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Friday, December 31, 2010

Book Review: Wild Man Creek

Wild Man Creek (Virgin River Novel)

Wild Man Creek, which will be released later this month, is more typical of the Virgin River series than what Promise Canyon (released this week) was.  Like all the Virgin River books, Wild Man Creek is set in the small northern California town of Virgin River, and it is a romance.  Typical of the series, the hero, 
Colin Riorden, is ex-military, in this case a Black Hawk pilot who was injured in the line of duty (and also in the book, Promise Canyon), and thereafter became addicted to pain medications.  He is visiting his brother Luke, staying in one of the vacation cabins, while he continues to recover and tries to decide what to do with his life.  The heroine, Jillian is a PR professional for a software company.  She works eighty hour weeks and has no social life until she finally succumbs to the advances of the new guy in the department.  Unfortunately, he is after her job, and is willing to cry "sexual harassment" in order to get it---even though HE pursued her.  She ends up on an extended "leave of absence" and heads for Virgin River, where she, along with her sister and high school girlfriends, had spent time the summer before (also mentioned in Promise Canyon).  Once there she settles into a large Victorian house and starts and organic farming business.  She and he meet; neither one is looking for anything permanent, and yet....

I liked this story.  Besides the romance, there is a major sub-plot about Jack (owner of the local bar, and all-around good guy featured in all the stories).  A young man shows up in town, they become friends and then the young man reveals a secret--but there is another secret he doesn't know.  While Jack's reaction to the news may have been unrealistically good, I still enjoyed this part of the story.  

It's a romance, of course everyone lives happily ever after. Yes, the characters end up in bed together, and no, they don't wait very long to get there.   Like the other Virgin River books, we have appearances of characters who serve no purpose in this story and I suspect I know who will be the couple in the next book, but I'll keep that opinion to myself.  In short, if you like the Virgin River books, you'll like this one.  If you hate them, this one is no different.  If you haven't tried them, this is as good a one to start with as any--while part of a series, each of the books stands alone well.  

Grade:  B

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a complimentary digital galley via Net Galley.

Cookbook Review: The Gourmet Cookie Book

The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009


I remember when I was very young, I used to "help" my mom make cookies.  I can remember her flouring the cookie sheets and then making marks where we were to put the cookie dough.  I can remember when I was in fourth grade, I came home from school one day and Mom had the makings for chocolate chip cookies on the table (including a mixer with a broken handle--I still have that mixer and can't believe I ever used it for more than mashing potatoes or mixing icing).  I remember figuring that 4T of flour could be omitted from the recipe as too much trouble, and I remember finding out that I was wrong about that.  Making cookies is one of my favorite holiday traditions.  All that being said, when I saw The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009 available on Net Galley, I requested it.  

The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009 falls into the "kitchen porn" group of cookbooks.  If you follow the Amazon link, you'll see that it is filled with beautiful pictures of  cookies artfully arranged.  My six year old assistant and I have tried any of the recipes yet, and while there are a few that just seem like far more trouble than they would be worth, others, such as the date bars look like they could be whipped up in no time.  

The main criticism of the book is that I like recipes that list the ingredients first, and then give the cooking directions.  This book does it all together--telling you to cream together a certain amount of butter with so much sugar and brown sugar and so on.  I like to be able to tell at a glance if the ingredients are in my cabinet; with these recipes I have to read them carefully to make sure I didn't miss anything.  

Grade:  B-

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a complimentary digital galley via Net Galley.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Review: Homespun Bride

Homespun Bride (The McKaslin Clan: Historical Series, Book 1) (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical #2)

This one was a Kindle freebie, and if you are familiar with the logo on the cover, you'll realize this is the Christian version of a Harlequin Romance.  The heroine is Noelle, a young woman who was blinded in a carriage accident that took the lives of her beloved parents.  She now lives with her uncle, aunt and cousins.  The hero is Thad, a young man she fell in love with years ago; a young man with whom she was supposed to elope; a young man who did not show up that night, and she never knew why.  

This book was exactly what I figured it would be when I downloaded it-sweet, quick, and predictable.  

