May 17, 2005
Liber Usualis
My sweet beautiful wife bought me a copy of the Liber Usualis for our ninth anniversary last week. Eat your hearts out, guys!
Also, I received an email from a guy who checks this blog daily for new entries, which reminds me that I've been neglecting it. I'll try to do better & post here more.
Posted by Bill White at 12:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 26, 2005
Thanks, Bill White
Now I, too, have received the baton! Though I strongly (yet graciously) dispute the ever-kind Mr White’s statement regarding my being “smarter.” My apologies for failing to deal with this baton in a more timely fashion.
You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?
Alas, I, too, have never read F451, so I’m clueless.
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Yes. Tom Swift’s girlfriend (circa 1968), but my memory fails me re the details.
The last book you bought was . . .
Abiding in the Indwelling Trinity, based on our Holy Father’s statement in Novo millennio ineunte (n. 43) that “A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us...”
The last book you read was . . .
Praying the Bible, by the Benedictine Archbishop of Bari, Italy. It is an awe-inspiring book about lectio divina, largely due to the many quotations of the Fathers. Better (in my opinion) than Michael Casey’s worthy effort, and runs circles around Pennington.
What are you currently reading?
• On the Passion of Christ by Thomas a Kempis (for my Holy Week reading). I frankly didn’t expect it to be so fruitful. I sensed the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin or imperfection on almost every page. More importantly, it drew me, in a most heartfelt way, closer to Jesus.
• Pursuit of Happiness – God’s Way by Servais Pinckaers OP (mentor of Romanus Cessario OP, the “Magnificat” editor). An insightful treatment of the Beatitudes.
• Lost in Wonder: The Spiritual Art of Attentiveness by Esther de Waal. This was a highly unusual pick for me....and the reading is almost penitential (for me, perhaps not for you). Kinda loose and mushy, if you know what I mean. But I have a hard time remembering to ‘stop and smell the roses,’ and I want to change that. And I’m getting some good insights. (I had read her Seeking God (about the Holy Rule) years earlier, and enjoyed it, so I went with the inspiration.)
Five books you would take to a desert island:
• A Catholic Bible
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Earthen Vessels: The Practice of Personal Prayer According to the Patristic Tradition, by Gabriel Bunge OSB.
• The Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard OCSO (about the primacy of the interior life).
• Father, the Family Protector by James Stenson (if my family was with me on the island)
Posted by Walter Babetski at 1:19 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 5, 2004
Bleg
I'm seeking recommendations for books about missionaries, especially nuns, who were caught up in the communist revolution in China (mid-50's to mid-60's). My 14-yr-old Angela read two titles in the past year: Nun in Red China and Calvary in China. She was very moved by them, and is hungry for more. So if there's anything you can recommend, please do so via the Comments Box or my email.
Posted by Walter Babetski at 10:24 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 6, 2004
Listen, my son...
While unpacking books from our recent move, I rediscovered Dwight Longenecker's Listen, My Son: Saint Benedict for Fathers. It's borne remarkable fruit in the days since its rediscovery, and I recommend it warmly. You many find a lengthy excerpt from the book here. The basic idea is to present a daily reading from the Rule of Saint Benedict, followed by a commentary by Mr. Longenecker on its application to fatherhood. Fortunately for us, Mr. Longenecker, unlike many of his Benedictine confreres, is solidly orthodox.
You may also be interested in this collection of essays and writings on fatherhood that I put together a couple of years ago.
Posted by Bill White at 4:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack