Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (DeMontfort Music)

In 2013, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist released their debut album Mater Eucharistiae, which was a smash hit! 2014 saw them release their sophomore album The Rosary, and for a few years, I thought that was all they were going to release...NOPE! A few weeks ago their third album, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring was released. This gave people about a month to pick up this Christmas album. Like other albums released from DeMontfort Music, the album is a mixture of hymns and chants, as well as English and Latin selections. Included on this album are the following:

1. Christmas Proclamation
2. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
3. Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying
4. Sleep, Little Jesus
5. Carol of the Bells
6. Emmanuel
7. Snowflakes
8. Away in a Manger
9. Angels We Have Heard on High
10. Adeste Fideles
11. Joy to the World
12. Gaudete
13. Of the Father's Love Begotten
14. Madonna's Lullaby
15. Gabriel's Message
16. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

It's said in the music business that you haven't made it until you put out a Christmas album. Well, I guess we can say that these sisters have officially made it! There are many Christmas albums that flood the market every year that completely miss the point of Christmas, so it was refreshing to see this holy album be released that focuses on the real reason for the season. On this album, you will see a lot of familiar titles, which is always refreshing because you can sing along. However, I also loved that there were titles on this album that I was unfamiliar with, as it helped broaden my catalog of great Christmas songs. Listening to this album in my car has been a relaxing endeavor, as it has helped me focus on Jesus with my commute to and from work. Unfortunately, I have to put this album away until December when Advent officially starts, because it is currently Ordinary Time and you should appreciate the season you are in. However, when December 3rd gets here, this album is going back into my car CD player and will be on loop through the beginning of next year. Pick up this album and a second one for a friend. You won't be sorry.

Three Kings Ten Mysteries (Ignatius Press)

Grzegorz Gorny has made a career of publishing beautiful books that cover the mysteries of the Church. The first one I discovered was Witnesses to Mystery, which investigated the relics of Christ. The second one was Trust and talked about St. Faustina. The third one was Guadalupe Mysteries, and the most recent one is Three Kings Ten Mysteries, which discusses Christmas and Epiphany. The book begins with a brief, one page prologue, which asks if the story of the Magi is fact or fiction. We then immediately dive into the ten mysteries:

1. The Phantom Apostle
2. The Gospel's Veracity
3. Messianic Prophecies
4. Magi or Kings?
5. The Magi's Homeland
6. Jesus' Birth Date
7. Signs in the Sky
8. Bethlehem's Secrets
9. The Case of King Herod
10. The Oldest Feast

The first chapter sets the stage for this book by telling us that the story of the Magi is only found in Matthew's Gospel. It then gives us background on who Matthew was. The second chapter focuses on the reliability of the Gospels. The third chapter deals with the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament and how many references modern day scholars have discovered. Chapter Four is a juicy chapter for me, because it tries to get to the historical root of who these three men were. Were they magi or kings? How many were there really? What was their significance? The chapter on Herod also proved to be fascinating in a tragic sense. In this chapter, I learned that Herod not only was responsible for the murder of the Holy Innocents, but he committed many other murders and atrocities due to his extreme paranoia.

Gorny's books never fail to disappoint in terms of presentation and information. It really is like having a pilgrimage at the tip of your fingers. Simply turn the pages and you are transported to these place, and when you walk away you are all the richer. The only complaint I have about this book is that it is significantly smaller in dimensions than the rest of his works. I believe that if it wasn't, this 166 page book would probably be significantly thinner and all the images would feel compressed, so I'm sure they made the right decision. It's just an idiosyncrasy of mine. If you are looking for a fascinating read the rest of this Christmas season, this is the book for you!

This book was provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review.

O Emmanuel (Dynamic Catholic)

It's Advent again. My favorite time of the year. We all have different ways of preparing ourselves for Christmas. There are Advent calendars and Advent wreaths. We hang up lights and decorate Christmas trees. Sadly, a lot of this is done November 1st, the day after Halloween. We rush through the seasons and don't appreciate the beauty of the preparation. I normally am opposed to playing Christmas music too early, but I was recently sent a copy of the album O Emmanuel.

