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The Apostolic Fathers are the Christian writers from the first and second centuries who are thought to have been disciples of the Apostles or to have been so directly influenced by the Apostles that their writings are considered echoes of genuine Apostolic teaching. Their writings form a link of tradition that binds these writings to those of the New Testament. Chief among the apostolic fathers are the three first-century Bishops: St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna, who were disciples of St. Peter and St. John.

St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon, France, wrote Against Heresies in 180 AD. It is a collected work made up of five books, in which Irenaeus examines the many schools of Gnostic thought of his day, in addition to various heretical Christian sects. He contrasts these with the orthodoxy of Christianity. This version of the work contains the first three books, which, before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, were the best surviving description of Gnosticism.

These are the words or sayings (Apophthegmata), of various monks (the abbas, i.e. fathers) who lived in the deserts of Egypt between 250 A.D. and 400 A.D. They cover topics such as love, poverty, fasting, humility, and prayer, and there is usually a short story that gives the context of the sayings. These sayings are one of the few surviving records of the first monks such as St. Anthony the Great and St. Pachomius, who followed a strict way of life. Their sole aim was to draw closer to God through their labours.

In this classic book, John of Damascus laboured to form one complete, clear, and brief theological work that would summarize all Christian doctrine that had been passed down and agreed upon. The following was said of the book: The result was an inexhaustible storehouse of tradition in which nothing is to be found that has not been either approved by the ecumenical synods or by the established leaders of the Church.

The resurrection from death is a strong component of the Christian faith, which the Nicene Creed, affirms stating: "We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." The early Christian writers Irenaeus and Justin Martyr, in the second century, wrote against the widespread idea of their time that only the soul survived. In like manner, we have this later writing of St. Gregory of Nyssa (335-395 AD) which clearly articulates the position that a person is both soul and body and that Christ has promised to raise them both.

The dialog is a Christian mystical work by St. Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380), who is said to have composed it "a state of ecstasy while in dialogue with God the Father". The book is a conversation between God, the eternal father, and the human soul of St. Catherine. The dialogue relates, by the means of many metaphors, the spiritual life of humanity, emphasizing the importance of virtue, constant prayer, and obedience. The dialogues have been a classic since they were composed in Italian in the 14th-century.

At the beginning of the book of the Revelation of St. John, John was commanded to "write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches". We know that these seven churches were named after cities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). From the Book of Revelation itself, we have St. John's description of each Church:

The Little Office of Our Lady, also known as the Hours of the Virgin, is a liturgical devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in imitation of, and usually in addition to, the Divine Office in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a cycle of psalms, hymns, scripture, and other readings that came into general use in the 10th century, and was so well received that eventually by the 14th century the Little Office was obligatory for all clergy. Although no longer an obligatory prayer book, it is still widely used by those who wish to draw closer to Christ and to the Virgin Mary.

In this classic catechism, Fr. Francis Spirago provides an in-depth study of the Catholic Faith both from scripture and the authoritative Council of Trent catechism. The entire work is divided into three parts: 1.) faith, 2.) morals, 3.) the means of grace. This first part covers the aspects of faith and expounds upon each article of the Apostles' Creed.

The Book of the Pastoral Rule (Liber Regulae Pastoralis) is a treatise on the duties of the clergy written by Pope Gregory I (540 - 604 A.D.) about AD 590, shortly after he was ordained as pope. This book would go on to become one of the most influential works ever composed on the subject. The book itself is addressed to John, the bishop of Ravenna, and is divided into four parts.

In the early centuries of Christianity (first to fourth century), the composition of the Bible was not fixed, as letters and manuscript were often kept separate, and different communities had different collections of texts. Many letters and sermons of the nascent Christian church in the first few centuries were persevered, even though they were not included in the New Testament.

St. Ephraim was born within the Roman empire in Mesopotamia around AD 310. He grew up a pious youth and later became a disciple of St. Jacob, a bishop of the city. When his hometown fell to the Persians, he sought retreat as a solitary in a cell on a rocky hill close to the city, along with many other monks. Despite his solitary nature, he became famous as a great teacher, a champion against heresy, as well as an ascetic.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (AD 335 - 395), the great theologian and bishop of Nyssa, turned his considerable skill to finishing the work that his brother St. Basil the Great had started on the creation of the world (the Hexaemeron). The result is this book, which examines how humans are formed as a "mean between the divine and brute beasts".

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is perhaps the most widely practiced of all Catholic devotions, where the heart of Jesus is seen as a symbol of "God's endless and fervent love for all." Evidence of such devotion dates to the 11th and 12th centuries in a number of Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries. It was also widely advocated by the well-known saints Bonaventure (d. 1274) and Gertrude (d. 1302).

St. Peter of Alcantara (1499 - 1562) wrote this famous Spanish classic to aid the pious listener in growing closer to God through prayer and mediation. In this work, he gives detailed meditations for each day of the week, morning and evening, on everything - from the suffering of Christ to the beauty of heaven. He also provides counsels on numerous topics related to prayer, such as spiritual dryness and drowsiness. The work was widely read in St. Peter's day, especially in Spain, where, for a time, it was the most popular devotion book outside of the Bible.

During the 19th century, there were repeated efforts in the United States to make a uniform textbook of Christian doctrine in English that all Catholics might be able to use. In 1829, the bishops assembled the First Provincial Council of Baltimore to discuss the matter. They recommended using St. Bellarmine's short catechism as a model. Finally, in the Third Plenary Council (1884), the Baltimore catechism in its present form took shape.

This commentary on Galatians was compiled from six homilies given by St. John Chrysostom (347 - 407), the great preacher of Constantinople, providing a detailed verse by verse study of this important letter by the apostle St. Paul. The epistle is the ninth book in the New Testament and is addressed to the Christians in Galatia, a region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). In the letter, St. Paul addresses the controversy of the Mosaic law and how it applies to non-Jewish Christians. It is also notable for recording the controversy between Paul and Peter over "Judaizers".

Mental prayer is a type of prayer that has traditionally been used by Catholics to draw closer to God by meditating on various aspects of the faith, such as heaven, the shortness of life, in addition to stories and parables in the Bible, and even simply contemplating on the face of Christ. In this short catechism, Fr. Joseph Simler gives an introduction to the practice in a simple question and answer format, moving from defining what mental prayer is, to dealing with difficulties such as distraction and aridity. A classic work that will help anybody grow closer to Christ.