Catholic Thought discussion

Started reading Baltimore Catechism No. 3 the other day. Great read to be reminded of what's important in our faith.

Currently reading Faith Facts II: Answers to Catholic Questions and Introduction to Pentecostal Doctrine.

Currently reading Baltimore Catechism, No. 3. Loving every bit of it.

Right now I am reading Life Together: Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Very deep, but very good so far.

Just started Francis: A Pope for Our Time: The Definitive Biography by Luis Rosales.

Luis deGranada, "The Sinner's Guide"

I was somewhat indifferent to the first chapters of this avowed spiritual classic but it didn’t take long to get more involved in what I was reading. Chapter 7, subtitled “The Thought of Death, the First of the Four Last Things”, finally hit me hard. It only gets better and takes you on a spiritual flight that probably was the purpose of de Granada’s writing. It’s so enticing that I will remember to recommend this reading next time I hear a request.

Hi all! New group member here.


Trying to finish The Incorruptibles by Joan Carroll Cruz this week. I'm about halfway through, but hadn't read this in quite a while.

Welcome to the group Colleen!

Susan Margaret wrote: "Welcome to the group Colleen!"

Thanks!

Presently reading the Italian Classic The Betrothed. It is absolutely Catholic and thoroughly entertaining as well. Interestingly in an audience, Pope Francis had advised the engaged couples to read this novel in the period before marriage.

Welcome Colleen!

Presently reading the Geramn classic Buddenbrooks:The Decline of a Family. Not Catholic but Lutheran, but Christianity certainly integral. Not sure yet if it's in a positive or negative way, but the decline of the family seems to parallel the decline of faith. I put a blog post on it on my personal blog:
http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.c...

Still busy with work and home but I may be able to particpate in the current Catholic Thought read.

Colleen wrote: "Hi all! New group member here.


Trying to finish The Incorruptibles by Joan Carroll Cruz t..."

I love reading her, always fascinating!

In addition to Buddenbrooks, I'm also reading St. Dominic by Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P. This is the 800th year anniversary of the Dominican Order, and thought this a fitting read for the occasion. We might want to do this as a group read.

Currently reading Gilead which isn't Catholic but definitely has strong Christian themes - it's just wonderful so far! It's about a pastor looking back on his life (and his father's and grandfather's lives), writing a letter to his son. A lovely, touching book with a powerful feeling for the sacred.

Not Catholic, strictly speaking, but I've just started reading Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. One story I saw had Gen Wallace writing the book after he got into a debate with an atheist on a train.

Joseph wrote: "Not Catholic, strictly speaking, but I've just started reading Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. One story I saw had Gen Wallace writing the book after he got into a debate with an athei..."

I've been wanting to read that Joseph. Do tell us what you think after you've finished.

Read a short poetry collection by Rainer Maria Rilke. The life of Virgin Mary is presented through some 15 poems. It is spiritual and Christian. And the poems are lovely. The title is: The Life Of The Virgin Mary. I have given a sample poem in my review. If interested look at my review.

Here is the link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just now completed a wonderful novel that is fully Catholic - The Betrothed. Gave 4 out of 5 stars.

Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review Dhanaraj. Out of curiosity just so I can get some perspective, what would be a five star novel for you?

Manny wrote: "Great review Dhanaraj. Out of curiosity just so I can get some perspective, what would be a five star novel for you?"

This is a five star novel for me. I did not give it a five star for it contains certain pages where I found myself out of place. This was to deal with the history of Italy. I could not relate to it. And that is why I brought it down to 4. Otherwise it is a five star book for me. The impact a book has on me usually decides my rating. If I am shaken or moved deeply, then I give it five stars.

Dhanaraj wrote: "Manny wrote: "Great review Dhanaraj. Out of curiosity just so I can get some perspective, what would be a five star novel for you?"

This is a five star novel for me. I did not give it a five star ..."

Shaken, not stirred! Thanks. :-)

Just started reading . Loving it so far. Edward Sri has a way of explaining things that really makes me understand them.

Just found this for FREE (Kindle) on Amazon! With the new movie coming out, I thought it would be fun to read the original classic. Wish I had thought to suggest this for our new book read. :-)

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Here's the Amazon link for the free version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Leslie wrote: "Just found this for FREE (Kindle) on Amazon! With the new movie coming out, I thought it would be fun to read the original classic. Wish I had thought to suggest this for our new book read. :-)

[b..."

Thank you Leslie!

Lisa wrote: "Just started reading . Loving it so far. Edward Sri has a way of explaining things that really ..."

