The overall theme of this book is self-donation. The book opens with a brief discussion of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, and how understanding the body and the concept of self-donation sets Catholic parenting apart from say, secular or Protestant parenting. The Popcaks make it abundantly clear that what they’re writing is not the ONLY way to be a Catholic parent, but rather what they feel is the most effective way to pass on the Faith and train children’s wills and characters (as opposed to breaking wills).

The first part of the book focuses on the family, self-donation, everyone’s favorite – discipline – overall, creating a loving environment for children to thrive in. The second part is discusses five phases of childhood: infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood, school-age childhood, and the lovely teenage years. The third part talks about everything from TV and Internet use to helping Dad stay involved and even relating how important your marriage is to your kids (after all, it IS where they learn what marriage is all about).

Without giving it ALL away, it becomes very obvious why Dr. Bill Sears and his wife, Martha wrote the foreward to the book. I especially enjoyed the forward because the Sears discuss how they returned to the Church – and why they left in the first place.

While the Popcaks reiterate (over and over) that what they write is not the ONLY way to parent; some times I felt like there was a subtle undercurrent of “all other ways FAIL HORRIBLY”. It wasn’t enough to turn me off to the book, but rather help me confront why I was thinking that – bad wording? Do I need to do some discernment about what he’s presenting? Or do I just need to take some things with a grain of salt (I think it’s a combination of all three, really).

I did find a lot of help in the discipline chapters, especially as we start delving into the joys of toddlerhood with Elise. I’ve picked up some tips and tricks to more effectively guide her that are developmentally appropriate, as well as learning just what is developmentally normal for someone her age.

Most importantly, this book inspired me to be more self-donative to both kids and to Greg, as well. I’ve already noticed a drastic change in the household, in how the kids and Greg react and that self-donation feeds self-donation. I highly recommend it to parents, from those whose babies are still in utero to those whose kids are in the throws of teenagehood.

This review was written as part of the Catholic books reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Parenting With Grace, 2nd Edition. I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Rather than be a book of “LOOK AT THOSE PROTESTANTS!”, it’s a book of “Let’s unpack Sacred Scripture and talk about what’s going on in it.” I liked that both Catholic misconceptions of Protestant ideas and Protestant misconceptions of Catholic ideas were presented and discussed. I also thoroughly enjoyed his treatment of TULIP (the points of Calivinism)(okay, his chapter on TULIP was my favorite part of the book). Not only did he discuss what TULIP was all about, but also where and how Catholicism agreed with some parts of TULIP (a shocker to me and Greg, definitely).

There are some apologetics in this book, but I would not classify it as SOLELY apologetics material. There are also some thicker parts of the book – particularly where he discusses salvation in all its forms – that I think I will need to re-read in order to fully understand what he is going for. The prospect of re-reading this book doesn’t make me moan or groan; rather I look forward to it because I’ve already learned a bunch from it, and much more will be learned on subsequent re-readings.

He closes his book discussing the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation – something I came across when I was studying the Church but never had the time to read. I knew the “Cliff notes” of the Joint Declaration but learned so much more about the Joint Declaration and what it means for Catholics and Lutherans. I plan on bringing up the Joint Declaration with my mom, not to beat her over the head with it but rather as a “hey, check out what I learned!” sharing of information bonanza.

There’s also a handy glossary of terms in the back of the book (which absolutely answered my question, “What does he mean by ____ again?” Over the years I’ve learned how critically important it is to ensure everyone is operating under the same definition of words, especially in discussing aspects of the Faith.

Considering the topics of salvation and justification could (and have) be discussed for ever; I think Mr. Akin did a stunning job on making the topics accessible without watering them down or glossing over certain aspects of them.

This review was written as part of the Catholic books reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Salvation Controversy. I received nothing but a free copy of the book in exchange for my opinion of it.

What still intrigues me the most about Fr. Groeschel is that he is a psychologist. And a monk. I figured that if anyone would have a more intimate view of the things that can happen in people’s minds that could hinder their growth in the Faith (for me, depression and anxiety), it would be him. His book is not about “if you have X, here’s how you grow in your Faith.” The book was broken into three parts: Faith in God, Faith in Christ, and Faith in the Church before moving on to how to grow in Faith. He touches base on reasons WHY to have Faith – very much to the point (if you’re like me and when feeling particularly down, you don’t want to wade through oodles of fluff to get to the point).

