April’s bookshelf has a very religious theme to it as I only read religious books for Lent. It was sometimes hard to pass up the books that came available from my holds list in Libby, but I focuses on religious books. I had plenty to chose from in the to-read pile in my office and on my Kindle. Here is what I read:
After reading Mary Beth Chapman’s book, Choosing to See, I picked up her husband’s book, Between Heaven and the Real World. Mary Beth’s book was written first, but both are autobiographies of each of their stories. Both books also focus on the traumatic event when their son accidentally hit and killed their adopted daughter. Steven’s book is a story of finding God even when it’s hard and choosing to love when it feels like you’re losing the battle.
When I was younger, I read The Little Pilgrim’s Progress and thought it was a very encouraging story for Christians on their life journey. When I was looking for books to read for Lent, I realized I never read the original book – The Pilgrim’s Progress – and checked it out from the library as an audiobook. It was much more detailed and this version included the follow-up book of Christian’s wife’s journey to the Celestial City.
The last book of the Bible, Revelation, is hard for most people to figure out. Is it historical, does it predict the future or is it an allegory? In The Lamb’s Supper, Scott Hahn proposes that the book can best be interpreted by viewing it as a description of the mass. The parallels are striking and his ideas make for an interesting read.
Looking at history by what the Catholic Church has contributed was a fascinated topic to listen to. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization covers how the church helped with science, the university system, welfare and law. Each chapter goes in depth about the history of a specific topic and how the church influenced it – mostly in good ways. It even clears up more details around the Coperniucs/Galileo incidents.
Eight stories are woven together through time by one special rock in Treasures: Visible and Invisible. A shamrock shaped rock that first finds itself in the hands of St. Patrick eventually becomes a key item in several people’s stories throughout the ages and even into the future. The stories range from saints to regular people just needing a bit of help in their lives.
I first came across St. Teresa de Avila when I was in college. I picked a random book out at the city library and it was about her and mysticism. St. Teresa de Avila: A Life Inspired is a short biography about her and it was nice to read a refresher about her life and all she went through and accomplished. She’s quite interesting – she ran away to join a convent and established quiet orders of nuns despite other nuns and bishops pushing back against the idea.
I have not read any books by Billy Graham yet despite having a great respect for his life and his mission. Nearing Home is his thoughts toward the end of his life and it’s a combination of a short biography, how to deal with end-of-life issues and a sharing of the Gospel message. It’s a good read for any age, but it’s definitely written toward an audience who would be around his age when he wrote the book.
First Comes Love is an overview of how marriage and family life is a representation of God’s love for his creation. Scott Hahn goes through the Biblical stories that support how family love is supposed to show the world God’s love. The book is a good reminder of God and the Church are where we can find true love.
I don’t know much about Mother Angelica except that she had a well followed television program on EWTN. Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence is about the last years of her life. Raymond Arroyo knew her from working with her on her television programming and has a unique insight into how she kept her faith until the end. I plan to read more about her soon and would love to watch some of her old TV shows.
Both my husband and I read Revival Rising after listening to Kim Meeder on a Focus on the Family podcast. Her faith is deep and she encourages others to expect a lot from God and see what he can do. She has witnessed healing and miracles and has a deep connection to the Holy Spirit. It was a good book to read during Lent to make me think about how deep my own faith run.
What did you read in April? Share in the comments!
