Jalapeños are a Lifestyle

Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God by Scott Hahn and Leon Suprenant eds.

Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs by Alan Schreck

CrissCross by F. Paul Wilson

Virgin by Mary Elizabeth Murphy

Introduction to Mary: The Heart of Marian Doctrine and Devotion by Mark Miravalle, S.T.D.

Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko

Padre Pio: Man of Hope by Renzo Allegri

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Phillip Keller

My Land and My People: Memories of the Dalai Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Eat Right for Your Type by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Vita Consecrata by John Paul II

Which Bible Should You Read by Thomas A. Nelson

Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer by Thomas Dubay

Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood & the Search for Meaning by Barbara A. Kerr, Ph.D. and Sanford J. Cohn, Ph.D

Ultrametabolism by Mark Hyman

Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin

An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy by Pamela Aidan

Nothing in the World by Roy Kesey

The Nun’s Story by Kathryn Hulme

Lead, Kindly Light: My Journey to Rome by Thomas Howard

The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence  by Ian Wilson and Barrie Schwortz

Praying the Psalms  by Thomas Merton

The Spirituality of the Cross  by Edward Veith

Zoya’s Story: An Afghan Woman’s Struggle For Freedom  by Zoya with John Follain and Rita Cristofari

Therese of Lisieux  by Monica Furlong

Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells  by Matthew Gallatin

Adam and His Kin  by Ruth Beechik

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

By a Lady by Amanda Elyot

The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc

No Price Too High by Alex Jones

Where We Got the Bible by Rt. Rev Henry G. Graham

Virgin Coconut Oil by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy

The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practice for Everyday Life by Tony Jones

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll

On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard

Darcy and Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley by Linda Berdoll

The Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland

I’m afraid that there was more writing than reading this month so the reading list is a little thin. Nevertheless, here it is:

This one looked interesting when I sent it to my aunt for Christmas. I found myself muttering repeatedly under my breath when I got it “I don’t need anything new in my to-read pile. I don’t need anything new in my to-read pile….” When she sent me a note thanking me profusely for such a great book, I caved and bought it for myself.

It was a fascinating read with lots of interesting perspective on English life at the time of the Reformation. There was a decently interesting murder mystery with sad helpless but independent woman trying to make her way in a time when women had few choices. I also found it maddening. I was reading the preface of Why The Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc the other day and he opined about why it is necessary for Catholic historians to write about this period of history because only they understand what was lost and others cannot. And while I cannot be sure of Ms. Vantrease’s current religious affiliation the book’s biographical notes indicate that she is the daughter of a Baptist preacher. It showed in her writing. Sure there are plenty of slimy snaky priests with lots of overbearing stupid statements on the part of Catholic clergy in this book. Honestly, I have no problem with that portrayal. I am sure that there were plenty of those then and still are….human nature being what it is. And of course, there were the hardworking Protestants risking it all for “the cause.” There is also the usual smattering of bad Catholic theology. This of course usually sets me to musing about why, if all the Catholics were so slimy and so hopelessly misled, so many of them chose death in some pretty unpleasant ways under Henry VIII and Elizabeth and others. It always saddens me I have encountered so few works of historical fiction (none!) that tell the story of the Reformation from the “other” side. But none of that was what I found maddening in this book. It was what Belloc touched on the book I mentioned earlier. That somehow there is no understanding of what was lost. The heroine and her family in The Illuminator repeatedly expressed such distaste for having a family priest because it was so inconvenient to be forced to observe the Liturgy of the Hours. All right, all right…I will admit that having to observe Matins on a regular basis might be a trifle wearing. However, I often find myself wishing I lived closer to my parish so that I could attend daily Mass without fighting traffic, and burning multiple tanks of gas a week. I wish I lived in a Muslim country so that I would hear an audible call to prayer five times daily. In this country so many parishes don’t even have the blessing of weekly Mass much less daily Mass because of a shortage of Catholic clergy. I feel guilty for needing any of my pastor’s time because I know he is spread so thin. So I found myself insanely jealous of the heroine and her family for having even the possibility of having a family priest….a family chapel (oh WOW!). I wanted to slap her silly for refusing what would be such a blessing to me. Imagine hearing church bells throughout the day calling you to prayer. Imagine that it was those prayer times that marked the passage of the day and not the daily commutes, the nightly news, the other mundane secular events and instruments we use to pass the time. Think about what was lost.

Undead and Unappreciated by Mary Janice Davidson 

The Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein

Tolkien: Man and Myth by Charles Pearce

C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church by Charles Pearce

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead and Unemployed by Mary Janice Davidson

Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson 

John Paul the Great by Peggy Noonan

Night by Elie Wiesel

The Rule of St. Benedict 

If I could fashion myself as the perfect writer, I think I would like the imagination of Tolkien, the depth of C.S. Lewis, the vocabulary of William Buckley, and humor of Wodehouse, the edge of Ann Coulter, and the grace of Peggy Noonan. I have never read a word of hers that didn’t shine a gentle, warm light on whatever it was to be lucky enough to have her writing about it. Her book, John Paul the Great, is no exception.

With her customary, grace, and respect she writes with love, affection, and candor about John Paul II and the faith he inspired in Catholics, in Christians, and most especially, in her. She made me smile with her story of coffee and the rosary. (“I don’t have a cup of coffee in the morning — I have a glass of coffee, because it’s bigger.”) And stand in stunned awe of Mother Teresa who experienced a perdio of spiritual darkness that began shortly after she left her convent to serve the poor until her death. She then deftly turned to admiration of John Paul II who accelerated Mother Teresa’s canonization process because he knew that he spiritual heroism was greater, much greater, than any of us suspected. John Paul II knew that the canonization process would force into the public arena what Mother Teresa had kept so privately and that his flock would be instructed and inspired.

“Great men lift us up. They tell us by their presence that everything is possible, that as children of God we are part of God, and as part of God we can, with him, accomplish anything. Anything.”

And great writers tell us about great men. Thank you Ms. Noonan. I enjoyed your telling and your willingness to share your own journey.