Posted April 23, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Name of God is Mercy by
Pope Francis Publisher: Random House (2016)
Hardcover (176 pages)
Rating: Also by this author: The Joy of the Gospel,
Walking with Jesus,
Encountering Truth Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In his first book published as Pope, and in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis here invites all humanity to an intimate and personal dialogue on the subject closest to his heart—mercy—which has long been the cornerstone of his faith and is now the central teaching of his papacy.
In this conversation with Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, Francis explains—through memories from his youth and moving anecdotes from his experiences as a pastor—why “mercy is the first attribute of God.” God “does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins,” he writes. As well, the Church cannot close the door on anyone, Francis asserts—on the contrary, its duty is to go out into the world to find its way into the consciousness of people so that they can assume responsibility for, and move away from, the bad things they have done.
The first Jesuit and the first South American to be elected Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has traveled around the world spreading God’s message of mercy to the largest crowds in papal history. Clear and profound, The Name of God Is Mercy resonates with this desire to reach all those who are looking for meaning in life, a road to peace and reconciliation, and the healing of physical and spiritual wounds. It is being published in more than eighty countries around the world.
“The name of God is mercy. There are no situations we cannot get out of, we are not condemned to sink into quicksand.”—Pope Francis
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Tagged as 5 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Pope Francis, Read 2016
Posted April 18, 2016 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Catholic Catalogue by
Melissa Musick,
Anna Keating Publisher: Image (2016)
Hardcover (432 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
The popular mother-daughter team behind the hit website TheCatholicCatalogue.com helps readers to discover, rediscover, and embrace some of the smells and tastes, sounds and sensations, holidays and seasons of the Catholic life. This collection of prayers, crafts, devotionals and recipes will help readers make room in their busy lives for mystery and meaning, awe and joy.
This beautifully designed book will help readers celebrate Catholicism throughout the years, across daily practice and milestones. Like the most useful field guides, it is divided into user-friendly sections and covers such topics as the veneration of relics, blessing your house, discovering a vocation, raising teenagers, getting a Catholic tattoo, planting a Mary garden, finding a spiritual director, and exploring your own way in the tradition.
With more than 75 inspiring chapters, this book promises to be a resource that individuals and families will turn to again and again.
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Tagged as 5 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Consecrated Virginity, Read 2016, Vocation
Posted March 10, 2016 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
One Ordinary Sunday by
Paula Huston Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2016 - March 11)
eARC (256 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
The popular, award-winning writer Paula Huston draws on her spiritual wisdom and her talent as a novelist to provide both a moment-by-moment record of her experience of one particular Mass on one particular Sunday in her home parish in California and a theologically and historically rich exploration of the origin and meaning of the liturgy.
For Catholics, the Mass is the “source and summit of the Christian life,” as the documents of the Church put it. Yet many Catholics might confess to not understand in any depth what goes on in an “ordinary” celebration of the Eucharist. In perhaps her most compelling and original book to date, novelist and spiritual writer Paula Huston guides us through a Mass on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time at her home parish in Arroyo Grande, California. Huston’s personal and spiritual reflections offer fresh and often unexpected insights into the profound mystery at the heart of the Catholic faith.
A natural storyteller, Huston deftly illuminates what might seem either mysterious to those unfamiliar with the Mass or overly familiar to those who have lost an appreciation of its mystery. In the Mass “we are healed and restored and spiritually fed,” she writes. “We are handed strong armor against evil. We are unified and made whole as a people and as a Church. We get a little taste of heaven.”
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Tagged as 5 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted February 25, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Lord of the World by
Robert Hugh Benson Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2016 - original 1907)
eARC (352 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
In an airplane news conference on his return from the Philippines in January 2015, Pope Francis mentioned Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World and said, “I advise you to read it.” It wasn’t the first time the Holy Father had praised the book since becoming pope. This 1907 futuristic narrative has been hailed as the finest work of this unsung, but influential author and son of the Archbishop of Canterbury whose conversion to Catholicism rocked the Church of England in 1903. The compelling book includes a new introduction, a biography of Benson, and a theological reflection.
Popular young adult books such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, as well as literary classics such as Walker Percy’s Love in the Ruins and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, have created a growing interest in dystopian novels. In one of the first such novels of the twentieth century, Robert Hugh Benson imagines a world where belief in God has been replaced by secular humanism. Lord of the World describes a world where Catholics are falling away and priests and bishops are defecting. Only a small remnant of the faithful remains. Julian Falsenburg, a mysterious and compelling figure arises, promising peace in exchange for blind obedience. Those who resist are subjected to torture and execution. Soon the masses are in Falsenburg’s thrall and he becomes leader of the world. Into this melee steps the novel’s protagonist, Fr. Percy Franklin. Dauntless and clear-sighted, Franklin is a bastion of stability as the Catholic Church in England disintegrates around him. Benson’s harrowing plot soon brings these two charismatic men into a final apocalyptic conflict.
With an imagination to rival H. G. Wells and theological insight akin to G. K. Chesterton, Benson’s astute novel has captured the attention of many today, including Popes Benedict and Francis. This new edition makes it easily available and features an insightful introduction by Rev. Mark Bosco, S.J., a brief biography of Benson by Martyn Sampson, and a theological reflection by Rev. Michael Murphy, S.J.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Catholic, Catholic Book, NetGalley, Pope Francis, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted February 12, 2016 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments
I am currently reading Divine Mercy in My Soul, more commonly called The Diary, as part of my Lenten practices. I have read excerpts of The Diary before but this time, I intend to read the whole book. It is a rather large book with over 700 pages! This is primarily a book for spiritual reading and so I suspect that this book will take me quite some time to finish. Hopefully, by Easter (or at least Divine Mercy Sunday), I will be finished with my first reading of The Diary.
From Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska by Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (paragraph 56):
From the beginning I have been aware of my weakness. I know very well what I am of myself, because for this purpose Jesus has opened the eyes of my soul;
I am an abyss of misery, and hence I understand that whatever good
there is in my soul consists solely of His holy grace.
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Tagged as Catholic, Catholic Book, Friday 56, Saints
