Pope Francis Family Devotional (Our Sunday Visitor)

I have reviewed a lot of books in my four years as a reviewer...A LOT! I usually try and time the reviews around the content of the book, but I feel like I dropped the ball with the book I am reviewing today. The book is called Pope Francis Family Devotional, and as you can tell by the name, it is a one-a-day yearly devotional. The book begins with a brief introduction by the editor, Rebecca Cherico, where she explains that she compiled these pages with her own family in mind. She also tried to remember that all families are different and make this book suitable for people of various ages and at various stages of life.

The book is just shy of 400 pages long and contains a single page devotion for every day of the year, including February 29th. Few devotionals pay attention to the leap day, so this is already a plus in my book. Each page is divided into two sections - an excerpt from one of Pope Francis' addresses/audiences and a reflection by the editor. Here is a short one as an example:

There is no cross, big or small, in our life, which the Lord does not share with us.
- Address, Way of the Cross, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 26, 2013

Reflection: God is with us. And God is good - all the time. When a cross seems too strange or too great to bear, remember this. He is always with us, until the end of time.

Reading through this book is easy to do each day and one that I would recommend doing with your family. The words of Pope Francis are brief, but poignant, and the reflections are spot on! I encourage you to start your day with it and read it at breakfast time. If that doesn't work, end your day with it and read it before night time prayers. Get your children involved, learning more about their faith, and hearing the words of the Holy Father. Don't be discouraged that the year is more than half over. Pick up a copy and start the habit now, and then you can work on the book the rest of this year and all of next year.

This book was provided to me by Our Sunday Visitor in exchange for an honest review.