Wednesday, March 13, 2024

#OpenBook for March 2024

 Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

 

2-9-24 Befriending St. Joseph: Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion - Deacon Greg Kandra - St. Joseph's feast day is March 19th. This book would make for wonderful spiritual reading or an at-home retreat during this month. It offers short chapters that reflect on the seven times St. Joseph is mentioned in Scripture. Learn more about St. Joseph and the lessons he has to teach us. It also offers several prayers to use to ask for St. Joseph's intercession in our time of need.


 2-11-24 One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp - I learned about this book from a review on CatholicMom.comAnn embraced gratefulness as a way to counteract the bitterness in her life and as a way to reflect on Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving). She is a nondenominational Christian so her understanding of Eucharist is different than a Catholic one, but there are some similarities. She reflects on being grateful in times of trial (she has had more than her share of trauma). I found her writing style a bit disjointed in parts (this was a New York Times bestseller - many people evidently disagree with me), but I loved the idea and it was just what I needed because I was looking for something to do for Lent for the prayer component. Thanksgiving is a form of prayer. I'm going to try to make my own list of 1000 things to be grateful for - 25 per day for 40 days. I have no idea if I will manage this or not, but I'm going to try.

 

2-15-24 The Song of Sourwood Mountain - Ann H. Gabhart - Mira Dean’s fiance died five years earlier, along with her dreams of being a wife and mother, but she enjoys her life as a schoolteacher in Louisville. When a former classmate she hasn't seen in years, a missionary in Appalachia, asks her to marry him and be a teacher to the children of Sourwood, she thinks the idea is preposterous. However, when circumstances conspire against her, she realizes that God wants her to accept his offer. This was a lovely story of following God's will, even when it takes you to unexpected places. (Read for a book review publication) 


2-17-24 Life in Five Senses - Gretchen Rubin - This book went along nicely with the gratitude project I'm doing for Lent. It was all Rubin's quest to appreciate the world more through her five main senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. It encourages paying more attention to how we experience the world.  


 

2-19-24 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round - Jame Attenberg - This book is partly reflections on the writing life by the author and partly a collection of essays on writing by other authors. Some of the writers I had heard of; others I had not. Many of the essays had been written during the pandemic and spoke of isolation or the struggle to write when their personal circumstances had been upended. I enjoyed reading the different essays, although a few of them used some vulgarity. Basically, the purpose of the book was to inspire readers to continue to focus on their writing even when it is hard and they feel uninspired. 

2-23-24 The Proposal Plot - Kathleen Fuller - This is enjoyable Amish fiction about a headstrong young woman and her new neighbor who, after getting his heart broken badly, wants nothing to do with women. Unfortunately, his nephew and her sister fall in love, and they are recruited to chaperone them all too often. (Read for a book review publication)


2-24-24 ADHD for Smart Ass Women - Tracy Otsuka - I don't love the title of this book (it is based on the podcast of the same name), but the book itself was quite good. I read it to help understand / help my teenage daughter who has an ADHD brain. I recommend it to any women who have ADHD or have teenager daughters who have ADHD. It offers practical tips on time management, managing money, sleep challenges, exercise, and nutrition.

2-27-24 Our Lady of Good Help: Prayer Book for Pilgrims - Fr. Edward Looney - My mother gave me this book for Christmas and it is a lovely exploration of the Marian apparition at Champion, Wisconsin, in 1859. Fr. Looney describes the apparition, compares it with other Marian apparitions, and explains its message for all of us. The second half of the book is a collection of prayers including preparing to receive sacraments, novenas, and prayers for different locations at the National Shrine for those fortunate enough to make a pilgrimage there. 


 

3-6-23 Carnegie's Maid - Marie Benedict - I've read a few books by Marie Benedict over the years, but I had somehow missed this one. I'm so glad I picked it up! I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a young Irish woman working as a lady's maid for Andrew Carnegie's mother and developing a relationship with her wealthy son. 

3-6-23 Mary's Calico Hope - Anne Blackburne - Mary Yoder was injured in an accident as a young child. Now age 29, she has accepted her fate and does as well as she can living in pain and going around on crutches. She would like to have a husband, though, if it is God's will. But when she falls in love with a Mennonite doctor who introduces her to a surgery that could change her life, she struggles to know what God's will might be.  Fans of Amish romance will enjoy this one!
 

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for junior year). 

2-16-24 The Sense of Music - Victor Zuckerkandl - The next group of selections I am working on is on music. This particular book wouldn't be considered part of the "Great Book" canon, but was written to help students studying the Great Books to better understand music as listeners. I have a basic understanding of how to read music. I learned some when I was a child and I have been using the "Simply Piano" App for the past couple of years to try to learn how to play the piano better, which I enjoy and is good for exercising my brain. I did not understand everything in this book, but I learned many things about musical theory. 

