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- An Invitation to Reading
- Books of the Month Available in English
- Books of the Christian Spirit Available in English
- Other Recommended Readings Available in English
An Invitation to Reading
Reading is the first way to listen, and therefore to learn. Since the very beginning of its history CL suggested to read certain books that were, and are, dear to Father Giussani. Reading these books is another precious tool to educate to a critical sense, to a discovery of human dignity and the true face of the Church.
On May 2003, Father Giussani, at the ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the birth of the series "The Books of the Christian Spirit," directed by him, stated:
"It is through education that a people can be built into a unified conscience and a civilization. More than ever today we understand how urgent and necessary this task is for those who have responsibility. Reading is part of this educational path toward the reconstruction of what is human. To encounter the story of people who have lived reality intensely, who have endured its provocations as an unanswered question, or rather, in glimpsing in it the features of a good destiny, have arrived at the unforeseen discovery of a positive answer, is the documented purpose of many of the books published in this series.
In particular, we want to show the reasonableness and the usefulness for the contemporary man of this answer to the drama of existence that is called "the Christian event." We offer that answer as a sincere contribution to that education to reality for a true liberation of young people and adults."
Books of the Month Available in English
| Year | Author | Title |
| 1988 | Von Balthasar, Hans | Truth is Symphonic |
| 1989 | Benson, Robert H. | The Friendship of Christ *complete text available online |
| 1989 | Ratzinger, Joseph | To Look on Christ |
| 1990 | Leclercq, Jean | A second Look at St. Bernarde |
| 1990 | Schonborn, Christoph | The Mystery of the Incarnation |
| 1990 | Martindale, Cyril | What are Saints? |
| 1990 | Lewis, C.S. | The Screwtape Letters |
| 1990 | Von Balthasar, Hans | You Crown the Year with Your Goodness |
| 1990 | Ratzinger, Joseph | The Feast of Faith |
| 1991 | Martindale, Cyril | What are Saints? |
| 1992 | Milosz, Oscar | Miguel Manara |
| 1993 | Newman, John Henry | Meditation on Mary |
| 1994 | Schurmann, Heinz | Praying with Christ: The "Our Father" for Today |
| 1995 | Marshall, Bruce | Fr. Malachy's Miracle |
| 1995 | Marshall, Bruce | To Every Man a Penny |
| 1995 | Cesbron, Gilbert | The Innocents of Paris |
| 1996 | Undset, Sigrid | Kristin Lavransdatter, I |
| 1996 | Undset, Sigrid | Kristin Lavransdatter, II |
| 1996 | Undset, Sigrid | Kristin Lavransdatter, III |
| 1997 | von le Fort, Gertrud | The Pope from the Ghetto |
| 1997 | Laurentin, Rene | Bernadette of Lourdes |
| 1997 | Benson, Robert Hugh | Lord of the World |
| 1997 | Dawson, Christopher | Religion and the Rise of Western Culture |
| 1997 | Leclercq, Jean | Women and St Bernard of Clairvaux |
| 1998 | Benson, Robert Hugh | By What Authority |
| 1998 | Schonborn, Christoph | Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church |
| 1998 | Lagerkvist, Par | Barabbas |
| 1998 | Milosz, Oscar | Miguel Manara |
| 1998 | Pernoud, Regine | Joan of Arc, by herself and her witnesses |
| 1999 | O'Connor, Flannery | The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor* |
| 1999 | O'Connor, Flannery | Mystery and Manners* |
| 1999 | O'Connor, Flannery | The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor* |
| 1999 | O'Connor, Flannery | Collected Works of Flannery O'Connor* |
| 2001 | Benson, Robert Hugh | Lord of the World |
| 2001 | de Wohl, Louis | The Last Crusader |
| 2002 | Waugh, Evelyn | Helena |
| 2003 | Ranher, Hugo | Church and State in early Christianity |
