Well-Intentioned but Watered-Down

Finding My Voice: A Young Woman's Perspective by Beth Knobbe

I was immediately attracted to this book because, like so many young women, I am searching for purpose and meaning. Granted, I am very entrenched in married life and motherhood, and I truly believe this is right where I ought to be right now. But, I am still seeking for ways to live my life in a more fulfilling and purposeful way. Knobbe, a campus minister at Northwestern University, wrote Finding My Voice for young women in the post-Christian era who are searching for meaning and purpose and truth.

So many young adults in today's post-Christian society identify themselves as spiritual, but not religious. In the first chapter, Ms. Knobbe states that spirituality and religion go hand in hand. "Religious practices give voice to spirituality, and spirituality gives meaning to our rites and rituals. Spirituality without religion is empty belief, and religion without spirituality is uninspiring. (p.15)" To be truly spiritual and religious is to acknowledge that all of life exists in relationship to God, and this God became man, a man that reached out to women in a totally new way in his earthly life. This God continues to reach out to women today in order to give their purpose and meaning and love.

The following two chapters focus on prayer and vocation. Prayer gives life to a relationship with God. Ms. Knobbe encourages the reader to push the boundaries of preconceived notions of prayer and to see it as a "lifelong conversation with the one who created us and loves us. (p.24)" We can come to God just as we are, not as we think we ought to be. There is a freedom in being honest with God, just as we find freedom in being honest in other relationships. And, as we grow in relationship with God, we find our true purpose and become what we were made to be in the first place.

Ms. Knobbe also points out the importance of friendship in finding voice and purpose. In this fast-paced, competitive world, it can be difficult for women to forge deep, healthy relationships. Good friendships are based on shared experiences, equality, selflessness. While some friendships are temporary, they all have the potential to make a life-long and positive impact. And what is more profound than even the closest earthly friendship is the friendship that we have the opportunity to forge with God. He so deeply wanted to become our friend that he became man! (p.68) We can share experiences with God in the midst of all of life's situations. He is always there, but it is essential to spend time with him in order for that friendship to play a positive role in our lives.

The next, and most disconcerting chapter is on sexuality. Ms. Knobbe makes many thought provoking statements about commitment and intimacy and true love. However, she avoids discussing the Catholic teaching concerning the most controversial issues surrounding chastity: marital relationships, extramarital relationships, homose*uality, and contraception. These are major issues affecting young adults today, and I really thought this book would propose Catholic teaching in a way that can be understood and appreciated. I am sorely disappointed that the opportunity was lost. It is a pity that a young woman could read this chapter, and the whole book, and get the impression that becoming holy, becoming who God made us to be may have nothing to do with what we are actually doing. On the contrary, it has everything to do with what we are doing. The way we live our life, not matter how boring or painful or challenging it is, matters infinitely. There are times when Ms. Knobbe states this very thing and other times when she seems to shirk this truth in an effort to avoid being too preachy or perhaps, too Catholic.

The last chapter concerns working for peace and justice in the world. Ms. Knobbe encourages the reader to acknowledge violence and all its forms (celebrity obsession, negative body image, assault, por*ography, unfair wages for women, human trafficking) and to work against it in our own personal lives and in the lives of those around us. Our relationship with God is key in this area, since He is the source of peace. It is only through Him that we can have peace and be a channel of that peace for others. Many important topics are covered in this chapter, but omitting any discussion about the impact of abortion on demand in our society seems like a glaring oversight. Yes, this is a very controversial topic, but not delving into it at all is a disservice. When an estimated 43% of women will have an abortion in their lifetime, it seems like this topic is an important one to address in the emotional, physical and spiritual life of young women.

After finishing Finding My Voice, I was disappointed. I can defintiely see how this book could awaken in many young women a desire for God, an unknown need in their hearts for fulfillment and love. That is a great start in the life of any Christian. I do not doubt Ms. Knobbe’s sincerity or good intentions; she takes keen interest in encouraging women to seek God and find him in a broad, Christian sense. However, I find the Catholic identity of the book to be ambiguous. While there are numerous Scripture references, there no references to the Catechism, church documents, papal encyclicals, or writings of the saints even when important theological statements are made (e.g. equating sins to mistakes (p.43) and asserting that holiness is not about what we do (p.41)).

Throughout the entire book, it is obvious the author did not want to come off as “preachy.” But giving the idea that we are not held accountable for our choices in this life gives a false impression of Catholic and true Christian teaching. There is truth and beauty in the Catholic faith, and, in my opinion, there are too many missed opportunities to share that truth in the context of love.

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 Finding My Voice - A Young Woman's Perspective . The Catholic Company is also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

Taking the First Stab At Productivity

I thought that if I write a post about non-childrearing related projects, I might have some accountability to finish, or at least start them!
So, I really need to do a book review of Finding My Voice. I read this book months ago, and it just really needs to be written and put to rest.

I have a just-started quilt from my grandmother in a beautiful cathedral window design. I would love love love to try my hand at quilting and these cold winter months are perfect for projects like this.



Here goes nothing...

Trespasses Against Us

Trespasses Against Us by Christian M. Frank, the latest installment in the John Paul 2 High series, is a breath of fresh air in teen literature. Today's secular teen fiction tends toward the erotic and sensational but does not have much to offer in the way of quality, realistic, and morally sound literature. There is also Christian teen fiction, but sometimes the characters and stories are so clean that it does not mirror real life. However, Christian M. Frank is looking to change that.

Christian M. Frank is actually a team of people who took their pen name from their alma maters, Franciscan University of Steubenville and Christendom College. The initial "M" is for Mary, the Blessed Mother, who "keeps the peace between [them]." This team of people is looking to write books that are realistic, exiciting, morally sound, and geared specifically toward Catholic teens.

One strength of Trespasses Against Us is its characters. The teens in the series come from all different types of families: small and large, single parent and two parent homes, divorced and remarried, permissive and oppressive. The characters have a conversational style that is typical of young people, but the authors do not resort to crass and offensive techniques to keep the reader's attention. The plot is also fast-moving and exciting; it incorporates technology (i.e. texting, email, instant messaging) that many teens use on a daily basis. There are some very dramatic and violent events which may not be for younger readers. But these are events happening in high schools around the country and the team of authors takes on a difficult task in tackling them from a Catholic perspective.

The authors also do a great service to the reader by making sound, Catholic teaching accessible and applicable to everyday life. One challenge many teens face is applying religion to everyday choices. Trespasses Against Us uses the plot and framework of the series (a significant amount of time is spent in a Catholic high school classroom) to connect Scripture, the catechism and papal teachings to situations facing the characters and somce of those situations may even be similar to those of the reader.

In short, Trespasses Against Us is an exciting, entertaining, and educational read. If you have or know of a teen who could use something fresh and worthwhile in their literary diet, try introducing the John Paul 2 High series. I don't think they'll be disappointed.

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 Christian M Frank's Trespasses Against Us.

Pope Benedict's Divine Mercy Mandate by David Came

In David Came’s brief but persuasive book, he shares his discovery of “a papal program” for sharing God’s Divine Mercy with the world. Mr. Came traces the theme of Divine Mercy throughout the papal writings and addresses of John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, beginning with this statement from the first World Congress on Mercy in 2008:

Yes, dear friends, the first World Congress on Divine Mercy ended this morning with the Eucharistic Celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica. I thank the organizers, especially the Vicariate of Rome, and to all the participants I address my cordial greeting which now becomes a mandate: go forth and be witnesses of God’s mercy, a source of hope for every person and for the whole world. May the Risen Lord be with you always! (Regina Caeli message, April 6, 2008).

Mr. Came took this mandate seriously and the book gives overwhelming evidence for the urgency of this mandate. There are many instances of Pope Benedict XVI mentioning and invoking Divine Mercy for a world in desperate need of God’s divine and perfect love. The reader cannot help but be overwhelmed by all of the connections between Pope Benedict, John Paul II, and the evidence for their devotion to Divine Mercy.

A very helpful feature of this book are the sections entitled “Fulfilling the Mandate" which help the reader to put the information into the context of a daily relationship with Christ and people around us. In “Fulfilling the Mandate,” Mr. Came exhorts the reader to receive Divine Mercy, to focus on Jesus’ saving work in our own life, and to leave a legacy of Divine Mercy in the world. Jesus’ command of “go and do likewise” shines through so that the reader may be inspired and filled with grace in order to love all people unconditionally and graciously.

Pope Benedict’s Divine Mercy Mandate is a book full of information and nuggets of wisdom from the Catholic Church’s most recent popes. Mr. Came fulfills his mission of sharing his discovery of the papal program of witnessing to God’s mercy, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Surely, upon reading this book and reflecting on and receiving God’s Divine Mercy, you will never be the same.

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 Pope Benedict’s Divine Mercy Mandate.

All This for the King

Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus takes the reader on a journey of beauty and pain, trials and triumphs. It is the story of Fr. Dave Pivonka’s pilgrimage through the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago, which traverses about 500 miles from St. Jean-Pier-de-Port, France to Santiago, Spain, the burial place of St. James. The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage path that has been traveled for centuries, and it is full of historic villages, beautiful scenery, and unforgettable people. However, Hiking the Camino is not just a travel book; it is an intimate look into a priest’s pilgrimage of thanksgiving for his vocation, a man’s pain in walking day after day, and a soul’s continued search for the God that calls continually and loves beyond all measure.

Fr. Dave decided to walk the Camino as a pilgrimage of thanksgiving for his vocation as a priest. In preparation for his journey, he walked four five times a week, participated in sporting activities, and was careful to traverse many hills at his residence in Gaming, Austria. He also prepared for his journey spiritually by reading about various saints associated with the Camino and most importantly, by spending time in Eucharistic adoration. "I prayed that I would be able to offer God my Camino as a humble offering of thanksgiving for allowing me to be a priest. I also prayed that Jesus would use the Camino to make me holy…as I prayed I continued to be struck by the words “All this for the King.” So this became the theme for my Camino…It should be noted that I had no idea what this meant." p. 9

The connection between the human body and soul and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross becomes palpable in Hiking the Camino. Fr. Dave is brutally honest about the pain of walking mile after mile, day after day. Pain is an unavoidable reality for every pilgrim on the Camino. Like so many Christian writers before him, Fr. Dave explains that pain and suffering can bring us close to God if only we will make it our companion instead of our enemy. God’s grace in Christ makes the redemption of our suffering a reality. “As I trudged forward, I prayed; I prayed a lot. In the midst of the discomfort I found myself repeating my theme for the Camino, “All this for the King. All this for the King.” I soon realized that the pain in my body was the this in “All this for the King.” I knew God was inviting me to give everything about the Camino to Christ.” p. 24-25

In giving all of his Camino to Christ, Fr. Dave also gained many insights on giving all of life to Christ, day by day. Like the day after day journey on the Camino, the spiritual life is a day to day reality and existence. There are times when it seems that we make no progress and other times when we move forward by leaps and bounds. But, even on the shorter walking days, Fr. Dave realized his Camino required a day-in-day-out commitment to walking mile after mile, just as the journey toward heaven requires a day-in-day-out commitment to Christ. "…what was ultimately important was that I…kept moving ahead, even at what seemed like a snail’s pace. In order to progress [in the spiritual life] we must renew our commitment to Christ daily and then become committed to this over and over again. It is a lot like walking the Camino: just keep moving forward." p. 50

Fr. Dave has a knack for bringing the reader right into the action of his adventures. He has an informal, conversational writing style that helps the reader feel as if they are sitting at one of the pilgrim dinners at a village eatery along the path or watching World Cup Soccer and enjoying a beer with fellow pilgrims at the albergue. Fr. Dave is a wonderful story teller who can connect the spiritual and religious dimension of life to the senses; his encounters with fellow pilgrims like Mara, who was looking to leave her pain behind, Pablo and his backpack, as well as the elderly Teresa and her blind husband Anthony, are gripping and full of insight into many dimensions of life.

The close of Fr. Dave’s journey at the Cathedral of St. James in Santiago on the feast of Corpus Christi is the pinnacle of his story. From the emotional pilgrim’s ritual at the Cathedral, to the giant thurible, to the triumph of receiving the Compostela as proof of the journey, the reader cannot help but feel the thanksgiving and exhilaration of Fr. Dave and his fellow pilgrims. Hiking the Camino is a journey worth taking through the pages of Fr. Dave’s sincere and insightful story. I could not help but dream about my own Camino in Spain, but more importantly, I continue to carry a deeper sense of the holy pilgrimage of every moment in every day.

