book review
Books Read: December 2023 Edition
These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan The Stolen Heir by Holly Black Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black Grit Don't Quit by Bianca Juarez Olthoff The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black A Queen of Thieves & Chaos by K.A. Tucker Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku A Curse of Blood &a…
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Prayer
Prayers for December 2023
We are still working on our 54 day rosary novena leading into Christmas. I think I would like to take part in a Our Lady of Guadalupe novena, Infant of Prague novena, and maybe Epiphany. I just get so excited for Advent and Christmas. How about you?
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book review
Books Read: November 2023 Edition
The Right Kind of Wrong by Amy C. Edmondson Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo Think Faster Talk Smarter by Matt Abrahams Behind The Seams by Dolly Parton Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents by Phil M. Jones The Awe of God by John Bevere 30 Days to Understanding the Bible by Max Anders Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman The Hundred Years' War on Palestine…
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New Exodus
The Original Exodus: Deliverance from Egypt
The narrative of the original Exodus, found in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 1-15), is a powerful testament to the unwavering faithfulness of God and His capacity to deliver His people from the shackles of oppression. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Israelites' bitter slavery in Egypt, their fervent cry for deliverance, and the miraculous response of t…
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Book Recommendations
Self-Love
In the quiet wisdom of St. John of the Cross, we find a profound observation that resonates through the corridors of the soul: "A soul enkindled with love is a gentle, meek, humble, and patient soul." This poignant insight draws us into the depths of spiritual self-examination, prompting reflection on the nature of our inner disposition and the transformati…
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New Exodus
A Reflection on the New Exodus
Lately, I've found myself captivated by the profound narratives of the Exodus, the scriptures that reference this monumental journey, the concept of slavery, and the symbolism of Egypt. The echoes of this ancient tale resonate in our lives today, weaving a narrative of liberation, redemption, and the pursuit of a promised land. This fascination has sparked a se…
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Prayer
The Sign of the Cross
St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, possessed a gift for inspiring devotion for the sacred. His words continue to resonate with believers today. One of his most cherished teachings revolved around a simple yet profoundly meaningful gesture - the act of entering a church, taking holy water, and making the sign of the cross. In those sacred moments, S…
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book review
The Profound Journey of Conversion and Contemplative Love
In the realm of spiritual reflection and contemplation, the words of the wise often carry profound insights that challenge our understanding and, at times, even shock us into deeper contemplation. Today, we embark on a journey inspired by the wisdom of Thomas Dubay's "Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer," a work that delves into the essence of conversion, love,…
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Prayer
Prayers for November 2023
We will be doing a 54 day rosary novena leading into Christmas. I would also take part in a St. Gertrude novena. How about you?
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book review
Books Read: October 2023 Edition
The Cloisters by Katy Hays Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman The Eucharist in Scripture by The St. Paul Center Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas The Wicked Remain by Laura Pohl The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton Deep Conversion Deep Prayer by Thomas Dubay, S.M. Not That Fancy by Reba McEntire Holy Unhappiness by Aman…
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Prayer
Praying for Priests: A Call to Spiritual Solidarity
When people seek to undermine religion, their first target is often the priest. The reason is simple – when there is no priest, there is no sacrifice, and when there is no sacrifice, there is no religion. Priests are the linchpin that connects the Divine with the human, the sacred with the worldly. Their role is indispensable, and their spiritual well-being is of par…
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book review
The Profound Role of Priests in Our Faith
In the intricate tapestry of the Catholic faith, priests hold a unique and central role. They are the shepherds, the mediators, and the conduits through which the divine grace and sacraments flow to the faithful. In the words of the Magnificat Year for Priests Companion, "At the sight of a spire, you may say, 'What is there? The Body of our Lord. Why is it t…
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Prayer
A Shared Mission of Salvation: The Power of Collective Effort
The mission of the Church is not a solitary endeavor; it's a collective effort that transcends the roles of priests and clergy alone. The Church's mission is not solely shouldered by a select few, as highlighted by the words, "They know that they themselves were not established by Christ to undertake alone the whole salvific mission of the Church to the …
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The Simplicity of Sainthood: Small Deeds with Great Love
The wisdom encapsulated in the quote, "We don’t have to work wonders, cast out demons, raise the dead, levitate, bilocate, have visions, or make prophecies to be a saint," profoundly challenges our conventional notions of what it means to be saintly. It is a reminder that sanctity is not solely reserved for those who perform grandiose miracles or engage in …
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Book Recommendations
Embracing the Shining Stars Within: A Lesson from Saint Louis Abbey
In the tranquil setting of Saint Louis Abbey, there is a heartwarming tradition that takes place every evening, one that reveals a profound lesson about our intrinsic worth as children of God. The monks of the abbey gather in the calefactory, their monastic "living room," to spend quality time together as a family. It's an opportunity to bond, share sto…
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Book Recommendations
Truth
"In class a few days later, the same boy raised his hand. When I called on him, he turned around to the rest of the group and said, 'I see what you guys do on the weekends. You’re no better than anyone else. At least I’m true to myself.' There’s a part of me that has to admire a kid like this. He certainly had the courage of his convictions, and I congra…
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book review
Fulfilled: A Journey of Spiritual Discovery - A Book Review
In "Fulfilled: Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism," Sonja Corbitt takes readers on an illuminating journey of spiritual discovery. Through her insightful reflections and profound exploration of Scripture, Corbitt reveals the rich tapestry of Catholicism's biblical roots. In this book review, we delve into some key quotes from "Fulfi…
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Prayer
Prayers for October 2023
I will be taking part in the All Souls novena for souls in purgatory and possibly another one or two. How about you?
