Books are essential. I usually have a stack of them I’m reading. I suppose the books pictured above would make a good stack to have on hand.
This one’s pretty well-known. It served as the basis for the pretty good film of the same name, starring Jennifer Jones and Vincent Price(!). Werfel was not even Catholic Jewish, in fact), but his novel is accepted as accurate. My copy (NY: Viking, 1942, cloth). Available these days in multiple editions, such as this paperback from Ignatius. Those interested in more of the story will be interested in Saint Bernadette Soubirous from TAN Books.
Sadly, St. Francis has been turned into a caricature—a proto-hippie concerned mainly with the environment. There are a number of works out refuting that position, among the best being Fr. Augustine Thompson’s biography. Among other things, Thompson puts to rest the mistaken belief that the Poverello would have approved of slipshod celebrations of the Mass. Pictured above, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi (Mount Vernon, NY: Peter Pauper Press, 1964, hc). These Peter Pauper editions are nice in their artwork, size, and sturdiness.
Assertively Catholic novels can fall prey to the saccharine. The opposite tendency is for an ostensibly Catholic novel to have its characters teeter on the brink of apostasy. (Calling Graham Greene.) Neither one is the case with Henry Morton Robinson’s The Cardinal (NY: Simon and Schuster, 1950, cloth). The main character, Stephen Fermoyle, encounters obstacles, temptations, indifference, and hostility during his years in the priesthood. This is a book with interesting characters dealing with fallen human nature in a realistic setting. There is a nicely-done 2013 edition available.
Christopher Dawson is still, sadly, not as well-known as he should be. In the mid-twentieth century he showed that “Catholic historian” was not a moniker to be sneered at. His works are a welcome antidote to today’s cultural terrorists who would tear down western civilization. Religion and the Rise of Western Culture by Christopher Dawson (Garden City, NY: Image, 1958, pb). Here is an offering from Cluny that could be a good introduction to Dawson’s thinking.
Belloc. The pugnacious Belloc wrote engaging books on historical themes and characters, as well as crucial topics like distributism. Characters of the Reformation (Garden City, NY: Image, 1958, pb) offers brief biographical reflections on twenty-three notable personages spanning the two centuries of the Reformation. Available now in a lovely edition from Ignatius. The redoubtable Joseph Pearce has written a worthy biography of Belloc, Old Thunder (Charlotte, NC: TAN, 2015). Belloc wrote about interesting characters, engaged with interesting characters such as Chesterton and Fr. Vincent McNabb, and was himself a character of great proportions who dealt manfully with obstacles and tragedies.
Etc.: Another publisher to check out is Angelico Press.
Wishing you all a blessed feast of the Visitation and a Happy July Fourth.