O Emmanuel is a Christmas album with composer J.J. Wright, the Notre Dame Children's Choir, and Fifth House Ensemble. The first track is called Gabriel's message. The next seven tracks follow the O Antiphons of Advent that span from December 17th through 23rd. These are Sapienta, Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, and Emmanuel. The final two tracks are When the Sun Rises in the Morning Sky, and a favorite of mine, Christ the Lord is Born Today.

The music has a unique style to it as it combines adult and children's voices, jazz piano, and other instrumentalists as well. At about an hour long, the album is unfortunately longer than my commute to and from work, but I can generally complete the album over the course of two days. That point aside, I thoroughly enjoy this album and I play it as often as possible when I am in the car. If you would like to hear some samples or obtain a copy for you, your family or friends, follow the link.

This CD was provided to me for free by Dynamic Catholic in exchange for an honest review.

The Polar Express and The Nutcracker (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Hesperus Press)

Everyone has specific things they love about Christmas. Some people have their favorite songs and carols. Others have their favorite movies that they have to watch for it to feel like Christmas. Sadly, not too many people think about favorite Christmas books, but I am going to tell you about two classics that you might want to pick up for your kids and/or you and find time to read during the Christmas season.

The Polar Express is 30 years old this year! It's crazy to think about it being that old, as it is older than my wife! The premise of this book is that a boy's friend tells him that Santa isn't real. The boy stays awake to try and listen for Santa, The boy then ends up a train that takes him and other children to the North Pole. This train is called the Polar Express. While at the North Pole, the children encounter elves and factories and see all of the toys for Christmas being made. The boy is then chosen by Santa to be the child to receive the first gift of Christmas. For his gift, the boy wants something that will help him always believe in Santa and he is gifted with a silver bell from the reindeer's harness. Unfortunately, he loses the bell and is devastated! However, when he opens his gifts on Christmas he finds a present from Santa with the bell in it. He and his sister can hear it, but his parents think it is broken. The book ends with the boy growing up and his sister and friends not being able to hear the bell anymore. However, he still can.

This is a beautiful story with equally beautiful images. The movie definitely did not do this story, especially the ending justice.There are many editions available of this book. There is a library edition, which is HUGE, but if you have a lot of children or grandchildren, I'd recommend it so that you can have the children gather around you to listen and everyone can see the images. There is also a 30th anniversary edition that comes with downloadable audio of Liam Neeson reading the story. I honestly figured it'd be Tom Hanks reading it, but Neeson is great too. This is a story for children who are on the cusp of not believing or who may have friends trying to take the magic of Christmas from them. Highly recommend.

When I was growing up, I saw The Nutcracker ballet in elementary school. I don't remember much about it, except I was bored and I didn't really know what was going on, and if I'm honest, I don't think I cared what was going on either. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned it was a book too. The story begins with Marie and her brother Fritz waiting to receive their Christmas gifts from Drosselmeyer, their inventor godfather. They are given many gifts, but Marie's favorite gift is a nutcracker. It is tragically broken, but she mends it with her ribbon. When she goes to bed that night, she dreams of mice and toys fighting each other. She sustains a wound in the dream, and wakes up to find it is an actual wound.

While Marie is on the mend, Drosselmeyer arrives with her nutcracker repaired. He then explains to her the history of mice and nutcrackers, and why nutcrackers look the way they do. There is more to this story, which you may or may not know, but I don't want to spoil too much of it. There are elements for both boys and girls in this story. There is action and adventure, but there is also dancing and love. There's also a bit of a surprise ending, which I'm not really sure if it's how the ballet ends as well, because like I said, I didn't really care about it when I was a child. I really enjoyed this story, and it was such a short and quick read that it was hard to put it down and not finish it in one sitting. There are chapter breaks though, in case you have younger readers who need to spread out this delightful tale. There's also a brief foreword at the beginning of the book, which provides useful information on the history and origin of this story. This is particularly useful if your children use this book for a book report. Great story, and one that you should definitely read before you attempt the ballet.

