Seven Quick Takes Friday (5)

Thanks to Jen at Conversiondiary.com for hosting.  This quick takess is a list of some favorite books I've read recently and some not so recently... 

-1-

So I have definitely been on a reading kick.  This past week I finished, I Kissed Dating Goodbye at the recommendation of our parish deacon.  We will be using it to supplement the Theology of the Body for Teens class materials in the fall.  Been a really good and interesting book to read.  It was written by a young 21 year old man who later went on to become a pastor for a non-denominational Christian church, get married and has three children.  The book centers around his decision not to date until he was ready to commit to marriage.  I'm not sure how the kids will take this, although it is not required reading.  We will be using the parts of the book that give ideas and tips for what they should focus on other than finding a girlfriend or boyfriend.  It basically calls for honoring time as singledom as a time for building deep friendships, preparing for your future and strengthening your relationship with God.  All great things I think.  Thinking back to the problems I had when dating, I wonder what my reaction would have been if I had come across this book.  I probably would have taken some of it as good ideas, but probably not have held off on dating until I was ready for marriage.  Great ideas though and I hope our teens can see how it can be helpful.

-2-

Quite a while back, the RN who taught us the Creighton Method of Naturally Family Planning recommended The Good News About Sex and Marriage.  At the time we had not yet learned about Theology of the Body and we were not as fervent about learning more about the church's teachings.  So, I didn't purchase this wonderful gem until a few years ago and have not read it from cover to cover, although I think the only part I have yet to read is on celibacy and the priesthood.  But what I love about it is the question and answer format of the book.  It is something that you usually cannot find in a bookstore and has to be special ordered, but if you happen into a Catholic bookstore, it should be there.  It covers the basics about the Church's teachings on sexuality, from pre-marital sex, to same sex marriage, to contraception.    It is an easy read and as the subtitle says, it provides: "Answers to Your Honest Questions about Catholic Teaching."  There is a resources section in the back that provides listings for things ranging from "For Troubled Marriages" to "Post-Abortion Healing" referrals.  There is also an index so that if you wanted to look up "tubal ligation," "intimacy," or "foreplay" you can quickly go to the sections that cover these topics. 

-3-

Bad Girls of the Bible is a book that my husband bought me - can't remember if it was a birthday present or some other occasion - but what a FUN book to read.  It goes through ten different "bad girls"  in ten chapters.  Each chapter starts with a modern day rendition of the bad girl and then goes through the bad girl's decisions and how it relates to us and our society today.  Each chapter ends with a "What Lessons Can We Learn" set of questions and a "Good Girl Thoughts Worth Considering."  And at the back of the book there is a study guide with scripture quotes to go with each "bad girl."  The first "bad girl," Eve really drew me in.  Quite possibly my favorite part of this first chapter was when the author showed us that not only did Adam blame Eve for his sin, he actually blamed the Lord!!!  I'm sorry, but how ballsy is that?!?!  And of course Eve was not far behind him in the blame game.

In Genesis 3:12 we read, "The man said, 'The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 

And Genesis 3:13-14 "The Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate."  The devil made me do it!!!  The first time of many that God heard that one!  Way to go Eve!!!

-4-

After having learned about Theology of the Body (TOB) in a four week presentation at my church, I was eager to learn more about this amazing teaching.  So I bought Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West.  I was told, and shown through the course of the presentation, that Christopher West brings us to a better understanding through everyday language and personal experience.  I was definitely right in buying this easy to read cliff notes version of TOB.  Pope John Paul II was a brillant man and at the time, I was in no way ready to read his actual 129 Wednesday audiences where he reflected on these important church teachings.  As a side note, it is probably time for me to take a look at the actual text of John Paul II's talks.  For anyone unfamiliar with what I mean when I say "Theology of the Body," basically TOB is the study of God as revealed through the human body.  TOB was presented by Pope John Paul II during 129 Wednesday audiences, between the years 1979 and 1984.  His reflections are based on Scripture (especially the Gospels, St. Paul and the Book of Genesis), and contain a wonderful vision of the human person.  Oddly enough, right after I finished this book by Christopher West and I was wondering to myself how I could help to spread this important message, our church was seeking volunteers to go through training to teach Theology of the Body for Teens in confirmation preparation.  I was both scared and excited to teach the Catholic church's views on sexuality.  YIKES!  But God works in mysterious and wonderful ways!