Grade:  B- (that's about the best that kind of book gets from me)

Promise Canyon: My Review

Promise Canyon (Virgin River)


About the Book: After years spent on ranches around Los Angeles, Clay Tahoma is delighted to be Virgin River's new veterinary assistant. The secluded community's wild beauty tugs at his Navajo roots, and he's been welcomed with open arms by everyone in town—everyone except Lilly Yazhi.

Lilly has encountered her share of strong, silent, traditional men within her own aboriginal community, and she's not interested in coming back for more. In her eyes, Clay's earthy, sexy appeal is just an act used to charm wealthy women like his ex-wife. She can't deny his gift for gentling horses, but she's not about to let him control her. There's just one small problem—she can't control her attraction to Clay.

But in Virgin River, faith in new beginnings and the power of love has doors opening everywhere.…

My Comments:  Fans of Carr's Virgin River books will enjoy this installment, even though it doesn't quite fit the pattern of a hunky ex or present military guy and a lovely young woman.  In this case, as noted above, the hunky guy is a Native American veterinary assistant/horse trainer.  The couple bonds over their love for horses and finds that they both were hurt when they were very young.  Lilly, the heroine, is plucky, independent and loyal to her family.  She is young-looking, petite and in great physical shape. Her best friend and confidant is a gay man.  Clay, the hero, has waist-length black hair, bronze skin and muscles.  

While this book stands well on its own--reading the other books in the series would add little to your enjoyment or  understanding of this one--as part of the Virgin River Series, Promise Canyon has some sections which add little to the story, except to the extent that they allow readers to "catch-up" on characters from the other books.  There is also a sub-plot that is a set-up for the next book in the series.  

If you like romances set in small towns with large ensemble casts, cute heroines and manly heroes, and can deal with (or like) vivid bedroom scenes, I think you'll like Promise Canyon.  Grade:  B

I'd like to thank Harlequin for providing a review copy via Net Galleys.  

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My New Toy

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

Yup, now I'm one of them--one of the folks with a Kindle.  Two of the attorneys for whom I worked decided I needed one for Christmas.  In a lot of ways it is the best kind of gift--something I had been wanting, but thought I really couldn't justify the cost of, since I have review books showing up here every week, and a good library system at my disposal.  Still, I'd see the Kindle advertised, and I'd want one...and then on the day of our office party, what showed up in my office but this beauty.  

I've bought a couple of books, and downloaded some freebies and I have to say I'm impressed.  The Kindle is easy to read, easy to carry and easy to operate.  I will say that the navigation system is a bit clunky, but it does work.  I've always been a one book at a time person but I find myself flipping between several on this devise, but its not like more books are cluttering up my room, or that I have a lot to carry, and the Kindle remembers what page I'm on.  

In order to hook new owners on these toys, Amazon provides some free books.  There are free versions of most classics and even some new books are available free (though my understanding is that they don't remain that way for long).  As a book reviewer I have access to Net Galleys which provides digital review copies, and I've already got quite a backlog on my new toy.  

Grade:  A.
Click here  to purchase your own Kindle and give me a commission that I can use to buy more Kindle books!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Book Review: The Pirate Queen

The Pirate Queen


The wife of a successful (and unfaithful) plastic surgeon has decided to run away from home.  Her children are grown, her husband doesn't need her, and she is tired of the life she is living.  She plans to go to a beach house they own, but to which she has rarely been--usually it is the site of guys' fishing trips rather than family vacations.  Her bag is packed, she plans to leave in the morning, but when her husband comes home that night, he has news.  He has brain cancer, and is dying.  He wants to spend the time he has left at the beach house.  The next day, off they go.

Saphora, the wife, resents her husband's illness, but doesn't abandon him.  For much of the book I didn't like either one of them.  He manipulated her emotionally and gave her little but material goods.  She didn't seem to be able to stand up to him.  In some ways she was too good to be true; selfless, giving, open to those many in society would reject.  

The book is Christian fiction, but for the first 200 pages, you'd never guess--you'd classify it as women's fiction or southern fiction.  However, at that point Bender, the husband, wants to go to church for the first time  in years, and we get to hear part of the sermon.  Later, she finds the Bible the minister gave him, with underlined passages and questions.  Of course, she goes to the minister with the questions.  Still, this isn't a book where they find God and live happily ever after--rather is seems to help readers reflect on those questions all of us will have as suffering and death become real in our lives.  