These books were provided to me for free by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Hesperus Press in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

How Far is it to Bethlehem: The Plays and Poetry of Frances Chesterton

If you're an American Catholic, then you are no doubt familiar with the works of G.K. Chesterton. He has written great works like, Orthodoxy and Heretics; the mysteries of Father Brown; and works on St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas. What a lot of people don't know is that his wife, Frances, was also a writer herself. Nancy Carpentier Brown compiled a plethora of her writings in the book How Far is it to Bethlehem. Within this book are plays she wrote for Christmas Eve productions which the Chestertons put on each year. They apparently had a stage in their house for home entertainment! She also wrote poems on many subjects, but her Christmas ones appeared often time in Christmas cards.

The book itself contains six plays, with not all of them complete. The first one is about the Children's Crusade, which is said to have taken place in 1212 and is a particularly dark time in history. Several of the other plays are Christmas themed with the names, "The Christmas Gift" and "The Three Kings." The plays seem to be written in a couplet rhyming scheme, i.e., A,A,B,B,C,C, etc. Normally I would construe this as forced rhyming, but as these plays were written for children, I can see the appeal for little ones with rhyming that way. The plays were interesting, but it is a bit like reading Shakespeare in that you would rather see it performed than just read it yourself. It would be wonderful to see some Catholic English or Drama teacher try and do a local production of one of these plays.

The poems take up the remaining half of this book and are divided into assorted poetry and Christmas poems. Like most people's poetry, it was probably private writing that was never meant to be read by anyone, but I am grateful for Nancy for compiling them for us, as we would have never been exposed to her personality and genius otherwise. The Christmas Card poetry was easily my favorite section. In these beautiful poems, we can see France Chesterton's love for Jesus, particularly Christ at His Nativity. Here are a few stanzas from her 1917 Christmas poem for which this book is named:

How far is it to Bethlehem?
Not very far.
Shall we find the stable room
Lit by the star?

Can we see the little Child?
Is He within?
If we lift the wooden latch
May we go in?

May we stroke the creatures there
Ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see
Jesus asleep?

I am not a world class poetry expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoyed reading through Mrs. Chesterton's words. Some have a beautiful simplicity, and others blow you away with their depth. Even though her husband, G.K. Chesterton overshadowed his wife (not on purpose), this book shines a light on Frances' brilliance as well and shows how good of a match they were for each other. The old saying, "Behind every great man, there's a great woman" rings true with these two. If G.K. Chesterton is ever canonized, she will definitely be a large reason why. So if you are looking for a unique Christmas gift (or gift for any occasion), for that Chesterton fan in your life, I highly recommend How Far is it to Bethlehem.

This book was provided to me for free by the author in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Joy to the World (Image Books)

Today I am kicking off the Scott Hahn Joy to the World blog tour. In addition to posting a review of the book, I was also asked to reflect on what Christmas means to me. There is also a giveaway at the end, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom.

Review:
Dr. Scott Hahn has written many books throughout his years as a convert. He has covered the Mass, Sacraments, and sometimes high theology. Joy to the World, however, is his first book dedicated solely to Christmas. Dr. Hahn begins with a personal tale of his family's time in Bethlehem and the impact it had on his daughter Hannah. He then explains that the city of Bethlehem isn't a place you just visit and forget, but changes your life. We then get to the heart of the book in which Dr. Hahn details and explains various aspects of the Christmas story.

Dr. Hahn talks about the differences between St. Matthew and St. Luke and the way they presented the details in their respective Gospels. He talks about genealogies and the key figures listed. He discusses Herod and the killing of the Holy Innocents. There's of course a chapter on Mary, and to my surprise even St. Joseph gets his own chapter. Much appreciated and deserved! There were shepherds and magi, and even focus on the star that led the Magi. He explains that St. John Chrysostom believed that it was actually an angel and not a star. There's even a chapter that talks about all the journeys the Holy Family went on, such as the flight into Egypt.

