My Top 10 Recommended Spiritual Reading Books for Catholic Moms
Top Recommended Spiritual Reading Books - Including Some Audiobooks!
Spiritual reading is one of those things we know we should be doing, but we just have such a hard time actually doing it. Why is that? If you’re a mom like me, that could be half the reason - our kids are unpredictable and distracting so it’s challenging to remain on a consistent schedule. Even if you aren’t a mother, we simply live in a time where everything is fast-paced and distractions are everywhere. Another factor could simply be that it’s a “good habit” and with all good habits, comes the need for lots of practice to get to a point where it comes easy. Specifically, Spiritual reading is a “good habit” that’s especially hard to put into practice because we have not only our own fallen human nature making it tricky to stick with the good habit, but also very likely the temptations of the enemy who desperately wants to eliminate any and all spiritual practices that might make us closer to Our Lord and Our Lady.
Sometimes, it’s simply that we don’t know what to read! We finally decide to implement the habit, but we spend the 10 available minutes that we finally have, searching through our books instead of having a plan ahead of time. I highly recommend setting a reading schedule for yourself where you set, ahead of time, what book you’re going to read on what day of the week. It could be the same book all week, or alternating days, or a repeating weekly schedule, you pick!
I actually have a really basic “Reading Schedule” as part of my Gratia Plena Prayer Journal, so I have put this concept into practice for quite a while now and I can’t emphasize enough just how effective it has been.
I’ll even offer this one-page as a Freebie so you can see if it’s helpful for you (I’m positive it will be!)
You can get that here:
Gratia Plena Prayer Journal
This Morning Prayer Journal (that I created as a resource for myself and then loved so much I decided to share!) has truly been what has made the difference for me personally in actually sticking to a Spiritual Reading routine. Nothing quite motivates me like some daily checkboxes to stay consistent!
Now, on to my Top 10 Recommended Spiritual Reading Books for Catholic Moms
With most of these books, I am providing an Amazon link since it’s one of the most universal and popular sites for people to shop - as an Amazon affiliate, for any purchases made through these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you:)
Thank you
First and Foremost…
It goes without saying that the Bible is of course, the ultimate “Spiritual Reading” book… I’m not even going to list this in my “10” because it’s the foundation and it’s a given. As a Traditional Catholic, I will only read the Douay-Rheims version as it is the most original (and therefore accurate) translation. There are some very fancy and expensive versions you can find, but there’s also some more affordable options including this one off Amazon:
While our Lord gave us the wonderful Bible to be a foundation for the Catholic Church, He left us with so much more than just that.
As Catholics, we know that our Faith and the teachings of the Church are a combination of the Word of God as well as, what is referred to as “Tradition” - the passed down teachings and authority of the Church. This is where we get the Sacraments, the teachings of the Church, the rules and guidelines to lead us to live a life according to God’s Will and with eternity in mind on a regular basis. The many other resources we have (such as, lives of the Saints, Spiritual Reading books, apparitions and devotions to Our Lady, novenas and so much more) would be a shame to overlook. That said, I encourage you to look over the following Spiritual Reading books and consider adding one or more of these Spiritual Reading books to your at-home library.
In no particular order…
This might be one of my favorite go-to Spiritual Reading books. It’s the type you can open up to any chapter and it almost always seems to speak to whatever it is you need to hear that day. It’s an almost daily read for me and even when I don’t have the book handy, there’s this FREE PDF online which I have saved on my phone. Or, the physical book can be purchased on Amazon:
This book is another very easy-to-read, every-day book that you can pickup whenever. It basically covers a few Scripture verses and then does a meditation on that. I love this during Holy Week when I want to really dive into the days leading up to, and including, Good Friday and all that took place.
This is a “pocket version” of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. It isn’t an every-day read for me but when I do open it up, I always get something great out of it.
This book was almost a daily read for me during my high school years. It’s also one you can just open up to whatever page, however, I always have to make sure my coffee has kicked in first! It’s a little bit of a deeper read than, for example, My Daily Bread. So many great takeaways from every chapter!
I’m sure you noticed those previous 4 books looking quite similar. They are often sold as a set, but I could only find them separately on Amazon. I believe there are even a couple more that have since been added to the set but these are the ones I own and love.
This book is a recent discovery, a gift from a friend, and I’m so grateful she thought of me! It really puts into perspective how we are meant to live our crosses daily, and always strive to become more and more Christ-like. It’s an easy read and I can usually open up to any chapter and get something great out of it!
I think absolutely everyone needs to be reading the Lives of the Saints in some way, shape or form, on a regular basis. What they went through for Christ is so inspiring and really eye-opening compared to the daily struggles we complain about. You can either read individual stories of saints, or, this particular book has been really convenient for me as it’s just a daily reading for that saint of the day. This particular book includes the traditional dates and saints, as that is what I follow.
7. Saint Monica
This is an example of a very short book on a life of a saint, the wonderful Saint Monica, Model of Christian Mothers. I read this book and was so moved by her story and her persistence in prayer. There are tons of other stories of saints you can find as well.
8. Mother Love
This book is just beautiful and an absolute must for Catholic Mothers. It includes lots of different prayers and devotions specifically for wives and mothers. For some reason I am having a hard time finding where it’s currently available (Amazon shows it sold out or extremely price gauged) and other sites show it unavailable, hopefully that changes soon. I’m linking it anyway and hopefully that price changes.
As I’ve mentioned in a few podcast episodes and blog posts, I have recently taken on quite a devotion and appreciation to St. Louis Marie de Montfort and his wonderful works. I used to think his books were “too heavy” to read but in giving them a try more recently, I’ve finally been able to understand and appreciate the beauty in them. It has absolutely inspired a stronger devotion to Our Lady and even was a pivotal point in what led me to creating the Rosary bracelets.
This has been so helpful in my understanding of why a devotion to the Rosary is so important. I have read a little from the book but most of my “reading” has actually been listening through this Spotify episode. The physical book can also be purchased on Amazon.
This one is a bit of a bigger book but truly was the start of my increase in, well, Devotion to Mary. It’s so beautiful and inspiring to read. It can also be listened to on Spotify, or purchased on Amazon.
That wraps up my favorite Spiritual reading books but I would be doing you a disservice not to mention how often I get my “Spiritual Reading” in by actually listening to audio books on Spotify.
Here’s a playlist I compiled to share.
Some days I just don’t get to the actual “book” reading, and I love having this Spotify playlist as an option. I have wireless ear buds and will often try to listen as I’m cooking dinner or cleaning around the house. Sometimes if my kids are having a really rough night and I’m needing to rock them to sleep again and again, I’ll stick one ear bud in and listen to some Spiritual reading while rocking them which really helps with my mentality when dealing with those long, exhausting hours.
I hope those help you - be sure to join the Facebook Community if you’re not already a member so you can share your thoughts and takeaways on some of these!
