Posted February 9, 2016 in Faith, Life / 0 Comments
It is crazy to think that it is almost time for Lent to start. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday already! What has happened to this year! Anyway, I want to share my Lenten Sacrifices, the things I am going to give up during Lent to grow closer to Christ. Some people may be going, “Why give anything up? That sounds ridiculous.” Well, I give up something so that I can deny myself and grow deeper in my love for Christ. Here is what EWTN says on the topic:
By denying ourselves something we enjoy, we discipline our wills so that we are not slaves to our pleasures. … By disciplining the will to refuse pleasures when they are not sinful, a habit is developed which allows the will to refuse pleasures when they are sinful. There are few better ways to keep one’s priorities straight than by periodically denying ourselves things of lesser priority to show us that they are not necessary and focus our attention on what is necessary.
Read More
Tagged as Catholic, Lent
Posted January 1, 2016 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments
Happy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!
So I’m going to break all of the rules again, just like last week. If you aren’t Catholic, then you probably don’t realize that one week after Christmas (today) is another really important day. Today is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In the Catholic Church, today is a Holy Day of Obligation (like Christmas) where Catholics are obliged to go to Mass. I love this feast day so much and I wanted to share it with all of you. Last year, I wrote a little post about the Hail Mary, this year I want to share some quotes from one of my favorite books.
I sat on the bed, then dropped to my knees and prayed an apology to Jesus.
I felt I’d let Him down by letting His mother down. I felt as if I’d run
with the ball to the one-yard line, only to fumble short of the goal.
I said, “I’m sorry, Lord, for my weakness and failure.” I prayed a Hail Mary.
~page 156~
Read More
Tagged as Catholic, Catholic Book, Jesus, Mary
Posted December 25, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments
Merry Christmas!
I just reviewed this book yesterday and yet I couldn’t resist using it for today’s Friday 56. Today is Christmas and so this is more relevant than it could ever be. However, I may slightly break the rules of the Friday 56 and include more than one quote from a page that is not “56.” 🙂
From Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI:
It is Mary’s obedience that opens the door to God. God’s word, his Spirit, creates the child in her. He does so through the door of her obedience. In this way, Jesus is the new Adam, the new beginning ab integro – from the Virgin, who places herself entirely at the disposal of God’s will.
~page 56~
Mary wrapped the child in swaddling cloths. Without yielding to sentimentality, we many image with what great love Mary approached her hour and prepared for the birth of her child. … The manger is the place where animals fidn their food. But now, lying in the manger, is he who called himself the true bread come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves.
~page 68~
As a sign, the angel had told the shepherds that they would find a child wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. This is an identifying sign – a description of what they would see. It is not a “sign” in the sense that God’s glory would be rendered visible, so that one might say unequivocally: this is the true Lord of the world. Far from it. In this sense, the sign is also a non-sign.
God’s poverty is his real sign.
~page 79~
Read More
Tagged as Catholic, Catholic Book, Christmas, Friday 56, Pope Benedict XVI
Posted December 24, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by
Pope Benedict XVI Series: Jesus of Nazareth Publisher: Image (2012)
Hardcover (127 pages)
Rating: Reading Challenges: 2015 Alphabet Soup,
2015 What's In A Name?,
Read 2015 Synopsis
New York Times Bestseller! The momentous third and final volume in the Pope’s international bestselling Jesus of Nazareth series, detailing how the stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.
In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus.” Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary. This is a story of longing and seeking, as demonstrated by the Magi searching for the redemption offered by the birth of a new king. It is a story of sacrifice and trusting completely in the wisdom of God as seen in the faith of Simeon, the just and devout man of Jerusalem, when he is in the presence of the Christ child. Ultimately, Jesus’ life and message is a story for today, one that speaks to the restlessness of the human heart searching for the sole truth which alone leads to profound joy.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Read More
Tagged as 5 star, Advent, Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Catholic, Catholic Book, Christmas, Jesus, Mary, Pope Benedict XVI, Read 2015, Saints, What's In a Name Reading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge
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.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
Read More
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
