To reverse an old aphorism: We must pray as if it all depends on us, and work as if it all depends on God (yes, you read that correctly)! God is humble and never comes if not first invited, but God will find some clever way to get invited.
One clever way God invites us is through the thoughts, opinions, and research of others. I have loved reading ever since I got my first library card back in 1955. “Books and doors are the same, said Jeannette Winterson, open them and you go through to another world.”
They also give you another perspective from a different time and place. Most of Catholicism’s teachings have been based on the interpretations of Scripture by the “Fathers of the Church” and then by the male theologians and saints who are called “doctors” of the church. There are 36 such “doctors” but only four of them are women!
The major influences in Catholic theology and teaching has come from popes, cardinals, bishops and male clerics who were the founders or members of religious orders like the Benedictines, Dominicans, and the Franciscans. Their female counterparts were usually relegated to insights about prayer and spirituality and not too influential regarding doctrines, dogmas, and teachings. Most of the latter has come from popes and theologians who were male. Patriarchy is a systemic problem in the Catholic Church and indeed in Christianity! It gives a very limited perspective.
Here is a Bibliography that might interest anyone who wants to understand different topics of Catholic theology or nurture their Spiritual Well-Being.
Some of my favorite books
Spiritual
Well-Being
Spiritual Science : Why Science Needs Spirituality to Make Sense of the World Steve Taylor
Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious Linda A. Mercadante
Spirituality in the Flesh Robert C. Fuller
The New Cosmic Story John F. Haught
God, Galileo, and Geering A Faith for the 21st Century Robert Jones
Spiritual but not Religious Robert Fuller
The Varieties of Religious Experience William James
Atheism in Our Time Ignace Lepp
Myth and Reality Mircea Eliade
Myths to Live By Joseph Campbell
The Return of the Prodigal Son Henri Nouwen
Reclaiming Our Humanity Henri Nouwen
The Naked Now Learning to See as the Mystics See Richard Rohr
Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities Wil Hernandez
The Divine Dance Richard Rohr
Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila John Welch
Spiritual but not Religious Robert Fuller
The Holy Longing: A Search for Christian Spirituality Ronald Rolheiser
The Shattered Lantern Ronald Rolheiser
The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling James Hillman
Field of Compassion How the Cosmology is Transforming Spiritual Life Judy Cannato
Radical Amazement Judy Cannato
The Road to Character David Brooks
The Tao of Pooh Benjamin Hoff
The Ladder of the Beatitudes Jim Forest
The Kingdom Within John A. Sanford
To Have or the Be Erich Fromm
Ageless Soul Thomas Moore
The Kingdom of God is Within You Leo Tolstoy
A Religion of One’s Own Thomas Moore
Care of the Soul Thomas Moore
A Pilgrimage to Eternity Timothy Egan
Church
Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood George Wilson, S.J.
The Other Side of the Altar: One Man’s Life in the Catholic Priesthood Paul E. Dinter
The Liberation of the Laity Paul Lakeland
Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected Wes Howard-Brook
A Pilgrimage to Eternity Timothy Egan
The Truth At The Heart of the Lie James Carroll
For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than Ever Natasha Moore
What Jesus Meant Gary Wills
Christ in Crisis Jim Wallace
In the Closet of the Vatican Frederic Martel
The Kingdom of God is Within You Leo Tolstoy
Whose Church? Daniel C. Maguire
Bad Shepherds: The Dark Years in Which the Faithful Thrived While the Bishops Dod the Devil’s Work Rod Bennett
A People Adrift Peter Steinfels
Head and Heart By Gary Wills
The Other Side of the Altar Paul Dinter
Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church Roy Bourgeois
Dark HIstory of the Catholic Church: Schisms, Wars, Inquisitions Michael Kerrigan
For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined Natasha Moore
Christianity
The Rise of Christianity Rodney Stark
Journeys to Heaven and Hell Bart D. Erhman
Empire Baptized Wes Howard-Brook
Saving Paradise Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker
Why Christianity Must Change or Die John Shelby Spong
After Jesus Before Christianity Erin Vearncombe
The Triumph of Christianity How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World Bart Erhman
Head and Heart: A History of Christianity in America Gary Wills
A Pilgrimage to Eternity Timothy Egan
Discipleship J. Henrich Arnold
Christian Beginnings Geza Vermes
The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition Arthur A. Cohen
The Essence of Christianity Ludwig Feurbach
When Christians Were Jews Paula Fredrickson
“Come Out My People!”: God’s Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond Wes Howard-Brook
Christology
Render unto Caesar John Dominic Crossan
Jesus, The Christ,in the Light of Psychology G. Stanley Hall
Christ in Evolution Ilia Delio
Jesus Symbol of God Roger Haight
Excavating Jesus John Dominic Crossan
Jesus John Dominic Crossan
The New Dance of Christ Anthony Massimini
Misquoting Jesus Bart D. Ehrman
Jesus and Buddha edited by Marcus Borg
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time Marcus Borg
Jesus Bart Ehrman
Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography Bruce Chilton
Christ in Crisis Jim Wallis
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography John Dominic Crossan
God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now John Dominic Crossan
Jesus Before the Gospels Bart Erhman
Jesus and Judaism E.P. Sanders
The Sign of the Cross: From Golgotha to Genocide Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
Scripture
The Kingdom Within John A. Sanford
Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor Susan Haskins
Woman First Among the Faithful Francis J. Maloney, SDB
The Women Around Jesus Elizabeth Moltmann-WEndel
Women in the New Testament Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan
Psalms Now Leslie F. Brandt & Corita Kent
A Short Dictionary of the Psalms Jean-Pierre Prevost
The Spirituality of the Psalms Carroll Stuhmueller
The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic John Shelby Spong
Jesus Before the Gospels Bart Ehrman
Jesus Symbol of God Rodger Haight
Religion
Christian Faith at the Crossroads Lloyd Geering
The New Cosmic Story John F. Haught
God, Galileo,and Geering A Faith for the 21st Century Robert Jones
Spiritual, But Not Religious Robert Fuller
Back Pocket God Denton and Flory
The Varieties of Religious Experience William James
A Religion of One’s Own Thomas Moore
Anatomy of the Sacred James C. Livingston
The Sacred Quest Cunningham, Kelsay, et al.
