Mother Teresa and The Way of the Cross (Pauline Books and Media)

I looked at my calendar the other day, and I realized that Lent was sneaking up on me and Ash Wednesday was next week! With that in mind, I was looking for good books to read for myself and the son as well. With that in mind, I turned to Pauline Books and Media and looked at the two books Mother Teresa and The Way of the Cross.

Mother Teresa: The Story of the Saint of Calcutta begins by telling us about Mother Teresa's (then Agnes) early life. She lost her father at an early age, but was always a pious little girl. Even at an early age, she wanted to be a sister, but her mother wanted to to go to school. She asked her mother again at age 17 to be a missionary sister, and after 24 hours of prayer, her mother agreed. In the middle chapters of the book, we see her education, journeys, struggles, and her extraordinary mission work. The book ends talking about her death and funeral and with a prayer to her. It is a short read with great illustrations. It is done in a similar style to Jorge from Argentina and Karol from Poland. Makes me wonder if this should have been called Agnes from Yugoslavia?

The Way of the Cross: Discovering Mercy with Saint Longinus is a short booklet that gives us a unique perspective on praying the Stations of the Cross. On this Way of the Cross, we look at Jesus' Passion from the perspective of the centurion who pierced Jesus' heart on the Cross. Each step of the way, Longinus gives us his observation on what Jesus probably experienced, how Longinus felt watching Jesus suffer, and what he thought Jesus was saying to him whenever their gazes met. At the end of this booklet, we are given a historical perspective on Longinus as well as a prayer to this saint. It is a unique Way of the Cross that is not entirely factual, but reads as if it could be. I recommend you pray this Lent. It will give you a fresh perspective and speak to you in powerful ways.

Journey to Easter (Crossroad Publishing)

Journey to Easter is a series of Lenten reflections given by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) during 1983 to the papal household of Pope John Paul II. The book begins with the First Week of Lent by walking us through the daily Mass readings from Cycle A or the Cycle of Matthew. We begin Sunday in the desert with Jesus where he spent forty days and forty nights, only to immediately be tempted by Satan. Ratzinger shows how other figures in salvation history went to the desert, like Moses and Elijah. Monday calls us to repentance, and the second meditation for that compares Christian Rome to Jerusalem. Tuesday enlightens the mystery of Mary. I could work my way through the rest of the week, but there is more in this book to discuss.

Part II walks us through The Mystery of Jesus, which includes the following three key passages of the Nicene Creed - "He came down from Heaven," "He became man," and "True God and True Man." The Paschal Mystery is also studied, including Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Lastly, there are meditation on Christ and His Church and the Priesthood. My favorite section in this book was easily the one on the Paschal Mystery. I always knew the importance of the Triduum, but this book further reinforced it. The way Ratzinger connected the Cross and Resurrection with the Eucharist is a passage I will reference and read again just to let it sink in further and meditate on it more deeply.

If you are a fan of reading Pope Benedict, like myself, then this is definitely a book you will want in your collection. It not only takes you on a journey to Easter, but a journey through Easter, as it covers Pentecost as well. It is also written in a clear, easily understood format and each sub-section is short enough that you won't feel overwhelmed with having to read a lot of pages to get to the main message. Five stars.

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

Season of Repentance (Holy Trinity Publications)

Before the season of Great Lent begins in the Orthodox Church, it is preceded by five Sundays. They are Zacchaeus Sunday, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Meatfare Sunday (or Judgment Sunday), and Cheesefare Sunday (or Forgiveness Sunday). After Forgiveness Sunday (which is this coming February 22nd), Great Lent has officially begun. If you are Orthodox and still looking for what to read this Lent, then I recommend you the book Season of Repentance: Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt. For those unfamiliar with who Saint John of Kronstadt is, he was a presbyter of the Russian Orthodox Church, and one of the most influential Russian saints leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution.

The book, Season of Repentance, begins with homilies for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and unfortunately the Roman Catholic Church only reads it in Church once every three years. In the first homily for this Sunday, he discusses how publicans and Pharisees still figuratively exist in today's day and age. He explains how pride and self-praise coupled with humiliation of others is a disease of the soul. In the second homily for this Sunday, he talks about not judging others sins, because we have our own sins. He also mentions that every time we do a good deed that we should forget it, because as the Bible says, "We have done what was our duty to do." These excerpts/summaries are just the tip of the iceberg with this book.

Most of the Sundays during and before Great Lent have several homilies associated with them, except for the Third Sunday which has one homily and the Sixth Sunday which does not have a homily at all. You can choose to read all of them for that particular Sunday or just read one a year and visit the other homilies the following years. There are also homilies associated with Great Monday, Great Wednesday, and Great and Holy Friday. There is also an epilogue or bonus homily for Thomas Sunday. My only wish for this book is that there were homilies for Palm Sunday and Pascha to accompany these great Lenten homilies. That small wish aside, these are great homilies filled with Scripture and practical advice that still applies one hundred years later. If you are looking for something to read this Great Lent, then pick up a copy of Season of Repentance.

