tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57255684631112020242024-03-14T04:48:44.198-07:00the Catholic bookshelfAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-6727604633180772072016-08-07T17:42:00.001-07:002016-08-07T17:42:09.359-07:00Who Does He Say Who You Are: Women Transformed by Christ in the Gospels by Colleen C. Mitchell<p dir=ltr><br>
How do we define ourselves or more importantly who defines us? We might say we define ourselves but shouldn’t we be looking to God about who we should be. The author states in the prologue, “ I began to remember God’s vision for who I am, to hear him remind me of who it was he made me to be, by drawing near to him in prayer and reading scriptures, which had always been my favorite way to encounter Jesus and build my relationship with him”. The title “Who Does He Say You Are” is of course a play on words from the Gospel of Mark 8:29. “Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah”. The author, Colleen Mitchell shares with us her personal story of loss and grief as the backdrop of her book. She brings us along on her spiritual journey. She includes, “And somehow we found our way through the grief and I found my way back to intimate friendship with Christ, back to who he says that I really am”. <br>
I liked that the bible verses were provided not simply their bible reference pages at the beginning of each chapter. Description of the women in the New Testament like the Virgin Mary, the Samaritan woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, and Mary and Martha to name a few, are the topics of the chapters. A feminine spirituality is explored by the author and is also consistent with Catholic teachings. The best part is her confrontational style of addressing us her readers. You can see yourself in the characteristics of each woman’s story in the bible. The author draws us out with questions and reflections. I loved the prayers at the end of each chapter. The author concludes with, “I hope you are encouraged to see the Gospels as an invitation to consider who we are in light of who Christ is and to accept the grace he offers us to be transformed by our encounters with him”.<br>
I would recommend this book to you because it accomplished its purpose in drawing me closer to God. In times of grief we can feel lost and this book makes you feel found again. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXZMmhAUwZyQEvCEsZ7PdZ7kowC6MwfIAh8pkhEcT_IJha3qp1uj_uji_dB6D5zdswU3ohtsSlz8Yk-4Zp98eKrBzPFhnYA00nW-4vsFlYe9cN5DyXbJFizXnh2kp7Vu8HTrTeaOqfS8e/s1600/9781632531025_50896be0-fe96-42b3-8234-e71a251d5f3a_large.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXZMmhAUwZyQEvCEsZ7PdZ7kowC6MwfIAh8pkhEcT_IJha3qp1uj_uji_dB6D5zdswU3ohtsSlz8Yk-4Zp98eKrBzPFhnYA00nW-4vsFlYe9cN5DyXbJFizXnh2kp7Vu8HTrTeaOqfS8e/s200/9781632531025_50896be0-fe96-42b3-8234-e71a251d5f3a_large.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-30729665247433916272016-07-27T16:12:00.001-07:002016-07-27T16:12:25.679-07:00Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility By Edward Sri<p dir=ltr>We think as a society we cannot define love. But I would say to you Saint John Paul the II did just that with his writings in Love and Responsibility and later in his Theology of the Body. The author, Edward Sri, does a wonderful job of unpacking a complicated topic for us the readers. Real love he explains is not just the "butterflies in your stomach" when you first date the love of your life but what you feel after 60 years of marriage. But this book not only delves into marital love but love in all aspects like friendships and family. “Love is a virtue that involves sacrifice, responsibility and total commitment to the other person. Hollywood love is an emotion” says Edward Sri. <br>
My favorite example that brings it all together is the reference to the movie Titanic. In the movie many people glorify the emotional romance between the two main characters. “Two people whose romance develops over just a few days, which don’t really know each other and have no true commitment to each other.” says Edward Sri. Is this our ideal kind of love? John Paul the II explains that when we are carried away by our emotions, sentimentality may hinder our ability to know that person as she or he really is. Mr. Sri asks "Is this the kind of person who will make sacrifices for me and put what’s best for me or our family before them?" The Catechism defines love as willing the good of the other. <br>
Original sin is explained as when “Shame” entered the world. “Shame involves fear of another person, the sense that we’re not sure we can trust that person. We fear being used or being hurt, so we are afraid of being vulnerable in letting others see us as we really are.” Matthew Kelly wrote: “We can’t be loved for who we are if we won’t reveal ourselves. Unrevealed we never experience intimacy.” The more the Holy Spirit transforms our selfish and lustful hearts with the total self-giving love of Jesus Christ, the more relationships will recover their original meaning that God designed for us in the Garden of Eden. <br>
I would recommend this book to you and for those we love who are living in difficult relationships. It would be a great gift to our young teens trying to make sense of dating and beginning relationships with the opposite sex. I found myself in many ways within the pages of this book. It is about healing and raising up the value of tr</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp9PWTKIhDhA_v57c2xY9zmpSwMzWKoRpncvWkgNfVXpo9tLMnjCjMptv49mo-xLyKZjanQa8xHukOpYa91ol-8U4DHE8m1O61Lza71OQ5PoxjoErPn43Kuu7bbjdbOCQe-2oKBxtlXoU/s1600/men-women.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp9PWTKIhDhA_v57c2xY9zmpSwMzWKoRpncvWkgNfVXpo9tLMnjCjMptv49mo-xLyKZjanQa8xHukOpYa91ol-8U4DHE8m1O61Lza71OQ5PoxjoErPn43Kuu7bbjdbOCQe-2oKBxtlXoU/s200/men-women.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-87369637726690544362016-01-18T20:37:00.001-08:002016-01-18T20:41:40.623-08:00City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul Il's Krakow by George Weigel<p dir=ltr>Against a prequel background to World Youth Day 2016 by a renowned author George Weigel is set the biography of a great saint. I learned so much about St. John Paul the II and I had not read anything about his life story before this book. The black and white photos are amazing surpassed only by the color photos in the center of the book taken by George Weigel's son, Stephen Weigel, while Carrie Gress has provided historical notes. <br>
The book has an unusual format that is linked to maps and history with a personal story as a guide. City of Saints makes me want to visit Poland and see the sites mentioned in the book. The reader can better understand where St John Paul got his ideas of freedom from after being forged in Poland during World War II. I never thought of Poland as a beautiful place or as a vacation destination. But now I know so much more about the history of Poland and its link to saints such as Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska. Pope John Paul the II canonized her in the Jubilee year of 2000. He was responsible for the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday. He knew there was much healing needed in the world after World War II and the assaults to human dignity that were perpetrated. George Weigel tells us in City of Saints that "John Paul the II's response to the mystery of evil was to embrace the cross of Christ as a priest of the Catholic Church, spending out his life in defense of the dignity of others."<br>
I would recommend City of Saints for you to discover the life story of St John Paul II, which is inspirational and this book takes you on a journey worth taking through the contemporary history of the Catholic Church. I did know John Paul was an active outdoor person that liked skiing and kayaking but I did not know he was an actor. He used his acting during World War II before becoming a priest to help continue the Polish culture that the Third Reich was trying to extinguish. He was Archbishop of Krakow and his best accomplishment to me is his Theology of the Body. This theological document is rich in the dignity of the human person and what true love looks like between humans and between humans and God. <br>
City of Saints would make a great travel guide of Poland at anytime and is perfect for the upcoming World Youth Day in 2016. I would recommend reading it before you visit Poland, studying the maps included and making a travel plan according to the book of sites to see. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMRbb9_6XV1LTn7mAP-kInIWYCJaNNEt1K-vA3DEIyYrcZoReds_v8Mr_-K8J24PUYN_izHEAP0OJRBJ0ELsmvR3BIh8OewOPCtSit9TfFgoNX9ulPn1lrsnPpZSIW0ZVjHgG6Ft1VyUc/s1600/51kBSPwg85L._SX331_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMRbb9_6XV1LTn7mAP-kInIWYCJaNNEt1K-vA3DEIyYrcZoReds_v8Mr_-K8J24PUYN_izHEAP0OJRBJ0ELsmvR3BIh8OewOPCtSit9TfFgoNX9ulPn1lrsnPpZSIW0ZVjHgG6Ft1VyUc/s200/51kBSPwg85L._SX331_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-72921090320882252832016-01-10T22:03:00.001-08:002016-01-10T22:04:40.712-08:00My Badass Book of Saints: Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live by Maria Morera Johnson<p dir=ltr>The Saints are true models of how how to live faith filled lives. My Badass book of Saints brings their stories out of the clouds and shines a light on their true life stories. I have always liked reading about the saints but I loved the format of this book. First there is a personal story from the author, then a story from a contemporary cultural icon, then a tie in with a saint story and a rap up at the end to connect the three stories. This format makes the saints more approachable and relatable. Some of the saints included are: St. Joan of Arc, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Rose of Lima, just to name a few. Each chapter has a theme such as selflessness or perseverance and there are questions to ponder at the end of each chapter. This makes it perfect for discussion and group reading. <br>
I like how Maria Johnson teaches us how this all applies to our daily life with her quote "All of us are called to do our best . These ....don’t inspire me to go out and look for opportunities to do good. Rather, they inspire me to keep a more watchful eye within my own circles of influence to see what needs to be done there, especially with my family, friends, and people with whom I interact." I know I can often be looking for a project in the community at large, instead of looking inside my life already for opportunities to do good. <br>