However, my favorite chapter was the one on the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. I admit that I already knew most of the theology Dr. Hahn explained in this chapter, but I was thrilled that he took the time to explain it and tie it into the Christmas story. One interesting bit of theology is how Jesus' circumcision was foreshadowing to His crucifixion. My favorite mind-blowing theological point that Dr. Hahn made dealt with the lack of a ransom offered for Jesus THE firstborn son. Since no ransom was paid, Jesus belonged to God and was in service to God. This makes the troubling passage of twelve year old Jesus being found in the Temple (Luke 2:48-49), less troubling. Of course he was in His Father's house! That's where He belonged!

Christmas came early this year with the October release of Dr. Hahn's book Joy to the World. If you want to know why Christ's coming mattered then and still matters today, you need this book. If you are someone who simply likes to keep the focus on Christ during Christmas, you'll want this book. Whether it is a treat for you or a gift for someone else, you will not be disappointed. It is perfect to read anytime of the year, not just Advent and Christmas.

To read an interview from Dr. Hahn on his book, click here. This book was provided to me for free by Image Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Personal Reflection
Christmas to me means charity. In addition to picking a child or two off our parish's Angel Tree, my wife and I also give to a program that supplies goats to our sister parish in El Salvador. Each year, we save up money to buy goats that help provide a livelihood to needy families. We also have fun picking out names for the goats. One year, I had a William Goat, as in Billy Goat. It's corny. I know, but I'm okay with that. What does Christmas mean to you?

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Check out Day 2 of the blog tour by William O’Leary – Catechesis in the Third Millennium.

Christmas in Harvard Square

Every year, the musical world is flooded with Christmas CDs from musical artists. Artists come into the studio; crank out the same tired carols, maybe a religious hymn or two; and leave having earned a quick buck from easy record sales. Yes, this is just a generalization, but it is rare to hear a sense of awe or amazement at this holy time of year when Christ became man for us. If you are looking for that powerful experience you should get from hearing Christmas music, look no further than Christmas in Harvard Square.

Christmas in Harvard Square is the debut album release of The Boys of St. Paul's Choir School. Some schools say, "We are a school with a choir." St. Paul's proudly states, "We are a choir with a school." The reason for this is the music permeates every facet of the school. It is not just some after school activity, but it is the heartbeat of the school. St. Paul's Choir School was founded in 1963, so this album is being released "as part of their initiative for the New Evangelization and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the school." It's remarkable that children this young are participating in the New Evangelization, but it just goes to show you that you're never to young to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There is a nice variety of Christmas music among these 19 tracks. You have English tracks and Latin tracks; traditional songs and modern songs; songs you recognize, like "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and songs you might have never heard of, like "Jesus Christ The Apple Tree." No matter what type of Christmas music you like, you will find something on this album for you, and all of it is beautifully sung. I would go so far as to say that I was blown away by these young boys' voices. You would never guess from hearing them that they were so young, because they sing well above their age.

I am very pleased to add another CD to my growing collection of Liturgical Seasons CDs. Christmas in Harvard Square is a perfect complement to Advent at Ephesus and Lent at Ephesus. Now, I just need an Easter album, and I'm all set. What about Ordinary Time, you say? Well, since it's the longest season, you need several albums for that, and I have Angels and Saints at Ephesus and Mater Eucharistae. I have also heard that an album on The Rosary is coming out in November! We are truly blessed with all of this Catholic music that is so readily available now, and I look forward to seeing what else lies in store in the future. To see The Making of Christmas in Harvard Square, check out the video below!

Brother Francis Presents Born into the Kingdom (Herald Entertainment)

Born into the Kingdom is Volume 5 in the Brother Francis series. So far, this cartoon Brother has taught us about prayer, the Eucharist, Confession, the Rosary, and Christmas. This episode we learn about Baptism. We begin by seeing Brother Francis looking through an old picture album. This is appropriate and a good representation for children to associate with Baptism, as we become part of the family of God when we are baptized.