I enjoyed The Pirate Queen and recommend it.  Grade:  B+

I'd like to than WaterBrook Press for the complimentary review copy.  You can see reviews of this book and others at their Blogging for Books site.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

I'd like to welcome everyone to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.  We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other.  To particpate, go to your blog and create an entry titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.  In it, highlight one or more of your posts from the past week that you believe would be of interest to Catholic bloggers---whether they are posts reflecting on spiritual matters or posts about antics of Catholic kids, or anything in between.  Use that post to link to your original posts, as I linked to the Advent posts above.   Come back here and enter the URL of that post into Mr. Linky.  Finally, go visit other participants, and leave comments!  If you want a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup.

I'd like to thank all of you who kept my family in your prayers last week.  My dad is home from the hospital, and my sister, who took leave to look after him has headed home, figuring she isn't needed there.  My cousin had her surgery, and the biopsy came back negative.  While she doesn't see the cancer specialist until after the  first of the year, she has been told there is a possibility she won't even need chemo.

This week I participated in First Wildcard Tours for two books:  the first is an oldie but goodie--Scott Hahn's Lamb's Supper; the second is a new study guide that can be used by discussion groups or individuals.  I recommend them both.

Have a great week.  If next week's Sunday Snippets goes up, it will probably be on Sunday, not Saturday.  I wish all of you a very merry and holy Christmas.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

First Wildcard: The Lamb's Supper Study Guide

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Image; Stg edition (November 2, 2010)
***Special thanks to Staci Carmichael, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator
Doubleday Religion / Waterbrook Multnomah, Divisions of Random House, Inc., for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


SCOTT HAHN was recently appointed as the inaugural Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at Saint Vincent Seminary (Latrobe, Pennsylvania). He is also professor of theology and Scripture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. An internationally renowned lecturer, Scott is founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and editor of the Center's academic journal, Letter & Spirit. He is the author of a dozen books, including The Lamb's Supper; Hail, Holy Queen; Swear to God; and Understanding the Scriptures. His scholarly articles have appeared in various academic journals, including the Journal of Biblical Literature, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and Currents in Biblical Research. He lives with his wife, Kimberly, and their six children in Steubenville, Ohio.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $9.99
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Image; Stg edition (November 2, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307589056
ISBN-13: 978-0307589057

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


How to Use This Book


You may use the book in any way you wish. For each session I have indicated a chapter of the book for advance reading. I have supplemented this “assignment” with pointers to other supplementary material—from the Bible, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and from other Church documents. I have also chosen, for each session, a hymn whose text is related to the discussion at hand. Singing sometimes loosens up the voices of discussion group members. And these traditional hymns will certainly give you something to talk about.

But my outline here is not intended to be a ritual. You’re free to use the elements that appeal to you and your group, in whatever order you please. You may skip whatever doesn’t work for you.



Session 1


Foreword by Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.


SUMMARY AND KEY POINTS

• This book brings together several powerful spiritual realities.

• Eschatology is the study of “last things.”

• It is important that we conduct our study with a proper sense of the sacraments.


At my invitation, Father Benedict Groeschel wrote a foreword to The Lamb’s Supper. Father Benedict approaches the subject of the book from a very different perspective. He is a priest and I’m a layman. Father Benedict is a “cradle Catholic” and I’m a convert. Yet we converge upon a common faith; and, for very different reasons, we see a clear relationship between three realities that many people see as distinct or even unrelated: the Mass, the end times, and the Book of Revelation.

Father Benedict emphasizes the contrast between his own experience and mine. For me, the book is all about exciting “discoveries” I made in my studies. For him, the book is about an everyday reality he has known since he was an altar boy. These elucidations are not a novelty to him, but rather what he has “thought about the Eucharist for decades.”

Father Benedict also emphasizes certain things that are distinctive about Catholic doctrine and practice. He refuses, for example, to classify the Mass as a religious “service,” preferring terms such as “Divine Liturgy” instead. Similarly, he speaks of his own priesthood as a share in the priesthood of Christ, who is our only true priest.