I read and truly loved it. :-)

Manny wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Just found this for FREE (Kindle) on Amazon! With the new movie coming out, I thought it would be fun to read the original classic. Wish I had thought to suggest this for our new boo..."

You are welcome! I love it when I can find a terrific FREE book. :-)

Our parish's adult faith program this fall will be on Mary, and the required reading is Pope John Paul II's Redemptoris Mater: Mary, God's Yes to Man. This particular edition has an introduction by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and a commentary by Hans Urs von Balthasar -- Now can it get any better than that?

I've already started reading it, and loving it :)

Hi everyone! I just finished reading Ben-Hur and I know people were curious about what I thought so here's a link to my review. Here is a review by Joseph: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Joseph wrote: "Hi everyone! I just finished reading Ben-Hur and I know people were curious about what I thought so here's a link to my review. Here is a review by Joseph: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/......"

Great review Joseph. Now I really have to read it!

I was thinking the same thing. I loved your review.

Currently, I am reading Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. I am about halfway through it. When I finish it, next up is Changes That Heal: How to Understand the Past to Ensure a Healthier Future. Reading this book for a small group that my wife and I are in.

Jeffrey wrote: "Currently, I am reading Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. I am about halfway through it. When I finish it, next up is Changes That Heal: How to Understand the Past..."</i>

Did you read [book:The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why it Matters? My book club loved it.

Reading an interesting memoir by Caryll Houselander - The Rocking-Horse Catholic. It is simple and funny. Liking it so far.

Leslie wrote: "Jeffrey wrote: "Currently, I am reading Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. I am about halfway through it. When I finish it, next up is [book:Changes That Heal: How to Und..."

I have not read that one, but it sounds good just from the title. When I get through this one I will have to check Amazon and see if it is available for my Kindle.

Just finished

Prison Angel: Mother Antonia’s Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail by Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The story of Mother Antonia deserves 6 stars. The writing that told it deserves 2.5 stars. This is the story of a Beverly Hills socialite, twice divorced mother of five who left everything behind to serve the despised criminals in deplorable conditions in a Tijuana prison. Her compassion for every person, infectious joy, tireless service, ability to reconcile enemies and passionate concern for the abused and neglected is quite an inspiration. This woman is certainly a saint.

Just finished
Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future by Gary Macy, William Ditewig, Phyllis Zagano
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is a collection of three essays on the topic of female ordination to the permanent deaconate in the Roman Catholic Church. This slim book was well researched, balanced and thoughtful.

Into The Heart of Mary by Rea McDonnell, S.S.N.D.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is a guide to Ignatian style meditation on New Testament passages containing Mary, the mother of Jesus. Each passage is introduced with a bit of background to contextualize it and accompanied by reflection questions designed to guide the reader to encounter Mary personally through the use of the imagination. This is not my preferred prayer style, so I did not use the book as intended. Perhaps had I brought it on an extended retreat I may have attempted the exercises. Despite that, I believe this could be a wonderful invitation to spend time with Mary and would have given it a much higher rating had it not contradicted Catholic doctrine in one substantial area. Since it was authored by a member of a Catholic religious community and published by a Catholic press, I falsely assumed it would be a Catholic text. But, McDonnell repeatedly questioned the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.

I want to share just how great my Lenten read was, What Jesus Saw from the Cross by Antonin Sertillanges. This was the perfect Lenten read. I can't imagine a better one. Below is what I wrote up as a Goodreads review, but I had three posts on my blog for this book and I provided some extended quotes for you to assess the book.

This review is patched together from my posts on my blog on this book. You can find the link to my blog on my Goodreads profile. Just search by the author or name of the book.

As I’ve noted, Sertillanges’ book is a devotional on Christ’s passion, taken from the perspective of Christ looking out hanging from the cross. Sertillanges identifies the sights and sounds, the events of Christ’s last days, Christ’s friends and His enemies, His last words, and what all this sound and fury was about. Not only are the meditations profound, but the writing is superb!

Sertillanges, a French Dominican friar, had written the work in his native tongue, but whoever translated it—it doesn’t say in my Sophia Institute Press 1996 edition—did a remarkable job. There is a note on the copyright page that says the book “was published in French as Ce Jésus voyait du haut de la croix by Ernest Flammarion of Paris in 1930. An English translation was published by Clonmore & Reynolds Ltd. in Dublin in 1948.” I assume the original French was just as finely written.

In the last chapter, as Christ raises His eyes toward heaven in His last moments of life, the vision steps away from what is below, and Sertillanges attempts to contemplate Christ’s vision beyond the earth.

