Bookshelf

Results filtered by “Joy”

Letters to a Young Catholic

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Thankfully, the title of the book "Letters to a Young Catholic" by George Weigel didn't persuade me from picking it up. It is a great and easy read. It is a good book to read and then share.

Some materials that I read are what I call “bedroom reading.” These are books that can be read in short bursts and do not call on us to fire up all our mental capacities, these books are intended for the heart.

With that in mind, George Weigel is a scholar on many fronts. He is the recipient of eighteen honorary doctorates in fields including divinity, philosophy, law, and social science. He is best known for his biography on Saint John Paul II.

I had the opportunity to hear him speak a couple several years ago. You would think with this intellect he would be dry and analytical… but you would be wrong. He is one of the most passionate supporters of the joys of Catholicism.

"Letters to a Young Catholic" offers an interesting approach. Instead of offering theological arguments, or experience of the saints, the author takes us to the places that offered him transformative experiences. In this format, we are taken around the world, starting and finishing in Professor Weigel’s home town of Baltimore.

Through these journeys and the stories of people, the book wonderfully reveals truths of the Catholic church and how God reveals himself through humanity. This book embodies our faith and seals it in the world. As you read each “letter,” you will hear yourself saying, “that’s right…that’s how I feel.” George Weigel has the gift of expressing the core of our love for God. The title is "Letters to a Young Catholic" and it is meant to inspire those searching, but aren’t we all?

Something Other Than God

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"Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It," by Jennifer Fulwiler is recommended by not only parishioners of St. Dominic Catholic Parish, but Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Brandon Vogt, who works as the Content Director for Bishop Robert Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Brandon has said, "Like Augustine and Lewis before her, Jennifer recounts her compelling journey of conversion through a colorful and stirring memoir.

Smart, inspiring, and absorbing, Jennifer's book will go down as one of the best spiritual memoirs since "Mere Christianity." It will lift her to her rightful place alongside Augustine and Lewis, troubled converts, talented memoirists, and courageous intellects who each followed the truth to its beautiful and unsettling conclusion."

10 Promises of Jesus

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This book is a solid dose of hope. Through her own stories and the stories of others who have faced adversity and suffering, Marge Fenelon reminds us that, no matter what, Jesus is always there for us. Jesus understands adversity and suffering because he experienced them himself. And he promised not once, but repeatedly that he will turn our sorrow into joy if we but trust and follow him. No matter what situation you are facing, and how frail your sense of hope has become, this comforting, inspiring book will reassure you that Jesus is waiting to lift you up. ~margefenelon.com

Marge Fenelon is an award-winning Catholic author and journalist, speaker and blogger whose writing has appeared in dozens of secular and Catholic media outlets. She is a columnist for the Milwaukee Catholic Herald. She was a guest speaker for one of our Lenten Mission nights in 2019.