- The Holy Bible. No replacement for Divine Inspiration. Several good commentaries available.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church. The basics of the faith in an accessible format. The first general catechism in nearly 400 years. I recommend the Pauline edition.
- The 4 Dogmatic Constitutions of Vatican II. While I recommend that everyone eventually read all 16 documents of Vatican II, start with these 4.
- Humanae Vitae - Pope Paul VI. The encyclical that rocked the Church.
- Theology of the Body - John Paul II.
- Writings of the Church Fathers. There is a ton of stuff out there. So, I recommend both this one-volume book or, even better, this three-volume set of books on the Church Fathers.
- JPII's most important encyclicals - Veritatis Splendor, Redemptor Hominis, Laborem Exercens, Centesimus Annus, Evangelium Vitae, Dives in Misericordia, Redemptoris Missio, and Fides et Ratio. All of these can be found on the Vatican's website.
- Pope Benedict's three encyclicals.
- Spiritual Writings of the Saints. This is a huge category. I would start with the mystics - St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Bonaventure, St. Bernard, etc. and the Doctors of the Church.
- Code of Canon Law. I don't necessarily recommend a cover-to-cover reading, but at least a good introduction to it. This is a decent intro.
- Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
- General Directory for Catechesis.
- Evangelii Nuntiandi - Pope Paul VI. On evangelization.
- St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica.
- History of the Catholic Church. I recommend the Warren Carroll four-volume version. If you want a shorter volume, try Triumph by Crocker.
Do you have any others ?
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