I like it a lot.

Enchiridion Symbolorum: A Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations of the Catholic Church (Latin Edition) (Latin and English Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898707463/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Yq.0AbN6564B0

The Christian Faith: In the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church https://www.amazon.com/dp/0818908939/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pr.0AbZBR1BD4

The Church Fathers is a great place to start. You could follow one of the online guides like Read The Fathers or just grab a copy of one of the many collections out there and make a start. Athanasius' On The Incarnation is a great opener.

You could also read The First Seven Ecumenical Councils, which would cover some ground you are familiar with.

They didn't miss. Ex Cathedra isn't some magic phrase where you can say "I declare Ex Cathedra!" (Much like Michael Scott declaring Bankruptcy in the office). Ex Cathedra is more or less the rubric in which a statement can be declared infallible.

Considering that during the 1800s many people challenged the role of the Pope once again, and it seems as though the early church believed a lot of the same things that Vatican I said about the Pope (I have a great book recommendation for the early church and the Pope, it is The Early Papacy - By Adrian Fortescue). Consider that these councils tend to happen not as a way of saying "Here is a new belief" but "Here is a belief that most people have always believed but now people are challenging it, so we're gonna come confirm it real quick and make all of our beliefs on it super clear."

So until then the rules for papal infallibility may not have been strictly defined, and since it was historically not needing such a definition people may have been less concerned about it, but appeared to follow the dogma albeit not in a developed way.

> I am still curious about the rationale behind & historical origin of some doctrines (e.g., some Marian dogmas, like perpetual virginity)

For this topic, I would recommend "Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines" by Tim Staples.

> I’m wondering if I could get any recommendations on authors with similar conversion experiences. Someone who began as a Protestant philosopher and became Catholic & who chronicles their experiences.

"Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic" by Francis Beckwith is the perfect book for you. The description of the book is the following:

 

"What does it mean to be evangelical? What does it mean to be Catholic? Can one consider oneself both simultaneously? Francis Beckwith has wrestled with these questions personally and professionally. He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president.

This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. "

Totally normal to feel that way, friend. Do you have a spiritual director? Have you spoken to your vocation director?











I’d recommend reading this:











https://www.amazon.com/Save-Thousand-Souls-Discerning-Priesthood/dp/0615345514










It’s a great book for those discerning

Fair enough. It was actually the first Ortho book I read, but for where I was it was just what I needed. But as you said, doesn't mean it's a good starter for everyone. I've heard a lot of people talk about "The Mountain of Silence" but haven't had a chance to read it myself. I'd also highly recommend "A Light from the Christian East". It's actually written by a Protestant professor but does a great job of explaining Eastern theology for western readers. It's a bit academic, but if that doesn't phase you check it out!

I second the suggestion of the Historical Introduction to Philosophy by Albert B. Hakim and there is also A Historical Introduction to Philosophy: Texts and Interactive Guides. I used the latter in an intro course and it worked really well. More detailed and thorough (and much less expensive per volume) are the Coplestone volumes, such as: A History of Philosophy, Vol. 1: Greece and Rome From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. My advice: go to the library (or bookstore, or online bookstore), look at the B72 C60 section, leaf through whatever history of philosophy books that they have, choose the one you like best in terms of language and lay out and what not, and get busy!

In the meantime, while you save your money for the entire collection in print, you can get the Amazon Kindle version for $4. I got it a long time ago, and it was one of the reasons I later converted to Catholicism. So, I am very pleased with my purchase.

It is on Canadian Amazon, and I'm not sure out of country sales go. I hope that you are able to purchase it.

• Have you read Sayings of the Desert Fathers? That's a pretty good one.
  
  
• But also The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to it by St. Theophan the Recluse is amazing, I'm still reading it and will probably reread it when I'm done.
  
  
• Another suggestion would be to get the Psalter and try to pray it regularly.
  
  
• The Dynamic Horologian will help you develop a prayer rule, it updates to keep with the current cycle of services with all the scripture readings and daily commemorations.
  
  
  
• Please note that a good prayer and fasting rule (with the help of a spiritual father) is important, pray the Jesus prayer as often as possible and learn silence. It's super hard and challenging, and you'll experience resistance as you start trying, but keep on pressing, even when you experience setbacks, keep pushing in, (for the violent take it by force, Matthew 11:12)

Denzinger is a compendium of dogmatic/doctrinal/important statements of the Church. It has a scriptural index in the back, which allows you to look if there's an official interpretation on a certain Bible verse. It may not have every verse, or every authentic interpretation (and it's only magisterial statements, not interpretations of the Saints) but it is pretty good.