Two things are important there—the intermingling of the divine with the material and the source of the first cause, God the Father. In that glance toward the Father, eternity and the temporal meet, and the mutual love of the Father and Son, which blossoms in the form of the Holy Spirit, is made manifest. What Sertillanges sees at that moment is the reconciliation of all things, the material and the spirit, the eternal and the transient, the internal and the external.

So in that moment of looking toward heaven, just before Christ dies, defeat and victory, heaven and earth, spirit and body, fuse. Sertillanges has Jesus watching the heavens open. “This is His vision of victory, symbolized on Calvary by those eyes that look out upon the infinity of space through a film of blood” (pp. 233-34).

This is a remarkable book, one of the best devotionals—if not the best—I have ever read.

Manny wrote: "I want to share just how great my Lenten read was, What Jesus Saw from the Cross by Antonin Sertillanges. This was the perfect Lenten read. I can't imagine a better one. Below is wha..."

You describe a moving experience on your Lenten reading. The work deserves making the time and devoting it to it. Your illustration of Christ’s crucifixion on your blog is as frightening as Gibbon’s film “The Passion of Christ” (2004).

I have taken the advice of the Catholic Thought group here to read slowly and with attention from Ash Wednesday to the Holy Week the chosen text of St. Francis de Sales “Treatise on the Love of God”. It was mostly a rewarding experience. I had questions though that I wished to share with the group but there was minimum participation which ended up in nil. It prompted me to read again--with close attention--St. Francis’ “Introduction to the Devout Life” an earlier work and I find it a third of the way through without questions I had on “The Treatise”. It offers some powerful advice and help on how to immediately undertake a spiritual journey for anyone interested. He refers to his work as a “practice” and “a spiritual retreat”.

Galicius wrote: "Manny wrote: "I want to share just how great my Lenten read was, What Jesus Saw from the Cross by Antonin Sertillanges. This was the perfect Lenten read. I can't imagine a better one..."

"Your illustration of Christ’s crucifixion on your blog is as frightening as Gibbon’s film “The Passion of Christ” (2004). "

Galicius, I believe that photo was from The Passion of the Christ.

Just finished

The Restless Heart by Ronald Rolheiser
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In this early book, Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, a popular spiritual author, argues that a sense of social, emotional and existential loneliness is a basic human condition which has been exacerbated by several contemporary cultural trends. Despite its discomfort, he argues that loneliness is a gift from God that pulls us beyond ourselves, into community, into a deeper relationship with God and into a fuller embrace of our human identity. Although I appreciate Rolheiser’s insights, I find his writing style a bit too repetitive. 3.75 stars

I recently started rereading The Chronicles of Narnia and am currently on Prince Caspian. It is interesting to me how different these books are reading them as an adult!

Loretta wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I recently started rereading The Chronicles of Narnia and am currently on Prince Caspian. It is interesting to me how different these books are reading them as an adult!"..."

Totally recommend them, Loretta!

I'm about halfway through "What Jesus Meant" by Gary Wills. My second time reading a book by Wills and I really like his style. Might hunt down others from him at the library.

Anyone else a fan?

I don't know Will's as a religious writer. He is known as a political commentator and I can't separate his political leanings (which are not mine) from anything else he might say or write. Many years ago I did see him on TV commenting on Catholic issues and they were decidedly from his political slant. I can't speak on his books. I believe he is sincere in his faith.

I just finished
Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love Carl Anderson & Eduardo Chavez

I need to give a talk on Our Lady of Guadalupe this weekend and was looking for some new insights into this apparition. I enjoyed the book; it gave me some nice background and made some good connections.

Colleen wrote: "I'm about halfway through "What Jesus Meant" by Gary Wills. My second time reading a book by Wills and I really like his style. Might hunt down others from him at ..."

It has been a while since I read a book by him, but I have enjoyed him in the past. I like his writing style.

Irene wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I'm about halfway through "What Jesus Meant" by Gary Wills. My second time reading a book by Wills and I really like his style. Might hunt down oth..."

I really liked the first half of the book, but then he got all wonky... kept gunning for Benedict and then said some things that were borderline anti-Catholic. I'm now confused as to what I think of him.

Colleen wrote: "Irene wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I'm about halfway through "What Jesus Meant" by Gary Wills. My second time reading a book by Wills and I really like his style. Might..."

The borderline anti catholic was exactly what I remember about him.

I don't recall coming across anything that felt anti-Catholic, but I have not read that much and he has written quite a bit.