Catholic Thought discussion

My pastor received it as a Christmas gift from the Bishop. He is not a big reader and I am currently leading a study of the Gospel of John at the parish. So, he passed it to me to look through.

Irene wrote: "My pastor received it as a Christmas gift from the Bishop. He is not a big reader and I am currently leading a study of the Gospel of John at the parish. So, he passed it to me to look through."
I see you have put it to good use already!I may invest in this book myself.I like the format.I notice,too,that it is part of a series which looks equally interesting.Thank you for telling us about it. :)

Galicius wrote: "Manny wrote: "I'm currently reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. He's not Catholic, but like most of Dostoevsky's work it's very Christian. I have to say this is one of the greatest n..."

I read The Brothers Karamazov years ago and was profoundly affected by it.Dostoevsky certainly wasn't frightened to challenge attitudes in popular culture.I will admit to being intrigued about his own story.Like you,I have the firm belief that this author was a strong Christian.

Mike wrote: "Just finished "finding sanctuary" by Abbot Christopher Jamison.

I found this book to be a very good read. The first half of the book was excellent; the final chapters slowed too much. The notion o..."

A lovely book-thanks for sharing it .I must admit it does remind me of "The Desert in the City" a retreat plan by Italian Little Brother of Jesus (and ardent follower of Charles de Foucauld) Carlo Carretto. Both authors strive to bring the monastic experience to ordinary people.
As far as I am aware,Abbot Chris Jamison from Worth Abbey in West Sussex spent some time in a bookshop pouring over a mountain of "self help' publications when it slowly dawned on him that the Benedictine order to which he belonged could surely do as well -if not better-than some in offering people a personal Sanctuary where they could find peace and spiritual growth.I think the book got a kick start in my country after a very successful series known as "The Monastery" which was broadcast by the BBC in 2005.I suspect that The US had it's own version of this unusual-and very powerful reality series where several men who were not necessarily religious, spent a period of time in a place of religious retreat.The results,as I recall,were very interesting indeed,filmed with great integrity by producers Gabe Solomon and Dollan Cannell.I note on the Abbey website that retreats of all sorts are still popular there:

http://worthabbey.fluencycms.co.uk/Th...

I have recently finished Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins' Case Against God by Scott Hahn and Benjamine Wiker, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer by Scott Hahn, and Crossing the Tiber by Stephen K. Ray.

Currently I am on chapter three of Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church also by Scott Hahn.

I'm not currently reading a Catholic book. I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Here I am in my mid 50's and people were surprised i had never read it before. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Never saw the movie either, by the way.
To Kill a Mockingbird

Presently reading an interesting book - Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey Through the Christian Classics. A Catholic priest who was also an avid reader and a professor introduces fifty of the greatest Christian classics in short essays, each essay covering maximum of four pages. Liking it.

Dhanaraj wrote: "Presently reading an interesting book - Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey Through the Christian Classics. A Catholic priest who was also an avid reader and a professor i..."

That looks like a really interesting book Dhanaraj. I'm going to put it into my Amazon cart for the future.

By the way, if anyone is interested people can see my 2015 reads on my personal blog at this post:
http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.c...

I'm not good at keeping up with my reads at Goodreads.

Vicky, My parish Scripture Study was well under way before I was handed this commentary.

I never heard of the BBC program The Monastery, but it sounds interesting.

@ Manny: That book is really good. I am about to complete it and I will let you know of my impressions then.

Dhanaraj wrote: "@ Manny: That book is really good. I am about to complete it and I will let you know of my impressions then."

Thank you. I'm interested.

@ Manny: I completed reading it. I liked it. It is a simple introduction to many of the 'Christian' classics. If interested check my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dhanaraj wrote: "@ Manny: I completed reading it. I liked it. It is a simple introduction to many of the 'Christian' classics. If interested check my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

Thank you Dhanaraj. I put the book in my Amazon cart.

Great recommendations on this thread - thanks everyone. I have added several to my to read list.

Just read and completed Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke. I loved it. The stories are in the line of fairy tales. But the message they contain are very profound amounting to a spiritual treatise. These are not exclusively Catholic. But they are very much Christian.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading an amazing book by Caryll Houselander - Guilt.

I am furiously underlining almost all the lines as I read. The book is about Ego-neurosis. The modern man suffers from Meaninglessness or emptiness. This is actually caused by self love. This self love is the interior demon which everyone has to face. The interior demon can be effectively faced by a Catholic for Catholic Church believes in Original Sin, Confession and Purgatory. Interior demon is identified by Houselander as the effect of Original Sin (Psychologist C. J. Jung calls it the Shadow). So every man suffers guilt feelings and this is the result carried over from the fall of the first man. But today, man has lost the sense of sin and so he does not see the danger lurking in himself. In this, he is helped by Protestantism and Freudianism. She gives examples to her claim. I am having a great time.

A quote:

"Now mankind has for at least three hundred years been suffering from a deadly disease, materialism. A body must become ill if only some parts of it are used for the functions they are there for. If a man decided never to use his legs, they would atrophy and he would begin to feel the effects in other parts of his body too, and if he did at last attempt even to walk across the room, he would break down. To refuse to use vital organs causes fatal disease.

For several hundreds of years, the majority of mankind in England and America have ceased to exercise the spiritual part of their nature.

Human nature is soul and body - men have treated it as if it were only body. They have not allowed their souls to function at all. In a vast number of cases they have not allowed even their minds to function, and besides having a disease of the soul, the have atrophy of the memory, understanding and the will."

After finishing Merton’s “Seven Storey Mountain” that I found quite engaging I wanted to hear about his next stage and spiritual development. I started but found “No Man Is an Island” (1955) difficult reading until I realized that he wrote earlier “Seeds of Contemplation” (1949) (which he later expanded into “New Seeds of Contemplation”). I went to the “New Seeds of Contemplation” and found it very rewarding. It was a slow reading just as his overall advice in that book is to use not so much written manuals to deepen your understanding of contemplation but to turn away from the books and reflect.
After finishing “New Seeds” I went back to “No Man Is an Island” and I feel more “at home” with it. I don't think I'll get into many more of his sixty or so other books but these three are giving me a good idea of this fascinating man.

Galicius wrote: "After finishing Merton’s “Seven Storey Mountain” that I found quite engaging I wanted to hear about his next stage and spiritual development. I started but found “No Man Is an Island” (1955) diffic..."

Galicius, you are right, "New Seeds of Contemplation" is a slow read. I am still reading it.

Forth And Abroad: Still Merry On Land And By Sea, really interesting book by a very talented Poor Clare nun

I'm going to start Tea Party Catholic: The Catholic Case for Limited Government, a Free Economy, and Human Flourishing in the next couple days. Should offer some interesting perspectives.

Reading The Navarre Bible Saint Lukes Gospel.

St. Luke's Gospel is v

St. Luke's Gospel is very human and tender. An apt Gospel for the Jubilee year of Mercy.

Among other things I'm reading:

To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee.
The Book of Psalms, a book of the Old Testament, KJV and Ignatius RSV Translations.

And I will soon be starting:
Prayer for Beginners, a non-fiction book on spirituality by Peter Kreeft.

Finished reading Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote. Liked it. It is human to have faith and it is also human to doubt ones faith be it faith in God or in any one of the ideologies.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have just finished Turgenev's Fathers and Sons-a really thoughtful study of different generations in a Russian family.It was both thought provoking and reassuring.I am now half way through Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.

Come rack come rope by Benson about persecution of Catholics in Elizabethan England. Good book.

Vicky wrote: "I have just finished Turgenev's Fathers and Sons-a really thoughtful study of different generations in a Russian family.It was both thought provoking and reassuring.I am now half way through Crime ..."

Those are both great books. I read Crime and Punishment over last summer and I was glued to it.

Just started Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith.

Doreen wrote: "Just started Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith."

I have that as an ebook and have not yet started it. Let me know what you think about the book.

Susan Margaret wrote: "Doreen wrote: "Just started Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith."

I have that as an ebook and have..."
I will. I have it as an ebook too. Going to make fresh coffee and start reading it tonight.

I read that a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it

My husband just got home from work and is making me fresh coffee and I'm sitting in my comfy chair reading it.

Doreen wrote: "Just started Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith."

I have the audio book read by Robert Baron. It is really good, but I have a few issues with the last chapter that have me scratching my head. I enjoyed the audio book as much as the series when it was on EWTN.

Right now I am on page 139 of Spirit & Life: Essays on Interpreting the Bible in Ordinary Time by Scott Hahn. I love his writing, but much of this book is geared toward theologians and Theology students so it tends to get a bit deep at times.

My Badass Book of Saints by Maria Morera Johnson
https://www.goodreads.

This book is comprised of eleven short chapters (9 to 10 pages each) that share the stories of two women, one a canonized Saint the other not canonized and a story from the life of the author that exemplifies a particular virtue. Each chapter ends with reflection questions (1. Who do you know that fits this virtue?, 2. When have you lived this virtue?, 3. Where could you cultivate this virtue in your life to promote personal holiness?) The writing style was light, conversational, easy to read at the end of a long day. I would have preferred much more information on the historical women, even if this meant less personal revelation. I also appreciate more spiritual depth in my reading. But, I think this will be enjoyed by female readers who are looking for a little something to generate some thought and gentle growth.

This is really just a note for everyone, and I didn't have a perfect catagory to post it. Members here might be interested in the Catholic Spiritual Direction Book Club and they are reading Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ.

I'm not participating. I just get their emails and thought somebody here might be interested. Here's the link with the reading schedule:
http://www.spiritualdirection.com/201...

Manny wrote: "This is really just a note for everyone, and I didn't have a perfect catagory to post it. Members here might be interested in the Catholic Spiritual Direction Book Club and they are reading Fulton ..."

Thank you Manny. It's unfortunate that the site will not let you in at all to find out more about them without signing up first for a daily e-mail.

Presently reading The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Joseph A. Fitzmyer. I'm about halfway through it.

Jeffrey wrote: "Presently reading The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Joseph A. Fitzmyer. I'm about halfway through it."

How are you liking this book? I enjoy reading books that have a historical flavor.

Galicius wrote: "the site will not let you in at all to find out more about them without signing up first for a daily e-mail. "

That prompt can be clicked off.

Susan Margaret wrote: "Jeffrey wrote: "Presently reading The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Joseph A. Fitzmyer. I'm about halfway through it."

How are you liking this book? I enjoy readi..."

It can be kind of dry reading at times, but I like all of the background information on the Essenes who occupied Qumran at the time the scrolls were buried in the caves around the Dead Sea. I am reading the Verbum.com version which is completely searchable using the Verbum 6 software which is free. The book was the free book of the month from Verbum last month.

This month's book is written by Saint Athanasius On the Incarnation which includes the audio version. All you have to do is go to Verbum.com and search for Free Book and it will take you to the page to download it, plus you have the opportunity to purchase another book for 99 cents by Saint Athanasius at the same time if you want to. When you get the e-mail receipt for the free book there will be a link to download Verbum 6 for Mac or Windows, whichever version you need. There is even a free iOS or Android app so you can read it on your phone or tablet.

I never heard of verbum.com. I will have to look into that site.

Jeffrey, thank you for the information. Verbum sounds interesting.

Kerstin wrote: "Galicius wrote: "the site will not let you in at all to find out more about them without signing up first for a daily e-mail. "

That prompt can be clicked off."

Thank you Kerstin. I didn't see it before.

Jeffrey, once again thank you for the info on Verbum. There is a lot of information to explore on that site.

Also, just to let everyone know, I created a new topic in the General folder. It is titled Catholic Resources. Please post your favorite, websites, podcasts, and apps to share with others in that section.

Susan Margaret wrote: "Jeffrey, once again thank you for the info on Verbum. There is a lot of information to explore on that site.

Also, just to let everyone know, I created a new topic in the General folder. It is tit..."

Great idea. As soon as I get some time, I'll post some of the resources I visit.

Susan Margaret wrote: "Jeffrey, once again thank you for the info on Verbum. There is a lot of information to explore on that site.

Also, just to let everyone know, I created a new topic in the General folder. It is tit..."

I will go there and post the resource for Verbum 6.

I finished reading both The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Athanasius: On the Incarnation of the Word of God.

Both books were good but I only gave the first book three stars. It is geared toward people who are much more academically inclined than I am. It would have helped to know how to read Biblical Greek and Hebrew, neither of which I can do.

The second book I gave 5 stars because even though it was translated from the original Latin, I found it highly readable if a bit wordy at times.

Next up for is probably Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection by Pope Benedict XVI. I have been wanting to read this one for a while now. I still have two other books to finish reading before I start it, though.

I've mentioned this book before, but I'm still reading The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis. It's so beautiful - not intellectually complicated, but it has the perpetual breath of the Gospels flowing from it on every topic ... prayer, evangelization, encounter with God, the going forth to the social fringes.

I've been forcing myself to read only 2 or 3 sermons a day because I don't want the book to end. I want to keep being centered by it, to keep remembering to turn my eyes to the right things. I always feel filled with excitement & joy after reading it! There's much challenging for me in it too, but the sermons challenge & convict me in the spirit of grace & joy so somehow I never feel disheartened.

I feel a little sad that I only have 40 pages left!