just another day of Catholic pondering by Sarah Reinhard
If you’re like me, when you hear the topic of Mark Shea’s book The Work of Mercy: Being the Hands and Heart of Christ, you might wonder how it can be (a) enticing, (b) non-preachy, and maybe even (c) interesting.
The topic, you ask? The corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
My first thought, I’ll admit, was that it can all be summed up in a poster. Who needs a whole book?
Find out the answer in the rest of my review and enter to win a copy at CatholicMom.com!
Over a year ago, I started searching for Catholic business resources, specifically books. I found seven, but I felt like there was something missing. Something current, for one thing.
My husband suggested I pitch an idea or two to write such a book. I shook my head and gave him a few reasons why that wouldn’t be feasible for the publisher or for me (platform, anyone?). I also admitted that my heart wasn’t in writing such a book. It was in reading it.
It was a delight then, to have my review shelf sprout not one, but TWO, Catholic business books recently. (I wrote about the other one, The Catholic Briefcase, by Randy Hain, a while back.)
The book is one that I enjoyed immensely: Faith at Work: Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck, by Kevin Lowry.
(Kevin was around here quite a bit last week: focusing on WOMB as part of Looking Closer at the Hail Mary, answering my questions in 140 characters or less, and reviewing my book.)
Working from home, juggling small children, writing, and doing laundry and dishes and other such makes me sometimes wonder if there’s any point to reading business books.
Yes, I’m still interested, but shouldn’t I focus on my faith life?
My reading time is so limited, shouldn’t I read the novels and fiction I long for?
There’s usually nothing new or life-changing in the business books, and I can’t help but be cynical about many of the premises: is there any point?
The answer was on page one of Faith at Work:
My goal in writing this book is to encourage you along the path of conversion. Whether you are a CEO, a homemaker, a clerk, a teacher, or a laborer, I want you to think about your work just a little bit differently. Work is an opportunity, not only to earn a living but also to live your faith in its fullness. The only way this is possible is to completely integrate your faith and your work.
This book is high on practical advice, even as it doesn’t compromise the high ideals. After each chapter, there are action steps that you can read and ignore or attempt. There are questions for reflection that are low on the eye-rolling touchy-feely stuff and high on the “examine yourself and make a tiny step RIGHT NOW” element.
I love the fact that Lowry acknowledges the work of everyone–and not just in the introduction. The fact is, we all work. Even if you’re blessed to have your work look a lot like play to the rest of the world (guilty), it’s still work.
Our work is from God–or it can be. It can be for God, too, no matter where or how or when we work. We can bless it and use it to achieve holiness (or get closer, anyway).
Through insightful and humorous anecdotes from his years of work and home life, Lowry weaves a few lessons that always seem to hit me close to home. In fact, having a spirit of humility, gratitude, and patience seems about as possible to me most days as climbing the big oak tree in the back yard.
It takes humility to be a team player, and what team is closer to home than the one that begins in your own home? Without gratitude, you miss a lot of beauty in life, but it requires you to look beyond yourself. Patience might seem impossible to some of us (me), but when it comes right down to it, patience is about trusting God.
I knew that, I know I did. Faith at Work, though, reminded me that it doesn’t have to be shoved down anyone’s throat, it doesn’t have to be un-fun, and it doesn’t have to be old news. The beauty of our faith is part and parcel of everything we do, who we are, how we live. Lowry gives us all a resource for being more intentional with our efforts.
I happen to have a copy here on my desk that you could own. Leave a comment by Friday, May 25 at midnight PST with the biggest work challenge you face, and you’ll be entered to win. I’ll notify the winner sometime next weekend.
There are more Quick Takes, just as there are every week, at Conversion Diary.
Today, I’m focusing on three recent nonfiction reads, but I promise to talk about the piles of fiction I’ve been enjoying. The thing is, some of that requires brain cells I can’t tap into right now. So you get nonfiction first.
By Kate Hopper
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I got this book through the Amazon Vine program, though I’ve stopped getting as many books (or even really looking at the books available) because, well, I am buried in books. (I’m not complaining, mind you.) Plus there are tons of other cool things I can get through Amazon Vine, so why add to the books I can’t get to yet?
This book, though, caught my eye and I broke down and ordered it. I’m a writer, after all, and a mother! This book looked like it was for me!
