Serendipity is pretty cool, if you ask me.
It seems like I've been thinking about and reading about food a lot lately, whether online or in real life, since I reviewed Mary DeTurris Poust's Cravings. Part of this is following along with the stops on Mary's blog tour and what others have had to say about it, but part is just the new year/new you. Strangely, I haven't been doing much running this month, even though I reviewed Jeff Grabosky's book Running with God Across America.
Now about that serendipity---one of my favorite websites, and probably my most-used App on our Apple devices, is Universalis. My husband Joseph introduced me to Universalis back when we had Palm Pilots, and I've used it through the years to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Sometimes very consistently, sometimes not. You know how it goes... but Universalis is always there, making it easy for me to jump back in.
Occasionally, Martin Kochanski, the creator of Universalis and its associated Apps, writes a reflection for the saint of the day. Often these relate to the "big saints," but often there is something about an obscure British or Irish saints, since he lives in the UK.
The "about today" regarding St. Wulstan, relates to food, and is well worth reading and pondering (emphases mine):
In the Chapel of St Oliver Plunkett at Downside Abbey, a stained glass window depicts a less official story concerning Wulstan: that one day, whilst celebrating Mass, he was distracted by the smell of roast goose, which was wafted into the church from the neighbouring kitchen. He prayed that he might be delivered from the distraction and vowed that he would never eat meat again if his prayer were granted.
The modern world needs stories like this more than it realises. The watered-down puritanism that serves so many of us as a moral code today equates pleasure with evil – cream cakes, the advertisements tell us, are “naughty but nice”.. or even “wickedly delicious.” Messages like this are a libel on the name of God, who created the pleasures, and on his Son, whose first recorded public act was turning water into wine. There is nothing wicked about delicious food in itself, or in any other pleasant or beautiful thing.
Let us enjoy God’s creation all we can and rejoice in its creator as we do so, and if, like Wulstan, we have to deprive ourselves of something for our spiritual or bodily health, then let us suffer our deprivation cheerfully, blaming the weakness in us that made it necessary. Let us never devalue our sacrifices by denigrating the things we sacrifice, or the sacrifice will be pointless. Let us remember what God did, day after day, as he was creating the world: he looked at it, and saw it, and behold: it was very good.
Tomorrow is my day on the Cravings blog tour, and I'm excited that I get to be the "grand finale" (sort of!). I hope you'll join me then.
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
New Year, New You: Be Mindful, Be Inspired
Here is my January column that appears in this weekend's edition of The Catholic Post. I invite your feedback here or elsewhere online.
A new calendar year offers many a chance to start fresh with eating right or maybe a new exercise plan. Bookstores shelves are full of how-to books this time of year to help kick-start that process.
That’s all well and good, but many times a shift in thinking is what’s really needed. Two great new books offer just that.
Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image and God is Mary DeTurris Poust’s personal and spiritual journey about the intersection of food and faith.
“For Catholics, any conversation about the food-faith connection will always come back around to this one central theme. Ours is a faith centered on a meal,” Poust writes, and she shows in Cravings how it is vital to understand and internalize the link between our spiritual and physical well-being when it comes to food.
A big strength is that Poust’s book is both Catholic and catholic, tapping into a wide range of spiritual practices and traditions related to food and meals. So much of our Catholic liturgical year relates to fasting and feasting, and seeing how other cultures and religious traditions share this is constructive and broadening. Poust also shares stories of various people who have struggled with weight, food issues or spirituality related to food, and how they handle their struggles.
Cravings is more spiritual “how-to” than healthy-eating “how-to.” Considering the many competing theories that seem to change by the week (is it paleo or vegan that’s best these days?), that seems healthy in more ways than one.
At the same time, Poust takes the time to make the case about how our modern American food promotes unhealthy lifestyles rather than healthy ones. And her helpful appendix, “Practices for the Journey Forward,” summarizing healthy eating and lifestyle principles, is sensible and balanced without being too much.
Poust saved the best for last, in the final two chapters: “Soul Food: Turning Meals into Meditations,” and “Just Desserts: You Can Have Your Cake and Spiritual Life, Too.” I’m not just saying that because I love dessert best of all. Her own experiences of mindful eating, both alone and with her family, as well as her ideas for creating food rituals, are encouraging rather than daunting.
After reading Cravings, I feel motivated in many ways, and so grateful for our Catholic faith’s rhythms and rituals. My take-away is to practice small times of mindful eating, and make more intentional and positive food rituals at our house.
Running With God Across America is decidedly not a “how-to” book about getting in shape, but many readers will find it inspiring and compelling.
