Monday, March 16, 2015

Book Review: Saint Ignatius Loyola The Spiritual Writings

Have you ever started to read something and almost instantly felt overwhelmed?  That's pretty much how I've felt when reading the writings of Saint Ignatius Loyola.  Reading just little chunks of his writings leaves me with that feeling of spiritual indigestion I had only felt previously when reading too much by St. Augustine in a short period of time.

Initially I was near incredulous that I was having such a tough time reading St. Ignatius Loyola's writings.  Then I talked to a friend of mine who told me that he wasn't surprised because he had also arrived at the same conclusion a while back.  That's when I told him that I was about to delve into Saint Ignatius Loyola The Spiritual Writings annotated by Fr. Mark Mossa.  At that point he perked up and told me how awesome an annotated book St. Ignatius book sounded.  I'm not exactly someone who likes bouncing back and forth between a passage and then commentary on the passage, so reading this book still wasn't easy for me.  It took me a little bit of trial and error, as well as some emails to Fr. Mark asking his opinion of how I should best approach the book before I found what worked best for me.

Ultimately, I found that reading the complete selection from St. Ignatius first and then reading Fr. Mark's commentary was the best way for me to get the most out of this book.  In many cases, I found myself rereading the selection a second time after reading Fr. Mark's take on the passage.  His commentary was very helpful in alleviating the Saint Ignatius induced headaches.

My take aways from this book are simply that I like Saint Ignatius's approach to the spiritual life but I find his writing style difficult to digest.  I had begun the task of delving back into his writings using this book after having just finished reading St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life.  I feel like they're very similar in many ways, but I found St. Francis to be more approachable.

If you are looking to jump into the writings of St. Ignatius, I'd suggest picking up a copy of this book where you'll have excellent explanations of each of the selections.  Reading this book made St. Ignatius's writings seem less daunting.

I was provided with a review copy of Saint Ignatius Loyola The Spiritual Writings Selections Annotated & Explained, by the publisher, SkyLight Paths, in exchange for my honest review.  Visit Amazon to take a peek inside this book or to purchase a copy.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Book Review: Now What?

Fifteen years ago I was preparing to enter the Catholic Church.  At that time, I was a mix of excitement at finally becoming Catholic and more than a little worried that I stuck out like a clueless Lutheran in a Catholic church.  That feeling of being a bit lost didn't magically go away once I was Catholic.  In fact, it took me years to really feel like I wasn't sticking out like a sore thumb.  Something tells me that if Patrick Madrid's Now What? A Guide for New (And Not-So-New) Catholics had been around in 2000 and a copy had found its way into my hands, that I would have felt a lot more at ease and would have had a far better understanding of what it means to be Catholic.

This book really is the answer to that "Help!  I converted to Catholicism and now that I'm here I have no idea why Catholics do half of what they do!" feeling that I'm sure many of my fellow converts have also felt.  I can recall different practices being addressed in RCIA, like why we genuflect, or what's the deal with the gesture everyone does before the gospel reading, but there was a lot that just wasn't covered.  For example, I had been a Catholic for nine years before I had ever heard of Eucharistic adoration.

As a jumping off point, this book is a wealth of information for someone who is in RCIA or has just been received into the Church.  It will help to fill in the gaps that may not have been covered in an RCIA class.  But this book isn't just for new converts.  Let's say you're a cradle Catholic who spent eight years in CCD pencil fighting when you should have been, I don't know, paying attention during class.  Well, this book will help to bring you up to speed on those things you missed while you were busy learning that the made in China pencils were stronger than the others.

In short, this won't be the only book you'll ever have to read if you are serious about practicing your faith, but it's an excellent start.  If you know someone who is in RCIA, do them a big favor and buy them this book.

