Rector's Book List
Looking for a book to read during this coming Lenten season? Fr Lee has compiled a list of recommended reading material on a variety of topics.
Rector’s Book List: Lent 2020
Alive in God: A Christian Imagination, Timothy Radcliffe. Father Radcliffe is the one-time head of the Dominican Order and lives at Blackfriars in Oxford. This book was only recently released in the U.S. and it proposes a way for Christians to touch the imagination of our society through the beauty and glory of being alive in God.
Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, Henri Nouwen. This classic of devotional reading speaks to the power of Christ’s invitation to change how we live in the world.
The Soul of The Apostolate, Jean-Baptiste Chautard. In a time in which many forget that at the heart of Christian mission and charity is a thriving interior life, this classic text explores the relationship between apostolic action and it’s essential foundations in the interior life.
To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age, Bishop Robert Barron. If you’ve never read Bishop Barron, you’re in for a treat. The leading Catholic apologist and catechist of our age, Barron shows us the way to give a thriving witness in the secular world.
Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing, Jay Stringer. If you struggle with sexual brokenness, this book is a masterpiece of empathy and scholarship for those seeking sexual freedom in Christ.
Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Baxter J.I. Packer writes the introduction to this compendium of insight from the great Puritan priest and pastor.
The Metaphysical Foundations of Love: Aquinas on Participation, Unity, and Union, Anthony Flood. “Everything in the created realm issues forth from God's creative love, and the ultimate end of all human persons is the greatest possible union with God. Aquinas contends that the love of friendship allows for the greatest union between two persons; thus, the greatest union with God takes the form of friendship with him.”
Be Still and Know: A Study in the Life of Prayer,Arthur Michael Ramsey. By the one-time Archbishop of Canterbury, this devotional classic explores the life of payer through looking at the example of Christ in Scripture, and then laying out the classic disciplines of Christian spirituality in a brief format.
Laurus, Eugene Vodolazhkin. This may be the greatest Russian novel of our time. In it, Vodolazhkin explores the life of a medieval Russian physician who sets out on a life-long pilgrim quest for redemption.
Becoming Human: Meditations on Christian Anthropology in Word and Image, John Behr. In this work, the renowned Orthodox theologian John Behr explores what it means to be human through word and image with beautiful artwork and meditations on patristic witness.
Consecrating the World: On Mundane Liturgical Theology, David W. Fagerberg. One of my favorite reads from the last year, Fagerberg explores the seamless garment of the Church’s liturgy, both sacramental and mundane, both in corporate worship and in daily life.