Monday, 15 February 2021

A World Undone - Fr. Mike Schmitz - Finding God When Life Doesn't Make Sense

A World Undone: Finding God When Life Doesn't Make Sense
Fr. Mike Schmitz
ISBN 9781593255992
eISBN 9781593255626
ASIN B08RG844X8 


Wow! Father Mike has hit it out of the park with this little volume. It is an amazing little read. I first purchased the paperback, and then the eBook once it was available. I have given the paperback away. And to be honest I wish I could buy cases of this book to give out to friends and family. It is an excellent little volume. A fantastic read that any Catholic, any Christian would benefit from reading! This was exactly what I needed to read. The physical book is listed as 52 pages and the eBook 50. But it is packed full. I highlighted 31 passages on my first read through. Normally when I read a book, I highlight in yellow the first time, then blue, then red. This time some passages hit me so much that I ended up using all three colors to provide emphasis. 

Once I started reading this I could just not put it down. And I know I will be returning to it and reading it again at a slower pace. At the end of each chapter is a set of questions for reflection, a challenge, and a prayer. The challenges all begin This week … Thus indicating that Father Mike planned for the book to be read over a number of weeks. The chapters in this volume are:

Undone but Not Unloved
Good Enough?
God Shows Up
Give me a Heart Like Yours
To the Finish
Afterward: The One Thing That Changes Everything

Each chapter contains:

Title
Bible Verse
Teaching (Several Sections)
Reflection Questions
Challenge 
Prayer

Seven of the passages I highlighted on my first read through are:

“Here is the great news about being a Catholic Christian: we know what to do with a world that has come undone. Our faith teaches us not only how our world was supposed to be in the beginning and what went wrong but also how to trust God to undo what has come undone. Because that’s what God is up to.”

“But sometimes I wonder if a deeper assumption lurks beneath all this. Perhaps deep down we think that “fine,” “OK,” and “getting by” are as much as anyone can hope for. This is as good as it gets.”

“Jesus has to bring up the wound so that we can realize we’re not fine.”

“This is one of the reasons why I love Confession. We can come face-to-face with Jesus and acknowledge, I’m not fine, and I don’t have to be. I’m not going to forget my past or ignore my present. Because Jesus comes into our wounds to undo the undoing.”

“It’s not what God says that is the answer to Job’s sufferings. God himself is the answer. God shows up.”

“Jesus wept, but he also waited.”

“In our Christian family, in our story, we have miracles—but we also have martyrs. Sometimes we get the miracle; sometimes we get martyred. Sometimes we get delivered; sometimes we get death.”

Having listened to many of Father Mike’s Ascension Presents videos and currently listening to his Bible in a Year Podcast I could not help but hear his voice as I read this book. I have yet to hear or read anything from Father Mike that I have not benefited from. But this book is one of the best resources from him. This is a book that anyone from high school student to retiree could benefit from. We can all grow and improve in our living out our call as Christians and this book helps us see that in a different light. 

If you are a Catholic or a Christian and are only going to pick up one book outside your bible this year, I strongly recommend that you give this one a read. This is a book that will change your life. This is a book you should read and that we all would benefit from reading. Pick it up!  

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books By Father Mike Schmitz:
Made for Love: Same-Sex Attraction and the Catholic Church


Contributed to:
Pray, Decide, and Don't Worry: Five Steps to Discerning God's Will
Don't Be Afraid to Say Yes to God! Pope Francis Speaks to Young People
…

Audio Talks by Father Mike Schmitz:
Living Life by Design, Not by Default
Love - Sacrifice - Trust He Showed Us the Way
From Love, By Love, For Love
True Worship
The Four Last Things
Jesus Is …
Changed Forever - The Sacrament of Baptism
We Must Go Out - The Sacrament of Confirmation
…




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Friday, 12 February 2021

Prayer of the Day to Our Lady from George Cardinal Pell's Prison Journal

A Prayer to Our Lady from George Cardinal Pell's Prison Journal 

"Mary, Mother of the Church and mother of the hermitage, pray that we will be instruments of the Spirit. Pray that we will know when to act and when to wait, when to speak and when to be silent. Teach us how to listen and to know the voice of God in our hearts." 

