I just found a great online library of Christian classics. The following is just a short list of the (seemingly) complete texts available in the collection:

• Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
  
• The Confessions of Saint Augustine by St. Augustine
• The City of God by St. Augustine
• Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
• Heretics by G.K. Chesterton
• Inferno by Alighieri Dante
• Paradise Lost by John Milton
  
• The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict
• The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Autograph)
  by St. Ignatius
• A Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ
  by St. John of the Cross
  
• Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus
• Incarnation of the Word by St. Athanasius
• Poems of St. Teresa, Carmelite of Lisieux, known as
  the "Little Flower of Jesus"by St. Therese of Lisieux
• The Imitation of Christ by Thomas À Kempis

(I also came across this excellent chart of early Church Fathers.)

Please note that I have no idea as to how close the translations really are to their original contents. As a trial and due to its prominence, I did a very quick comparison for the Summa Theologica. In comparing the Table of Contents of the online text listed above against that of the printed version, the contents seem to be the same (though the print version seems to be a later version). Both the online and printed versions are translated versions of Summa Theoligae by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. These same Dominicans have their own publications list, which currently points to this 1920 translation at the New Advent website.

Let me know if you know of any other online libraries or books, everyone.

(Also, for completeness' sake, I should point you to some key Catholic documents.)

One of my readers sent me an excellent question, which I'd love to get other people's feedback on:

Where can I go to find a list of all declared dogma on matters of
faith and morals?

As a start, I recommend the "Worth Checking Out" panel (on the right side) at tomreagan.com. In addition, I poked around the web and found the following:

• Resources at the Vatican.va site:
  
  • List of Key Documents
    
  • Code of Canon Law
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • Second Vatican Council Documents
    
  • New American Bible


• Code of Canon Law (English Translation of Codex Iuris Canonici), from the Canon Law Society of America


• Resources at Wikipedia.org:
  
  • List of Documents of the Roman Catholic Church
  • Catholic Theology and Doctrine
  • Infallibility in the Roman Catholic Church
  • Papal Infallibility and Instances of Papal Infallibility
  
  

(For completeness, I should point you to other online Christian classic writings.)

Does anybody else out there have some good ideas either online or offline? If you are a member of the blog, please comment directly off of this post by visiting TomReagan.com. If you don't have the ability to post, email me your thoughts directly.

I constantly come into contact with people, who are under the impression that I should act perfectly, that I should act more "Christian." Christians themselves seem to fall into this belief that all Christians should always act "Christian" all the time. In other words, many people seem to believe that Christianity is a religion of perfection.

Hold on a second, folks; Christianity is not a religion of perfection! This is a religion of imperfection. This is a religion made up of imperfect people!

Now, that's not to say that we and the Church shouldn't strive for perfection. Rather, we should. And, we should act more Christian, more often. But! We should strive for perfection fully realizing we may never attain it; in this life anyway.

God knows we're imperfect and the key to Christianity is knowing that God--who loves us more than we can possibly know or understand--will always forgive us. And then forgive us again. And again. "Seventy-seven times." Further, we must be willing to forgive others and ourselves with this same patient love that God showers upon us.

In becoming patiently loving, we must strive to become more forgiving of others and to become completely open to Christ, who will fully wipe away our sins. It is in these ways that we--the imperfect followers of Christ--become more like Him, more perfect.

For a good Lent, I thought I would recommend a reading.
It is Psalm 51. Actually, I recommend not only reading it, but praying it:

For the leader. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my offense; my sin is always before me. Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn. True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.

Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt. A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.

I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.

Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power. Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.

For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.

Make Zion prosper in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifice, burnt offerings and holocausts; then bullocks will be offered on your altar.

I personally have always liked this Psalm at Reconciliation time. It is also notable that this is the the first Psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours on Ash Wednesday (ie. the reading that opens Lent in the Office).

On Sunday at Mass at Franciscan University of Steubenville, the homily was about what to give up for Lent (originally from EWTN):

Give up complaining . . . . focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism . . . . . become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments . . think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. . . be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. . . . . turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. . . . . . . return good for evil.
Give up negativism. . . . . be positive.
Give up anger . . . . . . . be more patient.
Give up pettiness . . . . . become mature.
Give up gloom . . . . . . . enjoy the beauty that is

all around you.

Give up jealousy. . . . . . pray for trust.
Give up gossiping . . . . . control your tongue.
Give up sin . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.
Give up giving up . . . . . hang in there!

Romans 8:31 (as per the New American Bible) :

"What then shall we say to this?
If God is for us, who can be against us?"