Diocese of Ogdensburg

Book Review:

Blessed are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic’s Search for Meaning By Mark Hart

This is a fantastic  book for older teens, young adults and parents! If you ever feel like you are just checking off a to-do box when going to Church or preparing for the Sacraments, this book is for you!  God want to transform us, make us into a new creation, love us despite our messes. There is so much more to our faith than the rules we all know by heart.  If you ever wondered what faith is really for, how you can be spiritual AND religious, what discipleship and a relationship with Jesus is all about, this book is for you!

Mark Hart uses stories from his own life and faith, failures and successes to illustrate the Truths of our Faith. He offers practical steps we can take to draw closer to Jesus and to enter onto the path to sainthood.  We are all called to holiness, and not a pious, plaster-cast statue type holines, but real, flesh and blood transformed in the Spirit, holiness.  He shows us, with his characteristic sense of humor, the three things – our perspective, our approach and our self-offering -need to be transformed in order to be open to the encounter with Christ.  

This would be a terrific book for anyone who works with teens, for catechists who may need a shot in the arm, for parents who want their kids to remain faithful Catholics, but aren’t sure how to explain the faith, and for older teens and young adults who are wondering about the meaning of life and the why of faith and church.

Note for parents of younger teens: I would recommend reading it first.  There is a chapter dealing with issues relating to sex and other related themes. 

Book Review: 

Meditations. Reverb Culture: Meditations on Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Volume One: The Profession of Faith

By Edmund Mitchell

Reverb Culture Press

This is a lovely little book for praying with and through Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The quote in the front of the book from Abraham Villela speaks volumes: Scripture is lie words from my Father, and the Catechism is like words from my Mother.”

This book has taken passages from scripture and corresponding sections and paragraphs of the Catechism and juxtaposed them for your reflection on the profession of faith, one small bite at a time. For example, under Jesus Christ – The Son of God, we are given the passage of Mathew 3:13-17 (the baptism of the Lord)  juxtaposed with CCC422 (God sent for this Son, born of a woman, born under the law … ) and CCC444 (speaking about the baptism and transfiguration …) and then the book simply leaves room for you to journal your own prayer, reflection, meditation on who this Jesus is.

If you like praying Lectio Divina, pondering the words of scripture as a means of prayer, you will love this little book for your private prayer.  It also gives another dimension of using the Catechism to assist in interpreting scripture or giving another lens through which to pray the creed.

I could see how this book could be used for group prayer and faith sharing. Reading the passages out loud in a small group and allowing the Holy Spirit to move for members of a prayer group to share their reflections and meditations could be a powerful way to help people to pray and share their faith or their journey.

At the end of the book of 30 chapters focused on elements the profession of faith, is a listing of the Gospel readings for each Sunday of the Year (A B and C) juxtaposed with the corresponding paragraphs form the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  These can be used throughout the years to prepare for Mass and to come to understand our faith in a deeper, more personal way.

Available from www.ReverbCulture.com  

Today is the first Friday of Lent.   I find that the beginning of Lent is often hard until I get into the groove of whatever I have given up or taken on.  It takes a while to break habits, like not checking social media on the phone.  

SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

First of all, check your parish bulletin or website:   Most parishes offer Lenten opportunities for prayer such as the Stations of the Cross.  Many will offer Lenten Parish Missions or opportunities for adult faith formation.  There will be fish fries and soup suppers to help build community and fundraise for those less fortunate.  If you are not sure if your parish has a website, check Parish Directory on the Diocesan Website.

FROM THE PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE: a resource for Lent

The diocesan Public Policy Committee has created a resource in conjunction with the season of Lent based on the 7 themes of Catholic social teaching. The committee has created a downloadable prayer card as well as a webpage which will include a series of articles in the weeks to come on each of the 7 themes. The articles will also appear in the North Country Catholic. The first article, summarizing the themes is currently available.  For more information please see the public policy webpage under the "About the Diocese" section on the Diocesan website or click HERE.