Next, we learn about Original Sin by going all the way back to Adam and Eve. This section doesn't pull any punches, and shows a very realistic and Biblically accurate representation of Genesis. It's nice when the Faith isn't watered down. We don't always give our children as much credit as they deserve when it comes to understanding the Faith.

The last section of the DVD walks you through the actual Sacrament. Since most Catholic children are baptized as babies, they will not remember theirs and might not witness the Sacrament unless they have younger siblings. This video walks them through the basics, including what the priest says, what the parents and godparents say, the prayer of exorcism, etc. Parents could learn as much in this section as their children. I loved Born into the Kingdom as much as I loved the previous episodes from Brother Francis. Be sure to check out Volume 6, The Mass, which was just released.

I received this DVD for free from Herald Entertainment in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, click here and hit Yes!

GoBible Review and 20% Off Coupon

With Christmas a mere week away and New Year's right after that, people are starting to enter resolution mode. Many people consider giving up a vice like smoking or attempting to lose weight. Both are noble goals. Instead of giving up something this year, though, I'd like to issue a New Year's challenge -- start something this year instead. I challenge you to grow closer to God in the upcoming year by reading from His Word (the Bible) every day! Now, it wouldn't be a fair challenge if I wasn't willing to participate myself, so I promise to accept the challenge as well.  I will be using the GoBible to help accomplish this challenge! What's the GoBible you ask? Keep reading to find out.

The GoBible is a portable audio Bible that fits in the palm of your hand. I am reviewing the Original edition which, although a little pricier, comes with the following features:

• Contains entire Bible for Catholics
• Over 80 hours of audio, preloaded
• Searchable by verse
• Story index of 230 popular Bible stories
• Topic index
• Holiday/events index
• Bookmarks
• Narrated Rosary and common prayers
• Daily readings by year and cycle
• Voice menu for sight impaired

The first question you may be wondering is "What translation of the Bible does it use?" The GoBible does not use the NABRE (what you hear at Mass) or the RSV-CE (Ignatius Study Bible).  Instead, it features the NRSV-CE. I spoke with the people at GoBible, and they told me that the NABRE was not made available to them, but they also reassured me that the NRSV-CE has an imprimatur, which is a huge plus. For those unfamiliar with this version, it is a bit more literal than the NABRE and does include some gender-inclusive language. This means that in places where the word "men" is traditionally heard, this translation will instead say "people." Rest assured though, God is still referred to as He. There is no gender ambiguity when it comes to the Almighty!

The next question going through your head probably concerns the audio quality and how the Bible is read. In a word, it is AWESOME! GoBible tasked Emmy-Award winning narrator Stephen Johnson. He has what can be described as a smooth, deep voice. For those who don't know who he is (like myself before doing some research), "Stephen Johnston's work with all major Christian Publishers has provided a unique audio library of almost every major Bible version including, KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, Message, CEV and various Bible productions including Dramatized versions of the above. At 65, Stephen is deemed by his colleagues as a "master narrator", with worldwide sales of his many productions. No other person in history has narrated and produced the number of Bible products he has." I'd say he's definitely qualified, and they made a good selection.

So what are my favorite features? That's a tough call, as the more I use the product, the more I love about it. For starters, I love the daily Mass readings. Since my wife and I can't go to daily Mass at this point in our lives, we try to pray with daily Mass readings every night. This helps keep up focused on God, while staying within the rhythm of the Church calendar. Having these readings available in audio format, I can now listen to them several times throughout the day and reflect and meditate on them, or simply rest while listening to them. I also like the popular Bible stories feature. These stories are great for getting your children interested in reading the Bible. Lastly, I love the Rosary feature. I only wish there were more prayers on here, like maybe the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as well.

Lastly, I love that the GoBible also has accessories o expand how you listen to the Word of God. For example, if I want to listen to the Bible on my commute to and from work, it's not very safe to put earbuds in and drive. GoBible has a solution for that with the FM Audio Transmitter. Simply connect the transmitter to your GoBible, plug it into your car's power socket, and BAM Bible over your car's speakers! With Catholic Radio, Catholic CDs, and now the GoBible, my car can be a place of worship on wheels!