I, too, would highly second that to the OP. Study church history for yourself. In fact, you can easily read the Church Fathers for yourself; for a very small price: $2.99.

Being a digital book, you can just do an easy search on all issues that the Early Church debated, before finally reconciling with the doctrines (and Scripture) it hammered out. God Bless!

You don't have to be religious to read and enjoy this either: "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything." I really liked the bit on the Examens and living simply - which is pretty much the bulk of the book.

As C.S. Lewis said:

>It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.

So, I'd suggest picking up a classic like Confessions by Augustine. It's one of the best Christian books of all time. People are still reading it 1600 years after it was written.

Definitely read the actual canons + texts of the Councils, but I'd recommend a guide with historical background, etc. too. My favorite for the first seven Councils is this book by Davis.

Thanks! I don't particularly like reading for long durations of time on the Kindle. Albeit, there is this collection for the kindle, which looks pretty nice.

But, I'd prefer to have a hardcover collection over a digital one.

I recommend reading The Confessions of St. Augustine. It's a classic, and even beyond the faith aspects, it's an extremely interesting historical document -- the first memoir ever written, from 4th century Rome.

That and "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis.

You'll be able to find both at most well-stocked libraries or cheap online.

I remember reading your original post. I'm glad you went to your first mass and will be studying Catholicism.
Have you heard of the book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Dr. Brant Pitre? It explains the Eucharist from a Jewish perspective. I highly recommend it to anyone studying Catholicism.

I read Rome Sweet Home by Scott & Kimberly Hahn and I thought it was a very good tale of conversion. There's a bit of light apologetics throughout and it was compelling enough for me to finish it in a day. (I hardly read.)

Next up on my list are The Lamb's Supper by Hahn, The Love Chapter: The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 13 by St. John Chrysostom, and An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabrielle Amorth, exorcist of the Vatican.

If you know any young people, the YOUCAT is an invaluable resource if they don't want to sit through the entire Catechism. Of course you want to eventually point them to it but I find, at 22, it's more suited to me poor attention span.

Canticle for Leibowitz is my favourite Catholic fiction but that doesn't mean much because I haven't read anything else. If you're looking for a good Catholic writer, I hear Flannery O'Connor is one. Of course Tolkien is a giant as is Chesterton (literally).

The best way, I feel, is to read a summarization of the discourse. Read every volume in Frederick Copleston's A History of Western Philosophy. From there, delve into a specific philosopher—the obvious starting point is Plato, which is what I recommend.

As /u/z_grady mentioned below, the Catechism is a good reference work - if you have a question about what the Church teaches the Catechism will often answer it. Another reference is Denzinger which may be of interest even to non-Catholics as it contains all the magisterial documents from the earliest Church, including such things as:

>Since as we have learned from your report, it sometimes happens because of the scarcity of water, that infants of your lands are baptized in beer, we reply to you in the tenor of those present that, since according to evangelical doctrine it is necessary "to be reborn from water and the Holy Spirit" [ John 3:5] they are not to be considered rightly baptized who are baptized in beer.

But to find out more about why the Church teaches something, you'll often have to dig into the references.

True Devotion to Mary: with Preparation for Total Consecration by St. Louis De Montfort https://www.amazon.com/True-Devotion-Mary-Preparation-Consecration/dp/0895551543/ref=sr_1_2?crid=RLN5P9C9X903&keywords=louis+de+montfort&qid=1571623207&sprefix=louis+de%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-2

"And why the Church has a rule about being in the Church for 3+ years before making the plunge."

Who told you it was that long? The Program of Priestly Formation says 2 years, not 3. Still, we will pray with you for a diligent discernment. I suggest getting a copy of the book To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Brett Brannen - it's an invaluable guide for priesthood discernment. You can buy it here or order it for free here if you're in a diocese that pays for it.

Also, the r/Discerning subreddit is devoted to people such as yourself. You'll have to contact the mods of that subreddit to enter, but your activity on r/Discerning will be hidden from public view.

Spiritu tecum!

Edit: adding links for the book.

As you continue your research, I think you will be surprised by just how Jewish the Catholic Church is. Many of our traditions and liturgical practices find their roots in Jewish traditions. The Church, the new Israel, is the fulfilment of the covenant. I would suggest Brant Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist for a great explination of the Catholic Church's ties to Judiasim.

