On Suffering and Burnout (EWTN Publishing)

Mother Angelica was a remarkable woman who may one day be a saint. Unfortunately for people of my generation, the bulk of her writings have long been out of print. Thankfully, Sophia Institute Press' partnered with EWTN Publishing to start reprinting hers and other out of print books. Today, I would like to tell you about her book On Suffering and Burnout.

On Suffering and Burnout is a small purple hardcover book that is actually six previously publishing mini-books that were originally published in the 1970s. The current book is divided into three sections - suffering, burnout, and consolation. Each section has two "chapters" within it. The first chapter addresses the concept of the healing power of suffering. This starts off by talking about the purpose of suffering and then leads into different types of suffering - preventative, corrective, repentant, and redemptive. The chapter then further develops redemptive suffering by talking about how Jesus suffered and what we can do to make our suffering matter instead of wasting it. The first chapter in the Burnout section talking about spiritual dryness. She explains that this dryness, though it happens to everyone, is paradoxical because it seems the more we strive to be closer to God, the further we grow apart. She then goes on to tell us that we must not become discouraged by this dryness, but use it become more patient, more humble, and learn to persevere. The chapters on consolation talk heavily on God's silent presence and how God needs us. That sounds so odd to say, but we play an important role in salvation history, so God uses us and relies on us to accomplish his mission.

As I sat reading this book recently, I kept saying to myself, "Giving this book a purple cover was brilliant." I know that's a weird thing to say, but this is the perfect book to read about halfway during Lent. Why? Because Lent can be a difficult and challenging time. We are out in the desert, sacrificing, and trying to become better people for the glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The other thought I had while reading this book is that, Mother Angelica was a very wise woman who had a powerful relationship with Jesus. I read that she wrote these mini-books while before the Blessed Sacrament, and reading through her words you definitely pick up on that. Her writing is full of truth that is both personal and universal. If you are experiencing suffering or burnout in your spiritual life, then this is a must-read book for you.

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

Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality (Image Books)

Today, I am wrapping up my month of Mother Angelica book reviews with her book Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality. Like the bulk of her books, this one was edited by Raymond Arroyo and published by Image Books. The book is approximately 220 pages long as divided into fourteen broad themes, including Everyday Holiness; God's Will and Providence; Sin and Temptation; and Saints and Angels. Within these broad themes are subsections. For example, in the first chapter "Eternal Perspectives," we see topics like God Loves You, God Chose You, and The Way to Heaven. These subtopics are what I would describe as sound bytes. Each one is no more than a paragraph in length with some merely just a sentence.

In addition to her spiritual wisdom, her wit and humor is on full display. One particularly insightful and funny passage is entitled God's Choice. In this lesson, she says, "God is not hindered if He wants to use you, whether you are holy, perfect, imperfect, good or bad. He can speak through an ass if He wants to. And He did. Remember, that's how He spoke to Balaam the prophet (Num. 22:28-30). So there is hope for all of us."

The book is a very quick read if you want to read it all at once. However, I recommend taking your time and reading through it slowly, and especially gravitating toward sections appropriate to your current situation in life. Mother Angelica was many things to many people, but I will always remember her for being a brilliant teacher. As with all of Raymond Arroyo's books about her, I highly recommend this one as well. Be on the lookout for what looks to be his last book on Mother Angelica entitled Mother Angelica Her Grand Silence and continue to support EWTN.

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!

The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica (Image Books)

If we want to become Catholics, we cannot do it on our own. We must follow in the footsteps of spiritual leaders before us. Why? Because any path we walk, they have walked before. They will be able to see pitfalls, we'd otherwise miss. Other ways we can learn from them is by imitating their prayer life. That is why today I am reviewing The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica.

