Face to Face with Jesus and God is With Me Always and Everywhere (Pauline Books)

Face to Face with Jesus is a short book, which contains spiritual reflections that Archbishop Forte gave before a large audience during Lent 2012. In this "exercises for everyone," he reflects on Jesus' life as presented in the Gospel of Mark. He chose the Gospel of Mark because it is the oldest Gospel; the shortest Gospel; and because the Gospel is a life journey, a progressive journey, and a paschal journey. In this work, Archbishop Forte wants to address what evil in our lives we must rid ourselves of, what choices we must make to fully give our lives to Jesus, and what practices must we put into our lives to be a source of light and love for others.

The first chapter of the book details Jesus' baptism, His temptation in the desert, and the day he spent in Capernaum. In these three passages, we can see Jesus as the Son of God and one who must be sacrificed for us. We see the ongoing struggle between Satan and God. And we see Jesus preaching, teaching, and healing. In the second chapter, we see the prophecies of Jesus' Passion, the Garden of Gethsemane, and His Crucifixion. It is in these passages where we see Jesus freely accept His Passion and death. We also see that by Jesus dying, He has granted us life eternal. The third and final chapter addresses the empty tomb and the mission of His followers post-Resurrection. Like Jesus' disciples then, we must freely accept the new life He offers us and share that message with everyone.

Though this book is only 70ish pages, it packs quite a punch. Archbishop Forte did a masterful job extracting the message of Mark and making it available and understandable to all. While, I believe this book would best be read during Lent, you could read it at anytime. This book is "a manual for Christian living." In it you will find freedom from self; to purify your heart from world attachments; and to not fear death. I would like to close with a quote. "To live is to learn how to die; those who live for love, shall die in the love of the living and holy God."

God is With Me Always and Everywhere is a little hardcover children's book that teaches your children about God's presence. It is from the same author who brought you The Queen and the Cross and The Saint who Fought the Dragon. The book starts with Baptism, where a baby first becomes the child of God and then follows children in everyday situations, including school and interactions with siblings. It also teaches children the importance of the Virgin Mary and angels, particularly their guardian angel, in recognizing God's presence.

Your children will learn about God's unending and unfailing love for them. Even when children make mistakes, and they will, they will be assured that God still loves them, wants to forgive them, and will be with them always (if they let Him be). I appreciated the poetic way the words rhymed and flowed on the pages to make for easier reading. I also really like that this book is multi-ethnic, making it so that children of all races can relate to the pictures in the book. If you are looking for a book that emphasizes to your children the importance of forming and keeping a relationship with God, then look no further than God is With Me Always and Everywhere.

These books were provided to me for free by Pauline Books and Media. If you found these reviews helpful, click here and/or here, and hit Yes!

The Queen and the Cross (Pauline Books and Media)

Pop Quiz! Tomorrow is an important feast in the Universal Church Calendar (Catholic and Orthodox). What is it? (Find the answer at the end of this paragraph.) Throughout the year, the Catholic Church celebrates six great feasts, the Holy Days of Obligation.   Similarly, the Orthodox Church recognizes twelve feasts that have a special place in their Church Calendar. This doesn't include Easter which is the Feast of Feasts. I love that the Orthodox Church recognizes exactly twelve Great Feasts, as twelve is an important Biblical number.  I wish the Catholic Church took a cue from our Orthodox brethren. We designate some important Feasts, including the one tomorrow, as optional in the name of convenience, when we should look forward to the opportunity to celebrate these momentous occasions with out Church family. Ranting aside, did you come up with tomorrow's Feast Day? It's the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. My review today relates to tomorrow's Feast Day.

The Queen and the Cross is a wonderful children's book that tells the story of St. Helen and her quest to find Jesus' cross. For those of you unfamiliar with who St. Helen is, she is the mother of the Emperor Constantine. Constantine is given credit for making Christianity legal in 313 with the Edict of Milan. In this book, one gets a full picture of the finding of the Holy Cross. We see why Helen wanted to find the Cross; her meeting of Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem; the finding of three crosses (Jesus' and the two thieves'); and how she determined which cross was THE Cross. You'll have to read the story to find out.

The book starts with a prayer from the Stations of the Cross (Catholic) and ends with a Hymn from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Orthodox). I appreciate the inclusion of both West and East as parents from both sides will appreciate the message of this book.  I also appreciate that the book mentioned where pieces of the Holy Cross are worldwide, in case you get the urge for a pilgrimage. However, since St. Helen is the patron saint of archaeologists, I wish the book would have addressed some of the other great relics St. Helen found, like the remains of the Magi, but it did not. That is not a dealbreaker for me, though, and I still give this book 5 stars.

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