He is especially concerned with the “sacramental” quality of the Church’s worship. According to tradition, a sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church. Through signs that can be perceived by the senses, the sacraments bestow divine grace.

Father Benedict notes that many people are disturbed by the prospect of the end of time, but he is himself at ease with the possibility of its fulfillment in his lifetime or its indefinite delay.

Along the way, he introduces us to certain key terms, such as eschatology, a theological term that refers to the study of last things. He encourages us to study “carefully” and “learn.”


Scripture

Revelation 4:8–11; 5:9–14; 7:10–12; 19:1–8


Doctrine

Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2642: The Revelation of “what must soon take place,” the Apocalypse, is borne along by the songs of the heavenly liturgy but also by the intercession of the “witnesses” (martyrs). The prophets and the saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus, the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb. In communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the “Father of lights,” from whom “every perfect gift” comes down. Thus faith is pure praise.


Song


Come, Divine Interpreter

By Charles Wesley

(To the tune of “For the Beauty of the Earth”)

Come, divine Interpreter,

Bring me eyes your book to read,

Ears the mystic words to hear,

Words which did from you proceed,

Words that endless bliss impart,

Kept in an obedient heart.

All who read, or hear, are blessed,

If your plain commands we do;

Of your kingdom here possessed,

You we shall in glory view

When you come on earth to abide,

Reign triumphant at your side.


Questions for Reflection and Discussion


1. Before reading this book, had you ever connected the Mass with the end times and the Book of Revelation? Had anyone ever made the connection for you?

2. How, do you think (or would you guess), are these three things related?

3. Is your own experience of the Mass closer to that of Father Benedict Groeschel or that of the author of this book? Or does your experience share elements of both? Explain your answer.

4. How do you feel about the possibility of the world ending? What hopes or fears does it arouse in you?

5. What, do you think, separates a sacrament from a mere “service” of the sort Father Benedict mentions?

6. What will you look for in your study of “the end times”—your study of eschatology? What are your interests, concerns, expectations, or worries about the climax of history?

7. Have you ever had an experience at Mass that you considered a glimpse or foretaste of heaven? Has anyone you know had such an experience?



My Comments: Reading the first chapter above will give you a very good idea of they structure and content of this book. In short, if you want something to make you slow down and reflect on The Lamb's Supper or some way to use The Lamb's Supper as a Bible Study guide, this should fill the bill. It not only gives discussion questions (which could be reflection questions if you are using it alone) but also more background than the original book and some quotes from Church Fathers as well as more resources you can consult if the topic is particularly interesting--though many of those cited are by Hahn.

First Wildcard: The Lamb's Supper

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Doubleday Religion; First Edition edition (November 9, 1999)
***Special thanks to Staci Carmichael, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator
Doubleday Religion / Waterbrook Multnomah, Divisions of Random House, Inc., for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


SCOTT HAHN was recently appointed as the inaugural Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at Saint Vincent Seminary (Latrobe, Pennsylvania). He is also professor of theology and Scripture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. An internationally renowned lecturer, Scott is founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and editor of the Center's academic journal, Letter & Spirit. He is the author of a dozen books, including The Lamb's Supper; Hail, Holy Queen; Swear to God; and Understanding the Scriptures. His scholarly articles have appeared in various academic journals, including the Journal of Biblical Literature, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and Currents in Biblical Research. He lives with his wife, Kimberly, and their six children in Steubenville, Ohio.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $21.95
Hardcover: 174 pages
Publisher: Doubleday Religion; First Edition edition (November 9, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385496591
ISBN-13: 978-0385496599
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


In Heaven Right Now

WHAT I FOUND

AT MY FIRST MASS

THERE I STOOD, a man incognito, a Protestant minister in plainclothes, slipping into the back of a Catholic chapel in Milwaukee to witness my first Mass. Curiosity had driven me there, and I still didn’t feel sure that it was healthy curiosity. Studying the writings of the earliest Christians, I’d found countless references to ‘‘the liturgy,’’ ‘‘the Eucharist,’’ ‘‘the sacrifice.’’ For those first Christians, the Bible—the book I loved above all—was incomprehensible apart from the event that today’s Catholics called ‘‘the Mass.’’

