Lectio Divina: From God’s Words to Our Lives by Enzo Bianchi

My love of scripture drew me to this book about the ancient practice that is having a resurgence in our times. I am speaking of Lectio Divina, which is a beautiful spiritual reading and praying of scripture. I am new to this practice so I wanted to read this book right away when I read the subtitle “From God’s Words to Our Lives. The original version was written in Italian in 2008. Now I have the privilege of previewing this new English translation. According to Origen (a third century church father), “There are three senses concealed in the words of scripture-literal, moral and spiritual.” We need to draw all of this out of the Bible as we read. The author tells us “The Bible as the heart of the church was rediscovered in Vatican II’s conciliar document Dei Verbum.” I love the analogy of scripture being God incarnate not just Christ (The Word) as he descends into flesh as a baby in the manger but also as he descends into the written human words of the bible. Lectio Divina first tells of the history of how we have read the bible, which has changed over time. Next is the importance of scripture in the church with the liturgy of the word. The unity of the scriptures is described from Old Testament to New Testament in light of our covenant relationship with God. The Bible calls us into an encounter with God. My favorite part is the description of the four parts of lectio divina: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. Lectio is the literal historical part. Meditatio is about discovered revelation. Oratio is prayer and dialogue with God. Contemplatio is applying what we have read to our lives. There are several examples of how to apply this to sample bible readings. I have a new reverence for the bible as relationship. It can be a vehicle to spend time with God in his word. I have learned a lot about divine reading through this book. I would highly recommend this book for those who are already experienced readers of scriptures and for those who are new to bible reading. This is a Catholic approach to bible study and prayer but all Christians would enjoy learning about this process of divine reading started during the time of the early church fathers and the beginning years of Christianity.

St. Francis and Pope Francis:Prayer, Poverty, and Joy in Jesus by Alan Schreck

St. Francis and Pope Francis, these are two men you want to know better. Pope Francis is now widely popular and his namesake St. Francis is still popular over 700 years later. Why is this? What is the fascination with each? How do they compare with each other? I have read several books about the life of St. Francis and yes this book has drawn me in and helped me to understand him so much better. The format of Dr. Schreck’s book which gives big insights into St. Francis and his history, then switching to the current Pope Francis is fresh approach. I loved the quotes from Pope Francis. The book was easy to read but not light on content. The contrasts between the two are also brought to light since Pope Francis is not Franciscan but Ignatian. Both men have changed the face of Catholicism. This book is a biography of both men and how both found Christian joy. Isn’t this what we all want? We want joy and peace. We first learn about their conversion stories, then the core of prayer, poverty and communion. We see what is church and how our mission is the same throughout the ages. It all starts and ends with authentic joy through Christ. I would definitely recommend this book to all of you. It will not just give you history facts but a look into the thought processes of both men. Catholics and non Catholics will both enjoy this book.

The Power of the Daily Mass: How Frequent Participation in the Eucharist can Transform Your Life by Bert Ghezzi

If you’re like me you wish you could attend daily mass but life gets in the way. I wanted to read “The Power of the Daily Mass” because it would convict me for the reasons I don’t go to daily mass. One of my favorite parts of the book is the great quotes from the average daily mass attendee. Each chapter unpacks the mass from “honoring the saints” to “our daily bread”. At first I thought I found the book too simplistic, but I realized its beauty. This book has deepened my appreciation of the mass, on Sunday and every day. There are quotes from saints and end chapter discussion questions in each chapter. I love the prayers included in the appendices. You can tell the author loves the daily mass. It seems to have made a big difference in his life. It was sweet hearing about his close knit group who he attends mass with everyday. But you also notice the diversity of the people who attend daily mass. I would definitely recommend this book to you. Another of my favorite parts is the discussion of the Eucharist and the exchange of gifts that happens at the mass. The author Mr. Ghezzi describes the gift of our selves to God and his return gift of himself to us in the host. It will help you fall in love with the mass all over again if you are Catholic. If you are not Catholic you will learn about the mass and why the human heart is drawn to it even everyday in daily mass.

