This Lent I've taken a sort of two prong approach and it has actually worked out really well. I got and have been using the Blessed is She journal which based around reflecting on a word inspired by the daily readings; reading the daily readings is something that had fallen away as more little people filled my home and day ~ and one I'm so glad to have returned to. Often it worked best for me to read the readings in the afternoon and take the rest of the day to reflect and actually journal in the evening once everyone was tucked in for the night.
The second part was a commitment to be intentional about reading about and reflecting on a saint featured in A book of Saints for Catholic Moms. Initially it took me awhile to appreciate Lisa Hendley's wonderful book. I did like the format of biography, reflection, quotes from the saint, followed by a scripture passage and suggested activities; and the idea of spending the week with a given saint. Reading it straight front to back felt a bit dry, however once I went 'off-roading' so to speak and just let the book open at random I came to really appreciate the wonderful range of people the author chose to feature. Among the fifty-two are many I knew, such as Saint Joseph, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Joan of Arc, but many more I'm meeting for the first time, such as Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Zita of Lucca, and Saint Sebastian. Each is presented with attention paid to both their successes and failures. But what makes this book so much more than a collection of saints' biographies are the useful reflections that Hendley includes and the questions to ponder, building on the particular cause or charism of the saint being profiled. While these are aimed at mothers, the author does include suggested activities for the entire family to do, as they learn more about each particular saint.
Another nice feature of the book are the indices in the back where Hendley lists all the saints first alphabetically, then according to their feast days and patronages, and finally by whether they could be considered companions of the heart, mind, body or soul. With so much information the reader might meet the saints in the order they are presented in the book, at random, or according to a particular intention or struggle of the moment. I'm truly happy to have this book in my library and look forward to mining its depths more and more over the years.
Linking up with Micaela of California to Korea
What have you been reading this Lent?
Linking up with Micaela of California to Korea
What have you been reading this Lent?
That sounds like a great book and good for different seasons of life. I just started doing the daily readings this Lent and hope to continue with them later on!
ReplyDeleteI'm so very late in commenting, Joy, but I wanted to thank you for reviewing this book. I'd heard of it but didn't know much. It sounds like something nice to do once/week. I'll add it to my ever-growing Amazon wish list.
ReplyDeleteHow is your Easter going? It's been a joyful one for me, but busy too.
Thanks for linking up!