Running is University of Notre Dame grad Jeff Grabosky’s account of his decision to embark, after a rough post-college time, on a cross-country run, praying for others’ intentions the entire way.
Each short chapter is titled by “day” (day 1, etc.) and covers one day of his 3,700-mile, months-long journey. Most days he ran more than 30 miles, and he relates with openness his spiritual, physical and emotional state through many ups and downs.
“I set out on my journey to help bring our world closer to God,” writes Grabosky at the end of Running with God Across America, but it’s his own spiritual journey that takes center stage, with a endearing narrative and flow.
This book is hard to put down--I would resolve to set it aside for dishes or some other responsibility, but kept reading and telling myself, “just one more day.”
As a busy middle-aged mom (and runner), I found myself envious of two aspects of Grabosky’s trek, one serious and one kind of funny.
First, Grabosky had tons of time and personal space for prayer, while running, of course. That’s why the book reads like a retreat journal or spiritual memoir in many ways. His spiritual highs and lows are recounted in vivid and emotional detail.
Second, food lovers will marvel as Grabosky relates the sheer amount of food he needed to eat to keep up his weight on this long run. I know how good food tastes after a long run or lots of exertion, and so his descriptions of memorable and delicious meals stuck with me. Talk about mindful eating.
Most people aren’t going to embark upon a solo cross-country run, though some might want to join in Grabosky’s latest effort, as he organizes the LIFE Runner's cross-country Relay for Life that begins next month.
Still, most readers will glean from Running With God Across America spiritual fruit from his journey, and be inspired to consider their own spiritual and physical life more like the real journey that it is. Just one more day ....
----
Note: I will be doing Q&As this month with both Mary DeTurris Poust and Jeff Grabosky. My Q&A with Jeff will appear next week, and I'll be part of the blog tour for Mary's book; Reading Catholic's "stop" is scheduled for January 20.
A new calendar year offers many a chance to start fresh with eating right or maybe a new exercise plan. Bookstores shelves are full of how-to books this time of year to help kick-start that process.
That’s all well and good, but many times a shift in thinking is what’s really needed. Two great new books offer just that.
Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image and God is Mary DeTurris Poust’s personal and spiritual journey about the intersection of food and faith.
“For Catholics, any conversation about the food-faith connection will always come back around to this one central theme. Ours is a faith centered on a meal,” Poust writes, and she shows in Cravings how it is vital to understand and internalize the link between our spiritual and physical well-being when it comes to food.
A big strength is that Poust’s book is both Catholic and catholic, tapping into a wide range of spiritual practices and traditions related to food and meals. So much of our Catholic liturgical year relates to fasting and feasting, and seeing how other cultures and religious traditions share this is constructive and broadening. Poust also shares stories of various people who have struggled with weight, food issues or spirituality related to food, and how they handle their struggles.
Cravings is more spiritual “how-to” than healthy-eating “how-to.” Considering the many competing theories that seem to change by the week (is it paleo or vegan that’s best these days?), that seems healthy in more ways than one.
At the same time, Poust takes the time to make the case about how our modern American food promotes unhealthy lifestyles rather than healthy ones. And her helpful appendix, “Practices for the Journey Forward,” summarizing healthy eating and lifestyle principles, is sensible and balanced without being too much.
Poust saved the best for last, in the final two chapters: “Soul Food: Turning Meals into Meditations,” and “Just Desserts: You Can Have Your Cake and Spiritual Life, Too.” I’m not just saying that because I love dessert best of all. Her own experiences of mindful eating, both alone and with her family, as well as her ideas for creating food rituals, are encouraging rather than daunting.
After reading Cravings, I feel motivated in many ways, and so grateful for our Catholic faith’s rhythms and rituals. My take-away is to practice small times of mindful eating, and make more intentional and positive food rituals at our house.
Running With God Across America is decidedly not a “how-to” book about getting in shape, but many readers will find it inspiring and compelling.
Running is University of Notre Dame grad Jeff Grabosky’s account of his decision to embark, after a rough post-college time, on a cross-country run, praying for others’ intentions the entire way.
Each short chapter is titled by “day” (day 1, etc.) and covers one day of his 3,700-mile, months-long journey. Most days he ran more than 30 miles, and he relates with openness his spiritual, physical and emotional state through many ups and downs.
“I set out on my journey to help bring our world closer to God,” writes Grabosky at the end of Running with God Across America, but it’s his own spiritual journey that takes center stage, with a endearing narrative and flow.
This book is hard to put down--I would resolve to set it aside for dishes or some other responsibility, but kept reading and telling myself, “just one more day.”
