It is finally here! It seems I'm the last person in the Catholic blog world to get the new book by our Pope Jesus of Nazareth

I have already started to read it. The forward was wonderful, as it goes into different methods of biblical interpretations. The introduction was superb and now that I have finished reading the first chapter I am even more excited. If I wasn't so tired I would continue reading today however I will stop here and take some time to absorb what I have already read.

This book is a great meditation on the Person of Jesus. The "real" Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels, who is man and God. I don't remember last time I have been this excited about a book!

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.
Saint Augustine

This is one of my favourite prayers to the Holy Spirit. It was with me ever since my reversion to the faith. Ever since I started to pray it I noticed some big changes in my life. Holy Spirit truly does transform lives.

Not everyone can have a spiritual director. Someone to talk to about spiritual things. Our inner lives are so important that it is unfortunate that there is such a lack of qualified people to guide us. Our God however did not leave us orphans. He send us His Spirit. He Is our most wonderful spiritual director. All it took for me was to trust Him. Every book I've picked to read early on in my study of faith happened to be solid in its orthodoxy. This can't be a coincidence especially since my early book shopping was done in secular book stores, and there were tons of "Christian sounding" books which knowing what I know now would be very negative to my faith. I can only guess that The Holy Spirit was there with me and with each book was trying to teach me something new.

Holy God, Most Blessed Trinity, thank You for your gift of the Holy Spirit my Counselor, my Comforter, my Teacher, my God. Amen

Another great episode of "That Catholic Show".

That Catholic Show Website

It appears that I have been tagged by Puff the Magic Dragon from The Spirit's Sword Blog

THREE NON-FICTION BOOKS EVERYONE SHOULD READ

There are tons of books out there I could recommend. I will not list the Bible or the Catechism or any other official church document/book since EVERYONE should be reading those anyways. Most of the non-fiction books I read happen to be religious, and my choice therefore will be my top 3 religious non fiction books!

1. The Confessions by Saint Augustine. This book was the very first book I have read when I rediscovered the beauty of the Christian faith. Maybe the best book ever written.
2. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Every book by Chesterton would do but this one is one of my favourites.
3. Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Papa Benedict XVI). Our pope is the most clear thinking author I have ever read. Love this book.

THREE BOOKS OF FICTION EVERYONE SHOULD READ.

1. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Story of early Christian persecution in Rome. Won nobel prize when it was first released. This book is a cultural masterpiece .
2. The Way of the Pilgrim by Unknown. This is a treasure of Eastern Christian spirituality. It taught me about the Jesus Prayer and sparked my love for all things Eastern Catholic.
3. Crime and Punishment or Brother Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

THREE AUTHORS EVERYONE SHOULD READ

1. G.K Chesterton
2. C.S Lewis
3. Fyodor Dostoevsky

THREE BOOKS NO ONE SHOULD READ

1. Anything by Dan Brown
2. Anything by any one who is "famous" and liked by "Hollywood" crowd.
3. Any anti-catholic book :)

Now I must think who should be tagged next!

Mama should never leave the baby alone with me.

By the goodness of God we mean nowadays almost exclusively His lovingness ... by Love, in this context, most of us mean kindness -- the desire to see others than the self happy; not happy in this way or in that, but just happy. What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, "What does it matter so long as they are contented?" We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven -- a senile benevolence who, as they say, "liked to see young people enjoying themselves" and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, "a good time was had by all"

C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain