The Lay Spirituality of St. Josemaría Escrivá
Malcolm M. Kennedy
Scepter Press
ASIN B06XBXWG51
This booklet is now available in a new eBook format. It has been completely redone and is a wonderful little gem. I believe that there were originally just over 200 booklets in the series that were available in English and it is a great blessing that they are being made available again. I do not know if Malcom M. Kennedy wrote any other booklets in this series but this one is a great little read.
The chapters in this booklet are:
Introduction
Opus Dei is born
A hunted priest
Human and supernatural
Work not an obstacle
Jesus the artisan
A triple dimension
A clerical misunderstanding
God plays with his children
To be little
Fires of hope
Homily: Passionately Loving the World
About Scepter
The first part of the book is part history of Opus Dei, Part biography of St. Josemaria Escriva and a bit of personal reflection from the author. The second part of the book is one of Saint Josemaria's homilies, Passionately Loving the World. And together the 42 pages in this volume bring encouragement, and reminders about what we are here, and what our role should be. Here are a few of the sections I highlighted while reading through this book. I hope this sampling will pique your interest in pursuing this read.
"Try to remember what a donkey is like - now that so few of them are left. Not an old, stubborn, vicious one that would give a kick when you least expected, but a young one with his ears up like antennae. He lives on a meagre diet, is hard working and has a quick cheerful trot. There are hundreds of animals more beautiful, more deft and strong. But it was a donkey Christ chose when he presented himself to the people as king in response to their acclamation. For Jesus has no time for calculations, for astuteness, for the cruelty of cold hearts, for attractive but empty beauty. What he likes is the cheerfulness of a young heart, a simple step, a natural voice, clean eyes, attention to his affectionate word of advice. That is how he reigns in the soul."
"No! We cannot lead a double life if we want to be Christians. There is just one life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which has to become, in both soul and body, holy and filled with God. We discover the invisible God in the most visible and material things.
There is no other way. Either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him. That is why I can tell you that our age needs to give back to matter and to the most trivial occurrences and situations their noble and original meaning. It needs to restore them to the service of the Kingdom of God, to spiritualize them, turning them into a means and an occasion for a continuous meeting with Jesus Christ."
"I must finish now. I told you at the beginning that I wanted to announce to you something of the greatness and mercy of God. I think I have done so, in talking to you about sanctifying your everyday life. A holy life in the midst of secular reality, lived without fuss, with simplicity, with truthfulness. Is this not today the most moving manifestation of the magnalia Dei (Sir 18:5), of those prodigious mercies which God has always worked, and does not cease to work, in order to save the world?"
And then the book concludes with these words from Saint Josemaria Escriva: "Faith, finally, my beloved daughters and sons, to show the world that all this is not just ceremonies and words, but a divine reality, by presenting to mankind the testimony of an ordinary life which is made holy, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and of holy Mary."
This is one of the original Scepter booklets; in fact it was booklet 165. It is now available for in a wonderful eBook edition, along with many other booklets from the series. Scepter is in the process of updating all of the old booklets and making them available in a new format and presentation. I have read a number of the booklets and look forward to them all being available again. This book and the whole series are amazing resources to help you grow in your faith. And you really cannot beat the price!
PDF for free from Scepter.
Or Kindle edition for great price.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!
Scepter Booklets:
5 Steps to a Financially Healthy Marriage - Joseph D. Salem
A New Beginning - Walter Macken
A Plan of Life - Josemaria Escriva
A Profile of St Thomas More - M. Alvarez
A Treasury of Prayers - James W Albrecht
Bright and Cheerful Homes - James Urteaga
Catholic Teachings on Sex - Daryl Glick
Celibacy, Personality and the Gift of Self - John B Torello
Censorship - Cormac Burke
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - Declaration on Certain Questions of Sexual Ethics
Devotion to St. Joseph - F Delclaux
Diary of a City Priest - George William Rutler
Dispositions for Faith - John Henry Newman
Divine Ways on Earth - Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli
Francis Luna - How to Pray
Freedom From What For What - Cormac Burke
Frequent Confession - S Feirgle
How to Pray – Rev. Francis Luna
In Gods House - Paul Nitta
Increase and Multiply - J. A. Garcia-Prieto and J. L. Pastor
Is Purity Possible - JL Soria
Legacy A Story of Generosity - James B Stenson
Life of Faith - Josemaria Escriva
Living in God’s Presence - Francis Luna
Making the Most of Confession - Francis Luna
Marriage in Crisis - Cormac Burke
Montserrat Grases - Mercedes Eguibar
Norms of Piety - JM Muntadas
Novena to St. Josemaria Escriva for Work
Novena to the Immaculate Conception - St Josemaria Escriva
On the Encyclical “The Splendor of the Truth” - Russell Shaw
Order - Joseph L Soria
Parents, Children and The Rules of Life - Cormac Burke
Popular Devotions and Theology - JJ Espinosa
Priests for the New Millennium - John C McCloskey
Reinventing Dad - Denis Helming
Sanctifying Ordinary Work - Andrew Byrne
Scepter Christmas Carols
Seeking Christ in Reading - Rev Eugene Boylan
Sir Thomas More The Making of a Saint - Thomas J. McGovern
Sowing Abundant Doctrine - Joseph A. Vidal
The Angels - Cardinal John Wright
The Apostle Who Couldn't Believe - George Chevrot
The Ark and the Dove - Joseph W. McPherson
The Christian in the World - Russell Shaw
The Donkey at the Waterwheel - Malcolm Kennedy
The Galileo Affair - George Sim Johnston
The Gospel Truth - Michael Giesler
The Laity’s Role in Today’s Church - John Paul II's Christifideles Laici
The Limits of Dissent - John Myers
The Priest and His Image - Alvaro del Portillo
The Reasonableness of Christianity - Peter Kreeft
To Make a Good Retreat - David Chandler
When God Calls - Rev. Federico Suarez
Winning Converts - John McCloskey
With All Your Mind - Rev. Federico Suarez
Women’s Liberation and Feminism - Jutta Burggraf
Work as Fufillment in the thought of John Paul II - John F Cloverdale
…
The Original List of Scepter Booklets:
001 Loyalty to the Church
002 Sowing Abundant Doctrine
003 Time is a Treasure
004 "Increase and Multiply"
