Tag: Spiritual ReadingShould I read or consume non-Catholic devotional or bible study materials?Q: Dear Dan, should I read or use non Catholic devotional or bible study materials?
An Important Disclaimer I am in no way anti-protestant or anti-anyone for that matter. I was a fervent protestant for more than a decade and it was a protestant pastor that God used to bring me into the first step of my relationship with Him. I am forever grateful for all the gifts that I received during my time in the protestant and evangelical worlds. As well, it is important to note that anyone and everyone that desires to understand Catholic spirituality is absolutely welcome to interact with us here. That said, the purpose of this site is to specifically spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as defined by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. The Tale of Two Wells Let’s envision that we live in a small village with two wells about a mile apart. One well is known to be very pure. There are no cow pastures around to pollute it, the water is very cool and crystal clear, and tastes as perfect and satisfying as water can be. About a mile away, and a mile closer to your home, there is another well. The water is also clear, but sometimes people get an upset stomach when they drink it, so most don’t. Rumor has it that some, in distant times when it was used regularly for drinking, became very sick from this well. Many people now use it for animals but for people it seems to cause unpredictable problems. Which well would you chose to use for your drinking water? Would you regularly walk the extra mile to a source that you know has been in use and tested for thousands of years and that is even officially recognized as the most pure water in the region? Would you take a chance on impure water when you had the best and most pure water available to you? As a former well-studied protestant, I can tell you that 100% of the mountain of protestant material I consumed has what we will call assumptions built into it. In the vast majority of the material, these assumptions range from specifically anti-Catholic to other basic assumptions (e.g. sola scriptura etc.) that are simply antithetical to Catholic teaching without any specific animus towards Catholic beliefs. The latter are often hard to detect but in essence serve to chip away at the pure Gospel truth that Christ has provided to us. In all cases, from the standpoint of pure Catholic teaching, the well is tainted. The well is not pure and thus the spiritual and practical results of consumption are unpredictable. The difficult part is that to the untrained eye or the unseasoned traveler, the protestant well might look just fine and the negative effects might not be immediate or obvious. The water looks clear and tastes good. However, if you have a well you know is perfectly pure why take the risk? Is Good Catholic Material Really That Hard to Find? This is the really the most baffling part. In the analogy, I have placed the pure well farther from your home and thus more difficult to access. I guess this might be apt for folks living in the Bible belt or those who live in places where good Catholic material is hard to find. However, with the internet, and online stores, EWTN on Television and Radio, the best of the best and most pure water is available to most people most of the time. Why Go Anywhere Else? The Lord established a Church. He guaranteed, by his Holy Spirit, that all the firepower of hell itself could not withstand or in any way subvert the heart and truth of his Church. Now, we all know that with human beings, imperfection reigns. However, with very rare exception, the teachings of the Church do not depend on any one individual. In an ultimate sense, they never depend on any individual but upon God Himself. Regardless, the Church provides a well of spiritual resources that is so deep and so pure that no individual, even if given a lifetime purely devoted to study, could every fully consume. Where to Start? Well, regarding study of the spiritual life we have provided a solid list of recommended materials. Beyond this list, you can look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and then the writings of the thirty three doctors of the Church (which have been thoroughly vetted by hundreds of years of study and evaluation by the Church). If you want to know where to buy Catholic materials without worrying about their fidelity to Christ’s teachings, EWTN’s Religious Catalogue is a great place to start. May you seek and find the pure, perfect, and life-giving water that only Christ and His Church can provide. Tattered Titles – And the winners are…A while back we asked you, “What are the most tattered titles on your nightstand?” You answered with vigor and the responses were so numerous that we thought it might be helpful to summarize what our readers recommended. One of our amazing volunteers compiled every response and then put them into a spreadsheet. I was fascinated, surprised, and delighted to see how the top ten list emerged. The top three were 1) the Bible, 2) the Liturgy of the Hours, and 3) the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here’s the top five after the top three:
So, there you have it. The next list reflects those books that had more than one mention. From the standpoint of the sheer number of votes to any one author (across multiple titles), St. Teresa of Avila gets the top prize.
