In this complete lifetime reading plan, noted Catholic author and educator Father John A. Hardon has compiled an invaluable guide to books discussing what the Catholic Church is, what it believes, and what its great teachers have thought, felt and imagined. Father Hardon journeys through the centuries to find the authors he believes can be read for spiritual profit. In his appraisals of over a hundred writers, he considers pertinent biographical information, recommends favorites, and provides moving quotations from the books under discussion. This exceptional book is not just an anthology, but a planned program of self-education through systematic readings of the leading Catholic writers, from the Church Fathers to modern times. The selection will acquaint the reader with the ideas and ideals that have sustained the Catholic Church for over two thousand years.