You might want to check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Upon-This-Rock-Scripture-Apologetics/dp/0898707234

The youtuber LizziesAnswers here stated how it really helped her decide between orthodoxy and the Catholic Church. Hopefully it might help you too!

>No... It isn't.
>Matthew 23:9 "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."
>Pope in Italian Translation means "Father". Additionally, it is usual custom to address the priest as "father".

Please.

>Transubstantiation: Pagan practice of cannibalism disguised through Communion. There is no literal meaning or physical transformation of the bread and wine/juice. It is supposed to be figurative.

Your accusation of cannibalism is the same that Pliny the Younger made of the early Christians in the earliest known surviving pagan reference to Christianity. Whenever I hear this, I am reminded of the continuity of the Church's teachings and the misconceptions of her opponents.

>Papacy: Peter was never considered a Pope or even remotely close to anything like the Papal Senate. He was merely a figurehead during the early church. Decisions were made in consensus to Scripture. Not Papal vote.

Are you aware that "scripture" was not fully formed? There was no New Testament to refer to. What they had in addition to scripture was the sacred traditions of the Apostles and the authority of the Church. Try reading this book if you want to know what the historic papacy was like.

>Salvation: (John 1:12; 3:16,18,36; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10,13; Ephesians 2:8-9) Reading these segments, you would realize that rituals and practices does not guarantee salvation, but faith and faith alone. Works are the fruits of said salvation, but not a means to that salvation. Else the concept of Christ's death on Cross is moot. Catholicism is clinging to legalism... Not faith.

>Many of its practices, including idolizing Saints throughout history, just reminds me of Pagan Rome, when they worshiped and prayed to demi-gods and gods. It was a political gambit simply because of the fact that Christianity, the ORIGINAL Christianity, could not be stamped out by force. Thus, they adopted the practices of the original Christians, and then, because by then many of the Apostles were gone (because it was by now, A.D. 500) and therefore no one except a few isolated groups to oppose them... And thus they reigned as the supreme "Christian" entity. But then again, there was also Orthodox who also lay claim to original "Christianity" (when in reality its just a copy of Catholicism) and then the Coptic Christians of Egypt also lay claim to that same argument (though they ALSO are a copy of Catholicism).

Catholics do not idolize the Saints nor think that it is rituals that guarantee salvation. You seem to have severe misunderstandings of the Church. Try educating yourself before making such accusations.

I'd throw in Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything by Fr. James Martin. My fiance and I both found it useful as I was returning to the faith and she was joining it. It's a well-written, lighter introduction to Jesuit spirituality.

Books (both from former protestants):
Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385501692/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_forRDbHKC4JST


Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938983912/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3orRDb4NBP4WJ

Videos:
Mary the Ark of the New Covenant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmNWqLSJcJI&feature=share

Hail Holy Queen, Scripture and the Mystery of Mary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1tWuIoZsg&feature=share

If you're interested in reading (what I would consider) a good book on the subject of councils, I can't recommend "The First Seven Ecumenical Councils" by Leo Davis enough:

Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin


When the Church was Young by Marcellino D'Ambrosio

Mountain of silence: https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920

It was recommended by my son and is a wonderful journey into Orthodox spirituality.

Here are three books I absolutely love for dipping your feet into Christian theology:

• For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemman ($2.99 on kindle)
  
  
• [Acquiring the Mind of Christ] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0990502996) by Sergius Boyer
  
  
• [The Mountain of Silence] (https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920) by Kyriacos C. Markides

I'm currently reading When the Church was Young by Marcellino D'Ambrosio. It's about the first 800 years of the church and so far is a great read.

Why Stay Catholic is not a book about papal authority in the early Church. It sounds like this is the lone book on Catholicism you've read and you're trying to get as much out of it as possible.

Nevertheless, books you should check out:

Chapman, John. Studies on the Early Papacy

Fortescue, Adrian. The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451

Rivington, Luke. Roman Primacy, A.D. 430-451

Scott, S. Herbert. The Eastern Churches and the Papacy


You should also read the article by Brian Daley, SJ titled "Position and Patronage in the Early Church: The Original Meaning of 'Primacy of Honour'" The Journal of Theological Studies, NEW SERIES, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Oct. 1993): 529-553.


