Catholic Thought discussion

Hi all.

I hope everyone had a holy Lenten season and a glorious Easter.

I haven't kept up with where the discussion is on the latest read is at. Can someone tell me when it's projected to conclude, or perhaps it has already concluded. When that is done we'll start taking nominations for the next read.

Manny

Treatise on the Love of God concluded during Holy Week. We are ready for a new book.

Irene wrote: "Treatise on the Love of God concluded during Holy Week. We are ready for a new book."

Great. I don't know how Susan Margret would gather nominations for books. How about we use this post to submit nominations and when I get about I'll put them into a poll. Is this the turn for an inexpensive ebook or is this open for any book?

I think we are at "open to any book" time. Francis de Sales was one we could get free on line.

Oh good. Let me nominate one. As I've said somewhere, I would love to read something by Hildegard of Bigen. I'm only going to nominate one, but I can't decide which is the best of these two to choose. Either Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church: A Spiritual Reader or Selected Writings. The first book is about $17 on Amazon while the second is just over $10. I was leaning toward the second one because I think it included more of her writing for less cost but the first has a little ore of her bio. Let me know if one or the other grabs someone else and I'll officially nominate that one, otherwise i'll nominate the second.

Ooo Hildagard would be a great read. I find those Medieval mystics fascinating

Hildegard von Bingen is a great idea!

Here are a few books that may be of interest:

“What Christ Saw from the Cross” ASIN: B00916N53I, by A. G. Sertillanges, O.P.

I have just started so have little to say but it is receiving very good reviews.

“The Intellectual Life, It’s Spirit, Conditions, and Methods” ISBN: 9780813206462, by
A. G. Sertillanges, O.P.

I am nearing the finish of this five star read. It requires a slow, close read. It is very enjoyable; I recommend it to all even if we don’t read it as a group. In fact it would probably be a difficult group read; well worth it but long.

“Seeking God, the Way of St. Benedict” ISBN: 9780814613887, by Esther de Waal.

A short read (154 pages) but very worthwhile. Her view of the monastic way offers all of us significant ways to simplify life and to better relate to those around us. Written by a non-cleric and non-Catholic her observations are some of the best I have ever read. She gets it.

"From Sinners to Saints, A guide to Understanding the Sacrament of Reconciliation" by Kurt Stasiak OSB. ISBN: 9780809148950.

A very short read (84 pages) but very fitting for our time when people are ignoring this very key sacrament.

I hope these provide food for thought.

Esther de Waal is a great author on monasticism.

Oh I read What Jesus Saw from the Cross this Lent and I posted somewhere on it. It was outstanding. But I think people should save that for next Lent. It was the perfect read during Lent.

I'm glad you recommend The Intellectual Life. After reading Sertillanges' What Jesus Saw from the Cross, that has gone on my to read list. But i don't know if that will suit the rest of the book club.

I guess I'm going to nominate Hildagard of Bigen: Selected Writings. I just noticed we have a Nominations thread. Let me see if I can move this over. If not, I'll start a new thread over there to capture our nominations.

I did it. This post is now under nominations. I guess I have more computer skills than I give myself credi for. ;)

How about we go to May 15th accepting nominations, and I'll set up a poll for a vote subsequent to that.

Mike - Did you want to nominate all those books? We should limit nominations to one per person.

Manny wrote: "I did it. This post is now under nominations. I guess I have more computer skills than I give myself credi for. ;)

How about we go to May 15th accepting nominations, and I'll set up a poll for a v..."

I agree with one nomination per person, from that shopping list I will nominate "Seeking God, the Way of St. Benedict” ISBN: 9780814613887, by Esther de Waal.

With all of the discussions regarding the Benedict option we may as well look at what Benedict set up centuries ago, plus the poll will have a choice.

I also like Hildagard of Bigen.

Mike wrote: "With all of the discussions regarding the Benedict option we may as well look at what Benedict set up centuries ago"

Yes! I was even thinking about picking up Rod Drehr's The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation but maybe another time. Whenever I come across the Benedict Option on the internet and I have a place to comment I have been replying that the better option would be the Dominican Option. I am such a Dominican at heart. ;)

So currently we have two books nominated:

Selected Writings
and
Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict

Two great choices. I am going to find it hard to decide.

Great idea Loretta. I hadn't thought about that. Do you want to pick one? I think I have the McGlynn book somewhere already but go by whichever you think is the more interesting read.

Thank you for bringing this group out of a hiatus Manny. I have a great wish that people who nominate books here do read them or perhaps if you have read them already please participate in the discussion. You show a great deal of understanding and consideration Manny why it is not so. Also please nominate only one book, not a string of books and then we hardly hear from you again. Since I joined this group two years ago I always read the selection voted on because I came here to get recommendations on good Catholic books to read and have found them. I would like to nominate “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales because it’s offers some great insights into furthering a spiritual journey.

Introduction to the Devout Life is another great option. I read that one about 30 years ago. It is probably time for a re-read.

OK, so far we have four nominations:

1) Selected Writings (of Hildagard of Bigen)

2) Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict

3) Vision of Fatima

4) Introduction to the Devout Life

I know I have Introduction to the Devout Life by Francis de Sales . I was in the same book as Treatise on the Love of God . Selected Writings I haven't read.

Do we have enough choices for a poll?

Kristen wrote: "Do we have enough choices for a poll?"

I guess we do. I'll set the poll before the 15th. When would you say we're ready?

Maybe we should select out of the four great choices we have? I for one would be ready to start reading any time.

Kristen wrote: "Maybe we should select out of the four great choices we have? I for one would be ready to start reading any time."

Let's wait through the weekend for any last minute nominations and then I'll set up a poll on Monday. One week to vote; one week to acquire the book. We could start in two weeks.

