Lost Catholic Classics

Father Kinsella's letters remind us of the mentor/ student relationship that is fundamental to any writing endeavor. This certainly holds most true when the students of Catholic literature seek to find source material that transcends current Oprah offerings that aim at a neutral goal of "getting people to read good/ great books."

In order to search for truth, this website will phase in discussions of Great Catholic Sources.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites from the lost ages of Christendom. It is imperative that we rediscover this source material:

• St. Benedict, Rule of St. Benedict
• Pope St. Gregory the Great, Life of St. Benedict
• Beowulf, Seamus Heaney translation
• Dante, Divine Comedy
• On Marriage and Family, St. John Chrysostom [available from St. Vladimir's Press]
• Catena Aurea, St. Thomas Aquinas' collected commentary by the Church Fathers on the Four Gospels
• Hymns and Prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas
• Prayers of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who had a great devotion to Our Lady

By now, it may be obvious that JMD is a Jesuit-trained firebrand, a talented apologist for the faith. I had the privilege of being schooled and trained by Dr. Ralph McInerny, whose knowledge of all things medieval surpasses Fr. Dowling's knowledge of all this deadly.

Next time: A list of what's on my art book shelf [I am a former art history student, with a concentration in the medieval and high renaissance periods]. Visual imagery is a key to rediscovering our Christian identity.