When was the last time you have read your Catechism? Was it just today? Was it last month? I am assuming here that at some point you did in fact read the Catechism. If not, no better time than now.
After I read it for the first time cover to cover I've been reading it in small bits here and there. It has been a while since I picked it up and I find that I miss its genius. It overflows with spiritual wealth. Every paragraph is like food for the soul.
I think it is time for me and maybe for you too to pick up this treasure again and start reading it daily! This is what I hope to do from now on.
I just finished reading this wonderful book. From the first page I was captivated by the simplicity of the writing and the horror of the story. The book recounts the time that Fr. Bernard spent in the concentration camp of Dachau.
It is a beautiful account of humanity, humility and the best and worst of what we can do to each other. The horrors portrayed in this book had a deep impact on me. I always knew that life in a concentration camp was horrible but to actually read a first person account of the day-to-day life with all its moments was very eye opening.
The incredible hardship these men endured, and the constant ridicule and hunger they lived with is hard to imagine. Yet these men still managed to find Christ in all this mess. Some of the most amazing moments in the book come when these starved and barely alive men get to sneak in a small piece of the Eucharist, and are overfilled with joy that they can have their Lord with them in this suffering.
This book is incredibly important. It reminds us how the Nazis treated those who believed in Christ. The book is very graphic and truthful. I highly recommend it to everyone.
You can purchase the book here
Thanks to the Insight Scoop blog I now have something to look forward to to read in March! This would make a perfect birthday gift for me *cough*.
"Without Jesus, we do not know what 'Father' truly is. This becomes visible in his prayer, which is the foundation of his being. A Jesus who was not continuously absorbed in the Father, and was not in continuous intimate communication with him, would be a completely different being from the Jesus of the Bible, the real Jesus of history… In Jesus' prayer, the Father becomes visible and Jesus makes himself known as the Son. The unity which this reveals is the Trinity. Accordingly, becoming a Christian means sharing in Jesus' prayer, entering into the model provided by his life, i.e. the model of prayer. Becomng a Christian means saying "Father" with Jesus, and thus becoming a child, God's son—God—in the unity of the Spirit, who allows us to be ourselves and precisely in this way draws us into the unity of God. Being a Christian means looking at the world from this central point, which gives us freedom, hope, decisiveness, and consolation."
Pope Benedict XVI
After reading an interview with Meg Meeker (found on Zenit) I really want to get his new book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
Here is a little sample from the interview.
Q: You suggest the importance of raising a daughter with humility, emphasizing that she should see the world like a pioneer, asking, "What can I do for others," instead of like a princess who lives with a sense of entitlement. How can this contribute to her long-term happiness?
Meeker: One of the greatest mistakes that parents make in their kids is a misunderstanding of what happiness and joy is in their kids. Parents just want their kids to be happy, but they perceive incorrectly that it comes from receiving pleasure, so when children receive, receive, receive, happiness does not come, resulting in a lot of unhappy kids.
Despite our material wealth, depression rates have never been so high. Clearly we are missing something. Parents have been duped. What works is when we teach kids to serve, to look beyond themselves. Real joy and happiness comes when kids understand that they have a purpose in life, and a mission to fulfill. The only way to get them to understand this is to look beyond self and doing good for others.
This is the source of real transformation, but this can't happen without humility, the opposite of which is pride. When parents instill humility, a kid understands that he or she is important, and lovable, but not separate from others in their humanity. If a kid really wants to feel good about himself, humility brings people closer, whereas pride separates.
A kid raised without humility will always strive to be better than others, smarter than others, but can only bring a frustrated "happiness" because no one can always be the best at everything. True happiness for kids, then, is to give them a purpose to fulfill through working, striving, giving to and for others.
I just finished reading a great C.S Lewis book "Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold". It is a wonderfully written retelling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche.
Even though C.S Lewis used pagan images the story has deeply Christian overtones.
The book wrestles with several important issues, faith vs reason, the problem of pain, sin and much much more. It is a deep philosophical work as well as a great story.
I will not go into details about the plot because that would spoil it for all of you who want to read it. It basically is about three sisters and is told from the
point of view of Orual the eldest. Her youngest sister Psyche possesses great beauty and that beauty makes the gods jealous, to the point that Psyche has to be sacrificed
to the gods. Orual loves Psyche deeply and the sacrifice makes her feel as if the gods have stolen all the joy from her life. The book is Orual's complain against
the gods. There is lots more in there but I will not reveal anymore.
I highly recommend this book.