HITTING THE BOOKS: NOVALIS BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
As the days get shorter and cooler, and as our regular routines take shape, we may have more time for diving into a book. Reading is much more than a leisure activity – it’s a way to make sense of our lives (and our faith) through gaining a fresh perspective.
Last month, Pope Francis published a long letter on the role of literature in Christian formation. He says,
… finding a good book to read can provide an oasis … in moments of weariness, anger, disappointment or failure, when prayer itself does not help us find inner serenity, a good book can help us weather the storm until we find peace of mind. Time spent reading may well open up new interior spaces that help us to avoid becoming trapped by a few obsessive thoughts that can stand in the way of our personal growth.
With his words in mind, here are some good books that can help you venture into some spiritual reading and start the new school year off on the right foot whether you are going back to school or not…
For Kids:
• Amazing Friendships between Animals and Saints, by Greg Kennedy (illustrations by Kerry Lyn Wilson): These fable-like stories and engaging, detailed illustrations recount friendships that have much to teach us today about how to care for our common home, the Earth, and live kindly with all her children.
• We Pray in Many Ways, by Christine Way Skinner (illustrations by Céleste Gagnon): This beautifully illustrated book teaches younger children the many ways Catholics pray, including traditional prayers that all Catholic children should know by heart. (See also We Are Catholic, We Follow Jesus and We Go to Mass, by the same author and illustrator.)
For Teens:
• Have the Courage to Be Happy: Thoughts of Pope Francis for Young People, by Marco Pappalardo: This handbook for teens and pre-teens offers an optimistic and enthusiastic vision of the Church’s future through reflection questions, prayers, action items and space for readers to record their own thoughts.
• Living the Beatitudes: Reflections, Prayers and Practices for Teens, by Connie Clark: This inviting booklet features short reflections plus simple questions and things teens can do to make the Beatitudes their own during a hectic and at times intense stage of life.
For Adults:
• The Grateful Disciple: Daring to Be Loved, by David Wells: These enlightening stories of living discipleship will amuse and delight your heart and soul; they are often laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes moving and always inspiring. (See also The Reluctant Disciple, by the same author.)
• Two Dogs and a Parrot: What Our Animal Friends Can Teach Us about Life, by Joan Chittister: Invites readers to embrace and celebrate the deep bond between humans and animals through heart-warming stories and thought-provoking reflections about sharing life with an animal companion.
• A Catholic Gardener’s Spiritual Almanac: Cultivating Your Faith Throughout the Year, by Margaret Rose Realy: Explores the riches of the Catholic spiritual tradition in conjunction with all things gardening using meditations and scripture passages on a spiritual theme for each month, reflections on the liturgical seasons and feasts, and stories of saints who have special relevance to gardening.
• Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation, by Richard Rohr: Focuses on finding God in the depths of silence, where the divine silence is more than the absence of noise. That silence has a life of its own, in which we are invited into its living presence, wholeness of being, and peace it brings.
Happy September and happy reading!
Anne Louise Mahoney is managing editor of Novalis. She is the editor of Never-ending Love: Sharing Stories, Prayers and Comfort for Miscarriage and Infant Loss and Looking to the Laity: Reflections on Where the Church Can Go from Here and is the author of I Hope, a book for young children.
