Favorite Books

This book is the fruit of Fr. Dubay's many years of study and experience in spiritual direction and in it he synthesizes the teachings on prayer of the two great doctors of the Church on prayer—St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila—and the teaching of Sacred Scripture. This book is meant for every Christian and is based on the Gospel imperative of personal prayer and the call to holiness.

The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila presents a remarkable description of the entire spiritual life from the first release from mortal sin into Sanctifying Grace through the Mystical Marriage of the soul with Christ as a journey through what she called The Interior Castle. She sees the soul as a magnificent castle full of spacious and well-lit rooms or mansions each of which leads deeper into the heart of the castle to the seat of the King. However, St. Teresa laments that most people give all their attention to the outer wall of the castle the body ignoring the beauty of the soul within.

Millions have read and benefited from this book since it was first written nearly 500 years ago. The most accessible translation of this book by the great St. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection includes her rich theological insight as well as her infectious humor and light-heartedness. Throughout, her subject is how to make progress in the contemplative life— that is, in fact, what she calls the “way of perfection.”

In his classic work The Soul of the Apostolate, Dom Chautard demonstrates that the very foundation of all apostolic work must be the Interior Life. The apostle of Christ will grow to become an instrument and true channel of God’s graces to the world only through prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the Interior Life. When one is involved in works of spiritual or corporal charity, his work can only be truly efficacious when he anchors his Interior Life in Christ. Without Christ we can do nothing.

This is a summary of Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange’s 2 volume work, "The Three Ages of the Spiritual Life.” It gives you a basic understanding of how we progress through the Purgative, Illuminitive and Unitive stages of a spiritual journey. A must read for anyone who wants to grow closer to God.

Written over 400 years ago, Introduction to the Devout Life is still one of the most popular books for those pursuing holiness. St. Francis de Sales explains how to turn that desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results. Themes include:
• Pursuing a devout life whole-heartedly
• Incorporating prayer and sacraments into a busy schedule
• Growing in virtue
• Battling wisely against temptation
• Making spiritual progress through daily, monthly, and yearly exercises

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, a simple, uneducated, young Polish nun receives a special call. Jesus tells her, "I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful Heart." Jesus also tells her to record His message of mercy in a diary: "You are the secretary of My Mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this and the next life."

For several decades young people have been leaving the family farm. The heart of this book is aimed toward parents tired of their Dilbert cubicle at the end of the expressway who want to reconnect with their children through a pastoral lifestyle. It's written for anyone who yearns to grow old working with and being adored by value-sharing grandchildren and honored by passionate, productive adult children.

Have you ever desired, deep within your soul, to make a comfortable full-time living from a farming enterprise? Too often people dare not even vocalize this desire because it seems absurd. It's like thinking the unthinkable. But for farm entrepreneurs, the opportunities for a farm family business have never been greater.

Bringing wide attention to the little-known but vitally important dimensions of food and agriculture in America, Pollan launched a national conversation about what we eat and the profound consequences that even the simplest everyday food choices have on both ourselves and the natural world. Ten years later, The Omnivore’s Dilemma continues to transform the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.

From the inside, American churches have been hollowed out and are beset by challenges to religious liberty in a rapidly secularizing culture. Rod Dreher argues that the way forward is actu­ally the way back—St. Benedict of Nur­sia built enduring communities based on principles of order, hospitality, stability, and prayer. His spiritual centers of hope were strongholds of light throughout the Dark Ages, and saved not just Christianity but Western civilization.

Prenatal nutrition can be confusing. A lot of the advice you have been given about what to eat (or what not to eat) is well-meaning, but frankly, outdated or not evidenced-based. Author and specialist in prenatal nutrition, Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE, has taken a long and hard look at the science and discovered a wide gap between current prenatal nutrition recommendations and what foods are required for optimal health in pregnancy and for your baby's development.

Modern life tends to mold individuals and families into a grand disconnect from each other and from God and his creation. Where will the fundamental restoration of a multi-generational Christian family culture take place? A small family farm may just be the place for rebuilding a family culture—from the ground up. “In this splendid booklet, Stephen Wood explains both the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of the Christian Home on the Farm.