Pauline Books & Media
1025 King Street, Alexandria, VA
The Newman Store (Catholic University’s theological bookstore) 3025 Fourth St NE, Washington, DC 20017
The Paschal Lamb
11214 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 400 Michigan Ave, N.E., Washington, D.C.
The Catholic World Report The National Catholic Register Our Sunday Visitor
Vatican Today
Arlington Catholic Herald
Magnificat (contains the Mass readings, reflections and prayers for each day) First Things (an ecumenical scholarly journal)
Touchstone (an ecumenical Christian magazine in the spirit of C.S. Lewis)
Eternal Work Television Network – Channel 161 in Fairfax County, Channel 267 in Falls Church and Channel 291 in Arlington County
Radio Station 1160 AM, run by the Guadalupe Radio Network and affiliated with EWTN
arlingtondiocese.org (the website for this diocese)
usccb.org (the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
vatican.va (the Vatican’s website; contains virtually all of the official Vatican documents) ewtn.com (the website of the Eternal Word Television Network)
newadvent.org (lists numerous resources and documents) zenit.org (an international Catholic news service)
masstimes.org (gives locations of churches and Mass and confessions schedules throughout the US and in many places around the world)
Heretics, Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man and other works by G.K. Chesterton
The Spirit of Catholicism by Fr. Karl Adam
Mere Christianity, Miracles, The Problem of Pain, The Abolition of Man and other works by
C.S. Lewis (Lewis was Anglican, but the book explains Christianity in general very well; his works cover a wide expanse of literature and are generally very accessible and helpful)
The Life of Christ and Life if Worth Living by Archbishop Fulton Sheen
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism For Adults by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (the universal catechism explained in language and examples for Americans)
Youth Catechism for the Catholic Church (YouCat) (endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI, this international catechism explains the faith in terms appealing to youth and young adults)
The Revised Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (the Baltimore Catechism was the classic catechism in the United States, first published in 1885; the current edition was published in 1995, just after the universal Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Aquinas’ Summa by Fr. Edward Gratsch, or another summary of the Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas, whose theology is central is Church teaching to this day.
Faith of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons
Theology of the Body a series of talks by Pope John Paul II (helps explain Catholic moral theology in the context of truth and love as expressed through the body). Some summaries, such as, Theology of the Body Explained by Christopher West, are helpful for understanding Pope John Paul II’ ideas and later develpments.
Theology and Sanity, Theology for Beginners and other works by Frank Sheed
Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating
Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft
The Faith Explained by Leo Trese
Straight Answers Vols. I and II by Fr. William Saunders
Biblical commentaries by Scott Hahn and Jeff Cavins (the former is a very well-known speaker; the latter has written Scriptural summaries that Bible studies at this parish use.)
If You Really Loved Me and other works on chastity and marriage by Jason Everett
History of Christendom series by Warren Carroll (currently five volumes; the sixth and final volume is to be published)
A Concise History of the Catholic Church by Thomas Bokenkotter
The Church Throughout the Ages by John Vidmar
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas Woods
Butler’s Lives of the Saints (in a one volume or four volume form)
The Rule of St. Benedict
The Confessions by St. Augustine
On the Love of God by St. Bernard of Clarivoux
The Cloud of Unknowing by an unknown author of the fourteenth century
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
The Way of Perfection , The Book of Her Life and The Interior Castle by St. Theresa of Avila
Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola
The Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Causadde
The Story of Her Soul by St. Therese of Liseaux
This Tremendous Lover by Fr. Eugene Boylan
Spiritual Theology and Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition by Fr. Jordan Aumann
A Primer on Prayer, Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer and other works by Fr. Thomas Dubay
Heaven in Our Hands, I Will be With You Always and other works by by Fr. Benedict Groeschel
The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass, edited by William Bennet (good stories, essays, and poems about the virtues for all ages.)
The works of G.K. Chesterton, e.g., the Father Brown mystery series (short stories featuring one Father Brown, who brings out aspects of the faith as he solves crime), The Man Who Was Thursday, and The Dumb Ox (a biography of St. Thomas Aquinas.)
The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce and The Space Trilogy by
C.S. Lewis (Although The Chronicles of Narnia are styled as children’s literature, the messages are profound at all ages and grow with one’s intellect; the other two works are fiction literature told from different standpoints about the growth, or destruction, of the human soul. )
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein (On this point popular opinion is correct: Tolkein is a master of fiction at the level of Homer, Ovid, Dante, and Charles Dickens. And, although these books are not written as allegory or overtly for the sake of teaching, they plainly demonstrate Christian morals, such as the infinite value of each person, a mystical sense of life, the importance of honor, a strong notion of Providence, and the fact that good ends do not justify evil means.)
The historical novels of Louis De Wohl, such as Citadel of God (about St. Benedict), The Quiet Light (about St. Thomas Aquinas) and Lay Siege to Heaven (about St. Catherine of Siena). He wrote novels about the saints in the genre of historical fiction. They describe real saints, such as St. Longinus, St. Helen, St. Benedict, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Ignatius of Loyola, and cover the known events of their lives. But, in order to present a compelling narrative, they include scenes and conversations for which there is no historical record; and, it must be admitted, sometimes they rearrange historical events in order to make the plot work better. Despite the liberties with history that Louis de Wohl takes, he captures the essence of each saint’s life and spirituality and gives a vivid presentation of their lives.
A Philadelphia Catholic in King James’ Court by Marin de Porres Kennedy (a new form of apologetics fiction)