-5-

At the presenation where we learned about teaching TOB for Teens, I bought the book Life-Giving Love: Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage by Kimberly Hahn.  Having heard Scott Hahn's CD talk about his conversion to Catholicism from his life as a devout Protestant, I was curious to read this book by his wife on marriage.  I read this one a while back and don't recall all the details, so I'm not sure I can give a really great review of this one.  In this book, Kimberly Hahn brings us back to God as the One who designed marriage in the first place.  She points out God's plan for the family as revealed in the teachings of the Catholic Church.  There is an interesting story of how she went from contracepting within her marriage to realizing the errors in her thinking on contraception from an unlikely source:  an ethics class at seminary where she was supposed to study the issue of abortion and create a presentation for teens teaching the truth about and the value of all life.  She makes quite a u-turn.  She covers topics of infertility and miscarriage in this book as well.  A great book for those who are married, or for those who are single as well, covering the topic of marriage and what it means for a number of other important issues we face today.  I may have to reread this one again soon.  There are parts in this book that I recall about her c-sections and miscarriages that were incredible and I found them to be very moving.

-6-

Ok, so the next book I am about to read is The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn (Although I also just noticed in my cleaning another book by Kimberly Hahn that I may read first - again on marriage.  I started reading the first chapter tonight, but I think it will have to wait until after Scott Hahn's book.)  I cannot review this book as I have not yet read it, well, ok, except for the first chapter.  I am hoping that his view and experience of the Mass will enlighten me and enrich my experience of the Mass.  These days I am just finally coming to an appreciation of transsubstantiation and am eager to see how he links the book of Revelation to the Catholic experience of Mass.  Maybe when I finish the book I will already have written or will write some blog posts about things I've learned.

-7-

The Bible is the Word of God, after all, so I would be remiss to not mention the book I read on a daily basis.  I am working at humbly letting the Word of God transform my life.  Just recently someone pointed out that the Bible is just "A story, a book, a novel. ..It is a work of FICTION and not a road map for how to live your life."  I see it as a very valuable road map; I see it as the Word of God.  Most days when I read the gospel or other scripture passage for the day, there is something that speaks to my heart.  It almost always shows me something new I should work on or provides me some comfort.  I'm glad that I've come to see that reading scripture is a useful daily practice and that it isn't just some book.

Weird Pang

I actually had no intention of blogging tonight.  "Too much to do," I thought to myself today.  "Maybe later in the week I will have the opportunity."  But here I am.

Tonight (ok Monday night since it is now Tuesday morning) I went to Mass, the first Monday of Holy Week.  It was being offered for the repose of the soul of my memere and, as I've said, praying for her is something I want to make a priority.  I have prayed for her already during private prayer but I was appreciative of the mass being offered for her and wanted to be there with the family.  So after getting Alicia to take a nap, picking up the house, waking Hannah to eat, then waking Alicia to head out the door, I made it to my parent's house.  We ate supper and off we went to church.

Both of the girls are really good in church, so, knowing that my aunts and uncles would probably want to sit up front, we headed up to the second pew, walking by our parish priest and one of the five seminarians (YES THAT'S RIGHT FIVE) from our parish who happens to be home for Holy Week.  My whole family, parents included, pretty much always sit in the last pew in church in case we need to make a quick exit to the "cry room."  So anyway, after a quick prayer, worried that Hannah would start fussing, I took Hannah out of the car seat and we sat there in the silence as people trickled in.