FROM THE OGDENSBURG CURSILLO MOVEMENT: Lenten Day of Reflection

The Cursillo movening is offering a Lenten Day of Reflection at St. Augustine Church, Peru, NY, on Saturday, March 03, 2018 from 10:00AM to 5:30PM

Join Bishop Terry LaValley, Fr. Alan Shnob, Fr. Timothy Canaan, Fr. Albert Hauser,Fr. Jack Downs and Deacon David Clark for a day of talks, prayer, personal witness, recollection and opportunity for Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Lunch will be provided. Anticipated Sunday Mass will be celebrated by Bishop LaValley at 4:30PM at St. Augustine Church in Peru, NY. Pre-registration is requested to assure seating and food. A donation of $10/adult is suggested upon arrival to help defray expenses. Please pre-register by email or phone no later than Monday Feb. 26, 2018: Kathy Racette, kathyracette@gmail.com, 518-314-1505 or Ken Racette, kracette1a@gmail.com, 518-578-3056

BOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES:

Our Sunday Visitor is offering a FREE little 9-page e-book guide to LENT http://response.osv.com/the-catholic-guide-to-making-lent-matter/ which covers some of the reasons behind our Lenten practices as well as offer some ideas to try .

Ascension Press has a wonderful program on LECTIO DIVINA called OREMUS which comes with a DVD set of 8 30-minute DVDs, workbooks and leader guides.  For free, you can watch the introduction to how to pray Lectio Divina on YouTube: You can watch these below: 

part 2

Part 3

Part 4

For previous lenten resources see: 

https://www.rcdony.org/evangelization/blog/1535-lenten-resources-2018.html 

https://www.rcdony.org/evangelization/blog/1536-book-review-of-lenten-healing-40-days-to-set-you-free-from-sin.html 

Book Review: Tied in Knots: Finding Peace in Today's World.  By Greg Willits.  (Our Sunday Visitor)

Are you anxious?  Can’t find the joy in life?  Are you stressed out?  Are you stuck in a rut and just going through the motions, whether at work, at home or in your faith life? Then this book may be for you.

Tied in Knots by Greg Willits has written a wonderful little book based on his own experience to help us look at the knots in our lives that may be the cause of anxiety, stress or malaise in our lives.  Greg Willits shows us how  he was able to untangle those things that were binding him down and through his expert story-telling, we too can discover and untangle the knots in our life and rediscover the joy we lost.

For those of you who have listened to Greg (and his lovely wife Jennifer) over the years through podcasts or Sirius Radio (Rosary Army, The Catholics Next Door, Adventures in Imperfect Living), will recognize the style and humor as well as his struggles with obstacles to channel his gifts and creativity while providing for his family. Besides engaging stories that anyone will be able to relate to, the book offers practical tools and prayers to break through those knots that keep you from finding the joy and passion in life again leading to lasting peace.

Book Review: Lenten Healing: 40 Days to Set You Free from Sin. By Ken Kniepmann  (Ave Maria Press)

I received a lovely little book to review from Ave Maria Press called Lenten Healing: 40 Days to Set You Free from Sin by Ken Kniepmann. The format at first seemed familiar.  It is a daily reflection book for Lent, but it comes with a twist.  Rather than reflecting on the readings for the day, Ken Kniepman covers each of the seven deadly sins and connects them to their corresponding virtues.  Each week of Lent covers on of the deadly sins, the corresponding virtue, connects them to wounds in our lives and how we can heal those wounds. 

I did a quick read of the book in order to review it in time for Lent, but of course, the purpose of this book is not that you sit and read it cover to cover in one sitting.  Rather, we are invited to read the daily portion of the book, usually about 2 pages, and use it as a springboard for prayer and reflection.  Each day has a short reading to introduce the topic, whether it be a sin or a wound or virtue to counter the sin. Then two short related verses from scripture to deepen our reflection by listening to God speak to us.  These are followed by one or two reflection questions and a short meditative prayer. 

I plan on using this book as part of my own Lenten journey this year.  I like to journal each morning, and for me, the value is in the reflection questions which will prompt my daily journaling.  I can also see it as a gentle way to uncover hidden wounds that cause me to struggle with the same sins over and over again.  This book aims to help us see the connections between our sins and the deeper, often hidden wounds and reasons we are drawn to those sins, allowing God’s grace to heal so that we may live out the corresponding virtues.

If you struggle with the deadly sins, whether, sloth, pride, envy, greed, gluttony, anger or lust, this may be the book for your Lenten reading this year. The Lord wants to set us free to live a virtuous life that we may encounter love and happiness.  May this Lent be a season of healing and mercy.   

For more Lenten Resources see: https://www.rcdony.org/evangelization/blog/1535-lenten-resources-2018.html