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 Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus.

Wah!

Check this out! I sent my book review for Praying Scripture for a Change into Catholic Exchange, and they picked it up. You may have already read the review here, but I had to put the link up. I'm just a tad excited to be "published."

A Change for the Better

Prayer is an integral part of the Christian’s journey toward a real, personal relationship with God. God gave us the gift of prayer because of His desire to love us and abide with us, but I must admit that there are times when prayer doesn’t seem like much of a gift. On the first page of Dr. Tim Gray’s book, Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina, he cites a quote from C.S. Lewis which grabbed my attention:

Well, let’s now at any rate come clean. Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish…And we know we are not alone in this.

Maybe my experience of sitting down to pray and immediately becoming fidgety, distracted and nervous was not so uncommon. I was stuck on how to move from the desire for deep prayer, to actual conversations and experiences of God’s presence. I knew I needed direction and structure in prayer in order to grow in my relationship with God and in holiness.

Praying Scripture for a Change instructs the reader in the practice of lectio divina (Latin for “divine reading”), an ancient method of prayer developed in monasteries. Through the practice of lectio divina, countless Christians throughout the centuries developed intimate connections with God in prayer. Dr. Gray emphasizes that “the normative way God speaks to his people is through His Word, especially in the Holy Scriptures,” which are not bound by time. God’s Word is personally addressed to each one of us, to the intimate details of our lives. The timeless and personal nature of Scripture “opens up for us the other half of the dialogue of prayer.” This is truly a secret of the saints and their close connection with God. As St. Augustine wrote, “When you read the Bible God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God.”

Lectio divina consists of four steps or stages that naturally build on one another: the careful reading of Scripture (lectio), meditation or a deeper reflection on what emerged during the reading (meditatio), a dialogue of prayer with God where one expresses the movement of one’s heart during meditation (oratio), and contemplation “which is the experience of God marked by joy and peace” (contemplatio). In a metaphor taken from writings by Guigo, a Carthusian monk, Dr. Gray compares lectio divina to a four-rung ladder reaching to heaven. Guigo believed that if a soul ascended the four rungs of the ladder (lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio) in the proper order then the ladder would lead that soul to heaven.

Praying Scripture for a Change is set apart from many other books I have read on prayer because it puts a heavy emphasis on application. Each “rung” of the lectio divina ladder has its own chapter in which Dr. Gray gives detailed examples of how to read Scripture, squeeze out the best parts for meditation, go before God in prayer about the parts of our life that are touched on in the passage, and finally, how to receive the gift of contemplation: God’s loving gaze which brings such joy and peace.

In the last chapter, Dr. Gray adds a fifth “rung” to the lectio divina ladder: operatio (Latin for “work”). In order for lectio divina to “bear fruit that lasts (John 15:16), it must result in a life of virtue. The Word must be “made flesh” again and again in our daily lives.” Our response to God and the movements of our heart that result from practicing lectio divina cannot be in word only. Dr. Gray gives a number of examples of “operatio” in his book, such as making a concrete resolution at the end of prayer time in order to live out God’s Word or concentrating on a particular virtue during the day, such as patience or kindness. Not only does “operatio” provide focus in striving for holiness in everyday life, but it also cultivates humility; in noticing our imperfection concerning these resolutions and virtues, we understand more and more how much we need God’s grace and guidance in His Word, in prayer, and in the sacraments.

Before reading Praying Scripture for a Change, I tried to practice lectio divina with very little information and as a result, very little fruit. Now that I know the “rungs of the ladder” and have Dr. Gray’s excellent examples, I am much better able to practice lectio divina; God’s word has become a foundation for my prayer, my experience of God’s love in quiet moments, and resolving to live virtuously. I know that I am still in the beginning stages of cultivating a deep and fruitful prayer life, but now I have the structure and direction I need to be even more open to God’s grace through His Word and prayer using the practice of lectio divina. If you are looking for direction and depth in your prayer life, spend some time reading Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina. With God's grace, Holy Scripture, and a little bit of help from Dr. Tim Gray, you will surely grow in prayer and in holiness.

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 Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina.

Soon to Come!

Watch for my first book review for The Catholic Company: Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina.