Spiritual Reading – A Must for the Serious Catholic

It was on a summer day in the year 386 AD. Aurelius Augustine (later St Augustine of Hippo) sat under a fig tree in the  garden of a house in Milan weeping his heart out. Poor Augustine was in the midst of an existential crisis, wrestling with the questions of faith, God and his own life. Then, inexplicably, he heard the voice of unseen child say, “Tolle, lege, tolle, lege…Pick up and read, pick up and read!” He was convinced that he should go back to the book that he had left in another room of the house  and read the first words he saw when he opened it. It was a book of St. Paul’s Epistles. He opened to these words from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, “Not in riots and drunken parties, not in eroticism and indecencies, not in strife and rivalry, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its lusts”. (Rom 13:13-14)
                                 
The deal was sealed. Augustine the sinner was on the road to becoming Augustine the saint. He had found faith and knew the he must leave hi sinful ways and commit himself to Jesus Christ. Wow! From the reading of a few words from a book!
                                   
I recently watched a television program from a series that I love.  It is called “the Journey Home” and is the story of people who find their way into the Catholic Church from atheism, agnosticism, non-Christian religions, and other Christian faith traditions. I was drawn to this particular show because it was the story of nun who started out as an Evangelical Christian in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during the 1960’s. Her name is Sister Julia Mary Darrenkamp and she is a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Paul.  They work and charism is to evangelize through the printed word and the media.
                                 
Sister Julia during her interview on the show share that she and another young Protestant girl, both aged 13, found themselves with not much to do in the summer of 1968. Their pastimes were exploring churches and visiting libraries. They stumbled across Sacred Heart Church on her street and fell in love the stained glass windows and the beautiful architecture of this Romanesque building.  When they went to the library, the first book they found was an old paperback edition of The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel, the story of St. Bernadette Soubirous and the apparitions of Our Lady to her in Lourdes, France in 1858. 
                                 
They were hooked and went on to read any book they could find about the Blessed Mother or the saints. Their devout Protestant  parents could not understand them. A search for more books led them to the book center of the Daughters of St. Paul in Philadelphia. Because of their contact with the Daughters, they entered the Catholic Church a few years later and then at 17 the convent.  Sister Julia said at the end of the program, “It was all because of that one book, The Song of Bernadette. If I hadn’t found it, I would be a grandmother in Lancaster County right now.  But I did find it and I found my call in life.  I love the Catholic Church and I love my life!”
                                 
Both St. Augustine’s and Sister Julia’s life journey was changed because of picking up a book and reading. My point is this – spiritual reading is absolutely key to our spiritual life. We should read some worthy and inspiring work on a daily basis, even if it is only a few pages. God uses these good works to draw us closer to Him and enlighten our path. Certainly, Sacred Scripture should be a daily staple of our reading diet. A hand missal or the magazine Magnificat will provide us with the readings for daily Mass and the antiphons taken directly from Scripture. It is a great place to start.
                                 
The classics from our Catholic tradition are filled with inspirational thoughts and concise expressions of the truths of the Catholic Faith that will keep us on the path to the Kingdom. There ae many excellent Catholic books published today will provide us with ideas for living our spiritual lives to the full. Papal encyclicals, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and the writings of the saints from every century are a firm foundation that will help us live our Faith and evangelize others.
                                 
A dear nun friend of mine, Sister Mary Gilbert, whom I knew and loved for almost 35 years used to say, “Good spiritual reading is the oil that keeps the lamp of prayer burning brightly.” So, I say, “Tolle, Lege…Tolle lege, pick up and read, pickup and read”.  Keep that lamp burning.

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh