Habemus Papam, everyone!
And who would have thought our modest but ever-surprising Library held so many treasures on this topic?!
To start off with a jewel of a book: Rise, Let Us Be On The Way, by John Paul IIChronicling the years he spent as a bishop, and later Archbishop, in Krakow, though to his election as the first Polish Pope in 1978, he recounts everything from Communist attempts to suppress the Church in Poland to his efforts to adopt a new and more open style of pastoral ministry. With recollections about his life as well as his thoughts on the issues facing the world now, Pope John Paul II offers words of wisdom in this book that will appeal to people of any faith looking to strengthen their spirituality.
But wait, there's more:
Here is a religious and historical book: Desire Of The Everlasting Hills, by Thomas Cahill.
I actually caught my breath when I found this book in the Library. I have it on my own bookshelves and love it dearly, so I'm especially pleased to share this one with you.
Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time - a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under an oppressive Roman political presence who imposed their worldview on their subjects. He explains the influence of the pervasive Greek culture and values and especially the widely varied social and religious context of the Judaism in which Jesus moved and flourished. Given all this background, he devotes the rest of his book to present the Gospels that emerge so much clearer and the Christian message that suddenly becomes so much more impressive.
I re-read this book over the weekend. It makes the Gospels, the people, the times so approachable.
If you like history, you will find this book an eye-opener. If you are religious it will confirm your joy. If you are a skeptic it will make you pause and often delight you.
Give it a try! Careful though, it might keep you up till 3am ;-)
And let's not forget these novels – each one a page-turner!
Angels And Demons, by Dan Brown (the author of Da Vinci Code)
The story takes place in Rome during a conclave(!). While a new pope is being elected, four cardinals get mysteriously murdered in important churches throughout the city. Here we find the inevitable clues in secret code, half-truths of actual historical trivia, the ever-present Robert Langdon chasing the suspect but thankfully assisted by a long-legged brunette, evil conspirators and a nuclear physicist in a breath-taking melange of fact, fiction, and madness... It is silly but it is un-put-down-able!
The Last Gospel, by David GibbinsJack Howard is about to discover a secret. Perhaps the greatest secret ever kept.
What if one of the Ancient World's greatest libraries was buried in volcanic ash and then re-discovered two thousand years later? What if what was found there was a document that could shatter the very foundations of the Western World? What if you were the one who discovered this secret? And were then forced to confront terrifying enemies determined to destroy you to ensure it goes no further? (“Go to Wikileaks”, Anna says)
This is the story of one last Gospel, left behind in the age of the New Testament, in the greatest days of the Roman Empire, and of its extraordinary secret, one that has lain concealed for years. Follow Jack Howard as he discovers the secret and must prevent others from doing the same...
And this week's Classic: The Name Of The Rose, by Umberto Eco
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the over of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, The Name of the Rose is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.
Finally, in honor of our new pope Francis I, named after St Francis of Assisi, there is no better verse to send you for this week than the prayer of his patron saint...
The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
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