Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and; Compendium of the Catechism (CCCC)
www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm and;
www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
The Catechism is the reference text for authentic Catholic teachings, which harmonizes the three-fold authority of the Catholic Church; the Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Sacred Magisterium. The Compendium is a question-and-answer Catechism for reading. Both are also available as books.

Catholic Education Resource Center
www.catholiceducation.org
Authentic Catholic education resource, invaluable for all Catholics, to engage the secular, relativist and at times anti-Catholic culture and media. It makes available the best in Catholic faith and culture – “the latest, the best, the brightest from outstanding writers, authors and journalists around the globe” – which you can search, browse, or otherwise keep up with via subscription to their bi-weekly update.

Catholic Answers
www.catholic.com
One of the most comprehensive and indispensable websites for Catholic apologetics. Have a browse, and try the “Quick Search” box on the top left of the page to look up any topic.

Radio Replies
icatholicism.net/apologetics/radio-replies.html
The famed three-volume anthology of questions and answers about virtually any topic on the faith.

The Pure Love Club
www.pureloveclub.com
A great site for anything related to chastity, presented in a way youths can relate to.

New Advent
www.newadvent.org
A giant resource website which includes the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, Early Church Fathers’ writings, the Bible, and St. Thomas Aquinas’ theological masterpiece, Summa Theologica.

Biblia Clerus
http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_eng.html
The Sacred Scripture in the light of Sacred Tradition and Magisterium, provided by the Holy See.

Catholic Culture Site Reviews
www.catholicculture.org/reviews
Find more links and check how any Catholic website is rated on fidelity, resources and useability.

Recommended Books

A Biblical Defence of Catholicism by Dave Armstrong
A “rigorous, Scripture-packed analysis” of the Catholic faith by a former Protestant campus missionary turned Catholic apologist.

Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating
The founder of Catholic Answers (see Recommended Links above) details the misunderstandings and misrepresentations of Catholicism as found in some anti-Catholic literature – including one error-filled sourcebook in particular – and in organizations derived from them. Keating provides clear and detailed rebuttals in a charitable manner. As theology of such organizations are shared by the majority of our separated brethren, this is an invaluable Catholic apologetics resource.

Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli
An exceptional resource for Christian apologetics by two Catholic Professors of Philosophy at Boston College. The handbook covers such topics as faith and reason, the existence of God, the problem of evil, the reliability of the Scriptures, the divinity of Christ, and objective truth. Although confined to aspects of Christianity shared by all mainline denominations, the book serves as a very adequate prerequisite to Catholic apologetics. Voted one of Christianity Today’s 1995 Books of the Year.

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Written by the Anglican author of the Chronicals of Narnia, this is one of the most famous works of Christian apologetics. As it was adapted from his radio lecture series, it is accessible and easy to read.

Theology for Beginners by Francis J. Sheed
One of the best introductions to Catholic theology.

Good News about Sex and Marriage by Christopher West
An expounder on the ‘theology of the Body’ by the late Pope John Paul II reveals the authentic meaning of human sexuality. An outstanding and crucial book for a time of confusion in this area.

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods
An eye-opening book for the present ignorance. It outlines how the Church had an indispensable role in every facet of Western civilization, including science, economics, morality, law, and fine arts.

Introduction to the Devout Life by St Francis de Sales
A guide to living a devout life while in the world. Written by the Saint at a dangerous time and place, where saying Mass was punishable by death, it has never gone out of print in 400 years.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas á Kempis
One of the greatest Catholic spiritual works, it has been cherished by all Christians. It is said to be second only to the bible in publication, and has been available in over fifty languages.

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by St Louis Marie de Montfort
Praised by popes, theologians and mystics, this is perhaps the most celebrated book ever written about devotion to Mary. In it, the Saint presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as the key to sanctity and salvation in Christ and leading souls to Him. This and the above two are also online at catholictreasury.info.

 

A Comprehensive List

Source Abbreviations

CCEL – Christian Classics Ethereal Library *

GB – Google Books, Full View (complete books)

GBlp – Google Books, Limited Preview (most pages available)

PG – Project Gutenberg (free e-books, varied formats)

LV – LibriVox (free audio books)

V – Vatican

NA – New Advent

CA – Catholic Answers

CT – Catholic Treasury (free e-books, html formatted)

CF – Catholic First (free e-books, html formatted)

 

Catholic References

Biblia Clerus: Reading the Word of God with the Church (Holy See)

Sacred Scripture, NAB (V)

Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary (Tripod)

Catechism of the Catholic Church (SCB)

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (V)

Baltimore Catechism (CatholiCity)

Compendium of the Social Doctrines of the Church (V)

Vatican II Documents (V), includes: Dei Verbum (On Divine Revelation, V), Lumen Gentium (On the Church, V), Sacrosanctum Concilium (On the Sacred Liturgy, V), Gaudium et Spes (On the Church in the Modern World, V), and Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, V).

Holy Fathers’ archive (V)

Papal Encyclicals (PE), Includes: Benedict XVI – Spe Salvi (PE), Deus Caritas Est (PE); John Paul II – Ut Unum Sint (PE), Veritatis Splendor (PE), Fides et Ratio (PE), Redeptioris Missio (PE); Others – Humanae Vitae (PE), Rerum Novarum (PE).