I was provided with a review copy of Now What? by the publisher, Servant Books, in exchange for my honest review.  Visit Amazon to take a peek inside this book or to purchase a copy.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Book Review: The Joyful Spirit of Padre Pio

Over the years I've read several books about St. Padre Pio, and while I like him a lot, he's yet to become on of those saints I could say I feel connected to, at least, not in the way I feel connected to some of my favorite saints.  I have, however, found him to be more approachable since reading Patricia Treece's The Joyful Spirit of Padre Pio.  The book is a collection of stories, letters and prayers.

I've had this book sitting out for the past several months and I find myself picking it up nearly every day to read a bit of it.  The book is arranged in such a format that you could really just open it up to any page and find a short piece that is either a recollection about Padre Pio or a quote or excerpt from on of his letters.  These little sections can be read in a few minutes or less.  Reading it is like grabbing a little spiritual recharge.

This book has left me wanting to read more about Padre Pio.  After reading through this book, I can see why Padre Pio appeals to so many people.  If it weren't for this book, I don't know if I would have realized that he actually had quite a sense of humor.  My perception of him prior to reading this book was that he was on the more serious and rigid side, but apparently, that's not the case.  I was pretty surprised when I found a few stories or quotes that left me chuckling.

I was provided with a review copy of The Joyful Spirit of Padre Pio by the publisher, Servant Books, in exchange for my honest review.  Visit Amazon to take a peek inside this book or to purchase a copy.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Book Review: Adventures in Assisi

Adventures in Assisi is another lovely picture book by Amy Welborn.  It's the story of a brother and sister who tour Assisi with their great uncle, a Franciscan brother.  As they tour the city, they learn about St. Francis of Assisi.

The story book is filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations that will surely captivate young children as they listen to the story.  After reading the book to my children we went and looked at pictures online that a seminarian from our parish who is studying in Rome had taken when he visited Assisi.  So the book not only tells the story of St. Francis of Assisi, but it also connects the story to actual places.  My kids liked that after reading through the book that we were able to then see actual pictures of Assisi.

The story is a bit lengthy, so it seems to be better suited to younger elementary students.  My three year old who typically sits through longer story books became antsy as we read through this book; so given how she responded, I'd say a good target audience for this book would be 1st-3rd graders.  The length of the book might be too much for pre-schoolers-Kindergarten aged children to sit through in one reading.  While the book is a bit long for my younger daughter, she certainly enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful illustrations.

This book would be ideal for reading to children leading up to St. Francis of Assisi's feast day, or as part of a feast day celebration.  It's a good pick if you are looking for a book that will let you teach children about St. Francis and Assisi.

I was provided with a review copy of Adventures in Assisi by the publisher, Franciscan Media, in exchange for my honest review.  Visit Amazon to take a peek inside this book or to purchase a copy.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Book Review: Saint of the Day

Reading about the saints is something that I enjoy immensely.  I draw a lot of inspiration from reading about how they pursued the path of holiness and obtained heaven, so a book filled with short accounts of the saints is always nice to have laying around where you can pick it up and spend a few minutes here and there reading about them.  The updated and expanded Saint of the Day book offers a wealth of information on the saints and various feast days that are celebrated throughout the year.

The book is arranged by month with a saint or feast day for nearly every day of the year.  Some days have multiple entries and there are a few days that have no entries.  The saints are featured on the dates their feast days are celebrated liturgically.  After a brief biography of the featured saint, you'll find a related comment and quote.  The comments and quotes are often good jumping off points for reflection.

The book is useful not only as a daily devotional, but also as a reference on the saints and various feast days.  The table of contents lists the saints by date.  If you are looking for a specific saint, the index will be the most expedient way to find the saint if you aren't already aware of the date for his or her feast day.

We have several different saint of the day types of books on our bookshelf and I think I like this one the best.  The other's are intended for kids, but I find a lot of the stories in those books seem like they were written with adults in mind.  This book seems a bit more accessible than some of the other ones.
I was provided with a copy of Saint of the Day by the publisher, Franciscan Media, in exchange for my honest review.  You can take a peek inside this book or purchase a copy at Amazon.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...