I wanted to understand the early Christians; yet I’d had no experience of liturgy. So I persuaded myself to go and see, as a sort of academic exercise, but vowing all along that I would neither kneel nor take part in idolatry.

I took my seat in the shadows, in a pew at the very back of that basement chapel. Before me were a goodly number of worshipers, men and women of all ages. Their genuflections impressed me, as did their apparent concentration in prayer. Then a bell rang, and they all stood as the priest emerged from a door beside the altar.

Unsure of myself, I remained seated. For years, as an evangelical Calvinist, I’d been trained to believe that the Mass was the ultimate sacrilege a human could commit. The Mass, I had been taught, was a ritual that purported to ‘‘resacrifice Jesus Christ.’’ So I would remain an observer. I would stay seated, with my Bible open beside me.


SOAKED IN SCRIPTURE


As the Mass moved on, however, something hit me. My Bible wasn’t just beside me. It was before me—in the words of the Mass! One line was from Isaiah, another from the Psalms, another from Paul. The experience was overwhelming. I wanted to stop everything and shout, ‘‘Hey, can I explain what’s happening from Scripture? This is great!’’ Still, I maintained my observer status. I remained on the sidelines until I heard the priest pronounce the words of consecration: ‘‘This is My body . . . This is the cup of My blood.’’

Then I felt all my doubt drain away. As I saw the priest raise that white host, I felt a prayer surge from my heart in a whisper: ‘‘My Lord and my God. That’s really you!’’

I was what you might call a basket case from that point. I couldn’t imagine a greater excitement than what those words had worked upon me. Yet the experience was intensified just a moment later, when I heard the congregation recite: ‘‘Lamb of God . . . Lamb of God . . . Lamb of God,’’ and the priest respond, ‘‘This is the Lamb of God . . .’’ as he raised the host.

In less than a minute, the phrase ‘‘Lamb of God’’ had rung out four times. From long years of studying the Bible, I immediately knew where I was. I was in the Book of Revelation, where Jesus is called the Lamb no less than twenty-eight times in twenty-two chapters. I was at the marriage feast that John describes at the end of that very last book of the Bible. I was before the throne of heaven, where Jesus is hailed forever as the Lamb. I wasn’t ready for this, though—I was at Mass!


HOLY SMOKE!


I would return to Mass the next day, and the next day, and the next. Each time I went back, I would ‘‘discover’’ more of the Scriptures fulfilled before my eyes. Yet no book was as visible to me, in that dark chapel, as the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse, which describes the worship of the angels and saints in heaven. As in that book, so in that chapel, I saw robed priests, an altar, a congregation chanting ‘‘holy, holy, holy.’’ I saw the smoke of incense; I heard the invocation of angels and saints; I myself sang the alleluias, for I was drawn ever more into this worship. I continued to sit in the back pew with my Bible, and I hardly knew which way to turn—toward the action in the Apocalypse or the action at the altar. More and more, they seemed to be the very same action.

I plunged with renewed vigor into my study of ancient Christianity and found that the earliest bishops, the Fathers of the Church, had made the same ‘‘discovery’’ I was making every morning. They considered the Book of Revelation the key to the liturgy, and the liturgy the key to the Book of Revelation. Something powerful was happening to me as a scholar and a believer. The book of the Bible that I had found most perplexing—the Book of Revelation—was now illuminating the ideas that were most foundational to my faith: the idea of the covenant as the sacred bond of the family of God. Moreover, the action that I had considered the supreme blasphemy—the Mass—now turned out to be the event that sealed God’s covenant. ‘‘This is the cup of My blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.’’

I was giddy with the newness of it all. For years I had been trying to make sense of the Book of Revelation as some kind of encoded message about the end of the world, about worship in faraway heaven, about something most Christians couldn’t experience while still on earth. Now, after two weeks of daily Mass attendance, I found myself wanting to stand up during the liturgy and say, ‘‘Hey, everybody. Let me show you where you are in the Apocalypse! Turn to chapter four, verse eight. You’re in heaven right now.’’


