Catholic Women's Book Group

Meeting Time and Location
The book group meets the first Tuesday of each month from 2-3:30pm in the Parish Ministry Center. For more information, contact Sue Andzik (719-359-2471 or sandzik@gmail.com).

2022 Book List

  • January         Habits of Holiness: Small Steps for making Big Spiritual Progress by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames C.F.R.
  • February       Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn
  • March            Wisdom from the Psalms by Peter Kreeft
  • April                Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body by Scott Hahn
  • May                Mulier’s Digntatem by Pope John Paul II (available online)
  • June               Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday by Danielle Bean
  • July                By God’s Grace by Laura and Michael Kondratuk (available at Catholic Shop online)
  • August           When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement by Ryan T. Anderson
  • September   The Heart of Perfection: How the Saints Taught Me to Trade My Dream of Perfection for God by Colleen Carroll Campbell
  • October         Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church by Brandon Vogt
  • November     Praying with the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by Susan Tassone
  • December     Joseph the Man Who Raised Jesus by Gary Caster
​2022 Book Reviews
Ratings 1–5 †
September 2022
The Heart of Perfection, How the Saints Taught Me to Trade My Dream of Perfection for God by Colleen Carroll Campbell (†††††)

Synopsis: by Jeannie Gaffigan, executive producer and author
In The Heart of Perfection, Colleen Carroll Campbell explores the real lives of saints with the scrutiny of an investigative journalist and highlights their quest for the perfect love of God. Like so many people today who are caught in the endless hamster wheel of trying to be perfect, Campbell spent her life striving for her ideal self, and surpassed her own goals. In this deep and thoughtful reflection on herself, the generations of perfectionist women she came from, and with a broad-daylight exposé of the lives of the not-so perfect saints, Campbell realizes that setting the bar so high is detrimental, trying to be perfect only results in beating yourself up for not being perfect. She offers a lot of food for thought and perhaps the reader can at the end, like she did, find some areas that need healing or areas that reflect the heart of Christ.
 
Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion:
  • I could identify with so many of the saints she talked about and saw myself with an addiction to control. The book helped me perhaps to stop and take a different kind of look at myself.
  • My husband, kids and family are all perfectionists. There were so many points she made that I identified with. Her thoughtful insights have made me stop and take a deeper look into myself.
  • I loved the book. It was like reading a good friend’s thoughts. I took lots of notes and underlined a lot in the book that I intend to go over again. I especially liked St. Alphonsus’ quote: “If I must err, let it be on the side of mercy and charity, of meekness and compassion.”
  • I knew very little about the saints and this was a great way to really wet my appetite for more of them!
  • St. Jane de Chanta was my favorite. She was a perfectionist in a very high-pressure and busy world with lots of responsibilities on her shoulders. And yet she became the patron saint of gentleness. She lived through so many obstacles and at the hardest moment in her life she found St. Francis de Sales. I find the hardest time surrendering my day to God is when I have so much to do.
  • I’m going to KEEP this book! We don’t promote saints enough or study them and there were great stories of wonderful people who because of their surrender to God found joy and forgiveness.
  • I didn’t know I was a perfectionist—setting too high my expectations. “Whether we realize it or not, perfectionism is a denial of God’s sovereignty. It’s a rejection of His grace.” I love and want to emulate: “my job is not to feign perfection or tiptoe through life trying not to make messes or mistakes. My job is to clear a path in my hart to receive the liberating gift of God’s love and allow it to flow through me into the world.”
  • I had a lot of Catholic guilt growing up. Loved…..”Be perseverant but not perfect.”
  • “Joy isn’t something we can manufacture or plan or control. It comes from giving God the reins, turning our lives over to Jesus, and allowing the Holy Spirit to upend our plans and explode our expectations.”
August 2022
When Harry Became Sally, Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan T. Anderson (†††††)

