Posted March 18, 2016 in Let's Discuss, Life, Reading / 12 Comments
Welcome to the second part of my series on blog organization. The first part of the series was on the plugins I use and this post will be on scheduling.
I used to use exclusively Google Calendar to help me schedule my posts. It was great because I was able to sync between computer and my phone. However, I had some problems with it. I was forgetting to look at it or update it as often as I should.
Now, I use a May Designs planner. I have a months + dots agenda and I will show you how I use it. The months are, obviously, for scheduling and I use the dots to help keep track of reading challenges.
The first thing I did when I got my planner was add a key to each month’s page. My key is as follows:
- red for Monthy Wrap-Ups
- green for Reviews
- purple for Discussions
- blue for Memes
- orange for Catholic Liturgical Calendar
- pencil for personal things or tentative posts
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Tagged as Blog Organization, Catholic
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.”
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
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Tagged as 5 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted February 28, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments
Things that Happened in February
- First of all, this is going to be a LONG post.
- Lent started which means that Easter is on the way!
- I wrote TWO discussion posts. I am thoroughly impressed with myself.
- There has been nasty stuff floating around the school I work at. I have, thankfully, not caught anything terrible yet. I, however, have been feeling a little under-the-weather.
- Speaking of weather, we have been having the weirdest winter ever! I live in Montana. We should have snow in February. Instead, all of the snow and ice has melted and we have been enjoying temperatures in the 50s and 60s! This isn’t exactly as good as it sounds since the ranchers really need the moisture from the snow in order to for the year to work out. It has been… odd.
- I finally convinced my sister to sign up with Pottermore and be sorted. (She is a Hufflepuff, in case you were curious.)
- I attended a Brew Fest with my family. It was… interesting. I cannot drink beer due to celiac and an alcohol allergy. It was thanks to that alcohol allergy that I started to go into anaphylaxis at the event. I was all, “I can’t breathe.” My dad was, “You’re fine.” I was all, “No! I really can’t breathe!” Then my dad and a family friend got me out of the crowd enough that I could recover.
- I had an amazing Religious Ed class with my students. They were extremely interested in why there are Popes, how Popes are elected, and the Popemobile (which they didn’t believe was a real thing until I showed them pictures).
- I’m slowly learning to let God take over since things have been… interesting lately.
- On the note about God, I am in the process of applying for acceptance into a Masters in Theology program. (Yes, this is a different program than my other Masters work and the previous credits will mean zero. *sigh*)
- My favorite book of the month (non-reread) was Raelia which left me completely broken and (almost) sobbing on the floor. AMAZING!
- My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love this entire series, obviously, and could definitely use a time-turner.
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Tagged as Catholic, Easter, Lent, Monthly Wrap-Up, Religious Education, School, Sister
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.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
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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
