Be Not Idle

Even if you already read the Bible regularly, Patrick Madrid’s compact volume of Bible verses and commentary is worthwhile. Although he sometimes writes from his own experience or education, he often illuminates the particular verse with references to other passages of Scripture and/or commentary from scholars like St. John Chrysostom. Therefore, although each commentary is brief, each can be a stepping stone to more in-depth reading.

Madrid also doesn’t mince words. When he discusses the ways that the teachings of Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses contradict Scripture, for example, there is no equivocation.

Madrid surprised me in two ways. First, he included not just the well-known New Testament verses that justify Catholic doctrine, but delved into Old Testament passages that (frankly) aren’t in my usual repertoire, such as 2 Kings 13:20-21. Second, when it came to familiar verses, he took the route less traveled. For example, his commentary on Matthew 16:13-19 could have taken the route of “See, this justifies having a Pope!” Instead, he relates the rock to Panius, a looming cliff well-known to Our Lord’s audience.

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 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know.

I put off reviewing the double book of Theology of Her Body/Theology of His Body by Jason Evert. It’s not that it was a long, difficult read. It’s a pithy book. With footnotes, resource, and “about the author” pages, the girl’s version has just 52 pages. (The boy’s version is shorter.)

Instead, the problem is that I read the foreward (by Christopher West) and the Introduction for each book, then thought, “Isn’t this a little theologically dense for a teen?”

In fact, it is.  These books are not the sort to hand to a teenager and say, “Here, read this.” Adult guidance is needed.

But this dual text is good for a parent to use as a tool, or for a parochial school to use as a text.

Of the two sides, Theology of Her Body is the weaker. In part it’s because the Song of Songs is the reference point.  It may illuminate the mystery and beauty of feminity, but it’s still a metaphor. However, the section about modesty in dress alone is worth the price of the book.

Theology of His Body is stronger because Evert is a guy. Using the Book of Tobit as a reference point, he focuses on the strength of Man On a Mission. Evert’s dissection of manipulation and, conversely, the fear of commitment is excellent. He addresses homosexuality also, clearly and charitably.

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 Theology of Her Body and Theology of His Body.

The Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known – it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.

- Pope Benedict XVI, Saved in Hope ~ Spe salvi (2nd encyclical)

Life can seem like a battle of the wills: our will versus God’s will. (p. 80)

Gina Loehr’s Real Women, Real Saints has the subtitle Friends for Your Spiritual Journey. This isn’t a typical book on the lives of the saints. It focuses solely on women, including ones who haven’t been canonized, like Blessed Josefina Naval Girbes and Servant of God Dorothy Day.

It also lends itself for use in daily reflections, both because of the brevity of its entries and their arrangement. Typical entries run a page-and-a-half.  The women are grouped into categories by the hallmark of their saintly lives; e.g. “Women of Charity”.

Loehr didn’t write typical biographical entries.  Most begin with a statement such as “Even when human love fails, God’s love remains” (p. 56, St. Bertilla Boscardin). Entries contain sketches of the women’s lives, but don’t go into great depth; e.g. no mention is made of St. Bertilla’s birthplace. In the case of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the entry contains little biographical information and more reaction to her life.  As Loehr states in her introduction, each entry highlights ”a relationship between the Savior of the universe and a woman who loved him enough to live in harmony with his will.” (p. 2)

Overall, this is a wonderful little book (166 pages) and a great springboard for further reading.  The “Notes” section contains references to books still in print and several on-line sources.

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 Real Women, Real Saints.

The Anchoress has posted mortality rants. It’s a very Irish thing, I sometimes think.

Elizabeth Scalia, aka The Anchoress, was writing about  pessimistic comments about society changing, not for the better.  Senator Ted Kennedy told some friends that when they became his age,  ”the whole thing is going to fall apart”. And Roger Ebert, he of movie criticism fame, recently opined that politicians must work together because “It’s all coming to pieces”.

I was enjoying a cup of tea while I read.  I began to post a short response, but it grew. That happens a lot lately. Sheesh - reading The Anchoress is turning into homework. And my tea is cold.

Anyway, Sen. Kennedy’s “the whole thing is going to fall apart” and Ebert’s “It’s all coming to pieces” are nothing more than mortality rants.

Men and women both have them, but I think maybe women start earlier.* They come when a person starts looking back at the great days and perceives that few of those days lie ahead. Vain women complain, for example, about the unfairness of aging or the birthday with a zero in it.