2-29-24 Fundamentals of Music - Boethius - The author of this work lived from 480-524 and was examining the mathematical underpinnings of Western musical theory. He focused on translating Greek works on music and shaped the discipline of music during the middle ages. While the mathematical portions of this book were beyond me, I did understand some of the philosophical musings. 

3-9-24 Tonality - Molly Gustin - This is another relatively modern book (1969) and I was excited to see it was by a woman, a true rarity on this book list. She was writing to argue that seven-tone diatonic scales and better than 12 tone chromatic scales. She discussed tone, consonance, mode, key. pitch, meter, and aesthetics. I understood parts of it. In this journey through music, I have learned that music is much more complicated than I ever thought!


My thirteen-year-old daughter and I read the following book this month:



 
2-13-24 The Girl in the Lake - India Hill Brown - This one was a spine-tingler! While it was written for kids, there were moments I was quite spooked reading it. A group of cousins spend a week at their grandparents' house by the lake. Little do they know that the house is haunted. In addition to being a good story, it also had am important lesson on racism and why many Black people never were able to learn how to swim. 
 
 
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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Reflect on the Life of St. Joseph

 


We know relatively little about St. Joseph. He is sometimes called “the silent Saint” because no words of his are recorded in Scripture. Yet, devotion to St. Joseph, who was the foster father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Mother, has a long history in the Church.

In Befriending St. Joseph: Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion, Deacon Greg Kandra shares how the tradition of meditating on the seven sorrows of St. Joseph began with a shipwreck. Two Franciscans were traveling on the coast of Belgium when a storm hit, and the ship sank. They clung to the wreckage and prayed to St. Joseph. St. Joseph appeared to them and helped them to safety. He taught them to pray seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys and to “meditate on the seven passages in the Bible where Joseph is mentioned” (xi).

The Seven Sorrows of St. Joseph are:

1.     Joseph decides to divorce Mary

2.     Jesus sees Jesus born into poverty

3.     Joseph’s sorrow at the circumcision of Jesus

4.     Joseph hears a prediction of suffering

5.     Joseph flees with his family to Egypt

6.     Joseph makes the dangerous journey back to Israel

7.     Joseph searches for the lost Jesus

Deacon Kandra encourages us to pray to St. Joseph because he can help us learn how to listen better to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives and trust in God more. St. Joseph is also a patron for those who are sent places that they would rather not go as well as for those who feel unworthy or unready for the task that God has given them.

For each of the seven sorrows, Deacon Kandra provides a Scripture passage, an imaginative retelling of the event from St. Joseph’s perspective, a reflection, questions for personal or group use, and a prayer. Each of the chapters is only a few pages. This book would be perfect to use as an at-home retreat.

An appendix includes many prayers to ask for St. Joseph’s intercession in various circumstances. As second appendix offers a prayer service based on the Seven Sorrows Devotion.

St. Joseph has much to teach us. He can also be a great source of help to us through his intercession in our times of need. His feast day on March 19th and the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st both provide an extra incentive to learn more about this important saint. Reading and reflecting on Befriending St. Joseph: Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion is an excellent way to do that. 

 

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Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Our Lady of Good Help's Message for Us All

 

In 1859, Belgian immigrant Adele Brise was visited by the Blessed Mother in Champion, Wisconsin. This Marian apparition, commonly known under the title of Our Lady of Good Help, was granted ecclesiastical approval by Bishop David Richen in 2010, making it the first approved Marian apparition in the United States. In Our Lady of Good Help: Prayer Book for Pilgrims, Fr. Edward Looney introduces readers to this apparition, its message for all of us, and the shrine located in Wisconsin.

Our Lady’s message for Adele was one of spreading the Good News. She wanted Adele to “gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. . . their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments.” (14-15) Adele took the message to heart and began to offer to do housework for families in exchange for permission to teach their children. She also began a lay third order of sisters known as the Sisters of Good Health or the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi to help in her work.

In addition to describing Mary’s apparition in Wisconsin and offering eleven lessons we can take from this message from Our Lady of Good Help, Fr. Looney reviews several other Marian apparitions and explains how this message fits with the other messages Our Lady has offered to visionaries. The apparitions explored include those at Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, Beauraing, and Banneux.

The second half of the book provides a lovely collection of prayers and devotions. There are tools to help in preparing to receive the sacraments, including an extensive examination of conscience. In addition, there are meditations for praying the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross that incorporate the message of Our Lady of Good Help. Several novenas are also included, such as novenas to the Queen of Heaven and to Our Lady of Good Help. Novenas for healing and for the conversion of sinners are found in these pages as well. For those fortunate enough to make a pilgrimage to the apparition site in Wisconsin, there are prayers for different locations at the shrine.

Parents and those who provide catechesis in any way have a special role in teaching young people the faith. Our Lady of Good Help’s message is important for every one of us. Our Lady of Good Help: Prayer Book for Pilgrims is an essential guide to this Marian apparition as well as a great source of prayers to further your devotion to the Blessed Mother.

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#OpenBook for March 2024

  Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com . Here's what I'v...