They say you shouldn’t talk about sex, politics, or religion in public. As an evangelization-minded Catholic, I live a little differently, but I do tend to stay away from politics. I just don’t like it. These days, however, there’s no getting away from politics, even when we’d rather talk about some of those other uncomfortable… [Read More]
Peter Kreeft’s “Nineteen Types of Judgment”: An Outline
It’s back-to-school time in the Year of Mercy, so I bring you a learning opportunity. I am a teacher by training (although not currently by profession), so I love learning, and I love helping other people learn. It’s a reflex, an instinct, and the method by which I hope to make a difference in the… [Read More]
Faith in Action (Review: 7 Habits That Define Our Catholic Identity)
I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I’m not a convert, either. My mom’s side of the family is Catholic, so I was baptized as a baby and received my other sacraments of initiation on the usual timeline. I never say that I was raised Catholic, though. We didn’t go to church, not even for Christmas or… [Read More]
Pentecost, Inspiration, and Hope
It’s almost Pentecost! I developed a great relationship with the Holy Spirit when I was in undergrad, so Pentecost is one of my favorite feasts. For some reason, it pulls other people who like to dress liturgically out of the woodwork: we all wear red. Join me on all the other Sundays! It’s awesome! In… [Read More]
How Bad Catechesis Happened and How to Fix It (Review of Msgr. Charles Pope)
You can take the teacher of out of the classroom, but you can’t take the teacher out of the heart. It has been many years since I taught full-time. I still have the heart of a teacher. My work with RCIA while I was in campus ministry was one of the best ways I’ve discovered… [Read More]
Your Battle Plan Against Porn (Review: “Cleansed”)
I hate pornography, so I am a fan of resources for people who also hate pornography but have a better sense of how to fight the good fight than I do. I’m not foolish enough to think that the problem of porn addiction is going to quietly disappear from our society, so I keep my… [Read More]
The Last Stand (Review: UnDivided)
It’s bittersweet when a journey comes to an end. I loved the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was sad to watch that chapter of my life (pun intended) come to an end, but I was very satisfied. I feel the same way about UnDivided, the final book in the Unwind “dystology”… [Read More]
You, Too, Can Discern the Will of God (Review of Fr. Mike Schmitz and Peter Kreeft)
A little over a year ago, I reviewed a book about discernment, decision-making, and the will of God by a non-Catholic Bible scholar and teacher, Gary Friesen. I haven’t run out of things to discern in the meantime, though, so this year, I decided to share some Catholic advice. In the spirit of teaching to… [Read More]
The Most Powerful Woman in the World (A Response to the “National Geographic” Feature)
Everybody loves Mary. If you’re a Catholic reading this on its original publication date, you have recently gone or will be going to Mass to honor her as the Immaculate Conception. (Otherwise, the next page you visit might be the closest parish’s confession times.) You probably heard the same homily reminder you get every year… [Read More]
The Story of the King and His Kingdom (Review: “New Testament Basics for Catholics”)
Thanks to a few years of Bible studies, I could easily tell you that the “plot” of the Bible is the fulfillment of the covenant between God and his people. Now I can tell you that the New Testament has its own “subplot,” so to speak. A few summers ago, I made the trek from… [Read More]
The Art of Preaching and Teaching (Review: “Rebuilding Your Message”)
I used to think I was indecisive. Now I’m not so sure. I can usually come down squarely on one side or the other about my opinions on books. Bumped? Loved it. Wild at Heart? Did not love it. Then I read Rebuilt, and I mostly liked it. I liked its foundational ideas, although I… [Read More]
Faith, Consumerism, and More (Review: “The Year Without a Purchase”)
Minimalist stories don’t usually contain much God-talk. Some have hints of spirituality in their suggestions that you can declutter your soul, make time for what’s important, and find peace in a life that’s not so full of stuff. On the flip side, there is plenty of writing about how to grow in your spiritual life…. [Read More]
From Old Adam to New in 7 Easy Sketches (Review: “Bible Basics for Catholics”)
You can learn the story of the Bible in seven easy stick figures. Several summers ago, I took a weekly crash course on salvation history. It absolutely changed the way I see the Bible. Have you ever heard the prophets or psalms talking about Israel and Judah as though they’re separate places and been very… [Read More]
The Hidden Sweetness of Marriage (Review: Humanum Series, Part Four)
“Marriage is hard.” I don’t quite know when it happened, but at some point, that became a movement. I’ve never been married, but from what I understand, it is, in fact, hard. The problem is that marriage is apparently so hard, and the “marriage is hard” movement so strong, that marriage now seems too hard…. [Read More]
A Response to “Should Children Make Up Their Own Minds About Religion?”
I did not grow up in church. That surprises people who have only known me as an involved Catholic, but it’s true. My mom’s side is the Catholic side of the family, and they’re only occasional churchgoers. My dad’s side is mostly non-churchgoing, and they’re not Catholic. When I go home for Christmas, I go… [Read More]
Learning to Follow (A Reflection on “The Three Parts of Dance & the Trinity”)
I’m learning to dance. I’ve always loved to dance, even since I was the little girl in shiny gold shoes tearing it up at my uncle’s wedding. True story. I did tap and ballet for about a year when I was four. Since then, it’s been all about freestyle. I have rhythm, which helps a… [Read More]
Biography, Theology, and You (Review: “C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian”)
I like C.S. Lewis a lot. He wasn’t a Catholic, but he was a convert to Anglicanism, and more importantly, he was an incredible writer. I read The Chronicles of Narnia first, but when I entered adulthood, I discovered his apologetics works. I love them so much that I have reviewed most of them here… [Read More]
When Religion Gets Real (Review: “Yom Kippur as Manifest in an Approaching Dorsal Fin”)
If I were Jewish, I would still write about my faith. I’m not Jewish, and I don’t plan on becoming a Jew. But I am Catholic, and you can probably tell from my writing here at Austin CNM or on my personal blog that I write a lot about my faith. It’s such a huge… [Read More]
The Necessity of Hope (Review: The Children of Men)
Dystopia is hot right now. Perhaps, seeing how situations that were once born of slippery slope fallacies are becoming recent history, more and more people are drawn to depictions of worlds gone terribly wrong. How bad could it get? How would humanity be saved? Since we live in a culture where many people have separated… [Read More]
Behold the Face of God with a Pure Heart (Review: “Bought with a Price”)
Much has been said regarding the celebrity nude photo leak involving Jennifer Lawrence, among others. Lawrence partly explained having such photos at all by saying her long-distance boyfriend would either look at porn or look at her. Wrong. No one should look at pornography. Reflecting on Lawrence’s statement and reading a post by Bishop Paul… [Read More]
Discernment Demands Wisdom (Review: Decision Making & the Will of God)
I put considerable time into thinking about the decisions I make. I’m pretty indecisive by nature, so I have things like the two-minute rule 1 and the alphabet rule 2 to keep me from being paralyzed by too many choices. Lately, I’ve been considering some of life’s most important choices. My friends and I talk… [Read More]
Can the Old Be Made New Again? (Review: “Restoring the Sacred in Omaha”)
You know we are living in strange times when an article is shared on Facebook 2,800 times yet I only see it because an old friend posted it. I was intrigued because I keep my eyes open for new perspectives on books or ideas that have already crossed my mind. In this case, it’s my… [Read More]
Straight from the Shepherd’s Mouth (Review: “Open Mind, Faithful Heart”)
I don’t really have an opinion on Pope Francis yet. I mean, he’s the pope, so I follow his authority on Earth and all that, but I don’t know whether I like his individual personality or not (as much as that matters). I realize that he’s been pope for over a year, however, I am… [Read More]
Naming Your Antagonist (Review: “Something Other Than God”)
The world is actually quite small. I’m a military brat, and I’ve lived in multiple U.S. cities and states for non-government reasons, as well, so I know a few things about incredible connections. Being part of the Catholic blogosphere adds an additional dimension to those connections. I followed Jen Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary, for some… [Read More]
Playing Dr. Frankenstein Again (Review: “UnWholly”)
I was in middle school when I discovered Harry Potter. I got into it because I heard it was popular in the U.S. (Living in Europe, I didn’t really know much about its actual popularity at the time.) It only took a few chapters before I was hooked. Occasionally I stumble across a book that… [Read More]
Choosing Sides (Review: “The Great Divorce”)
This may be the hardest review I’ve ever had to write for Austin CNM. It’s not my last (unless the Lord knows something I don’t), and it’s not because I don’t know how to express myself here. It’s because I’m not quite sure how I can impress upon you the importance of this book and… [Read More]
A Book That Changed My Mind (Review: “The End of the Affair”)