I would recommend this book to you as a fun way to get to know some remarkable women to inspire you. I liked being challenged to think of women in our own lives that are courageous and compassionate as some of the themes and questions suggest. The title is great and I love the description of bodacious women we can not just imitate but find their qualities in ourselves already, waiting to be tapped into to bring more to our lives and those around us.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWHNL0pAuZees5pPO-e0OEA8cZe-0ngFq06539BFUHIpi1Qx72HSZwF1OJM8f-tT2TCIaBIva1GKBQRYmLEuqV4Kc6rJLriixwl4ilElflDxf05WLbAI-ZV30zqXboiMN-xQLEu_-vi6M/s1600/51WaKkcwiAL._SY344_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWHNL0pAuZees5pPO-e0OEA8cZe-0ngFq06539BFUHIpi1Qx72HSZwF1OJM8f-tT2TCIaBIva1GKBQRYmLEuqV4Kc6rJLriixwl4ilElflDxf05WLbAI-ZV30zqXboiMN-xQLEu_-vi6M/s200/51WaKkcwiAL._SY344_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-26258405058024402252016-01-09T21:25:00.001-08:002016-01-09T21:29:57.992-08:00The St. Teresa of Avila Prayer Book by Virginia Hampton Wright<p dir=ltr>St Teresa of Avila is a doctor of the Catholic church now but I learned she was controversial in her day. Her contemplative connection with God was looked on with skepticism in her day. The author seems to know St Teresa like a family member. You can tell she did her research. The first part of the book is biographical but fun, not dry. St Teresa's prayers in her own words are beautiful. The most distinguishing feature of this book is the alignment of St Teresa's prayers with a liturgy of the hours type format with morning and evening prayers.<br>
St. Teresa had a hard time with formatted prayer and sought a more personal relationship with God. She felt herself drawn to God's presence without even trying. She naturally tended to contemplative prayer but she also studied about it in the book by Francisco of Osuna called the Third Spiritual Alphabet. Her marked up and worn copy is still available to view today. One of her students became known as St. John of the Cross.<br>
I love the description of prayer straight from St. Teresa, "She described prayer as different ways of watering a garden. Sometimes we must draw water up from the well, which requires much effort on our part, and other times we simply direct the water to where it needs to go; and then sometimes the water arrives as rainfall and we don’t have to do anything but enjoy it."<br>
Virginia Wright helps us to see and pray with St. Teresa stating, "Ultimately, what St. Teresa of Avila brings to us is confidence in God’s great mercy toward us and God’s willingness to meet us in our flawed humanity and dwell with us right here and now."<br>
I would recommend this book to you to understand St. Teresa of Avila better and deepen your prayer life. The author makes St. Teresa approachable, understandable and a prayer partner which is definitely a plus. I like that there are themes and structure provided for prayer and inspiration from St. Teresa of Avila.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3URHf1Y6Rpt-m3Xyw5u96L-4S42HiMV_ULVKi71-NEJxucP82PEV0WtACO2EJAQrI8VIvAIv2ZeY_Am5QQkpwlrJBGDKnGi_GOs_woUsdDTdJTrhB2t7hQ5povRTq8I5vbc3SOvWVpne/s1600/41v-dmLXr5L._SX309_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3URHf1Y6Rpt-m3Xyw5u96L-4S42HiMV_ULVKi71-NEJxucP82PEV0WtACO2EJAQrI8VIvAIv2ZeY_Am5QQkpwlrJBGDKnGi_GOs_woUsdDTdJTrhB2t7hQ5povRTq8I5vbc3SOvWVpne/s200/41v-dmLXr5L._SX309_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-88571914005564905082016-01-05T21:00:00.001-08:002016-01-05T21:02:38.655-08:00Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul by David Brazzeal<p dir=ltr>Prayer is relationship. It is important to spend time enhancing our relationship with God. We can get in a rut in any relationship and can need a refresh. Pray like a Gourmet is definitely refreshing. I was initially concerned about the association with food. If you think about it though, food is one of our basic needs like love and relationship, so we can all relate easily to this analogy. I like the mix of traditional and creative prayers with a simple or complex mode according to your wants and needs in your prayer life. You can literally use your whole self; mind, body and spirit and all your gifts and talents as a gift to God in prayer.<br>
One of my favorite parts of the book is the analogy in the introduction about a meal in France versus American fast food and our prayer life. Mr. Brazzeal teaches how to savor our time with God and give him the best of ourselves and also that we can be real with God. The format of the book is interesting, such as part two which describes types of prayers, with biblical references and lots of examples. Types of prayers discussed are: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Petition, Observation, Intercession, Meditation, Contemplation, Blessing, Lamenting, and Joining. There are Catholic undertones and sometimes it is even more explicit with confession and saints, etc. One thing I did not like is that the words of importance that are supposed to summarize and stick out to you are in light yellow print. I think a bold darker color would have been more effective but it did cause me to have to look closely. <br>
The author makes his home in France, has lived in Brazil, and has worked in Guadalupe and Quebec. The description in his biography includes "all his work is inspired by the organic fusion that exists between the spiritual and the creative". In chapter two, Brazzeal tells us "Several religions practice specific food restrictions and fasting as spiritual reminders.." Also that, "Abstaining from physical food can play a powerful role in creating a hunger and receptivity for spiritual food.." There is a lot of food analogies in organized religions and specifically Catholicism in the Eucharist.<br>
I would recommend this book to you to enhance your prayer life. The book is very visually appealing with tons of prayer ideas. You can take your time reading the book as you try all the great suggestions. Let yourself be challenged as you grow spiritually and closer to God.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxnXhNdxYw92Y8KdE77s_yXh-wNNEzGo42QvbqSnRc6DssleMhAmPszdae31CjjChvYkOLPpNb7zpzII4OH38nSVUgXqQtumxtlNLSXgFd5AyH9YWuIi7vli73m1j3yIdBMzWQkPE4S9P/s1600/61yZD0x4KEL._SX258_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxnXhNdxYw92Y8KdE77s_yXh-wNNEzGo42QvbqSnRc6DssleMhAmPszdae31CjjChvYkOLPpNb7zpzII4OH38nSVUgXqQtumxtlNLSXgFd5AyH9YWuIi7vli73m1j3yIdBMzWQkPE4S9P/s200/61yZD0x4KEL._SX258_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-45948447110802709872015-12-20T17:04:00.001-08:002015-12-20T17:07:01.492-08:00The Passion and the Cross by Ronald Rolheiser<p dir=ltr>The crucifixion is the other side of the coin of the nativity. As we approach Christmas through the doors of advent we see the love of God through the incarnation. Both the incarnation and the crucifixion show not just how much God loves us but they also show us how to love each other. The first chapter explains about the passivity of Jesus and how all during the crucifixion Jesus was not only passive about resisting but showed great love to his tormentors. Jesus demonstrated how to turn anger, hate and hurt into peace, love and health. Subsequent chapters unpack the mystery of the cross and Jesus as redeemer not rescuer. God did not promise we would not suffer but showed us how to turn bad into good. Christ redeems our suffering and gives it meaning. Rolheiser states, "the love that Christ reveals in the cross is so strong that it can descend into any hell we can create, thaw out our frozen souls, and lead us into the light and peace of paradise, despite our fears and weaknesses."<br>
True love is sacrificial. In The Passion and the Cross, "This is what constitutes the sacrificial part of his love; namely, the excruciatingly pain (ex cruce, from “the cross”) that he had to undergo in order to take in hatred and give back love. But that is the only way that sin can ever leave a community; someone has to take it in, hold it, carry it, and, through a certain excruciating sacrifice of self, transform it into something else." Love is relational and transformative. We see this in the baby Jesus, stated by Rolheiser as "But God’s power is the power of exousia— a baby that lays helpless, muted, patient, beckoning for someone to take care of it. It’s this power that lies at the deepest base of things and will, in the end, gently, have the final say. It’s also the only power upon which love and community can be created because it, and it alone, ultimately softens rather than breaks the heart.<br>
It is important while standing at the manger at Christmas we remember the standing at the cross that will be forthcoming at Easter. This completes the love story of Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection. I would recommend this book to you to bring forth ideas I had not otherwise been exposed to in theology and exposition of the love of God. Why did Jesus have to be crucified? How are we redeemed? The Passion and the Cross brings the answers into focus. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCxbq824a6KNgZLkoVLTBiX8XmquR0MPnbkM81DMZEbUuS_-F0kiyMiO3g_50L3UFfQKl_wmeJdRbZPUH1kQ8cjys6QJdGSsZr538T_9kiJjYsv928SaaJe7_8-5M19qCpPbdWR55-QvZ/s1600/24886196.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCxbq824a6KNgZLkoVLTBiX8XmquR0MPnbkM81DMZEbUuS_-F0kiyMiO3g_50L3UFfQKl_wmeJdRbZPUH1kQ8cjys6QJdGSsZr538T_9kiJjYsv928SaaJe7_8-5M19qCpPbdWR55-QvZ/s200/24886196.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-24049869087453235022015-12-02T20:15:00.001-08:002015-12-02T20:19:03.870-08:00Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh<p dir=ltr><br>
One of the greatest theologians of our time, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a complex man of contradictions. The author, Mr. Marsh peels back every layer so we can see the whole picture of a man obviously enamored of Catholicism but who never converted. He remained a protestant preacher although highly intellectual and he spent a life time finding the truth to some of our biggest questions of "Who is God? and "Where is God during tragedy?".<br>
Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 in Breslau, Germany in a wealthy upper class family. He had a life of privilege, with all the books, music and education he wanted. He earned two doctorates in theology. He loved travel, music and putting on skits and plays to entertain his family and friends. He had a twin sister, Sabine, whom he was very close until she got married. He was well traveled, traveling throughout Spain, England, India and the United States. He believed in ecumenism and reaching out to other religious leaders to combat evil.<br>
Bonhoeffer's story is told not just against the backdrop of World War II but in the thick of it. He was originally arrested for avoiding joining the Nazi army to fight in a time when the idea of being a conscientious objector did not exist. But during his incarceration it was revealed he had been involved in plotting to kill Hitler. He was killed in a concentration camp. His famous last words were "This is not the end for me; it is the beginning of life"<br>
