Letter to Families and Catechesi Tradendae (Sophia Institute Press)

When I look back at Pope John Paul's papacy and think of the legacy he left, it is a bit overwhelming. The man was pope for 26 years. He visited many countries, touched the lives of many, and inspired a generation of Catholics. We think of his smiling face, the way he suffered at the end of his life, but we tend to forget about his legacy of words. Perhaps, that is because Pope Benedict XVI succeeded him and left us a legacy of books. However, Pope John Paul II, in addition to giving us Theology of the Body, he also delivered countless homilies, wrote fourteen encyclicals, and was also responsible for numerous exhortations and letters. Sophia Institute Press has recently published two of his works - Letter to Families and Catechesi Tradendae.

Letter to Families was a letter Pope John Paul II penned in 1994 addressed to families in the Year of the Family. He also considered it great preparation for the Great Jubilee of 2000. After an introduction, in which he explained how the family is a domestic church, he launches into Part One: The Civilization of Love. Here he discusses the role of man and woman, the covenant of marriage, parenthood, and family. Part Two: The Bridegroom is With You talks about the wedding at Cana, the mystery of marriage, and the Annunciation being the beginning of the "fairest love" of all.

The book is short, but powerful. There is an foreword by Archbishop Charles Chaput and study questions at the end to aid you if you are reading this on your own or with a small group. It is also a very affordable price, so what's not to love? If you are looking for a book to give to a newly married couple or a couple who has been married for twenty years, they would both benefit from reading this saint's words. Highly recommended!

The other work of Pope John Paul II, which Sophia Institute Press is responsible for publishing is Catechesi Tradendae or On Catechesis in Our Time. This Apostolic Exhortation was issued exactly one year after his papacy started on October 16, 1979. Part One focuses on Jesus, who is the one, true Teacher. Part Two talks about the history of catechesis, how it started with the Apostles and is still the Church's mission today. Part Three gets down to the more nitty-gritty of catechesis like the aim of it and the need for it to be systematic. Part Four discusses Scripture and Tradition and also focuses on the Creed as an important source of doctrine and tool for catechesis. Part Five emphasizes the need for everyone to be catechized, which is very important to remember, as we tend to only focus on children generally. Part Six and Seven focus on ways to catechize. Part Eight reminds us to be joyful with this task, and Part Nine addresses each group of the Church (from bishops to parents) reminding each one that they too have a part in catechizing the world. This seems like a thick text to read, but it is only about 120 pages.

As a parent and a catechist, this book definitely spoke to me. A lot of people don't realize it, but it can be very discouraging to be a catechist. You see the children you teach once a week, if you're lucky. Most of their parents do little to no catechesis in the home, and you just pray the children walk away at the end of the year remembering some parts of the faith they didn't know before. This book helped remind me of why I became a catechist and re-energized me in a way. With a foreword by Bishop Kevin Vonn and study questions at the end, this is a book for everyone, because everyone is called to be a catechist, either in the home or the world.

These books were provided to me for free by Sophia Institute Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Bulfinch's Mythology (Canterbury Classics)

I've read a lot of mythology and legends in my 30+ years on Earth. I've read D'aulaire's illustrated classics and Edith Hamilton. It doesn't matter if it's Greek, Roman, or even Norse. I find all of it interesting and fascinating. In fact, my wife is the same way. We hope to pass on this love of mythology to our son, so we are buying him mythology books at an early age, so that when he is old enough to appreciate them, they'll be ready and waiting for him. One book we recently added to our collection was Bulfinch's Mythology.

Bulfinch's Mythology is a gorgeous leather edition, with the face of Medusa on the cover. The pages have gilded edges and there is a ribbon bookmark to mark your place. The book contains all three of the original titles, "The Age of Fable," "The Age of Chivalry," and "The Legends of Charlemagne." "The Age of Fable" not only includes Greek and Roman mythology, but brief mentions of Eastern mythology, Norse mythology, and the Druids. "The Age of Chivalry" begins with the legend of King Arthur and his knights, leads into Mabinogen (early British prose), and concludes with the likes of Beowulf and Robin Hood. Lastly, "The Legends of Charlemagne" discusses the paladins of Charlemagne.

I skimmed through the parts on mythology and Arthur, as I am very well-versed in those subjects, so for me, the parts on Charlemagne were the best. The legends surrounding him and his paladins were a refreshing read. Were they chock full of history? No, but I didn't expect them to be. They were legends that made for fanciful tales and were a delightful read. The edition of this book was a delight to read and would make a good textbook for the high school classroom or homeschooling parent. So far, I have reviewed two books from the Canterbury Classics and each have been impressive in their quality. Highly recommended.

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

Hans Christian Andersen's Complete Fairy Tales (Canterbury Classics)

When it comes to fairy tales, there are three big names that come to mind - the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Andrew Lang. Depending on what you are looking for and the age range of your child, you could read any or all of these and have enough tales to last you for days. Today, I will be reviewing the Canterbury Classics version of Hans Christian Andersen's Complete Fairy Tales. The book is a pretty edition in that it is hardcover, leather, gold-edged pages, and comes with a ribbon bookmark. The pages are a little thinner than I expected, so there is a little bleed through of text when reading. Also, there are sadly no illustrations, literally zero. This gives me the feel that the book is more geared toward teens or adults, and not younger children.

What leads more to the idea that this book is geared for an older audience is the introduction. In addition to basic information about his life, there are comparisons between the tales of the Brothers Grimm and those of Andersen. "Andersen's stories were also much more Christian in orientation that Grimms'." The introduction goes on to state that "Andersen also uses religion to give his most tragic stories a "happy ending." After these brief introduction, we dive into the fairy tales. The fairy tales themselves are arranged chronologically and start with a recently discovered one entitled "The Tallow Candle." This one was written sometime in the 1820s with the others being written from the mid 1830s to the early 1870s. Within these tales, there are a lot of stories I don't recognize but also a bunch of my favorites like "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling." There are also a bit depressing versions of stories you thought you new, like "The Little Mermaid." Way different than Disney spun it to be!

Overall, this is an impressive volume that's only negative is that it is lacking in illustrations. Aside from that, it is a worthy edition to the Canterbury Classics line of books. If you are looking for classics in an attractive format that will look good on your shelf and will hold the test of time, this is a great selection of books that include other tomes like Bulfinch's Mythology and The Arabian Nights.

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