Catholic Thought discussion

I think I'll try another book of his before I write him off...

I have finished “The Intellectual Life Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods” by A.G. Sertillanges O.P., ISBN 0-8132-0646-4. This book was simply amazing! Do not miss it! This was the best book I have ever read; yes, I did use the word “ever”. I purchased a copy for my wife and others for both of my children.

This is a book that deserves a close read. I found myself stopping frequently to reflect on his use of language and composition. Even when referring to things of which I was already familiar he would phrase them in a way which would cause me to pause and reflect on the different light he was casting, always positive and optimistic.

I must read a couple of different books before going back for my reread. Every serious Christian needs this book. Just let his words and observations wash over you.

In addition the foreword is by Fr. Schall S.J., that sets an appropriate tone for this book.

Mike I plan to read that next year. It's already on my book shelf. Thanks for the review. It only confirms my commitment.

Manny wrote: "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 ..."

I am with Manny. I have read a couple of Wills' books and I would describe him as a "spirit of Vatican II" theologian, that is, one who wants the Catholic Church to be what they thought Vatican II was the very beginning of, rather than focusing on what the documents of Vatican II actually said. My sense is he is anti-Benedict and anti-JPII.

Fairly early in my return to the Church I was faced with a choice - would my politics inform my faith or would my faith inform my politics? For me, to ask the question is to answer it. Though I am sure he would disagree with the characterization, it seems to me that Wills' politics informs his faith.

Mike wrote: "I have finished “The Intellectual Life Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods” by A.G. Sertillanges O.P., ISBN 0-8132-0646-4. This book was simply amazing! Do not miss it! This was the best book I have ev..."

I echo Manny, Mike. I have added this to my Amazon shopping list. (I use that list to add books to any order of stuff I need to get free shipping.)

“Ascent of Mount Carmel” by St. John of the Cross. I don’t like using superlatives but it’s the most difficult writing since my reading of “City of God” by St. Augustine. I read the first half in four weeks then spent the next three weeks reading the first half again. Now I am digging into it further on. I am not going to nominate it for a reading in this group.

Just finished

Strong Was Her Faith by J. Ellsworth Kalas
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kalas, a Methodist minister, explores the witness and spiritual challenge of 11 New Testament women in 12 short chapters (Mary, Mother of Jesus, gets 2 chapters). A study guide at the end of the book makes it easy to use for a women’s study group. This is appropriate for both mainline Protestant and Catholic readers, for those with little experience with Scripture study and veterans of the practice. 3.5 stars

I have finished The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind the Lord of the Rings, by Peter Kreeft in which he demonstrates who Tolkien's Catholic faith and worldview permeate throughout The Lord of the Rings even though there is no explicit religion in the story.

Absolutely wonderful. A must read for fans of Tolkien.

I am approximately half way through Cardinal Sarah’s book “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise.” It has been wonderful so far!

It is written in a much different style; he presents the reader with hundreds of individually numbered thoughts on silence and the damage that noise is doing to our society in general and in particular to our life with God.

He begins with a discussion of monastic life; which will not attract a large readership, but then he explains their purpose. He sees modern media, music, internet information and conversation as just so much shouting. He sees our culture as a raging, noisy, out of control river cascading down a steep mountain with little pockets of silence, religious communities serving as pools of quiet, to absorb the brunt of the water’s force.

He does not recommend that we form miniature monasteries but that we create small pools of silence within our own homes and hearts, also, within our churches.

I can recommend this book very highly.

I have also started Cardinal Sarah's book. It is very rich and worth taking slowly. I would suggest this for a future group read.

Andy wrote: "I have also started Cardinal Sarah's book. It is very rich and worth taking slowly. I would suggest this for a future group read."

I thought of that as well but don't clearly see a way to break it up for discussion purposes. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Andy wrote: "I have also started Cardinal Sarah's book. It is very rich and worth taking slowly. I would suggest this for a future group read."

Which one Andy? I read God or Nothing, and was totally blown away. I am waiting for the new one The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise to come out in paperback. Can't wait to read it!

Mike wrote: "I thought of that as well but don't clearly see a way to break it up for discussion purposes. Do you have any thoughts on this? "

How so? Do you mean the interview/dialogue?

