Showing posts with label BenedictXVI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BenedictXVI. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 December 2025

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2025

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2025


It has been a good year for reading. I read 424 books this year, making it my third best since I started keeping track. There were many great reads, and a few new authors that I had not explored yet, with plans to read more from some of them.  I have read just over a day, in comparison with the last 7 years:

     424 - 2025
     362 - 2024
     455 - 2023 
     438 - 2022
     365 - 2021
     317 - 2020 
     392 - 2019
     359 - 2018
     380 - 2017 
     272 - 2016 

But back to this year by the numbers:

Books Read: 424
First Time Reads: 309
Fiction: 166
Non-Fiction: 258
5/5 Stars: 303

The first half of this year was great. The second half was very busy at work and home, including moving house. Three teenagers have a lot of stuff and moving a family of 5 takes some serious effort and time; especially when we painted all the bedrooms, the den and did touch-ups in all the common areas. I can state again that looking back 2016 is a bit of an outlier as late that year I switched jobs and have since had much better work – life balance. In the spring of 2016, I worked through Brandon Vogt’s course Read More Books Now (now available on ClaitasU). The year before that I removed all games from my phone and tablet and my reading had doubled. 

Here are my top ten non-fiction books of 2025:

  2. Pocket Guide Series from OSV
A Pocket Guide to Confession - Michael Dubruiel
A Pocket Guide to the Mass - Michael Dubruiel
 6.  30 Days with … by Thomas J. Craughwell 
 7. Vision Books for Young Catholics
When Saints Were Young - Blanche Jennings Thompson and John Lawn
Bernadette, Our Lady's Little Servant - Hertha Pauli and Georges Vaux
Saint John Bosco and Saint Dominic Savio - Catherine Beebe and Robb Beebe
Irish Saints - Robert T. Reilly
10. Columbanus - Desmond Forristal 

Bonus Books from the Catholic Truth Society:
St Nicholas Owen: Layman, Martyr, Builder of Priest Holes - Fr Gerard Skinner - CTS Biographies 

As can be seen by the numbers, my reading has been up over the last few years, but last year there was a dip, but rebounded up over 400 again this year. This reading success I in part attribute to Brandon Vogt’s course Read More Books Now, removing all games but 1 brain game from my devices. And I was commuting to work on a bus and read on the bus every day. Working from home reading took a little more discipline, and we are now back to a hybrid model with 5 days a month in the office, so things have changed again.

In April of 2023 I wrote a piece called How I Read So Much? Because I get asked the question so often, read the piece linked above if you are looking for some ideas on ways to read more.     

Note: I do not include books that have been read in previous years and were reread this year in my top ten lists, they are sometimes in the bonus section. 

But if you want more options check out my favourite books year by year list. 

Table full of books.

Relates Posts: 
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2010
Top 10 Reading Goals for 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 4th Quarter 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2010 - Recap
Top 10 Fiction Books 2010
Top 10 Picture Books of 2010
Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2010
Top 10 Graphic Novels for 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2011 
Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals for 2011 Update 
Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2011 
Top Ten Fictions Books 4th Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals 2011 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books  4th Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2013
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2013
Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2013
Top 10 Books Second Half 2013
Top Ten Fiction Books 2013
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2013 
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2014
Top Ten Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2015
Top Ten Fiction Books 2015
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2015
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2016
Top Ten Non- Fiction Books 2016
Top Ten Fiction Books 2016
Top Ten Catholic Books
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2017
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2017
Top Ten Fiction Books 2017
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2018
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2018
Top Ten Fiction Books 2018
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2019
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2019
Top Ten Fiction Books 2019
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2020 
All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Statistics Books Read By Year:
424 - 2025 
363 - 2024
455 - 2023
438 - 2022
365 - 2021
317 - 2020 
392 - 2019
359 - 2018
380 - 2017 
272 - 2016 
177 - 2015 
130 - 2014 
88 -  2013
176 - 2012 
163 - 2011
302 - 2010
142 - 2009
98 - 2008
83 - 2007
191 - 2006
151 - 2005
60 - 2004
52 - 2003
97 - 2002
50 - 2001
41 - 2000
71 - 1999
73 - 1998
131 - 1997
101 - 1996


