What are the Most Tattered Titles on Your Nightstand?

What are the most tattered titles on your nightstand?

If you were stuck on a desert island alone but somehow could have just a few books dropped into the sand pit next to your tent, which ones would they be? Which books has God most used to turn your heart towards Him?

Here’s my list:

Scripture/Catechism (yes, I cheated but just a little)
Interior Castle – St. Teresa of Avila/All St. Teresa’s Writings
Abandonment to Divine Providence – Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade
The Fire Within – Father Thomas Dubay
Searching for and Maintaining Peace – Father Jacques Philippe

Tell us your first name and your location (e.g. Betty from Sydney, Australia), and then your top three to five books that you have read or regularly re-read for spiritual sustenance.

IMPORTANT FRUSTRATION AVOIDANCE NOTICE: I have not done this for a long time but I know that there will be folks who break the rules (much worse than I did) and give a list of thirty books (these are usually the same folks who don’t read the posts but still strongly disagree with whatever they say). This really defeats the purpose and your post won’t make it through moderation which will only require you to go back to your books to find some peace after all that work goes to waste.

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Art for this post on tattered titles and the books God has most used to turn your heart towards Him: Old book bindings at the Merton College Library, Oxford, England, Tom Murphy VII, 25 August 2005, CCA-SA 3.0 Unported, as found on Wikimedia Commons.

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Dan Burke

Dan Burke is the past President and C.O.O. of EWTN's worldwide news network. He is presently the founder and President of the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, which offers graduate and personal enrichment studies in spiritual theology to priests, deacons, religious, and laity in 90 countries and prepares men for seminary in over 40 dioceses. Dan is the author and editor of numerous books on authentic Catholic spirituality and hosts the Divine Intimacy Radio show with his wife, Stephanie, which is broadcast weekly on EWTN Radio. Past episodes can be found, along with thousands of articles on the interior life, at SpiritualDirection.com. In his deep commitment to the advancement of faithful Catholic spirituality, he is also the founder of Apostoli Viae, a world-wide, private association of the faithful dedicated to living and advancing the authentic spiritual patrimony of the Church. Most importantly, Dan is a blessed husband, father of four, grandfather of one—and grateful to be Catholic.