A few days ago I was on the Son Rise Morning Radio Show discussing some summer reading picks. This is a popular segment on the show where regular guests share some good books that would be worthwhile reading this summer.

My picks were:

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende
This is the story of an M.I.T. graduate who decides (along with his wife of 10 days) to live among a strict Amish community for 18 months with no electricity and no telephones. It is a fascinating read and quite thought-provoking. Brende is not anti-technology, but he instead is trying to remind us that we should evaluate new technologies before blindly embracing them.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
This is my all-time favorite C.S. Lewis book. It is a fable of a man who finds himself among denizens of Hell making a day-trip to the outskirts of heaven. The key insight of Lewis here is that Heaven has an “open-door” policy, but those in Hell choose not to go there. This may sound like heresy, but it is in keeping with the insights of some past Saints (such as St. Catherine of Genoa).

Saint Among Savages: The Life of Saint Isaac Jogues by Francis Talbot
I just finished this in anticipation for a recent pilgrimage to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs (I should have some reflections on this trip in the near future). The book is a bit dated (it was written in the 1930’s) and a bit long (over 400 pages), but it is worth the read. The story of this great saint and his companions who gave their lives for the conversion of the Native Americans is quite inspiring.

Since 2002, Catholics have been hit with the sexual abuse crisis in the Church. First it was uncovered in the United States, then revelations of abuse and cover-ups spread to other countries, reaching a crescendo this past Spring with many media outlets trying to tag Pope Benedict with accusations of misconduct. One of the problems with this slow drip, drip of sordid revelations is that it is hard to get a “big picture” perspective of the problem and the Church’s response to it. Instead, it just appears as if nothing is changing and nothing is being addressed. News story after news story just seem to repeat the same allegations over and over.

Because of this, Greg Erlandson and Matthew Bunson have done Catholics a great service by writing the book “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis” (full disclosure: Erlandson is the President and Publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, which is publishing my book this Fall). In this book, the authors do two things: recount the details of the crisis and note what the Church – and particularly Pope Benedict – has done to respond to it. They are not afraid to criticize church officials when they need to be criticized, but they also note the leading role Pope Benedict has taken to rid the Church of sexual predators, dating back to his days as a Cardinal.

This book is split into two parts: the first is the analysis of Erlandson and Bunson, and then the second part includes a large number of official writings and documents from the Pope and other church officials related to the crisis. This second section serves the same purpose as the first: to gather together in one place a “big picture” of what church officials have been doing since 2002 to address abuse within the Church.

I do wish that the book addressed critically the results of some of the U.S. bishops’ actions since 2002 to protect children. There seems to be no question that predator priests are becoming more and more rare because of the bishops’ actions since 2002, but there is legitimate concern that some of the actions taken (such as mandatory and possibly inappropriate “Safe Environment” training in Catholic schools) can have long-term negative consequences. But frankly, that is not really a criticism of this book, as that was not a topic Erlandson and Bunson were covering. I do hope someday that someone does study those issues and writes a comprehensive book about it.

However, if you want to get a great overview of the abuse crisis in the Church and the Church’s – and Pope’s – response to it, I would recommend buying a copy of Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis. And for those particularly interested in this topic, OSV has set up a blog associated with this book and the issues surrounding it.

If you are a Catholic and you are a writer, then you should be interested in this:

The second annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will be held August 4-6, 2010, at the Scanticon Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe.

To view our promotional trailer click here. Share it with your friends!

This year’s conference will feature presentations on such topics as market tips and time management for busy writers, poetry, creating evil characters, working with an editor, creating winning proposals, journaling and much more.

To register – you simply need to click here.

For accommodations contact the Scanticon Valley Forge. Rooms are $119 a night. Please tell them you are with the Catholic Marketing Network.

God bless all of you and we look forward to seeing you in Pennsylvania!

I plan on attending, so I hope to see you there!

I recently reviewed the book “The Eucharist and the Rosary” by Matt Swaim on Amazon. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to grow in their appreciation of the Mass and the Rosary (and if you don’t want to, why not?).

Here is my full review:

A great way to deepen your love for the Rosary and the Mass!

The most important prayer for Catholics is the Mass, and the most popular devotion among Catholics is the Rosary. Matt Swaim takes these two important spiritual practices and carefully leads the reader to a deeper understanding of their relationship. It is a unique approach and offers Catholics an accessible way to deepen their appreciation of both the Mass and the Rosary.

In “The Eucharist and the Rosary”, Swaim dedicates a short chapter to each of the twenty mysteries of the Rosary. For each one, he ties the mystery to our celebration of the Mass, and in doing so, both allows us to understand the Mass better as well as the mystery in question. But this book is no dry theological tome; Swaim writes in a breezy style yet doesn’t fall into a disrespectful tone for the sacred topics he is addressing. He combines references to saints, Church teaching, and popular culture in a way that helps the reader better understand sacred realities with little effort.

