What I’m Reading…

I’ve been tagged.  Red Neck Woman wants to know what I’m reading… well, that’s probably not true. Likely she KNOWS what I’m reading (since she usually recommends a great deal) but wants me to share anyway.  Oddly, my list is short at the moment. 

Night Table Reading:

Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker III

Very good book on the impact of the Church on history… at least so far….

Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI

Very good daily reading material by the Holy Father.  Great way to end the day after Night Prayers.

The Facts About Luther by Msgr. Patrick F. O’Hare, LL.D.

Very good book.  Excellent insight into Luther.  I have been impressed with the compassion  in this book for the weaknesses in Luther and the choices that he made while never condoning the heresy he created.

The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions: Everything You Need to Know But No One Ever Taught You by Mike Aquilina and Regis J. Flaherty

Trying to do exactly that, make up the deficiency in my theological and devotional education.  While very simple, this book helps and will be a good tool for helping teach my children.

Bookmarked Books:

Controversies: High Level Catholic Apologetics by Karl Keating

Excellent book. Excellent.  Reading parts of this reminds me of theological debates on the homeschool learning forum I frequent. 

Essays of a Catholic by Hilaire Belloc

Belloc is always good. Always.  In one of these essays he was eerily prophetic.

How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc

More of that reading to remedy my exceedingly lopsided historical education.  Also a good read. Belloc is a bit like Chesteron… always good.

Thomas Merton: Spiritual Master by Lawrence S. Cunningham

This is a good book.  I love Merton.  I think I prefer reading the books in their entirety however, instead of clips from them as this book contains.

Just Finished:

Heresy: A Catherine Levendeur Mystery by Sharan Newman

Picked this up in the airport on my way home from Easter.  A mystery set in the Middle Ages with a very Catholic flavor.  A little heavy on the historical detail and too light on plot development but it was a nice break from my usual fare.

Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn

I can’t recommend this book highly enough.  It is absolutely excellent.  While I had already come to understand and appreciate the Catholic perspective on Mary, this book took that knowledge, understanding and appreciation to a whole new level.  As much as I’ve gotten out of the rosary already, I realize after reading this book that like all other things Catholic, there are depths to that meditation that I have yet to apprehend. I rejoice at the feast laid out for the journey yet again.  Must have book.

Roots of the Reformation by Karl Adam

Slender book but an excellent resource along with The Facts About Luther to remedy a lopsided view of the man and the Reformation. This book presents a remarkably objective view.

… and then there are the ‘wanna order’s'… you do NOT wanna know how long my wish list is.

 I tag cause of our joy, Standing on My Head, and the Hermeneutic of Continuity.

 

Weirdo…

I’ve been tagged… sounds a bit like ‘I’ve been shot’ doesn’t it?  Only this is more pleasant.  Shellie has invited me in on the fun and boy was hers fun to read!  I share some with her… but I am NOT confessing to which ones. 

Here are the rules:

People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own 6 weird things as well as stating this rule clearly! Three people need to be tagged and their names listed. Finally a comment needs to be left on each tagged person’s blog…

1. I like to read. A lot. Ok, I know this may not SEEM wierd, but roll with me here.  It’s the TYPE of book… I like to read the books people always refer to but never actually read… like the classics (do you KNOW how few people actually READ them anymore?) and I’m really enjoying books on Catholic theology and books by Catholic authors like G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Thomas Merton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and others.  I also like to follow author bunny trails.  If reading a book about Merton, I’ll go get the books that influenced him or authors who he favored.   (Truth is, I like LOTS of reading material… fantasy, mysteries, all kinds.)

2.  I have quotes files. LOVE great quotes. Personally, I don’t think this is wierd but a friend had quite the laugh over it while assuring me that I was VERY. WIERD.  Well, I ask you, what DO other people do with great lines or segments from books that they want to keep, use, and refer to?  I didn’t tell the friend, but it gets worse.  I have BOOKS of quotes… NOTHING but quotes… and a few of them are quotes by a favorite author.

3. I have restless leg syndrome. Yeah, it’s real and no, it isn’t a joke.  I do this jittery thing with my leg, have since high school… never would’ve known that it was anything more than a nervous habit if I hadn’t married a doctor.  I don’t notice when I do this… and it drives my friends absolutely. crazy.  If we are out to dinner at a restaurant and my leg is against the table leg I can just about slosh the tea out of your glass… and that sloshing is usually what makes me realize I’m doing it and move my leg.  I have one friend in particular that will LUNGE at me to still my leg when she just can’t STAND it anymore.  he he he

4. I LOVE to swim. LOVE the water… but HATE, HATE, HATE to get my face wet.

5. I absolutely can not bear to watch a child wiggle a loose tooth.  They can cut themselves and bleed all over like a stuck pig (although I will be hollering “Do NOT bleed on my carpet!” and “DO NOT bleed on the needlepoint!”- you see, upon hearing the first, when younger my children tend to shove their dripping appendage over the needlepoint project I’m holding… as if that were a BETTER choice). I will help them staunch the flow, gather up aforementioned needlepoint project, make sure all the other children are dressed and have books to read during the wait in the ER, drive them there going the speed limit, and interact with the nurses and physicians in a calm manner…and I do NOT go to the ER unless I NEED something that can not be done by the doctor daddy at home…  but do NOT ask me to watch them wiggle a tooth.

6.  Lastly, and it took me forEVER to get here, if I need blood drawn I must lie down.  It is not negotiable and I WILL leave the lab and go to another one if they won’t let me.  You see, I pass out cold and usually have some kinda little seizure if someone does a blood draw while I’m sitting up. (I do know the official name for what that is but do not know the correct spelling.) Many times lab tech’s will listen to you when you say this… however there are a few young inexperienced ones that pat you on the head and say ‘oh you’ll be fine, just take deep breaths’.  The last one who did that to me got a warning halfway through that I was about to pass out but didn’t believe me.  He looked a bit ashen when I woke up to find my dh (doctor) hovering over me with him in the background. Since the husband was in the waiting room when I went back, I asked how he knew I needed him.  He said, “I heard a sound like a wounded animal and knew it was you.” Oh. gee. thanks. I bet the NEXT time someone told that little lab tech they needed to lie down or were gonna pass out he’ll listen! After many years of being too much a doormat (seriously, so stop laughing) to insist on the prone position and spending two days recovering as a result, I have learned my lesson…. besides, with homeschooling four kids I do NOT have time to spend on recuperation.

 I tag Tanya, Leticia, and C.C.

 

A Devotional Meme…

CJ’s blog had this meme on it, with an invitation to play… it was more intriguing to me than any others I’ve seen, so I took her up on it…

1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus?

The Anima Christi and The Universal Prayer.

2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer?

Hail Holy Queen followed by The Offertory

3. Do you wear a scapular or medal?

No.

4. Do you have holy water in your home?

Yes, in holy water fonts and bottles for filling them.

5. Do you ‘offer up’ your sufferings?

Yes.

6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays?

No.

7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration?

Yes.

8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or Sunday morning Mass person?

Saturday evening, 5:00 regular.

9. Do you say prayers at mealtime?

Yes, and over snacks too.

10. Favorite Saint(s)?

Blessed Imelda Lambertini; JPII; Mother Theresa; among others.

11. Can you recite the Apostle’s Creed by heart?

No, but I’m working on it. (Grew up Baptist.)

12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day?

I wouldn’t say usually, but often yes.

13. Bonus Question: When you pass by an automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved?

Yes, I do… and for the EMT’s etc who are/will be caring for them.