Bonhoeffer found Lutheranism lacking with sola fide or faith alone. He recognized true faith and the common man especially when faced with the racism of the American South. His world view changed to include the understanding that faith is wrapped up in how we treat each other. He originally found being a parish preacher to be mundane and trifling but learned the richness to be found in each parishioner's life. He loved the beauty of the Catholic mass especially during Christmas and Easter. He recognized the inequality against Jews that began in Germany in 1933 and reached the level of evil slaughter and the height of the Holocaust in 1942. This was the year that most people died at the hands of the Nazis. He knew he could not stay silent and spoke out and wrote in opposition to the Aryan paragraph of Jewish exclusion and white supremacy. A quote from Bonhoeffer includes "This denotes a moment in which the church, in order to be true to itself and its message, must distinguish as clearly as possible between truth and error". <br>
Bonhoeffer fought the evil of the Nazis first through the intelligence bureau and finally advocating murder of the fuhrer even though he was a pacifist. A protestant preacher and theologian that believed it mattered what we did in our works. As I said previously, definitely a man of contradictions. <br>
I would recommend this book to you. It is a beautiful biography written by Charles March, the foremost expert on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He served as the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Visiting Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin. There was great detail and I loved the black and white photos. I was fascinated by what I learned about history and theology. Within Glory Days there was the intrigue of spy stories, love stories and news stories. This is a scholarly work that could be difficult to read at times but definitely worth the effort. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmow3c6CgZnNqq4Q8x-PzELVqwxWBU4DyhqkCDqLKj5NkAYwG0pc1V7Kd-U_JH20Bk9krJby8Av6ebTOVf3q5EDGzmVA74Omy6WkcNMwzqKVcefVBR_LdNp-uhiqFVfptkMmbdSX3lmaJP/s1600/51HsvrMh9NL._SY344_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_QL70_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmow3c6CgZnNqq4Q8x-PzELVqwxWBU4DyhqkCDqLKj5NkAYwG0pc1V7Kd-U_JH20Bk9krJby8Av6ebTOVf3q5EDGzmVA74Omy6WkcNMwzqKVcefVBR_LdNp-uhiqFVfptkMmbdSX3lmaJP/s200/51HsvrMh9NL._SY344_BO1%25252C204%25252C203%25252C200_QL70_.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-35881106039606924042015-11-27T14:11:00.001-08:002015-11-27T14:13:30.140-08:00God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe<p dir=ltr>Emmanuel is the meaning of Christmas. Emmanuel means God With Us, the title that says it all. This is a beautiful Advent devotional book in its 4th printing. This quote is from the preface by the author "Christmas is the feast of the Incarnation, which is the mystery of God with us in the flesh. When we cut through the sentiment and marketing to the spiritual riches of Christmas , we recover not only a sense of who God is, but also who we are as human beings." I like the format of the book with the unpacking of the scriptures for the four weeks of Advent followed by Christmas to Epiphany. The history of the feast days by Beth Davis was very informational and I learned a lot about each of the 12 days of Christmas has history and has a specific meaning and purpose. I like the variety of authors from Richard Neuhaus to Kathleen Norris. I did not like that the scripture readings were cited at the beginning of each chapter and not included for convenient reading. I guess I'm just showing laziness, maybe this is made to make the average reader seek out their bible for the readings. Advent is a special time for the church and for me personally. We are an incarnational people where the gift of ourselves is important for the season because of God's gift of himself not just on the cross but by the stable manger. This quote from God with Us "Christmas is about incarnation, and incarnation is God’s becoming what he is not, in order that we might become what he is. Thus does God reveal himself" is a powerful affirmation of our humanity. I would recommend this book to deepen your experience of this spiritual season. From the book is the best recommendation "As this season of preparation continues, Holy God who is with us, may we lean into every moment of our days to redeem the time, to make the most of our every moment."<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4eDwISz-h4B_cX4QN5pWtad6aeTwKxJfHp0EgDekyXyAETHQ8KtqT6AEYGxJ1VVbn2BYsO1LoxBfmXxzczPDOaRqyjaeFsw3erBTUZRCltexKQCE_yXkjGnmGsZaXOxdvX7PxNlBxQdp/s1600/9781612617077_p0_v2_s192x300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4eDwISz-h4B_cX4QN5pWtad6aeTwKxJfHp0EgDekyXyAETHQ8KtqT6AEYGxJ1VVbn2BYsO1LoxBfmXxzczPDOaRqyjaeFsw3erBTUZRCltexKQCE_yXkjGnmGsZaXOxdvX7PxNlBxQdp/s200/9781612617077_p0_v2_s192x300.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-12659958862555684412015-11-15T14:31:00.001-08:002015-11-15T14:39:06.474-08:00Time to Get Ready: An Advent, Christmas Reader to Wake Your Soul by Mark Villano<p dir=ltr>Advent is almost here so it is definitely Time to Get Ready for Advent and ultimately Christmas. There are many Advent devotionals available but I think this one stands out among them. It is steeped in scripture and include many quotes and stories to help the reader get more out of their spiritual life during this time of year. I liked that the readings are included at the beginning of each chapter. There is a description that unpacks the biblical message then a scriptural response. At the end of each chapter there is a summary statement that packs a punch.<br>
We are introduced the idea of chronos and kairos to measure time. Chronos is linear time and Kairos is God's time. But we are not just passively waiting but we are called to action. We are called to bring ourself as gift to others during this season of preparation. When the author speaks "God does not want to fit comfortably into our schedule. God wants to be a living presence in our lives, fire in our hearts." This is evidence of God's call in our lives to minister to others. First we have to find our true selves "Come to know yourself better and you will be able to know others better as well. Be happy with who you are and who you aren’t. You will see more clearly the One who gave you your true self." <br>
From the beginning of advent to the epiphany, Time to Get ready will keep you engaged. For instance with quotes like this "An epiphany is defined as a manifestation of Christ. Franciscan author Richard Rohr, in Everything Belongs, gives his own twist to that definition: an epiphany is a place where God is both hidden and revealed. Perfectly hidden and perfectly revealed — like the manger or the cross. Not everyone is looking for those epiphanies, not everyone sees. But those who do will “ gather together.” Their journeys converge in Bethlehem. Their hearts “thrill and rejoice.”<br>
I would recommend this book to you for inspiration during your Advent and Christmas season. The format is easy to follow. The author's voice is conversational and punctuated with scripture throughout the book. Time to Get Ready will help you make the most of your waiting for the Incarnation when God is with us in history, mystery and majesty.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMsNxF2Ns-_b9L_zutFzY3Deg2NtVacpBXWXBzbqev65V5stbob2n9fzGCikSVODRIGfib_6q5XMI5KW2RdglAaoGDnLAVM5rT4xbyi-Je9NXMDm3PwZYhbTOvVF4zgMlfIrEJPHtkJQR/s1600/time-to-get-ready-an-advent-christmas-reader-to-wake-your-soul-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMsNxF2Ns-_b9L_zutFzY3Deg2NtVacpBXWXBzbqev65V5stbob2n9fzGCikSVODRIGfib_6q5XMI5KW2RdglAaoGDnLAVM5rT4xbyi-Je9NXMDm3PwZYhbTOvVF4zgMlfIrEJPHtkJQR/s200/time-to-get-ready-an-advent-christmas-reader-to-wake-your-soul-5.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-63392934611858706472015-11-08T12:47:00.001-08:002015-11-08T12:50:12.537-08:00The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning<p dir=ltr><br>
This is the 25th anniversary of The Ragamuffin Gospel written by a former Franciscan priest. It is a beautiful exposition on God's grace. It is to the point and in your face in a good way. It wakes you up to the reality of God's love for you. Definitely a "come as you are" love freely given and not earned or deserved is at the core of the book's message. The Ragamuffin Gospel was very controversial when it was originally written in 1990 because it was not about a restrictive love based on sin and judgement. The author left the priesthood to get married and he is not shy in laying out his own faults of alcoholism for instance. The back cover says it nicely that we don't need spiritual cosmetics to make ourselves presentable to God. Ultimately that God IS Love is spelled out chapter after chapter in addition to the whimsical titles of each chapter.<br>
One of my favorite quotes from The Ragamuffin Gospel is "Counterfeit Grace is as commonplace as fake furs, phony antiques, paste jewelry and sawdust hot dogs. The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.....The dichotomy between what we say and what we do is so pervasive in the church and in society that we actually come to believe our illusions and rationalizations and clutch them to our hearts like favorite teddy bears." I think this book is about "keeping it real" and being genuine even as we evangelize in sincerity to others. "To evangelize a person is to say to him or her , 'You are loved by God in the Lord Jesus'. And not only to say it but to really think it and relate it to the man or woman so they can sense it."<br>
The author, Mr Manning, has written more that 20 books, and was a gifted speaker. He was a Korean war veteran and as I mentioned before a Franciscan priest. His final book was his memoir titled All is Grace. He died in 2013. There is a preface and afterward in this book written by people who knew that author personally that is specific to this 25th anniversary special edition. This helps the readers get to know the man and the author better.<br>
I would definitely recommend this book to you. You will not be disappointed. There are multiple examples and quotes in each chapter. The voice of the author is highly relatable. The reader will discover that we are all Ragamuffins and that we are all loveable. What better message could there be and what more could you want from a book. Love and spirituality are central to the book as perhaps they should be in our own lives. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPISFbKUgfOyL1AxZ2C8Wjrm0JkhIeVjgjeabhJeq8ryuWgG1wfHcGQ6oRlaPlhKg7ZBaz0cjYS8yIdsWTlZys6LvQqvQw64O9oaCGJnzYByMgRPlOIGbO_ZP4XdnGtfBfgQjAzwK8t-pk/s1600/9781601428684.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPISFbKUgfOyL1AxZ2C8Wjrm0JkhIeVjgjeabhJeq8ryuWgG1wfHcGQ6oRlaPlhKg7ZBaz0cjYS8yIdsWTlZys6LvQqvQw64O9oaCGJnzYByMgRPlOIGbO_ZP4XdnGtfBfgQjAzwK8t-pk/s200/9781601428684.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-2074072729701327002015-10-27T21:26:00.001-07:002015-10-27T21:28:28.924-07:00We'll Never Tell Them by Fiorella de Maria<p dir=ltr>A masterful story from beginning to end, We'll Never Tell Them has many layers and stories within stories. Our two main characters are Kristjana and Leo, who are kindred spirits separated by years and history. The background is World War I and World War II for the story told by Leo about his mother Liljana. Liljana has had a very hard life growing up in Malta with an abusive mother with mental illness and moving to England where she finds her first family through her friend Emily. She meets the love her life as a nurse during WWI. <br>