The remainder of the recommendations all had one vote each. If you would like to see all the other book recommendations you can check out the combox of the original post and a few other posts we have done to provide recommendations for you. What are the most tattered titles on your nightstand?If you were stuck on a desert island alone but somehow could have just a few books dropped into the sand pit next to your tent, which ones would they be? Which books has God most used to turn your heart towards Him? Here’s my list:
Tell us your first name, location (e.g. Betty from Sydney, Australia), and then your top three to five books that you have read or regularly re-read for spiritual sustenance. IMPORTANT FRUSTRATION AVOIDANCE NOTICE: I have not done this for a long time but I know that there will be folks who break the rules (much worse than I did) and give a list of thirty books (these are usually the same folks who don’t read the posts but still strongly disagree with whatever they say). This really defeats the purpose and your post won’t make it through moderation which will only require you to go back to your books to find some peace after all that work goes to waste.
Should I read books by Fr. Anthony Demello, SJ?
A: Maybe I should answer a different question first. “What should I read if I want to grow deeper in my faith?” The best answer is, 1) Scripture and the Catechism, 2) Relevant Church Documents, 3) Doctors of the Church, and 4) other writings recommended because of their faithfulness to the magisterium and their primary reliance on the teachings for the first three. To answer your original question, the good news is that your instincts match those of Pope Benedict XVI. In 1989, then Cardinal Ratzinger issued the following important statement of concern about Fr. Demello’s writings (emphasis mine). CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH NOTIFICATION CONCERNING THE WRITINGS OF FATHER ANTHONY DE MELLO, SJ The Indian Jesuit priest, Father Anthony de Mello (1931-1987) is well known due to his numerous publications which, translated into various languages, have been widely circulated in many countries of the world, though not all of these texts were authorized by him for publication. His works, which almost always take the form of brief stories, contain some valid elements of oriental wisdom. These can be helpful in achieving self-mastery, in breaking the bonds and feelings that keep us from being free, and in approaching with serenity the various vicissitudes of life. Especially in his early writings, Father de Mello, while revealing the influence of Buddhist and Taoist spiritual currents, remained within the lines of Christian spirituality. In these books, he treats the different kinds of prayer: petition, intercession and praise, as well as contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Christ, etc. But already in certain passages in these early works and to a greater degree in his later publications, one notices a progressive distancing from the essential contents of the Christian faith. In place of the revelation which has come in the person of Jesus Christ, he substitutes an intuition of God without form or image, to the point of speaking of God as a pure void. To see God it is enough to look directly at the world. Nothing can be said about God; the only knowing is unknowing. To pose the question of his existence is already nonsense. This radical apophaticism leads even to a denial that the Bible contains valid statements about God. The words of Scripture are indications which serve only to lead a person to silence. In other passages, the judgment on sacred religious texts, not excluding the Bible, becomes even more severe: they are said to prevent people from following their own common sense and cause them to become obtuse and cruel. Religions, including Christianity, are one of the major obstacles to the discovery of truth. This truth, however, is never defined by the author in its precise contents. For him, to think that the God of one’s own religion is the only one is simply fanaticism. “God” is considered as a cosmic reality, vague and omnipresent; the personal nature of God is ignored and in practice denied. Father de Mello demonstrates an appreciation for Jesus, of whom he declares himself to be a “disciple.” But he considers Jesus as a master alongside others. The only difference from other men is that Jesus is “awake” and fully free, while others are not. Jesus is not recognized as the Son of God, but simply as the one who teaches us that all people are children of God. In addition, the author’s statements on the final destiny of man give rise to perplexity. At one point, he speaks of a “dissolving” into the impersonal God, as salt dissolves in water. On various occasions, the question of destiny after death is declared to be irrelevant; only the present life should be of interest. With respect to this life, since evil is simply ignorance, there are no objective rules of morality. Good and evil are simply mental evaluations imposed upon reality. Consistent with what has been presented, one can understand how, according to the author, any belief or profession of faith whether in God or in Christ cannot but impede one’s personal access to truth. The Church, making the word of God in Holy Scripture into an idol, has ended up banishing God from the temple. She has consequently lost the authority to teach in the name of Christ. With the present Notification, in order to protect the good of the Christian faithful, this Congregation declares that the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm. The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved the present Notification, adopted in the Ordinary Session of this Congregation, and ordered its publication. Rome, from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 24, 1998, the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. + Joseph Card. Ratzinger Prefect + Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B. Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli Secretary What is “spiritual reading” and how do busy people find time for this?