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

The Encounter (Saint Benedict Press)

Every Lent, I get asked for recommendations on what to read by my friends. I take this as high praise, as that is why I write this blog. I want people to ask me for advice about books, because I love books, and I love connecting people to the right book. For my Lent, I have two books I will be reading and meditating over. If you regularly read my blog, then you know the first book is 40 Days, 40 Ways. The other book, which I will be reviewing today, is The Encounter by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.

The Encounter is a genre of books that I have been gravitating toward lately. They aren't an official genre, but they are retreats given to the papal household every Lent (and sometimes Advent). I like to read these books, even if they are a bit difficult, for two reasons. Reason #1 is that there are so many introductory Catholicism books, it's nice to see one in the intermediate to advanced section. Reason #2 is that reading these books makes me feel like I was there when the retreat was given. I get to read what the Pope heard, and if it's good enough for him and edifying for him, then it must be for me too! The Encounter is the last papal retreat given to Pope Benedict XVI, and as I hold a special place in my heart for Pope Benedict, that makes this book all the more special to me.

In his book The Encounter, Cardinal Ravasi takes on a two-fold journey through the Psalter. The first path is upward and makes up the first part of the book, the Face of God. The second path is downward to see the Face of Man. Ravasi says that these two intersect at the crossroads of prayer. He then begins by explaining the four verbs of prayer. They are breathe, think, struggle, and love. He asks such simple questions to make profound points. "Why do I breathe? Because otherwise I would die. It is the same way with prayer." Ravasi then goes on to quote theologian Yves Congar who also spoke on this theme of prayer as breath. "If one lives in an environment of foul air, all of life is saddened; this is what happens with prayer, which needs a pure atmosphere, free from outside distractions, haloed in silence." These profound comparisons continue for the other three verbs with Mary's pondering things in her heart being the example for think; Jacob's nighttime wrestling being the example for struggle; and the intimacy with which we call God, Abba as the example for love. Ravasi then shows us several other places we see the Face of God, including the Word, the cosmos, the Jewish Temple, history and Jesus. Part Two, The Face of Man, talked about issues of human fragility, healing, and forgiveness to name a few of the topics discussed.

I was warned before reading this book that it was deep, and the person warning me was spot on. Ravasi references art, fiction, poetry, music, Jewish references, and Islamic references. Despite this wide array of deep references, Ravasi's expertise on the Psalms shines. He not only shows us his love for God, but also God's love for us! He also ably demonstrates God's eternal and constant call for use to draw closer to Him, and the best way to draw closer to Him is through breathing, thinking, struggling, and loving in prayer. This is a book I will be revisiting again through the season of Lent, reading it more slowly; meditating on it more deeply. If you are looking for a challenging, but fruitful Lenten read, I highly recommend this work. Just take your time, and don't be ashamed to re-read the chapters two and three times each so that it all soaks in!

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

40 Days, 40 Ways (Servant Books)

40 Days, 40 Ways is Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio's latest book. You might remember his previous one, which I also reviewed, called When the Church was Young! In his latest book, he attempts to get us to look at Lent in a new way. Most people dread Lent, and just try and find something to give up to satisfy the requirement and have their "card punched." Dr. D'Ambrosio (aka Dr. Italy) instead provides us with devotions, prayers, or other tasks we can do. He tries to make Lent more about what we can do and not what we cannot do.

Each day is about two to three pages long, and starts with a suggestion on what to do, not just this day in Lent, but the whole season. Some of the tasks are "easy," like pledging to say the "Our Father" three times a day. Other tasks require more effort like going on a contemplative retreat during Lent. After the task, we are then given a long reflection on the specific task for the day. For example, on the day that tells us to pledge to say the "Our Father," Dr. Italy discusses the word father, its meaning, and how personal it is that we can call God our Father. In addition to covering the 40 days of Lent, there are reflections (but no task to complete) for each Sunday during Lent, as well as Easter Sunday. There is also a helpful section of resources at the end, which includes prayers, devotions, books to read, etc.

I found this book to be a refreshing change of perspective on Lent. Be sure to read the Preface, I didn't my first time through and thought the book was a bit overwhelming. However, reading the Preface he encourages you to read through the Table of Contents, and pick a few tasks you can accomplish this Lent. A lot of the tasks are easy enough to accomplish, but if you try and do too many, you might find yourself burnt out trying to change too much, too quickly. I think I will re-read this book during Lent and try and incorporate some of the ideas and maybe gradually over several Lents, I will have accomplished everything in this book. If you're looking for a book that makes you think and re-evaluate what Lent is about (growth and doing stuff, not just giving stuff up), then pick up a copy of Dr. Italy's latest book.

