Beginning or returning
Start with a clear, welcoming account of Christian belief and the person of Jesus.
Read · reflect · grow
Book Recommendations
Books can become companions in discipleship: helping us know Christ more clearly, pray more honestly and live the Gospel more faithfully.
Where might you begin?
Choose the path closest to where you are now. You do not need to read everything: one good book, read prayerfully and put into practice, is enough to begin.
Deepening prayer
Choose a book that helps you listen, persevere and make room for God each day.
Living as a disciple
Let a saint, spiritual classic or work of fiction enlarge your imagination for holiness.
A starting shelf
Seven approachable choices—one from each part of the collection. Choose the cover that draws you, then open the shelves below to discover why it may help.
Mere Christianity
Christian faith
Prayer Primer
Prayer
The Imitation of Christ
Discipleship
The Lamb’s Supper
Mass and Scripture
Story of a Soul
Saints
The Chronicles of Narnia
Christian imagination
Three to Get Married
Marriage and family
Cover images identify particular editions; other editions and formats may look different.
Explore the shelves
Open a section for a small, guided selection from the parish’s existing recommendations.
Christian faith: a place to start
Mere Christianity — C. S. Lewis Start hereA lucid exploration of the central beliefs shared by Christians.
To Know Christ Jesus — Frank SheedA sustained, vivid encounter with the life and person of Jesus.
Orthodoxy — G. K. ChestertonAn energetic and imaginative account of why Christian faith makes sense of life.
Prayer: learning to remain with God
Prayer Primer — Thomas Dubay Start herePractical help for beginning and sustaining a real life of prayer.
Difficulties in Mental Prayer — Eugene BoylanReassurance and wise counsel when prayer feels distracted, dry or difficult.
In Silence with God — Benedict BaurAn invitation to recollection, interior stillness and deeper communion with God.
In Conversation with God — Francis FernándezMeditations for the seasons and days of the Christian year.
Discipleship: becoming more like Christ
The Imitation of Christ — Thomas à Kempis ClassicShort, searching chapters on humility, conversion and friendship with Christ.
Introduction to the Devout Life — Francis de SalesA humane guide to holiness in the midst of ordinary responsibilities.
The Screwtape Letters — C. S. LewisA witty but serious examination of temptation and the habits that shape a soul.
This Tremendous Lover — Eugene BoylanChrist’s life in us and the Church as the living Body into which we are drawn.
Mass, Scripture and God’s promises
The Lamb’s Supper — Scott Hahn Start hereConnects the Eucharist with the worship and imagery of Revelation.
A Father Who Keeps His Promises — Scott HahnFollows the story of covenant through Scripture and God’s saving faithfulness.
The Hidden Stream — Ronald KnoxA thoughtful explanation of the foundations and coherence of Christian belief.
Saints and lives transformed by grace
Story of a Soul — St Thérèse of Lisieux Start hereThe “little way” of trust, love and holiness in ordinary life.
The Reed of God — Caryll HouselanderA tender meditation on Mary, openness to God and Christ’s life within us.
With God in Russia — Walter CiszekFaith, endurance and surrender to God amid imprisonment and suffering.
Edmund Campion — Evelyn WaughThe compelling life and witness of an English priest and martyr.
Fiction that forms the Christian imagination
The Chronicles of Narnia — C. S. Lewis Start hereStories of courage, sacrifice, temptation and redemption for many ages.
Brideshead Revisited — Evelyn WaughA searching novel about grace working through human freedom and failure.
The Power and the Glory — Graham GreeneA flawed priest discovers the costly persistence of vocation and mercy.
The Lord of the Rings — J. R. R. TolkienA great moral imagination shaped by providence, fellowship, pity and hope.
Marriage and family life
Three to Get Married — Fulton J. Sheen Start hereMarriage understood as a vocation whose deepest centre is God.
First Comes Love — Scott HahnChristian family life viewed within God’s covenant and the family of the Church.
Life-Giving Love — Scott and Kimberly HahnReflection on marriage, parenthood and openness to God’s gift of life.
These suggestions are offered as companions for reflection. Inclusion does not imply agreement with every view expressed. If a book raises questions, speak with a priest or another mature Christian and keep the conversation going.
Turn reading into discipleship
Read slowly enough for truth to become prayer and prayer to become action.
1.Ask the Holy Spirit for light.
2.Mark one sentence to carry with you.
3.Choose one response to practise.
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