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Thursday, 9 October 2025

You Will Be My Witnesses Homilies and Addresses in Australia - Benedict XVI - CTS Books

You Will be My Witnesses: 
Homilies and Addresses in Australia
Pope Benedict XVI
ISBN 9781860825415
ISBN 1860825419
CTS Booklet Do794

You Will Be My Witnesses - Benedict XVI - CTS Books

Over the last few years, I have read several of books by and about Pope Benedict XVI, many from the Catholic Truth Society. Of the popes in my lifetime, I find his writings of immense spiritual benefit. I would state that I underappreciated him until his resignation. And since then, I have read much. And with each piece I read I appreciate his wisdom, faith, and stand against modernism. And nearly every time I finish one, I find another I want to read. This one was hard to track down but it was well worth it. I tracked down a used out-of-copy that was in very rough condition, but it was readable. This is another great read by Pope Benedict XVI’s. 

The back of the cover states:

“‘Dear young people: let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given? What difference will you make?’

During World Youth Day 2008 in Australia, Pope Benedict not only raised these questions but inspired clear and convincing answers rooted in Christ.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Our place in the harmony of God’s creation  
Christ offers you everything 
We are common witnesses to Christ
Religion teaches authentic service
Love the Lord with all your heart 
Called to a new and radical discipleship 
How to become witnesses of Christ
Found your life on Christ

I highlighted numerous passages while reading this booklet, and could have easily doubled the number. Here are some of them:

“Some might ask what motivates thousands of young people to undertake what is for many a long and demanding journey in order to participate in an event of this kind. Ever since the first World Youth Day in 1986, it has been evident that vast numbers of young people appreciate the opportunity to come together to deepen their faith in Christ and to share with one another a joyful experience of communion in his Church.”

“One of the most outstanding figures in this country’s history is Blessed Mary MacKillop, at whose tomb I shall pray later this morning. I know that her perseverance in the face of adversity, her plea for justice on behalf of those unfairly treated and her practical example of holiness have become a source of inspiration for all Australians.”

“First and foremost, though, I am here to meet the young from Australia and from all over the world, and to pray for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all those taking part in our celebrations. The theme chosen for World Youth Day 2008 is taken from words spoken by Jesus himself to his disciples, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth” (Ac 1:9).”

“Through the Spirit’s action, may the young people gathered here for World Youth Day have the courage to become saints! This is what the world needs more than . anything else. ...”

“This evening I wish also to include those who are not present among us. I am thinking especially of the sick or mentally ill, young people in prison, those struggling on the margins of our societies, and those who for whatever reason feel alienated from the Church. To them I say: Jesus is close to you! Feel his healing embrace, his compassion and mercy!”

“We think immediately of the faith which sustained Blessed Mary MacKillop in her sheer determination to educate especially the poor, and Blessed Peter To Rot in his steadfast resolution that community leadership must always include the Gospel.”

“There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made “experience” all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair.”

“Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the “way” which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church. And the entrance to this life, to the Christian way, is Baptism.”

“Do we recognise that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise?”

“All of us have experienced the disappointment of falling short of the good we wish to accomplish and the difficulty of making the right choice in complex situations.”

“The Church shares these observations with other religions. Motivated by charity, she approaches dialogue believing that the true source of freedom is found in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe it is he who fully discloses the human potential for virtue and goodness, and he who liberates us from sin and darkness.”

“May we encourage everyone - especially the young - to marvel at the beauty of life, to seek its ultimate meaning, and to strive to realise its sublime potential!”
“The most basic instinct of all living things is to stay alive, to grow, to flourish, and to pass on the gift of life to others. So it is only natural that we should ask how best to do this.”