And…it was. I’ll admit, I was a bit afraid this would be too much “do this, do that” and not enough advice or help I could actually use, but Hopper, as it turns out, is a talented teacher. She doesn’t just tell you what to do, but uses a wide variety of examples–from mothers, no less–and she’s down-to-earth in her approach. For example, she doesn’t suggest you get up every morning at 3 AM to write (though that may be what works for you). She advocates writing, yes, and gives you tools for doing that, but she’s not militant or unrealistic. I appreciated that.
One of the best parts of this book, for me, was getting encouragement from a fellow mom-writer, someone who has multiple kids, is working in the world and in writing, and who has a life beyond the page. Some of the writing books I’ve read, while excellent, seem like they don’t apply. Hopper has combined her expertise in writing with humor and practicality.
Have you ever thought of writing? Not sure how to start or where to begin or what to do? This book will be a great guide for you.
If, like me, you have a clue but need a cheerleader or a refresher or hey, a break from a certain kind of reading you might find yourself constantly immersed in, I’ll bet you will love and appreciate this book just like I do.
Overall, highly recommended, especially for fellow mom-writers.
By Amy Welborn
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
How could I not pre-order this book? It came highly recommended from all my favorite people, and so I did. And then, then it sat for quite a while on my to-read shelf. And then it took me far longer to read than it should have, given its length.
It hits me a little close to home. It gets me crying and sentimental and unable to be in my own company.
What makes this book great is not just the fact that Amy Welborn is a young widow who traveled with her kids to Sicily in the wake of her husband’s unexpected death. It’s great for the fact that Welborn shares herself candidly, with no icing or halos. It’s great for the fact that there are others, like Welborn, who are mired in grief and forging forward anyway, invisibly, silently. It’s great for the fact that Welborn makes everyone and every place a character, with texture and depth and feeling.
What makes this book readable is not just that Amy Welborn is a master of the craft, a wordsmith of awesome proportions, a woman who knows how to say what she means to say. It’s readable for the good writing, the expert editing, the weaving and plotting and feeling that’s in every word.
What makes this book heart-wrenching and real is not just that Amy Welborn is brave and honest and colorful. It’s heart-wrenching and real because of the word choices, the phrases, the heart that comes through at every turn. Did she relive things as she wrote? Was it torturous to bare her heart to the world?
I’m not usually a fan of memoir, but this book breaks through my prejudice and forces me to consider life. It doesn’t preach, and yet it shares a message that’s wholly Catholic, completely Christian, and absolutely provocative.
Highly recommended, just like everyone said it would be.
By Eric Sammons
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I’m a big fan of Eric Sammons and his book-writing. When he wrote me and asked me to take a look at this one, I couldn’t say no. His last book was one of my favorites, after all, and I was curious after seeing the title to this one.
It’s not a biography, but more like a braid of St. Josemaria’s wisdom and spirituality and the life we all struggle to live. Sammons does a great job of keeping it real, of making the theories into practices that apply even to me.
I found myself marking this book, thinking of the people I would share it with, and considering rereading it, right away, so that I could tackle it more slowly, in a more devotional way.
I have a copy of The Way around here somewhere (I think it’s tucked in a drawer of devotional stuff), and I remember enjoying the little tidbits within it. It ended up tucked away because…well, we moved, I had other things to focus on, and on and on.
Sammons compiles St. Josemaria’s writings and thoughts into his own, using them to punctuate the point he’s making and demonstrate the example we should strive to set.
I was a bit surprised how I enjoyed this book, honestly. I agree with the premise: holiness IS for everyone, yes. But I don’t necessarily want to be told how to be holy. I don’t quite have enough humility within me to accept a sermon, but the way Sammons and St. Josemaria pair up, it’s like a talk with a good friend.
Sammons reclaims the word “spirituality” from the wet-behind-the-ears and rather lame approach so many people have to it and makes it something tangible. It’s not easy, he makes clear, but it’s also not any harder than so many other things. “Holiness is not,” he writes, “a matter of following certain rules set down by a superior. Nor is it a predestined result that God determines for certain members of his creation. Holiness, rather, is a living relationship between a loving child who wants to please his father and a father who gives his child everything he needs to succeed.”
Holiness is about family, and our family, he reminds us, using the in-the-dirt-of-life rationale of St. Josemaria, is comprised first and foremost of God himself.
Highly recommended, especially if you’re weary of spiritual reading, looking for a light in the tunnel, and maybe just looking for refreshment in your faith journey.
I’ve been a fan of Greg and Jennifer Willits since their podcasting days. It’s been a delight to see them get bigger and better…now they have a show on Sirius/XM and also a new book, The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from their book. Would it be a how to? Advice? Just silly stuff? Or would it be a memoir type of book?
