Spiritual Reading

I recently posted that I have been rereading some classics and other books that I'd read long ago. I also had a second post about some new books that I've just received.

A friend then asked about reading or rereading spiritual classics.

A fair question.

Now, I do not limit myself to spiritual works - poetry, fiction, biography, history, and politics are also interests. And not all the spiritual works I read are "classics." 

Moreover, there are new spiritual works coming out, and many spiritual classics and works I have not yet read. So my spiritual  reading goes beyond rereading.

Curious, I looked back to see what I have read this year, and in the last three years.

I'm currently rereading The Imitation of Christ, and G. K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man - the latter as part of a local Chesterton Society reading group. 

Among the other rereads:

The Confessions by Saint Augustine
Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly
The Screwtape Letters (with Screwtape Proposes a Toast) by C. S. Lewis
The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos
Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI

The other "spiritual" works I've read for the first time - including fictional accounts focusing on saints - include: 

Laudato Si by Pope Francis

Heroes of the Catholic Reformation: Saints Who Renewed the Church by Joseph Pearce 
Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna: A New Translation and Theological Commentary by Kenneth J. Howell 
God's Door-Keepers: Padre Pio, Solanus Casey, and Andre Bessette by Joel Schorn

The Shepherds' Prayer by Richard M. Barry 
The Golden Thread by Louis de Wohl
Saint Joan: The Girl Soldier by Louis de Wohl
The Spear by Louis de Wohl
The Living Wood by Louis de Wohl
The Quiet Light by Louis de Wohl
Saint Jose: Boy Cristero Martyr by Father Kevin McKenzie

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort
Things Worth Dying For: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can Unite a Fractured People by Charles C. Camosy
The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher
Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher

Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America by Phil Robertson
Sonnets of the Cross: The Via Dolorosa by John Patrick McDonough with art by David McDonough
Poetry of the Spirit edited by Gerard E. Goggins
Twenty Poems to Pray by Gary M. Bouchard
The Virtue Driven Life by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.
Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Father Jacques Philippe
In the School of the Holy Spirit by Father Jacques Philippe 
The Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Desert Prayer That Tunes the Heart to God by Frederica Mathewes-Green
The Soul’s Journey into God by Saint Bonaventure

Lepanto: With Explanatory Notes and Commentary by G. K. Chesterton

There are also some books related to my pro-life and consistent life activities - which are certainly spiritually based:

What to Say When by Shawn D. Carney and Steve Karlen
August 9 by Emmanuel Charles McCarthy
unPlanned by Abby Johnson (with Cindy Lambert)
Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World by Lila Rose
40 Days for Life by David Bereit and Shawn Carney

Okay, there are some good works in there. But there is certainly room for more spiritual works and classics. Among the works that I own and plan to read/reread are:

The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux - reread
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - reread
Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Journal of a Soul by Pope St. John XXIII

Evangelium Vitae by Pope St. John Paul II - reread

Veritatis Splendor by Pope St. John Paul II - reread 

Redemptor Hominis by St. John Paul II

Deus Caritas Est by Pope Benedict XVI - reread

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI 

I'm sure more work will surface, like those of some of the early Church Fathers.

Pax et bonum