“But sometimes people worship “other gods” without realising it. False “gods”, whatever name, shape or form we give them, are nearly always associated with the worship of three things: material possessions, possessive love, or power. Let me explain what I mean.”

“Let us rejoice in their fidelity and perseverance, and dedicate ourselves to carrying on their labours for the spread of the Gospel, the conversion of hearts and the growth of the Church in holiness, unity and charity!”

“We know that in the end - as Saint Ignatius of Loyola saw so clearly - the only real “standard” against which all human reality can be measured is the Cross and its message of an unmerited love which triumphs over evil, sin and death, creating new life and unfading joy.”

“Tonight, let us pray for the resolve to nurture unity: contribute to it! resist any temptation to walk away! For it is precisely the comprehensiveness, the vast vision, of our faith - solid yet open, consistent yet dynamic, true yet constantly growing in insight - that we can offer our world.”

“Let your faith mature through your studies, work, sport, music and art. Let it be sustained by prayer and nurtured by the sacraments, and thus be a source of inspiration and help to those around you. In the end, life is not about accumulation. It is much more than success. To be truly alive is to be transformed from within, open to the energy of God’s love. In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you too can transform your families, communities and nations. Set free the gifts! Let wisdom, courage, awe and reverence be the marks of greatness!”

“At each Mass, in fact, the Holy Spirit descends anew, invoked by the solemn prayer of the Church, not only to transform our gifts of bread and wine into the Lord’s body and blood, but also to transform our lives, to make us, in his power, “one body, one spirit in Christ’.”

“Being “sealed with the Spirit” means not being afraid to stand up for Christ, letting the truth of the Gospel permeate the way we see, think and act, as we work for the triumph of the civilization of love.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This volume was composed from extracts of talks, sermons, and addresses given in 2008 at the World Youth Day in Sydney Australia. They were given between the 12th and 28th of July in 2008. These addresses were given to young men and women, to students, seminarians, religious and priests. But they speak just as powerfully to us over 17 years later. The advice is sound, given from the heart and from personal experience. It is a volume one could return to again and again and always gleam something new from the fresh reading.  

This volume was a wonderful little read and easy to engage with. It is well worth a read. Another excellent volume based on the teachings of Pope Benedict. I can easily recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.


Books by Benedict XVI:
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church and Church Fathers 
...       

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Sunday, 29 June 2025

Prayer to Pope Benedict XVI A Prayer of the Day

Prayer to Pope Benedict XVI
A Prayer of the Day 

Eternal and Almighty God, who inspired in the heart of your servant Pope Benedict XVI the sincere desire to encounter you and announce you, becoming a humble “co-operator with the truth” and offering himself as a servant, for Christ and for the Church, make me also know how to love the Church of Christ and to be able to follow in my life the eternal truths that she proclaims. Deign, Lord, to glorify your servant, Pope Benedict XVI, and grant, through his intercession, the favour I now ask of you ... 
Amen.

Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

A Prayer of the Day Prayer to Pope Benedict XVI

I encountered this prayer shortly after Pope Benedict XVI passed. And it really spoke to me. I have been trying to pray it daily since I first encountered it.

Relates posts and links:

Books by Benedict XVI:
Way of the Cross Meditations and Prayers
Way of Calvary: Stations of the Cross 
Spiritual Masters Fathers and Writers of the First Millennium 
Spiritual Masters Medieval Fathers and Writers
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church and Church Fathers 
...                        

Books About Pope Benedict:
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI - Regina Doman and Sean Lam
Benedict XVI - Helena Scott and Ethel Tolansky
A Pope of Surprises: The First Five Years of Pope Benedict XVI's Papacy - Helena Scott and Ethel Tolansky
Be Saints! An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI - Amy Welborn and Ann Kissane Engelhart
Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion – Amy Welborn and Ann Engelhart
Take Five: Meditations Pope Benedict XVI - Mike Aquilina and Fr. Kris Stubna
Related Articles:
Daily Study Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI
Which popes do you have a devotion to and why?
...