In his discussion on how to grow in Faith, he talks about how there are different kinds of Faith – that it’s not one-size fits all. Some people are struggling with their Faith. Others are gliding right along. Some are right in the middle. Some have no Faith. Some are losing theirs. He mentions something for everyone in that regard, and that’s something I appreciate. I know I can revisit this book during periods of darkness and dryness and find something that speaks to me in that particular situation. Something I can relate to.

I’m not sure if Fr. Groeschel meant it, but this book would be a great little apologetics manual, at least in terms of the reasons why we have Faith in God, Jesus, and the Church in the first place. It’s a small book and could easily be tucked into a pocket or a purse if need be. I’d recommend this book for people who are struggling (especially in light of the scandals), people without Faith who are curious about what Christians (specifically, Catholics) believe and why beyond, “it’s in the Bible”, and people who just need a little reminder about why we need Faith.

This review was written as part of the Catholic books reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Journey of Faith – How to Deepen Your Faith in God, Christ, and the Church. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Br. Michael Gaitley, MIC is a “do it yourself retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius”. The “do it yourself retreat” really grabbed my interest, as I would absolutely LOVE to do a retreat. However, that’s just not possible at this point in my life, so this book is (definitely) the next best thing.

The book, despite looking GIGANTIC is actually broken into parts. The first part is the retreat. The second part is rules of discernment of spirits. The third part is made up of quotes from St. Faustina’s Diary, grouped by topic. Finally, there are references and notes at the very end.

Br. Michael wants to drive home two messages in this book: St. Therese the Little Flower’s “Little Way” and Our Lord’s message of Mercy to St. Faustina. I am grateful to Br. Michael for giving me a great explanation of the Little Way that is thorough, complete, and … simple. Br. Michael gives many practical solutions for problems, such as a fear of suffering and writes the most beautiful meditations I’ve read in a long, long time.

This book really connected with me, because the Divine Mercy of Our Lord really attracted me when I was in RCIA. I was able to rekindle my love for the Divine Mercy, thanks to gentle reminders and new perspectives given to me from this book, as well as the grace of God. My prayer life has deepened since reading the book, and I find myself able to recognize when God is trying to tell me something (or just merely get my attention) – I guess I’m more aware of God in my life, and God being God.

The book also has a great web companion available, as well. I highly recommend this book, especially if you think you don’t have time for a retreat.

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 Consoling the Heart of Jesus. I received a complementary copy of the book in exchange for my thoughts.

The book has short chapters, and the voice of Mr. Janaro changes throughout the book. Some chapters are full of short sentences with not much elaborating, others are fully elaborated and explained. Meditations and prayers are interspersed throughout the book. He writes about Lyme Disease, his depression, the OCD – how it affects his life from his job to his family. It’s hard for me to imagine Lyme Disease, but I think I have a pretty good understanding of it thanks to Mr. Janaro’s reflections.

The book is not a pity party by any means. It’s a beautiful song of praise to God for His Mercy – sharing in His Suffering, understanding His Mother, and of course; the beauty of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I love how Mr. Janaro writes about why he keeps going instead of despairing and the truth of faith, hope, and love for the Christian means that there is something more … something beyond physical pain and mental torments. It’s so easy to forget that, especially in the midst of deep or extended suffering, and Mr. Janaro’s book is a great reminder to keep our eyes on God, even in the middle of suffering.

The brevity of the book doesn’t mean that it’s an easy read. It is, in the sense that it’s not a giant exegesis of Suffering and Mercy; but it isn’t in the sense that there is so much contained in this book to be digested, thought upon, reflected on, meditated with – I know I’ll be re-reading it when Little One is born and I’m caught in the throws of post-partum recovery, lack of sleep, and making sure Elise has one on one time with me. I want to loan this book to my mom when she’s recovering from her brain surgery (Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for Parkinson’s, if anyone’s curious), because I know she has had her own set of suffering, beyond anything I can comprehend. I want to loan this book out to a lot of people, really.

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 Never Give Up – My Life and God’s Mercy . I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

While I grew up Protestant, I was a naughty Protestant and never did any kind of Bible study or anything like that. Therefore, I don’t have the extensive Scriptural background that Protestants typically do. Finding good, Catholic Bible studies has been on my radar for a while.

This Bible study is part of Stacy Mitch’s Courageous series, which includes Courageous Love: A Bible study on Holiness for Women, Courageous Virtue: A Bible study on Moral Excellence for Women, and Courageous Women: A Bible study on the Heroines of Biblical History. I like her approach of taking a topic, such as Holiness or Biblical Heroines and showing how Scriptures discuss it. It’s almost the opposite of taking a bunch of Scriptures and finding a theme in them.

There are tons of Biblical references and references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so one can be assured that there is solid Catholic teaching in the study. I found myself challenged and convicted as I worked through Courageous Generosity, as well as finding things inside of myself that may be holding me back from God, or from authentic love of my neighbor. But I don’t feel like I’m the Worst Person Ever, just grateful that I had this tool to shine a light in some nooks and crannies of my soul.

In addition to finding ‘spiritual weeds’, I also have gained a new appreciation for Sacred Scripture. My biggest problem is that I often read the Bible, but usually as a book and don’t give myself time to really digest what I’m reading, or reading it for different meanings (literal, allegorical, moral, or anagogical). So, I’m happy to have discovered how to read the Bible beyond reading it like a book. I have plenty of other books for that.

The Bible study is broken into eight lessons: Courageous Generosity, Sacrifice, Prayer, Family Life (Matrimony), Family Life (Children), Love Thy Neighbor, Work and Money, Evangelization. The questions asked throughout the book have an answer key in the back, which is always a nice thing to have when I’m having those “am I just way off base here?” moments. At the end of each lesson is a short Bible verse to be memorized and meditated on – I’m still pondering the verse from the first lesson : Joshua 1:5b,7a.

One giant review later, my take-home message is such: this is a great Bible study for women who (like me) don’t have every verse of the Scriptures memorized or who like a topical approach to looking at the Bible. It’s deeper than what I was expecting, but not in that way that requires a degree; and is surprisingly uncomfortable at times (finding those spiritual weeds definitely hurts!), bu a great tool to utilize to live more authentically and grow closer to God.

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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 Courageous Generosity – A Bible Study for Women. I received a free copy of the book to review in exchange for my honest review.

My biggest and chief complaint is that Ms. Callahan makes the assertation that “Christians call God Our Mother because God, like a mother, gives us life and love – and also leaves us free to grow into our own strength” (p. 71). Uhm, which Christians? Maybe I’m running with the wrong crowd because I’ve heard that God is LIKE a mother, but never “Our Mother” and I surely have NEVER heard any public prayers addressed to “God Our Mother” like are found in the book. I prefer to stick with Our Lord and refer to God as Our Father. I’m with Fr. Serpa on this one:

“God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are pure spirit. God the Son took on human flesh as a man. He is our only way to the Father. He has revealed the Father not only as “Father,” but as “Abba” or “Daddy”. Why has Jesus revealed the Father as “Father”? Why has He revealed Him at all? Who are we to question God? We can surmise that God is spirit and therefore has no gender. However, God CONNOT be just as well spoken of as mother because He has revealed Himself as “Father”. Does not His prerogative matter more to us than our surmising?

Our ontological understanding has no primacy in the face of Divine Revelation! Our ontological understanding is so minuscule in the face of the Author of all created being that in itself it is laughable. “Father” is not the gender distinction WE have applied to God; it is the gender distinction GOD has applied to Himself!”
(source)

I wish there were more citations in this book. Many times I was left wondering “is this a fact that I can look up or is this her opinion?”

There were some good things however, such as the entire chapter on Mothering (well, except for the God Our Mother business) and the chapter on Working (whether at home or not). I also wish she got a little more deep on her topics. Maybe omitting some of the topics and focusing deeper on Mothering and Love and Sexuality. As a woman, I know that woman’s approach to God is so different from that of a man, but I don’t want to read about ‘God Our Mother’ or just the surface of topics that are important to me. This book was what I feared – a light, airy survey of “women’s issues” without a real depth or substance to them. Ironically, I’ve found books on women’s spirituality written by men a lot more engaging and deep.

If I were to recommend this book, it’d be to people who are strong in their faith; who can take what’s good out of it and leave the rest. I think Ms. Callahan has a lot of good insights that she just isn’t sharing, or doesn’t want to flesh out. I wish she would have.

And drop the “God Our Mother” stuff.

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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 Creating New Life, Nurturing Families. I received nothing but a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

They weren’t boring.
They weren’t over my head.
They also weren’t dumbed down.
They’re not long thousands of pages long, either.