-Monday, of Holy Week, 15 April 2019 

This is a prayer taken from, it was sent to him from an unknown friend in the US.

Prison Journal
Volume 1 The Cardinal Makes His Appeal
ISBN 9781621644484
eISBN 9781642291421
ASIN B08N5FT45L



Books by George Cardinal Pell:
God and Caesar: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics, and Society
Test Everything
Be Not Afraid: Collected Writing
Contemplating Christ with Luke
Rerum Novarum: One Hundred Years Later
...

Prison Journals:


Contributed to:
Priests—What Lies Ahead?
...
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Thursday, 11 February 2021

The Wonders of the Mass - Father Paul O'Sullivan

The Wonders of the Mass
Father Paul O'Sullivan
ISBN 9780895554918
eISBN 9781505102420
ASIN B00T6NOHIS


This was the second volume from Father Paul that I have read. I picked the first, The Wonders of the Mass, book up because it was promoted by TAN books in an email blast. They were promoting a bundle of books by Father Paul O'Sullivan. I know I have seen the covers before. After reading the first one I picked up a few more. And this was the second volume I have read. The description of this book is:

“Says "The Mass is the greatest wonder in the world," seconded only by "the next greatest wonder. . .the indifference and ignorance of Catholics regarding the Mass." Quotes Saints, plus Our Lord Himself in revelations to various Saints. Filled with incomparable insights on the glories of the Mass.”

And the chapters are:
The Wonders of Holy Mass
What is the Mass?
The Joy of the Saints at Mass
Priests, The Happiest of Men
The Benefits of the Mass
Priests – Angels on Earth
How to Hear Mass with profit

This was a great little volume. It is the second by Father Paul I have read and it will not be the last. Right now, legally I cannot attend mass. But I can attend online masses. I have been able to attend Latin Masses, Extraordinary forms of the mass, and mass by several priests who I have read books from and follow-on social media. Not being able to attend mass for most of the past year has mad me realize how important and central it is to my life. This book offers tips and advice for appreciating the mass more. And for realizing it’s power and centrality to our faith. And even if I am mostly watching online this book can help me to learn to go deeper.

Some of the sections I highlighted my first time through this volume are:

“The Mass is the greatest wonder in the world. There is nothing on Earth equal to it, and there is nothing in Heaven greater than it.”

“No intelligent, no enlightened Christian would fail to attend Mass if he only knew what it was.”

“By hearing Mass, the day would become worth a thousand days to them, so wonderful would be the graces and benefits they should receive.”

“Similar wonderful favors are granted to the humblest of the faithful, to anyone who hears Mass devoutly.”

“St. John Damascene: “If anyone wishes to know how the bread is changed into the Body of Jesus Christ, I will tell him. The Holy Ghost overshadows the priest and acts on him as He acted on the Blessed Virgin Mary.””

“4. Nothing on this Earth, nothing in Heaven itself, gives more glory to God and obtains more benefits for us than a single Mass.”

“7. No prayers, no suffrages, no matter how fervent, can help the Holy Souls as the Mass. Oh, let us think of the Souls in Purgatory! Among them may be our dear father and mother and friends. We can help them most easily, we can relieve their awful pains most efficaciously by hearing Mass for them.”

“All good Christians would do well to follow these holy examples and ask God every time they hear Mass to grant them the grace of a holy death and freedom from the fires of Purgatory.”

“One Mass heard with understanding and devotion obtains for us more graces than a hundred, than a thousand Masses heard carelessly and in ignorance of what the Mass is.”

“Remember, Dear Reader, that the day you hear Mass is worth a thousand days to you, that all the labors and works of a day, or a week, or a whole year are nothing in comparison with the value of one Mass.”