Kristjana is a nurse who has run away from her life in England back to Jerusalem where she interned during college. Her life parallels Liljana's in that she is also from Malta and moved to England. Leo is her patient dying of cancer and wanting to pass on the history of his family through storytelling. Kristjana is learning about herself and her life through Leo's story of his mother, Liljana. <br>
We'll Never Tell is written from the point of view of the Kristjana character. She matures and decides what direction to take her life. The overarching story is about love and loss as seen through World Wars I and II. This points to what is important in our humanity and dignity. There is strong family themes of what makes a close family and what keeps us apart. James Hampton stands out as a constant character throughout Liljana's story. He is a lawyer that Liljana meets as a child and has a reoccurring role and plays a significant unexpected part in Liljana's life. The descriptions really transport you to a different time and the reader easily becomes invested in the story of Liljana. The story is tragic and involves some adult topics but nothing is explicit. The modern day character of Kristjana is a little harder to identify with for me but I am still interested in what will happen with her as you follow her thoughts and struggles in modern day. There is a sense of hope at the end and this book that makes you want to know about the history of war torn England.<br>
I would recommend this book to you as a fictional story that will keep you reading to the end. Fiorella de Maria, the author, is a winner of the National Book Prize of Malta for her previous book The Cassandra Curse. She was born in Italy of Maltese parents and this gives the story authenticity. In this story of We'll Never Tell Them there is a connection between Kristjana and Liljana and perhaps even between Liljana and the reader. I will not spoil the ending but let you discover it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtTTj-YFH-_f0SH111PR2k8kLpjNhTy323JhBWoD6nRsY3wzD0udKBptcNKlIRq_XckzhflHRijPgrRDEJvSsegPNm9yumBHVXU9kYLDGEJWf0jPvv6BVFHCMdLJc4IclNDL8Ykf6_pOH/s1600/Well-Never-Tell-Them.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtTTj-YFH-_f0SH111PR2k8kLpjNhTy323JhBWoD6nRsY3wzD0udKBptcNKlIRq_XckzhflHRijPgrRDEJvSsegPNm9yumBHVXU9kYLDGEJWf0jPvv6BVFHCMdLJc4IclNDL8Ykf6_pOH/s200/Well-Never-Tell-Them.jpeg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-39460235268839745552015-10-20T18:11:00.001-07:002015-10-22T10:50:23.564-07:00Broken Gods: Hope Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart by Gregory K. Popcak, PhD<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Don't let the title fool you, because it sounds almost blasphemous, but the author is speaking of gods, small g. The author, Dr. Popcak wants to help us be our best selves but not just in a superficial way of self help but in a deep soulful way of spirituality. I was skeptical at first upon introduction, although you can not argue with St Thomas Aquinas "The only begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods" Chapter two is where we start to understand about the seven longings of the human heart and how these align with the seven deadly sins, and the seven heavenly virtues. First it important to understand how the brain is most open to change when the mind experiences four qualities represented by COAL or curiosity, openness, acceptance and love. <br />By chapter four we have the format set for the rest of the book which is a desciption of the longing of the heart, how the deadly sins keep us from it and how specific virtues can help us counter this tendency and reach our hearts desire. Dr. Popcak is a counselor and it is evident in his approach to spirituality. I liked the format and thought the prompts at the end of each chapter would be helpful to revisit when you need support in a particular area of longings of the heart or to avoid a certain deadly sin.<br />I would recommend this book to you because I felt like I learned a lot. For instance being overzealous about your health and diet can also be the sin of gluttony or thinking you can attain salvation through the body. Broken Gods may be a little technical for some readers and steeped in pyschological terms but definitely a good read. This book is comforting in how it helps you to see your barriers to spiritual fulfillment and how to address them one at a time. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-45342744535909753132015-10-08T22:40:00.001-07:002015-10-09T19:48:25.905-07:00The Abbey: A Story of Discovery by Father James Martin, SJ<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOQpKAVDYxbw8lq1p1R0c3ngIYmTPC0ohOpEuR3TMOgjCA4G6Hs_cPWE8Hhsf3pocLiImgz2rWi-2KCyutbTtLcejO7ukA3j10bUg1gIdW8FUzFRlv-D8GsWt4IypSznIB5vEvu3mIzjT/s1600/y450-293.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOQpKAVDYxbw8lq1p1R0c3ngIYmTPC0ohOpEuR3TMOgjCA4G6Hs_cPWE8Hhsf3pocLiImgz2rWi-2KCyutbTtLcejO7ukA3j10bUg1gIdW8FUzFRlv-D8GsWt4IypSznIB5vEvu3mIzjT/s200/y450-293.png" width="133" /></a></div>
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Finding good Catholic fiction is sometimes hard. Look no further, Father Martin has hit the mark with his new book The Abbey. There are characters in this fiction story that we care about due to Father Martin's power of description and his insight into their minds and hearts. There is Anne, who has lost her son 3 years ago at just 13 years of age. Her heart ache is palpable and you can relate to her loss. She rents a home to Mark who is a handyman carpenter at the local monastery and their interaction brings her face to face with the Abbot, Father Paul. The Abbey of Philip and James is a part of her memories of her parents, herself as a child, and ultimately how she sees God and religion. Through her experiences at the abbey with iconographic Marian art and heart to heart conversations with Father Paul you experience her spiritual journey. There are sessions of spiritual direction with Father Paul even though Anne does not recognize them as such and she doesn't know why she is drawn back there time and time again. Each of the characters grow spiritually on their journey throughout the story with their relationships that develop between them.<br />The book is more about asking the right questions than it is about finding the answers. The characters are changed at the end but it is open ended enough for us to fill in the end for ourselves. Anne wants to know how to talk to God and how to know when God is speaking to her. Perhaps we have all had these questions at one point or the other. The dialogue is beautiful between Anne and Father Paul. The conversations between Anne and Mark seem purposefully clumsy and so appropriate for their thoughts that are going through their heads. I loved the quote from Thomas Merton "“The first and most elementary test of one’s call to the religious life—whether as a Jesuit, Franciscan, Cistercian, or Carthusian—is the willingness to accept life in a community in which everybody is more or less imperfect.” Father Paul is honest about religious life and the challenges and joys of living in community. But being a Secular Franciscan myself made me appreciate this quote from the book "But people on the outside faced pressures that sometimes made it harder to remember God. For one thing, there were the constraints of time. That’s why Paul believed mothers and fathers and doctors and lawyers and teachers and janitors—at least many of them—were holier than monks. They had to make room for God in a world that often crowded out God.<br />I would definitely recommend this book to you. You definitely won't be sorry. The story is realistic and hopeful. To be Father Martin's first novel it is promising and definitely delivers what it promises in the subtitle: A Story of Discovery. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-3452643299841190722015-10-04T16:33:00.001-07:002015-10-04T18:19:35.699-07:00New Testament Basics for Catholics by John Bergsma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />After reading this book, I want to read the previous book by Dr. Bergsma called Bible Basics for Catholics: A new Picture of Salvation History. But don't worry if you have not read it yet because the first chapter in this book gives you a quick summary of the Old Testament. One of the things that appealed to me about reading this book is an interest in understanding the overarching story of salvation history and more specifically the history of the Church founded by Christ and told in the new testament. I love the organization of the book. It simplifies the whole of the new testament by revealing the differences and similarities of the Gospels and Paul's letters. You will find shortcuts and suggestions to help you remember important points of the bible and chronological timeline. But there is also an indepth analysis of the books of Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews and Revelation. Dr. Bergsma states "Every sacrament is rooted in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Baptism is a sharing in Jesus’ dying and rising . In Matrimony we give our body to our spouse as Jesus gave his body on the Cross. The Eucharist makes present once more the sacrifice of Christ’s crucified body . And we could go on."<br />It is a big help in bible study to understand the audience the author of the original bible books intended and the Greek meaning of words unpacked for the reader. But, I also think in Testament Basics the author speaks in common language we can all understand. You can read it like a novel straight through and keep it close by when studying the new testament. There is also enough catholic theology that helps in understanding the church's perspective as well. Bergsma states "We should call them “the books we read when we celebrate the New Testament,” or “the books that tell us about the New Testament,” because that’s what they really are. The New Testament itself is the Eucharist . To read the New Testament books without going to Mass is like looking at a menu without ever eating the meal, or reading about swimming without ever jumping in the pool. The Bible says the “new testament” is the Eucharist."<br />Dr. Bergsma is an associate professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville Ohio. He is a Catholic convert as of 2001 and a Catholic Biblical Scholar and Theologian. He earned his PhD in Scripture from Notre Dame. I would definitely recommend this book to you. It was a pleasant surprise to find humor and ease of reading. I was prepared for a more professorial dry read but Basic Testament is very readable, easy to understand but gives the more experienced bible student a vast insight into scripture.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-57331249583307715602015-09-24T19:20:00.001-07:002015-10-04T18:18:31.756-07:00Eve by William Paul Young<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfV4xxZqUJRFhTX5K4jSDtwSf-b0Fr0smmNNa3O4-IHo3cCX-QAX62c87xYd5M9_ky2lmrv6CX1f1287V_2iDRtVPh1H3FDWNQoGYbb60g4MEB73bmH0lwVmVnpQ2TLX7i2vWL-1CCC_J/s1600/2015-09-24-22-14-07--283654633.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfV4xxZqUJRFhTX5K4jSDtwSf-b0Fr0smmNNa3O4-IHo3cCX-QAX62c87xYd5M9_ky2lmrv6CX1f1287V_2iDRtVPh1H3FDWNQoGYbb60g4MEB73bmH0lwVmVnpQ2TLX7i2vWL-1CCC_J/s200/2015-09-24-22-14-07--283654633.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>
