2018 Book Reviews
Catholic Women's Book Group

Ratings 1–5 †

December 2018
The Case for Jesus - The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Brant Pitre (††††)

​Synopsis:
​Dr. Brant Pitre, scripture scholar and bestselling author, uses biblical and historical evidence to bolster the “case for Jesus” by exposing the problems with the many false theories that have been introduced over the past hundred years resulting in widespread skepticism about the reliability of Christian faith. He tackles head-on questions like: Were the four Gospels written anonymously? Did Jesus claim to be God? Did Jesus fulfill the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah? and many more.     “This book will prove to be a most effective weapon… against the debunking and skeptical attitudes toward the Gospels that are so prevalent, not only in academe, but also on the street, among young people who, sadly, are leaving the Churches in droves.” – Robert Barron, author of Catholicism
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • I found the book to be rather heavy.  I love Brant Pitre but this book was textbooky
  • I liked the book and thought it a good refresher if you’ve gone through The Catholic Biblical School.  I love all his scripture quotes and how he brings the Old Testament into the New and he does an excellent job of bringing the Jewish beliefs into focus.  One example is that the Jews knew only God could walk on water.
  • He presented the whole book as a lawyer would defend his case.  I liked his defense and depth he went to in proving his case.
  • I found the book harder to read, it felt like studying.  Though I did like his timeline for when the Jews thought the Messiah would come, something new to me.
  • I loved soaking into this book!  We read the book out loud at home.  My son loved it too and would ask for more.
  • It was a little hard to read, it was so loading with information.  Though I really learned a lot about the Gospels.  I often had to look up some things he was talking about—like the meaning of the words used in the original writings. 
  • I didn’t like reading the book at first, but it got better as I continued to read.
  • I loved the book.  There were so many jewels of wisdom throughout the book—things I could use if questioned by non-believers.
 
Quotes:
Jesus does not go around proclaiming, “I am God!”  Instead, he uses riddles, parables, and words that can be interpreted in more than one way….  When the apostles became afraid Jesus immediately reassures them: “Take heart, I am, do not be afraid.”  Mt 14:2
November 2018
St. Francis of Assisi  A Biography by Omer Englebert (†††)
 
Synopsis:  (reworded from the book’s jacket)
The author, Omer Englebert, a Belgian-born Catholic priest was a historian and spiritual master.  He sought to combine the best scholarship of his day with his keen insight into the inner life of St. Francis to create a thorough biography of the saint. With his historical grasp of the cultural forces that shaped St. Francis he draws on the traditional sources for a spiritual look at this popular religious figure.
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • I found the book difficult to read and could not finish it.  It was tedious and boring with so much detail and redundancy.
  • I learned so much about St. Francis I never knew before.  I only associated him with animals and I never knew about his love of the poor and carrying for the lepers. I didn’t realize how sickly he was yet never stopped helping others and loving all of God’s creation.  I was impressed with his joyful nature and his total surrender to Mother Poverty.
  • I felt as if I was in college and reading a textbook. It was too heavy and totally boring with his use of useless words. It finally got better after Chapter 15.
  • I really liked the book—though not at first.  It had some great insight into the life of St. Francis.  I particularly liked reading his dealings with Pope Innocent III and how the pope handled Francis and his group of followers.
  • I’m not a scholar so did not like the way it was written.  I did like reading about Francis, but there was just too much detail and I got lost in the wording.
  • I enjoyed the chapter about St. Clare.
  • I love St. Francis and his joy.  Though I didn’t read this book, I’ve read G K Chesterton’s book on St. Francis and it was wonderful.  Perhaps we should read his account of St. Francis for a better look.
 
Quotes:
 
“Wherever they may be, let the brethren refrain from murmuring.  Let them not appear sad and gloomy like hypocrites, but let them show themselves joyous in the Lord, pleasant and cheerful, as is fitting.”
October 2018
You Carried Me – A Daughter’s Memoir by Melissa Ohden (†††††)
​
Synopsis: (from book jacket)
Melissa Ohden is fourteen when she learns that she is the survivor of a botched abortion. In this intimate memoir, she details her search for her biological parents and her own journey from anger and shame to faith and forgiveness. This intensely personal story of love and redemption illumines the powerful bond between mother and child that can overcome all odds.
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • It’s an important book and I think young people should read it.
  • What a fast read! A sweet story, as it turned out
  • I am going to share this book with all my granddaughters
  • Loved this book, so real, so personal
  • What a courageous act, to share this very personal story!
  • I read through it in a single sitting! I want to sit down and read through it again but more slowly.
  • It was a quick read and VERY powerful.
  • I appreciated her brutal honesty about what she went through.