The book is approximately 200 pages long and is divided into three sections - private prayers, personal devotions, and meditations. In her private prayers, we see morning and nighttime prayers, but we also see pleas and prayers she prayed in difficult moments. In personal devotions, we see meditations on the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, and Stations of the Cross, but we also see devotions, she held close to her heart, like the Divine Child Jesus. The meditations section is the shortest of the three, and it contains very brief meditations on subjects of healing, pain, suffering, and love.

We appreciate people more when they are gone than when they are here. And while, I doubt any American Catholic did not appreciate Mother Angelica while she was here with us, I think we can all step back now and see how far-reaching her touch really was. As with all the books that Raymond Arroyo has edited on Mother Angelica, this one shows not only her spirituality, but keeps her personality alive in it as well. Mother Angelica's biggest legacy will always be EWTN and the numerous archives of her programs, but these books will find their way into people's heart and homes and make an impact on their personal and spiritual lives.

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

Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures (Image Books)

One of the first Audible books I listened to was Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures. I listened to this book countless times throughout the years and always walked away with some new nugget of wisdom. Unfortunately, when I listen to audiobooks. I almost always space out, so I feel like I missed as much as I learned. For that reason, I knew I needed an actual copy of the book that I could read/reference whenever I needed to. The book is divided into three large sections - The Old Testament, The New Testament, and The Epistles.

The book begins with Creation and the Fall and moves on to Abraham. We then fast forward to Exodus and Moses. There are a surprising bit of entries on Numbers and Judges. The Old Testament section is than wrapped up with a few select passages from different prophetic books. The Old Testament section was much shorter than I had hoped it would be, but the amount dedicated to the Gospels is more than sufficient. In addition to reflections on key events like Jesus' birth and the Flight into Egypt, we receive meditations on a great deal of the miracles and parables of Jesus. The closing section covers both Paul's Epistles and the Catholic Epistles with no reflections on Revelation.

Like her programs on EWTN, this book is full of Mother Angelica's wisdom, wit, and insight. However, this is book is merely an appetizer, if you will. Mother Angelica had much to share with others, both on the air and in small groups, on Scripture. It would be amazing if we were able to compile it all in book format, but I don't know if that will ever happen. Instead, we must rely on this book and others compiled/edited by Raymond Arroyo to provide us with as much as he can on this potentially future saint. Be on the lookout for his latest book, Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence, coming May 2016.

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!

Praying with Mother Angelica (Sophia Institute Press)

In late 2015, Sophia Institute Press joined with Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) to form a publishing house to print books, publish content electronically, and further extend their global reach. Given the recent passing of Mother Angelica, I found it only fitting that the first book I review from this joint venture to be Praying with Mother Angelica. For those unfamiliar with this potential future saint, she was a Franciscan nun; creator of a religious order; builder of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament; and most memorably, the creator of EWTN. She was also well versed in Scripture and had a deep devotion to Jesus and His Mother. This is on full display in the book Praying with Mother Angelica.

The book itself is approximately 200 pages long and focuses on two of the most popular Catholic devotions - the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross. For those unfamiliar with how to pray the Rosary, the book begins with a brief how-to guide as well as the texts for all the prayers that make up the Rosary. The book then devotes a chapter to each of the four sets of mysteries - Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious. The next section focuses on the Stations of the Cross and contains an opening prayer, meditations for all fourteen stations, and a closing prayer. The book ends with a section of brief "conversations" that Mother Angelica had with God. Such subjects include love, humility, faith, anger, and forgiveness.

This work is more than a compilation of Scriptural meditations, not that there is anything wrong with that type of book. Instead, this book is Mother Angelica on display. We see her personal relationship with Jesus and her deep love for Him and His Church. I want to emphasize the word personal again. These are her words, her reflections, and her meditations. It is written in a first person point-of-view, so you are not only reading her words, but when you read them you put yourself in those words and they become your words. This was a powerful book and one I would recommend for anyone who wants to become more familiar with the Rosary and Stations of the Cross, or perhaps one who feels in a rut with their prayer life and wants to try some new meditations.

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