Since the church was fairly empty, Hannah's cooing sounded louder than usual.  I smiled and did try to hush her a few times, but it wasn't so bad really.  There was a young couple behind me that she was smiling at, and another parishioner she grinned at a few rows back that we know from the Coming Home program my husband and I are a part of.  When Mass started she started looking around during the singing, then during the readings she seemed to want to face forward.  Usually, maybe because we are in the back, she has no interest really in seeing what is going on.  "Well that's funny, " I thought.  Then Alicia came over and snuggled up next to me during the homily.  "Maybe going to Mass just the three of us wouldn't be so bad," I thought to myself.  "I guess I should have at least tried it once during Lent." 

After the gifts were brought up, I sent Alicia down to sit with her memere and pepere and headed to the cry room with Hannah to change her and give her the last bottle of the night since she was starting to show signs of becoming fussy.  I wasn't sure if the timing would allow me to go up to receive communion, but I thought I had a shot at it.  But as I was feeding her, I realized that I wouldn't be going and I felt a weird pang in my heart, a dull ache if you will.  "Well, this is something that I have never felt before."  It dawned on me as I sat alone in the "cry room" with Hannah, that I was sad that I wasn't going to communion.  Could it be that suddenly I realized what I was truly missing by not going for communion?  After all this time of not being sure that I truly "get" transubstantiation, that I actually do realize that it IS in fact Jesus that we receive?

I've been thinking about trying to get to the Triduum with my little ones: mass on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil.  The only thing is, if I do go to mass on Holy Thursday, this may be the first time I head to mass with just my girls.  As I said above, it may not be as bad as I've imagined it to be.  Good Friday my husband will not be working so I'm pretty sure he'll be there and I think that for now the Easter Vigil will be too long for our littles ones, so we'll probably all be together at church on Sunday morning as usual. 

But just maybe, I will head to Holy Thursday, even if it is just myself and the girls.  I wonder if it happens again that I cannot go up for communion, will I once again feel that weird pang?  What was once something I knew in my head, now seems to be transmitting to my heart.  God is certainly revealing His mysteries to me in marvelous ways.

Let's Get More Ashes!

Since our little girls have been sick, the past two weekends I have gone to Mass without them.  I have come to the discovery that when they are not there, I actually am able to focus and pay attention, but I missed them so much, that in itself was almost a distraction.

Being distracted during Mass is something that I constantly struggle with these days.  I suppose with two little children, this isn't all that surprising.  I used to worry more about the older daughter being a distraction to others, but she has been much better and she always sits with her memere, so I'm off the hook on that score.  (Ok, so maybe she isn't better and I just don't realize it since someone else is always watching her in church.  My mom will have to weigh in on that one. She does periodically come to my end of the pew and peer at her sister or lean up against me, but it isn't very often!)  Our six month old usually needs me to walk her around in the back of the church to keep her somewhat quiet.  I try to avoid the "cry room" as much as possible, mostly because it is very crowded during 10:30 Mass, but in part because the kids in there are doing whatever they want with very little supervision.  Maybe those parents are able to focus more on the Mass than I am and that is their main concern rather than whether or not their children are paying attention. 

For some reason, this has me thinking about the sacrament of Baptism along with weekly attendance at Mass.  Now, I know that there are some people who will bring their infants to Church for their baptism and then not be back until their first communion.  Quite frankly, I don't get the point.  Baptism is not just claiming the child for Christ or a merely to ensure that if, God forbid, something happens the child will go straight to heaven.  By having your child baptised you are initiating them into the Catholic Church, standing before God saying that you believe the Catholic faith and will be passing that faith on to your children.  If you are not going to Church regularly, do you really understand your faith?  And if you are not going to Church, why is it important to you to have them baptised into the faith?  I just don't get it.

I have friends who have said that a child doesn't get anything out of going to Mass, but I have to differ.  My two year old daughter seems to enjoy Mass every week, even if there are times where she seems to try to do everything possible to get out of the pew!  She pays attention when the procession goes up to the altar, she dances around to the songs, puts the envelope in the basket.  Just this Lent, my two year old on Ash Wednesday left Church telling me, "That was a good one, let's get more ashes! That was a very, very good one at church!  I talked to Gary!"  It occurred to me that she is getting something out of Mass, yes, even at the age of two.



our six month old on Ash Wed.