As a busy middle-aged mom (and runner), I found myself envious of two aspects of Grabosky’s trek, one serious and one kind of funny.
First, Grabosky had tons of time and personal space for prayer, while running, of course. That’s why the book reads like a retreat journal or spiritual memoir in many ways. His spiritual highs and lows are recounted in vivid and emotional detail.
Second, food lovers will marvel as Grabosky relates the sheer amount of food he needed to eat to keep up his weight on this long run. I know how good food tastes after a long run or lots of exertion, and so his descriptions of memorable and delicious meals stuck with me. Talk about mindful eating.
Most people aren’t going to embark upon a solo cross-country run, though some might want to join in Grabosky’s latest effort, as he organizes the LIFE Runner's cross-country Relay for Life that begins next month.
Still, most readers will glean from Running With God Across America spiritual fruit from his journey, and be inspired to consider their own spiritual and physical life more like the real journey that it is. Just one more day ....
----
Note: I will be doing Q&As this month with both Mary DeTurris Poust and Jeff Grabosky. My Q&A with Jeff will appear next week, and I'll be part of the blog tour for Mary's book; Reading Catholic's "stop" is scheduled for January 20.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Memoirs Help Give "A Reason for Hope"
Here is my December column that appears in this weekend’s print The Catholic Post. I invite your feedback here, or on Facebook or Twitter.
Pop quiz: why are you Catholic?
Could you tell your story in a way that makes your friend want to be Catholic, or your children glad that they are Catholic?
It’s harder than it appears at first thought, isn’t it?
And yet as St. Peter tells us, we should “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” Personal stories, more than statistics or arguments, are one of the best ways to transmit faith, whether ourselves or those closest to us.
You might be strong in your Catholic faith, or looking for a booster shot for a faith grown anemic. Or you might be looking for a gift for someone wavering in his or her faith. Consider one of the compelling and enjoyable newer memoirs, where others share what gives them hope.
Here are two very different choices among recent offerings:
*My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir by Colleen Carroll Campbell recounts Campbell’s spiritual journey from nominal Catholic college student through young adulthood as she struggles with faith, work, dating, a parent’s decline, and infertility.
What keeps her moving closer to, instead of away from, her Catholic faith, are a series of women saints whose lives point the way for her to experience life fully--and fully Catholic.
Many know Campbell as a gifted author--she wrote the 2002 book The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy. I enjoyed that book, and found it well-done, but My Sisters the Saints is far richer and more compelling, because it is Campbell’s own story, shared honesty and sensitively.
I confess that I shed a few cathartic tears at Campbell’s own story, since I’ve been through similar struggles. Her account of losing a parent over time, in particular, is handled with grace and candor. Campbell writes warmly and well, and her book should be widely read.
*A very, very different memoir, but equally compelling, is Chris Haw’s From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart: Rekindling My Love for Catholicism.
I have much more in common with Campbell, as I’m a cradle Catholic who never left the Church. Chris Haw, while raised Catholic through young childhood, began his faith life as an “non-denominational” Christian, basically anti-Catholic, at the mega-church Willow Creek in the Chicago area. But Haw’s book is hard to put down.
Learning of worship and faith life in mega-churches is interesting. And yet, it is Haw’s journey from evangelical and anti-liturgical/anti-denominational zealot to--of all things--a faithful, liturgical Catholic that makes this book fascinating.
For a non-theologian like me, some of the middle chapters of From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart are a little too theology-rich (or theology-laden, depending on your tolerance for straight theology). I wish there had been a bit extra “personal story” in those middle chapters. The story of how Haw and his young family live their faith radically in a poverty-stricken area of Camden, New Jersey, is remarkable, and I wish there were more about how they live it out, day to day.
Still, I read each chapter with interest and attention. Haw’s voice challenges one to “think different” about the meaning of Catholicism. His perspective is radically unique, like a kind of Dorothy Day for the millennial generation (and even those of us just a bit older than that). Most of us are not called to live or worship the way Haw does, but reading about it prompts questions and challenges about how we do live out our Catholic faith.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Cultivating Prayer, The Dominican Way
Here is my November column from this weekend's print edition of The Catholic Post. I invite your feedback.
“Without prayer, there is no chance for success in this world.”
Kind of grabs you, doesn’t it? That was my reaction when I began to read the beautifully produced and spiritually rich new book from Paraclete Press, How to Pray the Dominican Way: Ten Postures, Prayers and Practices that Lead Us to God by Angelo Stagnaro.
