The path to Hell is paved with good intentions.
I don’t get that.
It seems to me that good intentions ought to be worth more than a ticket to Hell.
Having said that, I definitely get that the good intentions I have for any number of things can always be a hellish path.
Exercise comes immediately to mind. As does dieting and just keeping fit and well at 53 years old. I am filled with good intentions, but turning those passive good intentions into successful achievements is another...
In 2005, Harvard scholar Stephen Greenblatt published a wonderful book on Shakespeare called “Will in the World.” Witty, insightful and surprising, it caused thousands of people, including your humble scribe, to look at the Bard with new eyes. Thus it was with great anticipation that I opened my copy of Greenblatt’s latest “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern.” Like its forebear, this new book is indeed lively, intelligent and fun to read, but as I moved through it I grew...
Few authors truly succeed in transporting their reader to another environment while portraying the positive and the negative in equal lights. James Michener, however, rises to this challenge and excels in his portrayal of post-WWII Afghanistan in this an unassuming novel most likely to be found in a used book shop. I picked the book up from a box of abandoned books in desperation for something to read and I have been forever changed by the experience.
“Caravans” features a young...
Book written by: Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel
C.F.R. Cincinnati, Ohio : Servant Books, 2010. 159 pages. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-86716-984-3. $13.99
In his entertaining and inspiring book, Fr. Benedict Groeschel presents 30 people who have impacted his life. While readers will recognize several influential people – such as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Angelica, and cardinal archbishops of New York City – others are not as well-known to the public.
For each person, Fr. Groeschel...
Book written by: Mike Aquilina
Charlotte, NC: Saint Benedict Press, 2010, 388 pages, Imitation Leather, $44.95, ISBN: 1935302353.
Mike Aquilina has staked a pretty good claim to being the unofficial family historian of the Catholic Church.
His 20 or so books — from the essential trilogy, “The Fathers of the Church,” (1999), “The Way of the Fathers” (2000) and “The Mass of the Early Christians” (2001), to “Signs and Mysteries” (2008), “Angels of God” (2009) and “Roots...
Book written by: Archbishop Jose H. Gomez
Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2009), 233 pages, Hardback, $12.95 ISBN: 1592766803
Archbishop Jose Gomez, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles, has written a brilliant and inspiring book, “Men of Brave Heart,” about the role of the virtue of courage in the life of priests.
He places his discussion within the context how the virtue of courage was understood in Greek and Roman culture and how that understanding was transformed by...
Edmisten, Karen. Cincinnati, Ohio : Servant Books, 2010. 133 pages. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-86716-937-9. $12.99.
There have been several books offering one minute meditations published over the years, but this one is one of the best.
In her introduction she writes why she wrote this book: to help Catholics and non-Catholics to get to know Mary better. Mary will lead a person to her Son, Jesus.
"Through the Year with Mary: 365 Reflections" is devoted to Mary, the Mother of God, and Edmisten...
Doig, Ivan. Harcourt, Inc. Orlando, 2006. 978-0-15-101237-4
Told through the eyes of a child on the brink of manhood, the tale takes shape on the windswept plains of a Montana dryland farming community. Paul Milliron and his brothers have just lost their mother. Their father, a brilliant man and terrible cook, is trying to be everything he can for his family. Enticed by a want ad that claims, “Can’t cook but doesn’t bite,” he brings a housekeeper into his family’s life and a slew...
Book written by: Nolan, Charles E.
Photographs by: Frank J. Methe
Baton Rouge, La. : Louisiana State University Press, 2010. 134 pages. Hardback. ISBN 9778-0-8071-3682-9. $39.95.
The word “beautiful” is the only way to describe the awe-inspiring photos in this book.
The author of the text, Charles Nolan, is the retired archivist of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and a retired adjunct professor of historical and pastoral theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. The...
Book written by: Mike Aquilina
Cincinnati : Servant Books, 2010. 133 pages. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-86716-938-6. $13.99.
Mike Aquilina’s book dives into the Church’s teachings on various topics such as: the Eucharist, abortion, the papacy, marriage, sex, purgatory, etc. Drawing on the teachings of the Church Fathers, as well as Scripture, the author explains how many of the Church’s teachings today are the same ones that the early Church established thousands of years...