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Book Recommendations
Let's Have an Adventure
"In a recent article on postmodern spirituality, Timothy Muldoon makes the following claim about many contemporary young people: 'But what is so utterly foreign to many is the experience of falling in love with God. Religion, for them, is an intellectual exercise rooted in the individual conscience, rather than a response to a God who holds out a hand to say…
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book review
Books Read: September 2023 Edition
Everyday Utopia by Kristen R. Ghodsee Fulfulled Study by Ascension Press Praying for Priests by Kathleen Beckman Fulfilled by Sonja Corbitt Assassin of Reality by Arina & Sergey Dyanchenko Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake Doctors and Distillers by Camper English Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Book of Night by Holly Black Fou…
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Everywhere Is Only Him
"I went down like that to the laundry room where they were scrubbing for all they were worth, and I tried to do like the others. I splashed and soaked myself all over, but that didn't matter, I was thrilled! Oh, you see, everything is delightful in Carmel, we find God at the wash just as at prayer. Everywhere is only Him. We live Him, we breathe Him. If you …
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book review
Radical Jesus
"Jesus was a radical. He reminds us at every turn that God's ways are not a slight variation of man's ways, but they are in fact radically different. Embrace any one of Jesus' teachings seriously and some of the people around you are bound to think that you are taking it a little too far. His teachings don't invite us to the mediocre middle. The…
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book review
A Twist on 60/60
"Offer each hour or activity of your day to God as a prayer for a specific intention. Set an alarm to go off each hour. Take a deep breath and lift the coming hour up to God. Ten seconds at the beginning of each hour will change your life." page 66 Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly This is an interesting idea to build off the 60/60 I wrote about here . …
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Book Recommendations
Ponderings
"Thus, the matter in which the Carmelites follow the gospel takes on a deeply Marian character. Mary: magnifies the Lord and exults in the wonders of his merciful love (cf. Lk 1:46); listens to and ponders in her heart all the things concerning Jesus (cf. Lk :19, 51); identifies herself with her people, especially those in need, the spirtually and materially po…
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Book Recommendations
Fear Silence?
"Isn’t it a shame that we live in a society that so fears silence. We turn the radios on in our rooms, the TVs on in our dens, the stereos on in our cars, and when we are not near any of these places, we plug iPods into our ears—anything to avoid silence. Yet silence itself is the language of God! I’ll let you in on something I just recently learned: set aside a…
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Prayer
Faithfulness Over Quantity
"There is a risk of taking on more than one could handle and end up discouraged. A relatively short time (twenty minutes or half an hour), spent faithfully on mental prayer every day, is better than two hours now and then." page 84 This is a gentle reminder that faithfulness beats quantity. A moment in prayer daily beats hours of prayer that leads to dis…
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book review
St. Therese's Mission of Love
"She had wanted to have all vocations, because she wanted to love Jesus to the point of madness and serve the Church in all possible ways. The breadth of her desires tormented her. She found peace of soul only when she realized, with the help of Scripture, that the greatest service she could render the Church, one that contained all others in itself, was to keep…
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Wound of Love
"Above all, mental prayer ultimately consists of keeping this wound of love open, preventing it from healing over. Here is yet another guide to what we should do in prayer. When the smarting of the wound becomes less keen through routine, laziness, and loss of our first love, then we need to take action, wake up, stir up the heart and stimulate it to love by m…
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Book Recommendations
Learn Everything Else
"When you meet a wise person, listen to him and you will learn wisdom; when you meet a foolish person, listen to him and you will learn patience; when you are alone, listen to God, and you will learn everything else." Phil sent me this recently. I thought it was a handy little image and wanted to share it with you. When it comes to the Word, we must realiz…
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Book Recommendations
Books Read: August 2023 Edition
An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth Living with the Monks by Jesse Itzler Brick by Brick by David Robertson Lego Ninjago Season 11 by William N. Andrews Lego Ninjago School for Crooks by Meredith Rusu Friends 2 by Lego Friends Friends 1 by Lego Friends The Lego Story by Jens Andersen Learning Humility by Richard J. Foster Inheritance by Katharine McG…
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Prayer
Thirst for the Beloved
"Experience shows that to pray well and to be brought to the state of passive prayer in which God and the soul communicate in depth, the heart must be pierced—pierced, that is, by the love of God, wounded by thirst for the Beloved. Only through such a wound can prayer truly descend into the heart and lodge there. God must touch us at such a deep level of our b…
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Prayer
Mental Prayer
Mental prayer can be described as a form of contemplation in which one seeks to deepen their relationship with God through inward reflection, silent meditation, and attentive listening. This type of prayer involves focusing one's mind and heart on God's presence within oneself and in the world, and allowing God's love and grace to transform one's thou…
