Why we should read Catholic books

BY MICHAEL DE VOS

In our parish library in Rondebosch, Cape Town, there are about 20000 religious books from philosophy to spirituality, from the study of the scriptures to the lives of saints. Yet the most common comment we get from Catholics is: “Why should we read this stuff?” It is a disturbing comment, and maybe not just limited to spiritual books.

“Why should we read this stuff?” Well, that depends on what one wants. Since what was written by the great thinkers is often available only in books, the mind-expanding benefits are enormous. Imagine the wealth of information that could be accumulated by reading in the 29-34 hours the average adult spends in front of the TV every week.

Reading is also an obvious low-cost or even free stress-reliever. Reading can be a tranquil oasis where one can escape the stresses of life.

And why should Catholics read books on our religion? It is all about getting to where we want to be. If we are to really benefit from our faith, we must know the Catholic beliefs thoroughly, and in greater detail than the minimal outlines we gleaned from catechism classes.

We can understand the Catholic faith easily in its simplest form, but knowing all that it contains in its incredible richness and beauty can be discovered only by reading about it. Reading also teaches us how to think and not to just blindly accept what others say about our faith.

For those intimidated by “high brow” writing on religion, there are many books that are very readable presentations of the fullness of the Catholic faith. There are books, both solid and orthodox, that clearly explain the basic teachings of the Church, especially by showing the scriptural and logical basis for those teachings.

By reading we discover what others, by their perception and investigation of the faith, find that is deep, precise and illuminating. We discover things about ourselves in the personalities and habits of the great Christians who have gone before us. We can learn from the experiences of others sometimes more easily than we can from our own experiences. We can relate to our own situation in the lives of others. We are encouraged in our own faith journey, knowing how human the saints really were.

There are many contentious issues in the Church today that relate to morality. Catholicism is under attack on an international scale, as is morality. Can we defend these attacks? Are we well enough informed? Are we sufficiently knowledgable to withstand the contemporary attacks on conscience, natural law, and other foundations of morality?

But more than all this, we need to read because we discover, in the grandest way possible, why we are what we are; how well we know Christ; what our relationship with him is. And most of all, how truly and deeply we love him.