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

Remember Jesus Christ (The Word Among Us Press)

It's almost time for my favorite season of the Church Year...Advent! It's a time to start fresh, a time to make goals/resolutions for the coming year, a time to grow closer to God. For the past couple of years, I have made a book recommendation for the Advent season. Normally, I'll recommend something that provides you with short daily readings for the season to keep your mind and heart focused on the true purpose of preparing for the coming of our Lord. This Advent I decided to try a more difficult book, called Remember Jesus Christ.

I find myself collecting and reading a type of Catholic book I wasn't aware was available until recently. They are books which contain talks/retreats given to the papal household. My logic is that if these priests and their message is good enough for the Pope to hear, then they are good enough for me to read. I own several now, and my most recent one is Remember Jesus Christ by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa. Fr. Cantalamessa was appointed to the papal household in 1980 by Pope John Paul II, and the book Remember Jesus Christ contains meditations that were given in Advent 2005 and Lent 2006 in front of Pope Benedict. It's like getting two books in one!

The book has eight chapter, four for Advent and four for Lent, with the entirety of the book focusing on the question, "What place does Christ have in modern society?" The Advent section's message revolves around the "proclamation of Christ." While the section on Lent has a message of "imitation of Christ, especially Christ in His Passion." Each chapter is broken down into four to six subsections. I recommend using each of these subsections as a daily reflection through Advent and Lent. There aren't enough subsections to get you through every day of either season, but they are interesting and deep enough that you'll want extra days to re-visit deeper parts.

My favorite chapter was Chapter 4: "To You This Day is Born a Savior: How to Proclaim the Salvation of Christ Today." In this chapter, Fr. Cantalamessa discusses what type of savior humanity needs. Though we all need salvation, we all come from different walks of life and therefore need salvation presented to us differently so that we can more easily understand it and accept it. However, the Faith does not just respond to expectations of salvation but creates and expands these expectations as well. He also explains why we still need a savior today and how that Savior is Jesus Christ Himself. Lastly, he discusses how Christ saves us from both space and time. We are saved from space by being freed from living in the vast universe being envious and instead are content with who we are. We are freed from time by Christ defeating death.

This was a very enlightening book that I plan on reading through again at a slower pace during Advent. I will then pick it up again during Lent and visit that section anew as I will have had time to let things marinate in my head. If you are looking for a challenging, but fruitful read for Advent, then I recommend Remember Jesus Christ. I look forward to checking out Fr. Cantalamessa's other two books Contemplating the Trinity and The Fire of Christ's Love.

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

Lent at Ephesus (DeMontfort Music)

We're living in a Golden Age of Catholic media right now. Hundreds of Catholic books are being published every year. Companies like Ignatius Press are releasing high quality movies on Mary, Augustine, Peter, etc. Word on Fire. Fr. Barron. Catholicism! Ascension Press is producing quality Bible and faith studies for people young and old. Brother Francis is catechizing our young ones via cartoon. And LAST and certainly NOT LEAST, we have singing nuns belting out BEAUTIFUL music that keeps hitting #1 on the charts AND staying there for weeks, if not months. Today, I am privileged to be a part of the blog tour for the latest CD from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, entitled Lent at Ephesus.

I first learned of this album from Carmel Communications, and ever since I received the news of its upcoming release, I knew I had to own it! Lent at Ephesus is another masterful album from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Who are the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles? They are a group of nuns living a religious life in a Benedictine Order. They take their lead from Mary and her hidden life at Ephesus. Church Tradition holds that she went to live with John the Beloved Apostle in Ephesus after Jesus died. Since this group of nuns have a devotion to Mary at this time in her life, all of their albums are labelled "at Ephesus."

When comparing it to the Advent at Ephesus album, one sees that there is substantially more music in this album - 7 songs more to be precise. The songs are sung in an a-capella style, with a nice blend of English and Latin songs. The quality of the voices and audio are heavenly, and the choice of songs is divine. I also really love the sleeve note, as it contains the words to all the songs they sing. This is helpful for following along, learning them yourself, or teaching them to your children. This CD will be replacing Mater Eucharistiae in my car to help me on my Lenten Journey and keep my mind in a holy place even while I'm surrounded by the hustle and bustle of others. With an Advent, Christmas, and now a Lent CD, the only items missing from the sisters' collection are an Easter album and an Ordinary Time one.