I cannot recommend this product enough! For a limited time (until January 3, 2014) GoBible and Carmel Communications have teamed up to offer my readers a 20% discount AND Free Shipping on all orders! Just enter the code SST20 at checkout. So if you are like me and love the Bible, you will want this product. If you are Catholic and wish you knew your Bible better, this is a product you need! So take me up on my New Year's challenge, pick up a GoBible, some rechargeable AAA batteries, and read your Bible everyday! You might love it so much that you read through the entire Bible in a year. What a feat that would be!

This product was provided to me for free by GoBible and Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Brother Francis Presents The King is Born (Herald Entertainment)

Christmas season is quickly approaching! Have you got all your shopping done, or are you still looking for that one perfect gift? Perhaps, you could get the child (or children) in your life some Brother Francis DVDs. They have a 20% off special going through December 20th for all six DVDs and coloring books located here. Just remember to order by December 13th if you want to guarantee your packages arrives before Christmas. Today, I will be reviewing one of their latest releases on Christmas, called The King is Born.

The King is Born begins by talking about all the traditions and activities people associate with Christmas, including decorating a tree, baking cookies, and exchanging presents. He then explains that with all the hustle and bustle of the season, it's easy to forget the true reason for the season, Christ's birthday. He follows this up with the example of how you would feel if you had a birthday party and everyone ignored you and just focused on themselves instead. We have birthday parties to show appreciation and thankfulness for the person's birth. This leads us to how thankful we should be that Jesus came to earth to be born and ultimately die and save us from our sins.

Brother Francis then tells us the Biblical account of the Christmas story. I appreciate the fact that this DVD told the WHOLE story, too! We begin with Gabriel appearing to Zechariah and telling him that his wife Elizabeth will bear him a son and that he should name his son John. Then comes the Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary, Mary's Visitation to Elizabeth, the birth of John the Baptist and the Nativity of Jesus. It wraps up with Jesus' Presentation in the Temple, and Simeon prophesying to Mary about the sorrow she will experience. I wish there would have been mention of Herod, the Magi, and the Holy Innocents, but I am impressed with all the aspects of the Christmas story it did cover. Lastly, after the Christmas story is over, Brother Francis offers a succinct summary of how Christmas is just the beginning of the story of God's love.

This is the perfect Christmas gift for your little ones, but I'd honestly recommend opening it up early and watching it during Advent. Your kids are bound to get distracted by all the lights and presents and talk of Santa, and that's fine. They are just kids. However, it is our job to make sure that they know the real "reason for the season" and not let the other distractions envelop the whole season of Advent and Christmas. I very much recommend this DVD for parents of little ones, catechists, and teachers in Catholic or Christian schools.

I received this DVD for free from Herald Entertainment in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, click here and hit Yes!

Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing (Franciscan Media)

Welcome back to the Children's Corner here at Stuart's Study. I told myself I was only going to review two products a week, but that's not going to happen this month. I have some season-specific products that I need to review, so for at least the next two weeks I'll be back to 3 posts a week. I received this latest book, Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing, from Catholic Company's reviewer program. Unfortunately, it seems the program has been suspended at the moment, so that's a bit depressing, but hopefully it will be back in the future!

Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing takes places in the month of December in Naples, Italy.  The story centers around a boy named Alessandro who is living with his grandparents temporarily since his parents are away in another country for work. His grandfather has a pretty awesome job (in my opinion). He is a craftsman who makes Nativity figurines. December is an especially busy time for the grandfather both because of his job and because Bambinelli Sunday is quickly approaching. What is Bambinelli Sunday? Bambinelli Sunday occurs on the Third Sunday of Advent, and it involves children bringing their baby Jesus figurines to the Pope (or parish priest) to be blessed before placing them in the manger for Christmas. In this story, Alessandro learns about faith, generosity, love, and the true meaning of Christmas.

