Suggested Reading

Here are a few of the books that the authors of “Called To Communion” have found helpful for understanding the Catholic Faith:

Church History and The Church Fathers

A History of Christendom (5 volumes), by Warren Carroll
History of the Catholic Church, by James Hitchcock
Patrology (4 volumes), by Johannes Quasten
The Faith of the Early Fathers (3 volumes), by Jurgens
Early Christian Fathers, by Cyril Richardson
Early Christian Doctrines, by J.N.D. Kelly
Church History, by Eusebius

The Ecumenical Councils

Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, edited by Norman P. Tanner
The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325-1870, by Philip Hughes
The General Councils, by Christopher Bellito

General Works on the Catholic Faith

Catechism of the Catholic Church, (Second Edition)
The Sources of Catholic Dogma, by Henry Denzinger
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Ott
Introduction to Christianity, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
The Spirit of Catholicism, by Karl Adam
Catholic Christianity, by Peter Kreeft

Theology and Sanity, by F.J. Sheed
Theology for Beginners, by F.J. Sheed
On Being Catholic, by Thomas Howard
The Catholic Church and Conversion, by G.K. Chesterton
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, by J.H. Newman
The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, by Jacques Dupuis

Liturgy and Sacraments

The Spirit of the Liturgy, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
The Spirit of the Liturgy, by Romano Guardini
The Shape of the Liturgy, by Gregory Dix
Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy, by Scott Hahn
Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments, by Scott Hahn
Why Matter Matters, by Lang
Eucharist, by Louis Bouyer

Worthy is the Lamb: The Biblical Roots of the Mass, by Thomas J. Nash
The Mass of the Early Christians, by Mike Aquilina
The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth, by Scott Hahn
The Word, Church and Sacrament: In Protestantism and Catholicism, by Louis Bouyer
God is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist, by Abbot Vonier

The Hidden Manna: A Theology of the Eucharist, by James T. O’Connor
Evangelical is Not Enough, by Thomas Howard
Holy Orders and Ordination, by J. Tixeront
For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, by Alexander Schmemann

Grace and Justification

The Glories of Divine Grace, by Fr. Matthias J. Scheeben
Deification and Grace, by Daniel A. Keating
Not By Faith Alone, by Robert Sungenis.
Righteousness and Merit,” by James Akin (article)
Credited with Righteousness,” by Ben Douglass (article)(also available here)
An Inquiry into the Merits of the Reformed Doctrine of Imputation, by Vanbrugh Livingstone.
The Catholic Doctrine on Justification Explained and Vindicated, by Bishop Francis Kenrick
Rereading Paul Together: Protestant and Catholic Perspectives on Justification, David E. Aune, ed.

St. Paul on Justification,” by Lawrence Feingold (lecture) with audio here.
A Lutheran’s Case for Roman Catholicism,” by Rob Koons
Luther on the Eve of His Revolt), by Fr. M.J. Lagrange’ on Luther’s commentary on Romans
The Theology of St. Paul (2 vols), by Fr. Ferdinand Prat
“Justification by Faith and Personal Religion” by Louis Bouyer, in The Spirit and the Forms of Protestantism.
Cruciformity, by Michael Gorman
Inhabiting the Cruciform God, by Michael Gorman

Judgment & Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul, by Chris VanLandingham
Engrafted into Christ, by Christopher Malloy
“The Mystery of Christian Justification” in Scheeben’s The Mysteries of Christianity.
Sola Gratia, Solo Christo: the Roman Catholic Doctrine of Justification,” by Richard White
What is Redemption?, Philippe De La Trinite

