SPIRITUAL READING: BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR IN SEPTEMBER
Happy new year! I’ve been out of school for a long time, but September still feels like the start of a new year for me. It’s a good time to reflect on where I want to spend my time, what I hope to accomplish and what to let go of – in my work, my spare time and my spiritual life.
Here are some books that might help you set a course for this new year starting in September. Happy reading!
A Year of Mercy: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis: These bite-sized quotes bring the pope’s warm, accessible style to bear on the message of God’s love and infinite capacity for forgiveness – if we simply lay our sins before him.
Radical Gratitude, by Mary Jo Leddy: A meditation on the miracle of the everyday and a guide to discovering what is most real in ourselves. The process leads to “radical gratitude” that allows the spirit to appreciate the things that give true joy. Gratitude, Leddy says, arises in the in-between space where the inner and outer worlds meet.
Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation, by Richard Rohr: This book will inspire you and show that the peace of contemplation is not something just for monks, mystics and those who live apart from the worries of the world, but rather for all people who can quiet their own mind to listen in the silence.
Adult Faith: Growing in Wisdom and Understanding, by Diarmuid O’Murchu:The author reveals that today’s adults are interested in mature and enlightened ways to live out their faith. He offers a multitude of approaches that nurture a faith for adults: the result is a book that empowers adult faith-seekers to grow in wisdom and in grace.
Experts in Humanity: A Journey of Self-Discovery and Healing, by Josephine Lombardi: Embark on a spiritual journey that probes the depth of your heart to discover and experience freedom found in grace. Lombardi guides readers in their journey by identifying a number of life skills essential to the spiritual life as well as the profound influence of human nature on our spiritual development.
Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity, by Ronald Rolheiser: The author explores how identifying and embracing discipleship will lead to new heights of spiritual awareness and maturity. When we embrace the struggle and yearning to know God, we can experience a profound reunderstanding of our daily lives.
The Sacred Place of Prayer: The Human Person Created in God’s Image, by Jean Marie Dwyer, OP: Learning to be a person of prayer introduces new and wonderful elements into our life, such as silence and reflection, which in turn can produce an ever-growing sense of awe in being fully alive, fully present to God and to ourselves, to creation, to our neighbour and to all the circumstances of life.
The Gift of Spiritual Intimacy: Following the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, by Monty Williams SJ: A step-by-step guide to working with one of the Christian world’s first self-help books: The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. By guiding the reader through each of the four traditional Weeks for these exercises, Williams has designed a book that can be used by individuals or groups – at home or in retreat, pastoral, academic or parish settings.
Anne Louise Mahoney is managing editor of Novalis. She is the editor of Looking to the Laity: Reflections on Where the Church Can Go from Here and the author of I Hope, a book for young children.