This is another wonderful hardcover children's book from Amy Welborn, with beautiful illustrations to boot. The main character, Alessandro, had a very real feel to him. It's easy for Catholic children's authors to portray Catholic children as perfect, angelic beings, but Amy Welborn gives us a character with depth who we see mature and grow in love as the story progresses. She also introduces the tradition of Bambinelli Sunday, which many Americans are unfamiliar with. I spoke with our Director of Religious Education to see if we could get the priests to start doing it in our Church. I recommend you ask your priests as well! I also encourage you to pick up a copy of this book in time to prepare for Bambinelli Sunday with your little ones!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

The Advent of Christ (Servant Books)

We're quickly approaching my favorite Church Season, Advent. I know I'm unusual, as most people prefer Christmas, but I'm okay with that. Last Friday, I reviewed a wonderful Orthodox book for Advent. Click here in case you missed it. I figured it was only appropriate to review a Catholic book for Advent too, and boy, do I have a good one for you! This book is written by my favorite Catholic author, Dr. Edward Sri, and is entitled The Advent of Christ.

The Advent of Christ is laid out like your standard daily devotional. It spans from the First Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany. Each day includes a Scripture reading, a meditation on the Scripture, a reflection question to apply to your daily life, and a closing prayer. The commentary is mostly drawn from one of Dr. Sri's other books, Dawn of the Messiah. If you have never read this book, then you will be in for a treat. Dr. Sri breaks down the story leading up to Jesus' birth into manageable daily bites.

I particularly enjoyed the readings in the First Week of Advent. People always focus solely on Jesus and Mary, and OCCASIONALLY Joseph during Advent, which is very appropriate for the season. However, in focusing on only the Holy Family, one misses out on the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist. Apart from just being an interesting story about an aged wife becoming pregnant and a husband who can't speak throughout the whole pregnancy, these people are all key players in Salvation History! It was also interesting to read about Gabriel's appearance in the Old Testament, particularly Daniel 9, compared to Gabriel's appearance to Zechariah.

If all the hustle and bustle in the month leading up to Christmas is making it hard for you to focus on the real reason for the season, then you will want to pick up this book. Each meditation is approximately two pages and takes at most five minutes to read. Surely, we can all give God five minutes a day. In addition to being a short read, it is easily understood and can be read aloud to the whole family. Lastly, the closing questions and prayer put a nice bow on the package and serve a two-fold purpose of preparing us for Christmas and improving our spiritual health. It's a 5-star book that I plan on reading not only this Advent, but future ones as well.

I received this book for free from Franciscan Media in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here, and hit Yes!

Orthodox Thursday: Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas

Welcome to my first post with the label "Orthodox Thursday." This isn't my first Eastern Orthodox book to review, but it definitely has been a few months. Today's book is entitled Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas: A Family Devotional in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition by AmandaEve Wigglesworth. Conciliar Press sent me this book to review, and I meant to review it during the Christmas season, but it got lost in the shuffle of other books.

In this book, one will find a plethora of information and ideas. This provides you a few different ways to read the book and approach it with your family. You could start by simply reading and discussing the Liturgical aspect of each day with your family. Perhaps my favorite part of this book is that it contains the Troparion and Kontakion for each day. For those of you unfamiliar with these terms, they are the two most important hymns for the day in the Orthodox Church.

Another way you can teach your family (or Sunday School) from this book is by using the song The Twelve Days of Christmas and explaining the religious significance for each day. This is a clever catechesis method and lets your kids know about the real significance of what many people view as a silly secular song. Also included in this book are craft or recipe ideas for each day, such as a stained glass project or making a St. Basil cake.

This was a cute and useful book at the same time. Orthodox families would benefit from it greatly next Christmas if they are looking for some fresh ways to keep their children focused on Christmas for the whole season and not just think it ends on December 25. As a Catholic, this book was interesting to me to see how different the Eastern calendar is from the Western one and the two hymns for each day, mentioned above, deepened my appreciation of the Christmas Season.