The Papacy and Magisterium

The Office of Peter and the Structure of the Church, by Hans Urs von Balthasar
Magisterium: Teacher and Guardian of the Faith, by Avery Dulles
Russia and the Universal Church (pdf), by Vladimir Soloviev
Jesus, Peter & the Keys, by Butler, Dahlgren & Hess
The Church and Infallibility, by Dom B.C. Butler
The Gift of Infallibility, by James T. O’Conner
The Throne of the Fisherman, by Thomas W. Allies
The See of St. Peter: The Rock of the Church, The Source of Jurisdiction, & the Centre of Unity by Thomas W. Allies (Burns & Lambert, 1850)
The Papacy Learning Guide, by Ray & Walters
Per Crucem ad Lucem, by Thomas W. Allies
Studies on the Early Papacy, by Dom John Chapman
The Condemnation of Pope Honorius, by Dom John Chapman
The Primitive Church and the See of Peter, by Luke Rivington
Documents Illustrating Papal Authority: AD 96 – 454, by E. Giles
The Early Papacy To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451, by Adrian Fortescue
The Primacy of the Church of Rome: Documents, Reflections, Proofs, by Margherita Guarducci
Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church, by Stephen Ray
The Primacy of the Apostolic See Vindicated, by Francis Patrick Kenrick
The Pope and the Church Considered in their Mutual Relations: The Supreme Authority of the Pope, by Fr. Paul Bottalla, S.J.

The Church

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, by Kenneth D. Whitehead
Splendor of the Church, by Henri De Lubac
Called To Communion, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Theology of the Church, by Charles Cardinal Journet
The Church of the Word Incarnate, Charles Cardinal Journet

Faith and Reason

Vatican I. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, by Norman Tanner
Fides et Ratio (Encyclical)
On Faith and Reason, by St. Thomas Aquinas
Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages, by Etienne Gilson.
An Essay on Christian Philosophy, by Jacques Maritain.
Faith and Reason, edited by Timothy L. Smith.
From Hermes to Benedict XVI: Faith and Reason in Modern Catholic Thought, by Aidan Nichols O.P.

The Saints

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler (four volumes)

Prayer and Devotion

The Holy Rosary
Liturgy of the Hours
The Roman Breviary (pdf)
Magnificat – a monthly liturgical prayer book
The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis
Introduction to the Devout Life, by St. Francis de Sales
Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer, by Thomas Dubay
Prayer Primer: Igniting a Fire Within, by Thomas Dubay
The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer, by Fr. John Bartunek
Conversation with Christ: The Teaching of St. Teresa of Avila About Personal Prayer, by Peter Thomas Rohrbach

Scripture and the Catholic Church

Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI, by Scott Hahn
Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church, by Henry G. Graham
Why Catholic Bibles are Bigger, by Gary Michuta
Participatory Biblical Exegesis, by Matthew Levering
Medieval Exegesis: The Four Sense of Scripture (3 volumes), by Henri de Lubac
The Church and the Human Quest for Truth, by Charles Morerod
Making Senses out of Scripture, by Mark Shea
Catena Aurea: A Patristic Commentary on the Gospels, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas

Catholic Perspectives of Protestantism

The Catholic Controversy: St. Francis De Sales’ Defense of the Faith, by St. Francis De Sales
The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism, by Louis Bouyer
How the Reformation Happened, by Hilaire Belloc
Three Reformers, by Jacques Maritain
One and Holy, by Karl Adam
Symbolism: Exposition of the Doctrinal Differences between Catholics and Protestants
as Evidenced by Their Symbolical Writings, by Johann Adam Möhler

Mary

Mary and the Fathers of the Church: The Blessed Virgin in Patristic Thought, by Luigi Gambero
Mary in the Middle Ages: The Blessed Virgin Mary In The Thought of Medieval Latin Theologians, by Luigi Gambero
Mary: The Church at the Source, by Hans Urs von Balthasar and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Our Lady and the Church, by Hugo Rahner
The Mother of the Savior and Our Interior Life, by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P.
Daughter Zion: Meditations on the Church’s Marian Belief, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture, by Jaroslav Pelikan

Tradition

Tradition and the Church, by George Agius
Tradition and Traditions, by Yves Congar
The Meaning of Tradition, by Yves Congar
By What Authority? by Mark Shea

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