Texts and Translations Compiled by the New Saint Thomas Institute
Version 1.2
Dear Reader,
There are many great books on this list. Please don’t feel overwhelmed. Try to read 10 of these books every year—one every 5 weeks. After 10 years, you’ll be better read than most college professors. Before you get too zealous, make sure that you have read the Bible at least one time. There is only one book on the list with God as its author. Read Sacred Scripture 365 days per year. The other authors are secondary.
Godspeed,
Taylor Marshall, PhD
Bibles
Dr. Marshall only recommends two English Bibles for serious theology students: Douay Rheims-Challoner and RSV-CE with a preference for the Douay Rheims-Challoner in most cases:
Holy Bible Douay Rheims Translation
Holy Bible RSV- Catholic Edition
Biblia Sacra Vulgata Clementina (English and Latin Edition) by Bishop Richard Challoner and Michele Tvveedale. There are three Vulgates out there for sale. You want what is called the “Clementine Vulgate.” This is the Vulgate version used in the Old Mass and resembles the version used by Saint Thomas Aquinas and all Catholic authors until the late 1970s. You can immediately tell which Vulgate you are holding by turning to Genesis 3:20 and looking at the name of Adam’s wife:
- If it’s spelled Heva: Clementine Vulgate (1592) – the standard printed Latin Vulgate of the Catholic Church for Scripture and Liturgy until the Nova Vulgata (1979)
- If it’s spelled Hava: Stuttgart Vulgate (1969) – a scholarly critical edition of the Latin Vulgate from the German Bible Society, not used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. This is an academic Vulgate with a critical apparatus – it often includes the Pslater iuxta Hebraeos.
- If it’s spelled Eva: Nova Vulgata (1979) – the official Catholic edition of the Latin Vulgate currently used in the ordinary liturgies of the Catholic Church (i.e. Missale Romanum 1969 & Liturgia Horarum)
Greek-English New Testament by Barbara Aland and Kurt Aland. This will allow you to look at the Greek next to the English.
Septuaginta (Greek translation of Old Testament) by Alfred Rahlfs and Robert Hanhart
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Editio Secunda Emendata (Hebrew Old Testament) by Rudolf Kittel, K. Elliger and W. Rudolph. This is the Hebrew Old Testament currently used by scholars. I personally prefer Septuagint reading to this Masoretic Hebrew text, as I believe that they are older and more original—something the Dead Sea Scrolls has taught us.
Catechisms
Dr. Marshall recommends the study of three catechisms. All three are magisterial documents:
Roman Catechism (1566) This is the Catechism issued after the Council of Trent.
Catechism of Saint Pius X (1908) This is the Catechism issued by Saint Pius X in 1908. It’s fantastic and underappreciated.
Thomas Aquinas and Thomism
Dr. Marshall asks students at the New Saint Thomas Institute to invest in the English Dominican version of the Summa theologiae. He recommends the following two Summa versions, one in Latin/English (best) and one in English only (better).
Summa theologiae (Latin and English) by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Summa theologiae (English only) by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Helpful books on Saint Thomas Aquinas and Thomism:
Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages by Taylor Marshall
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G. K. Chesterton
50 Questions on the Natural Law by Charles E. Rice
Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
The One God, commentary on Summa Theologica I.1-26 by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
The Trinity and God the Creator, commentary on Summa Theologica I.27-119 by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Beatitude (1951), commentary on Summa Theologica I-II.1-54 by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Grace (1947), commentary on Summa Theologica I-II.109-114. by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
The Theological Virtues – Vol. 1: Faith (1948), commentary on Summa Theologica II-II.1-16 by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Christ the Saviour (1945), commentary on Summa Theologica III.1-26, 31-59 by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
The Sacred Monster of Thomism : an introduction to the life and legacy of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange by Richard Peddicord
Catholicism Explained
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott
The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholicism by Taylor Marshall
The Catholic Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Origins of Catholicism by Taylor Marshall
The Eternal City: Rome and the Origins of Catholicism by Taylor Marshall
History & Heresy
The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc
Christendom I: Founding of Christendom by Warren Carroll
Christendom II: The Building of Christendom by Warren Carroll
Christendom III: The Glory of Christendom by Warren Carroll
Christendom IV: The Cleaving of Christendom by Warren Carroll
Triumph : The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H. W. Crocker III
Enthusiasm by Ronald Knox
Great Christian Literature
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson
The Diary of a Country Priest by George Bernanos
Hopkins: Poetry and Prose by George Manley Hopkins
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Christianity and Culture by T. S. Eliot
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Helena by Evelyn Waugh
Mariology
Our Lady of Fatima by William T. Walsh
The Mother of the Saviour and our Interior Life by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Ineffabilis Deus Apostolic Constitution by Pope Pius IX
Munificentissimus Deus Apostolic Constitution by Pope Pius XII
33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecrationby Fr Michael Gaitley
All Generations Shall call me Blessed: Biblical Mariology by Fr Stephano Manelli
Philosophy
(Books Not Already under Thomas Aquinas)
Plato: Complete Works Hardcover, John M. Cooper (Editor), D. S. Hutchinson (Editor)
Complete Works of Aristotle, Vol. 1 (Barnes Edition)
Complete Works of Aristotle, Vol. 2 (Barnes Edition)
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays. Not Christian, but Marcus Aurelius is the best introduction to Stoic philosophy. You need to understand Stoicism if you study Augustine or Thomas Aquinas.
Socratic Logic Edition 3.1 by Peter Kreeft. This is the best introduction to Logic in print.
Essays on Woman by Edith Stein
The Four Cardinal Virtues by Josef Pieper
The Intellectual Life by A. G. Sertillanges
Spiritual Classics
Confessions of St. Augustine by Saint Augustine
Little Talks with God (modernized version of “The Dialogues”) by Saint Catherine
City of God by Saint Augustine
Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross
Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
Interior Castle by Saint Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection by Saint Teresa of Avila
Story of a Soul by Saint Therese of Lisieux
Spiritual Reading
The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Uniformity with God’s Will by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Spiritual Theology by Jordan Aumann
Frequent Confession by Benedict Baur
In Silence with God by Benedict Baur
Difficulties in Mental Prayer by Eugene Boylan
The Tremendous Lover by Eugene Boylan
Covenanted Happiness by Cormac Burke
The Soul of the Apostolate by Jean-Baptiste Chautard
All for Jesus by Frederick W. Faber
Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre De Caussade
Introduction to Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales
Treatise on the Love of God by Saint Francis de Sales
Three Ages of Interior Life Volume I by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Three Ages of Interior Life Volume II by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Sinner’s Guide by Venerable Louis of Grenada
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis
True Devotion to the Holy Spirit by Luis M. Martinez
True Devotions by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion De Montfort
The Sadness of Christ by Saint Thomas More
Conversation with Christ by Peter T. Rohrbach
Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scupoli
Theology and Sanity by Francis J. Sheed
Theology for Beginners by Francis J. Sheed
To Know Christ Jesus by Francis J. Sheed
Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen
Three to Get Married by Fulton J. Sheen
The Spiritual Life by Adolphe Tanqueray
Abba Father by Bonaventure Perquin
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