As can be see by these samples from the book. The book helps us realize the importance of the Mass. Helps us learn to draw in deeper during mass. And helps us to get the most out of the mass. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic would benefit from reading. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by Father Paul Henry O'Sullivan, O.P:
How to Avoid Purgatory
My Lord and My God, Or, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament
Our Lady of Fatima
Read Me or Rue It
St. Patrick and the Irish
The Divine Office: How to Say it Devoutly, How to Make it a Pleasure
The Glorious Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Story of a Great Man: Doctor Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
The Ten Commandments: For Real - For Now
What Ireland Owes to Portugal
…
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Wednesday, 10 February 2021

Canadian Martyrs Church and Chaplaincy A Photo Essay

Canadian Martyrs Church & Chaplaincy A Photo Essay

For almost three weeks I walked past this church every day. Up to 8 times a day, walking back and forth between Ronald McDonald House and McMaster Children’s Hospital. Every time I paused and prayed. I would have loved to have gone in and prayed but we were in lock down. One night all the lights were on and several people were moving about within, but the doors were locked. I passed by as early at 5am and as late as almost midnight. It is the Canadian Martyrs Church & Chaplaincy part of the Diocese of Hamilton. 
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Tuesday, 9 February 2021

The Moon Is Not My Name - ML Clark - Menagerie Mysteries Book 2

The Moon Is Not My Name 
ML Clark
eISBN 
ASIN B08P23PKWD
 

This is the second of the Menagerie Mysteries from the pen of M.L. Clark. I loved the first story, but I had to go back and reread a chuck of it. This one in my opinion was even better. I must admit I had pretty high hopes for this story and for the series, and it did not disappoint. I have been following Clark’s works for several years, and I admit to eagerly anticipating each new work. I also lament some that have yet to see the light of day. I went around 25 years with a reading gap on mysteries. I got back into it by being intrigued by one I picked up for my father and have read many over the last 2 or three years. However, knowing Clarks body of work, and having read the first story in this series, Third Planet Fall Down, I was well aware that this would not be a normal mystery. It is a great read for fans of the mystery or Science fiction genre and for mystery fans willing to take a risk.  

The story focuses on Pax Murillo, he was an on screen detective in the movies in the 2040s. He was brought back as a character in an amusement park on Earth. But not the Earth he remembers for humans have been wiped out. He was created just as part of an exhibit but after multiple run throughs of a scenario he developed self-awareness and is outgrowing his AI programming. He proved his worth and has been moved to the Archives on the Moon. On Luna he is in the administration development. When several important visitors come to access the archive, there seems to be stress on several of his creators. Both the Irian Archivist and Zin are greatly agitated. And then when the Archivist is poisoned in a way that they thought had been eliminated Pax is back on the case, and a case like no other.

This is an inserting story on many levels. Fist is the nearly completely alien environment and species. The second is Pax’s growing self understanding, and learning to navigate this alien world he has been thrust into. And the underlying arc of the economics of the major species and the game, used to control and manipulate them all. The economics of control, both financial and of information. Of particular interest is species that can revert to earlier stages of development and their need to start over again. And the deliberate suppression of memories or experience learned prior to the reversion. Some secrets should see the light of day. And some secrets others would do anything to keep buried. 

For fans of Clarks works this is great volume added to the canon of her work. In many ways I enjoyed this second story even more than the first. It is an excellent read, but be warned it will leave you desperate for the next volume and finding out what Pax is up against then. 

Books by M.L. Clark:
Children
The Bitter Sweet Here and After - Short Story
Uncle Remy's Whizz-Bang Circus
Game of Primes
Fat of the Land
The Shape of Things to Come
The Stars, Their Faces Uplifted in Song
Then Raise the Dead Man High
The Shadow & The Shadow
…

The Menagerie Mysteries:
The Stars, At Last Count
Wildly Runs The Dying Sun
…

K-City Kink Sisters:
Lacing Up To Reality - Short Story
One For The Team - Short Story

Contributed to:
Bastion Issue #6 September 2014
Lightspeed: Year One
Lightspeed Magazine, March 2011
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2017
…

Analog:
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2013
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March 2014
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, September 2015
…

Clarksworld:
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 199
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:
The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla
...




