What is Good Books@St. Mary About?

“Man…is a storytelling animal.”
-Alasdair MacIntyre 

Good Books @ St. Mary is a partnership of parents, priests, and faculty offering families access to virtuous, delightful and useful stories — stories that form our moral imagination, touch our relationships, and enliven our engagement with the world.  

Each month, recommended books from the St. Mary community will appear on this site, arranged by grade levels: Preschool/Picture Books, Early Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, and High School/Adult.

Recognizing our lives as essential threads woven into God’s grand narrative — and seeing this gift in great literature — is essential to the DCJM educational vision.  A part of St. Mary’s Living the Classics, Good Books @ St. Mary is designed to support teachers, parents, and priests in strengthening that vision at St. Mary School.  

Good books, even those we read for pure enjoyment, move us to action.  Two saints, who are cornerstones of the DCJM educational vision, give us examples: St. Ignatius of Loyola, and Saint John Paul II.  Ignatius observed that some stories, while briefly entertaining, left him spiritually empty. Other stories–those of the saints–produced lasting joy, leading him to a great conversion of life.  Like Ignatius, Saint John Paul II put the power of stories into action, but in a different manner: as an underground dramatist and playwright in World War II-era Poland, he battled the false narratives of fascism and communism with stories reflecting the beauty and truth of God’s plan for humankind. 

Families are acutely aware that today, false narratives abound. Like Ignatius, we see that some leave us empty. Others bring our families closer together, inspire adventure, and produce that lasting fruit that makes us return to them again and again for nourishment. 

Good Books @St. Mary aspires, in a little way, to gather and share excellent, age-appropriate books that foster delight in the good, the true, and the beautiful to the glory of God.  We encourage you to join us in this adventure: please send your recommended good books, as well as any questions or comments, to GoodBooks@StMaryLittleton.com.