Let me know when you dig in and read these. I'm glad to discuss them.

I got these:

The Orthodox Church by Kallistos Ware

The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware

The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

I'm still reading them but I hear that this selection will cover a lot of bases. Check eBay too, they can found pretty cheap.

Lol you sound like my family.

Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History https://www.amazon.com/dp/1599475367/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_bfhNBb5VJRK76

Eusebius: The Church History https://www.amazon.com/dp/082543307X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UfhNBb1P8XHR2

Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church (Modern Apologetics Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898707234/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fghNBbFWXATPK

If you like to read, please check out

Upon this Rock This book is about the Papacy. & Crossing the Tiber, a Protestant conversion story, which includes a lot of Church history, and quotes from the early Church.

This version worked out great for me, as u/RWeGreatYet also linked.

I heard it from someone at an old parish, and just accepted it was true. Looking now, the few sources I've been able to find on Orthodox sites seem to cite this book: https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920

Currently in the middle of reading Fr. Adrian Fortescue's The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451. It has been a good read so far on understanding the papacy in general.

I also got His Broken Body. I heard it gives a good understanding of the schism between East and West, albeit from an Orthodox perspective. Not exactly what you may be looking for, but may contribute as well.

It's not a classic, but it's an enjoyable read nonetheless (and a little lighter than some of these titles): The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, by Fr. James Martin, S.J.

Would it help if we just renamed ourselves "Followers of the Jewish Messiah?" Christianity is just the name of the collection of people who ended up following Jesus as the Messiah. Some of us strongly follow our Jewish roots in our practices under the New Covenant.

> And none of them carried new scripture with them.

Many of them do;with the caveat the new confirms the truth. Saint Faustina writes a diary in the last 5 years of her life with the words of Jesus through out the 300+ page work. Sister Lucia wrote three books with the words of Mary, Angels and Jesus from the events starting in 1917 Portugal to include the Miracle of the sun. St. Therese of Lisieux writes a small book and she is declared a Doctor of the Church.

Some of their new scripture is not written as much as acted out like Saint Maximilian Kobe and Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

Start earlier than the Council of Nicaea. That'd be like skipping from the Declaration of Independence straight to FDR's New Deal... where's everything in-between?

First things first, there are some late first-century, early second-century texts to read. Some of these were even written before a few of the new testament books, making them contemporaries of new testament authors.

• Didache
  
• 1 Clement
  
• Epistles of Ignatius
  
• Epistle of Polycarp
  
• Papi--
  
  You know what? Just buy this and read it in order. It's only $3.00 on Kindle.

I recommend reading The Early Papacy to the Synod of Chalcedon in 451 by Fr Fortesque. It is a fantastic historical account of how the papacy was regarded in the earliest years of the church, by accounts of those who lived in those times. The year 451 and the Synod of Chalcedon were chosen arbitrarily, due to the arguments of those he debated in the Anglican church who insisted that the church became corrupt after that synod and the papacy did not exist until after 451 AD. He proves very definitively that this is not the case. Give it a read!

If you want a good history of philosophy with responses to basically everybody, Fr. Frederick Copleston's A History of Philosophy is pretty good.

Here's the first volume: https://www.amazon.com/History-Philosophy-Vol-Pre-Socratics-Plotinus/dp/0385468431/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579301&sr=8-4&keywords=frederick+copleston

Edward Feser deals with both the New Atheists, Enlightenment thinkers, and Old Atheists in The Last Superstition, Aquinas, and Neo-Scholastic Essays. Fr. Garrigou Lagrange's Reality is also worth it.

The Last Superstition: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Superstition-Refutation-New-Atheism-ebook/dp/B00D40EGCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579343&sr=8-1&keywords=the+last+superstition

Aquinas: https://www.amazon.com/Aquinas-Beginners-Guide-Edward-Feser/dp/1851686908/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1543579366&sr=8-6

Neo-Scholastic Essays: https://www.amazon.com/Neo-Scholastic-Essays-Edward-Feser/dp/1587315580/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579366&sr=8-5&keywords=edward+feser

Reality: https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Synthesis-Reginald-Garrigou-Lagrange-P/dp/1477582401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579439&sr=8-1&keywords=reality+garrigou-lagrange

Honestly, I tend to think Van Til's Presuppositionalism is a better system than a lot of Catholic philosophy. His book Christian Apologetics is probably his easiest to read, though I'll admit I've had more access to his ideas from his defenders than his actual writing: https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Apologetics-Cornelius-Van-Til/dp/0875525113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579550&sr=8-1&keywords=christian+apologetics+van+til