​Quotes:
  • “Every child is a unique thought of God”
  • “I was given the grace to ‘leave the past to God’s mercy the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence,’ as the old saying goes. (p.81)
  • “How simple a thing it seems to me, that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers’ names” (p.38)
  • “...the ability to feel pain and suffer is part of what makes us human beings able to give and receive love.” (p39)
  • “Children are so wise. Her brother became a person the moment he was conceived, and Olivia understood that.” (p124)
  • “As mothers, as parents, we want to protect our children from suffering, yet their happiness and destiny may well depend on the hardships they encounter.” (p152)
September 2018
​From Islam to Christ by Derya Little (†††††)
 
Synopsys:
Born and raised in Muslim Turkey, Derya Little wandered far and wide in search of her true home. After her parents' divorce, she rejected her family's Islamic faith and became an atheist. During her stormy adolescence, she tried to convince a Christian missionary that there is no God but was converted to Christ instead.
Her winding path through the riddles of God was not over, however. While attending a Turkish university and serving as a Christian youth minister, Derya began to compare the teachings of Protestantism and Catholicism, and during her doctoral studies in England, she entered the Catholic Church. Ultimately, she ended up in the United States, where she has become a citizen and has settled down to raise a family.
​
Derya's story provides a window into both Islam and modernity. It shows that the grace and the mercy of God know no bounds.  Rather, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ reaches souls in the most unlikely places.
August 2018​
How Big is Your God? The Freedom to Experience the Divine by Paul Coutinho (†††+)

Synopsys (parts taken from Goodreads):
Do you have a real relationship with God, or do you just have a religion? Do you know God, or do you just know about God?  In How Big Is Your God? Paul Coutinho, SJ, challenges us to grow stronger and deeper in our faith and in our relationship with God—a God whose love knows no bounds.  To help us on our way, Coutinho introduces us to people in various world religions—from Hindu friends to Buddhist teachers to St. Ignatius of Loyola—who have shaped his spiritual life and made possible his deep, personal relationship with God.
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
(Note to the reader: The discussion on this book brought up many conflicting opinions and ideas on the author and how he approached the topic.  Ratings ranged from 0-5, from “I hated this book” to “I loved this book.” You can research other reviews of this book on different websites including www.goodreads.com.
  • I liked the book because it stretched my thinking on how I view God. I underlined a lot of his thoughts because I could see myself in some of these places.
  • At first I thought, “Oh no, not another Jesuit!” But there were many points I liked: He spoke of Is 43:1-7: “I have summoned you by name and you are mine.” It gives me—not an intellectual sense of belonging, but a felt sense of intimacy—it is an experience of the heart that he is talking about.
  • I HATED the book! I was very uncomfortable reading this book. He lied throughout the whole book. He said we shouldn’t limit what we call God, but Jesus said to call God “Father.”  He said we don’t go to confession to confess our sins but to get closer to God; when it says in the CCC to confess our sins in confession. He slanted his words and lied! He kept making references to Eastern Religions and having gone on a Hindu retreat. He suggests using the Eastern way of looking for the divine presence in the unexpected. Even his Catholic mother allowed pagan images in the house!
  • I didn’t particularly like the book but I did find some truth in it. “What matters is not if people say good or bad things about me: what matters is what God says to me and what God feels toward me: “I am pleased with you, my favor rests on you, my delight is in you.” We should always read with discernment and be alert to nuggets of untruth so when red flags go up, call them out!
  • I LOVED the book! He was talking about the difference between just practicing religion vs having a relationship with God. His stories were so relatable.
  • There’s a lot of psychology used in the book. I liked it but there is a much deeper meaning to what he writes. 
  • He talked about how things wear us down and that we should get rid of things we don’t need---any way you take him, that’s good advice.
  • I struggled with the whole book. There were some of our Catholic traditions he belittled that I think are good traditions. And it seemed he was promoting his Eastern upbringing too much.
  • I liked the book and feel my relationship with God has deepened. Quoting St. Ignatius he wrote: “…you and God become one, like the rays of the sun and the sun itself.” He promoted desiring a God so big that names fall away, that our repentance becomes a consequence of loving God and not a condition of God’s love.
July 2018​
Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle (†††††)

