“I recall the passage in the letter to the Hebrews in which we are reminded that Christ has already done everything for us. It speaks of the Christ who "offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:12). And yet the church teaches, and our experience of faith confirms, that Christ continues to be with us and to pray for us. The paradox may be unraveled, I think, if we remember that when human beings try to "do everything at once and for all and be through with it," we court acedia, self-destruction and death. Such power is reserved for God, who alone can turn what is "already done" into something that is ongoing and ever present. It is a quotidian mystery.”
― The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work
― The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work
“What if rich did not have to mean wealthy, and whole did not have to mean healed? What if being people of “the gospel” meant that we are simply people with good news? God is here. We are loved. It is enough.”
― Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved
― Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved
“Why couldn't two unhappy people refresh each other on their way through this dusty business of life by a little talk,—real, natural talk, about what they felt, what they would have liked, what they still tried to hope?”
― The Enchanted April
― The Enchanted April
“But of course, the Count also wept for himself. For despite his friendships with Marina and Andrey and Emile, despite his love for Anna, despite Sofia - that extraordinary blessing that had struck him from the blue - when Mikhail Fyodorovich Mindich died, there went the last of those who had known him as a younger man.”
― A Gentleman in Moscow
― A Gentleman in Moscow
“What we perceive as dejection over the futility of life is sometimes greed, which the monastic tradition perceives as rooted in a fear of being vulnerable in a future old age, so that one hoards possessions in the present. But most often our depression is unexpressed anger, and it manifests itself as the sloth of disobedience, a refusal to keep up the daily practices that would keep us in good relationship to God and to each other. For when people allow anger to build up inside, they begin to perform daily tasks resentfully, focusing on the others as the source of their troubles. Instead of looking inward to find the true reason for their sadness - with me , it is usually a fear of losing an illusory control - they direct it outward, barreling through the world, impatient and even brutal with those they encounter, especially those who are closest to them.”
― The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work
― The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work
Retro Reads
— 632 members
— last activity 2 hours, 18 min ago
A buddy reading group for those interested in twentieth century books and authors. Our time period will be 1900-2000. Authors like M.M. Kaye, Elizabet ...more
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 325020 members
— last activity 1 minute ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart?
— 331 members
— last activity Jan 13, 2026 10:36AM
This group is for readers to discover (or rediscover) Mary Stewart novels. Feel free to join in the discussions and start a new thread as well.
Agatha Christie Lovers
— 4048 members
— last activity May 23, 2026 01:43AM
We are reading her books from the first one published to the last one published each month. However, do not let that stop you from reading them out of ...more
Kindred Spirits
— 326 members
— last activity Feb 01, 2026 11:59AM
Join us! We're a new group of devoted lovers of YA and Middle Grade books, with an emphasis on discovering/rediscovering classics. We'll be doing rea ...more
LeahBethany’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at LeahBethany’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by LeahBethany
Lists liked by LeahBethany














