In a less theologically charged but similar category are Alvin Plantinga's Where the Conflict Really Lies and Warranted Christian Belief: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Conflict-Really-Lies-Naturalism-ebook/dp/B005X3SAHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579615&sr=8-1&keywords=where+the+conflict+really+lies+science%2C+religion%2C+and+naturalism

https://www.amazon.com/Warranted-Christian-Belief-Alvin-Plantinga-ebook/dp/B0059EQ4DY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543579634&sr=8-1&keywords=warranted+christian+belief

There is a book called Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (link). It goes into how Jesus' sacrifice mirrors the various sacrifices of the OT (particularly the passover lamb and the bread of the presence). While this book doesn't really go into all the details that you could pull out of Leviticus, it does show that if you don't understand the context of the Jewish ritual sacrifices and offerings, you can't really understand the Sacrifice on the Cross. Or put another way, you can't understand the New Covenant without understanding the Old Covenant and how the Old was fulfilled (and so superseded by) the New.

You could also look up the various commentaries by the Church Fathers (like Ignatious, Irenaeous, or Augustine) on the OT and Leviticus in particular. There is also Aquinas' commentary. All of them see types of Christ in the OT sacrificial rituals.

Finally, it's important to note that many Catholic rituals (particularly pre-Vatican II) were heavily based on ancient Jewish rituals.

The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos Markides might help with this.

Edit: I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Orthodoxy regardless of what you're trying to learn about, but one thing it helped me with was the issue you raise in the OP.

• Jimmy Akin, an ex-Baptist, wrote: The Drama of Salvation: How God Rescues You from Your Sins and Delivers You to Eternal Life
  
  
• Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Currie
  
  
• Tom Howard's On Being Catholic or Evangelical is Not Enough
  
  
• Anything by Dr. Scott Hahn: Rome Sweet Home, Reasons to Believe, etc.
  
  
• The Protestant’s Dilemma: How the Reformation’s Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism by Devin Rose

Historical evidence: [The Fathers Know Best] (https://www.amazon.com/Fathers-Know-Best-Essential-Teachings-ebook/dp/B004LGRYEE), [Complete Collection of the Church Fathers] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ante-Nicene-Post-Nicene-Fathers-Collection-ebook/dp/B00KYBSUUM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493763857&sr=1-1&keywords=church+fathers), and [Four Witnesses] (https://www.amazon.com/Four-Witnesses-Early-Church-Words/dp/0898708478/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493763945&sr=1-1&keywords=rod+bennett).
Scriptural evidence: [This] (https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Defense-Catholicism-Dave-Armstrong/dp/1928832954), [this] (https://www.amazon.com/More-Biblical-Evidence-Catholicism-Armstrong/dp/1430322438), and [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Basis-Catholic-Faith/dp/1592761461) look to be good places to start.

Honestly, I am not a scholar so I don't know what translation is best but to get you started. https://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Spiritual-Homilies-Macarius-Egyptian/dp/1785160346/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Pseudo+macarius&qid=1557372832&s=books&sr=1-3

https://www.amazon.com/Sayings-Desert-Fathers-Alphabetical-Collection/dp/0879079592/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YECJXX02GYIC&keywords=sayings+of+the+desert+fathers&qid=1557373438&s=books&sprefix=sayings+o%2Cstripbooks%2C189&sr=1-1

A word of warning. I don't feel Orthodox is preoccupied with the cross alone but it is there and especially Monastic texts of any Christian tradition will speak about his quite a bit.

This sub is small you might be better off asking at r/orthodoxchristianity

Oh man you're in for a treat!
https://www.amazon.com/Enchiridion-Symbolorum-Compendium-Definitions-Declarations/dp/0898707463

I would start with this book, I found it to be both funny and spiritually enriching. http://www.amazon.ca/The-Jesuit-Guide-Almost-Everything/dp/0061432695

I don't have to rewrite it for an Orthodox perspective. This book covers the main aspects of Orthodox spirituality much better than I ever could.

But if I wanted it to be more authentic, I could just change "man from Crete" to "man from whatever Western culture where Catholicism is prevalent."

Some good books:

• Jesus, Peter & the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy
  
  
• Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church

A real good book with tons of resources on the primacy of Peter is called Upon this Rock.