Recommended Reading for Families
Reading about nuns is a wonderful introduction to the idea of a religious vocation. As the seven-year-old niece of one of our Sisters told her father during a recent visit, “I used to think I would get married when I grow up, but now I think maybe I could be a nun!”
The following list is not exhaustive, but contains books we have heard of and collected into a library for our visiting family members.
Very Small Children
Sister Clare Gets Ready for Prayer by Katie Warner (TAN Books). This very sweet little book follows the life of the cloistered Dominican Nuns at the monastery in North Guilford, Connecticut. “Walk with Sister down the hallway to the chapel with your fingers!” It is the favorite of the two-year-old niece of one of our Sisters! The author also has a number of other books for little children about such subjects as holiness, priesthood, and marriage.
Children and Up
Brides of Christ by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles with Jamey Toner (Sophia Press). This rhyming book follows the Benedictines’ life.
Of Bells and Cells: The World of Monks, Friars, Sisters and Nuns by M. Cristina Borges, illustrated by Michaela Harrison (St. Bonosa Books). This beautifully illustrated book talks about vocation, formation, vows, and various religious Orders.
Little Convent in the Big City series by Mother Clare Matthiass, CFR, illustrated by Michael Corsini (Vianney Vocations). The Unsolvable Problem, The Light in You, and The Biggest Family Ever show the beauty of consecrated religious life through vibrantly illustrated stories from the life of the Franciscan Sisters ministering to the poor in New York City.
Younger Teens and Up
A Right To Be Merry by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. (Cluny Press). Written by a Poor Clare Colletine, this book gives a charming and engaging window into the mendicant monastic life. “What do you do all day?” Written for a general audience, this is also a good book for older teens and young adults, as well as for parents or families to read to help make the cloistered life more real and understandable to them.
Lives of Saints such as the series by Mary Fayban Windeatt (for various grade levels—TAN Press).
Older Teens, Young Adults, and Parents
A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life by Fr. Benedict Croell, O.P. and Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. (Vianney Vocations). This is the best book we have read on discernment from a Dominican perspective, giving both very solid theology of the religious life, as well as practical, experience-based advice. It is targeted toward young men, but most of it is relatively easily applicable to young women, taking the differences into account. (Someday we will write a women’s supplement talking about how Our Lady is the model of our feminine consecration.)
Dominican Life by Fr. Walter Wagner, O.P. (Dominican Nuns of Summit). Drawing on his experience as novice master for the Dominican friars, Father’s practical spiritual wisdom highlights the human reality of this graced way of life. His insights into human nature are helpful even for those who are not Dominican!
Dominican Life by Fr. Ferdinand Joret, O.P. (1937; available various places and online). Here, read about the soaring ideals of St. Dominic and his Dominican charism.
Sponsa Verbi by Bl. Columba Marmion (Various publishers; also available online). This retreat preached to Benedictine nuns is a beautiful spiritual entry into the meaning of the cloistered contemplative life.
Vita Consecrata by St. John Paul II, on the consecrated life in general, and Verbi Sponsa, the 1993 Vatican instruction on enclosure.