Synopsis:
From the book cover…’Can a boy be “trapped in a girl’s body? Can modern medicine “reassign sex?  Is our sex “assigned” to us in the first place?  What should our law say on matters of “gender identity”?   This book provides thoughtful answers to questions arising from our transgender moment.  Drawing on the best insights from biology, psychology, and philosophy, Ryan Anderson offers a nuanced view of human embodiment, a balanced approach to public policy on gender identity, and a sober assessment of the human costs of getting human nature wrong.  The book exposes the contrast between the media’s sunny depiction of gender fluidity and the often sad reality of living with gender dysphoria.  It gives a voice to people who tried to “transition” by changing their bodies and found themselves no better off.  Especially troubling are the stories told by adults who were encouraged to transition as children but later regretted subjecting themselves to those drastic procedures.’   A five-minute video from the author can be found on EDIFY about “The Transition Threat” and why his book is being banned by Amazon.
 
Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion: 
  • I thought the book was VERY well done and factually based. I can’t believe how people would go along with letting a five-year-old boy have puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to become a girl when they would not allow him to eat a whole box of chocolates by himself! 
  • SO much has been said by activists that sex change is necessary for therapeutic reasons that is NOT therapeutic and totally unproven.  The percentage of a successful outcome from a sex change operation is far lower and the suicide rate is drastically higher in transgender people. Those who have gone through the operation are not anymore happier with who they are than before.  The scary part is this is politically driven.  It’s not the people who actually HAVE the problem but the activists promoting it and lying about the statistics. 
  • I was struck by the fact that the former head of psychiatry at John Hopkins shut down the clinic after he found most people regretted having the surgery. The study added that people were content with the surgery but little had changed for them psychologically.  He said they had had an erroneous desire. I was surprised by the number of detransitioners he talked about ...I didn’t know there were any.
  • I was a daycare provider for many years and actually knew a family who wanted a girl so bad that when their fourth boy was born they dressed him in pink, and there were more than just a couple cross-dressing little children.  I don’t agree with body mutilation—it’s a Hollywood thing driven by money.
  • The book was a real eye-opener for me.  I didn’t know about the universities that all seem to go along with this misleading agenda.  And it even seems that most all of society is swayed to believe the lies and false information.  And the fact it all starts in elementary school is really scary!
  • I learned so much!  This agenda is a real slap in God’s face, and the DSM is making gay totally OK, almost encouraged and anyone apposed is band from practice!    Indoctrination of homosexuality and transgenderism started years and years ago with the teachers’ union putting it in all the schools. 
  • This book should be required reading for all high school students so they can see that not all that is taught (and encouraged) is necessarily the truth of the matter.
  • I appreciated the chapter from those who regretted having the surgery—and there were many and many different stories to tell.  And sadly, a great majority ended in suicides.  But then those stories aren’t in the news.  There are two sides to every story and both sides need to be heard and not band because they don’t follow the AGENDA (of the socialists).
  • We must all be aware of what is going on around us, in the news, and in our schools.   There are people who really suffer who need help.  But playing God without the proper care should be scrutinized.
July 2022
By God's Grace, How God Led Us to Faith, Through Healing and Beyond by Laura and Michael Kondratuk (†††††)
 
Synopsis:
Mike has a successful career and his own company; Laura has the gift of music and writes inspirational songs, and the couple and their three children live on the shores of a beautiful lake in Wisconsin. Yet, Mike—who had been raised Catholic—is disengaged and skeptical about his faith…until a series of vivid, euphoric dreams of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus called him to a place halfway across the world. Eventually, the reluctant pilgrim makes his first pilgrimage to the little village of Medjugorje, where the Blessed Mother has been allegedly appearing since 1981. In this true story, Mike and Laura share the series of miracles that they experienced—beginning in Medjugorje—that confirmed his faith and brought the family closer to God. When tragedy strikes, the family must stand together and lean into their faith more than ever to weather an unimaginable storm. This is the story that allows you to walk with Mike and Laura on their journey as they struggle to believe, accept, and overcome with God’s help.
 
Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion:
  • I’ve never been to Medjugorje and I could not relate to the visions Mike had since I’ve never had one. But I did hear once of a priest who had a heart attack and had a vision. Both Medjugorje and Marian apparitions are both something I need to look more into.
  • I thought the book was very heartwarming and l liked the story of Mike’s deeper conversion into the faith, his struggle to take a different job, and Laura’s deep faith. I loved her quote “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord: plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  I loved the book. It was sad but at the same time uplifting.
  • I had questions on how Laura handled her grief. She never mentioned what she learned from the grief groups they went to. I’ve heard some things about Medjugorje but not enough to believe it.  Mike’s stories of his visions or the visions of others concerning Eric were interesting, but they also make me wonder. I did like the intuition stories and being open to God’s promptings. 
  • I thought there were some really moving and faith building stories in the book and what a wonderful showing of caring people. I liked the way it was written, alternating between Mike and Laura writing what they were going through on their journey through grief. I also liked (making the book very personal to our book group) reading the note written by Randi Neilsen and a picture she drew being included.
  • The book touched me in many different ways and it was a big help to me since our family has had numerous deaths this past year. Their faith is what got them through and it’s so refreshing to see people with a strong faith. What was especially helpful to me was the definition between guilt and shame—guilt coming from God while shame comes from the devil. I would really love to meet Laura someday. 
  • Laura and Mike went to the same church we did when we lived in South Dakota and we attended some of the same things, so I knew Laura. I joined in with a group of people in the church to pray for the family when Eric died. Mike and Laura are both truly amazing people and live their faith openly. I’m so glad they wrote this book.
  • Having lost a dependent son at 26 I know of the grief and emptiness, the immense pain a mother and father feel when their child dies unexpectedly. Like Mike and Laura we relied totally on God to get us through. Grief therapy groups did little for us. But the Blessed Mother, having witnessed the death of her own Son, was always called upon to help eased our pain. Their willingness to write this book will touch and help so many people. The book shares true feelings, true questions, and a longing to know their son is alright, is still present in spirit and now praying for them.
June 2022
Whisper, Finding God in the Everyday by Danielle Bean (†††††)
 
Synopsis: (some parts taken from RNS) 
In this intimate and down-to-earth book, Danielle Bean encourages women of all stages of life to slow down and experience the little whispers of God that are present in their everyday moments.  She writes about real, heartfelt moments that every woman can relate to. The constant striving after achieving more can be relieved. Even more, the ability to do less with more intention can provide a growing awareness of God’s constant presence and interior peace (even if the exterior is still chaotic).  ‘Whisper’ is perfect for anyone looking to develop a more intimate relationship with the ever-present God.  It is an invitation to be everyday mystics, finding extraordinary encounters with God in our ordinary days.  If we will be attentive, there is space for grace to speak to our hearts, leading us closer to our Lord, even as we care for the many needs we encounter in the vocation of marriage and family life.”
 
Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion: 
  • I really enjoyed reading this book.  I especially liked the “Jesus Prayer” and learning it’s history.  I say it now as I’m driving or doing things around the house.  Reading this book was like having a conversation with a friend.  I give it 5 crosses.
  • I found the book comfortable and reaffirming.  It was a good break from our last read, like a breath of fresh air.
  • I thought the author’s references were great and she put a lot of thought into her examples.  She made it very easy to relate to and to learn from.
  • The book impressed on me to sometimes just be still and let God come to me and to look and encounter God in other people.
  • Her examples always put her message--he point she was trying to make--so very clear in my head.   Explaining a moment with her young child and praying…Thank you God for this  glimpse of heaven.  Knowing we never had to “chase God down” to have a moment with Him, He is always right there.
  • I liked her summery at the end of the book, the Everyday Prayers—some forgotten old favorites, and a scripture reading relating to each lesson given in each chapter. 
  • Something that made an impression on me while reading the book is when she was at Mass and heard the priest say “This is my body, given up for you” and realized Jesus invites us to do the same, when we’re tired, or exhausted, hungry, bored, cold, frustrated, sick…and yet as mothers, as wives, as neighbors we get up and give to others.  There were so many of these little gems throughout the book.
  • It’s a good book to sit down with, take a deep relaxing breath, and know that God is sitting right there with you as you read.
May 2022
Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, The Dignity and Vocation of Women by John Paul II (††††)
 
