Here are some good Catholic recommended resources to read to help you grow in the knowledge of your faith.
Good Catholic Books to Read: Grow in Knowledge of Your Faith
Do you want to grow in knowledge of your Catholic faith but are not sure what good Catholic books you should start with?
First, identify where or how you want to grow in your faith. Do you want to know more about how the Church came to be? Do you want to understand more about the Church in general and its teachings? Or, do you want to learn about specific teachings of the Church, like social justice or why the Church is pro-life?
Second, search out good Catholic books to read that will help you to accomplish your growth in this area.
There are so many good Catholic books out there. For book ideas, look online, ask friends for recommendations, and look at what you already have on your bookshelf that you have not read yet.
Here are some book suggestions to get you started.
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Learn more about the Early Church.
Jose Orlandis wrote A Short History of The Catholic Church. A great history book, it covers major the facts, events, and dates of the origin and continuation of the Church.
In Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words, Rod Bennett compiles writings from Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons to give a view of what the early Church was like.
The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church by Jimmy Akin is extensive. He uses Church writings to let us know about writers in the early Church. He even includes maps to show where they lived so we get a sense of the world at the time they were writing. Instead of reading it from cover to cover, you can use it as a resource to look up subjects of interest to you. It also has both the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur designations.
Learn more about the Catholic faith.
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith by Catholic convert Scott Hahn is a nice overview of the Church's teachings to help you understand them and then be able to explain them to others who may ask you questions about the Church.
Catholic Apologist Karl Keating wrote What Catholics Really Believe: Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Faith. It addresses 52 misconceptions that both Catholics and non-Catholics have about the Catholic Church. He covers misconceptions about Church doctrine, the Mass, the Sacraments, the Bible, Mary, the Pope, Catholic devotions, and more.
The Faith: A Question-and-Answer Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Fr. John Hardon uses a question and answer format to cover the content. The profession of faith, sacred mysteries, life in Christ, and prayer are the four main categories he dives into. He goes deeper into each category to explore the faith in greater detail.
Learn more about specific teachings of the Church.
No matter what question you have about the Catholic faith, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great resource. It contains what the Church teaches, with notations and quotes from the Bible and Church references.
If you are diving into the Catechism, but need further information or explanations that are easier to understand, Peter Kreeft's book is the one for you. Catholic Christianity: A Complete Catechism of Catholic Church Beliefs Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church concisely relates the material of the Catechism in a readable way. It is broken down into three parts so you can easily find what you are looking for.
More resources to help you use good Catholic books to grow in your knowledge of your faith.
Good Catholic Books to Read: Improve Your Prayer Life
Catholic Spiritual Reading Recommendations
Hi Mary, I am in need of a good Catholic dictionary, please can you make any suggestions? Studying the Bible & collecting prayers of the Saints has made my thirst for God even greater. In this journey I have come across words or phrases that instruct the reader to do something in a very specific way, but I don’t understand. If I can find it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church it only states what it is not “HOW” to perform the act of function. That’s what I need A How to do it Catholic Book. Where can I get that Mary? Please Help , Cool in Connecticut
Hi Patricia, That is a very good question. I am not familiar with a Catholic dictionary that explains the “how.”
The one I know of is a definition of terms. Many saints wrote books about living a life of faith. Some are autobiographies and we can learn how they apply the Catholic faith to their lives (like Saint Augustine’s Confessions). Other books are instructional (like Saint Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life). In this post I have more books listed that might have what you are looking for: https://blessedcatholicmom.com/catholic-spiritual-reading-books/ .