If you'd like to see more about the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, you can check out the video below. Clicking here, will allow you to hear samples of the CD and purchase it. EWTN will also run a 30-minute HD special entitled “Lent at Ephesus” featuring some never-before-seen sights and sounds of The Benedictines of Mary for the Lenten season at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, March 14 and 6 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 18. Be sure to check it out, buy their albums, and transport yourself to heaven!

Meditations for Lent (Sophia Institute Press)

When it comes to Church seasons, Lent is my 2nd least favorite season of the year, with Ordinary Time being the first. Sadly, there is no rhyme or reason for my dislike. Sometimes, I feel like I try and give up too much. Other times, I feel like I don't give up enough. Sometimes, I feel like the season is dragging on forever. Other times, I can't believe how quickly Easter approaches. I'm going to try and do better this Lent though and not dislike it so much. In order to do that though, I'll need to get my thoughts right. One of the best ways for me to do that is through reading. So this Lent, I'll be reading Meditations for Lent.

Meditations for Lent by Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet is the companion book to Meditations for Advent. I was not familiar with this author's name, so I did some research and found out that he was a French bishop who lived from 1627 to 1704. He was known for his sermons, and some say that he was a better orator than St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom. Reading that statement blew my mind. These are two of the most well-known and influential saints of Western and Eastern Christendom, respectively, and some people think he was a better orator than him. WOW!

In this book, you will find a daily meditation starting with Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter. At the end of the book, you will also find two extra meditations, one for the Solemnity of the Annunciation and one for the Solemnity of St. Joseph. I appreciate that as these are two very important Feast Days in the Church, which should be Holy Days of Obligation. I admit that I did not read every meditation in this book before writing this review. I didn't want to rush through the meditations, and I also wanted them to be fresh for Lent this year. The ones I did read though were very thought-provoking, and it made me anxious for Lent to start so I could read them all.

I would like to provide you with a sample from one day, so you can see how great these meditations are. Here is a quote from Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent, which won't be read this year as St. Joseph's Solemnity has a higher rank in feast day hierarchy. Referring to James and John's mother asking for her sons to sit next to Jesus in Heaven, Jesus rebukes them and says, "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" Bishop Bossuet elaborates, "You speak of glory, and you are not thinking about what must be suffered to gain it. Then he explains these sufferings to them by two metaphors, by that of the bitter cup that must be drunk and by the bloody baptism that must be accepted. To swallow every sort of bitterness, to be suffering to the point of having one's body submerged, as in baptism: this is the price of glory." This really made me stop, think, and reflect on my spiritual life. How willing am I to suffer?

For other thought-provoking meditations like this, you must pick up Meditations for Lent. It will definitely help provide you with a deeper and more-fruitful Lenten season. I can't wait to finish the whole book! 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 the link and hit Yes!

Orthodox Thursday: Meditations for Great Lent

"What are you giving up for Lent?" It never fails. I hear that question at least half a dozen times in the secular office where I work.  I'm not sure if the people at my work ask because they see me as some kind of sideshow act at a carnival or if they have a hunger to fast. That's an ironic expression when you think about it. However, I would be unfair if I didn't point out that among my circle of friends and Christian acquaintances, that question is on their lips too. As for my Catholic and Christian friends, maybe they ask because they are using other people's fasting as a measuring stick to see how they stack up compared to others. No matter the reason for asking, I'm not a big fan of the question.

For the past few years I have felt that the Orthodox Lent is much better than Catholic Lent. Maybe it is just Catholics in America, but with the minimal amount we American Catholics are required/asked to give up (no meat on Fridays and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), it seems paltry. Reading this book, Meditations for Great Lent, only reinforced my belief. Using the Triodion (the service book Orthodox use during Great Lent), the author (Vassilios Papavassiliou) walks his readers through the season of Great Lent by explaining the significance that the Gospel reading and/or hymn for each Sunday has in preparation for the great feast of Easter.

While reading through this book, I was amazed at how well the Orthodox Church calendar is laid out. Each Sunday in Great Lent builds upon the last Sunday. For example, in the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, one learns about genuine humility. The following Sunday, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, we move from humility to repentance. The Sunday of the Last Judgment then makes us reflect on how we are living our life in relation to our neighbor. The greatest message I gained from this book though was on fasting. "There is more to Lent than fasting, and more to fasting than food." Fasting is a tool used during Lent, but we are called to fast from sin, not just food.

If you are Orthodox and want to understand Great Lent better, then this book is for you. If you are Catholic or a Protestant denomination and want to see how the Orthodox celebrate Lent or see a richer version of Lent, this book is for you. It is a short book with short chapters, but each one is full of wisdom. Therefore, I give this book 5 out 5 stars. However, I would like to add that no book, not even this one, can serve as a substitute for attending the services associated with Lent. So pick up this book and let it serve as your guide for this Lenten season of "bright sadness," which prepares us for the greatest feast of the year, Easter!