As previously stated, I’m discerning and one part of that is reading books. A lot of them, from a lot of different perspectives. If you’re going down a similar path in your life (or you just like reading from the Christian perspective), you may want to think about choosing some books off the list. If you’d like to know more, just send me an email and I’ll be glad to tell you more about any of them.
Completed
- Nick the Cat: Christian Meditations on the Stranger by Roberta C. Bondi – I picked this one out of the parish library before I ever got a chance to speak with my priest. It doesn’t exactly scream DISCERNMENT, but none of the books in the library really did and at the time I felt like the call to a new vocation in my life was much like a stranger showing up, just as this strange cat showed up at this Candler professor’s house. Plus, I’m a crazy cat lady in training.
- A Manual for Eucharistic Visitors by Beth Wickenberg Ely – One of the things my priest and one of the deacons recommended is for me to “try on” various ministries in the church. One such ministry is being a Eucharistic Visitor, or someone who takes the sacraments and their presence to those who cannot attend the Mass. This is actually something which had me most thinking about increasing my ministry within the church, as at one time I was placed at a nursing home for school and had many patients who didn’t want to go for therapy since Mass was in 45 minutes and this was their one shot to receive the Eucharist until next month. (Don’t worry Mr. M, I’ll personally make sure you get there!)
- Why I Became A Priest edited by George L. Kane – A collection of 1950′s essays written by Roman Catholic priests on the subject of – surprise! – why they became priests. I recommend My Red Couch to balance this one out. You can read my thoughts on it here.
- Women in the Church’s Ministry: A Test-Case for Biblical Hermeneutics by R.T. France – Quite good. Read what I had to say on it here as a brief snippet won’t do it justice (not that my couple paragraphs do either).
- The Close by Chloe Breyer – Daughter of The Hon. Stephen Breyer’s account of her first year at seminary. This one took me a while to read because of how it was written. At times it was really engaging and at other times I felt like I was just reading it to get it done before it was due back at the library. There’s some good things to think about in here, particularly when Breyer discusses her role and her doubts and fears.
- Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community by Farnham, et al – Recommended to read early in your discernment process. Good ideas and thoughts as well as some procedural information, but probably most helpful earlier in your discernment.
- Called by Name: The Inspiring Stories of 12 Men Who Became Catholic Priests by Jerry Usher and Christine Mugridge – Erm… a more modern look in the same vein as Why I Became A Priest. Some pages just bleed with support for Roman Catholic doctrines that I reject (celibate, all-male priesthood; inherent sinfulness of contraception; inherent holiness of the Roman Catholic Church; infallibility of the pope… just to name a few). But there are some good stories in here, especially from the beginning stories which are more stories of one’s call to the priesthood than treatises on why being a priest in the Roman Catholic Church is the right choice. Balance it out with another feminist book and make an effort to note the differences in the style of writing between Fr. Alberto Cutie (now an Episcopal priest) and every other priest in the book.
In Process
- The Spiritual Life by Evelyn Underhill
- My Red Couch: And Other Stories on Seeking a Feminist Faith by Claire Bischoff and Rachel Gaffron
Yet to Come
- The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
- Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction by Margaret Guenther
- Women in Church History: 21 Stories for 21 Centuries by Joanne Turpin
[...] Books [...]