STEALING MY THUNDER


In heaven right now! The Fathers of the Church showed me that this wasn’t my discovery. They had preached about it more than a thousand years ago. I was, however, convinced I deserved credit for the rediscovery of the relationship between the Mass and the Book of Revelation. Then I discovered that the Second Vatican Council had stolen my thunder. Consider the following words from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:


In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that

heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of

Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where

Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the

sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors

of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of glory to the

Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for

some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the

Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear

and we too will appear with Him in glory.


Wait a minute. That’s heaven. No, it’s the Mass. No, it’s the Book of Revelation. Wait a minute: it’s all of the above.

I found myself trying hard to go slowly, cautiously, careful to avoid the dangers to which converts are susceptible; for I was fast becoming a convert to the Catholic faith. Yet this discovery was not the product of an overwrought imagination; it was the solemn teaching of a council of the Catholic Church. In time, I would discover that it was also the inevitable conclusion of the most rigorous and honest Protestant scholars. One of them, Leonard Thompson, has written that ‘‘Even a cursory reading of the Book of Revelation shows the presence of liturgical language set in worship. . . . [T]he language of worship plays an important role in unifying the book.’’ The images of liturgy alone can make that strange book make sense. Liturgical figures are central to its message, Thompson writes, revealing ‘‘something more than visions of ‘things to come.’ ’’


COMING ATTRACTIONS


The Book of Revelation was about Someone Who was to come. It was about Jesus Christ and His ‘‘Second Coming,’’ which is the way Christians have commonly translated the Greek word Parousia. Through hour after hour in that chapel in Milwaukee in 1985, I came to know that that Someone was the same Jesus Christ Whom the Catholic priest lifted up in the host. If the early Christians were correct, I knew that, in that very moment, heaven touched down on earth. ‘‘My Lord and my God. That’s really You!’’

Still, serious questions remained in my mind and heart—about the nature of sacrifice, about the biblical foundations of the Mass, about the continuity of Catholic tradition, about many of the small details of liturgical worship. These questions would define my investigations through the months leading up to my reception into the Catholic Church. In a sense, they continue to define my work today. These days, however, I ask not as an accuser or a curiosity seeker, but as a son who approaches his father, asking the impossible, asking to hold a bright and distant star in the palm of his hand.

I don’t believe Our Father will refuse me, or you, the wisdom we seek regarding His Mass. It is, after all, the event in which He seals His covenant with us and makes us His children. This book is more or less a record of what I have found while investigating the riches of our Catholic tradition. Our heritage includes the whole of the Bible, the uninterrupted witness of the Mass, the constant teachings of the saints, the research of the schools, the methods of contemplative prayer, and the pastoral care of the popes and bishops. In the Mass, you and I have heaven on earth. The evidence is overwhelming. The experience is a revelation.

My Review

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

I'd like to welcome everyone to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.  We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other.  To particpate, go to your blog and create an entry titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.  In it, highlight one or more of your posts from the past week that you believe would be of interest to Catholic bloggers---whether they are posts reflecting on spiritual matters or posts about antics of Catholic kids, or anything in between.  Use that post to link to your original posts, as I linked to the Advent posts above.   Come back here and enter the URL of that post into Mr. Linky.  Finally, go visit other participants, and leave comments!  If you want a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup. 

I'd like to ask for prayers.  My dad is in the hospital with heart problems and I have some worried kids on my  hands--and yea, I'm worried too.  I went to see him today and he's doing better; they are going to do a heart catheterization Monday and then hopefully send him home Tuesday.  He's in his early 80's and he's the only grandparent my kids have left.  I also have a cousin who is scheduled for a bilateral mastectomy on Monday.  She's not 40 yet and they found breast cancer.  Finally, I've been working on a case that has been in the news here (see NOLA.com and search for Glover if you want to read about it) but the bottom line is for right or for wrong, our client was convicted and this father of five young kids is headed to prison for a long time.  Please pray for him and his family.

With all that, I'm afraid I haven't been blogging much this week.  I put up a couple of book reviews but frankly none of the books were anything special--not bad, just not particularly good.

Sherryl Woods' Sweet Magnolias

Sweet Tea at Sunrise (Sweet Magnolias)Honeysuckle Summer (Sweet Magnolias)

Sweet Tea at Sunrise (Sweet Magnolias)                                  

Sherryl Woods has a whole series of books set in the small town of Serenity, South Carolina.  All feature the Sweet Magnolias, a group of 40-something women who have been friends since childhood, and the new generation, their 20-something daughters.  These two books appear  to be the last in the series and I got them from my local used paperback store.