Synopsis: (gathered from different resources)
This Apostolic Letter is one of many remarkable resources available to anyone wishing to understand seriously the Catholic Church's teaching on the dignity and unique vocation of women.  Pope John Paul II insists that any discussion about woman is necessarily a study of what it first means to be a human being and what the Incarnation signifies to our humanness. This eternal truth about the human being--man and woman-–is immutably fixed in human experience –at the same time constitutes the mystery which only in 'the Incarnate Word’ takes on light.  The document teaches that Mary is the fulfillment of the creation of the human person in the image and likeness of God.  Mulieris Dignitatem presents the doctrine of creation, especially the creation of the human person as person-communion-gift. The reason that a human person is like God is because this is God's choice in creating us in his image and likeness.  The document discusses the Church as Bride of Christ, explains the Church's relationship to Christ, and ultimately, the mystery and the gift are love.  Hence, woman - in herself and in what she represents in and to the Church – is described as an answer of love for the Church, the world, and to God.  Mulieris Dignitatem defends the equality of women, the vocation to love, the mutual submission of husbands and wives, the on-going impact of Original Sin on male/female relationships, Jesus's modeling of how to treat women, the significance of Jesus's mother for today's Christians, and the nature of the relationship between Christ and His Church including the role of the Eucharist as expressing the total self-gift of Christ and making possible the reciprocal total self-gift of the recipient.

Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion: 
  • It might be difficult to absorb the entire document but it is the most important literature I’ve read in a long time. There is so much food for thought in every line, and it should be mentioned to all parishioners to read and reread. We need to return to this message. It’s free to read on the internet.
  • I liked the reference to all the different women in the Bible. I liked JP2 pointing out that men and women each have their own gifts, gifts that complement each other.
  • All the women in the Bible he mentioned were intuitive—even Piolet’s wife. They all showed sensitivity to the needs of others, generosity, receptiveness, trust.  Men have their unique gifts as well.  He points out that fatherhood comes through women. 
  • It might seem wonderful to us older women, but today’s teens need different wording. I thought it too difficult to read, some words being too theological. And it’s all the same old stuff I’ve heard before. I didn’t get much out of it.
  • I thought it was an amazing letter that totally points out the dignity of all women and men together.  However, man has diminished that dignity by their own selfishness and self-centeredness.  
  • I loved his writing and even the fact he starts off with ‘Dear sisters.’  He showed dignity to all women as he said, “women make things bearable.” 
April 2022
Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body by Scott Hahn (†††††)
 
Synopsis:
​As Catholics, we believe in the resurrection of the body. We profess it in our creed. We're taught that to bury and pray for the dead are corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We honor the dead in our Liturgy through the Rite of Christian burial. We do all of this, and more, because when Jesus Christ took on flesh for the salvation of our souls, he also bestowed great dignity on our bodies. In Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body, Scott Hahn explores the significance of death and burial from a Catholic perspective. The promise of the bodily resurrection brings into focus the need for the dignified care of our bodies at the hour of death. Unpacking both Scripture and Catholic teaching, Hope to Die reminds us that we are destined for glorification on the last day.  Our bodies have been made by a God who loves us. Even in death, those bodies point to the mystery of our salvation.

Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion:
  • I thought it was a good review of the Catholic teaching on death and burial traditions. 
  • Interesting information on the Free Masons/Communistic disregard for the body and their burning hundreds of bodies during the war to demean the resurrection of the body.
  • It seemed the Introduction was not out to demote cremation, but it did a good job of it nonetheless.
  • The book made me rethink our decision for cremation. 
  • I liked the history of how we got to where we are today and the Church’s thoughts about cremation over the centuries.  And very interesting information on what the pagan Romans thought about the dead and entrance into the underworld if bodies weren’t treated in a certain way.
  • It was an easy read and an important topic in my life right now. I thought Scott Hahn took some liberty in explaining the Church’s view, however.
  • I liked the book and Hahn is such a great teacher.  It was God’s plan that the Second Person of the Trinity would take on a human nature to “sanctify the Body” -- make the body holy.  It gives us a new understanding of the human body.  Also, he talked about Adam not fighting back the devil which brought spiritual death into the world. So now we are born physically alive but spiritually dead. Something to think about.
  • This book was just what I needed!  I’ve lost three sisters in the last ten months who died without any written wishes on what they wanted done with their bodies.  It’s a gift to the family to have your personal wishes written down.
  • I liked: “The morality rate is 100% and so is the immorality rate.” He pointed out—and I never think of this—when we receive the Eucharist we receive the Trinity—the Father, the Son, AND the Holy Spirit!
  • It was obvious Hahn was really pushing NOT to cremate our bodies.  But those were Scott Hahn’s thoughts. The Church does not push or recommend not to cremate. In the end our bodies WILL be resurrected and we don’t all need to have whole bodies. God will make us new no matter what.  
March 2022
Wisdom from the Psalms by Peter J. Kreeft (†††††)
 
Synopsis: (taken from the inside cover) 
The Psalms make up the most popular, most universally loved and used book in the Bible, which is the most widely read book in the world. They are hymns, songs, poems, and prayers—at once formal and informal, liturgical and spontaneous, communal and individual. As a result, they have many layers of meaning. In this work, Peter Kreeft focuses on a dozen of the best-known psalms, including Psalms 23 and 51. He leads the reader through his personal explorations of this deep ocean of divinely inspired spiritual water, pulling up treasures for the soul along the way. "What prayers did Jesus and his disciples pray?" The Psalms! As all Jews have always done ever since they had them. The Psalms are God's answer to our plea, 'Teach us to pray.' Christ prayed them not only in the synagogue but throughout His life, and at his death."

Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion:
  • I really like the book.  He started right off in Ps 1 pointing out that life is a drama, a choice between two opposite roads through life: good and evil, holiness and unholiness, which lead in two opposite directions: joy and misery, both in this life and after death.  We have a choice.
  • I loved the book!  It really helped me to start praying the Psalms which are so relevant for our age now.  We have security under God’s protection.
  • There is so much to reflect on in this book that it took a lot longer to read than I thought it would.  It’s a great book to take into Adoration. I liked his explanation of the Tree of Life that God planted in the Garden of Eden. It symbolized the very life of God in the soul, divine life, eternal life.
  • I loved how he brought up so many different issues in our lives today and could relate them all to the Psalms. I loved all the analogies he uses.
  • I especially loved the Forward by Scott Hahn, what a warm friendship they have. Kreeft is so brilliant, and he explained God so perfectly--paragraph after paragraph on just one line in the Ps. When I was in public grade school we would recite the 23rd Ps after the Pledge of Allegiance!  
  • I found the book too deep for me, though he did have some great points— “addiction blinds the mind, it shuts down the reason, which is the critic and censor of the passions.”  How true!
  • The book was incredible!  And to think that Jesus prayed the Psalms—we are praying Jesus’ prayers—the prayers Mary taught Jesus!  It’s the only Book in the Bible that we pray at every Mass! Every Psalm he wrote on had such jewels to take away and meditate on.
 
Quote:  
Theology teaches us what God is; only prayer and the moral life teach us who He is.
February 2022
​Chosen and Cherished, Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn. (†††)