Kerstin wrote: "Mike wrote: "I thought of that as well but don't clearly see a way to break it up for discussion purposes. Do you have any thoughts on this? "

How so? Do you mean the interview/dialogue?"

What I was looking for was a breaking point in the text which would logically be a way to segment the read. Section I goes on for 86 pages and 159 itemized points. Maybe I missed some indicators in the text or perhaps just an arbitrary delineation would work well. I had not looked close enough to figure out how to do it.

Let me say that the 159 points are wonderful and deserve sufficient time for reflection. Perhaps 53 points in 3 parts or some other combination would be good, at the moment I don’t know.

However, as I said in my post, I highly recommend this book.

This morning I finally started Book XXII in City of God. I started Book I over a year ago and have been reading one, two or (once) three books a month since then. It was my third attempt on this incredible work and I will finish, probably tonight or tomorrow.

John wrote: "This morning I finally started Book XXII in City of God. I started Book I over a year ago and have been reading one, two or (once) three books a month since then. It was my third attem..."

I haven't read it yet, but have a brand new copy! I can't find the one my husband read in college... Anyway, at some point we should tackle it here as a group read, and since it is such a long book in two parts, my thinking goes along the lines of breaking it up into "bite-size" pieces. This way nobody has to do a marathon and deal with the fatigue that goes with it.

Though before this one we really should start with St. Augustine's Confessions.

Kerstin wrote: "John wrote: "This morning I finally started Book XXII in City of God. I started Book I over a year ago and have been reading one, two or (once) three books a month since then. It was m..."

I wholly agree. "Confessions" is manageable but "City of God" is a challenge.

Well, in the new procedures we put in a procedure of mixing in short reads in between longer reads. Originally the intent was to fill in between the gaps while voting for the next read, but then we came up with voting for the next one month before the current read ends. So there was no real need for the short reads, but we liked the idea so much that we kept it in. But we never really figured out how it would work. One idea was to read something lengthy that divides nicely into short reads, something like the Bible or the Catechism.

We would like thoughts on how to do it. We could take something like Confessions and split off a chapter every so often, but it would drag. Something like a book of the bible or an essay or short story might be a better fit.

Any thoughts?

Loretta wrote: "Manny wrote: "Well, in the new procedures we put in a procedure of mixing in short reads in between longer reads. Originally the intent was to fill in between the gaps while voting for the next rea..."

Yeah, we all liked the idea too. It was too good an idea to discard. We first have to make a decision if we read it in parallel with the current read or in between.

I vote for parallel, too

Loretta wrote: "Manny wrote: "Well, in the new procedures we put in a procedure of mixing in short reads in between longer reads. Originally the intent was to fill in between the gaps while voting for the next rea..."

I agree. This process would probably work better for City of God, but would stretch that out well over a year, depending on how long the larger works were. (I did something similar, starting in March 2016 and just finishing this last week.)

Lisa wrote: "I vote for parallel, too"

I read a lot as well, but I think the reading pace here is set to be achievable by almost anyone. Adding a second long work to be read in parallel may force some of the group to choose just one or the other.

Well have to decide. John, it won't be a long work. And if it's longish, it will have to be easily divided into self containing units.

I'm thinking the Bible, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or a collection of Catholic short stories, or Papal documents, though some of those can be longish. Or a book of essays.

One book that might make a good candidate is "Regina Coeli - Magnificat's Art Comentaries on the Blessed Virgin Mary" by Fr. Michael Morris, O.P. If you get the Magnificat magazine, you know there is an art essay at the end of every issue. Fr. Morris used to be the person who wrote most of those essays, until he passed. This is a collection of his essays on Marian paintings. Each essay has a beautiful reproduction of the painting and detail, just like in the magazine, and Fr. Morris explores the meaning behind the painting. The catholic Company has good description:
https://www.catholiccompany.com/regin...

Just a thought.

Loretta wrote: "Manny wrote: "Well have to decide. John, it won't be a long work. And if it's longish, it will have to be easily divided into self containing units.

I'm thinking the Bible, The Catechism of the Ca..."

Sure thing. The book is a little pricey, but it's an art book in addition to the essays. Let me know what you think when you get it. I have it, but i haven't read any of the essays yet.

Pope John Paul II, "A Year with John Paul II: Daily Meditations from His Writings and Prayers" (2009)

Moderator Manny recently advised this group that Amazon kindle was offering this volume for free. I took advantage of the offer. Thank you Manny. It’s a daily reading that takes maybe only 5-10 minutes plus whatever time you allow pondering over it. After a few days I realized that Pope John Paul is frequently referring to a wide number of writings by Church fathers, and other sources from the vast Catholic repository of teachings. These daily exercises are usually too short but to the point and offer a good opportunity of keeping in touch with the faith in absence of anything broader.

That sounds like a really good option Galicius. Kerstin's time has been limited with somethings going on at home, so I've pushed this decision to when she has more time to discuss it. So hold on, we'll make a decision and how to go forward in the next few weeks.

The Shephard Who Didn’t Run by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fr. Stanley Rothor, a native of Oklahoma, will be beatified on Sept. 23, declared a martyr by Pope Francis. He spent 18 years living among and serving an impoverished indigenous mountainous community in Guatemala. Because of his connection to the poor, he was targeted by the Guatemalan military and killed in 1981. It is possible that he may become the first male born in the United States to be canonized a saint. I became interested in his story because his cousin is a member of my parish. Although I am glad I read this biography, I thought the writing was mediocre, far too much repetition.

The used copy I got from Amazon is very short. Is this a very small book? Did I get the right thing?

Thanks, glad I got the right book

I just read two books

Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly

This was more basic than I wanted and more repetitive than I enjoy. But, I did not engage with it as intended, slowly and prayerfully, because I was doing a quick preview in order to evaluate it for parish use.


Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Rooted in extensive research and pastoral work across the country, Weddell argues that the majority of self-identified Catholics have never actually been evangelized, heard and responded to the call to radically follow Christ. This book does an excellent job of laying out the issue but does not adequately develop the solution. Nonetheless, it has my head spinning with thoughts and questions. I see she has a subsequent book. I plan on reading that one to see if some of those questions are answered in it.

That many Catholics are not properly evangelized is a big problem. We wouldn't have people like Bishop Robert Barron with his Word on Fire ministry, the Augustine Institute, Lighthouse, Ascension Press, EWTN, etc. if we collectively actually knew our stuff. We wouldn't have 22 million fallen away Catholics. A former priest of ours once said in a homily that he was convinced that all the fallen away Catholics are the result of not being properly catechized in the Eucharist. When properly catechized nobody would ever walk away from the Eucharist.

Sherry Weddell distinguishes between being catechized and evangelized. She argues that more people are catechized than are evangelized. They were taught what the Church professes, but never had a deep encounter with the merciful love of Christ. They can define terms and recite creedal statements, but they do not know Christ intimately, nor do they believe that an intimate relationship with Christ is possible. One statistic that surprised me (among many) was that 30% of self-identified Catholics, many of whom attend Mass regularly, do not believe in a personal God. They know that the Church teaches it, but they have no experience of a personal God, so have concluded that God is an impersonal force. She argues that the lack of evangelization extends beyond the pews and includes many in our seminaries and deaconate training programs. But, she would agree with your priest, if they were evangelized, they could not walk away. To encounter Christ, to heed the call to follow, is so amazing and transforming that one can't turn away, not even in the face of martyrdom.

Oh I remember Sherry Weddell. I think she used to have a Catholic blog. Or maybe I just remember trading comments with her at some other Catholic blog. It was a while ago. The only reason I remember her is that she works at the Catherine of Siena Institute, and the only reason I remember that is because Catherine of Siena is my personal patron saint. The Institute is also a Dominican based organization and I have gone over to their site a few times looking for some information.

Here's their website:
https://siena.org/

Irene, here is her recent book. It looks more interesting than the one you just reviewed. I put this one on my want to read list.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

I haven't gotten to her Catherine of Siena Institute website yet. IsThere good info there?

Irene wrote: "I haven't gotten to her Catherine of Siena Institute website yet. IsThere good info there?"

I don't know. I didn't find anything useful for me. It seems more of a place to find out what they offer.

Just started reading at the beginning of this week Love and Responsibility by John Paul II. It is an eye-opening and truly wonderful book to read. I would recommend this one to all.

I just finished Dorothy Day: The World Will be Saved by Beauty written by her youngest granddaughter, Kate Hennessey. It was interesting to see this public figure from familial eyes.

Irene wrote: "I just finished Dorothy Day: The World Will be Saved by Beauty written by her youngest granddaughter, Kate Hennessey. It was interesting to see this public figure from familial eyes."

Interesting. The Amazon book description doesn't really say much. Was this more of a biography or understanding of her thoughts? I may have said this before but Dorothy lived most of her life on Staten Island, which is where I live. She's supposedly buried at the same cemetery as my father and I was just thinking of her when at the cemetery over the weekend. I keep meaning to find her grave, but I really don't know how to go about that in a reasonably organized fashion.

It is primarily a look at the dynamic between Dorothy and Tamar, how Dorothy approached her vocation as mother and her vocation to the Catholic Worker. And it is a look at how Tamar internalized and responded to growing up in that environment, shaped by Dorothy's unorthodox approach to parenting. And, it is a look at the relationship between the adult women. There is some exploration of Dorothy's beliefs, from her Bohemian days prior to her conversion through the influence of Peter Maurin through her life-long attraction to the ascetical spirituality of Fr. Hugo, but these are presented more on how they shaped the family dynamics and community life than as any indepth study of Dorothy's thoughts or the underpinnings of the Catholic Worker movement.

Thank you Irene.

In June and July of this year readers discussed the author Garry Wills. I've read two of his books, and liked them. But several years ago I read an op-Ed piece he wrote in which he said he couldn't understand why modern day Catholics still believed in the Eucharist. Please confirm this if you wish, but my memory of that statement is indelible.

My Heart Will Triumph by Miriana Soldo
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In 1981, 16 year-old Miriana and five other youths had an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary on a hill near the village of Medjugorje. This is her account of the 35 years of regular apparitions, her persecution by communist authorities, the graces experienced in her own life and by numerous pilgrims who have traveled to that hill, the message Mary has for all people. Miriana’s is a simple, sometimes repetitive voice, but it conveys an earnest sincerity. I was deeply challenged by this book to increase my life of prayer.

Just finished reading O Pioneers!for a Catholic group that I've recently joined called well read moms. Looking forward to actually being able attend my first book discussion since I finally have a Saturday in which I am no either working or visiting my favorite monk in Wyoming! Haven't participated in a real book discussion with everyone physically sharing the same space in quite a long time! I think I'm at a time where I need to branch out more, meet some more people, and have some accountability to astually participate!

Lisa wrote: "Just finished reading O Pioneers!for a Catholic group that I've recently joined called well read moms. Looking forward to actually being able attend my first book discussion since I f..."

O Pioneers! is on my reading list and I may get to it next year. What did you think?

Also, good luck with Well Read Moms. I've seen that on the internet, and it looks like a great group to join. Looks like it reads all the books I would read. Unfortunately for me is that I'm not a mom and can never be one! LOL.

Lisa wrote: "Just finished reading O Pioneers!for a Catholic group that I've recently joined called well read moms. Looking forward to actually being able attend my first book discussion since I f..."

I read 'O Pioneers!' a few months ago and loved it! The next in the series is already in my TBR queue :) And thanks for the recommendation of Well Read Moms. I looked at the website, and it has many great inspirations!

Here is a recent interview from the Well Read Moms blog about literature in general. I especially liked this quote:

"Good literature helps us to grapple with truths that engage the soul and manifest the difficulties of living out the gospel."

https://www.wellreadmom.com/year-of-t...

Well when you moms get chummy with some of the other moms, see if they want to join our Catholic book club.

LOL! I think being here at goodreads is about as much as I will do. I can hardly keep up with my reading as it is :)

Manny wrote: "Well when you moms get chummy with some of the other moms, see if they want to join our Catholic book club."

I've already recommended this group to several friends including some of the moms! I read O Pioneers! a few years ago and I have to say that I enjoyed it much more this time around.