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Book Recommendations
We are Dust
"I think how little children please their parents just as much when they are asleep as when they are awake; I think how doctors put patients to sleep in order to do operations. And finally, I think how 'the Lord sees our weakness, he remembers that we are but dust'" page 52 'the Lord sees our weakness, he remembers that we are but dust' How …
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Book Recommendations
Love - It's What Counts
"Remember: the value of mental prayer is not measured by how many things we do. On the contrary: the closer prayer comes to that simple act of love, the more it is worth. Normally, too, prayer becomes more simple the further we progress in the spiritual life." page 57 "St. Teresa of Avila says, 'In prayer, what counts is not to think a lot but to l…
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Prayer
God is Always Active
"What matters in mental prayer is not so much what we do, as what God does in us. It is enormously liberating to know this, for sometimes we can do nothing at all in mental prayer. Really, though, it doesn’t matter much, because even if we can’t do anything, God can. In fact, he is always acting in the depths of our soul, even if we don’t realize it. The essenti…
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Book Recommendations
Weakness
"What feels best for you may not be best for the people around you. For that matter, it may not be good for you either. Someone with genuine self-esteem understands that self-fulfillment is not about self-satisfaction. Thus he is willing to deny his own desires for the sake of the future, for the sake of the people around him, and for the sake of his immortal so…
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Prayer
Are You Too Busy Working For God?
"Let those who are fully taken up with activity, who imagine they can move the world by their preaching and their other external works, reflect here for a moment; they will easily understand that they would be much more useful to the Church, and more pleasing to the Lord, not to mention the good example they would set around them, if they dedicated half their …
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A Pleasing Sacrifice
"The priest’s next prayer makes even clearer the connection between the gifts of bread and wine and the giver who offers them to God. The priest prays, 'With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.' Notice how the sacrifice envisioned in this prayer is…
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Review
Books Read: July 2023 Edition
Holy Thirst by Paraclete Press Catechesis and Ritual: The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis Misled by Allen Parr Majesty by Katharine McGee American Royals by Katharine McGee On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak Too Much Money by Dominick Dunne The Microstress Effect by Ro…
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Prayer
Prayers for August 2023
“Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting her help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind to him who is holy, infinitely holy; it means accepting her help—by having recourse to her motherly heart, which beneath the cross was opened to love for every human being, for the whole world—in order to offer the world, the individual human being, mankind as a whole…
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Prayer
Not Enough Tme
"THE PROBLEM OF NOT ENOUGH TIME 'I’d really like to do mental prayer, but I don’t have the time.' How often this has been said! And in a hyperactive world like our own, the difficulty is a real one and should not be underestimated. But time is not always the real problem. That real problem is knowing what really matters in life. As a contemporary aut…
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Quality Time with God - Read His Word
"To hear the words of God is a serious matter. At Mount Sinai, the people of Israel prepared themselves for three days before God spoke to them the words of the covenant. In the Mass, we prepare ourselves for this holy encounter with God’s Word through the Introductory Rites— the sign of the cross, the Confiteor, the Kyrie, and the Gloria. Having marked ourselv…
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Prayer
Rescue Your Time
"Regarding this problem of time, we should make an act of faith in Jesus’ promise: 'There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time!' (Mk 10:29). It is legitimate to apply this to chronological time as well: whoever giv…
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Book Recommendations
Here Am I
"It is God who by His presence creates the holy ground which man discovers by recollecting himself and where, having done so, he stands. God shows man the place where he really belongs, where he will find himself and his true world; where the call can reach him and where he must answer it. Recollectedness, therefore, is the condition which enables man to say, …
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Book Recommendations
Dark Night
"We have mentioned here the 'night of the spirit,' the great trial of passive purification, by means of which God works in the very depths of the soul, and thus prepares her for the supreme ascent and final transformation. This trial is a terrible one, a veritable purgatory here below, according to St John of the Cross, who has described the angu…
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Book Recommendations
Who You Truly Are
"And a fourth and last meaning: to recollect oneself is to awaken. With people who are not recollected there is always something tense, some preoccupation; and as soon as this preoccupation and tension lessens, they become all of a sudden empty and listless. When there is no object which draws them, no motive which pushes or stimulus which agitates them, then t…
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