| 2003 | Albacete, Lorenzo | God at the Ritz |
| 2005 | Ibsen, Henrik | Brand |
| 2006 | Benson, Robert Hugh | By What Authority? |
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Books of the Christian Spirit Available in English
| Author | Title |
| Alighieri, Dante | The Divine Comedy |
| Arendt, Hannah | *Between Past and Future *The Life of the Mind *Men in Dark Times *On Violence *The Origins of Totalitarianism *Rahel Varnhagen: The Life of a Jewish Woman |
| Benson, Robert Hugh | By What Authority? |
| Cesbron, Gilbert | It's Midnight, Dr. Schweitzer |
| Chesterton, G.K. | The Complete Father Brown |
| Claudel, Paul | The Tidings Brought to Mary |
| Corti, Eugenio | Few Returned: Twenty-Eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942-1943 |
| Daniel-Rops | Death, Where is Thy Victory? |
| Dawson, Christopher | Religion and the Rise of Western Culture |
| de Cervantes, Jose Miguel | Don Quixote |
| Dostoevsky, Fyodor | The Brothers Karamazov The Idiot |
| Eliot, T.S. | Murder in the Cathedral *The Complete Poems and Plays |
| Ibsen, Henrik | Brand |
| Manzoni, Alessandro | The Betrothed |
| Moeller, Charles | Man and Salvation in Literature |
| Niebuhr, Reinhold | The Nature and Destiny of Man |
| Newman, John Henry | Heart of the World |
| O'Connor, Flannery | *The Complete Stories *Mystery and Manners *Collected Works of Flannery O'Connor |
| Peguy, Charles | *The Mystery of the Charity of Joan of Arc *The Portal of the Mystery of Hope |
| Rosmini, Antonio | The Five Wounds of the Church |
| Shakespeare, William | Hamlet King Lear Measure for Measure |
| Undset, Sigrid | Kristin Lavransdatter |
| Van Der Meersch, Maxence | Bodies and Souls |
| Von le Fort, Gertrud | The Pope from the Ghetto The Song at the Scaffold |
| Waugh, Evelyn | Helena |
| de Wohl, Louis | The Last Crusader The Living Wood The Quiet Light |
| Virgil | The Aeneid |
| Zweig, Stefan | Conqueror of the Seas: The Story of Magellan |
| *The series only includes selections from these texts, not the entire work. | |
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Other recommended Readings available in English
| Author | Title |
| Bernanos, Georges | The Diary of a Country Priest |
| Carrel, Alexis | Reflections on Life |
| Chesterton, G.K. | Orthodoxy |
| Chesterton, G.K. | The Man who was Thursday |
| Chesterton, G.K. | Saint Thomas, Saint Francis |
| Claudel, Paul | The Satin Slipper |
| Corti, Eugenio | The Red Horse |
| Danielou, Jean | The Lord of History |
| Dostoevsky, F. | Crime and Punishment |
| Dostoevsky, F. | Demons |
| Dawson, Christopher | The Historic Reality of Christian Culture |
| Greene, Graham | The End of the Affair |
| Guardini, Romano | The End of the Modern World |
| Hemingway, E. | A Farewell to Arms |
| Hemingway, E. | The Old Man and the Sea |
| Hemingway, E. | For Whom the Bell Tolls |
| Lagerkvist, Par | Evening Land |
| Leopardi, Giacomo | The Canti: with a selection of His Prose |
| Lewis, C.S. | The Four Loves |
| de Lubac, Henri | The drama of the atheist humanism |
| de Lubac, Henri | Catholicism: Christ and the common destiny of man |
| Hamer, Jerome | The Church is a Communion |
| Mann, Thomas | Joseph and His Brothers |
| Mann, Thomas | Death in Venice and Other Stories |
| Marshall, Bruce | The World, the Flesh, and Father Smith |
| Montale, Eugenio | Cuttlefish Bones |
| Newman, John H. | Imperial mission |
| Pernaud, Regine | Those terrible middle ages |
| Pernaud, Regine | Women in the days of Cathedral |
| Pernaud, Regine | The crusaders |
| Rilke, Rainer Maria | Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God |
| Schnackenburg, Rudolf | The Gospel according to St. John |
| Sinyavsky, Andrey | Unguarded Thoughts |
| Solzenizyn, Alex. | Cancer Ward |
| Solzenizyn, Alex. | The Gulag Archipelago |
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