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Catholic, Reluctantlyby Christian M. Frank is the first book in a series called John Paul 2 High.  Seven teens form a brand-new Catholic high school in a decrepit building. In some respects, it’s a simple story: boy meets girl, boy and girl embrace their faith (and perhaps each other – but this is NOT a kissing book). 

There are also subplots involving a sabateur out to destroy the fledging school, a sinister classmate who is brilliant yet cruel, a gun-toting masked man, and wrestling team rivalry.  And that’s not counting the crickets… which I wouldn’t even attempt with a calculator.

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A Review of Danny Gospel and Odd Hours

Can you hear the Gospel ringin’, ringin’ softly through the pines? Death has taken our dear mother. We are walking in a line; we are walking in a line. – “Walking in a Line” by Grey Delisle, from her country album The Graceful Ghost

Danny Gospel is the first book by author David Athey.  Dean Koontz’s Odd Hours is the fourth novel in a planned series of seven.  So why am I reviewing them together?

It’s not just because both protagonists – Danny Gospel and Odd Thomas – have mighty strange monikers.

Strong parallels run between them. Both protagonists live with grief. Danny Gospel is haunted by the death of his family, the estrangement of his surviving brother, and the fear that his ex-fiancée Rachel died on 9/11. Odd Thomas still grieves for his true love. Both have supernatural visions. For Danny, it takes the form of a mysterious woman. For Odd, the spirits of the dead appeal for justice and, in this particular book, a recurring blood-drenched dream tells him what will happen if he fails. Both men are on what Marvin Olasky would call a “mad mission,” a calling to help others that is risky. 1

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Holy Cross Church in Marine City, Michigan, has the usual Christian symbols: the Cross, angels, a slain dragon, grapes, etc. Other images seem to evoke the area’s maritime history: a ship and a lighthouse in the northern window dedicated to prayer for sailors.

The window depicts Jesus walking on water and Peter, even in his moment of doubt, calling out to Jesus to save him.  On either side of the scene are medallions with boats: Noah’s ark on the right and a tall-masted ship on the left. Beyond the ship is an ancient tower lighthouse that casts its light upon the water (see photo above).

I’d studied the window numerous times, puzzled by the contrast between the modernity of the ship and the antiquity of the lighthouse. I didn’t understand the meaning behind the image until I read Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols, written by Mike Aquilina and illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti.

Signs and Mysteries focuses on Christianity, art, and history. In less than 200 pages, author Mike Aquilina explains 25 images used by early Christians. Some symbols are familiar, like the fish (ichthys). Most Americans have seen the ubiquitous car icons (including their Darwinist counterparts) and Christians know the Greek word for “fish” is an acronym for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”. However, Aquilina explains how the fish comes from the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and ultimately represents the Eucharist.

In the introduction to Signs and Mysteries, Aquilina discusses how the Christian minority of Syria were revitalized in their faith and culture after archeologist Dr. Emma Loosley reintroduced them to the symbols of the ancestors. Aquilina writes:

…Christians who truly know the cross, and the fish, and the lamb, and the lighting of the lamps – those who truly know the ancient symbols of the Church’s doctrines and rites – are Christians who are rooted in the faith, and they know their roots run very deep indeed.” (pp 8-9)

So what does the tower lighthouse mean? It’s a symbol of the Church: constructed from the “stones” of the Apostles and other saints, rising from the waters of Baptism, reaching to Heaven, and guiding a ship (a Christian) by night across troubled waters. 

Signs and Mysteries is a short, pithy book. I hope Aquilina writes a sequel to explain symbols that developed later, such as the pelican.

One caveat: the publisher could use darker print. This book is printed in a light brown ink like a coffee stain. I suppose the printer meant to give it an aged appearance, but it detracted from Lea Marie Ravotti’s fine illustrations and made the print difficult to read.

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 Signs and Mysteries-Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols .

Full disclosure: When asked to pick a book to review for the Catholic Company, I chose A Civilization of Love because I thought it would be an easy read. The author, Carl Anderson, is the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus – and to me, the K of C has always meant a bunch of hard-working guys who love a lot and do a lot. When Chris Cash read to me that the subtitle was “What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World”, I figured it would be a how-to book on community-building.

It is, but not in the way I thought.

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