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From the Author of The Shack comes a new novel, Eve. This work of fiction takes on the story of creation like the Shack took on the topic of death. There is a science fiction atmosphere of the story of Eve. The story opens with John in the Refuge, a place between worlds, where a large storage container washes ashore with multiple dead bodies and one survivor. The main character is a 15 year old girl named Lilly Fields. She is paralyzed initially and has amnesia. She is in and out of consciousness while her body is being repaired but what sounds like aliens. She is told she is to be a witness of beginnings, presumably the creation story, a real Adam and Eve story. The author has some wild ideas about God as seen through an old woman Eve and a young woman Eve, an Eternal Man, Adonai, amd Elohim. Mr. Young appears sincere in his use of the main character Lilly searching for God and God's love. I think the nod to the biblical story of Lillith gets lost. I thought from the description before reading this book that Eve would be the one to wash up on the shore. Lilly has the DNA of everyone on earth but its not clear as to the significance of this fact.<br />I thought the descriptions were sophomoric and juvenile. True to form, Mr. Young goes very dark in his main character when she realizes that she is a rape survivor when her memory comes back. Simon enters the story and says he is her only friend and the 3 other people including John that claim to be her friend are lying and using her for their own gain. Lilly does not know who to believe. As to the creation story it certainly does not follow any of the biblical accounts, so be warned, if as a Christian you are reading this book as a scripture lover. The discrepancy is gaping and some might find it offensive. <br />When addressing original sin we hear “It happens when humans turn from face-to-face trust and let the darkness of death enter them. Thanks to Adam, we all have inherited shadow-sickness in our mortality. Resisting it is the war in which we are all engaged.” "Then when addressing free will “Trust is not a once-in-a-lifetime decision, but a choice made within each moment as the river runs. We are thankful for the gifts that surround us, and then we let them go, trusting that nothing will be lost, even if we lose it for a time.”<br />I would not recommend this book to you. It was confusing when I think the aim was to be mysterious. It misses the mark for enriching our spirituality as readers. It asserts to be of deep thought but only reinforces that God loves us. I found it simplistic and worth missing all together.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-86387111855633127172015-09-12T21:10:00.001-07:002015-09-14T17:56:11.313-07:00In God's Holy Light: Wisdom from the Desert Monastics by Joan Chisttister<div dir="ltr">
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Meet the Desert Monastics face to face or should I say heart to heart. I loved this book for the spiritual wisdom that it imparts. I learned so much about what is important in life. It's like having a spiritual director in your pocket. I realy liked the quotes from the desert fathers that were at the beginning of each chapter. Then the rest of the chapter unpacks the meaning of the quote and expands on the explanation of how this applies to each of us in modern times.</div>
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There are 35 chapters that are short and digestible but the reader might want to give time to meditate on each. This book would be good as a Lenten retreat. The first few chapters discuss what you might want to be leary of in a false spirituality. The middle chapters describe what an adult spirituality might look like. The last chapters concentrate on an individual's place in the bigger Christian world.</div>
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One of the most interesting ideas of consulting the desert monastics is that what they dealt with in their society in Egypt in the 3rd through the 6th centuries in trying to not get caught up in the materialism and selfishness in their cities is common now for our time as well. So how do we become like the monks and nuns of their time in our modern day society? We are generally seeking a closer relationship with Christ as modern day Christians but so much is distraction and gets in our way. </div>
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The abbas advice and stories are about how to simplify our lives and get to the heart of the matter and capture our inner heart strings too. I was intimidated about the topic of the desert monastics at first but the author has made them fun and easy to understand at first read but with enough depth in spirituality to interest the seasoned reader of Christian spirituality.</div>
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I would recommend this book to you as a book to savor. It is definitely one I will keep close on my shelf and you will want to have a copy too.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-45896125882047652472015-09-10T15:39:00.001-07:002015-09-14T17:55:23.463-07:00The Complete Francis of Assisi: His Life, The Complete Writings and The Little Flowers by Jon Sweeney<div dir="ltr" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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This a first for me, a review of three books in one. I love the title becasue it gives you a preview of the three titles that Sweeney has included under one cover. The first book is "The Road to Assissi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis" by Paul Sabatier. This is the first biography I ever read about St. Francis which was given to me by a friend and I reread it for this review. The second book is "The Essential Writings of St. Francis", here you can read the actual sayings and letters of St. Francis. The third book is "The Little Flowers" by Brother Ugolino which is a book about the legends and myths of St. Francis. I find this approach of including these three books to be a very inclusive approach to give the reader a comprehensive look at who was St. Francis. Let's now take a closer look at each of these books.</div>
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The Road to Assisi to was first published in France in 1893 by French Prostentant Paul Sabbatier. More than 45 editions have been published in French alone. So it is definitely a classic. This book gives you specific historical facts with dates needed in a good biography, but there is also a reasonable flow of interesting stories. This makes this book informative and entertaining. It starts with his early life raised an aristocrat as a Bernadone in Assisi, Italy. It goes through his meeting with the Sultan, his later life receiving the stigmata and his death including his writing the Canticle of the Sun.</div>
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The Essential Writings of St Francis edited by Sweeney, the author of this compilation, give us insights into the thoughts and mind of St. Francis. He was not a scholarly man and was a man of few words. Some of his best loved writings are letters.</div>
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The Little Flowers ia a best loved Christian favorite that many have quoted from and it includes amusing anecdotes. It is interesting to hear stories that apear to have been told by his closest followers and brothers. </div>
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This is an important look at St. Francis as a whole. Sweeney has included personal comments all the way through the book. The author seems to be a modern day expert on St.Francis including this book and many others. </div>
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I would recommend this book to you but it is a rather long read taken as a whole. One thing I think that could be made more clear is the spirituality of St. Francis. I don't think this was the aim of this particular compilation but it is more of a get to know the man and his legacy book. The book gives you a thorough introduction but only an introduction that skims the surface of the impact St. Francis has made and the depts of his spirituality.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-20749017685974897352015-09-07T11:55:00.001-07:002015-09-07T13:47:03.154-07:00The Man Who Wasn't There: Investigations into the Strange New Science of the Self by Anil Ananthaswamy<div dir="ltr">
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This isn't a catholic book and some might argue not even a religious book at all, but it has meant alot to me spiritually. It is all about our sense of self and I have found this not only to be about neurobiology and psychology but our intangible spirit. Our perceptions and thoughts that make up our sentient being and our body together make up who we are. This book has been a big piece of my recent spiritual journey. In a more conventional sense, we all know someone who has Alzheimer's, Autism, or schizophrenia, and this book helps to understand their unique perspective of themselves and the world.</div>
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I have a medical background so I am fascinated with the anatomy and physiology of our brain. I was surprised at how much we really know about the brain in the diseases mentioned above. The descriptions are easy to understand and if I am a loved one of someone with these conditions this book would definitely help me. My favorite part is the delving into our sense of self, our sense of self as subject or our "I" narrative, also our sense of self as object or "this is my body". Understanding ourselves is important before we can pursue a relationship with God or with our fellow neighbors we seek to help.</div>
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Most interesting is the descriptions of ecstatic seizures that are described as like mystical experiences of God and out of body experiences or OBEs being explained away. I don't think these physical descriptions point to atheism but that the hand of God works through our physical world. If you love science, psychology, medicine and spirituality, then this book has it all. Each condition has a detailed case study that makes the point more directly with an entertaining slant.</div>