Church Fathers (NACA)

Aquinas, T. – Summa Theologica (NA)

Butler’s Lives of the Saints (GBlp)

 

Spiritual Reading

St. Alphonsus de Liguori – Uniformity with God’s Will (CF)

Aquilla, M. – The Way of the Fathers (GBlp), Mass of the Early Christians (GBlp)

Benedict XVI – Spirit of the Liturgy

St. Augustine of Hippo – Confessions (PG), City of God (GBlp), On Christian Doctrine (CT)

St. Benedict – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict (CCELCF)

St. Bernard of Clairvaux – On Loving God (CT)

Dante – Divine Comedy ( PG)

St. Faustina of Kowalska – The Diary (DM)

von Hildebrand, D. – Transformation in Christ ( GBlp)

Howard, T. – Evangelical is Not Enough (GBlp)

St. Ignatius of Loyola – The Spiritual Exercises (CCELCF)

St. John of the Cross – Ascent of Mt. Carmel (CF), Dark Night of the Soul (CF, GBlp 12), Spiritual Canticle (CF)

Kempis, T. – The Imitation of Christ (CTPG)

Br. Lawrence – The Practice of the Presence of God ( PG)

St. Louis-Marie Montfort – True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin (CT)

St. Francis de Sales – Introduction to Devout Life (CFGBlp), Treatise on the Love of God (CFGBlp)

St. Theresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (CFGB), The Way of Perfection (CFGB)

St. Therese of Lisieux – Story of a Soul (PG)

 

Philosophy, Theology and Apologetics

Aristotle (PG) – Ethics (PG)

Aquilla, M. – Living the Mysteries (GBlp)

Belloc, H. (PG) – The Path to Rome (PGGBlp)

Benedict XVI – Jesus of Nazareth. As Ratzinger, J. – Introduction to Christianity (GBlp)

Boethius, A. M. S. – Consolation of Philosophy (PGGBlp)

Chesterton, G. K. – Heretics (PG), Orthodoxy (PG), Everlasting Man (GBlp), What’s Wrong with the World (PG)

Hahn, S. – Rome Sweet Rome (GBlp),

Keating, K. – Catholicism and Fundamentalism (GBlp)

Kreeft, P. – Featured writing (pp. 1 & 2), Back to Virtue (GBlp), Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pansées (GBlp), A Refutation of Moral Relativism (GBlp), Philosophy 101 by Socrates (GBlp), Your Questions, God’s Answers (GBlp), Philosophy of Tolkien (GBlp), Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven (GBlp) and others.

Pera, M. – The Discourses of Science (GBlp), Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam

Lewis, C. S. – Mere Christianity (PL – ©?), The Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, The Abolition of Man, Miracles, The Problem of Pain, God in the Dock (GBlp), The Discarded Image (GBlp)

de Lubac, H. – Catholicism (GBlp), The Motherhood of the Church (GBlp), Paradoxes of Faith (GBlp), The Discovery of God (GBlp)

Pascal, B. – Pansées (PG)

St. Thomas More – Utopia (PG)

Madrid, P. – Where is That in the Bible? (GBlp), Why is That in Tradition? (GBlp), More Catholic Than The Pope: An Inside Look At Extreme Traditionalism (GBlp)

Newman, J. H. – Apologia pro Vita Sua (PG)

Plato ( PG) – Apology (PG), Euthyphro (PG), The Republic (PG), Symposium (PG)

St. Francis de Sales – Pamphlets from The Catholic Controversy (Angelfire)

Shea, M. – By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (GBlp)

Sheed, F. J. – Theology for Beginners (GBlp), Theology and Sanity (GBlp)

Sheen, F. – Life is Worth Living (GBlpAudio)

West, C. – Theology of the Body Explained (GBlp)

Woods, T. E. – How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization (GBlp)

Envoy Magazine ( Envoy)

This Rock Magazine (CA)

 

Current Issues

Aquilla, M. – Talking to the Youth about Sexuality (GBlp)

Dalin, D. G. – The Myth of Hitler’s Pope (GBlp)

von Hildebrand, D. – Trojan Horse in the City of God

McGrath, A. E. – Dawkin’s God (GBlp)

Neuhaus, R. – Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (GBlp)

Olson, C. E. – Will Catholics be “Left Behind? (GBlp), The Da Vinci Hoax (GBlp)

Benedict XVI (as Ratzinger, J.) – The Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church (GBlp), Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today (GBlp), Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions (GBlp), Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief

Rose, M. S. – Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church ( GBlp)

Smith, J. E. – Why Humanae Vitae was Right (GBlp)

Steichen, D. – Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism (GBlp)

 

General Literature

Aesop – Fables (PG)

Chesterton, G. K. ( PG) – The Man who was Thursday (PG), The Ball and the Cross (PG), The Innocence of Father Brown ( PGGBlp)

Dostoyevsky, F. ( PG) –  The Idiot (PG), The Brothers Karamazov ( CF)

Glynn, P. – A Song for Nagasaki

Lewis, C. S. – Till We Have Faces, Pelerandra, The Narnia Series

Macfarlane, B.  – [Pierced by a Sword, Conceived Without Sin, House of Gold] (CC)

Pearce, J. – Literary Giants, Literary Catholics (GBlp), C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church (GBlp), Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc (GBlp), Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton (GBlp), Tolkien: a Celebration (GBlp), Small is Still Beautiful

 

Notes

Most of the readings can be obtained on the internet (in full or in part – see links in brackets next to the titles), but do check out your local library as well. For online bookshops, you might like to check out The NileJerome’sAmazon (for bulk purchases). Links to the online sources are provided in brackets where, if there are multiple sources for the reading, they’re listed in the recommended order.

 

*Non-Catholic Christian Source