The Ancient Path by John Michael Talbot

The Ancient Path is an autobiography of John Michael Talbot, but also informational and historical about the Church Fathers. I have read books about the influence of the lives of the saints on the course of a people's lives but never the Church Fathers. Why wouldn’t someone be affected by the wisdom of those close to the time of Jesus and the new Christians. I wanted to read the book to find out more about both. I was fascinated by Brother Talbot's Franciscan background and his community living. He describes the beginning of his monastic life with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Against this background of his own history he teaches about the Church fathers. I was very interested in the description of how close the Church Fathers were in time period to the time of the Apostles. I knew the Catholic Church to be an apostolic church and that there is an apostolic succession of bishops. I now further understand how rich the Church Fathers words and works are to the enrichment of our Catholic faith. Polycarp of Smyrna was a friend of St. John the apostle. Since St. John lived to be 100 years old, and died a natural death, he had influence on into the 1st and 2nd centuries. The book’s stated purpose was to draw us deeper into love with the works of the Church Fathers. In this it definitely delivers. I will be reading more of the Church Fathers now that it feels a little less daunting. The history of the church comes alive through the love you hear in the author’s voice. Mike Aquilina co-wrote the book and probably added a scholarly component since his life’s work has been on the Church Fathers. I would highly recommend this book to enrich your knowledge of the Catholic faith and the ascetic lifestyle in modern times. Also, even if you are not Catholic, it will give you information on the history of Christianity and the early years after Christ, as one man tries to live it out. It is about a simple life lived abundantly with poverty of spirit.

Jesus the Bridegroom by Brant Petre

I will be unpacking the riches of this book for months to come. If you have always wanted to learn more about Jesus as bridegroom and his bride the church, this book truly delivers. As if by gift the author gives us the advantage of his knowledge of Jewish scripture (Old Testament). He gently guides the readers through the connections between Old and New Testament. We learn more about the wedding at Cana, the woman at the well, the last supper, current day marriage, and the end of times in Revelation. It is logical that the disciples and Jesus would have been knowledgeable of the Jewish scripture. Maybe they understood more of what was happening than we give them credit because they had this back knowledge of scripture and culture that is not currently obvious to us in our current age. This book has deepened my faith and has brought me to a more personal relationship with Jesus. It was not hard to read or overly long but I found myself stopping and reflecting on many passages. I like there are many bible references allowing further study. It changes how I think of salvation history making a cohesive storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would like to read more from this author. I recommend this book to you to discover the deep intimate love of God for you. Ultimately the author helps you to see the crucifixion as great love for us, not as God out there but as a God right here. I also enjoyed quotes from early church fathers and Jewish tradition. In fulfillment of the old law, we see Jesus more clearly in God's plan.

My Sisters the Saints by Colleen Carroll Campbell

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the saints that were reviewed. But maybe even more than that was the life of a woman that parallels the lives of the saints. The saints she discussed were Teresa of Avilla, Therese of Liseux, Mother Teresa, Edith Stein, Faustina of Poland and Mary of Nazareth. The truth is I am fascinated about studying how the saint's lived their lives. I connected with the author not so much in the details of a father with Alzheimer’s or bouts with infertility but with a woman searching for more. I am in the general demographic the book was intended being a middle class woman in my 40's. The book was easier to read because I identified with the main character. I didn't see a big change in the main character of the author beyond normal college shallowness and a woman in her thirties having a baby. There was a natural sense of maturity through the decade and half of living. The author did glean some similarities between herself and the saints she discusses. There was a self identified reawakening of her Catholic faith. I admired the patience of her spouse and I questioned her personal priorities at times. The author seemed overly dismissive of adoption but I haven't been in the position of infertility so it hard to judge how I would feel in this position. I would recommend this book to learn more about these saints since she gives a good biographical history of each. It gives a good example of how we as readers can draw parallels with the saints even if not at first an obvious one. The author maintains her faith ideals through personal trials as she questions her roles as daughter, wife and mother. Overall I enjoyed this book and I think you will too.

The American Catholic Almanac: A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary People by Brian Burch and Emily Stimpson

My eyes have been opened to the rich history and beauty of American Catholicism. The subtitle of this book is “A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary people". This subtitle gives a glimpse into a history punctuated with many different spiritual paths of specific Americans. In this book, there are famous people you have heard of, like Fulton Sheen, Michael McGivney and many not so famous like Theodora Guerin, Rene Goupil. All of the stories are interesting histories of real Americans. There are stories of establishments of dioceses and designations of minor basilicas in America. There are also fun stories like the one of Al Capone. I like the one story a day format, so you can break it up to once a day reading. You could incorporate this into your daily prayer time or ponder their stories throughout your day. You could also look up a special day like your birthday to see what happened in American Catholic history on that day. It does need lend itself to reading straight through like a novel because this is not the intended format. There is a jumping around of timelines which is a bit confusing but probably not as much if not reading straight through. It is hard to sum up someone's life in one page but the authors do a good job of giving you the essence of what contribution this person has made to American Catholic history. I would recommend this book to expand your historical knowledge of American Catholicism and to give you a sense of being part of a rich Christian heritage in America. Even those who are not Catholic will enjoy these stories of American Christians who helped shape the religious landscape of American history.