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I would recommend this book to you but it is a bit technical in its language so be warned. It may not be for everybody. The science is sometimes hard to follow but the personal stories make up for it. I heard an interview of the author on NPR radio and was immediately intrigued. I'm glad I got to read this book for review and you definitely will not be sorry for your time spent checking out this book</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-21180139492912798182015-08-03T20:31:00.001-07:002015-08-05T19:18:34.376-07:00Sacred Reading: The 2016 Guide to Daily Prayer by the Apostleship of Prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been pursuing a better understanding of Lectio Divina. This ancient spiritual practice seems simple but yet complex and hard to begin. I love Sacred Reading because it takes you by the hand and walks you through the process. The steps are 1) Knowing that God is present, 2) Read the Gospel reading for the day, 3) Notice what you think or feel, 4) Pray as you are led, 5) Listen to Jesus, and 6) Ask God to show you how to live today. Starting with Advent 2015, the beginning of the Catholic Church year, the gospel readings are included for each day following the church year calendar. The Saints for each day are included as well. The Apostleship of Prayer is an international Jesuit prayer ministry. They have a popular website Apostleshipof Prayer.org. Their organization has put together this different type of prayer book. Just as important as the content is what is not written within the pages, your prayers, thoughts and hopes. What we bring to the book, the more we can reap from the instruction in Lectio Divina. I truly believe that after using this book for a year, I will have evolved in my knowledge and practice of this ancient prayer practice. The other benefit is helping the reader tap into the life of the Church and the liturgical seasons. I definitely recommend this book to you. I am looking forward to rereading and using Sacred Reading in my prayer life in the next church year. This book has helped me to grow closer to God’s word and enriched my prayer life and relationship of faith. If you ready to go beyond basic bible study and are ready to pray with the bible, then this book is for you. Living the bible and incorporating God’s word into your daily life is within reach using these pages as teacher and guide. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-28077591856064085322015-08-02T16:00:00.001-07:002015-08-03T12:13:13.472-07:00Arriving at Amen: Seven Prayers that Even I can Offer by Leah Libresco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have always found conversion stories to be fascinating, but an atheist converting to Catholicism is the most interesting story of them all. I am especially attracted to the intellectual thought process laid out by Libresco in Arriving at Amen. Libresco takes the reader from Javert in Les Miserables to Peter, the rock on which the church is built. The author starts with treating faith and proof of God like a mathematical proof and ends with the beauty of the Eucharist. Arriving at Amen is organized by different types of prayer such as petition, confession, examen, rosary, divine office, lectio divina, and mass. For all the readers who have wondered how to start praying and am I doing it right, this book is a refreshing comfortable reinforcement of faith and your growing relationship with God. Libresco has a fresh approach to learning about praying with the perspective of a new Catholic. The use of humor makes the book very conversational and easily approachable and digestible. My favorite quote is “For me, this is the resolution to the ancient paradox of Theseus: the grace present in the Eucharist alters me, but it does so by making me more myself. Like a mellified man, I find that I am changed by what I consume, but the holy food distributed at mass brings me healing and eternal life, not just sweetness in death.” This gives you a flavor for the book and is a beautiful sentiment of what the Eucharist can mean to you. I would definitely recommend this book to you. I thoroughly enjoyed the format and the voice of the author. Arriving at Amen is a different kind of prayer book that gave me many new ideas of how to begin different types of prayer that I was previously not familiar. Libresco’s conversion story is overarching throughout the story but the reader can also feel confident in the author’s knowledge and leadership with strong Catholic prayer details. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-40933690431614677102015-06-30T19:40:00.001-07:002015-06-30T20:19:09.184-07:00Between the Dark and the Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life by Joan Chittister<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our modern world is full of contradictions and I think this is part of our being plugged in all the time. We live busy lives in order to feel fulfilled and are sometimes lonely in a crowd. We want more free time but then are bored easily. How do we navigate this modern day conundrum? Between the Dark and Daylight explores this question. I wanted to read this book because I was intrigued by the title. I am kind of a late night owl myself and I can identify with the late night anxieties and thoughts that keep you awake and pondering before you go to sleep or during the night. Sister Joan is very insightful and thoughtful. She suggests it is these very contradictions that trouble us but also by embracing them we can become more aware and more human. What exactly is more human? I think it means more our true selves. From the chapter entitled “The Noise Within the Silent Self” I quote ‘The major question of a person’s life lies in whether or not we are willing to bring both parts of the self together- the public one and the hidden one- to stop pretending, at least to our selves, in order to become the person we seem to be”. I think this encapsulates the overarching theme of the book. The chapters are short and easily managed during one sitting, but I found myself shutting the book and pondering the content. Right after finishing the book, I started to reread it again and I hardly ever feel that way about a book. Sometimes you need to sit with a sentence a little longer. I will be using my highlighter and making more connections the second time read through. This is the type of book you will cherish and reread. I would definitely recommend this book to you. Possibly the best time to read it would be during your “Between the Dark and Daylight”. Of course this can mean when we feel the “dark” of loneliness or uncertainty and the “light” of consolation and clarity. You won’t want to miss this spiritual journey during both these times of our life. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-81294872284577947892015-05-29T13:09:00.002-07:002015-05-31T11:30:47.300-07:00Interview with Sonja Corbitt author of “Unleashed” <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> You identify as a “Scriptural Evangelista” Tell the readers what that means?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> That just means that I use scripture in every media, radio, television, written workbooks, everything, in order to nurture a love for Christ in the bible, and a more serious, not just a knowledge of him in a head kind of way but in a heart kind of way. So that’s basically all it means to me. I’m all bible all the time and that’s how I say that “Scriptural Evangelista”.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> You have a radio show called “Pursing the Summit” on Real Life radio. Tell us a little about that.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> Well, actually, you know I do have a show but that’s kind of funny. I’m really just pretending. I mean I have this very first shot on a radio show for me and I am just totally green. But it’s fun and what I love about it is that I am able to teach my original studies and since I have an hour every single day I can really delve in to the detail in a more thorough way than I can even in a regular weekly teaching. So where as I’ll use the same workbook on the radio show as I do with teaching a study at a particular location on a weekly basis; but I only have an hour for a physical study whereas on the radio I can take 4 days if I want to. I’m really enjoying that and it’s a lot of fun. In the beginning when I first started I thought I might take calls and then somebody, I forget who, said “No, you don’t want to do that, you’ll lose your train of thought when somebody calls in.” Then I thought, you know what, that’s probably true. I love it; it’s been a lot of fun.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> You mention in the book, you have done talks at conferences and retreats. What gave you the idea to turn them into a book?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> You know it’s kind of funny. I have a love hate relationship with facebook. But I was on facebook and I got a private message from someone and I hear this lot. Have you ever thought about writing a book? I answered and said sure, what would you like me to write about? She said “We publish Lisa Hendey’s books.” I almost fell out of my chair that this was a real publisher. So then I was trying to put her profile together to find out who this was and it ended up being the editor for Ave Maria Press who worked with me to bring “Unleashed” to fruition. What was interesting was when she first contacted me, I remember talking to the Lord and I said “You know I don’t like books, I like studies”. But I just felt like I needed to just kind of go with the flow because he had something in mind. That’s how that started, I really I had no intention whatsoever of writing an actual trade book, but it just worked out that way and I actually really like that format to be perfectly honest.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> How did you decide on the title “Unleashed”?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> That’s a great question because that was not the title at all when it first started out. It was called “When God Breathes” because the Spirit of God is said to be his breath or the wind of God. That was my title then the publisher changed it and I’ll just confess that’s a big masculine word “Unleashed” so I wasn’t too thrilled with it. I mean I went with it because I just felt like the Holy Spirit was accomplishing something and I just needed to keep my mouth shut and go with it. So I did. But I wasn’t happy with it to begin with, it just seemed very, it was a strong, strong word whereas the whole premise of the book is how gentle the Holy Spirit is, so it kind of bugged me. But then when the cover came and they paired that beautiful feminine cover with that big manly word. I thought that is so perfect. I ended up being thrilled. Everybody that knows me asks me, my mother even, thought that the woman on the cover was me. Everybody asked me that “Is that you? Is that you” It’s not but I told the publisher when they first sent the picture over I said you’re not going to believe this but I swear I have those boots. And it’s funny on my very first book signing I wore basically that cover outfit because I had the skirt and all that. Anyway it was fun. The cover thing has been really cool.