Mark Shea, the author of the books has a very different writing style than anyone I’ve read, and that’s what slowed me down. These books were like having a very animated conversation with him about Our Lady, with him showing Evangelical thought process and Catholic explanation without condescending Evangelicals or making Catholicism elitist. His balance is remarkable, and I would expect that a good number of Evangelicals could read these books without feeling threatened or like they were going to get thrown to the wolves, or made to feel like they’re stupid (because they’re not, after all).

The point of these books is to unpack the Catholic Church’s place of Mary – showing from Sacred Scripture things like the Immaculate Conception and her Perpetual Virginity. He unpacks and explains Marian devotion, the development of Marian doctrine, and just Mary in general in a way I’ve never encountered before. I would put these books on my ever-growing “must read for people who are thinking about converting!” list, especially for people like yours truly who had and still has remnants of “Maryphobia” from growing up.

I learned a great deal from these books – beyond what I already believe and accept about Our Lady. Some of the more interesting parts of the books was discussing the various heresies attacking Our Lord and how Marian doctrines actually reinforce a belief about Our Lord (both God and Man, born of a Virgin, fully God and fully Man, what He has laid out for us in Heaven, etc).

If you’re looking for a great Christmas present (I know, it’s the middle of October) for you or someone you know, I’d recommend these books.

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 Mary, Mother of the Son 3 Volume Set. I received a complimentary copy of the trilogy in exchange for my honest review.

I really had a hard time putting this book down. I’ve never read anything by Mr. Aquilina before, but I was surprisingly captivated by the book. Not surprisingly, it’s all about Christian symbols (the fish, the cross, the dolphin, etc) and how they came to be used in Christianity, and where there roots are, such as pagan and Jewish traditions. I learned an awful lot on the symbols I’m used to seeing, and I saw Mass in a different light because of it. Monsignor has a chi ro on the back of his vestments. There’s a chi ro with a crown flanked by two olive branches in the nave of our Church. I knew that the chi ro is for Our Lord of course, but they knowing the history really helped me see things differently. Interestingly enough, our Church has a TON of little Crosses that I never really opened my eyes to see.

The chapters range from short to medium in length, and I think Mr. Aquilina and the illustrator, Lea Marie Ravotti did enough justice to the symbols without overkill or Deep Overwhelming Theology. Each chapter discusses a symbol – the common ones like the cross, the fish to the more uncommon ones, like the peacock, the dolphin, the ankh. I was reading bits and pieces to Greg in the form of trivia and it’s really astonishing how little we both knew about the symbols around us.

If I had the money, I would buy multiple copies of this book and give it out to everyone I knew. It’s broad enough without being watered down, it is narrow enough without missing the point or giving Boring Details That Are Irrelevant. It would be perfect in an “Introduction to Christianity” type college course, or even a nice “welcome to the Church!” gift to converts and reverts. I highly recommend this book.

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.

At first glance, I thought this book was solely an apologetics book. I mean, the title sounds like it should be, right? I was totally surprised once I started reading the book that it’s not entirely apologetics based at all. It’s about Scripture. And praying Scripture. And using Scripture to give you Light in your life, and hope. Considering the last week, I need a book like this.

This book, I would put on my list of “life changing books”. Seriously? Seriously. The only other books on that (short) list is Archbishop Sheen’s autobiography, the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, and of course, Sacred Scripture. There is so much meat in this little book, but not sending anyone into the deep throes of theology. Patrick Madrid (who I’m slowly becoming a fangirl for) offers short and sweet meditations, applications, and just general thoughts on verses from Scripture. And he doesn’t all pick the feel good Scriptures, either. He devotes an entire chapter to ‘Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell’. Who feels good about Hell? Considering many people think Hell doesn’t exist, it is refreshing to see Hell talked about – with Scriptural backup (ta da! Apologetics!).

Even though there are some heavy topics in the book (like, Hell); I found it overall very inspiring. It’s a tour of Sacred Scripture, without distraction. I want to re-read this book many more times, because I know I’ll pick up so much more on subsequent read through.

Despite coming from a Protestant background, we never read the Sacred Scriptures, nor was it encouraged. And even though I’ve been a Catholic only three years, and have done more reading of Scriptures since then; I know I’m just scratching the surface. This book was a tremendous help for me – and I think it’s good for people like me (who don’t have an extensive Scripture background) but also for people who do have an extensive Scriptural background. The target audience is for the former, but I truly believe there’s something here for everyone, at every level of familiarity with Sacred Scripture.

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.