Honeysuckle Summer (Sweet Magnolias) is about Raylene, who has recently returned to Serenity follow a marriage to an abusive society doctor.  She is living with Sarah and helping take care of the kids and house--except that she can't be left alone with the kids because she has panic attacks if she leaves the house.  Well, the sitter leaves for a minute, and one of the kids gets out and has to be rescued by a handsome new sheriff's deputy.  We follow Raylene as she heals from agoraphobia and learns to trust Carter, the sheriff's deputy.

Sweet Tea at Sunrise (Sweet Magnolias) is about Sarah.  She wasn't physically abused when she was married to a cotton-mill heir, but she took an emotional battering from his parents and from him.  Now she and the kids are back in Serenity and she is working in the diner where she meets Travis.  Travis just bought a radio station which will broadcast in town.  After watching Sarah with the customers he decides he wants her to host his morning show and....

Both of these are sweet predictable romances that deal with women who have suffered in past relationships.  Raylene's ex is truly a bad guy; but these stories made me wish Sarah and her ex would give it one more try.  Both are mass-market romances where couples end up in bed before marriage--even before things get real serious.  However, if you had no idea what a man and woman do in bed together, you'd be no more educated after this book than before, except that you'd know it included getting naked.  Grade:  B-
           

Review: Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods

Amazing Gracie

While perusing the bargain rack at my local used paperback store Amazing Gracie caught my eye.  It is a sweet romance about Gracie, a hotel executive and workaholic who quits her job because she has a different vision for the luxury hotel than does her new boss.  She goes to a small town in Virginia, a place she had vacationed with her family once, as a child.  She realizes that she has no one who is important to her--no family, no close friends.  

While there she falls in love with an old-fashioned Victorian house, which she decides to turn into a bed-and-breakfast.  The only problem is that the property manager, Kevin, won't tell her who owns it (he does) but they start spending time together.  Guess what happens?  

The book has subplots about Kevin's cousins and Gracie's ex-boss but I can't say there was ever any real tension in the book or any doubt about the ending.  I really liked Kevin's aunt, who used to own the house.  All in all, I'd characterize the writing style as somewhere between fair and good and the book as a happy fluffy read.  Grade:  B-

Monday, December 06, 2010

Review: The Thorn

The Thorn (The Rose Trilogy, Book 1)
The Thorn (The Rose Trilogy, Book 1) was on the new book shelf at my local library during my last visit so I thought I'd give it a try.  In my experience, Beverly Lewis is a better writer than many of those who are churning out Amish fiction these days (and she was one of the first to make it popular) but she is not generally favorable to the Amish faith.  Still, I was disappointed in the book and did not finish it.  Basically, it is the story of two sisters, both raised Amish.  Rose is the dutiful daughter who has been caring for her invalid mother.  She skipped her running around years and joined the church as soon as she was able.  In this book there are two men in her life.  One was adopted as a preteen by the local bishop.  He follows most, but not all of the Amish rules and his heart isn't in it.  He doesn't really feel like he belongs.  He and Rose are just friends, but she is one of his only friends in the community.  The other man in Rose's life is a nice Amish guy.  Who will get the girl?

Rose's sister is Hannah, otherwise known as Hen.  She eloped with and "English" guy who wants nothing to do with the Amish lifestyle.  She had pulled away from her family, even though they were willing to see her--she left the faith before she joined the church so that was acceptable.  She was happy living the normal American life until she had a child.  Now she dislikes the effect of popular culture on her child and wants to return to the Amish lifestyle.  This causes problems with her husband and they separate.   

If you read the summary for the next book in the trilogy, The Judgment (The Rose Trilogy, Book 2) you'll find that after 300 pages in the first book, the second book is about the exact same thing--the same two guys for Rose and Hen is still separated from her husband.  I found the book tiresome and could see that it wasn't going anywhere.  I don't mind authors recycling characters or settings in later books, but PLEASE finish a story in a book.  Grade:  D