Posts Tagged ‘reading’
The Extraordinary in the Ordinary; Finding Annunciation in Montgomery and Flannery
Flannery O’Connor and L.M.Montgomery, though their visions are so different, are both writers who urge the reader to awake to the beauty and meaning in reality that is illuminated with signs of God’s divine grace and even further to hear God’s call to us through these signs.
Read MoreTime to Read
As I spread a pile of books on the table at The Roadside Cafe, the waitress was curious, “What kind of work do you do?” She was surprised when I told her I run a national book club for women.
Read MoreIn Praise of Useless Reading
In An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis asserts that there aren’t two types of books (good and bad), but instead, there are two types of readers: the “many” and the “few”. I feel confident that everyone reading this blog post falls into the second category.
Read MoreThis Ordinary Life
Even in Christian culture we have a tendency to magnify the extraordinary and minimize the ordinary. It’s laughable, really, because Christ Himself lived a beautiful ordinary life.
Read MoreReading for Virtue
What is it that enables literature to have such an influential sway over our very souls? What causes the youngest of children to relish fairytales, repeated countless times? What prompts a person to pick up the same well-worn novel and lovingly caress its binding before diving in once again? Picturesque visions of other worlds, the artistry of an author’s words, and the intricacies of plot all have the capacity to entertain. But why do the very best of books beckon to our souls, leaving them utterly transformed?
Read MoreA Horse in the Sand
The mission of St. Frances and St. Jane was as attractive then, in the 1500s, as it is now, “that God loves us and wants to meet us in the ordinary circumstances of our lives – where we live, work, play and pray.” That everything matters. And I believe maybe He was trying to prove that to me by sending me a small horse in the sand.
Read MoreMothering: The On-Going Birth Story
It’s easy to tell ourselves that we do not have time or energy to “take away” from mothering and give to books. What if we’re not taking anything away from our children when we read, when we become more humanly dense? Our kids learn so much more by who we are than by what we say. Perhaps our reading and contemplating, perhaps our time sharing with other women are some of the most profound acts we make as a mothers.
Read MoreBring Love into Your Home
As we begin The Year of the Family, Mother Teresa’s words encourage us: “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.” Saint Mother Teresa How do we bring love…
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