Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Getting Ready for the Year of Faith - Recommended Reading


Well, tomorrow begins the Year of Faith!  Actually, this is very exciting.  As you may know, tomorrow is the feast of Blessed Pope John XXIII.  The Catholic Church is also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council.  Lastly, it is the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Recommended reading:  

1.  Journal of a Soul by Pope John XXIII. via Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction Book Club.  Blessed Pope John XXIII's personal notebooks, papers, writings compiled into one large volume.  He started his journal writing as a young boy.

"I was a good boy, innocent, somewhat timid.  I wanted to love God at all costs and my one idea was to become a priest, in the service of simple souls who needed patient and attentive care.  Meanwhile I had to fight an enemy within me, self-love, and in the end I was able to get better of it.  But I was mortified to feel it constantly returning.  I was troubled about my distractions during prayer and I imposed  severe sacrifices on myself to get rid of them.  I took everything very seriously and my examinations of conscience were detailed and severe...Now, at a distance of more than sixty years, I can look upon these first spiritual writings of mine as if they had been written by someone else, and I bless the Lord for them..."

I wonder if there is anyone who read the above without being touched by this holy Father's humility and sincerity of heart.

2.  Vatican Council II:  The conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents

3.  The Holy Bible.  Consider reading it from the very beginning (Genesis).

4.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Also consider reading the Catechism from the very start.  But an easier way is to sign up to get daily readings.  See sidebar for signup information.

Here at this blog I will try to post a saintly quote about faith to help us rediscover our the theological virtue of faith and to grow to appreciate it as this jubilee year progresses.








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