I had books waiting for me when I got home tonight. Ignatius Press, one of the sponsors of The Catholic Book Blogger's Mega Advent Giveaway had two packages at my door today. Here is what they held:
About the Book:
Fr. Florian Racine offers us a beautiful formation guide on Eucharistic adoration that will help us to practice it in all its depth, and with a missionary perspective.
God has made himself particularly close to mankind in Jesus his Son. The redemptive Incarnation of his Son is how God reconciles mankind with himself. The memorial of the Passover of Christ is therefore at the heart of our relationship with God. In the Blessed Sacrament, the resurrected Jesus is really present and acting; he draws all mankind into his filial relationship with the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, following the plan of God, Catholics put the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, and take time to adore Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. The adorer wants to abide within the dynamic life of the Eucharist, just as he desires that the Eucharist transform his whole life. Adoration and Eucharistic life transform believers into the image of Christ.
The author invites us on an itinerary, a journey of faith, in fifty-two stages—as many as the weeks in a year. He starts by showing how the Word of God is made present in the Eucharist, and then he invites us to mature in faith and to be transformed by a greater communion with Christ.
My Comments:
No, I haven't gotten it read yet, even I'm not that fast. However, I glanced at it, noticed that as stated above, it has 52 chapters, so I'm taking it to Adoration with me for the next year. Maybe it will keep my mind where it is supposed to be.
About the Book:
How can Christians really live what we believe as followers of Christ? How can our faith in Jesus transform our daily lives? In simple but profound words and vibrant images from the renowned Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, the doctrine and the practice of the faith are fruitfully brought together to help us truly to follow Jesus every day.
Cardinal Schönborn addresses the basic questions of Christian morality, and how we live what we believe as followers of Christ. He shows how we are not left alone in the difficult task of coping with life's challenges: God's grace is a strong help for us. Thanks to this divine help, good moral conduct is possible— as we see in the shining examples of the saints.
The Cardinal leads from the basic question—What is ethical conduct, and how is it possible?—to the question of holiness: How are we to become saints? Each of his reflections on morality begins with human experience, and then leads into a discussion of the specific character of Christian morality. He explores many important questions about Christian moral living, referring to the teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as insights from the Church Fathers and the saints on such topics as sin, grace, freedom, virtue, conscience, holiness, and more.
"Many Christians today know what to believe but are less certain about how to live a life faithful to the Gospel. How do we truly follow Jesus every day? In this fantastic book, Cardinal Schönborn walks the reader step-by-step through the basics of Christian moral teaching by drawing on Scripture, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The result is an amazingly clear introduction to moral theology that should be read by everyone."
— Brant Pitre, Professor of Sacred Scripture, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans
My Comments:
This book is under 200 pages but a quick flip through it tells me it will probably take me some time to work through, though that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Maid of Orleans: The Life and Mysticism of Joan of Arc
About the Book:
This acclaimed work on the life and legacy of Joan of Arc is considered by many historians as one of the most well researched, convincing and best written accounts of the maid of Orleans. Stolpe vividly creates the contemporary situation in France, evaluates the latest research in her life, and arrives at a highly original and yet completely believable portrait which is also a work of literature.
Stolpe sees Joan of Arc as primarily a mystic, and her supreme achievement and lasting significance not in a mission to deliver France, though important, but in her share in the passion of Christ. By shifting the emphasis from the national to the universal, he brings the saint closer to the modern reader. His scholarship is informed by a profound understanding and sympathy for the Maid that gives this essentially sober work the absorbing interest of a novel.
As one critic stated, "Stolpe succeeds in producing a very tense interest, so that it is impossible to lay it aside until the last word is reached." It should do much to present a new evaluation of the life and significance of St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans.
My Comments:
I live in New Orleans; of course I'm going to read this one. I'll bet my history major daughter will want it after I'm done (or maybe before, depending on what she takes next semester and where this lands on my now huge TBR stack).
Thanks to Ignatius Press for participating in this giveaway. As I finish these and other books I won, I'll post reviews so check back!
Looking forward to your reviews
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