There are many ways to approach the praying of the Rosary, and in “The Eucharist and the Rosary” Swaim gives the Church a marvelous method of enriching this traditional prayer – and along the way also enriches our appreciation of the Mass. For any Catholic who wishes to advance in the spiritual life, I highly recommend this book.

My favorite Anglican bishop and non-Catholic Biblical scholar, N.T. Wright, is retiring from his post as Anglican bishop of Durham, England. He plans to return to academic life, taking a position as Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Andrew’s University.

In all honesty, I’m ecstatic about this development. I’m sure he was a positive force in the Anglican church as a bishop, but I think it is as a theologian that he has the most positive impact on Christianity as a whole. In the confused world of biblical studies, he is a giant who uses modern methods of scholarship to support traditional Christian doctrines. He is sorely needed.

May you have many years, Bishop Wright!

I have always been a great lover of books. I can remember reading Lord of the Rings in 6th grade and just being enchanted. Most of my leisure time these days is spent reading some book or another. I also have my first book being published later this year. So, needless to say, I am very interested in the publishing industry.

Technology has had two major impacts on publishing in the past 20 years. First, the rise of the Internet has led to the dominance of Amazon in the book-selling world. The days of going to your local mom-and-pop book shop for your latest read is becoming a thing of the past. Instead, books are bought online. Second, e-books have recently started making inroads in the bibliophile world (again, led by Amazon and their Kindle device), which has changed the book-reading experience itself.

But another technology, called the Espresso Book Machine, has the potential to reverse both of those recent trends. Take a look:

So with the EBM, anyone who can afford this machine (which is quite pricey right now), can have an almost unlimited inventory of paper-bound books. Imagine going to your local bookstore and having any book available to buy! Furthermore, this machine doesn’t create e-books, it creates traditional paper-bound books.

It will be interesting to see if this technology takes off in the market and what kind of impact it has on Amazon and other modern booksellers.

When they finally announce the actual release date for the Pope’s 2nd book in the Jesus of Nazareth series, which is coming “soon,” I think I should get one of those countdown clocks for my blog to mark the days, hours and minutes until it is available. That’s how excited I am about it.

One of the inspirations for my book “Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew” (coming this September) is the Christology of Pope Benedict XVI. The depths in which the current pontiff has delved into the mystery of Christ is quite remarkable and has helped me in my own understanding of the person of Christ. His book “Jesus of Nazareth” introduced much of the world to his Christology, but he has been exploring the reality of the person of Jesus for decades.

Amy Welborn, author of numerous books and host of the popular “Charlotte was Both” blog, has just published a book entitled Come Meet Jesus: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI which explores the Pope’s Christology in some depth. I’m sure it will be very insightful. Click on the link of the book title to read more details from Amy.

We are now nearing the end of our first full week of Lent – have you been doing your spiritual reading? If you have not yet begun, let me make it easier on you. Here are two great lists of books to consider during this Lent, one from the East and one from the West:

Catholic Lenten Reading List

Orthodox Lenten Reading List

Now your only problem is choosing just one book!

When I was a young Evangelical in high school, I remember picking up the book “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. The book, which recounted the letters of a demonic tempter to his younger apprentice, had a profound effect on my spiritual life, primarily in that it reminded me to look at my own sins rather than studying everyone else’s. The book’s unique format allowed Lewis to remind his readers that demons can tempt everyone into sin no matter their personal beliefs and convictions. Are you conservative? Liberal? Traditionalist? New Christian? Long-time Christian? It doesn’t matter, the devil will find a way to tempt you into sin. As St. Peter wrote, “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour” (I Peter 5:8).

So it was exciting to find out that popular blogger Fr. Dwight Longenecker has taken Lewis’ format and written an updated version called “The Gargoyle Code”. There are two key differences between the two books, however: (1) Longenecker uses specifically contemporary examples which do not allow the reader to easily excuse himself of the sins being tempted; and (2) Longenecker writes from an explicitly Catholic perspective, as opposed to Lewis, an Anglican who wrote his books for  “Mere Christians”. Whereas The Screwtape Letters will always remain a useful classic, The Gargoyle Code does modern Catholics a needful service by making a similar book more specifically geared towards them.

The Gargoyle Code primarily consists of the communications of Slubgrip, a senior-level demonic tempter who is advising his young protegé, Dogwart. Slubgrip’s “patient” is an older, conservative Catholic, and Dogwart’s is a young Catholic who is discerning his vocation. With this setup, Longenecker is able to address most situations that face Catholics today, regardless of their age or status in the Church. And Longenecker leaves no one unscathed: through the writings of Slubgrip, he warns against the sins that can beset traditionalists, charismatics, liberals and everyone in-between.

The book recounts the communications over the course of one Lent, so it obviously would be a wonderful book to read during that season. However, this leads to my one criticism of the book: it would be impossible to read over 40 days, as it is too enjoyable! I read the short book (103 pages) in only two sittings myself. But I would recommend it to anyone looking for spiritual reading for this Lent or any time of the year.

You can purchase The Gargoyle Code at Fr. Longenecker’s website.