Synopsis: Source taken from The St. Paul Center Review
Author Kimberly Hahn is a Catholic speaker and author who for decades has shared her wisdom with other wives and mothers. Married to Scott for more than forty years, they have six children and nineteen grandchildren.   After homeschooling for twenty-six years, Kimberly now serves as Council-at-Large in Steubenville, OH, and hosts the St. Paul Center podcast.   In her book Chosen and Cherished, a Bible Study Based on Proverbs 31, she highlights this radiant image as a model for all wives and provides lessons on marriage for each season of life.  
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Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion:
  • I needed this book 40 years ago and felt right now in my life the book was a little irrelevant.  However, it would be good for parents to read and teach their children.
  • I thought Kimberly Hahn a little bit evangelical—I don’t need a scripture reading for EVERYTHING!
  • She’s a good writer and has some good points, like those for the unmarried to practice chastity.  Though I thought if young people now a days read this they would laugh.
  • I had a hard time getting into this book, it would pick it up and put it down.  I was encouraged when she wrote “don’t focus on our fears because God has a plan for our marriage.”
  • I wish I had this book when I was newly engaged and first married.  I have a granddaughter at the marrying age now         , and I plan on giving her this book.
  • There were some good gems and pearls of wisdom throughout the book, but I could not get over the feeling of being lectured to.  Maybe it was her writing style.
  • Reading the book made me feel that my marriage was inadequate. 
  • I liked the biblical quotes in the book and the tips at the end along with her idea of a moment of ‘Sacred Silence’ to think about ‘it’ before ‘talking’ about ‘it’.  I also wished she would have talked a little more about some of the hardships in their marriage and how they got through them.  We all learn by example.  I think our church, in support of marriage, could use a mentorship sort of program for our newly married couples: a small group of newly marrieds and a long-married leader to discuss maneuvering some of the bumps in the road of marriage.
  • We are all influence by what we watched in our parent’s relationship as to how we want our marriage to be, whether both our parents worked or not, whether they had a faith-based marriage. I wish we were spiritually at the point we are now when we got married.  We’ve grown so much spiritually together.
January 2022
Habits of Holiness: Small Steps for making Big Spiritual Progress by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames C.F.R. (†††††)
 
Synopsis: The ideal of holiness can seem impossible as we find ourselves busier and more distracted in our increasingly complicated world.  Yet the witness of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal offers us hope that it is possible to become a saint while living in the world.  In fact, it is by opening ourselves up to others and making time for prayer and sacrifices in our daily lives that we can bring God’s love to the world.  The book is all about making spiritual progress on the journey of living out the faith, of prayer, and of virtue. It is not impossible to become holy, and this is the goal of the book - to teach the reader through questions, reflections, and dialogue what it means to be “holy”. 

Some Comments from the Group’s Discussion: 
  • I loved this book—even the title was good!  Fr. Mark-Mary was so relatable and there were so many tidbits of wisdom.  “Lead with listening”, “Don’t give answers to questions that haven’t been asked.”  But more than this, he asked the important questions and made me think…Is there an area in my life not touched by Jesus?  At first I thought ‘no.’ But he made me look deeper into myself and into the areas I haven’t let Jesus touch.
  • I thought the book would be just “ho-hum holy” since it was written by a friar.  But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got out of this book.  I’ve got grandkids and their language is (shall I say) not always the best.  We need to pray and ask God’s blessing and His anointing upon our conversations and upon our witness that we give to others. Father Mark-Mary gave such a great example of how we never know just who might be watching and listening to what we do and say.
  • The book was well organized, and I loved the boxes with “Questions for Reflection”—thoughts and ideas of things we can do now.  It all could be a little over-whelming, but at the beginning he tells you just how to read and use the book.  “Poco a Poco, Little by Little”.  I marked and starred the book, wrote in the margins, and highlighted a lot.  I will be going back over this book to continue making a habit of prayer and the many other suggestions he gave.  What a treasure it is!
  • This was the right book for me at this stage in my life.  Take one thing and work on it for six weeks to make it a habit.  I already have a list of his suggestions.  I am definitely doing this!
  • What a great book to start off the new year!  I thought the section on loving the poor very good. He mentioned Mother Theresa saying to set a time every day to pray a holy hour and if you think you don’t have time for one hour—she said to make it two hours!.  I have to always be a witness to the faith!
  • He made so many suggestions on how to change our habits into holiness.   I’ll be reading this book again and again…step by step, with prayer and fasting, becoming more aware of Jesus deep within me, and aware of Jesus in the people who need to see Jesus in me.