"Books are our friends and our treasures. There are books on many of our shelves right now that we may never read again but which we keep because the initial experience of reading them was so memorable. Their physical presence speaks of past delights and lessons learned. They are doors opening on familiar rooms, voices calling from other places," writes Donald Brophy who was for many years acquiring editor and managing editor for the Catholic book publisher Paulist Press. In this paperback, he presents his choices of 100 classics of Catholic literature past and present, including biography, spirituality, theology, poetry, mystical writing, history, and fiction. Brophy provides introductions to these book which are arranged in chronological order.

We are mainly interested in the most recent books and we concur with the following choices:

• Henri Nouwen's The Wounded Healer
• Andrew M. Greeley's The Great Mysteries
• Anthony de Mello's Sadhana
• Thomas Keating's Open Mind, Open Heart
• Elizabeth A. Johnson's She Who Is
• Patricia Hampl's Virgin Time
• Robert Ellsberg's All Saints
• Ronald Rohlheiser's The Holy Longing

Here is a sample of his review of Ellsberg's All Saints:
"Ellsberg's mixture of contemporary and historical figures with canonical saints is both powerful and moving. His approach is reverent without being adoring. The principle of selection that seems to have shaped the book is faithfulness to the beatitudes. These are men and women who in their lifetimes worked for justice, strove for peace, and lived selfless lives of compassion. One can read All Saints to learn more about these holy people or to inspire one's own heart to serve others. Like the saint stories of old, these sacred lives continue to work their magic on us."