Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
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Interesting and simply engaging to read this book. I just spent 2 hours gripped in Ron’s simple and easily readable style. I have learnt a lot about ordinary human’s extraordinary events. In our society, we avoid talking about death and other related issues. In doing so, I supposed I have avoided living fully as well. In the final phase of a dying person’s journey, there is no time to play games and there is an urgent sense to make right what was wrong, to reconcile with loved ones, to tell them that we love them. Though I am not going to embrace what Ron’s advocating, his story about dying cannot be ignored as our turn would come one day. I wish to live fully, each minute in its 60 seconds full. Though I may fail time and again, there is hope that with God’s grace, to run the race and to fight the good fight.
In this collection of poignant and hope-filled stories about people who are dealing with death, Ronald Wooten-Green draws on his experience as a caregiver for his dying wife and as a hospice chaplain to give us a glimpse of the spiritual reality known only by those nearing death. From conversations with unseen visitors to visions of long-dead ancestors, When the Dying Speak reveals the unique phenomena surrounding death and helps us listen to and learn from those at the end of their earthly journeys. Scripture passages, biographical sketches, and thought-provoking questions provide spiritual and historical perspective while encouraging self reflection.
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For most people most of the time, prayer is hard. It is especially difficult not to mention unsatisfying when people experience it as formal, dry, and repetitious. But what might happen if you discovered a simple prayer that changed all that? What if you discovered a prayer that changed you? In The Prayer That Changes Everything, Jim Manney introduces Christians to a 500-year-old form of prayer that dramatically altered his perception of prayer and the way he prayed. The prayer is the examen, which St. Ignatius Loyola developed for the purpose of nurturing a reflective habit of mind that is constantly attuned to God s presence. What makes the prayer so powerful is its capacity to dispel any notion that God is somewhere up there, detached from our day-to-day tasks and concerns. Instead, the examen leads us into a relationship with a God who desires to be personally caught up in the lives of those whom he created. By following five simple yet powerful steps for praying the examen, we can encounter the God who, as Scripture tells us, is not far from each one of us the God whose presence in our lives can make all the difference in the world.
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Knowing where to go or what to do is certainly a great blessing! Especially in life, this gift is invaluable. However many of us do not quite measure up and we continue to make mistakes, one after another, it’s almost like the blind leading the blind when it comes to making choices in life. This book shows us how to listen with clarity the little voice within. Isn’t this neat? What’s the catch? No punchline, read the book and find out for yourself.
Many of us do not trust our own thoughts feelings and desires when it comes to discerning God s will. Instead we look outside ourselves to determine what God wants from and for us. In God s Voice Within spiritual director Mark E. Thibodeaux SJ shows us how to use Ignatian discernment to access our own spiritual intuition and understand that the most trustworthy wisdom of all comes not from outside sources but from God working through us.
God s Voice Within is intended for people who know that there is more to the spiritual life than they are currently experiencing and are ready to take the next step in their walk of faith by making effective discernment specifically Ignatian discernment a daily practice.
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Interesting book! Fr General and Fr Hilario SJ are two Jesuits who liked this book. Fr General was in Singapore to meet the Jesuit community and he also met the lay collaborators. During the meeting, he mentioned that he read this book on the plane. Fr Hilario SJ was also in Singapore recently and he said this is a great find! Trust the 2 Jesuits to tell us that.
St. Ignatius Loyola 1491 1556 the founder of the Society of Jesus aka the Jesuits was known for his practical spirituality. The “way of Ignatius” has helped millions of people from the doubtful seeker to the devout believer find freedom make friends live simply work sensibly fall in love experience joy and enter into a relationship with God.
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A sequel to the accounts in The Seven Storey Mountain, the faith journal of Thomas Merton continues.
Begun five years after he entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, The Sign of Jonas is an extraordinary view of Merton’s life in a Trappist monastery, and it serves also as a spiritual log recording the deep meaning and increasing sureness he felt in his vocation: the growth of a mind that finds in its contracted physical world new intellectual and spiritual dimensions.
I like Merton’s writings and through his insights, we get a glimpse of life through his eyes.
No doubt, far removed our lives is from his, I am sure there is lessons to be learnt from reading this.