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Sunday, 18 May 2025

Lent with Benedict XVI Season of New Life - Pope Benedict XVI - CTS Books

Lent with Benedict XVI: 
Season of New Life
Pope Benedict XVI
ISBN 9781860827709
ISBN 1860827705
CTS Booklet Do855

Lent with Benedict XVI Season of New Life - Pope Benedict XVI - CTS Books

Over the last few years, I have read several of books by and about Pope Benedict XVI, many from the Catholic Truth Society. Of the popes in my lifetime, I find his writings of immense spiritual benefit. I would state that I underappreciated him until his resignation. And since then, I have read much. And with each piece I read I appreciate his wisdom, faith, and stand against modernism. And nearly every time I finish one, I find another I want to read. This one was hard to track down but it was well worth it. I tracked down a used out-of-copy that was in near perfect condition. This is another great read by Pope Benedict XVI’s. 

The online descriptions of the book is:

“Each year Lent presents us with a providential opportunity to go deeper as Christians. Drawing on addresses and homilies, this booklet brings home Pope Benedict's urgent call to conversion of heart and therefore to happiness. The journey to Easter joy begins on Ash Wednesday and takes us through Lent. Palm Sunday, Holy Week, the Triduum and Easter Vigil, Eastertide and finally to Pentecost.”

The back of the cover states:

“Each year Lent presents us with a providential opportunity to go deeper as Christians. 

Drawing on recent addresses and homilies, this booklet brings home Pope Benedict’s urgent call to conversion of heart and therefore to happiness. The Journey to Easter joy begins on Ash Wednesday and takes us through Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, the Triduum and Easter Vigil, Eastertide and finally to Pentecost.

The Pilgrim could have no better spiritual guide than Benedict XVI.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Rediccovering our Baptism
Streghten our desire to change – Ash Wednesday
Authentic conversion to God
Walking in Lent
Road that leads to the living God – Palm Sunday
He Makes us all one – the Lord’s Supper
Way of the Cross – Good Friday
Reason and Freedom in creation – Easter Vigil
Continious resurrection within us – Octive of Easter
The gift of joy itself - Pentacost

I highlighted numerous passages while reading this booklet, and could have easily doubled the number. Here are some of them:

“The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence.”

“The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is received in infancy highlights how it is a gift of God: no one earns eternal life through their own efforts.”

“In fact, the Church has always associated the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament realizes the great mystery in which man dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new life of the Risen Christ and receives the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Rm 8:11).”

“This free gift must always be rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path like that of the catechumenate, which, for the Christians of the early Church, just as for catechumens today, is an irreplaceable school of faith and Christian life.”

“The Sunday of the man born blind presents Christ as the light of the world. The Gospel confronts each one of us with the question: "Do you believe in the Son of man?" "Lord, I believe!" (Jn 9:35. 38), the man born blind joyfully exclaims, giving voice to all believers.”

“Communion with Christ in this life prepares us to overcome the barrier of death, so that we may live eternally with him. Faith in the resurrection of the dead and hope in eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate meaning of our existence: God created men and women for resurrection and life, and this truth gives an authentic and definitive meaning to human history, to the personal and social lives of men and women, to culture, politics and the economy.”

“The Lenten journey finds its fulfillment in the Paschal Triduum, especially in the Great Vigil of the Holy Night: renewing our baptismal promises, we reaffirm that Christ is the Lord of our life, that life which God bestowed upon us when we were reborn of "water and Holy Spirit", and we profess again our firm commitment to respond to the action of the Grace in order to be his disciples.”

“Through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way.”

“In synthesis, the Lenten journey. in which we are invited Lo contemplate the Mystery of the Cross, is meant to reproduce within us "the pattern of his death" (Ph 3: 10), so as to effect a deep conversion in our lives; that we may be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, like St Paul on the road to Damascus; that we may firm ly orient our existence according to the will of God;”

“Lenten period is a favorable time to recognize our weakness and to accept, through a sincere inventory of our life, the renewing Grace of the Sacrament of Penance, and walk resolutely towards Christ.”