In the technology world, everyone has been looking forward to Apple’s Tablet device. That wait will soon be over.

In the movie world, everyone has been wondering who will play Bilbo in The Hobbit. Perhaps now we know.

In the Catholic book world, everyone can’t wait for my the Pope’s book about Jesus. Looks like it will soon be released. (You’ll have to wait until September for mine).

If you want to do something well, you look to see how others have already done it well. If I want to be a great baseball player, I see what Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter do and I try to emulate that. The same is true in the spiritual life: if you want to be holy, look and see how others before you have become holy. This is why I love reading lives of the saints, and why I encourage my children to do so as well. Nothing, other than the Bible, can be more profitable reading than discovering the many and varied ways in which God has raised up saints in different cultures and times.

Which is why I’m excited by the book “Voices of the Saints: A 365-Day Journey With Our Spiritual Companions” by Bert Ghezzi (full disclosure: Bert is my editor at Our Sunday Visitor). This video explains the project in a bit more detail:

There are more videos explaining the book here.

As my first post of the new year, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Let us pray that we might all draw closer to Christ and become more saint-like in 2010.

I usually make some type of resolution for the upcoming year, and this year is no different. My main resolution is to get more organized in my reading. I read dozens of books each year, but there is no rhyme or reason to what I read (except when I’m reading something for my Master’s classes). I usually just pick whatever catches my fancy at the time. This year I’ve decided to have a reading plan. I have divided my reading into five categories:

1) Scripture
If this is not included in a reading plan, you are not Christian. I plan on mostly using the Navarre Bible this year in my study of Scripture, as I appreciate its recognition of the Spiritual senses of the text.

2) Theology
Usually my reading is almost exclusively in this category, so it shouldn’t be too hard to keep up with theology reading.

3) Philosophy
This is going to be a challenge. I have basic philosophical training, but I admit that I don’t enjoy reading philosophy books. Any suggestions anyone has for good books in this category will be appreciated.

4) Literature
I recently read a biography of St. Thomas More, and it noted that More believed that good literature was very important in the education of a Christian. I have found this to be true, so I’m going to commit to reading more good literature this year. So far I have Paradise Lost (Milton), The Idiot (Dostoevsky), The First Circle (Solzhenitsyn) and Frankenstein (Shelley) on my list, but any suggestions in this category would be helpful as well.

5) Lives of the Saints
I always tried to include the lives of the Saints in my reading. Since the whole point of everything we do is to become saints, I figure it can’t hurt to see how others did it, right?

I’ll try to remember to update everyone at the end of the year to see if my plan was successful!

Also, if anyone is looking for a suggestion for their 2010 reading list, might I humbly suggest a book coming out this fall from Our Sunday Visitor about Christ as he is presented in the Gospel of Matthew? I’ll be sure to let everyone know when it becomes available.

In the Harry Potter books, there is a professor called “Mad-Eye Moody” whose experience fighting dark wizards has made him completely paranoid; he sees dark wizards almost everywhere. His refrain to the students is “Constant vigilance!” Although most of the students see him as a bit of a crank, in the end he is correct, as dark wizards are often looming around the corner trying to harm those who are fighting for good.

My wife and I have taken up Mad-Eye’s motto for the raising of our children. The sad fact is that today there are many forces that wish to attack our children and corrupt them with the values of this world, instead of the values of the Gospel. Two generations ago, Catholic parents could be somewhat relaxed about parenting because there were many other parents who were teaching their kids the same values, and they could trust their parish and parish school to do likewise.

However, the generation previous to mine had the misfortune of maintaining this trust in institutions yet having those same institutions (parish, school, and neighborhood) fail them greatly. There were many parents who sent their kids to the local parish or Catholic school in the 1970’s and 1980’s expecting them to get a Catholic education, yet discovered much too late that they instead got the same spiritual upbringing of public schools. As my former pastor once told me, “All I learned in CCD in the 1970’s is ‘Be nice’ and ‘Don’t do drugs.’” Not exactly a well-developed Catholic formation.

Most serious Catholics of my generation now realize that they cannot blindly trust others in the raising of their children – they must have constant vigilance in their parenting, testing those institutions before leaving their children with them. In other words, they need to take a “Mad-Eye Moody” approach to parenting.

What does all this have to do with Advent? Yesterday Christ warned us at the beginning of Advent to “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent” (Luke 21:36). Sometimes our culture is positive enough that we can start to fall asleep and trust others to the tasks given to us. I think most would agree that this is not the case today. But in any time, we must be vigilant, as St. Peter also reminds us: “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

This Advent let us all resolve to be more vigilant in all our responsibilities.

Constant vigilance!

Imagine you are a boy around the age of 10. Your mom buys you a children’s book in which your name is plastered on the front cover and the character with your name is also a boy your age. Not only that, he is the hero of the book. Pretty cool, huh?

But then imagine that the book and its sequels goes on to sell about a bazillion copies around the world and everyone in the world now associates your name with that character. Not so cool anymore, is it?

Well, that is exactly what happened to this unfortunate young man.