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“Experiencing God” is a good summary of what prayer is and prayer is not. Thomas Green SJ after many years of teaching and praying, giving retreats came up with his insights into PRAYER.
This is a good introductory starter book for any budding pray-er who wishes to anchor his/her spirituality in the Christian faith. Yet it is also a good reminder for those who have ventured far into their faith journey.
Good practical tips are offered together with Fr Thomas Green’s insights.
A simple yet interesting read. Must use the contents to deepen your spiritual self.
Target audience: RCIA, youth adults and beginner Pray-er.
From Ave Maria Press ….
In Experiencing God, Thomas H. Green, S.J., presents a brief and accessible guide to prayer. Green reminds readers that prayer life is, above all, a relationship with God and a deepening of our experience of God. Fr. Green, who died in 2009, spent a lifetime teaching fellow Christians to pray. Experiencing God is a treasury of his best insights.
Drawn from lectures given by Fr. Green, Experiencing God is now in print for the first time—an appropriate commemoration of the faithful life and work of this beloved teacher and author. Ideally suited to faith sharing groups, parish retreats, and ministry formation workshops.
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Inviting us to pause reflect and act with the God who is already present Gregory F. A. Pierce boldy confronts and honestly evaluates our struggle to find meaning in the workplace. Unlike books that try to impose religion on the world of work spirituality work promotes an authentic spirituality that is rooted in the nitty gritty of the workplace. Pierce shows how each of us can successfully balance our work with other aspects of life.
The holy and the transcendent can be found in the midst of the hustle and bustle of daily work. Rather than being a grind, our work can be grist for your spiritual mills. Indeed the work we do has enormous spiritual significance.
Ten Disciplines of workplace spirituality includes:
- find sacred objects
- living with imperfection
- assuring quality
- giving thanks and congratulations
- building support and community
- dealing with others as you would have them deal with you
- deciding what is enough — and sticking to it
- balancing work, personal, family, church and community responsibilities
- working to make “the system” work
- engaging in ongoing personal and professional development
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Add Comment »God’s Spirit is everywhere.
Miracles Every Day is the story of Dr. Issam Nemeh a Cleveland based physician and devout Catholic who has prayed over tens of thousands of people from all faiths and all walks of life in the past two decades. The result Miracles. Injuries healed cancers cured sight and hearing restored. Yet as Dr. Nemeh will be the first to point out the miracles are just to get our attention. The healings do not originate from him but from God. It is this humility and dedication to those in need that have won him the respect and trust of laypeople and religious leaders alike.
This inspiring chronicle beautifully told by author Maura Poston Zagrans traces the lives of the doctor and his dedicated wife Kathy and brings us the uplifting stories of the many people who have been healed through one man’s powerful faith. Miracles Every Day is a compelling reminder of God’s individual and unconditional love for each one of us. Along the way you will meet the dedicated family members volunteers and clergy who support the Nemehs in their work. They speak of a ministry of hope of lives changed and saved through not just the power of prayer but through the awesome Spirit driven power of love.
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Add Comment »Father Benedict Groeschel CFR is a familiar name to many Catholics and here’s his faith along the way.
In his first ever memoir Fr. Benedict Goeschel introduces you to the men and women who have influenced him over the course of his life. Some are unknown such as Mr. Graff a Jewish man who tailored the suit the young man would wear to the seminary. His advice “Look I don’t understand about monasteries but I’ll give you a piece of advice. Be a good boy.” Some are famous such as Mother Teresa Cardinal O’Connor and Fr. Solanus Casey who once in Fr. Benedict’s presence stepped unprotected into a swarm of angry bees pulled out his harmonica and played “Mother McCree” to calm them. br> All of them changed his life in big and small ways. Their stories will not only inspire you but also help you appreciate those you have met over the years who have enriched and deepened your own life and inspire you to make a difference in someone else’s life.
For the believer life is a journey, a road laid out for us by the providence of God and guided by the divine law and the teaching of Christ. Our life can be considered the intersection of our personal thoughts and deeds with the mysterious workings of Divine Providence. Together these two elements form our existence.
When a person grows older, particularly when the end of life is apparently not very far off, the past takes on special significance. One is drawn at such a time to recollection, to revisiting people who are long gone, trying to make sense od what has happened.
An interesting account by any standard.