A: It sounds like you have found a wise spiritual director. If daily meditation is like the bread-and-butter of your spiritual diet, spiritual reading is your multi-vitamin supplement. First let’s reflect on why that is the case, then we can make some practical recommendations for squeezing it into your schedule. What Is Spiritual Reading? Spiritual reading consists of reading something that explains some aspect of Catholic truth in an attractive, enriching way. Its function is to help reinforce and deepen our Christian view of ourselves and the world around us. In previous eras, popular culture itself was imbued with the Christian world view, so even popular books and dramas would reinforce the Christian value system. But now that is not the case. Instead, our minds are flooded every day by messages (advertisements, films, TV shows, news, music) that directly contradict the Christian world view. That will have its effect on how we think and what we value. In fact, this is one of the reasons the Church is suffering so much from so-called cafeteria Catholics. They get their Catholic formation from secular sources (The New York Times, Newsweek…), and so they simply can’t understand why the Church would ever be against such popular and seemingly reasonable propositions like artificial contraception, artificial reproduction, and gay marriage. Because of this ongoing flood of secular ideals, we have to consciously nourish our minds with authentic Christian teaching in order to avoid being poisoned. That’s what spiritual reading can do. Spiritual reading is either instructive or refreshing. It either informs our minds so that we learn to think and understand more and more in harmony with Revelation, or it refreshes what we already know/have learned by making it shine out more clearly once again. In either case, it counteracts the seductive, secularizing messages that saturate our cultural atmosphere. This is why it’s such an important spiritual discipline. It plants seeds of Christian truth in your mind, and they grow and germinate in your subconscious as you go about your daily business. These seeds often flower during your daily prayer and meditation; in fact, spiritual reading frequently provides topics, ideas, or insights that are excellent material for Christian meditation. Getting Practical Spiritual reading differs from plain reading not only in the content, but also in the method. You don’t need to spend a lot of time doing spiritual reading; fifteen minutes a day is fine. And you don’t need to read fast. The idea is simply to taste, chew on, and swallow some healthy Catholic concepts every day. The difference between spiritual reading and meditation is the end result. The goal of your meditation is to converse with the Lord about what matters to him and what matters to you. The reflection and consideration that forms part of your meditation is meant to spur that conversation in your heart. The goal of spiritual reading is to inform your mind; it doesn’t finish with a prayerful conversation (though that can sometimes pop up spontaneously, which is fine!). A lot of the books we have been recommending on this Web site are prime material for spiritual reading. But if you’re not a reader, or if you think you don’t have time, you can also get creative. Good Catholic novels (novels imbued with a Catholic world view, where characters exemplify Christian virtue in a realistic but inspiring way) can serve as a kind of spiritual reading. Listening while you drive or exercise to recordings of spiritual talks, homilies, or conferences (or books on tape, or even good Catholic podcasts) can also do the trick. The point here is that we all need to be always growing in our knowledge of the faith, because if we are not growing, we’re withering. Yours sincerely in Christ, Fr John Bartunek, LC, ThD PS: The beautiful painting is entitled” Prayer” by Itzhak Tordjman |
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