My Top Catholic Resources
- Glendaliz Gonzalez
- Feb 24, 2020
- 5 min read
Want to know more about what the Catholic Church actually teaches? Here are some of the sites and books that have helped me with my conversion back to the Church.
When I started searching for ways to refute Catholic teachings, I wanted actual Catholic resources to grab a hold of and prove wrong. If you want to prove something is wrong, you always go to the source. It is the only way I could prove their beliefs and traditions were anti biblical. Here are some resources I found very useful and explain all Catholic teachings clearly:
Online Resources
My go to online resource for all Catholic questions is Catholic Answers. They have live Q&As on Facebook, YouTube and their app. Both Catholic and non Catholics can call in with their questions and Theologians answer them clearly and directly.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has all the information on Beliefs and Teachings of the Catholic Church. Included but not limited to The Mass, The Sacraments, Prayers and Devotions, Catholic Living, The Bible and more.
New Advent Catholic Library has resources on all topics and official Church documents. On the top left menu you can also access the Catholic Encyclopedia and information on the Church Fathers.
Church Fathers is a website that is meant to serve as a tool to help people educate themselves on what the Church Fathers have taught.
These are the free online resource of the Early Church Fathers writings.
Books + Bibles
Here is a list of books I have read which has a lot of to the point teachings, history and Biblical evidence. I have also listed some Bibles approved by the Catholic Church.
Bibles
Some people mistakenly think the King James Version of the Bible (KJV), with its eloquent thee’s and thou’s, is the original version. But the Bible was not written in seventeenth-century Old English. More than 1,500 years earlier, the New Testament was written in ancient Greek; and long before that the Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew, along with some Aramaic and Greek (the Old Testament was later translated into the Greek Septuagint). Reference from catholic.com.
The New American Bible—Revised Edition (NABRE) The New American Bible was the first Catholic translation made directly from the original biblical languages (rather than from the Latin Vulgate). When the Old Testament was revised, it was officially replaced by the New American Bible Revised Edition. The NABRE is a “formal equivalent” translation, which means it is not a literal word-for-word rendering of the original text but not a paraphrase either.
The Revised Standard Version (RSV2CE) The Revised Standard Version is a 1950s-era revision of the King James Version(theRSV Catholic Second Edition includes the deuterocanonical books). Itis a literal, word-for-word translation that uses “King James English” (“thee” and “thou”) when addressing God, but is otherwise translated into today’s English.
New Revised Standard Version (RSV2CE) (my favorite is The Great Adventure Bible by Ascension Press) is the RSV’s modern revision. The RSV is both a common choice among scholars and one of the most beautiful English translation of the Bible available today.
The New Jerusalem Bible is the 1985 update to the 1966 Jerusalem Bible. The original translation was mixed bag: literal in some respects, but with a loosely translated Old Testament text made up of a combination of various textual traditions. The New Jerusalem Bible, however, is not based on this French translation but on the original biblical languages.
The Catholic Study Bible [NABRE] The Catholic Study Bible adds a whopping 525-page introduction to Scripture consisting of general Bible information and mini-commentary “Reading Guides” for all the books. These are written by many prominent biblical scholars, featuring the same kind of modern-higher-critical opinions that the NABRE notes do. Additional materials include several in-text essays, a glossary, biblical weights and measures, lectionary, index, concordance, and maps.
The Didache Study Bible [RSV2CE] (love this Bible) The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is based on the RSV translation with notes written by renowned Bible scholar Scott Hahn and his student Curtis Mitch. The notes present a refreshingly fair and unique balance of traditional-orthodox and modern-critical viewpoints. In addition, topical essays and word studies include interpretations from the Fathers of the Church, the Catholic Magisterium, and faithful Catholic scholars. Each book is outlined and introduced with an essay covering authorship, date of writing, original audience, and general themes. It also includes a doctrinal index, concordance, cross-reference system, and various maps and charts. Unfortunately, only the New Testament is currently available as a single volume (don’t let the size fool you!). The Old Testament books can each be purchased separately.
Your choice of a Catholic study Bible will best be made by considering what each one offers and weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each.
The Interlinear Hebrew/Greek-English Bible, 4 Volumes Although this collection does not include the original Deuterocanonical Books that are in the Catholic Bible, this is a very good source for literal translation from Hebrew to English and Greek to English. I use this because a lot can be lost in translation and the best way to read things in context is by reading it in its original language. If you don't want 4 different volumes, I recommend this Bible.
If you wish to have the best traditional, orthodox study notes, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is hard to beat. The Didache Bible is a close second. Both feature the top-notch RSV translation and their notes are generally faithful to Church tradition.
Whichever you choose, be glad that these good choices exist, and remember that the best Catholic study Bible is the one you read!
Protestant Conversions to Catholicism
References + Historical + Theological Books
Counterfeit Christs - Finding the Real Jesus Among the Impostors
There you go. That is everything I can give you for now. I will be updating this list as I read or come across more content.
Ut Benedicat Tibi Deus
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