Put some Adventure in your Summer Reading!
Ordinary time was anything but ordinary for the apostles. As they carried on the mission of spreading the Gospel, they faced incredible hardships in a rough and dangerous world. This book list is guaranteed to make your ordinary time and the early Church come alive, recreating the feel of the first-century Mediterranean world. The smells of the ports, the dangers of sea travel, and the clash of Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultures.
If you read only one book this summer read “Quo Vadis” You are in Rome under Nero: Christians worship secretly in homes and catacombs. Peter is an old man leading a fragile church. There rumors spreading that Nero is insane. Persecution looms. It’s adventure, romance, history, and faith all wrapped together.
All of these are great, but if I were packing three books for a summer vacation…
1. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz: for St.Peter, Nero, and the drama of the early Church.
2. Paul: A Biography by N.T Wright: for the excitement and danger of Paul’s missionary journeys.
3. Silence by Shusako Endo: for deep spiritual reflection on faith, suffering, and how do you remain faithful when God seems silent?
Other recommendations:
1. The Acts of the Apostles, Fulton Sheen: inspiring and highly readable.
2. Pope Benedict XVI’s, Saint Paul: short, wise, and perfect for prayerful reflection.
3. The Book of Acts, John Pollock: Gripping Christian historical narrative, early spread of Christianity after Jesus’s resurrection