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Monday, 8 February 2021

Ask Him ... - Jane Trufant Harvey - Simple Words to Jumpstart Your Conversation with God

Ask Him: 
Simple Words to Jumpstart Your Conversation with God
Matthew Kelly (Introduction)
ISBN 9781635821574
eISBN 9781635821581
ASIN B08NFLZKJL
 

I picked this up after it was given a plug by Matthew Kelly. I have read and reviewed several books by Matthew Kelly over the last few years and benefited from them all. And I had high expectations based on his recommendation. In this new edition from Wellspring Matthew even writes the introduction. The beginning of that introduction states:

“I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU. The book you have in your hands will change your life. If you let it. How can I be so sure? It changed my life—and I have recommended it to so many other people who have also had their lives transformed by it.”

Matthew Kelly also says:

“Over the years, I have realized that there are no words for some situations. It wouldn’t matter if you were Shakespeare or Wordsworth, Shelley or Byron, there are simply no words to comfort a mother who has lost her child. This is just one of many situations that leave us speechless for a reason. They leave us speechless because these moments are not the right time or place for words. In these moments all we can do is be with each other or give grief its space. All we can do is honor the wishes of the one who is suffering and be with them or not (according to their need and preference).”

And later he indicates:

“One of the most difficult things in this life is to learn how to speak to God as a friend. There is genius in these pages, because with each page, Jane prompts us to have a conversation with God.”

I had high expectations even before I began reading the book. And once I read the introduction by Kelly those expectations were even higher. And the book absolutely loved up to those expectations. This volume contains 270 points. Some are a few words, and some are a few sentences. They all begin with Ask Him … and then the request. My first read through I highlighted 11 of them. And wrote them out in my journal. When I highlighted 2 of the 11 really stood out and were highlighted in a different color. As a sample from the volume here are the 11, I highlighted:

1. Ask Him... to surround you with His protection and peace.

4. Ask Him... to forgive you when your humanness overrides your faith.

8. Ask Him... to remind you that prayer will sustain you through the most difficult times in your life.

13. Ask Him... to bless you abundantly with the richness of good, Godly people who will challenge you to be the person He Created you to be.

58. Ask Him... to never let you forget: Life is not about competition, it is about striving to reach another level of achievement in being a better you.

70. Ask Him... to help you rejoice when you feel empty, since He can’t pour His spirit into something that is already full.

87. Ask Him... to help you remember that with every decision you make and every action you take, you’re being an example to someone else—good and bad.

101. Ask Him... for patience when your day starts out bad and ends up worse . . . and to remind you that He affectionately calls this “Character Building 101.”

118. Ask Him... for more teachable moments.

134. Ask Him... to remind you that it is not always your words—but the tone of them—that can wound the soul.

170. Ask Him... to pour out His protection and abundant blessings to the men and women who fight for your freedom.

This book can easily be read through in an afternoon. But like Matthew Kelly I feel this is a book I will be returning to again and again. The next time I read it a completely different set of points might be the ones that have an impact on me. It is a great little volume to spark your prayer, and even just help you reflect and think on like differently. 

It is an excellent book that anyone would benefit from reading. It is a great book that will spark anew your prayer life.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by Jane Trufant Harvey:
Ask Him for Courage With Cancer
Ask Him for Encouragement: A Start for Those Who Need a Starting Place
Ask Him for Hope: Profound Glimpses Into the Heart of God
Thank Him: Living Life with an Attitude of Gratitude
…
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Friday, 5 February 2021

Prayer of the Day A Prayer of George Cardinal Pell to Our Lady

A Prayer of George Cardinal Pell to Our Lady

"Mother Mary, Mother of your divine Son, Jesus, our brother, we ask you to intercede with him on our behalf and on behalf of all those who have asked for our prayers. 

Mother of Mercy, help us in Jesus’ name to live more deeply, forgive more readily, and so follow that narrow way and enter that narrow gate which leads to eternal life."
-Monday, 10 June 2019

This prayer taken from:

Prison Journal
Volume 1 The Cardinal Makes His Appeal
ISBN 9781621644484
eISBN 9781642291421
ASIN B08N5FT45L



Books by George Cardinal Pell:
God and Caesar: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics, and Society
Test Everything
Be Not Afraid: Collected Writing
Contemplating Christ with Luke
Rerum Novarum: One Hundred Years Later
...

Prison Journals:

Prayers from the Prison Journals:
...

Contributed to:
Priests—What Lies Ahead?
...
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