A Book Review: Lectio Divina Bible Sutdy

Over the past 10+ years, and more so over the past 7ish years, I have been an avid reader of the Catholic Theology and Philosophies. I am striving to “grow into” my faith in a more profound way than I have to date, and I am always looking for a good book t read on the subject. Through The Catholic Company, I have found a great resource of books to choose from, and I get some free by reviewing them, as I am this one.

This book is a hard book to review. While it has several great Bishops and other people giving it great reviews and a strong backing, I fear I do not agree with their thoughts on the book. While it is structurally correct, as near as I can tell in my neophyte status within the Church, in general I do not agree with the resources he pulls together to support his claims. The writing is hard to read and follow, and over all I was not impressed.

The book does have some good gems though, and the concept the Author, Stephen J. Binz, shows is valid, and is a good way to process the Bible as you read it.

Not an easy read, and not a book I’d want to have bought.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Lectio Divina Bible Study: Sacraments.

The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation

As my ever changing life continues to move forward, I have opened a new lay community that is pending approval and supervision of the Bishop of the Dioceses of Lexington Kentucky. This Order, The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation is open to all Catholic men eighteen years of age or older (no upper limit, except based on health and mental status, and the Canon of the Church) who are in communion with the Holy Roman Catholic Church and able to meet the requirements of Religious Life per the Canon of the Church.

To learn more about the new community and to express your interest, go to The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation’s web page and follow the links there.

We are also looking for US tax deductible donations, which you can find more information on here. Prayers for our growth and approval and supervision by the Bishop are greatly needed and accepted as well!

In Christ!

Meet the Saints: A Book Review

Over the past several years I have been very interested in the Saints of the Catholic Church. I have been wanting to know their history, how they became Saints, and a bit about them. I have read many books on individual Saints and a few on groups of Saints.

Most of those books put words into the mouths of the Saints, as well as feelings and thoughts, that I often felt the author had no way of knowing if it was true or not. Basically putting words into the mouth of the Saint where I felt they shouldn’t.

This book broke the mold I was seeing in the other books. The book takes 12 months of articles posted in a newsletter series called “Walking With the Saints”. It covers the lives of 37 Saints and what got them Sanctified.

It is an easy book to read, well written and informational. It appears to be factual without glorification. The result is well received by me, and I’m betting by you as well.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Meet the Saints. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

The Sabbath…

Many years ago, when I was a child, I wondered why the Bible showed us that the 7th day of the week was a Holy Day, but the Churches my family went to all had the “Holy Day” on Sunday, the 1st day of the week. I never understood it. I asked a minister when I was in my early twenties, why we went to Church on Sunday instead of Saturday as decreed by God in the Bible in giving us the 10 Commandments. The answers I was given didn’t ring right with me, and consisted of “We are celebrating the Resurrection of Christ”.

When Jesus was alive, He kept the Sabbath on Saturday. In fact, the second earliest document that states a change to Sunday was in 74AD for a few small groups, but the general exception of the Christian faith “moving” the Sabbath to Sunday was over 300 years after Jesus passed away. It was not founded on any comments in the Bible, or any such decree from God.

God clearly said that He was celebrating the completion of His work of Creation of the Universe and human kind. The Sabbath was given to all man to be the 7th day of the week, Saturday on the current calender, not Sunday. Why does the Catholic Church and most Protestant Churches celebrate on Sunday?

My research shows a few reasons for this:

The more I pray on this and the more I read the Bible, the more I feel compelled to follow the Commandments of God and take Saturday as the Sabbath. I am still Catholic, will still go to Sunday Mass (and soon to Mass every day with a change in my work schedule), but from sundown on Friday, till sundown on Saturday I will be refraining from work, reading the Bible, and meditating on Christ, the Bible and life. During this time frame, I will not be on my computer, will not be using the phone to check emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This does open Sunday to work, such as mowing the lawn as needed, and any other work I have been refraining from doing on Sunday. I feel confident this is what God has told us to do.

In Christ,

D.

Clement and the Early Church of Rome: On the Dating of Clement’s First Epistle to the Corinthians – A Book Review

I selected this book from the list available at the Reviewers section of The Catholic Company, as I am very interested in the foundations of the Catholic Church, and the early writings of the Church.

I highly recommend before acquiring or reading this book that you acquire and read a copy of the two letters sent by St. Clement to the Corinthians, as it will make the reading of this text mean more to you.

