Want to invite Christ into a deeper place in your heart, home and family? Try these books
Here are several of the books that Criterion readers say have helped them deepen their faith and their relationship with God. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)
By John Shaughnessy
In her desire to deepen her relationship with Christ, Theresa Chamblee has drawn inspiration from a book she views as powerful.
“Interior Freedom is a game changer in deepening your relationship with Christ. It definitely was for me,” says Chamblee, director of social concerns for Catholic Charities in the archdiocese.
“I once joked with a friend that as I read Interior Freedom, I felt like I was receiving spiritual direction on steroids, but in such a way that if I either read one paragraph or a whole chapter, I would put the book down feeling hope and a more profound love for Christ.”
Chamblee says the path to that profound love is captured in this passage from the introduction of the book by Beatitudes Father Jacques Philippe.
“From the introduction: ‘Every Christian needs to discover that even in the most unfavorable outward circumstances, we possess within ourselves a space of freedom that nobody can take away, because God is its source and guarantee. Without this discovery, we will always be restricted in some way, and will never taste true happiness. But if we have learned to let this inner space of freedom unfold, then, even though many things may well cause us to suffer, nothing will really be able to oppress or crush us.’ ”
When The Criterion invited people to share a favorite book that has helped them deepen their faith, Chamblee recommended Interior Freedom. Here are several other books that readers have recommended.
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
“This book really broke open the parable of the Prodigal Son in a deeper way than I have ever experienced before,” says Rachel Gilman, director of youth ministry for the archdiocese.
“I’ve heard this story over and over again, so much so, that it tended to lose a lot of its meaning for me until I read this book. This book transformed my spiritual life and relationship with God and made the parable of the Prodigal Son come alive for me.
“Nouwen unpacks each of the three viewpoints of the characters in the parable—the younger son, the eldest son, and the father—and deeply challenges you to reflect on how you are like each of these characters in your own spiritual journey in a way that hits to the core of your heart and forces you to honestly look at yourself and your understanding of the loving and merciful father.
“Highly recommended if you need a bit of a gut punch in your spiritual life or are feeling stuck or stagnant in your faith.”
He Leadeth Me by Jesuit Father Walter Ciszek
“Over the past decade or so, He Leadeth Me has inspired my faith and that of my sons as I’ve told them stories about Jesuit Father Walter Ciszek,” says Sean Gallagher, a reporter and columnist for The Criterion. “The book is a series of spiritual reflections on the American priest’s experience of 22 years in captivity in the Soviet Union, from 1941-63.
“While in prison in Moscow for five years, most of it in solitary confinement, Father Ciszek could not celebrate Mass. He was finally able to do so when he was sent to prison work camps in Siberia. But it was always done clandestinely and at great risk and sacrifice.”
One passage particularly strikes a chord with Gallagher:
“Sometimes I think that those who have never been deprived of an opportunity to say or hear Mass do not really appreciate what a treasure the Mass is,” co-wrote Father Ciszek in He Leadeth Me as he reflected on the lengths to which he and prisoners in Siberia went to celebrate and worship at Mass.
Gallagher says, “Father Ciszek’s example and his love of the Eucharist that he shared in his book have nurtured my own gratitude for it, leading me to not think twice in making the sacrifice of waking up early to go to my parish’s daily morning Mass. His book helped me make it a joy that is an integral part of my day.”
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
“The catechism itself is great. What the compendium does is distill the basic doctrinal and moral teaching of our Church down to a series of questions and brief answers,” says Ken Ogorek, executive director of the Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis in the archdiocese.
“The answers … provide succinct and accessible information—with a young adult audience, especially, in mind. The compendium helps me know that it’s the authentic Jesus of sacred Scripture and sacred tradition with whom I have a relationship, rather than a Jesus I create in my image and likeness to affirm how I vote, and how I spend money.
“We all need authoritative clarity on who Jesus is—and who he isn’t; the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church has helped provide this for me, and for many other folks.”
La Eucaristia en la teologia vivida de los Santos (The Eucharist in the Lived Theology of the Saints) by Ricardo Sada Fernandez
“The book has helped me in my faith,” says Claudia Corona, the coordinator for the archdiocesan Department of Pastoral Ministries.
“The theology lived by the saints is useful for better appreciating the enormous mystery of a God hidden in the bread. In this work, enlightened thoughts and moving experiences are woven that infect us and ignite us in true eucharistic piety.”
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by Jesuit Father James Martin
“I read this book in the summer of 2018 before I went to college at Loyola Chicago, where I felt drawn to Jesuit spirituality,” says Meredith Farrar, development associate for St. Mary’s Early Education Center in Indianapolis.
“A couple of the concepts that were particularly striking to me in the book were the Ignatian concepts of consolation and desolation, which encouraged me in my prayer life. Another thing that I enjoyed from this book was learning more about the life of St. Ignatius and his conversion story.”
(If you have a favorite book that has led you to a deeper relationship with God, we’d love for you to share it with us. Please send the title, the author and the reasons why the book has had an impact on your faith to John Shaughnessy by e-mail at jshaughnessy@archindy.org or by mail in care of The Criterion, 1400 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Please include your parish and a daytime phone number where you can be reached.) †