Beyond Religion David Elkins
Studying Religion Gary E. Kessler
Introduction to the Study of Religion Ring, Nash, et al.
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Emile Durkheim
The Range of Religion Denise and John Carmody
Religion in Human Evolution Robert Bellah
The Great Transformation Karen Armstrong
Caesar’s Coin: Religion and Politics Richard P. McBrien
What is Religion? John F. Haught
Religion in Exile Diarmuid O’Murchu
Why Religion Matters Huston Smith
Theories of Primitive Religion E.E.Evans-Pritchard
A History of Religious Ideas Mircea Eliade
At the Altar of Wall Street Scott W. Gustafson
Anthropology and Religion Robert L. Winzeler
Journeys to Heaven and Hell Bart Erhman
The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name Brian C. Muraresku
Faith/Belief
Atheism in Our Time Ignace Lepp
Christian Faith at the Crossroads Lloyd Geering
An Unorthodox Faith: A New Reformation for a Postmodern World Kurt Struckmeir
The New Cosmic Story: Inside Our Awakening Universe John F. Haught
Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion Beyond Theism John Shelby Spong
Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Account Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption Scott M. Peck
Spirituality
The Spirit of One Earth Ursula King
The Gift of Years Joan Chittister
The Spiritual Life Evelyn Underhill
Care of the Soul Thomas Moore
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing Ronald Rolheiser
Wrestling With God Ronald Rolheiser
Divine Essence John-Roger
Beyond Religion David Elkins
Through the Narrow Gate Karen Armstrong
Modern Spiritual Exercises David Fleming, S.J.
Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality Richard Rohr
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See Richard Rohr
Spiritual but not Religious Robert C. Fuller
Spirituality in the Flesh: Bodily Sources of Religious Experience Robert C. Fuller
Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but Not Religious Linda A. Mercadante
The Genesis Code: Revealing the Ancient Path to Inner Freedom Richard L. Haught
Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning and Joy Thomas Moore
The Kingdom of God is Within You Leo Tolstoy
Prayer
This Little Light Michael O’Neil McGrath
Everything Belongs Richard Rohr
Divine Essence John-Roger
Behold the Beauty of the Lord Henri Nouwen
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing Ronald Rolheiser
God
Tomorrow’s God Lloyd Geering
The New Cosmic Story John F. Haught
Creative Evolution Henri Bergson
Reimagining God Lloyd Geering
Tomorrow’s God: How We Create Our Worlds Lloyd Geering
The Battle for God Karen Armstrong
The Case for God Karen Armstrong
A History of God Karen Armstrong
The God Gene Dean Hammer
The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Armand Nicholl, Jr.
Engagement with God Hans Urs von Balthasar
The Mind of God Jay Lombard
The God Who Won’t Let Go Peter van Breemen, S.J.
No God but God Reza Aslan
An Unsettling God Walter Brueggmann
God after Einstein John F. Haught
The Tripersonal God Gerald O’ Collins, S.J.
The Three Persons in One God Gerald S. Sloyan
God, Galileo, and Geering Robert Jones
The Tears of God Wilfred Harrington
Eclipse of God Martin Buber
Coming Back to Earth from gods, to God, to Gaia Lloyd Geering
Discipleship
A Conspiracy of Love: Following Jesus Kurt Struckmeyer
Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind Arnold J. Heinrich
Seeds of Destruction Thomas Merton
Autobiography
The Long Loneliness Dorthy Day
Through the Narrow Gate Karen Armstrong
Biography
MORE to COME!!
From Throne and Altar to Discipleship 