Father’s Day is coming soon and you want gift ideas for the Catholic father(s) in your life. I thought I would help. Let’s cut to the chase and jump right in. Here are some gift ideas that might please you both.
First up is books. I moonlight as Catholic Book Lady, so I’m immersed in books. I decided to poll some trusted, faithful Catholic men as to what books they think are good for men. I’ve got some new books, some popular, and some classic for your perusal.
New Books:
No matter what you get for your man, you should also first include Journey to Heaven by Randy Hain, co-founder of Integrated Catholic Life, one of my favorite Catholic websites. I know Randy, and he is the epitome of the great, faithful, Catholic dad. I’ve been reading it myself, and I really like it. He takes the wisdom of many wise, real contemporary Catholic men (not some lofty theologian, or a 500 year old dead monk) and distills it into an easy-to-understand, quick-to-read format. My favorite parts are “Integrating Faith and Work,” “What is Really Important,” and how to be a Catholic Rebel. We women love a rebel, right?
How can you go wrong with any book by Scott Hahn? Angels & Saints is his new one. Can you guess what’s it about? I’ll wait….Yep, angels and saints. Don’t like that topic, Dr. Hahn has tons of other books, including the now classic Rome Sweet Home, he and his wife’s conversion story.
Now some Ever-Popular Books that came highly recommended from my men’s poll:
-
Be a Man by Fr. Larry Richards. Check out not only the book, but short mp3’s, study guides, DVD’s & more. And while you are there look at Fr. Larry’s book, Surrender! The Life Changing Power of Doing God’s Will
-
Choosing Joy: The Secret of Living a Fully Christian Life by Dan Lord, revert and former lead singer and songwriter of the band Pain. He writes about overcoming the obstacles in life and focusing your heart, mind and strength on God so that you can receive happiness and peace. Dan also happens to be the husband of wonderful Catholic blogger Hallie Lord of Moxie Wife. And anybody Hallie loves has got to be wonderful.
-
Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time by Stephen Arterburn. Not specifically Catholic, but highly recommended by one of my men polled.
-
The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy Keller, a Presbyterian minister. I found this quote pretty compelling about what this book is about: “The vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible…Modern culture would have you believe that everyone has a soul mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that your spouse is there to help you realize your potential; that marriage does not mean forever, but merely for now; and that starting over after a divorce is the best solution to seemingly intractable marriage issues. But these modern-day assumptions are wrong.”
-
Rediscovering Catholicsm the wildly popular book by Matthew Kelly
-
How to Listen When God Is Speaking & Winning the Battle Against Sin by Fr. Mitch Pacwa of EWTN.
-
Witness to Hope, a biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel
-
Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World by Chris Lowney, on what you can learn from the Jesuits, who pioneered a unique formula for molding leaders. Their leadership principles of self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism can make each of us a dynamic leader today.
-
Love and Responsibility by St. Pope John Paul II
-
Man to Man, Dad to Dad: Catholic Faith and Fatherhood, edited by Brian Caulfield. 13 dads show how to balance family and work life.
- The Catholic Briefcase: Tools for Integrating Faith and Work by Randy Hain. This one won 2012’s About.com Reader’s Choice Award.
-
Navigating the Interior Life by Dan Burke, Executive Director of the National Catholic Register and founder of SpiritualDirection.com. I saved this one for last in this list because I think every Catholic, especially every Catholic man, should own a copy. It is an excellent book on how to figure out your main faults so you can begin to work on rooting them out, and how to find spiritual direction so you can progress in your path to God. I know Dan Burke personally and he is the real deal. Get his book for your guy because you won’t be disappointed.
Now for some Classic Books:
-
Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo, the very first conversion story, Augustine was a brilliant man with a concubine and illegitimate child who suffered from pride, ambition, pain and regret to become a convert, a bishop, a doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived.
-
The Sinner’s Guide by Venerable Louis de Grenada, the 16th century classic on resisting temptation and overcoming sin.
-
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Amazing logical arguments for the Christian faith.
-
In Conversation with God by Fr. Francis Fernandez, absolutely excellent set of books with meditations for every day according to the Mass readings. You can buy each book individually to try it out.
-
Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, for beginners in the spiritual life.
If you want more ideas for books, here is Scott Hahn’s list of recommended books for men. And some great new novels from Ignatius Press.
Now, maybe your guy isn’t into books (gasp!) so here are a few alternatives so we cover all our bases.
If the father in your life is not just Catholic, but extra-Catholic (you know, he bought you a new veil to wear to the Latin Mass, maybe prays the Divine Office every day, perhaps keeps a pebble in his shoe on Friday or Wednesday, etc.) He might like Fr. John Zulsdorf’s (Fr. Z!) über-Catholic gifts from his store: such as the “To Be Deep in History is to Cease to be Protestant” mug or stein – sure to be a hit at the office! It is apparently a favorite of Fr. George Rutler.
Or maybe Dad loves coffee or tea. Don’t hesitate to buy Mystic Monk Coffee and help the Carmelite Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel build their monastery in Wyoming to last the ages. This is quality stuff Dad will love. Lots of flavors. Check out the Monk Shots.
Perhaps the kids want to make Dad a gift. Here is something I love to do. Make him a knotted rosary. Easy to do, easy to keep in the pocket, and silent in use. Something I certainly value. Check out Greg & Jennifer Willet’s apostolate the Rosary Army for details.
Finally, I asked my 11 year old son what he thought a dad would want on Father’s Day. Here is his list: grill cleaner, power tools, iPad, a camera, utility belt, pet snake. “Pet snake?” “Yes, all fathers like snakes.”
So there you have it, 25 great ideas for the father in your life. Don’t forget the snake!
P.S. There are more than 25 ideas now because I keep remembering more great stuff. If you have an idea please comment and let me know. I may add it to the list.
Update: My former neighbor, a protestant missionary, and wonderful friend Glenda, who is one of the best Christian women I know, had a suggestion for the list. She says “I have an alternative idea to C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. We just listened to C. S. Lewis at War done by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. It is the story behind Mere Christianity plus the audio book. Jeff really enjoyed this. It definitely appealed to his logical engineering mind! We listen on long car trips… the audio book is a great alternative for those who rarely sit down to read a book, and the dramatization of this one holds your attention.