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> I liked the structure of your book “Unleashed”. There is a Question at the beginning and at the end the Invitation and God prompt. Do you find this is a good way to unpack the bible in your other bible studies?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> That is actually exactly the way I do it at the very end. What I typically do in the workbook is I lay out the pathway that God led me in and I ask the same questions of the participants as God asked me as I was studying so I just lead people in the very same path then at the end when I have all the information, the factual stuff then I’ll start applying it and I’ll ask those kind of questions those God prompt questions in order to apply what they just learned to their own lives. So I use almost exactly that same, I don’t usually use a review until the end of a whole chapter. But I do like the review because it gives me an opportunity to say the very same thing in a different way. It helps to reinforce everything that we are learning so far and I love the God prompt because that’s just a very simple way to get people in touch with God themselves. I don’t think that a lot of Catholics realize that God is really waiting for them in the Bible that way. One of the greatest privileges of my being Catholic has been leading people to that place with God because how cool is that, that God is sitting right there waiting on us.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> Can you talk more about predominant fault? I find this very interesting and an important point in the book. Tell the readers what that means in the book?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> Well for me, the predominant fault, I share it in the book mine is rebellion and it comes out in rage. The bible calls it “The sin the so easily besets us”. The one that we trip up on the most often because it’s usually the most rooted. We don’t typically know that’s its operating. That’s really part of why I wanted to use that exact phrasing in the book. Because when I first read from the church fathers and doctors on prayer about that fault I thought “Oh my word, how true”. I’d never considered the fact that we all have one, just that phrase kind of gets stuck in her head. You sort of meditate and mull over it. I wanted to be careful to include that exact phrase. But it’s that sin that trips us up on a repeated basis and we may or may not get very fed up of going over this process over and over and over. For me I did, I kept wondering, “Am I ever going to be done with this?’ But eventually I came to realize that the whole point of being here is to finally eradicate that completely. It’s so deeply rooted sometimes that we don’t even know how to get to it. For me, because of the nature of my own faults, it really came to color how I viewed God and who he was and my perceptions of him was really distorted because my thought was rooted in my relationship with my own dad. So, this not only kept me from God but it kept me from relating properly to my children, who are both boys. The way we view God colors every single relationship that we have, and that is a barrier to all of us and our spiritual growth. That’s why it’s so important.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> I like the part of the book when you talked about survival mechanisms and self protective systems. I’m going to read you a couple of quotes from the book and maybe you can expand on the topics. The first quote is from Chapter 3 titled “Has No one Condemned You? The Reference here is John 8:10. “My distortions and patterns were rooted in parental beliefs and attitudes, coping mechanisms and other ‘Baggage” I brought forward from childhood and projected onto God and even other people. The system was built for a reason that no longer exists. It was a survival mechanism for a powerless child in an overwhelming family situation. It served a legitimate purpose at that time, but later became a powerful, secret trap.” What more can you tell us about this?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> There were really two areas that I struggled with without really understanding why. One of them was I had a terrible habit of just bold faced lying to any male that was in authority over me that confronted me over something that I had or had not done, because that’s what I did with my dad. He would ask me, ‘Do you know so-and-so?’ and I would just say ‘Nope” because I just didn’t want to get in trouble and I didn’t want to get screamed at, so I would automatically lie. It would just fly out of me and I couldn’t have controlled it because I didn’t even realize it until it was already done. As you get older, such as in my early twenties, that was completely inappropriate. I remember going to a therapist, and I sat down in his office, and it was funny because there was an issue of Time magazine there that had an interview with a pathological liar, and I took that magazine into the office with me, laid it down on the table, and said, “This is me. I don’t know why I’m doing this, and I need help.” He almost laughed, which made me a little mad. The very first thing he asked me was about my relationship with my dad, and I just broke down sobbing. That was one of the traps that I was in: I would lie. I lied to employers who would ask me whether or not I had done something, and of course eventually I would have to back-track and tell the truth and look stupid, so I finally had to stop and ask myself why I was doing this. I went to a therapist and he helped me. I never even went back. As soon as he uncovered that it came from my fear of getting in trouble with my dad, suddenly it had no more power over me. I knew right then that this person is not going to be able to do anything to me. I don’t have to be afraid of them, and I needed to stop. So it was a struggle to overcome it. The other one was closely related and it goes back to the criticism thing. As soon as I was criticized by that same kind of person, I just went into this total kind of tailspin. I would plot revenge and seethe on the inside. When I couldn’t act out aggression I would just seethe and seethe on the inside. I don’t know how I didn’t have an ulcer. It was just a mess, and eventually you just get so sick of feeling that way. I share it in the book that I felt like the prodigal son in the pigpen where I just realize and ask myself what’s wrong with me. When I was a child, that’s what I did. I would lie in order to not be criticized by my dad because it was extremely painful and I knew I was going to get in trouble. I tried very hard to stay away from any instance that I was going to get me criticized. I always tried for good grades and anything else that would make him proud of me so that he would only say good things. I got so miserable doing it, and until I realized it was a coping mechanism, I stayed trapped in it. I shared in the book that you have to ask yourself, when is the very first time I remember feeling exactly like this, and for me there was a memory associated with it. I would have to identity exactly where those feelings come from. Then you have to sit there wallowing in how crappy you feel about it, and once that’s done, once you have acknowledged that pain and that memory, and let that really hurt, and talk it over rationally with yourself and with God, then it has no power over you. That was one of the most incredible realizations of my entire life. I don’t have to feel like this forever.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> The second quote is from Chapter 4 titled “Why do you see the speck in Your Neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the Log in your own eye.” The Reference here is Matthew 7:3. “We remember events the way we need or want to remember them, because they reveal what was, and continues to be, most important to us. Subconsciously, we pick and choose the specifics; we attach feelings and memories to the wounds we received and remember. Our memories speak volumes about who we are, not because we recount completely and accurately what has happened to us but because the Holy Spirit wants to unleash us through them. What more can you tell us about this?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> A very difficult realization for me was when I realized that my memory may not be completely accurate. In fact, it almost never is. I began to notice it in other people too, like with my mom. Whenever we would talk about different circumstances in our lives together with my dad, she would say things that I wouldn’t remember, or my sister would. What I came to realize, and it’s not like I just realized it one day, is that you do attach those emotions to those memories because of what they draw up in you at the time. That’s why we have to be careful in our accusations against and our judgments of the people who do things to us, especially when we’re young, because oftentimes we’re not recalling it perfectly, and that’s ok. That’s the way it is. What is interesting and useful for us in those memories is how the Holy Spirit wants to use it. What is it that we do remember? Whether or not it is completely accurate, it’s a perception and memory that you have and it’s important to you. So, without judging other people, we have to determine how the Holy Spirit can use it in our lives to help me through that. What was it that was so painful for me? For me, when I would analyze it that way, almost unemotionally, if you can separate rationality and emotion in that way, suddenly you realize things about it that you couldn’t before because it was all emotion. That was the difference for me. When I could be rational about my feelings, and separate the feelings from the reality, that’s when things really started to make sense for me. It’s a hard acknowledgment to make that I may not be remembering this perfectly and this person who did this to me may not have been as bad as I thought. That was really hard for me because I wanted to blame my dad for everything. Truly he is a human being who is just like everybody else. I make mistakes with my kids, probably not the same mistakes, but I make mistakes too. We really need to give other people the room to be faulty.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> You spoke briefly in the book about converting to Catholicism. Being a convert myself I find this very interesting. Can you tell us about what led to your conversion?