Most influential spiritual book aside from bible?

[Lifeisawesome]

What single book has influenced your spiritual life the most aside from the bible and the catechism?

[AveSantaMaria]

True Devotion to Mary http://www.fisheaters.com/totalconse...nmontfort.html by St. Louis Mary de Montfort. For His Holiness Pope John Paul reading this book was a "decisive turning point in his life." For me, it was an introduction to a whole new way at looking at my efforts to practice the Catholic faith. It also influenced His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, His Holiness Pope Pius X, His Holiness Pope Pius XII greatly in addition to His Holiness Pope John Paul II


Online Adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
http://louisville-catholic.net/WebCa...5/Default.aspx
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin http://www.fisheaters.com/totalconse...nmontfort.html
Secret of the Rosary http://www.montfort.org.uk/Writings/Rosary.html
Preparation for 33 day consecration to the Blessed Virgin http://www.saintlouisdemontfort.com/consecration.cfm
Reflections on True Devotion to Mary by His Holiness Pope John Paul II
http://www.michaeljournal.org/montfort.htm
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Devoti...to_be_with_us.
The Glories of Mary, by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, one of the 33 Doctors of the Catholic Church, explains Hail Holy Queen
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/glories.htm
On the Dolors of Mary by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, one of the 33 Doctors of the Catholic Church, explains the sufferings of Our Lady
http://writer.zoho.com/public/immaculate/Seven-dolors

It also influenced Polish Saint Maximilian Maria very much greatly/in extreme amount as well.

Polish Saint Maximilian Maria studied philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics as a college student, before earning a doctorate in philosophy and a doctorate in theology in Rome, while suffering from tuberculosis. He became a priest, changed his name to Maria from Kolbe to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary, sheltered 2,000 Jews in his friary during the Holocaust, and when taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp offered to die in place of another man since that man had family and he did not as an abstinent fiar. During his time in the cell, he led the men in songs and prayer. Finally, after three weeks of dehydration and starvation, he was injected with carbolic acid and died. He is reported on the Jewish Virtual Library as Righteous Among the Nations. It shows that no matter how dire the situation God can continue to strengthen us. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/.../Kolbe.html.He founded Slaves of the Immaculata, www.consecration.com. More information: http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/20...ian-kolbe.html

unborn babies, St. Josephine Bakthia, St. Martin de Porres, Venerable Pierre Touissant, St. Edith Stein, Sr. Lucy of Fatima, St. Therese of Liseux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Mary Faustina, St. Louis Mary de Montfort, St. Maximilian Maria, St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, St. Jerome, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Luke, St. Mark, St. Matthew, St. John, St. Timothy, St. Stephen, St. Paul, St. Dympha, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Maria de Goretti, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Archangel Michael, Archangel Raphael, Archangel Gabriel, all the angels and saints, pray to the Mother of the Word for us!!

May the Holy Spirit through the Mother of the Word grant us the graces that we desperately need!! May the LOVE and MERCY of the Sacred Heart of Jesus overflow in us now and always!! May the WONDERS of the Mother of the Word come to our aid!!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world! For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world! For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

[puzzleannie]

Rule of St. Benedict

selected poems of John of the Cross, including the Dark Night

The Faith, by John Hardon S. J.

Weeds among the Wheat, by Thomas Greene SJ

Tools Matter for the Spiritual LIfe by Margaret Funk OSB

Spiritual Direction by Thomas Dubay

Time management for Catholics by Dave Durand

[Augustine]

St. Augustine's Confessions. But that would be kind of obvious after my nickname...

[Della]

Don't have only one, so I'll name those most important to me:

Non-fiction (in no particular order):

Imitation of Christ
Imitation of Mary
Light and Peace (great little book for lay people)
True Devotion to Mary
Alphonsus de Ligouri's "Glories of" series

Fiction (again in no particular order):

Father Brown Mysteries (practical Christianity in story form)
The Lord of the Rings (wonderful treatment of hope vs. despair)
The Chronicles of Narnia

[CoolRich59]

The Imitation of Christ

Hands down. It changed my life.

[Joyful_1]

The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis

Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary - St. Louis de Montfort

Dark Night of the Soul - St. John of the Cross

Story of a Soul - St. Therese of Lisieux

[Fidelis]

Believe it or not, two non-devotional books:

Life of Christ, by Fulton Sheen

To Know Christ Jesus, by Frank Sheed

[Lifeisawesome]

Abandonment to Divine Providence

http://rcspiritualdirection.blogspot...rovidence.html

[Beautiful]

Imitation of Christ
Lift Up Your Heart - Fulton Sheen
How To Make a Good Confession - Rutler
and many others in smaller ways
What would we do without spiritual writers?

[littletherese3]

Pierced By a Sword by Bud McFarlane (a Catholic novel)
I thank this book for changing my life

Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux
This took me to the next step- actually living my life for God, not just thinking about it


I was a bit dissapointed when I went to the local library and found that the only spirituality books there were ones like "Find Your Earth Angel" or "Contact the Angels" and things like that
I shouldn't have expected anything from one of those state libraries

[Dismas2004]

RB 80 - 1980 edition of the Rule of St. Benedict by Fr. Tim Fry. If you can get your hands on this - do so, it will not only be worth it's weight in spiritual Gold but also will be worth a lot of money as it is out of print nd the only edition of the rule like it (Latin version included along with history and commentary)

[Blade and Blood]

Originally Posted by Lifeisawesome

What single book has influenced your spiritual life the most aside from the bible and the catechism?

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

[Morwenna]

Without a doubt, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

[stuart12]

The Confessions of Blessed Augustine of Hippo

True Devotion to Mary - Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort

The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis