Here’s a glimpse at a few of the books I’ve been reading this summer. I hope these short reviews are a helpful inspiration on your journey. Edith Stein: The Life and Legacy of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda I had long heard of Edith Stein, but had done no serious… [Read More]
A season of emptiness: Book Review: Houselander – The Reed of God
When I was in high school the administration used to play music during the passing periods between classes as a way of helping students measure the time they had left to get to class. The song choices were moderated by the administration but they accepted the suggestions of students, naturally, most of the songs were… [Read More]
More Than Preaching to the Birds (Review: Francis of Assisi: A New Biography)
I really like saints. This is fortunate, because I am a Catholic and can therefore experience the fullness of communion with those brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone before us. I have my extra-special favorites and my preferred companions, and then there are saints that I’m pretty apathetic about. For me, St. Francis… [Read More]
Roamin’ Home (Review: “Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor”)
I love conversion stories. As a cradle Catholic who lapsed for a few years, I have my own story of coming to know Christ and his one true Church, but I am always fascinated by the journeys other people have taken to get to Catholicism. Some of my favorites are the stories that came with… [Read More]
Meditations on Mama Mary (Review: “The World’s First Love”)
Oh, May: the month of flowers, of the fullness of spring, of mothers, and especially of the Blessed Mother, Mary, the Mother of God. I must confess that I didn’t quite realize the convergence of these annual symbols when I selected my next book for this column; the Holy Spirit surprises me like that sometimes…. [Read More]
Every Woman’s Mission (Review: “Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious”)
I’ve been thinking a lot about mission lately: what I want from my life and from my work, and whether what I actually do with the time God gives me is working toward those goals. If it’s not, then I am really just wasting time. I’m more than just a cute machine, though; being the… [Read More]
The Irish Struggle (Review: “Flight of the Earls”)
As a Notre Dame grad, I am always in the company of proud Irishmen (and women). Even though St. Patrick’s Day was suppressed for the Fifth Sunday of Lent this year, I managed to wear a little bit of green, and I randomly heard a track from my twin friends’ St. Patrick’s Day compilation on… [Read More]
The Purpose-Driven Catholic Church (Review: “Rebuilt”)
I am a parish employee. Campus ministry works in some significantly different ways than geographical parishes, but for practical purposes (such as when people ask what I do), I work in a parish. I’m betting pretty strongly that most of you reading this either currently belong to a parish, go to Mass, or used to… [Read More]
Your New Catholic Toolkit (Review: “The Confirmed Catholic’s Companion”)
“Now, Lindsay,” you might say, “it’s barely Lent! Confirmation season isn’t for months!” Well, you’re right. It’s not Confirmation season, and except in emergencies, no one is going to be confirmed for at least six more weeks. That makes it the perfect time to consider not only what delightful Catholic reference book you’re going to… [Read More]
When Your Very Own Ideas Are the Truth (Review: “Orthodoxy”)
I like reading. I’d be crazy to have written a book review column for a year and a half if I didn’t like reading. But, in addition to reading, I like getting to know people. I’m an interesting person to make friends with because I have a knack for focusing very intentionally on developing the… [Read More]
How to Really Fight Evil (Review: “Messenger”)
I am a sucker for a series. I love Harry Potter, and I used to love The Baby-sitters Club, and I’m really only still watching Glee because I have a great gift for the virtue of hope and I hope it will eventually be good again. Somewhere deep down, though, my belief in eternity makes… [Read More]
Reading Your Way to Rome (Review: “Rome Sweet Home”)
As many Catholics are, I am a sucker for conversion stories. I was baptized Catholic but not really raised that way, so mine is more of a reversion story, but I even enjoy telling that! There’s something about getting the inside scoop on someone’s journey to God and to the Catholic Church that is so… [Read More]
Beginning the Year with Thomas Merton (Book Reviews and Shameless Plug!)
I’d like to take this post to do a total shameless plug for Thomas Merton – a holy man who has taught me so much that I consider him to be a spiritual father. At the end of the old year and to help me start the new year, I picked up his book Thoughts in… [Read More]
Irreverent Mary (Review: “Looking for Mary, Or, The Blessed Mother and Me”)
People come to the Catholic faith through many avenues. As Dr. Robert Koons put it during his recent apologetics series at the University Catholic Center, where I work, there are “many roads to Rome.” Some roads are bumpy and long, and some are clear forks. Some roads, however, are more like the roundabout in National… [Read More]
The Answer to a Really Good Question (Review: “The Problem of Pain”)
Christianity is a faith of paradoxes. We are alive now, and then we will die (unless Christ returns before we die), but there is life after death. On Sunday, we officially begin to look upon the Virgin who will give birth to a son. By dying, Christ conquered death. Either this all makes perfect sense,… [Read More]
A Proposal to the Youth (Review: “YOUCAT, the Youth Catechism”)
I’m a little late in the game, but I’m also right on time for the Year of Faith: I finally took a deeper look into the YOUCAT*. Released to coincide with the last World Youth Day (WYD) and distributed to all official pilgrims, the YOUCAT was written to transmit content based from the Catechism of… [Read More]
Not So New Anymore (Review: “Brave New World”)
I have never had my heart broken by a book so quickly. I cried when I first read A Walk to Remember (hey, it’s romantic and sad!), and I was upset when Mockingjay was such a lame conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy (I got sick of Katniss’s PTSD), but I don’t think any book… [Read More]
The Other Side of the Future (Review: “Gathering Blue”)
If The Giver blew your mind, it may further blow your mind to know that The Giver has sequels. As if the journey of twelve-year-old Jonas through the frightening truth about his seemingly perfect world weren’t enough, Lois Lowry has spun another tale. The Giver presented a futuristic world with no choices and an oligarchy… [Read More]
The Gradual Road to Hell (Review: “The Screwtape Letters”)
I have finally found some paranormal romance that I like! Well, that’s not entirely true. This week’s book is about the paranormal and does contain romance, though. I will concede only one thing to Twilight and its successors in the paranormal romance genre, and I will admit to two: they’re getting girls to read, and… [Read More]
How God Calls Us Back (Review: “Brideshead Revisited”)
Sometimes, I fail at being Catholic. As I’ve mentioned here before, I try to live my faith and usually succeed, but I am far from perfect; if anything, I am acutely aware of how imperfect I am. The one constant is that I always come back. God is loving and merciful, so he always takes… [Read More]
Book Review: Wool
Summer is upon us and we’re all looking for the next great read. So, what’s on your reading list? For those looking for recommendations, I suggest you look no further than Wool. Wool, like The Hunger Games, takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, but that’s where the comparison between the two series ends. In this… [Read More]