And, even more importantly, would I love it as much as I wanted to?
As it turns out, YES.
It’s equal parts laughter, insight, and advice. You get perspective from a couple who admits their imperfections with a smile and a humility I can’t help but admire.
Every chapter, except the parent-specific chapters, is written in a back-and-forth conversational style. Greg might start, Jennifer will pick it up, and Greg continues a few paragraphs later. I often felt like I needed to pass the chips and refill some coffee as I was reading…it’s reading that’s casual and relaxed, even though it deals with some of the heaviest topics in Catholicism (read as: NFP).
There’s a lot packed into 141 pages. There’s sex, marriage, kids, parenthood, sacraments, prayer, schooling, and technology, to name a few.
Some of these stories will be familiar to those who have followed the Willits through the years, but there are others that, if you don’t or can’t listen to their daily radio program, will be new to you.
Bottom line: highly recommended. It’s a quick read and you’ll leave it a better person.
You’ll find more Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary.
When it’s written from a Catholic worldview, that’s a bonus.
When it includes tough nuns who have a sense of humor that makes me want to know them in real life, that’s gonna keep my attention.
When it has a mystery, adventure, and humor, it might just have most of the elements that will make me like it.
Live and Let Fly, the latest by Karina Fabian, has all of those and more. It has great writing. It has a dragon detective, minus the weirdness I associate with fantasy writing.
I’ve raved about Vern’s adventures before (have even interviewed him), but you don’t have to be familiar with the the unfortunately stuck-as-a-PI dragon to delight in his antics this time around.
Among the things we learn…oh wait, this is the part of the review where I start to worry about spoiling the treats and twists throughout the book. Let’s focus instead on what I love about the book in general.
Great plot. I say that as someone who’s struggled through some fiction in my time, as someone who doesn’t give praise faintly, and who prefers to keep quiet rather than waste space sharing negativity. The plot is good, has twists and turns without being confusing, and keeps a sense of its purpose throughout.
Humor. I suspect that Karina Fabian is the kind of person who likes to laugh. How else would she be able to write the character of Vern?
Relatable. Faith without preaching. It’s who they are, a Catholic nun and a Catholic dragon…it seems unlikely and maybe even strange, I know, but it works and it’s entertaining. Vern, the dragon, goes to confession and the priest isn’t quite sure how to handle it: for some of us, that might be a lesson in examining our consciences. If you’re not Catholic, though, those are just details that define them, not stumbling blocks. The challenges they face as people…they’re real and imaginable. You and I face them (minus the made-up beings).
Why you should read it:
1. It’s entertaining and keeps you on your toes.
2. At $5.95, you can’t beat the price. (It’s only an e-book right now.)
3. Great writing.
4. You’ll laugh at least twice a chapter, if not more.
5. Why NOT?
It’s five stars on my scale, which makes it something I highly recommend and share all around.
It’s available as an e-book right now. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Here’s a sampling from the book, read by Karina Fabian herself. And it’s a great scene she chose to share.
The book tour calendar is full of interesting stops…check it out and learn more about it.
Interested in the DragonEye, P.I. series? It has its own website, with new stories, a newsletter, and more!
You could have never told me I would enjoy history, not after I suffered through high school history and negotiated my way out of any history in college. It wasn’t until my husband convinced me to read The Frontiersmen a few years ago that I started to think of history as a story.
And hey! I love a good story, whether it’s true or not!
In the present case, I have the Patheos Book Club to thank for the book I just finished last weekend, The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation, by Jon M. Sweeney.
It feels, at first, like you get the whole story in the title, but the fact that the title can be so explicit and the book still 200+ pages says a lot for the content.
Or it should, anyway.
It’s a story of intrigue and, for those of us who are practicing Catholics in 2012, it’s a look at how very much things have changed. The characters are full of mystery and the plot’s thick with suspicion.
How, exactly, does a pope quit? And what, exactly, happens next?
The pope who quit, as it turns out, is a pretty interesting guy. As someone with a bit too much of a tendency to quit when I get in over my head, I rather related with him.
And guess what? He’s canonized!
This book is a great read…it’s as fast-paced as a murder novel, as informative as a text, as entertaining as a gossip column.
Highly recommended!
Here at Snoring Scholar, you'll find marriage and motherhood, book talk and rambling remarks, observations and distractions, in the midst of life in rural Ohio on a farm, with kids, critters, and Catholic flair.
Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless is now available for ordering! Read more about it and what others are saying or visit the book's website and Facebook page.
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