Excellent!

Another option is to require that the person nominating a book also lead the discussion if that book wins the vote. This would ensure that only those serious about participating in a read actually nominate a book.

Good ideas. I'll send out a mass note to the group tonight. Yes I've seen that too Loretta. I'll lead the discussion. I've now done it a couple of times and people seem to like the way I do it.

"I'm not a leader, I'm a reader" !!

I love that line. :)

Have any of you (or your parish) discovered Formed.org? Great website filled with Catholic resources. I only bring this up as I recently downloaded Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer by Thomas Dubay which would be an excellent read for a shorter book study, or even this one.

Andy wrote: "Have any of you (or your parish) discovered Formed.org? Great website filled with Catholic resources. I only bring this up as I recently downloaded Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer by Thomas Dubay which..."

My parish has connected with Formed.Org in the recent weeks.

Andy my parish has posted on Formed in the Sunday bulletin but I have not gone over to it. I really know very little about it. I'll have to check it out.

Andy wrote: "Have any of you (or your parish) discovered Formed.org? Great website filled with Catholic resources. I only bring this up as I recently downloaded Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer by Thomas Dubay which..."

Our parish has it, and I haven't really dug into it yet. It has a lot of Lighthouse stuff. Since I took care of the Lighthouse kiosk in our previous parish I know most of the titles (and I have kept up with what they are publishing since then). These alone are worthwhile to go on the website. And since Lighthouse has merged with the Augustine Institute there are fewer single CD titles published each month, but the quality of the talks have improved. I have yet to encounter a new CD that's just middlin.

I just looked at formed.org and it looks as if it has a wealth of information. Unfortunately, the subscription price is beyond the budget of our parish.

So how does it work? If you're parish is subscribed, then it's free to the parishioners? If you're parish is not, then you have to pay for it?

Hmm, that is interesting. thanks Loretta. Out of curiosity, how much is the subscription price Irene?

According to their website, an individual subscription is $9.99 per month and a parish subscription is $159.99 (or was it $169.99) per month.

Loretta wrote: "Manny wrote: "So how does it work? If you're parish is subscribed, then it's free to the parishioners? If you're parish is not, then you have to pay for it?"

That's how I'm reading it Manny."
I think that's how it is with our parish.
They gave out a password for parishioners to subscribe for free,

Thank you all. $169 per month is a bit pricey for a parish, though not excessive. I guess it depends what's available on the site. If it's only what's available at Lighthouse, I would say it's not worth it. I'll have to see what my parish does.

Stay tuned, I will put up our poll for the next read in a little while.

I got the poll up. Let me know if it went up correctly.

Loretta wrote: "Manny wrote: "I got the poll up. Let me know if it went up correctly."

Yes it did and I voted! Thanks Manny! 🙂"

Great.

For some strange reason, when I clicked on my choice in the pole, I did not get the star next to the title I have gotten in the past. Instead, it just took me to the book's FB page. So, I do not know if my vote registered.

Irene wrote: "For some strange reason, when I clicked on my choice in the pole, I did not get the star next to the title I have gotten in the past. Instead, it just took me to the book's FB page. So, I do not kn..."

FYI Irene. I see 11 votes in the poll but not your name among them. My voting was a bit confusing too but I am in it.

Still can't get it to work on my end. Can't figure it out. But, can I cast my vote for Selected Writings?

Irene wrote: "Still can't get it to work on my end. Can't figure it out. But, can I cast my vote for Selected Writings?"

I don't know what to say or do Irene. Keep trying and if it doesn't take I will count it as such.

Thank you

Manny wrote: "Thank you all. $169 per month is a bit pricey for a parish, though not excessive. I guess it depends what's available on the site. If it's only what's available at Lighthouse, I would say it's not ..."

It's much more than just Lighthouse. Movies, books, instructional series such as Symbolon, Beloved, Lectio, et. al. I'll get back to you later with a more comprehensive list.

Kerstin wrote: "Manny wrote: "Thank you all. $169 per month is a bit pricey for a parish, though not excessive. I guess it depends what's available on the site. If it's only what's available at Lighthouse, I would..."
Thank you Kerstin.

Manny wrote: "Irene wrote: "Still can't get it to work on my end. Can't figure it out. But, can I cast my vote for Selected Writings?"

I don't know what to say or do Irene. Keep trying and if it doesn't take I ..."

I checked on the moderators help site and found nothing regarding any similar problem with voting. I am not all that proficient with internet searches but tried several different approaches.

For now I think manually adding one to the total is the fastest way around this.

Manny wrote: "Kerstin wrote: "Manny wrote: "Thank you all. $169 per month is a bit pricey for a parish, though not excessive. I guess it depends what's available on the site. If it's only what's available at Lig..."

Here is a run-down of the topics. It is quite comprehensive, so I won't mention all specific titles.

'Study' tab:
Augustine Institute Originals: Symbolon, Divine Mercy
Opening the Word: videos on Sunday readings
Discover the Catholic Faith: Bishop Barron's Catholicism Series, Echo, The Bible and Mary, and more
Hearts Afire Parish Programs: 33 Days to Morning Glory, et. al.
Sacramental Preparation: Beloved, Forgiven, etc.
Bible Studies: Lectio series
Current Topics
Youth Y/Disciple: a bunch of stuff
Spanish titles

Watch tab:
a bunch of movies - many have been aired on EWTN, Documentaries
Saints
Popes
Apologetics
Catholic Answers
Youth
Spanish titles

Listen tab:
Talks (mostly, but not all, Lighthouse)
Audio dramas
Radio Theatre
Youth
Audio Books
Spanish titles

Read tab:
Non-fiction, incl. faith formation, theology, prayer and devotion
Fiction
Youth
Spanish titles

Thank you Kerstin.