How to Read Your Way to Heaven
A Spiritual Reading Program
for the Worst of Sinners, the Greatest of Saints, and Everyone in Between
What if I told you, you could chart a course to heaven simply by reading? The fact is that many of the saints regularly read the spiritual classics. And, what they read affected their spirituality, their Catholicity, and their lives in a positive way.
Here at SpiritualDirection.com we have some exciting news for you. Our own Vicki Burbach, who guides the book club on this site, and has led other book clubs, has written How to Read Your Way to Heaven – A Spiritual Reading Program for the Worst of Sinners, the Greatest of Saints, and Everyone in Between, a how-to manual for doing just that. She knows that getting to heaven is not as simple, and as easy, as curling up with a Good Book and the beverage of one’s choice. But, she also understands how critical spiritual reading is to our faith-life and our development as Catholics, and ultimately our journey to heaven.
Let’s face it, many of us would just love to spend more time digging into the riches of our faith. But, where would we ever find the time to do so? Or, even the discipline?
Vicki, herself, is a busy homeschooling mother of six. She’s a committed Catholic convert who has been featured on SpiritualDirection.com, The National Catholic Register, Catholic Exchange and Big Pulpit, and on her own blog Pelican’s Breast. As you can imagine, she is no stranger to this predicament.
Flexible and Easy to Follow
Vicki has carved out a fail-safe, step-by-step program for accessing both the riches of our faith in Sacred Scripture and the Catechism, and in some of the greatest Catholic books ever written. It’s a plan that integrates these fundamentals into a flexible one, three or five-year program, which can be adapted or tailored to a very full and demanding life.
Structured around the four pillars of the faith, which the Catechism identifies as the Profession of Faith, the Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Life in Christ, and Prayer, it comes complete with checklists which lay out a 15 or 30-minute schedule for prayerful reading and study five days a week — with the possibility of splitting the reading up when time is at a premium. It’s also chock full of inspirational quotes from saints and other holy people, which serve to accompany readers and spur them on the way. As well, it contains a list of the favorite books of some of today’s prominent Catholics, Catholics who include members of the clergy, lay theologians, and popular Catholic writers (Venerable Fulton Sheen and Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur are two of Vicki’s favorites).
Advance Praise for Vicki’s Book
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“If you want to develop a deep knowledge of our Faith, here is a reliable book that shows you how.”
— Fr. C. John McCloskey III, Opus Dei, Church historian, research fellow, and author of the popular “A Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan”.+
“Getting to heaven often requires that we rely on the wisdom of those who have gone before us. Vicki Burbach has done us a great service by providing an insightful reading plan and approach that, if absorbed and followed, will no doubt produce saints!”
— Dan Burke, President of the Avila Foundation, Founder of the Avila Institute, Divine Intimacy Radio, SpiritualDirection.com, and author of Navigating the Interior Life and Into the Deep.+
“Whether you’re a lifelong Catholic or a skeptical inquirer, you’ll find How to Read Your Way to Heaven by Vicki Burbach to be an indispensable gift for your intellectual and spiritual life. With this timeless treasure, Vicki has helped solve my ‘so many books and so little time’ problem by providing a masterplan that’s both exciting and accomplishable. By committing a portion of each day to life’s most important pursuit — knowing, loving and serving God — we journey ever closer to heaven. I’m grateful to Vicki for a book that’s sure to become well worn over the next five years. I can’t wait to dive in!”
— Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com and author of The Grace of Yes.+
“We can read all day and read forever, and still feel as if we’re not making progress. Vicki Burbach gets us out of the rut and onto a track toward real spiritual — and cultural and intellectual — progress. This is the kind of book that can make life so much richer — by leading to many more books, and all in good order.”
— Mike Aquilina, award-winning author/editor of 40+ books on Catholic devotion, doctrine and history, an EWTN personality and sought-after lecturer and speaker.+
Where to Get It
Vicki’s book How to Read Your Way to Heaven – A Spiritual Reading Program for the Worst of Sinners, the Greatest of Saints, and Everyone in Between is scheduled to go on sale in January, 2017. But, you can pre-order it now from Sophia Press in paperback or ebook form by clicking here, or in paperback form from Amazon by clicking here.
It’s not just another book to read but an invaluable tool for guiding and organizing your spiritual reading, in support of your spiritual journey to becoming a saint! A great way to begin the new year, too!
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Art for this post on How to Read Your Way to Heaven: Cover of How to Read Your Way to Heaven used with permission. Photography of Vicki Burbach and Dan Burke used with permission.
About Liz Estler
Editor, SpiritualDirection.com. Liz holds a Master of Arts in Ministry Degree (St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts), Liturgy Certificate (Boston Archdiocese), and a BS degree in Biology and Spanish (Nebraska Wesleyan University – Lincoln). She has served as hospital chaplain associate, sacristan, translator and in other parish ministries. She was a regular columnist for a military newspaper in Europe and has been published in a professional journal. She once waded in the Trevi Fountain!