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> Interestingly enough, it was the very same process. I just love how economical God is with his resources. It’s so shocking to me that he uses absolutely everything that was going on in my life at the time, and still does. The conversion came about when we experienced a couple of church splits. I was in my early twenties; I had barely been married for a couple of years. I was very young and I didn’t really know the pastor so I kind of got sucked into the gossip. I just remember thinking ‘at least I had a daily prayer time with God and the scriptures’ and He was just constantly telling me to keep my mouth shut. He told me he didn’t want to hear anything I had to say, I don’t know what I was talking about, and to let him handle it. That church split and it ended up being nothing but a matter of personality and some of the stronger personalities in the church rose up against the pastor and basically they just crucified him for absolutely no reason, but I didn’t really know him very well so it didn’t affect me too much. Now, fast-forward about five years, we have a new pastor with a strong personality, but this one I absolutely loved. I began teaching classes, and the more I taught the bigger they got, so a few men started using those passages in the bible about how women should be silent in the church. Well my pastor gave me my own Sunday school class, and when he did that in the face of all the criticism I was hearing it was one of the very first gifts that somebody in his position gave me, and it still makes me cry. Then, we experienced a second church split against this pastor who I loved. It was the same situation, there was a personality conflict and the same exact people did the same exact thing to a second pastor. It upset me so badly that I thought ‘Lord why have you not done something about this when you have corrected me over and over about this kind of rebellion?’ So I was upset because I felt like he should do more about it, but it turns out he was grooming me for the questions about authority that the church answers through the hierarchy. I started realizing I know what the bible says about his pastors, and I know he cares about them, and he has made better provision for them than this. It was a perfect storm because at the same time I was doing my own research on the early church fathers. I believe it was Scott Hahn who said “The center of the church is the Bishop and the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ”, and I just remember thinking that that was a lie. So I get online and I start looking for the ante-Nicene fathers and I find them, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and what do they say? They say exactly what Scott Hahn says and it was a big ‘Oh My Gosh” moment for me. It all kind of conspired together to draw me to the authority of the church, which I understand to be proper. Especially looking at Martin Luther and reading his own writings and seeing that what he had done was basically what these church people had done in my own churches. So that was it; that was when the snowball kind of gained momentum. I hid it for a long time but eventually that verse in James that says “For he who knows that to do and doesn’t do it, for him it is sin.” So I just said well I guess I’ve got to come in.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> The book gives some personal details about your life and your family. It’s not really about your conversion story but about leading the reader into deeper spiritual relationship with Christ. How does the book help to do this in your opinion?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> Well all I can say is, I say it does. My attempt was simply to lead people in the exact same ways that it lead me, and still leads me today, make it as simple as possible, and as accessible as possible. That’s why I use a lot of personal detail. I think that too often, especially women, will put on this air of holiness because we think that’s what’s going to be effective, especially if you have any kind of ministry to other people. We think that this air of holiness is what’s going to draw people to you, but that is not it. I had to realize that was makes a person powerful in the hands of the Holy Spirit is that absolute authenticity. That’s just it: Integrity and authenticity. You can’t be one way with God and another way with other people, because something in them knows it. The more authentic we are the more transparent we are, not they we have to let every single detail hang out, I’m not saying that, but the more authentic we are and the more integrity we have with God, the more powerfully he can work through us, without us even knowing about it. That’s what’s so cool about it. He hides it from us because we’d get proud. That is what I’ve found to be the secret. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe you said this,” and I’ll just answer that I didn’t say that, but you have to learn to just roll with it because the Holy Spirit works and I just try to get out of the way. What I really tried to do with the book was lay out my own process and then get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit work.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> Is there anything else about the book you would like the readers or potential readers to know about the book Unleashed?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> I would like the readers to know that there is a DVD series that is ready now, I just don’t have it posted to my website yet, and it’s not on amazon, and it’s going to air on Catholic TV. So I’m very excited about that, and the book and the DVD series go together. It’s a 13 part DVD series and the book is only eight chapters, but the TV series is 13-30 minute episodes. You just get more opportunities to get into the scripture and hear from God. They go right along with the book. I even used the same questions as I asked in the book.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Q:</span> Will the series and DVD have the same title “Unleashed”?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">A:</span> Yes and I’ll be posting it so it’s available to people. I’m not sure when it’s going to air but sometime in June on Catholic TV. They can get the DVDs on my website: https://www.pursuingthesummit.com and I’ll be putting them on Amazon as well. Thank you so much for talking with me today. Good luck with your book and your ministry.<br />
<br />
(<b>Editor's note:</b> This interview was conducted on 5/18/15. Since that time Catholic TV has released the schedule for Unleashed and it will air the first time on Sun June 7th at 12:00AM, then Mon 8:30AM, Tues 4:30PM, and Sat 9:30PM. There is also an interview with Sonja Corbitt on This is the Day on Catholic TV that will air the first time on June 16th 7:30PM, then Weds 4:30AM and 5:30PM, and Thurs at midnight. )</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-31085235363097988092015-05-26T18:21:00.001-07:002015-05-26T18:21:14.987-07:00The Pilgrim by David Bunn<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a work of historical fiction based on Helena, mother of Constantine, finding the true Cross. There is a sense of realism that is engaging. I was previously fascinated with this story of Helena. Now I feel like I have lived it. Helena appears courageous to the point of abandonment. She doesn’t give up and has total trust in God to protect her and continue to lead her on her quest. She is inspiring to those who join her on their journey, in The Pilgrim and equally inspiring to the readers. David Bunn helps the reader become invested in the characters such as Anthony, Cratus, and Favian. I liked Macarius, an old priest who often offers mass to the pilgrims, who has seen a lot and offers wisdom on the journey. I like the encounter with the leper, Aquilina. Helena and Aquilina have a tremendous effect on one another and Aquilina is important to the conclusion of the story. I had chill bumps as they discovered the true path of Christ to Calvary. Although I have never been to Jerusalem, I think we take for granted that we know where events from Jesus’ life take place. To have been there early on in the first centuries after Christ and not know where these historic sites were located adds to the realism and awe of this story. Also, to have been there when the tides were turning for Christians in the legalization of Christianity and release from tyrannical violence and slavery was momentous. You could feel God there every step of the way. I would recommend this book to you to help you get closer to this heroic story of Helena and closer to God. This is an amazing story that changes everything for Christianity. St. Helena is attributed with helping to rebuild the churches at the nativity and the Ascension. I’d like to think I would have done the same thing as Helena. It is said she brought back a piece of the true cross to her son, Constantine. You can imagine what impact this would have made on him and the local church. This story takes place before a time of unprecedented growth of Catholicism throughout the world. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312554644447323286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725568463111202024.post-69456812210471956492015-05-24T11:15:00.000-07:002015-05-25T11:15:55.945-07:00Blessed Are You by Melanie Rigney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the sequel to the Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration. If you love saint stories like I do you will love this book. But do you know what’s even better is that these stories are aligned with the eight beatitudes. There is an introduction related to each beatitude, then stories of four saints who embody these virtues. Then there are bonus short stories if you want to know more. There is a good mix of saints that are well known like Maria Faustina Kowalska, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Therese of Lisieux and ones that you are newly introduced like Claudine Thevenet, Eurosia Fabris, and Lura Vicuna in Blessed Are You. I especially connected with the stories of Jeanne Jugan, Germaine Cousin, and Anna Schaeffer. Jugan was selfless in taking care of others. Cousin was strong in persistence and forgiveness. Schaeffer underwent great physical trials and showed grace in her response. These saints demonstrate spiritual poverty and great love. Melanie Rigney is especially good at making the stories of saints accessible to the readers with descriptions that we can identify with in Blessed Are You. The format was predictable but was comforting and allowed this to sink into the background and the reader to focus on the Saint stories. There are 64 women saints in the book and an unpacking of the beatitudes. There are reflection questions at the end of each chapter that challenge the reader to take action in living out the beatitudes. I would recommend this book to you for learning about the beatitudes, introduction to many interesting saints, and how to apply these to our lives. Melanie Rigney writes in an easy to follow conversational tone. The saints are a good example of how to live our lives and persevere in time of trouble but I also appreciate that the saints are women allowing an even better identification with their stories. </div>
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