Stagnaro refreshes, without changing the essence of, St. Dominic’s “Nine Ways of Prayer,” a classic spiritual work, adding on a 10th way of contemplative prayer. (He describes the 10th way as an outflow of the other nine). Stagnaro wishes to convey in the book that our bodies can dispose our souls to great strides in prayer and closeness to the Lord, if we take the time to learn and practice these ancient postures and gestures.
I was actually unaware of “The Nine Ways of Prayer,” a short volume written by St. Dominic as a description of his ways to pray before the Lord, but what a treasure! The nine ways are deceptively simple (for example, praying by prostrating, or praying with hands raised), but rich in wisdom for growth in the spiritual life.
Stagnaro’s book updates St. Dominic’s ideas with a fresh eye and a mature spirituality born of his longtime work as a catechist. In this volume, Stagnaro wants to fulfill the Dominican motto, “to hand the fruits of contemplation on to others.” It offers a step-by-step guide as well as takes readers on a spiritual journey.
What I think makes How to Pray the Dominican Way especially worthwhile is that the high quality of printing paper; the just-right size of the lovely font (along with plenty of white space on each page), as well as the size of the book itself, makes it a joy to read. It feels great in your hand, it’s handsome to read, and therefore creates an atmosphere conducive to spiritual reading and growth.
Sometimes books have great content but can lack a certain polish. E-books can be convenient, and in general I’m no snob for “only” real books. But while I recommend all sorts of books, it’s a real pleasure to recommend one so beautifully produced (and real) as How to Pray the Dominican Way.
“Without prayer, there is no chance for success in this world.”
Kind of grabs you, doesn’t it? That was my reaction when I began to read the beautifully produced and spiritually rich new book from Paraclete Press, How to Pray the Dominican Way: Ten Postures, Prayers and Practices that Lead Us to God by Angelo Stagnaro.
Stagnaro refreshes, without changing the essence of, St. Dominic’s “Nine Ways of Prayer,” a classic spiritual work, adding on a 10th way of contemplative prayer. (He describes the 10th way as an outflow of the other nine). Stagnaro wishes to convey in the book that our bodies can dispose our souls to great strides in prayer and closeness to the Lord, if we take the time to learn and practice these ancient postures and gestures.
I was actually unaware of “The Nine Ways of Prayer,” a short volume written by St. Dominic as a description of his ways to pray before the Lord, but what a treasure! The nine ways are deceptively simple (for example, praying by prostrating, or praying with hands raised), but rich in wisdom for growth in the spiritual life.
Stagnaro’s book updates St. Dominic’s ideas with a fresh eye and a mature spirituality born of his longtime work as a catechist. In this volume, Stagnaro wants to fulfill the Dominican motto, “to hand the fruits of contemplation on to others.” It offers a step-by-step guide as well as takes readers on a spiritual journey.
What I think makes How to Pray the Dominican Way especially worthwhile is that the high quality of printing paper; the just-right size of the lovely font (along with plenty of white space on each page), as well as the size of the book itself, makes it a joy to read. It feels great in your hand, it’s handsome to read, and therefore creates an atmosphere conducive to spiritual reading and growth.
Sometimes books have great content but can lack a certain polish. E-books can be convenient, and in general I’m no snob for “only” real books. But while I recommend all sorts of books, it’s a real pleasure to recommend one so beautifully produced (and real) as How to Pray the Dominican Way.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
A Tale of Two Books About .... Pregnancy
When I review certain books, I have often shared them informally with others--such as medical experts or even kids--to help me discern if they are good for the intended audience, or what their gut reaction is to a certain book.
I’ve decided to formalize this by sharing conversations to provide a perspective that’s unique, and give readers a chance to understand a little more about a genre of books from the intended audience.
First in this series of conversations is with an expectant mom and her unique perspective about two different books intended for new moms: the newly-released from Sarah Reinhard, A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism and Donna-Marie Cooper-O’Boyle’s classic, Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be.
......
Read the rest of this conversation at my new website, Reading Catholic. Click here to visit the link to the interview on ReadingCatholic.com, and I invite your feedback and following me there.
I’ve decided to formalize this by sharing conversations to provide a perspective that’s unique, and give readers a chance to understand a little more about a genre of books from the intended audience.
First in this series of conversations is with an expectant mom and her unique perspective about two different books intended for new moms: the newly-released from Sarah Reinhard, A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism and Donna-Marie Cooper-O’Boyle’s classic, Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be.
......
Read the rest of this conversation at my new website, Reading Catholic. Click here to visit the link to the interview on ReadingCatholic.com, and I invite your feedback and following me there.
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