“The blessed ashes imposed upon our forehead are a sign that reminds us of our condition as creatures, that invites us to repent, and to intensify our commitment to convert to follow the Lord ever more closely.”

“The First Sunday of Lent, known as the "Sunday of the Temptation" because it presents Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, invites us to renew our definitive adherence to God and, in order to remain faithful to him, to face courageously the struggle that awaits us.”

“In the Church's tradition, this journey we are asked to take in Lent is marked by certain practices: fasting, almsgiving and prayer. Fasting means abstinence from food but includes other forms of privation for a more modest life.”

“In other words, it is in practice a question of adopting an attitude of authentic conversion to God – of returning to him - recognizing his holiness, his power, his majesty.”

“Let us set out confidently and joyfully on the Lenten journey. Forty days separate us from Easter; this "strong" season of the liturgical year is a favourable time which is granted to us so that we may attend more closely to our conversion, listen more intensely to the word of God and intensify our prayer and penance.”

“Let us invoke the Virgin Mary so that he may help us always to listen to and follow the Lord Jesus, even to the Passion and the Cross, in order to also participate in his glory.”

“God the Father sent him to quench our thirst for eternal life, giving us his love, but to give us this gift Jesus asks for our faith.”

“Each one of us can identify himself with the Samaritan woman: Jesus is waiting for us, especially in this Season of Lent, to speak to our hearts, to my heart. Let us pause a moment in silence, in our room or in a church or in a separate place.”

“Sin wounded humanity and destined it to the darkness of death, but the newness of life shines out in Christ, as well as the destination to which we are called. In him, reinvigorated by the Holy Spirit, we receive the strength to defeat evil and to do good.”

“We need God: he draws us upwards; letting ourselves be upheld by his hands - by faith in other words – sets us aright and gives us the inner strength that raises us on high. We need the humility of a faith which seeks the face of God and trusts in the truth of his love.”

“This evening in faith we have accompanied Jesus as he takes the final steps of his earthly journey the most painful steps, the steps that lead to Calvary. We have heard the cries of the crowd, the words of condemnation, the insults of the soldiers, the lamentation of the Virgin Mary and of the women. Now we are immersed in the silence of this night, in the silence of the cross, the silence of death.”

“Let us gaze on the crucified Jesus, and let us ask in prayer: Enlighten our hearts, Lord, that we may follow you along the way of the cross.”

“In these first clays of the Easter Season - which lasts until Pentecost - we are still filled with the freshness and new joy that the liturgical celebrations have brought to our hearts.”

“The expectations of our time are so numerous: we Christians, firmly believing that Christ's Resurrection has renewed man without taking him from the world in which he builds his history, we must be luminous witnesses of this new life that Easter has brought.”

“This is what the Church wants to tell us: the Spirit Creator of all things and the Holy Spirit whom the Lord caused to come down from the Father upon the community of the disciples are one and the same. Creation and redemption belong to each other and constitute, in depth, one mystery of love and of salvation.”

“All the sacraments, each in its own way, communicate divine life to human beings, thanks to the Holy Spirit who works within them.”

“Therefore let us pray: Lord, show yourself! Make us the gift of your presence and we shall have the most beautiful gift: your joy.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. The number of times Benedict concludes a section with “Let us entrust our Lenten journey to the Virgin Mary, …” brings home the centrality of seeking her guidance, through Lent and the whole year. This volume was built from 10 pieces given in 2010 and 2011. This is another excellent little volume on Lent from the talks and homilies of Pope Benedict XVI. It was wonderful to work through this book, I was blessed to track it down and you will if you do as well. 

This volume was a wonderful little volume and easy to engage with. It is well worth a read. Another excellent volume based on the writings and teachings of Pope Benedict. I can easily recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.


Books by Benedict XVI:
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church and Church Fathers 
...        

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