I can’t stand cheaters—the romantic kind, not the board game kind. (Okay, both kinds.) Trust in relationships is so important that I shudder when anything that purports to be entertaining makes infidelity seem okay. That’s why I don’t like The Notebook, and that’s why I regret seeing Something Borrowed, although I do like Ginnifer Goodwin…. [Read More]
The Rope is Hope (Review: “Delivered”)
As you know, I read a lot. I believe that we read because it teaches us what it means to be human. Most of the nonfiction I read is for Austin CNM these days, so it doesn’t all apply to me. My job here is not just to share what I think and feel about… [Read More]
Don’t Just Read the Bible; Pray It (Review: “Praying Scripture for a Change”)
Praying is hard. I’ll admit it: I find it difficult to pray. Do you? Whether you struggle to pay attention while praying (“Lord, I know I need to—hey, what’s that noise?—focus more”), you don’t know what to pray about (“Let’s see…. Hmm. Am I supposed to pray about what to pray about?”), or you don’t… [Read More]
The Best Nightmare Ever (Review: “The Man Who Was Thursday”)
Sometimes I forget how much I love fiction. History is important because, if we don’t learn from it, we are doomed to repeat it. Theology is critical because we never stop learning about God, even after we die. But fiction can expand our world into real-life versions of what happens in our dreams—or in our… [Read More]
Grieving with God (Review: “A Grief Observed”)
As we near the end of November, the month in which we remember the dead, it seems appropriate to think about how death affects those left behind. As believers in particular, we carry the hope of the resurrection, but we were never promised we wouldn’t feel pain, loneliness, and loss. Theology can only console a… [Read More]
Backing Your Way Into the Truth about Love (Review: “The Love That Satisfies”)
I’m no stranger to reflection. I think my life would be very different if I were not such an introspective person by nature. I can point to a few specific moments when my habit of thinking deeply before acting has actually changed my life. Generally, though, I trust my own thoughts more than anyone else’s,… [Read More]
Much Better than Zombies (Review: “The Returned”)
Please accept my apologies for my unplanned hiatus. My life outside of Austin CNM got the best of me, but I’m back in action now, and I have recently finished one of the most inventive and lyrical novels I’ve read in a long time. Death scares us. It’s not quite as terrifying as public speaking,… [Read More]
Your Intro to RCIA (Review: “Waking Up Catholic”)
The journey to Catholicism can be a winding one. Some sharp stones have been pressed in by years of habit, and some gems are waiting just around the next bend. It can be tricky to navigate the path. Sometimes you want a companion on the journey. Sometimes you just want a simple road map. Waking… [Read More]
Wandering Through Worldviews (Review: “Starting at the End”)
Living in a Catholic bubble can be nice, but I like to pop my head outside and take a look around every now and then. In the context of Austin CNM, that means reading books by non-Catholics or without explicit religious themes for this Catholic book review column. Sometimes that leads me to gems like… [Read More]
Breaking Open Revelation (Review: “The Lamb’s Supper”)
I love learning. That sounds so cheesy, but I really do! My favorite learning experiences are always connected to finding out earth-shattering new information about something I thought I already knew well. I used to think that car turn signals were activated by the car (not the driver; in-car navigation systems seemed unremarkable at first!),… [Read More]
We’re All in This Together (Review: “Bound Together”)
If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll have noticed that I don’t always review Catholic books. This will be one of those other reviews. As Catholics, we are committed to ecumenism. If other Christians are reflecting on beliefs that we share, we should at least be willing to listen, even if we… [Read More]
The God Who Is Just Like You (Review: “Strange Gods”)
I don’t worship false gods, at least not on purpose. Let me explain. I never say I was raised Catholic. My mom’s side of the family is Catholic, which is the reason I am a Catholic (although not the reason I remain one). We didn’t go to church for most of my childhood. Because of… [Read More]
Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – A Review
There are no bounds to Justin Timberlake’s celebrity. Musician, movie star, and all around charismatic figure, JT (as I’ll affectionately call him) had fans running around Austin last week at SXSW with the mere suggestion that he MIGHT make a surprise appearance. While his star has certainly risen over the last several years, it has… [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]
