Hello my loyal readers and new readers stopping by on the #RediscoverJesus blog tour hosted by Dynamic Catholic! Today, I am reviewing the latest book from dynamic (pun intended) speaker Matthew Kelly. It is entitled Rediscover Jesus, and is a follow-up work to his life-changing book Rediscover Catholicism. I just know that this book is going to be the next big thing in Catholic publishing! Here's my brief review.
Rediscover Jesus is an approximately 200 page hardcover with a purple dust jacket and deckle-edged pages. I'm not sure what it is about deckle-edged pages, but they seem to be heavily favored by publishers lately. The book itself is 40 chapters long, with no chapter spanning more than five pages. The choice of 40 chapters seems deliberate by the author as 40 is a very important Biblical number, i.e., the Flood, the Israelites wandering in the desert, and Jesus' time in the desert. With the purple dust jacket and 40 chapters, I wonder if Matthew Kelly intended this book to be a daily Lenten read. If he didn't, I would highly recommend doing so! At the end of every chapter are four things to help the chapter crystallize in your brain - 1. Point to Ponder, 2. Verse to Live, 3. Question to Consider, 4. Prayer. I would recommend writing each verse down on a notecard and trying to memorize them, but that may just be the former Protestant in me.
The book is short, but powerful. Each chapter, which can be read in ten minutes or less, provides a jolt to start your day and also make you uncomfortable...in a good way. Kelly points out how little we actually know about Jesus, going so far as to say, "The thing that unsettles me is that sometimes I think I know people on the periphery of my life better than I know Jesus." This was a slap in the face, and it was one that I desperately needed to read. Chapter 40 "The Hour of Power" addressed two things I struggle with - silence and adoration. There's something about sitting there alone with God in silence that is intimidating to me. I have a hard time keeping my mind from wandering; keeping my mouth shut and letting God talk; and just sitting still in the awesome presence of God. This is definitely something for me to work on, but I believe I will have to incrementally build up to an hour, because I am weak.
This level of conciseness that Matthew Kelly achieves in this book makes this book very approachable. He didn't use flowery language or overly complicated language. He just laid it out for you plain and simple. I have a habit of saying that some books are a challenging read, but this book was instead a read that challenged you. As Catholics, we don't really think about a personal relationship with Jesus like our Protestant brethren do, but we need to! This book shows us not only that we need that personal relationship, but helps us to achieve it as well. I read through this book quickly, because the book lent itself to that style of reading. However, I have placed this book on my shelf to read again during Lent. Then, I will take my time and read through each chapter a day to let the message fully sink in and take hold. I strongly recommend this book to all Catholics.
You can now order your copy of Rediscover Jesus on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.
Thank you for participating in the #RediscoverJesus blog tour! To read tomorrow’s final stop, please visit Lisa Hendey at CatholicMom.com.
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