Summer Booklist - July, 2005

A Book List from Fr. Michael Dibble and Fr. Brian Joyce
“Reading into the 21st Century”
July 26, 2005

Fr. Dibble’s Top Five:

  1. “The Complete Idiots Guide to Understanding Catholicism” - funny title, but a thorough and up to date summary of Catholic belief and practice; by Bob O’Gorman and Mary Faulkner (Alpha Press)
  2. “A Concise History of the Catholic Church” - among the best readable summaries of the Catholic Christian story; by Thomas Bokenkotter (Doubleday)
  3. “Magnificat” - a monthly pocket size aid to daily personal prayer and daily mass, to subscribe call 1-866-273-5215 or www.magnificat.net.
  4. “Miracles” - a well argued journey into Christian belief by one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century; by C.S. Lewis (Simon & Schuster)
  5. “Why I Am a Catholic” – a distinguished historian, critic and Pulitzer prize winner responds to the frequent question “Why do you remain a Catholic?”; by Garry Wills (Houghton Mifflen)

Fr. Joyce’s Top Five:

  1. “Amazing Church: A Catholic Theologian Remembers a Half Century of Change” - one of the “experts” as consultant at the Second Vatican Council reflects on the past 50 years of shifts and changes; by Gregory Baum (Novalia)
  2. “Credo” - easy to read, excellent brief reflections on everything from faith and love to social justice and the end of life; by William Sloane Coffin (Westminster John Knox Press)
  3. “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” – the personal journey of one woman from a male Church/World to a Christian/Feminine spirituality; by Sue Monk Kidd (Harper San Francisco)
  4. “Jacob’s Hip: Finding God in an Anxious Age” - a beautiful meditation on faith and trust in times of vulnerability, weakness and insecurity; by Kerry Walters (Orbis Books)
  5. “The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion & Renewal” – a leading author in contemporary spirituality tells the remarkable story of how one community of women religious, along with the rest of us, changed radically and almost overnight; by Joan Chittister (Orbis Books)

Two Videos for the Future of Our Planet

  1. “The Corporation” – an award winning documentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present day domination. cf www.thecorporation.com
  2. “The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos” – 80 minute video with Brian Swimme on “The Generosity of the Sun”, “The Birthplace of the Universe”, and “The All-Nourishing Abyss”, from Center from the Story of the Universe, 311 Rydal Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941.