Posted December 23, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
City of Saints by
George Weigel Publisher: Image (2015)
Paperback (336 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Synopsis
“Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II, was a man whose life was the expression of a richly textured and multidimensional soul. The many layers of that soul took on their first, mature form in Kraków.” – George Weigel
In this beautifully illustrated spiritual travelogue, New York Times bestselling author George Weigel leads readers through the historic streets of Kraków, Poland, introducing one of the world’s great cities through the life of one of the most influential Catholic leaders of all time.
“To follow Karol Wojtyła through Kraków is to follow an itinerary of sanctity while learning the story of a city.” Weigel writes. “Thus, in what follows, the story of Karol Wojtyła, St. John Paul II, and the story of Kraków are interwoven in a chronological pilgrimage through the life of a saint that reveals, at the same time, the dramatic history and majestic culture of a city where a boy grew into a man, priest, a bishop—and an apostle to the world.”
With stunning photographs by Stephen Weigel and notes on the city’s remarkable fabric by Carrie Gress, City of Saints offers an in-depth look at a man and a city that made an indelible impression on the life and thought of the Catholic Church and the 21st century world.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Blogging for Books, Catholic, Catholic Book, Pope Saint John Paul II, Read 2015, World Youth Day, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted December 18, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 16 Comments
I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time. When I saw that it was available for request on Blogging for Books, I jumped at it. As you may have recalled me mentioning, I will be going to Poland in July for World Youth Day 2016 Kraków so this book is perfect timing. Through the book, I am learning the history of Poland and Kraków through the biography of Pope Saint John Paul II.
Discerning a vocation is a matter of learning the truth about oneself, accepting that truth, and living that truth. That takes courage – and courage was another of the cardinal virtues that Karol Wojtyła began to display in his Dębniki years.
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Tagged as Catholic, Catholic Book, Friday 56, Pope Saint John Paul II, Vocation
Posted October 19, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Encountering Truth by
Pope Francis Publisher: Image (2015)
Hardcover (416 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Also by this author: The Joy of the Gospel,
Walking with Jesus,
The Name of God is Mercy Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
Experience the morning homilies of Pope Francis and witness how he continues to change the life of the Catholic Church.
Shortly after seven in the morning, Pope Francis gives a brief homily in the little Vatican chapel of Saint Martha, in front of an audience that is always different: gardeners, office workers, nuns and priests, as well as a growing group of journalists. It is a set appointment, and in some ways a revolutionary innovation, where a pope speaks to everyone, off the cuff, without any written text, as he would have done as a parish priest.
Encountering Truth is a collection of highlights from these homilies from March 2013 to May 2014. Along with summaries by Radio Vaticana (who recorded and transcribed the homilies) and commentary by Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, these reflections provide moments of inspiration, simplicity, and a glimpse into the papal world very few ever get to experience.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Find the author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
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Tagged as 5 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Pope Francis, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted May 13, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Pharaoh's Daughter by
Mesu Andrews Series: Treasures of the Nile #1 Publisher: WaterBrook Press (2015)
eARC,
Paperback (384 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Also by this author: Miriam,
Isaiah's Daughter,
Isaiah's Legacy Also in this series: Miriam Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
“You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug.
I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.
When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back.
Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow.
Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.
When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.
As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all?
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Tagged as 4 star, Blogging for Books, Catholic, Catholic Connections, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted April 4, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
I just finished this book and did not want to wait to share it. I really loved it. I also think that it fits nicely with the Triduum and the Easter season.
I pray that every one of you has a wonderful Easter weekend!
Seven Revolutions by
Mike Aquilina,
James L Papandrea Publisher: Image (2015)
Hardcover (256 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Also by this author: History's Queen Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
Combining history, politics, and religion, Mike Aquilina and Jim Papandrea provide practical lessons to be learned from the struggles of the Early Church, lessons that can be applied to the day-to-day lives of Christian readers.
Prolonged, multiple wars in the Middle East. Waves of immigrants crossing the borders. Ongoing economic recession. Increasing political polarization, often with religious overtones. Conflicts over ideologies that pit the progressive against the traditional. Sound familiar? These conditions not only describe the United States, but the situation of the Roman Empire in the third century. That situation led to religious persecution and the eventual collapse of the empire. In the middle of the third century, the Roman Empire was roughly the same age as the United States is now.
In this book, authors Mike Aquilina and Jim Papandrea examine the practices of the Early Church—a body of Christians living in Rome—and show how the lessons learned from these ancient Christians can apply to Christians living in the United States today. The book moves from the Christian individual, to the family, the church and the world, explaining how the situation of the Early Church is not only familiar to modern Christian readers, but that its values are still relevant.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Blogging for Books, Catholic, Catholic Book, Catholic Connections, Easter, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
