Currently reading: A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre 📚

This book really came to me at the right point in my life. I had noticed several months ago that something was off in my life. I was looking for happiness, but not really sure where to find it. Matthew hit the nail on the head with the book.

The idea of searching for happiness is framed through the concept of resistance. Resistance is that feeling inside of us that keeps us from doing the things that are really good for us. Waking up when we committed, exercising, eating well, reading, even praying. It tries to keep us “comfortable,” but resistance’s concept of comfortable is more akin to laziness or idleness.

Throughout the book, Matthew shares the specific steps that he took to develop his robust interior life. He didn’t do it alone. He had a fabulous coach who took him under his wing in his teens and step-by-step worked with Matthew to develop himself. I found many ideas that I was able to implement immediately in my own life.

The core message of the book is that when we feel sad, agitated, or irritable, it’s a sign of spiritual sickness. By focusing on developing our interior life and improving our spiritual health, over time, we’ll stop resisting the things that will lead to true inner peace and happiness; namely, living out our life’s mission in the light of God’s love.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9781942611929

It’s been said by many people that I respect that you should never read a book that you’re not enjoying. There’s something particularly unpleasant about reading feeling like a chore. You trudge through a book, unhappy and unsatisfied. In times when I want to quit, I persist. I continue reading partly out of optimism that things will get better and partly out of a desire to have not wasted my time.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. It’s a relevant topic and I thought that it might help me with some strategies for more effectively transmitting the faith has been so important in my life on to my children. I bought it two years ago and I’m surprised that it ended up so low on my queue. Sadly, the book missed the mark for me and, worse, I didn’t quit when I should have.

My main problem with the book is the audience. My reading of the title gave me the impression that this book was for middle-of-the-road practicing Catholics looking to do a better job of raising their kids in the faith. Not for people who were nominally Catholic and not for those who are deeply religious.

As I read, it became clear to me that perhaps not even the author knew his audience. I found the entire book to be boring and repetitious. Little was offered in the way of ideas or specific strategies that I could implement, right now. Instead, at the end of each chapter, there was a “Live” section, but it mostly referred to other resources. The book was too aloof.

I’m sure that there’s an audience out there who could benefit from this book. It saddens me that I concluded that this is a one-star book. To me, the author missed a huge opportunity. We do need to do a better job of handing on the faith, and we need very specific action plans to get us started. The book failed to deliver on the promise of its title.

Rating: ★

ISBN: 9781594716058

I heard Dr. Allen Hunt speak in person at a conference two summers ago at Franciscan University of Steubenville. It was my first interaction with him and he’s an excellent speaker. It’s apparent how he was able to be so effective as a pastor in a church community that lives or dies by the quality of a sermon.

At that talk, he gave away copies of this book. It’s part memoir, part theological, and part biblical. An expert in New Testament Scripture, Allen goes to great lengths to take the personal stories in his life, connect them to the traditions of the Catholic Church, and tie them all together with a brief exegesis.

Even as a practicing Catholic, I found the book to be enjoyable. It read very fast and had plenty of little reminders about the great aspects of Catholicism. I’d probably even argue that as a cradle-Catholic, regularly reading about my faith and continuing to learn is critical to living the life that I say I want to live.

Looking at my reading list this year, I’ve noticed almost a majority of the books are about my faith. On the one hand, I want to be balanced, and on the other, I have a huge backlog of Catholic literature that I’ve been wanting to read for years.

This book fit nicely into my reading. I got to better know my faith through the story of another.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9780984131839

Finished reading: Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly 📚

The Church is often painted with the brush of “no.” Indeed, in our culture today, there are plenty of behaviors, attitudes, and practices that rightly deserve rejection and admonishment. In these two documents, produced in the last thirty years and with the intention of helping to promote a bioethical mindset in healthcare, the Church displays the truth that behind every difficult “no” is a great “YES!” to the profound wonder and beauty of the human person.

Many might question what role the Church could have in helping to shape the discussion around bioethics. In a society that no longer sees the spiritual component of humanity as necessary for general goodness or happiness, it’s more likely to reject the Church’s intellectual contributions or to decry the so-called imposition of religion on science and society.

The Church does not seek a role outside of its competence, nor does it seek to supplant medical science. Rather, it offers, within the scope of morality which is clearly its prerogative, advice and insight for the discussion. A relentless promoter of the human good throughout human history, the Church seeks to share its treasury of wisdom and intellectual tradition to keep medicine in the service of the human good, rather than a tool for its destruction.

No area of medicine or technology is above criticism. An objective reading of these documents, setting the theological aspects aside, clearly demonstrates the authenticity the Catholic Church brings to the conversation. Even if the reader rejects the theology of the Church, it’s difficult to argue convincingly that the broadest application of respect for human life is somehow in contradiction to the noble aims and ideals of medicine.

These two publications dovetail in their coverage of the moral and ethical questions that we face today, particularly when it comes to human reproduction and early life humans. The question and answer format is particularly useful for understanding the ethical framework and applying its principles to the issues of the day. The answers provided are challenging to the prevailing wisdom, but it’s a great act of love to share the hard truths, kindly, but firmly. The defense of the human person is paramount for the survival of mankind. We can best promote the integrity and dignity of the human person by focusing on advocacy and protection for the most vulnerable among us.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9781601370693 & 9781555861568

Finished reading: Keep Your Kids Catholic: Sharing Your Faith and Making It Stick by Marc Cardaronella 📚

Now that Benedict is nearing his fifth birthday, Alison thought that it would be a good idea for us to read some parenting books. She wanted us to learn some strategies for helping our kids, as the authors of this book put it, survive and thrive.

Generally speaking, I don’t have a great track record of reading books that people give to me. While the intention is good, when someone else gives you a book, it brings some strings with it. I feel a sense of obligation when approaching the book, and also a need to move it higher in my reading queue. This is bad because then, as I read it, it feels forced. Although this book does fall into that category, namely it was selected for me by someone else, I found it to be wonderful.

Drs. Siegel and Bryson do an excellent job of taking the complex fields of psychiatry, neuroplasticity, and parenting and bring them together in an easy to digest way. What’s better is that they give a short, approachable lesson on a subject and the immediately present one or two ways to implement it in my parenting, right now. Their examples are illuminating, engaging, and realistic.

As I read through the book, managing to read the entirety in one day, I clearly saw the principles and theories that they laid out at play, especially in Benedict, but to a lesser degree in Felicity as she has come into her own.

I have not read very many parenting books, but my overall impression that they can be aloof, shoot the moon, and not broadly applicable. Not only does that impression prove false in this book, there is a clear progression in how I can use these techniques today, when Benedict is in elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond.

Even better, the authors took the time to create a section at the end of each chapter to adapt the principles to the life of the parent. So not only do I understand how to work through a tantrum with my kids, but I understand how the same mechanics are at play when I feel angry and out of control.

Neuroscience is complex and profoundly interesting. Siegel and Bryson took their years of clinical and scientific research and applied in a way that any family could benefit from.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9780553386691

Finished reading: Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church by Allen Hunt, PhD 📚

Finished reading: Instruction on Respect for Human Life by Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 📚