My Reading List for 2013
Those left over from 2012…
Rediscover Catholicism – Matthew Kelly
Jesus Among Other Gods – Ravi Zacharias
Philosophy For Dummies – Thomas Morris
The Path of Life – Cyprian Smith OSB
After Jesus – Readers Digest
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
…and the new ones:
Introduction to the Devout Life – St. Francis de Sales
Immitation of Christ – Thomas à Kempis
Confessions – St. Augustine
Everlasting Man – G.K. Chesterton
The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Mere Christianity, Problem of Pain – C.S. Lewis
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks – Penguin Classics
Every Man’s Journey – James P. Campbell
Hold Me Tight – Dr. Sue Johnson
I’m sure I’ll end up reading a load that aren’t on this list, but I’m going to reeeeeeeeeeeeally try and stick with it this year 🙂
Meanwhile in Britain…
I have drunk far too much tea already this morning. Watch out…
Five (hundred) Gold Rings!
During this Advent and Christmas season, everyone became engaged or got married.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration…but only a bit! Seriously, there were a lot of engagements. It seemed like every day Facebook was announcing yet another one. During one particular twenty-four hour period, four new engagements were announced!
All this is wonderful news, of course. It’s great to see so many of my male friends, both in America and England, manning up, getting down on one knee and popping the question. For the last few weeks my News Stream has been filled with lots of happy pictures 🙂
As the number of engagements and weddings increased I thought about doing something here on the blog to mark the occasion. I’ve written a little bit about marriage before, but mainly focusing on the theological dimension and the exhortations of the Early Church Fathers. This time I wanted to share something of value concerning the day-to-day life in a Christian marriage, some advice on how to lead one another to Heaven and to keep God at the centre of the marriage as the “third strand”.
However, given that I’m not married myself, I don’t think I’m really in a position to give this advice! So I’ve decided to outsource this post, turning it over to my friends who are already married! I am also going to email my married friends and ask them this question:
As a Christian spouse, what piece of advice would you give all my friends who are committing to marriage?
Please comment below…
UPDATE: I put all the advice together into this post here, Wise Words for Newlyweds.
You know who you are…
While it’s traditional to take down Christmas decorations at Epiphany, it’s true that “Ordinary Time” doesn’t start until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord…
Wise Words on Wednesday: Peace On Earth
“Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship.
Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice. Peace results from that order structured into human society by its divine Founder, and actualized by men as they thirst after ever greater justice.”
– Vatican II, Church in the Modern World 78.