SUGGESTED BOOKS
THE STORY OF A SOUL
St Thérèse of Lisieux
One of the most beautiful autobiographies ever written, The Story of a Soul, is a spiritual classic and a must-read for all Christians. Written out of obedience to Mother Agnes, her sister, and her religious superior, the autobiography continually demonstrates Saint Thérèse's devotion and love for Jesus. Known as the Little Flower, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux lived a short but profoundly meaningful life. A classic for anyone wanting to deepen their relationship and devotion to God.
Historical context included to provide a deeper understanding of historical events taking place in both France and the wider world, shaping the life of Saint Therese.
REBECCA
Daphne Du Maurier
On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband's home, Manderley everything changes...
A classic suspenseful novel about the power of distrust and suspicion in life.
FRANKENSTEIN
Mary Shelley
Is one of the most influential novels of the nineteenth century and is quite relevant today. What is the role of science and the scientific community? Does mankind have the right to manipulate nature? Have today’s scientists developed a moral system to match their speculative knowledge? Or will they, like Victor Frankenstein, discover too late that they simply have an unhealthy, prideful curiosity? The questions posed by Mary Shelley still need to be addressed in contemporary society. We are the creatures, not the Creator. This must always be kept in mind if we are to avoid the mistakes made by Victor Frankenstein.
THE SHADOW OF THE FATHER
Jan Dobraczynski
Jan Dobraczynski tells the story of St Joseph's life in the form of a novel. He uses the evocative image of a shadow to define Joseph. In his relationship to Jesus, Joseph was the earthly shadow of the heavenly Father: he watched over him and protected him, never leaving him to go his own way. This book is an excellent way to live well this year dedicated to St Joseph.
FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH
Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan
Venerable Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan spent thirteen years in communist prisons in his home country of Vietnam. A priest of extraordinary faith and courage, he still remained in contact with the faithful under his care by sending out secret messages of encouragement and advice on scraps of paper from his prison cell. In this book, drawn from his remarks to young people at the 1997 World Youth Day in Paris, Cardinal Van Thuan reflects on his life and his relationship with God and his Church.
The Cardinal's story of suffering for God and his Church, told his own words, is extraordinary enough. Bit it is the spiritual insights and reflections he shares in this book that make it a moving and essential read for any Catholic. Five Loaves and Two Fish is joyful and greatly encouraging, a powerful and contemporary testimony of faith. Like Saint Paul, also imprisoned for his faith, Cardinal Van Thuan reminds us that a life devoted to God is the only one worth living, no matter the circumstances.
GOD WITH US
ENCOUNTERING JESUS
IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
Edward Sri
During Sunday Mass we are reading the Gospel of Matthew. This book is an outstanding introduction to the first Gospel. Much has been said about why Jesus died. This book focuses on why Jesus lived. It shows that Jesus didn't just come to be our teacher, a miracle worker or a prophet, or even just Israel's saviour and redeemer. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.
Notable Scripture scholar, Edward Sri leads readers on a faithful exploration of Jesus' today. Helpful discussion questions are provided for personal and group study.
LAY SIEGE TO HEAVEN
Louis De Wohl
Louis de Whol devotes his considerable talents to an interpretation of one of the most unusual women of all time, Saint Catherine of Siena. The daughter of a prosperous dyer in fourteenth-century Siena, Catherine devoted herself to Christ.
Her career was extraordinary. In that confused and dangerous era of history, the Pope was living at Avignon: Catherine persuaded him to return to Rome. The City-States of Italy were at war with each other: Catherine subdued them. There was pestilence: Catherine served and saved. She performed miracles, she received the stigmata, she drew about her a crowd of devoted men and women.
A saint who would not leave the Lord God alone, she really did lay siege to heaven and changed the face of her world. This novel, which is also a vivid biography, brings Catherine of Siena to life in a remarkable way. She lives on in every page.
FULL LIFE: LETTERS TO MY STUDENTS
Mr Hans van Mourik Broekman
These letters are reflections on the issues and questions students brought up to the author (religious studies teacher and headteacher) during 30 year career working with young people. Their content touches upon many experiences at school and in the life of students. A provocative and original book for students, teachers, parents and everyone interested in education. Available on Amazon.
CHIARA CORBELLA PETRILLO:
A WITNESS TO JOY
S. Troisi - C. Paccini
Chiara Petrillo was seated in a wheel chair looking lovingly toward Jesus in the tabernacle. Her husband, Enrico, found the courage to ask her a question that he had been holding back. Thinking of Jesus’s phrase, “my yoke is sweet and my burden is light,” he asked: “Is this yoke, this cross, really sweet, as Jesus said?” A smile came across Chiara’s face. She turned to her husband and said: “Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet.”
At 28 years old, Chiara passed away, her body ravaged by cancer. The emotional, physical, and spiritual trials of this young Italian mother are not uncommon. It was her joyful and loving response to each that led one cardinal to call her “a saint for our times.”
Each saint has a special charisma, a particular facet of God that is reflected through her. Chiara’s was to be a witness to joy in the face of great adversity, the kind which makes love overflow despite the sorrow from loss and death.
THE PAINTED VEIL
W. Somerset Maugham
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful, but desperate Kitty Fane.
When her husband discovers her private life, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.
The Painted Veil is a beautiful affirmation of the human capacity to grow, change, and forgive.
And perhaps a nun serving orphans and the dying in the cholera epidemic gives the best moral of the story, by saying: “…the only thing that counts is love of duty; when love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness which passes all understanding.”
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A SONG FOR NAGASAKI
Paul Glynn
A Song for Nagasaki tells the moving story of this extraordinary man, beginning with his boyhood and the heroic tales and stoic virtues of his family's Shinto religion. It reveals the inspiring story of Nagai's remarkable spiritual journey from Shintoism to atheism to Catholicism. Mixed with interesting details about Japanese history and culture, the biography traces Nagai's spiritual quest as he studied medicine at Nagasaki University, served as a medic with the Japanese army during its occupation of Manchuria, and returned to Nagasaki to dedicate himself to the science of radiology. The historic Catholic district of the city, where Nagai became a Catholic and began a family, was ground zero for the atomic bomb.