Synopsys (parts taken from Spirituality and Practice):
Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest and the founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, started in 1986, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world.  It offers mental health counseling, free tattoo removal, a charter school, job placement and training, and a curriculum offering everything from anger management to parenting. In Tattoos on the Heart, Boyle distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith. Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. Boyle gives all the credit to his loving God who wants us "to marinate" in his fullness. In all of Boyle's work in prisons and with former gang members, he has never succumbed to preaching hellfire-and-brimstone sermons: "It is truly hard for us to see the truth that disapproval does not seem to be part of God's DNA. God is just too busy loving us to have any time left for disappointment." 
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • This was an OUTSTANDING book!  WOW!
  • The book humanizes people who look differently, act differently, and live differently than I do.
  • God meets us where we are—He delights in us where we are!  I cherished this book.
  • I listened to the audio version and Fr. G reads it.  You could feel his love just listening to his change of voice with each new character.
  • I loved how he wrote:  “Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.”
  • Looking at my new grandbaby I can begin to understand how God looks at us and can’t keep His eyes off of us. The book really got to my heart.
  • I was a little frustrated with his use of Spanish phrases that I didn’t understand.  But I loved the book.
  • Fr. G. never thought about himself, he was ALWAYS out there for others.

​Quotes:
  • Isaiah has God say: “Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create…for I create my people to be a delight.”
  • We bask in God’s unalloyed joy, and we let loose with that same joy in whoever is in front of us.
  • We try to find a way to hold our fingertips gently to the pulse of God.
  • Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world, but people capable of giving them their attention.
June 2018​
Strangers in a Strange Land, Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput (†††††)

Synopsys (parts taken from Catholic World Report):
Strangers in a Strange Land is a thought-provoking depiction of a complex contemporary scene.  It is a fresh, urgent, and ultimately hopeful treatise on the state of Catholicism and Christianity in the United States.  America today is different in kind, not just in degree, from the past. And this new reality is unlikely to be reversed. The reasons include, but aren't limited to, economic changes that widen the gulf between rich and poor; problems in the content and execution of the education system; the decline of traditional religious belief among young people; the shift from organized religion among adults to unbelief or individualized spiritualities; changes in legal theory and erosion in respect for civil and natural law; significant demographic shifts; profound new patterns in sexual behavior and identity; the growth of federal power and its disregard for religious rights; the growing isolation and elitism of the leadership classes; and the decline of a sustaining sense of family and community. Those on the extreme left would argue that “Chaput’s righteous indignation on LGBTQ rights, birth control, and abortion, like his contention that religion is inherent to morality, is arguably contributing to the very “post-Christian” nation he fears.” (Barnes & Noble editorial review). 
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • This is a book I will recommend to others and a book I will read over and over.
  • Every chapter has a good moral teaching…though ‘according to today’s society’ morality is just an opinion.
  • I really think this book should be read in high schools and studied like a text book.  We all need to become more proactive in our support of our Catholic values and beliefs and live those beliefs.
  • The book was disturbing but so true.
  • Chaput does an excellent job in summarizing the history of Christianity and our Catholic roots.  The pendulum doesn’t always swing back, we HAVE TO help.  He is convicting us into action.
  • We are the solutions to our problems. 
  • Archbishop has a true gift with words and was able to capture in understandable words what has been happening in our culture and in the world.  “Once a higher purpose and standard are lost moral judgements are nothing but personal opinions.”  And so we’re tempted to turn bitter with what we see out there and give up the struggle.  That’s when we MUST persevere and live our faith even more.

​Quotes:
“Optimism assumes that, sooner or later, things will naturally turn out for the better. Hope has no such illusions.”
May 2018
When Women Pray, Eleven Catholic Women on the Power of Prayer by Kathleen Beckman, L.H.S. (††††+)

Synopsys (parts taken from Catholic Answers and EWTN reviews): 
This book will inspire a new outpouring of prayer for healing and holiness. Its timely work proclaims the joy of prayer and wealth of grace entrusted to praying women. The reader will learn how, amidst the noise of a secular culture, author Kathleen Beckman and the rest of these eleven
Catholic women were formed in joy and sorrow and they all discovered the transformative power of prayer. Each chapter ends with spiritual reflections: "Ponder, Practice, Pray" and "Feminine Wisdom" from women saints. Eucharist, Scripture and Mary are prominently highlighted. This book can inspire the new outpouring of the oil of prayer for healing and holiness. Johnnette Benkovic, Dr. Pia de Solenni, Dr. Ronda Chervin and others. 

Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • I loved being inspired by these women who pray, especially Mary Healy’s story. She said prayer is most powerful when you least feel like doing it and that we have a natural tendency to praise God only when things are good. But we must praise God for ALL things. She began to
    thank God—not in spite of her circumstances but for her circumstances.
  • The whole message was that prayer is our way to have a conversation with God but at some point, we have to stop and ask: “Do You have anything to say, Lord?”
  • I especially liked chapters 10 & 11. Vicki Thorn believes we have to engage the Communion of Saints as our spiritual companions and intercessors and that we often forget how many saintly women have gone before us. She also suggests keeping a prayer journal to record the Lord’s word spoken to our hearts. And Kelly Wahlquist talks about how difficult it is to pray when we are suffering. She goes on to say that she takes courage in the fact that Mary stood at the foot of the Cross and still believed in God’s plan of sheer goodness.
  • Another woman said she had never heard of a Prayer Journal and because of this book she will try to keep one as she reads scripture and prays.
  • Many women said that they would give this book to a loved one to read.
 
Quotes:
  • “When you wish there were more hours in a day, just remember you have the same number of hours as Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, Thomas Edison, and Mother Teresa.”
  • “Genuine intimacy is our goal in prayer.”
  • Jesus to St. Faustina: “My child, life on earth is a struggle indeed; a great struggle for My kingdom. But fear not, because you are not alone. I am always supporting you, so lean on Me as you struggle, fearing nothing.”
April 2018
Our Daily Bread, Glimpsing the Eucharist Through the Centuries by Ralph Wright (††††+)

Synopsys: 
Ralph Wright , an English Benedictine monk who teaches theology in the St. Louis Abbey school, presents poetry, Scripture and other works on the Eucharist.  He provides wisdom and inspiration about the Eucharist chosen from twenty-one centuries of writing, selections from St. Paul to Pope Benedict XVI.  The diverse selections include St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians—the earliest surviving written account of the Eucharist—through Francis of Assisi and Julian of Norwich, to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Pope St. John Paul II, with dozens of saints and scholars in between.  With poems and hymns to focus our gaze, our Daily Bread is a permanent resource for nourishing and deepening a person’s faith in the Eucharist—the summit and source of our life in Christ. 

Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • Though this was not my favorite book, I did find inspiration to make time for Adoration from Blessed Charles de Foucauld.  
  • It seemed hard to read at first but after awhile I realized it was very good with many pearls of wisdom.  So many of the saints had such strong words to say about the Eucharist—the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins… And suddenly I realized what we are praying for when we say the ‘Our Father’ – our daily bread is receiving Jesus daily. We are asking to live forever in Christ and to be inseparably united with His Body.
  • I liked the consistency of the words of the saints throughout the ages when they spoke about receiving the Eucharist.
  • The poetry was beautiful.  I especially liked “Man holds within his hand the one who holds within his hand the universe—"
  • So interesting to read the author’s selection of saints, many of them martyred, and yet they each had volumes to say about the Eucharist and had such a calm in the face of hardships and martyrdom knowing that Jesus was their daily bread, the bread of life.
  • I liked the book better toward the end.  It brings us back to what our focus should be.
  • The book has good reminders, it kept renewing what I truly believe.
 
Quotes:
“Christ as our mother feed us with his own body and blood.”  Julian of Norwich St. Francis de Sales: “You catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than a barrel of vinegar.”
March 2018
That Nothing May Be Lost by Fr. Paul Scalia (††††+)

Synopsys (taken from Ignatius Press): 
​Fr. Paul Scalia reveals a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart in these inspiring reflections on a wide range of Catholic teachings and practices. Rooted in Scripture, these insights place the reader on a path to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.  Each section is introduced by a moving essay by a highly regarded Catholic who all offer their personal accounts of being Catholic, which are followed by Fr. Scalia's illuminations.  Archbishop Charles Chaput contributes a thought- provoking foreword, which begins the reader's exploration of the many important aspects of the Catholic faith presented in this book.

Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • I thought it a great resource book.  It reminds me that I could never be anything but Catholic. 
  • I relearned a lot.  There were good explanations and I liked the format which gave different ways to phrase things I already know.  It was a great overview of our faith.
  • I loved the whole section on Mary.  He says most of us sin not out of malice or hatred, but out of slowness and negligence, by putting things off. Mary is prompt about the things of God.  She went in haste and she never hesitated to give God her yes.  She is the example of what a Christian life should be.
  • His part on confession was great, that we should all start out with thanks. 
  • I particularly liked the section on prayer.  Jesus would go off by himself to pray and he taught his apostles to do the same thing.  Yet we all seem too busy to do as Jesus taught.  We should (I should) take the time to sit and pray to God.
  • The Appendix gave an interesting message from St. Thomas Aquinas on St. Joseph and his reasoning on why he wanted to divorce Mary quietly.  It was out of a reverential fear of her holiness. Because of this Joseph draws back from the Virgin Mother because he sees himself as unworthy of her.
  • I thought it a great book to have on hand and would recommend it.
 
Quotes:
  • “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.”
  • “Pride is to think we can grasp all reality and fit it into our minds.  Humility is to recognize that reality is greater than what we can grasp or comprehend.”
  • “The greatest sin of the world today is the loss of the sense of sin.”
February 2018
The Power of Silence by Cardinal Sarah (†††+)

Synopsys (taken from Ignatius Press): 
In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before.  “Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine.” Cardinal Sarah addresses the following questions: “Can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, or love?  Do not wisdom, artistic vision, and devotion spring from silence, where the voice of God is heard in the depths of the human heart?”

Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • Reading this book made me think differently about silence.  Silence is more than just the absence of noise.
  • I am much more aware of silence after reading the book, though it didn’t seem to be written for the laity.
  • This book has inspired me to go to Adoration.
  • I had to read this entire book out loud because it helped for me to better understand the words.  I found it to be a very dense book and hard to get through.
  • This book helps validate my day when nothing is done but prayer.
  • "Noise, as C.S. Lewis' devil Screwtape famously said, is the music of hell. Cardinal Sarah offers us a richly engaging, elegantly written reflection on the importance of recovering silence in our own lives, and through silence, rediscovering the presence of God, the beauty of creation, and the nature of our mission as disciples."   —Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia
 
Quotes:
  • “The Spirit intercedes for us.  He speaks for us.”
  • “Speak much with God but little with man.”
  • “He lets us experience trials for a little while before saving us for a whole lifetime. 
  • Who would dare complain about a surgeon who in the 2 hours of a painful operation, cured a sick person for the rest of his life.”
  • “In order to find humility, it is better to look at him then to look at oneself.”
January 2018
Who Am I to Judge by Edward Sri (†††††+)

Synopsys:
In an age in which preference has replaced morality, many people find it difficult to speak the truth, afraid of the reactions they will receive if they say something is right or wrong.  Using engaging stories and personal experience, Edward Sri helps us understand the classical view of morality and equips us to engage relativism, appealing to both the head and the heart.  Learn how Catholic morality is all about love, why making a judgment is not judging a person’s soul, and why, in the words of Pope Francis, “relativism wounds people.”
 
Comments from the group’s discussion:
  • Relativism has been worming its way into our society and our lives for years and years and I’m glad it has been given a name now.  Ed Sri mentions how the last three popes have nailed the effects of relativism on our society and how it has changed our world.
  • Reading this book gave me the courage to speak up about my feelings concerning a family situation that I have been afraid to bring up.
  • Institutions have left our children down, but we as parents haven’t been watchful.  The rules keep changing and it’s so hard to hold on when everything around us is changing so fast, People are against anything that sounds like a rule. 
  • Relativism has even influenced the Catholic Church and we’re not getting what we need from the pulpit.  We should be talking about the culture of death, abortion, and what is really the truth.
  • Sri gave seven keys to responding to relativism.  I particularly liked his explanation between making judgments on actions and judging souls.  Only God can judge people because only God knows their circumstances and their hearts.  His explanation that for many relativism is a mask to justify selfish desires and sinful situations.
  • And what keeps us from speaking out?-- Our fear of conflict, fear of ridicule, fear of offending others, fear of making waves in the family.
  • I wish I could memorize this book so I’d have Ed Sri’s words right on the tip on my tongue.
 
Quotes:
  • It’s dangerous to judge a person’s status before God.   “each person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries which no one can fully know from without.”  Pope Francis
  • We should always respond to people’s faults with charity, “for very often what we think is negligence is heroic in God’s eyes.” St. Therese of Lisieux