006 Human Virtues
007 Bright and Cheerful Homes
008 Freedom From What? For What ?
009 Christ's Presence in Christians
010 Mother of God, Our Mother
011 Supernatural Aim of the Church
012 That All may be Saved
014 The Angels 016 A Priest Forever
017 Marriage, Christian Vocation
018 With All Your Mind
019 Dispositions for Faith
020/021 A New Beginning
022 Sanctifying Ordinary Work
024 Is Purity Possible
025 Life of Prayer
026 Ascension of Our Lord
027 The Religion of the Pharisee
028 To Jesus Through Mary
029 The New Barbarism
030 Passionately Loving the World
032 Montserrat Grases
033 The Great Unknown
034 Love of God and Love of Neighbor
035 Popular Devotions and Theology
036 Towards Holiness
037 "Things New and Old"
038 Christ Triumphs Through Humility
039 Judge Among Men
040 Frequent Confession
041 Divine Ways on Earth:
042 interior Struggle
044 The Eucharist: Mystery of Faith and Love
048 Living in God's Presence
049 Marriage in Crisis
050 The Priest and His Image
051 Freedom and the Church
052 Freedom A Gift of God
053 Censorship
054 Christ the King
055 Humanae Vitae
056 With the Strength of Love
057 Devotion to St. Joseph
058 The Christian Vocation
060 Woman Today
063 The Way of the Cross
064 Surrender to God
066 Conscience and Truth
069 Will You Also Go Away?
070 Twenty Questions to Msgr. Escriva
071 Have You Received the Spirit?
072 The Christian's Hope
073 Marxism and Christianity
074 The Apostle Who Couldn't Believe
075 God's Work
076 Heaven
080 Conversion of the Children of God
081 Full of Grace
082 St. Thomas More: A Profile
083 Justice Alone is Not Enough
085 "Your Sins Are Forgiven You"
087 Here and Now
088 In the Footsteps of Christ
089 Before and After Holy Mass
090 The Greatness of Ordinary Life
091 The Communion of Saints 092 The Blessed Trinity
093/094 Ideals in Youth
095 How to Understand the Bible
096 How the Bible Has Come to Us
098 What is the Church For?
099 Msgr. Escriva De Belaguer: His Love for the Church
100 Parents Children and the Rules of Life
101 Before God and Men
103 On the Feast of Corpus Christi
104 Fatima and Its Pilgrims
105 Authority Faith, and The Individual
106 Letter to Priests
107 Growing in Parenthood
109 Detachment
111 Population and Development
112 Reaching and Teaching Your Children
113 Strangers and Exiles
114 Woman Today: Her Role in the Family
115 Christ's Death Is The Christian's Life
116 The Need for Penance
117 Our lady's Place in Your Life
118 Commentaries on the Holy Mass
119/120 Letter on the Holy Eucharist
121 Why Suffer
123 Man Essential Part 1
124 Man Essential Part 2
125 Sir Thomas More: The Making Of A Saint
126 The Ventures of Faith
127 The Mystical Number Three
128 The Ark and the Dove
129 Come Holy Spirit
131/132 Family, Become What You Are
133 Friendship Of Christ
134 Freedom to Love
136 Conscience and Authority
137 Seeking God in the World
138 Priesthood of Today and Tomorrow
139 A Year of Jubilee
140 Evolution
141 The Black Madonna
142 Christ in his Church
143 Meeting the Press
144 Will Being Good Make Me Happy?
145/146 Letters to a College Student
147 A Game Plan For The Christian
148 Catholic Understanding of Marital Intimacy
150 Process Theology and Secularization
151 Opus Dei & Its Critics
152 Reading: Learning to Choose
153 Liberation Theology
154 Joys & Sorrows St. Joseph
155 Alive to God
156 Keeping God in the Closet
157 Freedom and Obedience
158 With Respect to Sex
159 The Individuality of the Soul
160 Work and the Spiritual Life
161 Women at Work
162 20 Questions to Mgr. Alvaro del Portillo
163 Go For It!
164 Speaking from the Heart
166 Talking About God
167 The Intelligence in the Service of Christ the King
168 Penance
169 Law and Morality
170 Sex & Education
171 The Romance of Orthodoxy
172 Marriage And The Priesthood
173 In Her Will I Dwell
178 The Gospel Truth
179 To Make a Good Retreat
180 Contraception
181/182 Sucessful Fathers
183 The Laity's Role in today's Church
184 Spiritual Direction
187 Reasonableness of Christianity
190 The Christian in the World
191 Seven Words From The Cross
192 The Beatification of Msgr. Escriva
194 Mass: The Hidden Treasure
197 Evangelization in the U.S.
199/200 Order
201 The Galileo Affair
…
204 Reinventing Dad
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