Five Books

Maclin Horton writes of the 5 books everyone should read. It is a challenge, but I will give my five (maybe a trend will start....)

As a preface, my choices are specifically for today's situation. 50-100 years prior or hence my selections (with the exception of one or two) would be different. And I don't specify age. Some of the selections would be read at a younger age than others.

1. The Bible: I won't limit myself to the New Testament, which if reading only one of the two, the NT should be the choice. But you get a fuller picture of understanding the whole history of salvation with both OT & NT. (Haydock Bible would be the most ideal edition.)

2. The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior: We need a renewal which starts with personal holiness and families living a Christian lifestyle and throwing of the secular consumerism so rampant. This book gives the game plan.

3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: For me, taught me to walk in other's shoes before judging and to be grateful for blessings and favors received at a young age. Plus it is classic literature.

4. The Republic by Plato: Aristotle may have been closer to Christianity, but Plato is easier to read and accomplishes something similar-that is, to get us used to thinking about how things should be and maybe how they can be accomplished. Understand that Plato wrote and taught without the benefit of revelation. Read this after reading the Bible.

Getting this far is pretty easy. But when trying to decide the last book for the list-it becomes very difficult. I contemplated cheating by giving two books: one for boys and one for girls (Treasure Island-the ultimate adventure story & Anne of Green Gables-which I have never read, but which I have seen sisters and daughters devour with the same passion I re-read Treasure Island over and over.) Then I thought Witness to Hope by George Weigel. This book explains much about Vatican II and the pontificate of John Paul II. But how could I leave Chesterton (probably Everlasting Man) off the list? And then the temptation arose to make the last book something really obscure that I and only a handful of others had read and enjoyed (probably would have to be a Requiem Press book!)

Finally, although it doesn't practically pertain to everyone, it does pertain to everyone as a society: I decided the book had to be:

5. John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation: Familiaris Consortio- The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World (if staying in this category, a close second would be his short letter on keeping the Sabbath.) This book is a practical and spiritual guide for families. And in this age which attacks the Domestic Church so violently and relentlessly, I found this to be a profound guide for strength, ideas, and consolation.

What are your suggestions?

Oremus pro invicem!