Over all the book was pretty good. Reverend Thomas J. Herron goes into great detail into the history of the time and the reasoning he has for dating the writings as he does. He has, what I believe to be, sound reasoning behind his though processes, and gives strong validation to those thoughts.

Why is this important? It provides a context to the extent of the Church at the time of Clement before and after he took over as the “Pope” (he was not called Pope in that time in history) of the Christian Church. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the foundations of the Christian and specifically the Catholic Faith.

It is a well written book, worth the read, but I’m not sure most lay people would want to acquire this book, unless they are historians.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Clement and the Early Church of Rome . They are also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

Just “Who Is Jesus Christ?” – A Book Review

The list of books available to select from this time around from The Catholic Company Book Reviewer Program made it hard to choose a book to read. There are some great sounding titles there. At first glance I passed on this book, “Who is Jesus Christ?” for many reasons. One of those reasons is that every Protestant Preacher seems to lean on and preach mainly out of this book, and not out of the whole Bible. But I kept coming back to it, and I finally picked it. I’m glad I did!

This books was a great read. It went through the 25 titles and names given to our Savior and Christ, Jesus. In each naming, Eric Sammons, the author, gives great detail behind each title, the meaning of that title or name, and why it is important. He adds text from the Leaders and Doctors of the Church and what they have had to say about the titles/names as well, adding more credence to what he says. He ends each section with a question about that name or title or the meaning behind it and how it effects you, or your response to it, which really got me thinking on many levels.

This book is a MUST READ for any person starting in theology, or at any level of theological studies, and should be read by every Christian, especially Catholics!

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Who Is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery and be sure to check out their great selection of baptism gifts while you are there.

A Conversion Story from the past, brought current! (A Book Review)

Saint Augustine lead a life of sin and “corruption” for many years back in the early 400ADs, including living with a lady for many years. His mother, a Catholic, prayed for him to find the Lord daily, and with tears and pain. It took many years, but Saint Augustine finally accepted the Lord into his life and he changed his ways, becoming a leader in the Church, a Doctor of the Church, and a great Theologian.

The book “No Turning Back, A Witness to Mercy“, written by Rev. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, chronicles the Author’s life, which closely mimics Saint Augustine’s life.

He starts out with excitement of his arrest at 15 in Japan, and subsequent deportment back to the US, with a stamp on his passport stating he can’t come back.. He then jumps back in time and begins telling his story from roughly 10 years of age on up to around 20, and the trails and tribulations he creates for his family and himself. He tells about the drugs he took, the people he hung out with, and the problems he caused. He goes into detail about the deportation and his going to rehab for the first time, and then his immediate return to drugs, booze, and women.

During this time, his Mother finds the Catholic Church and the rest of his family converts to the Catholic faith, which he declines and continues on his way. His mother begins to pray for him daily, and frequently to find peace in the Lord, placing prayer cards in his cloths when he is home, under his pillow, etc. He ignores these attempts to convert himself, and continues on in his ways.

As he nears 20 years of age, he throws a BIG drug/booze/women party at his parents house and begins to feel like things are not right. After kicking everyone out of the house, and attempting to clean up the house, he begins to see things differently.

One night, several months later he picks up a book on Divine Mercy, about Mother Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and starts feeling that he must change his ways. He reads the book all night, and when his mother gets up he wants to know more, and runs off to the post Chapel to begin his “official” conversion, which had already happened internally. As time progresses he ends up becoming an Ordained Priest in a Religious Order dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.

This is a VERY compelling book, that I HIGHLY recommend to everyone and anyone interested in learning more about the good Graces of God!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on No Turning Back (book). I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

Annulment, 100 Questions and Answers for Caholics – A Book Review

Annulment, 100 Questions and Answers for Catholics

The authors have taken 100 common questions that have been asked by people, including myself, and break down what the annulment process is all about. They explain what the annulment means, the people involved in the process, from a “top level” what the process consist of, including answering concerns about what happens at each stage, what the appeal process is, for both the petitioner and the respondent, then it closes with ways of keeping a marriage together.

This book is written in a clear, easy to read way. It debunks some myths of the Catholic Annulment process, and helps you through the mental process of going forward with an annulment should you need one. A good book to look to if you have questions about the annulment, or are thinking about going to your Priest for one.

I am about to start the process of an annulment myself, and this book answered many of my questions. I will probably also get a copy of this book for my parents and others in my family so they understand what I will be going through and why I am going through the process.